Demon Sword Sect’s Undercover
Chapter 569 - 569 568 The Prototype of Protection

569: Chapter 568: The Prototype of Protection 569: Chapter 568: The Prototype of Protection The reforestation plan at Longxu Gully was running smoothly.

With the constant delivery of Array Plate materials, the cultivators setting up the arrays swiftly completed their tasks, as they were, after all, only the most rudimentary arrays in the Cultivation World.

There was no threshold for setting them up, provided you could perform Earth Escape and drill down.

The cultivators each had their designated roles.

Those who couldn’t perform Earth Escape kept watch from a distance, guarding against the occasional intrusion of undead creatures into the area, which could be concealed temporarily.

With thousands of years of experience, these unorganized undead creatures had not anticipated such human activities.

Over the course of a month, with a large supply of resources, the surface of Longxu Gully remained unchanged, but beneath the ground, revolutionary transformations were taking place — Arrays were being established one after another, closely packed together.

In just one month, the Dark River underneath Longxu Gully was completely outfitted, and nearly a thousand arrays fully covered several hundred miles of underground river.

This site was to serve as a pilot; if the tree planting encountered no issues, it would expand outward from there.

Under the collective effect of nearly a thousand arrays, the water from the Dark River, originally buried tens of meters deep, was artificially elevated so that now, just a meter into the sandy layer, one could feel the abundant power of the Water Element, an ideal condition for plant growth.

Given the season, with suitable temperatures and minimal sandstorms, it was the best planting season in the Northwest.

All these were within Yu Zhengxing’s considerations.

After a month, the first large Flying Boat descended in Longxu Gully, unloading the first batch of 100,000 drought-resistant saplings, which Yu Zhengxing had gathered through the operations of the Zhongshan Country’s commercial guilds.

Although Zhongshan Country could not support their reforestation project directly, it could still offer some assistance within its capacity, such as the complex collection and transportation of saplings, all of which were provided for free.

It was evident that Yu Zhengxing had meticulously prepared for this day in advance.

The cultivators who stayed above immediately began planting.

For mortals, this would have been a grueling task—digging holes, planting, refilling, and watering—all done by strict protocols; but for cultivators, none of this posed a problem, and even those who had never learned planting could quickly get the hang of it.

Under the guidance of cultivators experienced in planting, hundreds of people completed the task within days; each person planted no more than a thousand saplings, quite effortlessly.

Hou Niao used up the last bit of his Array Plate materials in the sandy layer below, remaining underground for nearly the entire month without surfacing for fresh air, participating in the entire process of laying out the underground array.

It was not just his own handiwork; he physically checked the ones laid out by others as well.

Because of his unique Thousand-Mile Earth Map skill in Earth Escape, it was as if he had set up a huge moving array along the riverbed, where his movement was more advantageous than others; coupled with another Earth Escape technique, Grassroots, he became an unapproachable oddity in the sandy layer of the Dark River.

He always believed that as a kind of sentient being, undead creatures would someday realize the true significance of humanity’s underground arrays.

Battle, too, required preparation before the storm.

Emerging from the sandy surface, what came into view were endless rows of saplings.

Although they did not yet appear green or robustly thrive, the protective forest, planted with strict precision and forming lines as far as the eye could see, resembled a silent army standing vigil.

Despite the plan sounding crazy and unrealistic, seeing everything actually in front of him made him deeply respect the foresight and vision of Yu Zhengxing and the older generation of cultivators.

Several cultivators from the Gui Team surrounded him, including an insider who was not an outsider, Wang Gandang, who had also joined this reforestation project, contributing significantly to his fortune; it must be acknowledged that this man indeed had vision, especially since being an adventurer, he did not lack in gambling spirit.

“Looks not bad?

You guys were quick,” he said.

Fairy Huang cast a sidelong glance, “Planting trees isn’t too difficult a task.

Now, we still need to manually water each tree every day to get through the most dangerous transplanting period.

They say we won’t need to water them in a month, and afterward, it all depends on how much effect the Water Element Power from the arrays can exert.

In theory, there shouldn’t be a problem.

These species are the most drought-resistant in the Northwest, and they grow especially fast during their initial growth phase.

It won’t take a year for this place to become lush and green.”

Nan Xiangye just scoffed, “Yeah, what we planted are Spirit Stones, not only lush and green but also sparkling bright.”

Wang Gandang chuckled, “To be honest, it hurt at the beginning, as all this came from the hard earnings tied above my belt over the years.

But now, seeing the results, even just a part of them, feels worthwhile!

If we could really keep this up and plant such protective forests in the entire direction of Ancient Lop—even across tens of thousands of miles throughout the entire Northwest—it would be worth any price paid.”

Yuan Shangyuan muttered, “The real test hasn’t come yet.”

Hou Niao smiled, “How are things above recently?

Have any undead creatures come near?”

Nan Xiangye shook his head, “With one or two hundred cultivators lying in wait here, the occasional wandering spirits and ghosts can’t stir up any trouble.

I guess the undead creatures don’t even know what we’re doing here.

They lack organizational structure and thus unified coordination; Uncle Yu suggested we push our defensive line a hundred miles beyond the protective forest, striving to block the undead’s sensory perception of the Longxu Gully area as much as possible.”

Hou Niao nodded, “That’s a good idea.

If we were only to plant trees along the Longxu Gully line, keeping it a secret for three to five years wouldn’t be a problem.

But if we start to expand from both flanks of Longxu Gully, we’ll soon face a shortage of manpower.

Setting up arrays, planting trees, and rear logistics—how many people can we spare for front-line obstruction?

By the way, have any new cultivators joined recently?

Are the Northwestern countries just watching, doing nothing?”

Fairy Huang sighed softly, “Just to let you know, Brother Hou, just ten days ago, the Qin Sect and Yue Sect clashed at Sand Island with significant casualties … And this is just the beginning.

No one is sure what actions these two major Northwestern powers will take next.

But one thing is certain: our hopes for their help are probably dashed now.”

Hou Niao paused, “They ignore external enemies but are keen on fratricidal warfare; are these two Daoist sects foolish …”

Nan Xiangye explained resignedly, “Historically, these two powers in the Northwest have always had grievances, never truly settling down over thousands of years, erupting into conflict every one to two hundred years.

The people of the Northwest are straightforward and impulsive; even the Daoist principles can’t change what’s in their bones.

Thus, warfare is not unexpected; it’s just our bad luck that we’ve encountered this time period.”