Chapter 47: Excited Citizens

This time, since Lin Nan intended to deploy the Nine Heavens Primordial Spirit Rain-Praying Array on a massive scale, he naturally would not settle for merely drawing a formation on the ground as he had done before.

Instead, he intended to utilize the mountain's terrain, drawing upon the power of nature to serve as the array's eye, thereby significantly enhancing the potency of the Rain-Praying Array.

Only in this way could he alleviate the urgent crisis facing Nanjiao City and the entire Nan Province.

However, looking up at the peak of Minglu Mountain, Lin Nan couldn't help but mutter to himself

"Is there... still any deer on this mountain?"

After a brief mumble, he began to walk up the rugged mountain path.

Despite the journey, he had not carried any lighting equipment with him other than his mobile phone.

Fortunately, the night sky was free of clouds, offering a view of bright stars and a clear moon. Even without a flashlight, there was enough light to see the path ahead clearly.

As he ascended, Lin Nan's understanding of the drought in this land grew increasingly vivid.

With every step he took, the ground beneath his feet cracked, kicking up dust. The withered branches and fallen leaves he stepped on emitted a crisp, brittle crunch, as if they had long since been scorched of all moisture. Even the evergreen pines and cypresses had tips of needles stained a withered yellow.

At three in the morning, the air should have been cool. Yet, during his ascent, a fine layer of sweat broke out on Lin Nan's forehead from the sheer heat.

*Crack...*

Just as Lin Nan approached the mid-slope, he suddenly heard the sound of crushing leaves.

At first, he thought it was merely the sound of his own footsteps on the dry foliage. But the sound did not seem to be coming from near him.

He stopped abruptly once more, but the sound still drifted from the distant woods.

Lin Nan immediately confirmed that in this pre-dawn hour, something was in the forest, less than a hundred meters away from him. And judging by the frequency of the sound, it seemed something was tracking him!

However, hindered by the obstruction of the forest, Lin Nan could only hear the rustling of footsteps through the leaves; he could not see anything specific. Since he sensed no immediate danger, he did not pay it much mind.

...

He eventually reached the summit.

Above him was a clear night sky, devoid of a single dark cloud. Lin Nan gazed into the distance, seeing vast stretches of farmland and towns. In this season, which should have been brimming with life, the massive fields showed almost no trace of green!

Seeing this scene, Lin Nan felt a sense of shock. The reports he had seen online were far too conservative. Moreover, most people only saw the cold strings of numbers in the news. Only by witnessing it with one's own eyes could one truly grasp the terror of this drought!

Ten thousand acres of fertile land lay before him, all a desolate, withered yellow!

Lin Nan did not dally. After composing himself, he began to survey the surrounding directions. During his ascent, he had already been constructing the general layout of the array in his mind; now, he had a detailed plan.

Since he intended to use the entirety of Minglu Mountain as the array's eye, his method would differ from his previous works.

After carefully confirming the directions and the Bagua alignment, Lin Nan set off again. He first used cinnabar to mark a single dot five meters behind him. Then, following the ridge of the mountain peak, he began to draw the array with a brush dipped in cinnabar.

Lin Nan was meticulous with every stroke, ensuring the length of every cinnabar line was precise. Using the cinnabar dot as the center, he drew a massive Taiji Bagua formation. The dot was positioned exactly within the eye of the Yin fish among the two Yin-Yang fish—unswerving and perfectly aligned with the central axis of Minglu Mountain!

Following this, Lin Nan expanded upon the foundation, drawing a massive Nine Heavens Primordial Spirit Rain-Praying Array, over ten meters in size, across the mountain peak!

By the time he finished, two full hours had passed.

As the horizon began to turn a pale grey, Lin Nan had already changed into his ceremonial attire. He took a deep breath, formed a hand seal, and chanted

"Great Primordial Thunder-Fire Essence, bind Yin and gather Yang to guard the Thunder City."

"By the name of the Thunder Ancestor, any who dare resist shall face heavy retribution!"

With a *whoosh*, his hands snapped into a sword gesture, pointing toward the array as he commanded

"By my decree, harmonize with the creation of Heaven and Earth!"

"Thirty-six Thunder Generals, heed my command!"

As Lin Nan's voice fell, his celestial armor rattled loudly! Simultaneously, he felt his magical power rapidly draining away—more than half of it was sucked out in an instant!

Just as Lin Nan was startled by the speed of the depletion, a sudden gust of astral wind erupted from the eye of the Yin fish! In that brief moment, the rapid drain on his magical power was mitigated!

Realizing this, Lin Nan let out a sigh of relief. This was the advantage of using the power of nature as the array's eye! Otherwise, relying solely on his own magical power, even if he emptied a hundred years' worth of essence, it would be difficult to truly improve the drought in Nan Province.

It appeared that the natural energy of this mountain had been successfully drawn out to serve as the eye of the Rain-Praying Array!

*Swoosh, swoosh...*

At the same time, a cool breeze swept across the mountain, washing away Lin Nan's fatigue. He looked toward the distant horizon and saw several wisps of dark, smoke-like clouds rising from the edge of the sky, gathering at a visible speed.

"It's working..." Lin Nan thought to himself.

At that moment, the crisp sound of crushing dry leaves appeared again! Judging by the sound, the distance between them had become extremely close!

Lin Nan turned his head toward the source of the sound. Under his gaze, a dark brown figure gradually emerged from the woods.

...

"Senior, where are we going?"

In Nanjiao City, inside a moving news van, the intern reporter who had encountered Lin Nan earlier asked.

The cameraman in the driver's seat replied, "To the fields, to get some footage."

"Footage?" The intern asked excitedly, "Then why didn't you bring other reporters? Am I... going to be on camera?!"

The intern seemed to be daydreaming, but the cameraman's indifferent response crushed her dream.

"Eh, no need to show your face. We're just filming the scenery. I'm just bringing you along to get used to the field. Besides, these news stories about the drought have been reported countless times. The footage we take probably won't even be used. Let's just get it done quickly."

With that, the vehicle continued toward the farmland. Upon arriving, the cameraman stepped out with his camera, aiming the lens at the withered fields to begin filming.

The intern, seeing the drought for the first time with her own eyes, stared around in a daze. As she looked, she noticed several figures in the fields, all dressed as farmers. She walked over and heard an elderly man sighing incessantly, looking deeply troubled.

"Sir, why are you out in the fields so early?"

Hearing the question, the old man looked up toward the voice while responding. "Yeah, I wanted to take advantage of the cooler morning air to turn some soil."

Looking closer, he saw a young girl he didn't recognize. At the same time, he noticed the man with the camera on the other side.

"Oh! Are you reporters?" the old man realized instantly.

Before the intern could respond, the old man began to pour out his grievances: "Reporter friend, you have no idea! This year is just too dry! The seedlings we planted all died; they just couldn't survive at all!"

Listening to his complaints, the intern felt a pang of sorrow. After all, Nanjiao was her hometown; seeing her fellow villagers suffer made her heart ache. But what could be done? The heavens simply wouldn't rain. Could they only stand by and watch the crops wither and die?

"If we can't sow the seeds soon, we might truly starve to—"

The old man sighed, but before he could finish, a deafening roar suddenly erupted, causing everyone to freeze and stop talking.

*Rumble—*

It seemed that at the moment the sound rang out, every living thing in Nanjiao was stunned. Before the intern could even react, the old man in front of her had already looked up at the sky.

As his cloudy eyes fixed upon the horizon, the old man witnessed the dark clouds gathering directly within his pupils. Faintly, several bolts of lightning exploded within the cloud layer, so bright he could barely keep his eyes open!

Yet the old man kept his eyes wide, his excitement impossible to hide. His aged face trembled, and tears began to cloud his eyes.

"Oh! God bless! God bless us!"

At that same moment, the residents of Nanjiao City all heard the heavy roll of thunder. Some jumped out of bed; some rushed to their windows; some stopped in their tracks. People looked to the sky, filled with excitement and fervor.

Nanjiao had endured high temperatures for many days without a single drop of rain. To hear the heavy roll of thunder now was enough to drive anyone into a frenzy of joy! Perhaps this rain would finally alleviate the persistent drought!

Even though it was still early morning, the moment the thunder rolled, the residents of Nanjiao City and the entire Nan Province looked up! Staring at the gathering clouds, an unprecedented excitement surged in their hearts!

The cameraman, who had originally planned to finish quickly after filming the fields, was stunned by the thunder. He immediately ran to the intern's side, asking in astonishment, "Did you hear that? Is it going to rain?!"

"Man, you really timed this perfectly!"

Seeing the dark clouds gathering rapidly and moving toward them, the cameraman felt an immense surge of excitement. Most news reports lately were about the environmental impact of the drought. Everyone was waiting for the first rain, and it would undoubtedly grab the headlines.

The opportunity was right in front of them; they were standing right in the fields! If they hit the record button now, they could capture the very first rain of Nanjiao!

Time waited for no one, so the cameraman turned his gaze toward the intern.

However, the intern seemed to be in a trance. She stood frozen, staring at the dark clouds above, her expression a mix of surprise and something strange.

Wasn't it supposed to be a long-term drought? Why did it suddenly turn cloudy without warning?

And... she felt as if something had flashed through her mind. It looked like a silhouette of a person!

Before she could think further, the cameraman prompted her, "What are you dazing off for? Didn't you always want to be on camera? You've hit the jackpot this time! Hurry up, start filming!"

...

(End of Chapter)