Chapter 856: Water Demon Uprising

Following the direction of the flood's source, Lu Ye pressed onward, his speed pushed to its limit under the dual blessings of Flying Wings and Wind Strider.

Finally, he spotted the source from a distance.

It was a large river, but a section of its embankment had ruptured, forming a gap from which a large volume of river water surged out.

Lu Ye instantly appeared at the breach, his fiery red wings slowly retracting. After a quick glance, he immediately conjured array flags.

The breach was quite long, and the river water surged fiercely. He could not possibly block it alone; sealing the breach would require the power of an array.

This was not a difficult task for him.

He always kept various array flags in his storage space. As he channeled his spiritual power, array flags shot out, embedding themselves like nails into the breach where the floodwaters gushed. The numerous flags resonated and vibrated, quickly outlining the form of a grand array.

As he continuously channeled spiritual power, a core spirit pattern rapidly emerged at the center of the grand array.

It was precisely the Guardian Spirit Pattern.

With the Guardian as the core of the grand array, the defensive array he constructed was incredibly sturdy. It would have no problem replacing the embankment to block the surging floodwaters.

However, the current environment was not suitable for maintaining the array for extended periods. This array was built by Lu Ye mid-air, and the power sustaining its operation came from his spiritual energy. If he ceased channeling, the array would collapse within a short time.

Unless there was a suitable place to set spirit stones, allowing their power to replace his own spiritual energy.

But where could spirit stones be placed in an array set up mid-air?

This was not a big issue. He only needed to buy a little time. By then, regardless of whether Clear Spring Sect sent anyone to help, he could find a way to reseal the breach himself, and the flood would naturally subside.

Everything was proceeding smoothly. However, just as the Guardian Spirit Pattern was about to fully form, something like a long whip suddenly shot out from the surging floodwaters, coiling directly towards Lu Ye.

The floodwaters churned, waves crashing. In the instant before the attack, even with Lu Ye's powerful spiritual perception, he failed to detect it.

Faced with such an assault, Lu Ye's first reaction was not to block or evade, but to frantically channel spiritual power into the newly formed array.

The next instant, his waist tightened as the whip-like object coiled around him.

Yi Yi, who was rapidly chasing on Amber, saw Lu Ye being dragged into the water by something from afar. She immediately cried out, "Lu Ye!"

Amber's speed also surged, but by the time it reached the spot where Lu Ye had vanished, there was no one in sight, only dissipating huge splashes.

Amber let out a low growl, and Yi Yi plunged into the water, searching for Lu Ye.

The situation underwater was extremely complex. Although she had entered the water almost immediately after Lu Ye, she couldn't find any trace of him. For a moment, she was consumed by anxiety.

Just then, intense spiritual power fluctuations came from a certain direction. She turned her head and saw a crimson gleam.

It was Lu Ye's saber light!

Overjoyed, she quickly swam in that direction.

Before reaching him, she sensed Lu Ye was fighting an enemy. From the aura emitted by the opponent, it seemed to be a demonic creature, not a human!

Yi Yi suddenly realized that this flood was not a natural disaster, but the work of a demonic beast!

In the Nine Provinces, there were many demonic creatures. Some had gained intelligence and understood human nature; knowing that cultivators were not to be trifled with, they generally didn't dare to commit evil deeds, to avoid being targeted and eliminated.

But some demonic creatures were different. Their intelligence was nascent, and they still retained their primal instincts, knowing nothing of cultivators or their power.

That's why cultivators regularly patrolled the territories of each sect, primarily to guard against powerful demonic creatures.

This time, it was clearly a water demon. It had destroyed the embankment here, causing the current flood.

When Lu Ye came to seal the breach, it immediately targeted him.

Yi Yi felt nervous because the strength of such unintelligent demonic creatures was unpredictable. Some were formidable, others incredibly weak. If Lu Ye encountered a powerful one in an underwater environment, he might not be able to defeat it.

Just as she was thinking this, the crimson saber light over there had already retracted, and she then saw Lu Ye's indistinct figure rushing upwards.

Yi Yi was overjoyed, knowing that Lu Ye had dealt with the demonic creature, and she quickly rushed out of the water too.

Upon surfacing, she indeed saw Lu Ye standing in mid-air, holding a demonic creature that resembled a monkey. However, unlike ordinary monkeys, this creature had sleek fur, an extremely long tail, and fearsome fangs curling from its mouth, giving it a menacing expression.

But now, that menacing expression had become a deathly one. A clear penetrating wound was visible on its body, and blood flowed down its fur.

With a casual flick, Lu Ye tossed the creature to Amber nearby.

Demonic beasts of the Demonic General rank possess demonic cores.

This monkey-like Demonic General actually possessed decent strength. An ordinary cultivator of the Ninth Level Cloud River Realm might not have been able to dispatch it so quickly; a struggle would have been inevitable. After all, it was underwater, and even cultivators' strength would be greatly reduced in such an environment.

Recalling the recent fight, Lu Ye clearly felt that he couldn't exert his full strength. It seemed there was a treasure in the Military Merit Pavilion that he still needed to save military merits to buy. Otherwise, if he encountered similar situations in the future, he wouldn't be able to use his full power. If the opponent he encountered this time wasn't strong, he would certainly be at a disadvantage against a stronger one next time.

With that thought in mind, Lu Ye swiftly flew back towards the array he had set up.

The array, having been infused with a surge of spiritual power, would not hold for long. If he did not return to maintain it, it was bound to collapse.

His spiritual power finally stabilized the array.

With the array having cut off the flood's source, the water disaster was now under control. Although some mortals had suffered losses, there wouldn't be major issues going forward. At the very least, the small city Lu Ye had seen earlier would not be submerged.

A moment later, a figure swept in from a distance with a powerful aura, clearly a cultivator of the True Lake Realm.

It was likely a Clear Spring Sect cultivator who had received a message from his disciples and rushed over first to investigate the situation.

Seeing the scene where Lu Ye was from afar, he couldn't help but be surprised and puzzled. Upon landing closer and observing, he exclaimed in awe, "Forming an array mid-air!"

What shocked him even more was that the spiritual power fluctuations Lu Ye emitted were clearly only at the Ninth Level Cloud River Realm, far from reaching the True Lake Realm.

Such cultivation and such array mastery were simply beyond imagination.

He also realized that it was this array that had formed a barrier, stemming the spread of the flood. However, the current situation was merely a temporary solution; a permanent solution would require finding a way to seal the embankment's breach.

"Yuan Chou of Clear Spring Sect greets this junior brother," he said. "Thank you, junior brother, for your righteous intervention. May I ask which sect junior brother hails from?"

Given his age and cultivation, it was perfectly natural for him to address Lu Ye as junior brother.

Such an inquiry likely stemmed from his belief that Lu Ye came from a top-tier major sect; otherwise, it would be impossible to have such mastery in array formations at this cultivation level.

"Lu Ye of the Jadeblood Sect!"

"Jadeblood Sect!" Yuan Chou raised an eyebrow, appearing somewhat surprised. "So it's Junior Brother Lu."

Seeing that he seemed about to say more, Lu Ye quickly interrupted, "Senior Brother Yuan, please find a way to seal this breach."

Yuan Chou then reacted, saying apologetically, "Please wait a moment, Junior Brother!"

As he spoke, he swiftly flew into the distance. When he returned, he continuously took out large stones and sank them underwater.

After repeating this several times, the situation at the breach finally stabilized.

When he returned for the last time, Lu Ye was no longer there. Looking up, he only saw a streak of light rapidly disappearing at the edge of his vision.

"The Jadeblood Sect has indeed taken in a fine talent!" Yuan Chou mused thoughtfully. He had naturally heard about Lu Ye joining the Jadeblood Sect years ago, which had allowed the sect to remain relevant. It was then that he first learned Lu Ye's name. However, for a True Lake Realm cultivator like him, Lu Ye at that time hadn't been worth much consideration.

In just a few short years, Lu Ye had already reached the Ninth Level Cloud River Realm in cultivation and was seemingly on the verge of advancing to the True Lake Realm. Furthermore, his array mastery was so profound that it filled Yuan Chou with envy.

"Indeed, good talents always belong to other sects."

Figures swept in from the distance, landing beside Yuan Chou and bowing in unison with clasped fists. Some called him "Senior Uncle," others "Senior Brother." They were all Clear Spring Sect cultivators who had received the news and rushed here.

If Lu Ye could think of sealing the flood at its source, they naturally could too. However, Yuan Chou's cultivation was the highest, so he arrived the fastest.

"Senior Brother, who set up this array?" a cultivator of similar age to Yuan Chou asked in surprise. In his impression, Senior Brother Yuan did not have mastery in array formations. Such a method of forming an array mid-air could only be achieved by someone with extremely high array mastery.

"It was set up by a junior brother named Lu Ye from the Jadeblood Sect," Yuan Chou casually explained. "He was a great help this time. This array won't last long, let's seal the breach first."

Although he had just brought many large stones to temporarily hold back the surging water at the breach, piled stones would inevitably leave gaps, so it still needed to be thoroughly sealed.

A group of cultivators set to work and quickly resolved the issue. Lu Ye's array also collapsed shortly after.

"Senior Brother, look." The cultivator who had just spoken suddenly dragged a tattered corpse over and approached Yuan Chou.

Yuan Chou looked closely and recognized it as a Demonic General-level water demon. It had been killed not long ago, and its demonic core had already been taken.

"It was this water demon causing trouble!" Yuan Chou suddenly understood. He had been wondering why the embankment here suddenly failed. Clear Spring Sect had disciples patrolling the area daily, especially inspecting the great river's embankment that passed through this area with extreme care, fearing a sudden breach that would affect the mortals under their governance. By all accounts, something like this shouldn't have happened today.

It was only after seeing this water demon that Yuan Chou truly understood.