Players at the Board, Trading Moves!

After Zhao Yanshan passed away, although new people took his place in the Zhao Household, there was always a feeling that something was missing, and the spirit of the clan was much lower than before.

After taking over the clan affairs, Zhao Xuanqing was busy consolidating the Lineage's power, winning over the hearts of the people, settling the Lineage's assets, and stabilizing relations with various forces. Overnight, he was expected to shoulder the heavy responsibility of the entire clan.

Later, he brought a batch of tribute gifts and personally went to Abundant Water Lake to pay his respects to Shi Jian.

Shi Jian, who rarely leaves his seclusion, was somewhat saddened upon learning of Zhao Yanshan's passing. The world is cold and indifferent; another familiar face has departed...

As for the Zhao Household and Zhao Xuanqing, Shi Jian's impression of them was acceptable; he essentially acknowledged Zhao Xuanqing's identity and left with the following statement:

"The Zhao Household has followed me for over a hundred years. Although Yanshan is gone, the Zhao Household's rules remain unchanged. Just continue doing what you were told."

"As long as the Zhao Household does not disobey me, I will protect your Zhao Clan clan."

Upon hearing the ancestor's promise, Zhao Xuanqing knelt down and kowtowed, finally feeling relieved.

Nothing has changed; the transition of power has been stable.

Shi Jian has given the attitude he should; as for the rest of the journey, Zhao Xuanqing has to walk it himself.

As for what kind of future he will have, that depends on his fate and fortuitous opportunity.

Life in Abundant Water City continues.

But the Southern Region has never been peaceful.

Although the Venomous Flood Dragon King retreated, his retreat was not entirely clean.

After retreating to their old lair in the Southern Region, the Flood Dragon Python Clan did not cease their activities. Instead, they changed their tactics and continued to harass all sides.

Every few days, several Foundation Establishment Water Dragons would sneak over from the southern river channel and circle around the outer stronghold.

If they encounter a lone cultivator, they will seize the opportunity to drag him away; if they encounter a patrolling group of cultivators, they will take advantage of the chaos to launch an attack.

Despite repeated attempts to suppress them, their activities have been somewhat contained.

However, the Evil Water Marsh so vast that it was impossible to attend to all sides, and sometimes they would even attack the spirit ships carrying supplies at night.

This despicable tactic, while not sophisticated, is undeniably disgusting.

It's like an unkillable, stubborn snake. If you ignore it, it will coil around and bite you; if you turn around and try to hit it, it's slippery and slippery.

If the big dragon doesn't come, then the little dragon will.

If the little dragon is ineffective, then a brood of python demons will be sent to stir up trouble in all the various camps in the Evil Water Marsh, causing great losses.

In just a few years, hundreds of cultivators at the outer strongholds of White Cloud Temple were killed or injured.

The casualties at many strongholds were heavy, and even a small Foundation Establishment clan was wiped out, which further intensified the enmity between the human and demon races.

For the Qi Refining stationed on the front lines, this kind of combat tactic was even more unbearable, leaving them in constant fear.

I fear that one day I might become food for this Demon Beast...

"These crawlers, they can't really fight back, and they can't run far either."

Sun Qiming squatted on the riverbank, looking at the water and cursing.

The patriarch of one of his Foundation Establishment clans was killed by a level-three water dragon last night while he was inspecting various areas.

The body was dragged into the river, and it hasn't been recovered yet.

"Uncle, I'd like to take some men to clear the river to the south."

Sun Qiming stood up, his face filled with resentment, and said, "If this continues, morale will collapse. We need to take action."

Sun Chengzu stood on a high place with his sword on his back, his gaze sweeping across the river.

"Have the Crocodile Beast Clan set up several hidden sentry posts underwater."

"Whales and pythons are adept at water, as are crocodiles."

"Their territory is their own to defend. We must learn from the barbarians' strengths to subdue them; after all, this is not our Human Race's home ground."

"Let them deal with it. Afterwards, give the Crocodile Beast Clan some compensation."

"At that time, there will be an explanation."

This is a good idea. The Human Race is already at a disadvantage due to its lack of geographical advantage, and coupled with their calculated attack on the unsuspecting, they are already at a disadvantage.

The Crocodile Beast Clan, which is also adept at water, fought against the serpent.

It is indeed the best solution at present, and the cost is also the smallest. Afterwards, resource compensation can be provided to give Golden Crocodile and the Ancestor an explanation.

With Sun Chengzu's approval, Sun Qiming began to implement the plan.

After setting up hidden sentries, the harassment from the south indeed decreased significantly. Whenever a water dragon tried to sneak over, it was detected by the crocodile beasts lurking underwater before it could even infiltrate the Human Race- controlled area.

Occasionally, they even gain the upper hand and strangle many dragons to death.

In just a few months.

The harassment from the Flood Dragon Python Clan finally subsided for a while, their offensive weakened, and the situation returned to calm. This exchange was considered to have ended there.

But Sun Chengzu knew that this was just a test...

The Flood Dragon Python Clan is ultimately not an insect, nor is it a tortoise; it is a truly powerful clan.

Behind it lies the Boundless Sea, and within that Boundless Sea, Flood Dragon Race; the resources behind it are extraordinary.

The Venomous Flood Dragon King was humiliated by Shi Jian, and the Bee Queen died at Shi Jian's hands. He couldn't swallow this insult.

Not taking action now is merely licking one's wounds and accumulating trump cards.

"We need to find an opportunity to take the initiative."

"If we can find out anything, we can control the situation from here on out..."

Sun Chengzu had an idea in mind, so he discussed it with Shi Jian.

At this time, Shi Jian had just finished digesting the essence of the Queen Bee Queen's Demon Core after several years. Although his cultivation had not broken through, his spiritual power had become increasingly abundant.

After hearing what Sun Chengzu said, he decided to test the Venomous Flood Dragon King.

Shi Jian greatly admired it, but not now.

"No rush, let's stabilize the pastures in the Eastern Region and Western Region first."

"After I have thoroughly refined the essence of this Bee Queen's remains, it won't be too late to seek out that old dragon."

"The harassment from the south?"

"Let the Golden Crocodile handle it."

"He's a Golden Core cultivator after all; he can't just stay in the water all day and fatten up. He needs to get some exercise. Don't worry, he won't refuse."

With Shi Jian's approval, Sun Chengzu knew what to do.

The key to defeating the Flood Dragon Python Clan lies not with him, nor with anyone else, but entirely with the contest between Shi Jian and the Venomous Flood Dragon King.

Since Shi Jian remained inactive, the Venomous Flood Dragon King would certainly not dare to make any rash moves either. If one side were to break the balance first, then the decisive battle would not be far off. It could be said that the two sides' leaders had reached a brief tacit understanding.

Subsequently, Golden Crocodile received his transfer order.

Although he cursed the "heartless bear" in his heart, he still obediently wanted to lead the five elite crocodile beasts to the southern front line.

With the Golden Crocodile in charge, the Foundation Establishment Water Dragon dared not cross the line.

Occasionally, one or two foolish dragons or pythons would be swatted into mincemeat by the Golden Crocodile's tail, becoming its prey.

This town remained quiet for another two and a half years...

Three years have passed in the blink of an eye.

In the past three years, White Cloud Temple has made great progress in the purification and development of the Eastern Region and Western Region, transforming all the wasteland into a spiritual paradise.

Beneath the insect hive in the Eastern Region lies a vast reserve of ore, including a medium-sized vein of Tier 3 Zhuyin Stone, a top-tier material for crafting water-attribute Law Treasure...

It is worth a fortune. A refined piece of Zhuyin Stone, about the size of a fist, can sell for tens of thousands of Spirit Stone!

Thus, this Eastern Region Beehive.

It was gradually transformed into a large-scale spirit mine, and a new town was also built, where various spirit ores were traded.

This gave White Cloud Temple another source of income.

As for the Western Region, the Old Tortoise of Wanxiang was quite worry-free. He could arrange all the branches of the Tortoise clan perfectly on his own, so Shi Jian didn't need to worry about it at all.

The only thing that White Cloud Temple needs to do is help improve the environment around the Spirit Vein, such as drawing spiritual water, clearing away miasma, planting spiritual herbs, and establishing spiritual land, just like the process used in the Northern Region back then.

Once you're familiar with the process, the efficiency is naturally much faster than the first time.

Sun Chengzu governed the three regions in an orderly manner, and the scale of Abundant Water City has grown several times over, with the number of resident cultivators exceeding ten thousand!

Its reputation grew ever stronger, gradually gaining renown throughout the entire Clear Azure Kingdom, and even giving rise to the saying, "In the north there is Sea-Suppressing Immortal City, and in the south there is Abundant Water Immortal City..."

Although Abundant Water City is far less magnificent and grand than Sea-Suppressing Immortal City.

However, it also became one of the largest gathering places for cultivators on the southern continent of the Profound Spirit Continent, and its reputation soared!

In recent years, ordinary people have been migrating here in an endless stream, and in just over ten years, the population of Evil Water Marsh has reached several million.

It already bears some resemblance to the name of a celestial city!