Dusk fell.
Deep within Heavenly Water Morning Dew Canyon, clanging rang without end as hot water surged skyward.
Big Fish wearing steel helmets wagged their tails with all their strength and launched violent charges, driving the pointed cones on their helmets into the rock. Exhausted, they got stuck halfway in, unable to move. After several waggles, the rock cracked apart. More Big Fish followed behind them, except the sharp cones on their helmets had been replaced with flattened iron shovels. They took turns in orderly relay.
Occasionally, a fragment of white jade would be unearthed, immediately drawing cheers from the fish.
If they dug out ore, that was even more extraordinary. After the Big Fish cross-checked it, if it was something valuable, they would be rewarded on the spot and might even receive upgraded "lodging" and "meal" standards!
Besides simply excavating treasure, the entire canyon also served as an "outpost" for the Great Huai Army. They were currently digging for the treasures of the Immortal Island, but ultimately, they were responsible for searching for the White Ape, so they would be living here for the long term.
Thus.
One high-end cave after another was carved directly into the cliff walls for the Water Beasts to dwell in.
From lowest to highest, they were divided into five grades.
The finest grade naturally belonged to the commander and deputy commander. Even if the two fish rarely came, they still had to be built. Large and spacious, neither side by side nor stacked atop one another, they were "grand villas," complete with every facility. Dedicated fish delivered meals, all of them cultivation meals, with Treasure Fish at every sitting.
Next came the second-grade Great Demons, whose "stacked villas" were neither side by side nor stacked vertically. Their meals included rare cooked food from