The Crocodile Beast Clan Submits, Neither Rushing Nor Lagging!

In the days that followed, the situation in the Northern Region became completely stable.

After the Golden Crocodile officially submitted, the five crocodile beast lineages no longer harbored hostility towards the cultivators of White Cloud Temple. Although they weren't exactly friendly, at least they stopped attacking and biting people at the drop of a hat.

The composition of the five crocodile beast clans is quite similar to that of the five bear clans under Shi Jian's command.

The Golden Crocodile Beast lineage is at the head.

It comprises four branches: the Iron-Armored Crocodile, the Azure-Scaled Crocodile, the Mud-Ridged Crocodile, and the Red-Eyed Crocodile.

The Golden Crocodile Beast lineage boasts the highest cultivation level, with the Golden Crocodile himself being the only Golden Core cultivator. The clan possesses eleven Foundation Establishment Golden Crocodile Beast.

He specializes in the Dao of the Physical Body, and his physical strength is extremely high!

The Iron-Armored Crocodile lineage excels in defense; its powerful demons possess thick skin and tough flesh, making them exceptionally resilient to attacks. There are five Foundation Establishment demons among its members.

However, they do not have a clear main path to cultivate; they usually cultivate multiple paths in a mixed way, and their bloodline is the most impure, making it difficult for them to break through to the Golden Core from birth.

The Azure-Scaled Crocodile lineage excels at underwater movement and is extremely fast. It has seven Foundation Establishment demons who are skilled in water magic and contain a trace of Dragon Race blood.

Five hundred years ago, a Golden Core from the Crocodile Beast Clan was born.

The Mudridge Crocodile lineage specializes in earth escape, can drill and hide, and can be brought in and out of swamps with ease. There are five foundation-building great demons.

The Red-Eyed Crocodile lineage is the most ferocious, naturally warlike and belligerent, with a volatile temper. Their combat strength is the best among the five lineages, but their numbers are also the fewest.

They primarily cultivate Dao of Strength and possess only three Foundation Establishment demons.

The five lineages combined comprise thirty-one Foundation Establishment demons, plus the Golden Crocodile, a Golden Core cultivator.

If this power were placed in the Human Race cultivation world, it would be enough to rival a mid-to-high-level Golden Core sect; their strength would not be weak.

It's just average, nothing special.

But if placed in the Evil Water Marsh, they can only guard their small Northern Region, not provoke anyone, and live a quiet life.

After the Golden Crocodile officially submitted, the first thing it did was to summon all the leaders of the five crocodile beast lineages together.

Thirty-one great demons gathered in a pool of water, with crocodiles of varying sizes lying in a circle, and the enormous body of the Golden Crocodile lying in the center.

"I've called you here today for one thing."

The Golden Crocodile swept its arms around.

"From this day forward, the Evil Water Marsh the Northern Region will be under the control of that bear."

The leader of the Iron-Armored Crocodile Clan, an old crocodile covered in gray-black scales, muttered first, "Your Majesty, that bear may be powerful, but what makes us...?"

Before he could finish speaking, the Golden Crocodile flicked its tail, slapping the old crocodile in the face with water and mud.

"Why? Because I can't beat him."

The room fell silent.

The Golden Crocodile continued, "Don't feel ashamed. This bear, Shi Jian, is no ordinary Golden Core. He's extremely cunning and definitely not a benevolent creature."

"To tell you the truth, when he made that move, I didn't even have time to think about fighting back."

"If you're not satisfied, you can go up and try."

"Anyway, he promised me he wouldn't beat you to death."

Upon hearing this, not a single crocodile moved.

Are you kidding me? Even you, the Golden Crocodile King, were taken down in one move. Wouldn't they just be easy prey if they went up there? They might actually become fish themselves.

"Besides that, I agreed on some conditions with him."

Golden Crocodile roughly reiterated Shi Jian's rules.

"We'll continue living our lives as usual."

"Human Race cultivators have entered the Northern Region to expand their territory. You are not allowed to cause them trouble, and they will not come to seize your territory."

Did you understand?

Hearing their ancestor say this, the thirty-one crocodile demons all lowered their heads in agreement.

After the Evil Water Marsh of the Northern Region began to stabilize, the situation gradually improved.

The development of White Cloud Temple then entered a fast track.

It only took one year.

Over the course of a year, thousands of cultivators managed to completely eradicate the miasma from the core area of Northern Region.

Looking down from a high place--

The once gray-green and murky swamp area has now changed its appearance.

The three Spirit Vein were completely dredged, and the spiritual water spread outwards along the newly dug river channels. The puddles that were once filled with foul odors and poisonous gases gradually became clear after being continuously washed by the spiritual water for several months.

Although it's not quite the crystal-clear, azure blue, at least it no longer smells foul.

Occasionally, a spirit fish leaps out of the water, its silvery-white scales shimmering in the sunlight. These are the pure water spirit fish fry that White Cloud Temple brought from Ming Province.

The largest body of water, after being filled with Spirit Vein water by the cultivators, spontaneously formed a large lake with a circumference of twenty miles.

The lake water was a light blue-green, shimmering with light. Wisps of steam rose from the center of the lake, the residual heat emanating from the underground Spirit Vein, making the lake water warm.

Sun Qiming stood on the lake shore, and he looked pleasing to the eye no matter how you looked at him.

"If this were in Ming Province, this vast spirit lake alone could probably fetch a price of hundreds of thousands of Spirit Stone."

He rubbed his hands together, already planning how to build a house by the lake.

East of Linghu Lake, the once decaying swampy woodland has been largely cleared and transformed, becoming exceptionally beautiful.

Rotten wood was felled and burned, and poisonous weeds were uprooted. In their place, artificially cultivated medicinal herbs and seedlings were planted.

A row of spirit medicine field spread out along the gentle slope, with tender green shoots emerging from the brown new soil. Although they are still short and weak, they are growing vigorously.

Sun Chengzu walked up behind Sun Qiming and glanced at the medicinal herb field in the distance.

"Uncle, the soil quality has recovered to about 70%."

Sun Qiming handed over a summary report he had kept over the past few days, "After another year or two, we should be able to grow some second-tier spirit medicine."

"Well done, but there's no rush."

Sun Chengzu took the briefing, glanced at it, and tossed it into his Storage Bag: "First, lay a solid foundation. Don't try to do too much at once."

Despite saying that, it was obvious to everyone that Sun Chengzu was in a very good mood.

In just one year, a barren, muddy wasteland was transformed into a Spiritual Qi and livable place with lakes and fields...

If this achievement is reported, the Supreme Purity Sect will definitely think highly of it.

Moreover, this is only the Northern Region.

The combined area of the three major regions of Evil Water Marsh— east, south, and west—is more than four times the size of the Northern Region.

If we could take them all...

This is a huge problem, and if you look at it from a broader perspective, it's enough to make your scalp crawl.

But it's easy to think about these things, but actually doing them is not so easy.

The other three territories' owners, so far, have not been convinced of their Qi Ingestion; each is eyeing them covetously!

Shi Jian wasn't in a hurry. Governing the Demon Race was like cooking a small fish; it couldn't be rushed, nor could it be slowed down. It was never too late to cook it slowly.