Chapter 347: Tortoise Mountain
Translator: Sparrow Translations Editor: Sparrow Translations
Huai River was one of the major rivers in the region. It flowed over a thousand miles across land and was not far from the division of the Yang Tribe.
'We've searched for the possessed body of the head of the Hidden Dragon Guards. It's hidden at the Tortoise Mountain within the Huai River!'
As they journeyed, Xia Qi used a sceptical tone and sent a message to Fang Yuan. "Within a 100-mile region from here, all of these floods is likely to be caused by Wu Zhiqi's consciousness... This is proof that the demon is being freed. The power of the 7th Tier of the Illusionary Divine stage is unbelievable!"
Being the ones who would be discriminated against by the people dao, the Hidden Dragon Guards would face a tough time as they attempt to descend into this realm. They would have to slowly accumulate elemental energy from the heavens and earth and would have to constantly be on guard against the Realm Alliance's attempts to fish them out.
Normal dream masters would not be able to accumulate a lot of power in the realm even after many years, but this would be different for the magical clone of a 7th Tier Illusionary Divine stage dream master!
'Wu Zhiqi is a powerful demon which sealed himself. Therefore, he would spend minimal energy preserving himself and the demonic power that he would be able to accumulate would be likely to be able to support the arrival of a 7th Tier Illusionary Divine dream master and be harnessed immediately!'
Their stats would be reduced by half as soon as they entered the realm, and this was leniency given by the Realm Alliance. If it was the Imperial Court, they would be fortunate if they could even preserve a hint of their stats.
These other dream masters were not Fang Yuan and did not have the special ability to used fixed stats to restore their cultivation. They would have to cultivate for many years before they could even restore anything.
Fang Yuan's eyes glistened. "Xia Qi….. Are you not afraid?"
"Don't worry... the alliance has confirmed that there is only the arrival of a 7th Tier Illusionary Divine stage dream master from the Hidden Dragon Guards! With King Xi controlling this area, it would not show up here."
Xia Qi replied with much confidence. "It is not possible for someone to come here to possess Wu Zhiqi's body. It is most probably left there for other dream masters to make use of. If this is the case, this would mean that the dream master we will be dealing with will be around the 5th Tier of the Illusionary Divine stage. It's still not an easy fight!"
He sounded confident and Fang Yuan could understand why.
After all, the Hidden Dragon Guards were against all the 5 Grand Organisations. They would be lucky if they could remain status quo.
The Realm Alliance had continually sent reinforcements, while the Hidden Dragon Guards only had a dream master in the 7th Tier of the Illusionary Divine stage. Therefore, it would be wise for them to find a secluded place and cultivate themselves.
Although the possessed body was hidden well, it was only a matter of time before it would be located. However, the Sage preferred to risk more to get more rewards. Although the chances of locating the possessed body were extremely small, if he was able to find it, then the body would be undoubtedly destroyed. Therefore, the head of the Hidden Dragon Guards would not take this risk!
"Let's hope that it will be as such..."
Fang Yuan sighed. As he looked at the group of people ahead of him, he had a bad premonition. 'I feel like... things are not as simple as they seem...'
...
On Tortoise Mountain.
The mountain was located at one of the river streams which flowed from the Huai River. This stream had the appearance of a huge tortoise lying down, stabilising the entire river.
The gushing water would slow down the moment it flowed to this point. As the riverbed expanded, nutrients were deposited along the river banks, forming a huge piece of fertile land just next to the river.
The Shangzhang Tribe, Doulu Tribe, Lilou Tribe... 10 over divisions settled down here and their collective power was strong.
"Eh... I have been instructed to explore the 9 Regions and search for the d*mned Hidden Dragon Guards. In the 3 times that I've passed by here, I always feel a tinge of temptation..."
Witnessing this scene, Xia Qi sighed. "After all, Wu Zhiqi is a water demon and anywhere he goes would be flooded. Who would've guessed that he would seal himself in such a prosperous and bustling location? He might even have bribed the people in the divisions and obtained protection from their tribal energy! I will request to see the leader of the division later on. If you detect any of them, just go for the kill and don't hold back! Oh yes, how much of your cultivation have you restored? Do you have at least half of what you used to have?"
Half the power of a dream master in the 4th Tier of the Illusionary Divine stage was too sufficient to destroy a few divisions.
"Don't worry!"
Fang Yuan glanced at his own stats window:
"Name: Fang Yuan
Essence: 48
Spirit: 48
Magic: 60
Profession: Dream Soldier Master
Cultivation: Illusionary Divine (4th Tier), Wu Zong (5th Meridian)
Technique: [Giant Eagle Metal Body Technique (Grade 6) (1%)], [Hundred Poison Golden Body (1st Refining)], [8 Gates Sword Array (5th Sword) (1%)]
Skill: [Medicine (Level 3)], [Botany (Level 5)]"
Nobody could guess that he could restore his entire cultivation level in the span of a few days!
Due to the differences in realms, even dream masters from the Realm Alliance would experience a reduction of more than half of their usual cultivation. They could only at most increase their cultivation to 80% of what they usually had.
Even restoring to 80% would require them to cultivate for a long period of time.
However, this was not a worry that Fang Yuan would have. Regardless of where he was, he could very quickly restore his original cultivation. This was his true ability and advantage over the others when dream-traversing to other realms.
"That's good. With the both of us combining forces, even if they have 10,000 people against us, we can still prevail!"
Xia Qi seemed relieved. As he walked to a certain division, he instructed his subordinate to inform them. "I am the messenger of Xia, and I have arrived to manage the river according to the instructions of King Xi!"
With this piece of information, they could quickly arrive at the heart of the divisions.
This division was Shangzhang Division. It had a population of 10,000 and their leader was known as Zhang. With this news, Zhang hesitated.
"Father..."
Beside him, a young man tried to speak but stopped halfway. Finally, he stood out. "Xia Country is the rightful alliance leader that all of us have agreed to! Years ago, we had conferred Xia as the King. Since his messenger is here, we should welcome them!"
As soon as he said his piece, a few elders exchanged glances and had mysterious looks on their faces.
"That's right!"
Zhang took a few steps forward, determined. "You shall represent me to receive them. Inform the people of the division to prepare the best wine and invite the most beautiful of the girls to treat the guests properly!"
"Leader!"
As the young man happily walked out, a skinny-looking priest in black robes spoke. "What should we do?"
Although the people of the division were clueless, these higher-ups were extremely clear that for Shangzhang Division's status in Tortoise Mountain was due to the protection they had from a powerful demon.
"Let's hear what they have to say first. They might not have discovered it!"
In determining the fate of the division, Zhang hesitated. "Instruct the warriors of our tribe to prepare! Also... Quickly inform the leaders of Doulu and Lilou Tribe! Although they might have conflicts with us from time to time, we have to stand together and stay united in times like this."
"Managing the river? Hehe..."
The priest and the elders nodded their heads and snickered.
The surroundings of Tortoise Mountain was not flooded, so what was there to manage? The arrival of the messenger from Xia must have an ulterior motive.
They were officially an alliance, but it was only a name to it.
If the messenger were to bring news that would lead to a conflict of interests, then they would kill him! They would fight as long as they were unhappy!
In recent days, there were signs that the water god was returning. As long as they could wait for it to awaken, they would have its protection and would fear nothing!
...
"Welcome, messenger from Xia! I am Fa from the Shangzhang Tribe!"
Outside the division, Fang Yuan and company waited for a moment before noticing a young man coming out to invite them. "My father, Zhang, the leader of the division, cordially invites all of you to enter!"
"Thank you!"
Xia Qi nodded his head reservedly as he followed Fa into the division.
Along the way, there were curious glares from the surrounding straw huts. They should be the women and children of the division.
Seeing all these, Fang Yuan was lost in his thoughts. 'In reality, the divisions on the plains in Tortoise Mountain cannot even be compared to a town to the Xia Tribe. Leader Zhang has ultimate control over his people, his own laws, army and although he has acknowledged Xia as the leader of the alliance, he can go against Xia anytime!'
If they were to go against Xie, the Shangzhang Tribe could effortlessly wipe out their 100-men group - if they did not consider the presence of the 2 dream masters.
The sun started to set and in the middle of a square, there was a huge bonfire.
Ladies came out to welcome the group and brought along plates of roasted meat and fruits for the guests to enjoy.
"Welcome, the messenger from the noble Xia Tribe!"
In front of them was a tall and skinny middle-aged man. With open arms, he continued. "I am the leader of Shangzhang Tribe, Zhang. What do we have from King of Xia?"
"I am following the orders of the alliance leader, King Xi, to bring you a piece of news!"
Xia Qi raised a piece of jade above his head and appeared solemn. "According to the predictions by my priest, the powerful demon which had once plagued the 9 Regions and disrupted the water systems - Wu Zhiqi, is hidden here. We want to find him and kill him!"
With this, Fang Yuan could feel that the higher-ups of the division were all in shock.
Although they could conceal their emotions well, it was almost impossible to hide their true feelings before these 2 dream masters.
"So it's Wu Zhiqi..."
Zhang froze before giving a gentle smile. "With the Tortoise Mountain to stabilise the river, we have not experienced a flood in 100 years... This piece of information is hard to believe. However, since you said it, we will surely support you. Let's not talk about this tonight, come... have a drink!"
As he clapped his hands, seductive ladies surrounded all of them. They pulled Fang Yuan to his seat, held his hands and smiled as they poured wine for him.
"Eh?"
Fang Yuan tasted the wine. "This wine is not as concentrated and is similar to a fruit wine... How do they have wine? Did they adapt it from the Xia Tribe?"
After all, this was not actual history before the Qin dynasty. With the Realm Alliance bringing many dream masters into this realm, it was unsurprising that things did not seem in place.
The body Fang Yuan possessed was well-built and while appearing generous, Fang Yuan seemed like the most eligible bachelor among all of them.
Within moments, the ladies around Fang Yuan started to blush in embarrassment and could not leave him.
Even in such an ancient time, it was already a sin to be lustful.
"Hmph!"
Fang Yuan did not care about the girls. However, soon after, he could hear a voice from behind as he felt a chill down his spine.
With a bitter smile, he turned around and saw an infuriated Wei. She seemed like an angry predator as though her prey was being snatched away, and was giving off a dangerous vibe.