120: Chapter 120 Battle

After Lord River God finished setting the traps in the river water, he departed for the next Ancient Grotto-Heaven.

However, the next Ancient Grotto-Heaven had already been heavily guarded by extremely tight military forces.

"Dragon Lord, the guards here are too numerous."

The middle-aged man wearing black-rimmed glasses had been following Lord River God the entire time; while the key members of the Guiliu Society had all been assigned their own tasks, he was the only one without an assignment.

This middle-aged man was named Jiang Yan. Come to think of it, he hailed from the Jiang family of the Twelve Ancient Families, but he had been expelled by the Jiang family long ago for committing an unforgivable mistake.

Jiang Yan was a relatively intelligent figure within the Guiliu Society. The reason the Guiliu Society had been able to remain undetected and develop secretly all these years was because Jiang Yan had been devising strategies behind the scenes.

"They certainly react quickly."

Lord River God stood on a high mountain, overlooking the riverbank.

He pointed to the tight defensive layout on the riverbank and asked, "Are those things that look like lumps of iron the mechs you spoke of?"

Jiang Yan cast his gaze over, his eyes landing on the dozen or so angular, humanoid mechs on the riverbank, and said, "That is correct. Those are weapons developed by humans. What powers the mechs is spiritual energy. In recent years, human technology has experienced a massive explosion, and people have discovered that the energy provided by spiritual energy is dozens of times more abundant than things like petroleum."

"Even the car we rode in the day before yesterday used spiritual energy as fuel."

"Such an inconspicuous mech can unleash a force of ten thousand jin in an instant. With electrical energy and spiritual energy pushing each other, even if the pilot is only a First-stage Martial Artist, they can easily handle a Third-stage Rising Beings."

Lord River God sighed with emotion, "The world is unpredictable. In that ancient, barbaric era, I only heard of legends where a First-stage demon race member fought desperately to kill a Third-stage Martial Artist; now, it has reversed."

"Besides that, what other things are there?"

For these past years, Lord River God had only been able to exist within the Yangtze River; his understanding of human affairs was, in truth, not very extensive.

"There is also a weapon called a missile. The most powerful missiles can easily raze the county town behind us to the ground," Jiang Yan said.

Lord River God turned around. He and Jiang Yan had just come from that county town. His dragon eyes narrowed slightly, quietly comparing just how powerful these so-called missiles were.

He had measured that county town; if he were in his prime, he could also easily raze that county town to the ground. However, hearing Jiang Yan say that this country alone possessed quite a few of such weapons, he grew thoughtful.

"Humans... are indeed, as They said, not to be underestimated."

Lord River God looked up at the sky above. It was a clear, cloudless day, yet in his eyes, it was as if a celestial palace existed there.

He had finally lived to see a new Golden Age, but this world seemed to differ greatly from what he had envisioned.

The way forward for the demon race might only be visible after the upcoming spiritual energy surge.

"Dragon Lord, in this subordinate's humble opinion, after retrieving what rightfully belongs to you from the Ancient Grotto-Heaven, it would be best for us to lie low temporarily and wait until the first round of spiritual energy surges in this Golden Age before appearing."

Jiang Yan lowered his head and gently pushed up his glasses.

Lord River God turned his head to look at Jiang Yan and said, "That is indeed the optimal choice."

"However, before we disappear from view, I must let this world know the news that I have returned."

With that said, Lord River God recited a spell, cast a secret technique, and opened a passage directly on the mountaintop, stepping inside. Meanwhile, the people on the riverbank in the distance remained completely unaware of this.

Only Jiang Yan remained on the peak. He watched the spot where Lord River God had disappeared, a trace of helplessness appearing in his eyes, along with a deeply buried sense of disappointment and disdain.

The most rational course of action at this time would be to finish exploring the Ancient Grotto-Heaven, then find a place to cultivate quietly while waiting for news of the spiritual energy surges. One could even choose not to appear during the first round of spiritual energy surges; waiting until the second round to emerge would be the safest choice.

The spiritual energy surge was a blessing and grace from the heavens for Rising Beingss. After two rounds of spiritual energy surges, the overall strength of the demon race would experience a qualitative transformation.

By that time, Lord River God could completely use the water-parting flag to lead the aquatic tribes and dominate a region.

Yet, Lord River God insisted on high-profile announcing his awakening and resurrection to the world. In Jiang Yan's view, such flamboyant actions were extremely foolish.

He had thought that this Dragon Lord, who was willing to abandon his physical body thousands of years ago and plan for a millennium, would be someone who understood forbearance. Now, it seemed that was not the case.

"I must make plans early," Jiang Yan thought to himself.

Having lost his five senses, Li Xiuyuan set off again with the help of Jingxin.

Li Xiuyuan did not need Jingxin to help him find the underwater currents; he only needed Jingxin to watch and see if any aquatic tribesmen were coming up to launch a sneak attack.

As for those underwater currents, dragon-transformation points, and spiritual acupoints, Li Xiuyuan had long since memorized them all in his mind with the help of the map of the thousand-mile river journey.

Even though he could not see or touch them, he could still smoothly navigate through every underwater current, reach the spiritual acupoints, and head toward the dragon-transformation points.

Whenever he encountered those aquatic tribesmen coming to launch sneak attacks, he only needed Jingxin to point out their positions, and Li Xiuyuan could unleash the ancient coin to sweep them away.

In half a day, Li Xiuyuan had already traversed half of the Yangtze River.

At this very moment, a gust of demon wind, laden with a fishy stench and a chilling intent, swept across the river surface, blowing the trees on both banks until they swayed wildly.

The sky changed in an instant; the originally clear, cloudless horizon was suddenly pressed down by a layer of thick, heavy dark clouds.

Ripples spread out in the center of the river, and countless dorsal fins broke the surface of the water—dense and packed, with no end in sight.

Countless pairs of eyes emerged from beneath the water surface. Some were the size of copper bells with vertical pupils glowing with a ghostly green light, while others were as fine as grains of rice, packed densely together, making one's scalp tingle at a single glance.

No one knew where these aquatic tribes had come from, because according to the day-and-night observations by the Jiantian Bureau and the Mysterious Investigation Bureau, although there were many Rising Beingss in the Yangtze River, the number certainly should not have been this high.

As the first water spout shot up into the sky, a massive fish demon leaped out from the center of the river. With a flick of its tail, the water waves it stirred up slashed toward the riverbank like sharp blades.

The battle was imminent, and the defensive line on the riverbank was ignited in an instant.

The formations of the talisman cultivators lit up, and a golden light shield protected the riverbank; water arrows struck against it, splashing up countless ripples.

Martial artists rushed out from their bunkers, their fists and kicks wrapped in fierce energy, blasting away the aquatic tribesmen who were treading on the water with a single punch.

The spiritual energy engines of the mechs roared and thundered; wielding blades of light formed from concentrated spiritual energy, they stepped forward to meet the enemy.

The elites of the Twelve Ancient Families had also long since received notice and joined the battlefield.

Besides that, various factions had also sent many people here. The Celestial Masters of Mount Longhu held command tokens and performed celestial steps, sending golden talismans flying from their hands to land on the river surface, where they transformed into raging flames.

Those aquatic tribesmen emerging from the river were engulfed by the flames, emitting ear-piercing shrieks.

Sword light, talismans, formations, fists and kicks, mechs, missiles—every available means was utilized.

On the river surface, the sounds of battle shook the heavens, and blood flowed like a river.

However, Li Xiuyuan's five senses had long been blocked; he had absolutely no idea about the situation unfolding outside.

"Li Xiuyuan, a battle has broken out outside. I don't know where this pile of aquatic tribesmen popped out from, but the situation can be stabilized; these aquatic tribesmen are vulnerable."

"Just continue your dragon-journey with peace of mind."

Gu Xiao's telepathic message rang in his mind.

Upon hearing this, Li Xiuyuan gave his dragon tail a fierce flick, stopped lingering, and continued toward the next dragon-transformation point.

These suddenly appearing aquatic tribesmen did not come from the Yangtze River, but from the Ancient Grotto-Heaven.

Lord River God, without anyone noticing, had opened another passage and entered it, retrieving one of his natal objects, the water-parting flag. Besides that, there were also the numerous aquatic tribesmen whom Lord River God had placed within the Ancient Grotto-Heaven.

"The combat power is indeed formidable."

"But, these aquatic tribesmen are endless; they can never be killed off."

Seeing the situation outside, Lord River God casually waved the water-parting flag in his hand, and immediately, another batch of aquatic tribesmen appeared within this Ancient Grotto-Heaven.