The Dao Sovereign of Shennong

Yuncheng, Shennong Office.

After the meeting concluded and the flood prevention plan for Yuncheng was confirmed, Zhao Xing immediately returned to his post and began organizing the necessary tasks.

The first step was setting up checkpoints at the tributary entrances of the Canglan River that flowed into Yuncheng. These weren't traditional checkpoints but rather arrays.

Before receiving full reinforcements, Zhao Xing had already instructed Ling Yuan to design a batch of arrays known as the "Water Purification Primordial Array."

At this moment, Ling Yuan was at the entrance of the "Mei River," overseeing the placement of the array.

Zhao Xing had borrowed a group of warriors from Xia Jing, who were currently helping transport the array bases from the airship.

The array bases were primarily made from the fifth-tier material, "Silk Azure Crystal," with third- and fourth-tier materials as supplementary. They looked like massive black boxes.

Each base weighed tens of thousands of tons, and even the specially designed dragon boats from the engineering department could only transport twenty bases at a time.

"My lord, the third trip of the dragon boats has already delivered forty-five bases. The array at the Mei River's entrance is expected to be completed tomorrow," Ling Yuan reported, running over to Zhao Xing. "With the help of the warriors, progress has been much faster than expected."

Zhao Xing glanced at the river and replied to Ling Yuan, "Tell the brothers to push a little harder. I want this done by today."

"My lord, they haven't slept in three days. Perhaps—"

"I've brought the warriors to speed this up for a reason," Zhao Xing interrupted. "The Southern Barbarians' shamans will surely make their move by April. It's better to suffer a bit now than face demotion or death later."

"Please explain this to the men clearly, Ling Yuan. They must not cut corners or slack off. As long as you stay on site, the others won't complain. Push through for now, and I'll give everyone a day of rest tomorrow."

"Understood, my lord. I will stay and ensure things run smoothly." Though Ling Yuan was equally exhausted, he couldn't object to Zhao Xing's orders. He didn't entirely agree with Zhao Xing's high-profile approach, but that wasn't his concern—his job was simply to follow orders.

After inspecting the area, Zhao Xing moved on to the next location.

"What exactly is this array for?" Long Xiao asked curiously. "I should memorize this. It might come in handy in the future."

Following Zhao Xing around had made him eager to learn more.

"How much do you know about the Southern Barbarian shamans?" Zhao Xing asked.

"Shamanism divides into three parts—heaven above, earth below, and the sacred mountain or tree in the middle."

"They're classified by rank into Heaven Shamans, Earth Shamans, and Human Shamans."

"Heaven Shamans live deep within the Southern Wilderness on sacred mountains. Tribal leaders or kings are usually Heaven Shamans."

"The sacred mountains command all tribes and kingdoms, with hidden sects nestled within."

"As for their specialties, there are many types—related to the five elements, wind, thunder—seven in total. Then there are blood shamans, insect shamans, and beast shamans. The most common are force shamans, similar to our warriors, though their combat styles vary greatly."

"Different regions have unique customs. In some areas, any shaman can handle sacrifices, and force shamans even double as priests. But in other tribes, only specific types of shamans are allowed to perform rituals."

"I can recall the fighting styles and shaman specialties of twenty-seven major tribes."

Zhao Xing gave Long Xiao a thumbs up. "With that knowledge, the imperial court could easily grant you the title of martial marquis."

Long Xiao grinned. "Don't flatter me. You still haven't explained what kind of array you're setting up here."

Zhao Xing smiled. "The Southern Barbarians always deploy their shamans first in battle, casting spells along the Canglan River. Have you ever heard of the Ten Disasters of Heaven Shamans?"

"I've heard of it—a legendary spell that includes turning sand into lice, famine, turning fresh water into blood, driving animals mad, unleashing ice blades, flooding with rivers of blood, parasitic terror, soul-devouring evil gods, eternal darkness, and severing all communication with the heavens and earth."

"It's said that even Heaven Shamans can't cast the final disaster."

Zhao Xing nodded. "That's the Ten Divine Disasters of Heaven Shamans. If the final step were cast, both sides would face mutual destruction, and the affected land would become a forbidden zone. That's reserved for wars of extinction."

"But we're not worried about that. What I'm preparing for is the 'Ten Insect Disasters' at the Human Shaman level."

"Ten Insect Disasters?" Long Xiao rubbed his chin. "I feel like I've heard of it before."

Zhao Xing explained, "A seventh-ranked insect shaman can unleash the Ten Insect Disasters. The specific types of insects vary by region."

"If it were a typical natural disaster, I wouldn't be too concerned. We could face each other head-on, and who knows who would win."

"But insect shamans are tricky. If they have the advantage of terrain, they only need to stand upstream, casting their spells to release insect eggs into the river. The eggs would travel downstream undetected, right into Yuncheng."

"If we were facing an Earth-level insect shaman, a single mother insect could wipe out all life in Yuncheng, and even the military physicians would be powerless to stop it."

"Even if I could use transformation spells to kill the mother insects, their ability to reproduce is overwhelming. Handling them would be a nightmare. If they make it here, the Shennong Office and medical division would have to drop everything else. That's why we must prevent this from happening."

"The fifth-tier Water Purification Primordial Array is the best way to counter insect shamans."

"Ling Yuan doesn't fully understand this because he thinks the array is too specialized to justify the high-tier materials."

"Insect shamans are rare and difficult to train. They don't show up on the battlefield often."

"But it's better to be prepared. Since Fucheng has supplied us with so many materials, I'm not going to let them go to waste."

"I'll give you a book on insect shamans. Study it carefully."

Long Xiao nodded. "I've rarely seen insect shamans, but you're the expert, so I trust you. Water Purification Primordial Array—I'll remember it and study the book."

Zhao Xing shared this information with Long Xiao not just to educate him but because he knew that, though insect shamans had been rare in the past two centuries, many would emerge in the upcoming war.

While the Fortune Dynasty had been advancing, so too had the Southern Barbarians. They were under even greater pressure and had been working tirelessly to develop new secret arts to defend against the Fortune Dynasty's overwhelming power.

Insect shamans would unleash terrifying forces during this campaign, inflicting significant damage on the Fortune Dynasty's armies.

Long Xiao would inevitably have the opportunity to go deep into the Southern Wilderness, as would Chen Shijie. Zhao Xing didn't want either of them to encounter unnecessary dangers, so he used this opportunity to give Long Xiao a heads-up.

In truth, Zhao Xing hoped Chen Shijie, the true master of spells, would be the one to benefit from the book. As a warrior, Long Xiao had limited options for dealing with such matters—Chen Shijie, as a master of magic, was the one with the tools to handle them.

Because Yuncheng's five divisions were all aligned on the same objective, and the main officials were actively supporting the Shennong Office's work, Zhao Xing's progress was rapid.

Even though he was using a specialized array and high-end materials for the arrangement, no one dared to object.

He didn't need the approval of the lower ranks—just the backing of the chief officials.

How much support did Zhao Xing have?

"Soul, return!"

In the early hours, Zhang Yi stood at a bridge, holding a soul-guiding lantern and ringing a bell.

A sacrificial altar was set up before him, with several masters of ceremonies repeating his movements.

Yellow papers in the bronze furnace burned brightly.

The chief of the temple, Shen Mingyu, willingly took a secondary role, assisting Zhang Yi in casting the ritual.

The fire illuminated the night, and soon the flames turned green.

Zhao Xing and Xia Jing stood behind Zhang Yi.

Both of them had enhanced vision techniques, and they could see that, while the area appeared empty, it was actually filled with ghostly figures—a veritable army of spirits.

An ordinary person standing in this space would quickly be overwhelmed by the heavy yin energy, leading to physical decline.

Before long, the ritual was complete.

Zhang Yi descended from the altar. "Why are you here?"

"We saw you were almost done, so we came to check on things," Xia Jing smiled. "Your efficiency is impressive, Zhang. You said you'd dig through a hundred-meter-high mountain in ten days, and you've done it."

Zhang Yi sighed. "I never imagined I'd be using spirits to move bricks. If my classmates from the 'Primordial Yin Academy' saw me like this, they'd laugh me to death."

Zhao Xing patted Zhang Yi on the shoulder. He knew Zhang had only joined the army after graduating from the academy and was still adjusting to military life.

"Being an official isn't shameful. One day, when you return in glory, who in the academy will dare to mock you? Those who laughed will bow before your cloud-stepping boots and respectfully address you as Lord Zhang!" Zhao Xing playfully described a bright future.

Shen Mingyu, seeing Zhang Yi's tempted expression, inwardly praised Zhao Xing for his persuasive skills. Even he, the nominal chief, wanted to follow Zhao Xing's lead.

"By the way, how long can these ghostly laborers keep going?" Zhao Xing asked. "Will they finish by tomorrow?"

"They can," Zhang Yi replied, "but the temple's incense supply is running low. At most, they'll last another half month."

"Half a month, huh." Zhao Xing stroked his chin. "Can these ghostly laborers do anything else? Like, say, fight in a battle?"

"No." Zhang Yi shook his head. "These spirits follow strict rules—they're only here to work, not to fight."

"And if we don't pay them?" Zhao Xing raised an eyebrow.

Xia Jing: "..."

Zhang Yi: "???"

Zhao Xing turned to Shen Mingyu. "Maybe you should ask Lord Shen. See if we can make this work."

Shen Mingyu, though speechless, nodded. "Theoretically, yes. If these spirits are dispersed by accident, there would be no need to use incense to send them back..."

Shen Mingyu's words left Zhang Yi dumbfounded. Could it really work this way? He felt as if his understanding of sacrificial rituals had been utterly upended.

Xia Jing, too, was surprised by Zhao Xing's ingenuity. Even though he had grown accustomed to Zhao Xing's unconventional thinking, he still found himself astonished: "Zhao, how are you so skilled at this?"

Zhao Xing casually brushed it off. "I read it in a book somewhere. The Ten Sun Cave-Heaven library has plenty of texts—you'll find it if you dig around."

What kind of book would teach this? Though skeptical, Xia Jing chose not to ask further. He was slowly getting used to it.

"Ahem," Shen Mingyu cleared his throat. "Lord Zhao, this method does go against the natural order."

Zhao Xing cupped his hands respectfully. "I'm not saying we shouldn't pay them, just that we should stretch it out a little. If we use the incense sparingly, maybe we can make them last longer than half a month."

Xia Jing chimed in, "True. If it runs out, we can always restock later."

Shen Mingyu found himself speechless. He couldn't help but feel that his way of thinking didn't mesh with these young men, especially Zhao Xing, whose logic he simply couldn't follow.

They're even trying to save money on ghost labor? Shen Mingyu thought. Unbelievable!

What is happening to the world? Has the times really changed so quickly?

Have I become too rigid, or is Zhao Xing just too… unconventional?

Zhao Xing didn't push the issue further. People changed gradually, and Zhang Yi would come to accept things over time.

"Lord Zhang, Lord Shen, I sincerely thank you both for your contributions to Yuncheng. After the mountain has been excavated, I'll host a banquet at the temple to reward you both. I hope you'll honor me with your presence."

"Lord Zhao is too kind. We are merely doing our duty," Shen Mingyu replied humbly. He had suffered a minor fallout from his negligence during the Shao Wanjie incident, and though he couldn't escape the charges of dereliction, he had been wise enough to stick with the younger officials.

He had no objections to ceding his chief role—Zhang Yi had essentially taken over control of the temple anyway. Shen Mingyu knew better than to put on airs.

"Whoo~"

Zhao Xing and Xia Jing boarded their airship to inspect the next worksite.

Now that the government institutions in Yuncheng had been restored, their combined efficiency was staggering.

When reinforcements arrived, they weren't just numbers—they were elites.

And with material resources flowing in to make up for ten years of shortages, the region's defense system was quickly being rebuilt.

Amidst this flurry of restoration, time flew by, and soon it was April of the 17th year of the Jingxin Era.

On the first day of April, in the upper reaches of the Canglan River, Zhao Xing's opponent, Zhao Ke (Kel), was already making his move.