Refuse to trample on the pride of heaven

Chapter 415: Residents of Xiangsheng City

Zheng Xiu's voice echoed in the damp alley, like a piece of yellow paper soaked in water, thin and brittle.

He reached out and fiddled with the vines hanging from the wall, his fingertips running over a withered yellow leaf: "The river outside Xiangsheng City was originally named 'Zhulang River', which doesn't sound very auspicious.

The river water originates from the mountains in the north. In the early years, the land in that place was barren, and the people could only cultivate palm-sized fields by the river and barely make a living by relying on the fertility of the river mud.

Although the river floods every year, lush crops always grow in the mud left after the tide recedes. After a while, everyone got used to it, and the Zhuolang River is now the mother river and moat of Xiangsheng City."

However, rather than saying that this name simply comes from its grace of nurturing the residents, it is more like the fact that when it overflows from time to time, people try to evoke its kindness in the name of "mother" when faced with its raging floods.

After all, when the water of the river rushes down like a torrential downpour from the sky, everyone will subconsciously shout out "Oh my God".

He suddenly chuckled, and crushed the dead leaves in his hand with his fingertips, and the debris fell on the bluestone slabs.

"You haven't seen the river during the flood season, have you? When the muddy waves are emptied, the whole city is shaking. The people are powerless and can only kneel in the mud and kowtow, shouting "River God, please calm down" and "Mother, please have mercy." But how can the surging waves understand human words? The houses that should be washed away will still be washed away, and the people that should be swept away will still be swept away.

The residents of Xiangsheng City died because of this flood. The reason so many people died was because Min Xiao ordered people to change the river course and dig several large holes in the embankment. The gaps were deliberately opened, and the area that was originally ravaged was expanded... and the flood was released late at night when there was no flood in the past."

Zheng Xiu suddenly looked up, and his dark pupils seemed to reflect the cold rain of that day. "That day was a river god sacrifice. The people had just carried the three animals to the altar, and the river water flooded over the roof in the evening."

Releasing floodwaters late at night... they don't give people a chance to escape.

On that rainy night, the river bank suddenly groaned as if it could not bear the heavy weight.

The turbid waves wrapped around the broken tree trunks and slammed into the bluestone railings, like a glutton breaking free from its chains and opening its huge mouth.

Countless people were swept away by the icy flood in their sleep; their desperate cries mixed with the earth-shaking sound of the water and transformed into countless pale arms floating in the turbid waves.

The surging river water overflowed the eaves and swallowed the entire village into a swamp. The floating corpses were entangled with livestock and farm tools, spinning in the whirlpool and sinking to the bottom of the river.

Those who couldn't swim were first thrown into the water by the waves, with their stomachs filled with mud. Then they paddled around with their limbs, trying to grab something, but they could only touch living people who were also struggling.

The wind is as raging as a mountain, and the rain is as pouring as a river.

Finally, the stench of decay spread with the flood, and the plague raged among the survivors like a cancer. The streets were filled with corpses that had not been buried in time, and crows circled in the overcast sky, pecking at the swollen corpses.

Drowning is very painful. At first you choke on water and your nose and throat feel like they are burning. Then, it feels like a huge rock weighing thousands of pounds is pressing on your chest, making it difficult to breathe.

Your limbs gradually lose strength, and you can only let the current drag you down. There is a buzzing sound in your ears, and it becomes increasingly dark in front of you. Occasionally, you can see the broken moonlight on the water, and floating corpses...

When the air in your lungs is exhausted, you will feel cold, and the coldness will come out from between your bones.

Then hallucinations will appear in front of your eyes. Some people see their family members waving at them from the shore, and some people see a golden road...

In fact, I was just deceiving myself. The next moment, my throat would burst with water, and my internal organs would feel like they were being crushed. In the end, I couldn't even feel the pain, and all that was left was chaos...

Yan Zhaoming slammed his fist on the damp brick wall: "So those souls..."

"Yes, they are the dead civilians, and their souls have been sucked away by the formation."

Zheng Xiu spread out his palms: "Min Xiao had people set up a soul-gathering formation at the bottom of the river. Those who drowned, died of illness, starved to death... as long as they are still by the river or have any connection when they die, their souls will be dragged into the formation."

Countless people were displaced and their families were destroyed. The flesh, blood and even souls of these people were eventually collected and used to maintain the formation until their souls were destroyed.

Zheng Xiu looked at Lu Wensheng's suddenly pale face and suddenly sneered: "This is the ultimate pain we want - the souls of desperate people are the best nutrients to nourish the formation. In fact, this formation is specially prepared for you."

Yes, the demons obtained the materials effortlessly. In their eyes, the lives of ants were nothing but ants, and no one cared about them at all.

There are more than a thousand people living here. Their lungs are burned by the cold river water. When the last breath of air is taken away, is the salty smell in their throats the river water or the blood?

Lu Wensheng lowered his eyes, as if he could hear countless wronged souls whimpering in his ears. He saw the streets shrouded in plague, with swollen corpses piled up like mountains and dark red blood dripping from the tips of crows' beaks.

Seeing that they were silent and looked solemn, Zheng Xiu paused - he didn't expect that these fearless lunatics actually cared about these things.

He originally thought that these righteous monks would only care about how to break the formation, but he did not expect that after hearing about Xiang Shenghe's tragic situation, their eyes were filled with genuine anger and compassion.

But what's the use?

"The condition for breaking the formation mentioned by the teacher earlier actually has another one, which is related to the Xiangsheng River. In addition to at least three people volunteering to sacrifice, the core of the formation must also die in the Xiangsheng River."

Zheng Xiu suddenly came closer, and Lu Wensheng could see the madness dancing in his eyes, "Only the souls tainted by the tragedy of that year can tear open a gap in the formation.

How about it, leader of the righteous path, do you still want to continue?

Apart from you, the other three leaders are the emperor, the playboy, and the respected scholar. Would they be willing to give up their lives to gamble with you? What's more, they are using their lives to exchange for the death of a group of "no relatives or friends"? They are enjoying everything now, why would they give up all these just because of your words?

Lu Wensheng, do you think you are the savior? !

The entire Xiangsheng City is within this formation, peaceful and tranquil, without any natural or man-made disasters! They have long forgotten the blood and tears of that time. The formation is there, the residents are there, will they believe that they can still leave their souls behind if the formation is broken?

Even if you tell them now that everything is a trick of the demons, they will just pretend to be ignorant and treat you as a madman who tore down the eaves of their own house!"

Zheng Xiu raised his voice with a hint of determination.

"Lu Wensheng, I am not the only one trying to stop you. The entire Xiangsheng City is trying to stop you!"

The wind at the entrance of the alley suddenly became biting, blowing up the dead leaves at the foot of the wall and blowing them into everyone's faces.

There was a certainty in Zhengxiu's voice, as if he had foreseen the defeat of this group of overly idealistic and naive people.