Governing the Northern Region!

The Evil Water Marsh the Northern Region.

After Shi Jian subdued the golden crocodile, the entire situation in the Northern Region collapsed and tilted in favor of White Cloud Temple.

Those native Demon Beast that had originally charged alongside the giant crocodile suddenly changed their allegiance overnight.

Some fled far into the deep marshes and disappeared without a trace, some huddled in their nests and dared not show their faces, while many more low-level Demon Beast lay dumbfounded in the mud, unsure whether to run or stay.

Even a behemoth like the Golden Crocodile has been brought to its knees, so what waves can they possibly make?

However, the monks at White Cloud Temple were not idle.

Sun Chengzu issued a military order to launch a full-scale offensive, establishing twelve outposts along the waterways to encircle the Northern Region as quickly as possible.

Build bridges over marshes, and cleanse miasma from pestilence.

If they encounter a foolish Demon Beast, they will try to subdue it if possible; otherwise, they will kill it, skin it, and dismember it, turning it into food and resources for the five bear clans.

The Northern Region, Evil Water Marsh, was entirely governed by the White Cloud Temple.

The first thing they did was to cleanse the miasma.

The miasma in the Evil Water Marsh was not ordinary poisonous fog.

This stuff seeped into the soil, water systems, and vegetation, and over the years, the entire land became like a stinky rag that had been thoroughly pickled.

The stench of sour rot, sweet fishiness, and the foul smell of blood and flesh mixed together with mud was worse than that of a latrine.

Ordinary people simply cannot survive. In severe cases, even Qi Refining cultivators will suffer from the poison, which is incurable by medicine and may even lead to death...

The first three months.

White Cloud Temple invested a huge amount of resources, with hundreds of monks constantly clearing away the miasma in various places.

The method of clearing it is not complicated, but it is extremely labor-intensive. It requires using a Dao of Wind Law Artifact to gather the mist and guide it into a pre-set poison-gathering array; then using purification talismans and special medicinal powders to decompose the toxins little by little.

Once the entire process is completed, 70% of the miasma within a one-mile radius can be cleared.

It sounds easy, Evil Water Marsh the Northern Region, covering an area of more than a thousand miles.

Hundreds of cultivators worked day and night for three months to clear a patch of pure land, about ten miles square...

This efficiency is so slow it makes you want to curse.

Moreover, the cleaned ground is gray, cracked, and lacks Spiritual Qi. To restore its fertility, it is necessary to irrigate it with water from the Spirit Vein, turn over the soil to bury spiritual fertilizer, and plant purifying spiritual herbs. It will take one or two years for it to improve.

Only in this way can we gradually transform this villain into fertile land.

"Uncle, at this rate, it will probably take decades to completely wipe out the Northern Region."

Are we going to stay here forever?

Sun Qiming squatted down beside the newly cleared wasteland, grabbed a handful of soil and looked at it. Grayish-black dust leaked through his fingers, without a trace of Spiritual Qi.

"No rush."

Sun Chengzu walked over, holding a survey map in his hand, marking as he went. "First, clear out the Spirit Vein along their lines. Spirit Vein bring Spiritual Qi, and only with Spiritual Qi can the land be nourished."

"Let those vassal Lineage slowly erode the surrounding wastelands."

Upon hearing this, Sun Qiming didn't waste any words, nodded, and led his clansmen to the east.

During this expedition, Sun Clan was responsible for surveying the direction of the Spirit Vein.

This was no easy task, but the many clever rats that the Sun Clan brought proved invaluable in this wasteland...

The spirit rats burrowed into the soil, following the flow of the earth's energy, gradually exploring the roots of the Spirit Vein and clarifying their course.

However, this exploration actually yielded some valuable finds.

Beneath the Northern Region lands lie three Spirit Vein.

One of them was a top-grade third-tier item, of excellent quality, but it had been eroded by poisonous miasma for many years, resulting in a significant loss of its Spiritual Qi energy activity.

The other two are both low-grade third-order Spirit Vein; one is still in good condition, while the other is severely damaged.

"Tier 3, High Grade!"

When Sun Qiming received the news, he rubbed his hands together, his eyes shining.

This is a real treasure. A top-grade third-tier Spirit Vein is a rare find even in Ming Province, let alone one that's practically free. Once the surrounding miasma is cleared away and the Spirit Vein's foundation is nurtured for two or three years, its quality can even improve.

"What a great place!"

"If we seize this land, we will surely be able to create a second Cloud Sword Mountain Range in the future, making it the place where our clan will prosper!"

For the first time, Sun Qiming felt that although the pioneering work was tiring, it was nothing compared to the rewards.

On the other side...

Shi Jian did not participate in the development and construction, nor in these trivial matters.

He did only one thing: subdue all the Demon Beast tribes!

After the golden crocodile was captured, the remaining Demon Beast in the Northern Region lost their leader.

Over the years, most of the Demon Beast in the Northern Region have relied on the Crocodile Beast Clan for survival, and the giant crocodile has become the rule of this land.

Now that the rules have changed, the Demon Beast below must naturally change as well.

Shi Jian entrusted this matter to Kuang Dou and Lord Rat.

"Subdue all demons below the Golden Core stage if you can, and hold them down if they can't. Don't kill them."

"Understood."

The Lord Rat was efficient and led his Wind Rat Line into the treacherous mountains and waters.

In just two months, he had a pretty good idea of the distribution of Demon Beast in the Northern Region, and he counted nearly two hundred demonic Demon Beast of level two or above.

Among them, there were twelve level-four Demon Beast, seventy-nine level-three Demon Beast, and the rest were all level-two Demon Beast, which accounted for the largest proportion.

These Demon Beast, who have only reached the Foundation Establishment, are mostly insignificant and scattered in various marshes and swamps. They live by hunting ordinary beasts and eating poisonous insects. Most of them have low cultivation levels and limited knowledge.

The bloodlines are generally not strong, except for the various tribes to which the crocodile beasts belong, which are slightly stronger.

Kuang Dou, along with the powerful demons of the Black Dog Line, wiped them out one after another.

Those who disobey are severely beaten; those who are sensible are taken under his command and subdued by force, but he never enslaves them.

Over the course of six months, most of the scattered Demon Beast clans in the Northern Region have been incorporated into the fold.

Many of them are promising young talents.

For example, a level-two Demon Beast called the Mud-Hiding Frog is naturally skilled at hiding and escaping; using them as scouts is more effective than using humans.

Some Demon Beast, though weak...

However, it often has unexpected effects; subduing these groups can also add new diversity to the demons under Shi Jian's command.

What I have seen and heard during this period.

Even Sun Chengzu had to admit that Shi Jian's move was indeed brilliant, managing to gather such a large force in just one year.

Once the Evil Water Marsh, Shi Jian's various Demon Race subordinates will likely experience another explosive growth!

Putting everything else aside, just subduing a Golden Core Demon General is already a tremendous gain. It can be said that White Cloud Temple has gained another Golden Core warrior.

It really is changing every single day.

Who knows what this place will look like a hundred years from now...

In the following period, the expansion proceeded steadily.

The golden crocodile had been recuperating in a pool of water since its last battle with Shi Jian. Shi Jian's soul attack had torn its sea of consciousness to pieces.

Although Shi Jian intervened to stabilize the situation, a full recovery will take at least several years, or even more than a decade.

Shi Jian would visit him occasionally.

He didn't say anything serious, but just lay down by the pool and stared at the giant crocodile.

The giant crocodile lay motionless in the water, its vertical pupils half-open and half-closed.

The bear and the crocodile just stared at each other, big eyes to big eyes.

After this happened three or four times, the Golden Crocodile finally couldn't hold back anymore.

What exactly do you want?

"Look at you," Shi Jian, chewing on a spiritual fruit, his voice muffled, "I'm afraid you'll do something rash and suffocate yourself."

"..."

The Golden Crocodile pulled its head underwater, a string of bubbles rising to the surface. Speechless, it chose to close its eyes and remain silent.

Shi Jian wasn't annoyed. He chuckled, picked up the spirit fruit, and left.

This crocodile demon may have a bad temper, but it's not stupid after all.

Give him some time to process it; he'll figure it out eventually.

Two more months passed.

The purification work in the Northern Region has finally made some progress.

Along the three Spirit Vein, six or seven tenths of the miasma has been cleared, and the water of the spiritual springs spreads outward along the newly dug ditches, nourishing that long-parched, dead land.

The first area to react was a depression near the main vein of the Spirit Vein.

The originally gray and withered soil began to turn a light brown after being soaked in spiritual water for two months, and the Spiritual Qi began to recover.

Although it's still a long way from being "fertile soil," at least it's no longer dead ashes.

Even more remarkably, an unknown type of green moss began to spread across the damp ground.

At first, they were only the size of a fingernail, just one or two pieces. After half a month, they merged into a palm-sized patch. After another half month, the entire depression was covered with a thin layer of green.

Life has returned!

Although it's only a tiny bit, it's definitely moving in a positive direction.

And just then...

The Golden Crocodile finally crawled out of the pool on its own.

He moved his massive body like a moving hill, slowly making his way to a low hill, where he silently waited for Shi Jian.