The rain continued to fall, bean-sized droplets pelting the water's surface and sending out dense ripples.
Large sections of the high slope's edge began to collapse. Clods of mud mixed with gravel slid into the water with a rumble, splashing waves onto the shins of those standing closest, making them shiver from the icy cold.
The slope grew narrower and slicker, forcing the people on it to crowd toward the center, shoulder to shoulder.
Meanwhile, their surroundings had long since turned into a vast ocean.
As far as the eye could see, there was nothing but water. The turbid, yellowish torrent stretched out grandly all the way to the horizon.
Dead branches, broken logs, and shattered door panels bobbed on the water's surface. Occasionally, the half-submerged carcass of an animal drifted past, its white belly upturned, before being swept away and lost to sight by a wave.
The treetops and rooftops that had still been faintly visible earlier were now completely gone.
The water continued to rise relentlessly—one inch, two inches—creeping over the calves of many.
Someone finally couldn't hold on any longer.
An old man slipped and fell back into the muddy water. It immediately rose to his waist, yet he didn't even have the strength to struggle. He merely tilted his head back, letting the rain pelt his weathered face.
“It's over... It's all over...” he muttered, his voice muffled by the rain and barely audible.
Those nearby quickly bent down to pull him up.
But the moment they bent down, their feet slipped. Both of them tumbled into the water, thrashing and swallowing several mouthfuls of muddy water before the surrounding crowd scrambled to pull them back up.
Everyone's face was caked with mud and rain, their eyes red, making it impossible to tell water from tears.
At the very instant despair was about to swallow them whole, the dark, cloud-covered sky suddenly lit up.
A holy white light tore through the sky, as if a pair of invisible hands had parted it from the middle.
The torrential rain came to a sudden halt.
Millions of raindrops, large and small, hung suspended in midair, crystal clear, like frozen amber.
Immediately following that, a massive lily of the valley appeared out of thin air, blooming high in the sky. Its petals layered upon one another, translucent like jade, with a faint golden halo rippling along their edges.
Everyone stared at the scene, forgetting to breathe.
The flower was so large it shrouded half the sky, and even the roaring torrent fell quiet at this moment.
At the center of the flower, a figure slowly emerged.
Her white robes outshone the snow, and her skirt billowed like clouds.
The Divine Lady stepped onto the petals, her long hair untied and fluttering in the wind, every strand shimmering with a faint light.
Her face was obscured, covered by a light veil, leaving only a pair of cool, clear eyes visible. She looked down at the people soaked in the floodwaters, her gaze detached yet full of pity.
“When heaven sends down calamities, all living beings suffer. Since my path is the Dao of the Common People, how can I stand by and watch the common people suffer?”
With those words, she raised her hand and tapped lightly with her fingertip.
In the next second, wisps of golden light sprouted from her palm, flying toward the despairing people on the high slope.
Wherever the golden light passed, the floodwaters were silently pushed aside.
Trapped on the high slope, the crowd stared blankly as they were enveloped in warm, golden light spheres, the biting cold instantly vanishing.
Not only them, but also many surviving animals were enveloped in the same golden spheres.
The moment they were enveloped by the golden light, everyone's soaked clothing became dry and crisp, the fabric pressing against their skin with a gentle warmth.
The small animals shook their fur, droplets of water cascading from the tips of their hair to reveal the fluffy, dry down underneath.
“Divine Lady...”
Shen Jue stood inside his light sphere, looking up at the goddess in the sky, tears welling uncontrollably in his reddened eyes.
The Divine Lady lightly raised her fair hand and swept her wide sleeve, causing the golden light spheres wrapping around everyone to move.
They trembled slightly at first, then floated upward steadily and slowly, rising away from the mud slope that was about to be swallowed, and away from the raging floodwaters.
“We're... we're flying...”
A man's eyes widened to their limits, reflecting the sky full of golden light and the water's surface growing more distant below.
Before long, countless golden light spheres rose one after another from the water, looking like sky lanterns lit all at once.
[Shen Jue Shock Value +100]
[Pei Du Shock Value +100]
[Zhang San Shock Value +100]
[...]
[Current Shock Value: 63,660,000]
The Mountains and Rivers Map's skill had a time limit. Yun Shu had to deal with the flooding below before the skill expired to truly save the afflicted people and animals.
She opened the system panel, completely ignoring her rapidly soaring Shock Value, and quickly equipped the Return Formation.
While she had been waiting for the right moment, the Return Formation's cooldown had just ended, coming in perfectly handy.
High above Wuling City, a massive portal suddenly appeared.
The gate stood a hundred zhang tall, carved entirely from white jade. Intricate and ancient patterns were etched into the lintel, draped with wisteria flowers, while the center was a swirling space that resembled a flowing sea of stars.
After activating the Return Formation skill, Yun Shu found the Water-Drawing Talisman she had bought for ten million Shock Value from the unscrupulous Cultivation System. She threw it into the wisteria flower gate so it could transport the floodwaters to a place facing a drought.
A powerful suction force surged from within the gate.
The torrent below stalled for a moment, then began to flow backward and upward.
Millions of tons of turbid yellow water transformed into massive waterspouts, soaring into the sky with a grand momentum and pouring into the wisteria flower gate.
The water level dropped at a pace visible to the naked eye. The once-boundless flood receded inch by inch, exposing submerged streets, collapsed houses, and tilted trees.
The people inside the golden light spheres were too shocked to speak.
The wisteria flower gate shut with a boom, turning into a streak of light that vanished deep into the clouds.
[Shen Jue Shock Value +100]
[Pei Du Shock Value +100]
[Zhang San Shock Value +100]
[...]
[Current Shock Value: 66,000,000]
Yun Shu waved her sleeve once more.
Enveloped in the golden light spheres, the crowd floated slowly back to the ground as if carried by an invisible breeze.
The moment they touched the ground, the golden light spheres dissolved into countless shimmering specks. As their feet met solid earth, some stumbled but were quickly supported by those nearby.
Once on the ground, the small animals scattered in all directions, shaking their fluffy fur and leaving a trail of paw prints in the mud.
At the same time, the rain stopped, and the dark clouds gradually dispersed.
A long-awaited light poured down from the sky, shining upon the devastated Wuling City and bathing everyone in its warmth.
“The Divine Lady is merciful...” Everyone wept, their eyes filled with the relief of surviving a great disaster.
Yun Shu, however, was not as optimistic as they were.
She knew very well.
The Great God's method of taming her was nothing more than beating her down ruthlessly first—forcing her into a corner, shattering her confidence and pride, and making her feel utterly powerless—before offering her a tiny chance to pick herself back up. It would repeat this cycle until all her sharp edges were worn away, and she willingly served it.
Therefore, this natural disaster was definitely far from over.
But since she had chosen to step in and save them, she had naturally devised a countermeasure. It was still up in the air who would end up taming whom.
Rate on N.U.
