novelraw Chapter 962 - 528: Duling City
Chapter 962 - 528: Duling City
She first found it strange, but soon understood that these little ghosts thought she had killed the mayor and the Divine Woman. However, if it weren’t for her intervention, the people from the Mirror Sea King’s mansion wouldn’t have gone after the mayor. From this perspective, she did indeed indirectly avenge these children.
On this day, it was still a cloudless sunny day. But as she rode on Qi Zai soaring in the sky, she keenly sensed the change in wind direction.
The northeast wind was finally about to arrive. Along with it would come the warm moisture from above Mirror Sea, soon ending the drought that occurs once every two hundred years.
Ning Xiaoxian’s prediction was not wrong. Because when Qi Zai flew forward another nine hundred miles, she finally saw dense clouds, torrential rain, and the joyful and tearful smiles of mortals bathed in the rain.
This area had already entered the jurisdiction of the Mirror Sea King’s mansion. And such clouds and rain would soon spread to all water-scarce regions.
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The domain ruled by the Mirror Sea King’s mansion was vast. Qi Zai flew slowly for several days before reaching the destination.
The location of Mirror Sea was near the west of the Southern Continent’s central area, not far from the most beautiful Central Province and other places. Therefore, the coastal areas also exhibited a rare prosperity during her westward journey. The closer to the sea or lakes and rivers, the larger the human settlements became. Among the cities she passed, at least three had a population of over six hundred thousand, and one even exceeded a million. In such cities, daily production, living, and consumption supplies were truly astounding figures.
However, when there is a shortage of water, the risks are even greater than in ordinary cities. The states she had just passed through all had very flat terrain. Ahead lies the alluvial plain at the intersection of rivers and seas, with rich and fertile land. So she, looking down from the sky, could see thousands of acres of fertile fields everywhere. Yet, these fields were lush green, far from the dryness seen under the administration of other Immortal Sect and Demon Sect, making mortals’ lives much more comfortable.
On the plains, several high mountains and canyons stood out. Therefore, when she saw the majestic embankments in the canyon, she couldn’t hide her astonishment. These embankments were all made from locally sourced materials, created by cutting and piecing together black giant rocks unique to the area. Inside the dam, the serene lake sparkled, and outside, the waterfall cascaded straight down, scattering gold and broken jade, making it conspicuous even from high in the sky.
This was the first time she had seen man-made water facilities in this world. These dams were built at crucial points upstream of big rivers. They could discharge floodwaters during wet seasons to reduce damage to farmland and cities, and during times like this, served as tools to store and preserve water. After months of drought, farmland irrigation relied entirely on them.
Such large-scale public water engineering could not be accomplished by individuals alone, so it must be the work of the Mirror Sea King’s mansion. Although mortals are humble, they are the foundation stone of the Cultivation World’s upper structure. The Immortal Silver they pay as tribute supports most of the Immortal Sect and Demon Sect’s vast expenses. However, not everyone realizes this. Regardless of the true intentions behind the Mirror Sea King’s actions, expending effort to build such magnificent engineering for mortals, the Mirror Sea King’s vision, strategy, and cunning are worthy of her admiration.
What’s more, as she passed through several small towns, she saw the local government offices and wealthy merchants providing charity to the poor and refugees. During the drought season, the lives of town residents are much harder than those in cities. The Mirror Sea King’s mansion even sent people to the countryside for disaster relief, even if it was just a few bowls of thin rice soup, a few pieces of cotton clothes, and a few broken felt tents. The people distributing these items still wore a despicable "here, eat" expression, but when you’re starving and have food to eat, freezing and have clothes to wear, displaced and have a felt tent to live in, that is truly giving charcoal in the snow, making people grateful and moved.
Seeing all this, a faint sense of doubt arose in Ning Xiaoxian’s heart.
"Human hearts are formed of flesh," this saying does not apply in this world. Due to racial barriers, the superiors here are particularly ruthless. Not to mention others, even those she knew like Changtian, Yin Jiu You, or Miluo felt no sympathy for mortals, and they never bothered to conceal such indifference. Is Mirror Sea King’s action truly out of compassion, or is there another purpose?
As she pondered, the main city under the Mirror Sea King’s jurisdiction—Duling City—was already in sight. This city also lay on the vast plains, very close to the sea, almost standing on the city tower, you could see the river estuary in the distance, where the turbulent waters cut into countless large and small sandbanks, with hundreds of birds dancing, presenting a scene of abundance and beauty.