Chapter 507
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Chapter 507: Unable to Save the World
Yun State, Zhonghang Sect
Lin Jiang and Cao Ying found a stack of letters in front of them. These letters were sent back by disciples of the Zhonghang Sect. A year ago, the people of Yun State saw the meteorite shower passing through the sky, soon after they felt a strong earthquake.
Afterwards, Cao Ying selected elite disciples to investigate various northern provinces. After a year, these letters were sent back, and the two of them roughly understood the situation in the northern provinces.
"All the northern provinces are finished, the human race is finished, the cultivation world is finished."
After reading the messages, Lin Jiang sighed. A meteorite shower had nearly destroyed half of the human race and the cultivation world. Because of the falling meteorites, there were not only direct casualties, but also earthquakes and more. Even Yun State felt the tremors, showing how serious it was.
"In the past, powerful sects could easily defend against meteorites like this. Even if they couldn’t stop it, they could stabilize the situation with formations. But now, oh dear."
"Little Ying, let’s retreat. The end of the world calamity has begun, our current strength is not enough to stop it. We cannot save this world."
Lin Jiang once again thought of walking away. Now they are just stronger ordinary people, unable to save others.
"Let’s wait for two more years. Things are not good right now, let’s stabilize a bit before deciding."
"Little Ying, don’t be fooled, they are intentional."
With a grim face, Lin Jiang spoke. The members of Zhonghang Sect also noticed Lin Jiang’s departure intention. So they thought of ways to keep Cao Ying, now they came up with a way, using a group of pitiful children to appeal to Cao Ying’s sympathy.
Believe it or not, this trick works very well. Sometimes even Lin Jiang can’t bear it. Cao Ying is even more so, lacking the typical decisive leader aura, she is almost overflowing with maternal love.
"I understand, but they are truly pitiful. I never thought of being a savior, just wanted to wait for the situation to stabilize. We agreed before that I would stay for twenty years to watch over them, now there are less than eight years left. Can you hang on for a few more years?"
"Eight years it is then. When the time is up, I won’t care about you anymore."
Lin Jiang was a bit angry, he didn’t know what had upset Cao Ying so much to make her change like this.
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In Yun State, under the blazing sun, it felt like the air was about to catch fire. Yun State was hit by a severe drought.
The scorching heat made Lin Jiang and the other cultivators unable to bear it. They gathered under large trees to avoid the sun. Many people’s faces had become numb.
"It hasn’t rained for half a year. The rivers, canals, and ponds within a hundred miles of the mountain gate are parched. This year’s crop production has decreased by eighty percent. I heard that the water level of Yuntuo River has decreased by two-thirds. Little Ying, evacuate the people to the banks of Yuntuo River. There’s still a chance for survival there. Staying here is a dead end."
Lin Jiang said that Yuntuo River once again played a crucial role. With the severe drought in Yun State, there might still be some hope near the banks of Yuntuo River.
"How long will this drought last?"
"I don’t know. If we go by our previous estimations, this could be a world-ending type of drought. It will last for at least two to three years. If one in ten people in Yun State survive, that would be considered lucky."
"I miss the days when a drought like this could be solved with just a Rain Talisman."
"Nostalgia is useless, nothing left now."
Lin Jiang said. spiritual charm, elixirs, formations, all gone, magic weapon now just a regular sword.
"They are so pitiful."
Cao Ying pointed to a group of children not far away, some as young as two or three years old, the oldest barely ten years old, all orphans, this was what truly touched Cao Ying’s heart.
Looking at these orphans, she thought of herself. If not for Lin Jiang back then, she would have died long ago. These orphans wouldn’t have her luck, so she stayed, this was her softest spot.
"Don’t mind them, we are pitiful too."
Lin Jiang was going crazy, those scoundrels from Zhonghang Sect, knowing Cao Ying fell for this trick, kept bringing orphans back, now it’s almost a thousand.
"Endure the drought, seven more years left."
Cao Ying looked at Lin Jiang with pitiful eyes, she knew Lin Jiang would surely have a solution.
Lin Jiang had a headache and didn’t know what to do. If he left, he couldn’t bear to leave Cao Ying to deal with those people on her own.
Let’s fight the drought by continuing to dig ditches, wells, searching for water sources, and finding food in the mountains.
With each strategy in place, the people of Zhonghang Sect felt calm again, making Cao Ying once again an important figure like a Human Emperor.
In the blink of an eye, three years passed, but the drought in Yun State continued, and a plague emerged because many people had died due to the long drought.
Luckily, despite the plague, Zhonghang Sect still had many former Alchemists who had become doctors. With an abundance of herbs in the surrounding mountains, they were able to treat the sickness. Cao Ying and Lin Jiang were immune to the plague because of their strong bodies from their past achievements. Their bodies were too resilient for the virus to harm them.
Two years later, the plague ended and Yun State welcomed three days of heavy rain. After the rain, the dry land turned green again, but then a locust plague appeared.
The series of natural disasters overwhelmed Lin Jiang, and he felt like the end of the world was coming. How could mere humans stop such catastrophic events?
"No need for more words. We must fight the locust plague for seven years, and there is just over a year left."
Without waiting for Cao Ying to speak, Lin Jiang told her that they had just over a year left to endure. Despite the hardships, Lin Jiang was determined to continue because they were safe. While the disasters were devastating for ordinary people, for them it was just a troublesome and frustrating ordeal.
Lin Jiang didn’t know much about locusts, but he remembered seeing news about using ducks and roosters to control them.
There were good roosters in the farming world, but there were very few of them. When disasters like floods, droughts, and diseases struck, many people and animals died.
"Eat the locusts, don’t tell me they’re poisonous. I know they are. Either starve or be poisoned. Choose one."
"Apart from killing existing locusts, we need to find where they lay eggs. Burn the eggs with fire. Locusts like damp places, send people to search for them."
"The most important thing is to use medicine. Mobilize all Alchemists, there is a lot of information in the Zhonghang Sect. No need to search for it."
Lin Jiang suggested ideas to Cao Ying, knowing it might not be effective. It kept him and his people busy so they wouldn’t think too much and reduce conflicts.
Despite trying many methods to control the locusts, the results were not very clear. More than half of the crops were still damaged, leading to many people starving.
To save more lives, Cao Ying ordered people to fish at Yuntuo River, while she and Lin Jiang led teams into the mountains to hunt and gather.
Since the end times, disasters and tragedies have been frequent. The population of Yun State had decreased by more than two-thirds. This caused a rapid increase in wild animals in the forests, becoming easy prey for skilled fighters, leading to food shortages.
With lots of hard work, the people of Zhonghang Sect made it through another difficult year. Even though it was tough, they were happier than many other places because at least they didn’t have widespread starvation.
As autumn turned into spring, it was springtime again. Cao Ying planted seeds with her disciples, preparing for the journey of the new year. After finishing the spring planting, Lin Jiang talked to Cao Ying. He told her that either they could leave together and retreat from the world, or he would leave on his own. Lin Jiang realized that the heavens would not stop bringing disasters upon the world, and he didn’t want to be a part of it. He had to leave.
