Legend of Ling Tian

Chapter 577: River Flow Reversed

Translator: chuchutrain Editor: DavidT, Rock

Under the urging of his violent true energy, the Heaven Splitter resembled a ferocious mountain cleaver as it carved out chunk after chunk of rock from the cliff that was even harder than steel. Every block weighed more than a hundred kilograms, and they were constantly being thrown out into the river, with signs that Ling Tian was even speeding up!

The Heaven Splitter was recorded in history as the sharpest godly tool for a reason, and added with Ling Tian’s domineering and pure true energy, the destruction it wrought to the cliff was naturally huge! When he finally sighed and took a rest, a wide fan-shaped hole was already dug on the cliff face about as high as two people, seven meters deep, and over ten meters wide!

If the entire continent, as well as the major influences, were to find out that Ling Tian actually used the legendary Heaven Splitter to carve out rocks they would likely drown themselves in hatred and anger...

“This should be it!” Ling Tian wiped the sweat from his brows, staring absentmindedly at his results.

As though thinking of something, Ling Tian once again brandished the Heaven Splitter, carving out a few more dozen blocks of stone, stacking them at the cave entrance. He had to ensure that it would be shielded from the water spraying up. If it got wet, then what kind of show would he perform? That toy of his was completely vulnerable to water, so if he accidentally got it wet, then wouldn’t he have to go collect a new batch? Furthermore, to collect those things, they had already deployed the entire force of Sky Bearing, so how was it possible that they find another batch?

Once everything was fully prepared, Ling Tian sheathed his sword, grabbing onto the rope before swinging himself up like a monkey....

“Stop! Stop stop stop....” Ling Tian suddenly hollered, “It looks like you guys really wanted to hollow out this mountain, am I right?”

Our young noble Ling was shocked. Without a clear limit in his instructions, this bunch of dumb brutes had somehow become pangolins, digging out a beautiful hole that looked like it was polished repeatedly countless times...

One by one, the unsophisticated monkeys came walking out of the hole, and their sheepish smiles made Ling Tian totally speechless.

Who was it that said digging through a mountain was a monumental task? Wasn’t it easily achieved? Ling Tian whispered inwardly. Of course, Young Noble Ling never thought about the fact that not everyone possessed a loyal troop of steel-skinned and strong subordinates, who not only possessed above average cultivation but also good equipment. What was considered as impossibly hard rocks to normal people were just like tofu to them!

With their backs carrying the explosives, Ling Tian and Ling Jian went down in the hole. This time, the amount used was smaller. Since it was the first time, our Young Noble Ling who was well versed in using explosives knew that if he wanted to achieve the greatest effect on his first attempt, then it would be the best to first do a few small explosions, allowing the stone in the mountain to loosen up a little before giving it a big explosion from the other side...

After thoroughly checking the specific locations, Ling Tian brought the completely confused Ling Jian back to where they came from. However, this time on the way back, a string hung on Ling Tian’s waist... which was the fuse.

Every few feet he looped the fuse around the overgrown vines around the mountain. This was a must, for Ling Tian did not forget that the mountain was less than 100 feet away from the water! If after he lit the fuse it dropped into the water as it burned, that would be a disastrous consequence! The worst part was that to check on it you would run the risk of it exploding right in your face....

Finally, at the top of a boulder, Ling Tian gave the command, “Everyone, back off at least three kilometers!” After thinking a bit, he added, “The mountain is going to explode!”

It would be better for him not to have spoken that sentence, for the group of men immediately had an expression of interest, all of them suddenly rooted to the spot and refusing to move! Everyone wanted to see what was this explosion that the young noble was going to perform to the mountain. How could a large mountain suddenly explode for no reason? Was their young noble the incarnation of Mara ¹ , spouting nonsense in their ears?!

It was only after Ling Tian jumped up in anger, lashing out at all of them, did they then unwillingly turn back to start walking. However, every three steps, they would turn back to take a look, as though they were reluctant to leave...

Seeing that everyone had retreated to a safe distance, Ling Tian no longer hesitated and lit the fuse. In an instant, a bright flame traveled down the mountain, letting out a green smoke trail.

At the same time, Ling Tian stuck close to the ground as he flew backward. His movement technique this time was employed to move the fastest he had ever done in his entire life! It might even have surpassed the speed he used when he was escaping Justice. As he ran away, his back was covered in a cold sweat.Dammit! It’s been so long since I last used these toys that I forgot how fast the fuse would burn!

One cannot escape from evil of their own doing! Ling Tian was afraid that the fuse would become damp due to the water spray, so he added more gunpowder inside it. The result almost scared him out of his skin.

Standing there with a cool poker face, Ling Jian gazed at the spot that Ling Tian was speeding away from.

“Pa!” Ling Jian’s head was unceremoniously slapped hard by Ling Tian when he reached him, causing him to stumble. “How are you still acting cool at a time like this! Lie down for this daddy! The heavens and earth are going to shatter!”

“All of you lie down! Open your mouths for this daddy!” Ling Tian viciously spat this command at all the big men. Opening their mouths would lessen the reverberations within the eardrums of everyone, preventing them from rupturing. However, Ling Tian had no time to explain this to everyone right now. He could only harshly command them to prevent any losses to his men...

The moment his words were spoken, a forceful and oppressive explosion was heard. It came so suddenly, and this booming noise was more than hundreds of times louder than the waters crashing along the gorge. For a moment, nobody could hear anything other than the majestic explosion, and even the land trembled. Even when sprawled on the ground, it felt as though they were sitting atop a bucking horse. A few of them were even bounced up by the tremors, before sprawling back down.

This was closely followed by the sound of toppling as the stones on the mountain rolled down one by one in all directions. It was only after a long time did all the heaven-shaking movements then subside.

A group of big men with waists like a bear, unafraid of the heavens and earth, shakily got up with pale faces. Fear and shock washed over their faces and they resembled children who were stunned and unable to move.

Ling Chi stuck out his tongue as he muttered, “When young noble spoke about a heaven and earth-shaking effect, I was still wondering if he had gone mad. To think that he was actually speaking the truth, oh my goodness, that power, not to mention destroying a mountain, if you told me that could destroy the very heaven and earth, I might just believe it.”

The few men by his side still had their ears ringing, and it felt as though a bunch of giants were holding onto huge mallets, repeatedly smashing them on their eardrums. They only saw Ling Chi’s lips moving but failed to register what he was saying at all. They opened their mouths to speak, only to realize that they could not even hear what they were trying to say.

What a frightening power. Was this something possible to be guided by mankind?

The only one who was mentally prepared, Ling Tian, slowly uncovered the hands he used to cover his ears, and stood up. While he was extremely confident in the standard of his explosives, he hadn’t dabbled in this hobby for a long time, and furthermore, he did not think that there would be such an immense impact from something so crude. He had almost ruptured his eardrums in this process.... And to think that the explosives used were just the excess ones!

The next time, I had better run farther.

Ling Tian made up his mind.

Everyone present was still considered to have decent cultivation, coupled with the fact that they had some preparation beforehand, so they quickly recovered. They eagerly rushed towards the peak of the mountain, only to let out a disappointed sigh. The peak of the mountain retained its original shape, as though the previous explosion did not affect it in any way.

With his sharp eyesight, Ling Tian could naturally see the multitude of fissures that now encompassed the entire mountain. He let out a wide smile in response, glad that the effect was better than his own expectations.

“Young Noble, I see that the water level seems to have increased by a bit.” By the side of the boulder, Ling Jian peered down at the raging river as he calmly said, “It seems like young noble’s plan has a certain amount of success. See that lone tree sticking out over there? It used to be 10 feet above the water, but now it’s already half submerged inside.”

Ling Tian shot him a praising look as he smiled, “Ah’Jian, your eyesight is finally able to catch even the smallest of details. That’s right, the water level has indeed increased. While it looks like the previous explosion did not seem to do much to the overall situation, a lot of boulders were loosened. When those heavy boulders are dumped into the river, the water can’t possibly move them away in an instant, hence the increase in water level. However, all of these will not be enough.” Ling Tian viciously smiled, “I’m not looking for an increase in the water level, I want the river to be cut off!”

“Young Noble, let me be the one to place the things this time around.” Ling Jian was eager to give it a try.

“Are you looking for death?” Ling Tian shot him a glare in return. “Can’t you see that the entire mountain is already extremely shaky, with the foundations already cracked? If you go down there again it would be as good as sending you to your death!” Ling Tian waved his hands towards the huge hole dug by the majority of the men present. “Throw the rest of the stuff down inside.”

Looking at the group moving in single file and placing all their explosives into the cave, Ling Tian tilted his head to look at the peak of the mountain. After some calculations, he commanded everyone to leave.

Naturally, the group did not need Ling Tian to urge them. All 150 of them immediately ran away like startled rabbits. Ling Tian then carefully avoided the shifting sand and rubble, cautiously gathering the explosives into one bundle. He checked the explosives once more, and after ensuring that everything was in place, he then attached the fuse, slowly unraveling it. This time, he made sure that the cord was much longer than before. After all, the payload this time was much larger than before.

This time, Ling Tian was extra meticulous and calculated the angle even more carefully. He had to ensure that the moment the explosives were set off, the peak of the mountain would collapse, with the majority of this mountain falling into the river.

All things prepared without exception!

Looking at the flare wriggling its way towards the cave opening like a snake, Ling Tian’s figure also blurred and disappeared. The next time he appeared, he was 100 feet away, and he continued to speed farther and farther away.

From the reports given by Ling Jian and his group in the future, they described this day as truly heaven and earth-shattering, reversing the flow of rivers!

It was just like a tremor of Armageddon, or the shock from a volcanic eruption!

The tall and towering peak swayed just like a roly-poly toy. And then...

Like in a slow-motion film, the entire mountain elegantly collapsed downward.....

PENG!

This time, a humongous colliding sound was heard. The broken mountain had actually slammed into another mountain near it, causing the entire area to quiver and shake...

Rumble...

The originally towering and lofty mountain peak disappeared just like that in an instant, and the opposite mountain was also shortened by a good half of its size. Rumbling sounds sounded over and over as though the whole earth was dancing in ecstasy, jumping around like crazy on the dance floor. Patches of forest were trembling in the dance, with all the animals sprawled on the ground unable to move....

Gululu...

Ling Tian suddenly felt a tremor approach them, and upon mustering the courage to take a look, he discovered a boulder the size of a tiny mountain rolling in their direction. Its imposing manner was perfectly shown, as it rammed and flattened everything its path. It slowly neared where the group was situated...

“Dammit! Does it even know how to take revenge?!” Ling Tian was dumbfounded! They placed themselves so far away, and yet the boulder was still able to roll all the way to their location?! Looking at its momentum, there was no possibility of it stopping any time soon! This.... This was too much of a curse, right?

“Scram now!” Ling Tian hollered at the top of his lungs, yet no one could hear. The hundred or so of them were exactly like ostriches, burying their heads in the sand, with their butts sticking up straight behind... None of them had any reaction to Ling Tian’s hollering, having become deaf long ago. Actually, Ling Tian’s holler also sounded only like a mosquito buzzing around in his ear...

Unable to care any more, Ling Tian drew his Heaven Splitter and dashed toward the huge rock. It looked like he had to risk his life this time! This was really like the saying that one cannot escape his own evil misdeeds!

“Hong!” Out of Ling Tian’s expectations, after the boulder rolled for another 100 feet it suddenly rammed head-on to a tall and mighty pine tree. The tree resisted and groaned for a while before falling over, but managed to resolve the momentum of the boulder, ending its quest for revenge. It leaned on the fallen trunk of the tree, coldly ‘looking’ at Ling Tian who was in the air.

“My goodness!” Ling Tian wiped off his sweat. “Could it be that it even has a spirit inside? Why does it know to look for me for revenge?” Ling Tian spat out in contempt.

It was only after two hours that everyone recovered sufficiently to rush towards the riverside.

The group of huge men who normally emitted killing intent all over suddenly seemed like timid wives who had entered their mother-in-law’s houses for the first time, softly stepping and not even daring to speak a single word. Everyone had on an expression of trepidation.

The scene in front of them was really too scary! Even though it was not on a scale that was able to alter the world, but if not for the fact that they had seen the towering mountain with their own eyes, no one would believe that this flatland had hosted a towering mountain in the past!

The cliff was in a terrible state, with a multitude of caves and deep holes yawning wide open. From far off, all of them could see a snake’s head the size of a water tank thrashing around in pain, with purplish-black blood flowing non-stop. It looked as though it was in the throes of death.

With its size and place, the snake was probably a native of this place, and it was unknown just how long it had lived. However, like the fish trapped in the pond where a calamity occurred, it was unknowingly involved in this man-made disaster. How unfortunate!

“The entire river is now blocked! Young Noble... actually... did it...” Ling Chi’s face turned pale as he stuttered, his voice in disbelief.

“Not just merely blocked! If they want to bring it back to its former state, I’m afraid the Xiao Family would have to use a workforce of over ten thousand men, with at least half a year of time to achieve it, excluding the deaths that would occur in the midst of clearing it.” Ling Tian shook his head as he spoke with schadenfreude. “If not, just the amount of water here would be enough to destroy the three thousand miles of mountains and rivers that the Xiao Family have! The so-called ‘Land of Immortality’ of the Xiao Family will no longer have the same appearance as before!”

Looking at the increasing water level that could be actually perceived by the human eye, Ling Jian coldly remarked, “I don’t know anything about their so-called land of immortality. But I know that the natural advantage of terrain that the Xiao Family enjoyed has definitely been destroyed! By today at least, the water level will increase by over three times!” But at the same time, he felt a sort of feverish excitement. What was called vicious? This was! So what if he could draw out his sword and kill someone in a split second? So what if he could reign supreme on the battlefield?

Just look at this, without even the death of a single soldier, just a finger could cause the heaven and earth to shake, and a millennium-old unassailable terrain was destroyed just like that!

At least, before the river channel was cleared again, the Xiao Family could forget about being able to leave! Of course, the troops together with Xiao FengYang outside could also forget about returning!

Regardless of whether the Ling Family would choose to initiate the war, Ling Tian believed that no power would give up this chance to inflict heavy losses on the Xiao Family!

Along the same note, regarding the great Xiao Army that was severely short on food, this was indeed an unprecedented disaster! From now on, the lives of the 450,000 troops of the Xiao Family were in the palm of Ling Tian!

Either surrender and be reorganized, or else just die in war or of hunger! What huge amount of supplies did an army of 450,000 have to consume every day? This was an astronomical amount, and after losing their logistics lifeline they could last a few days at most, and even with the supply wagons they already had, at most half a month!

Maybe there was one other route left to take, which was to swallow another power within this half month and use it to recuperate. However, would Ling Tian give them this chance? The answer was simple, just three words: In their dreams!

Especially since the army now was scattered across three different camps instead of being in a single group. With Southern Zheng soon to be in the hands of the Ling Family, and Eastern Zhao still embroiled in their own internal crisis, Xiao FengYang was firmly trapped on Sobbing Ghost Mountain, unable to take a step!

The worst situation was Xiao FengYang’s middle camp. At the Southern Zheng and Eastern Zhao camps, the Xiao army could still pillage the nearby villages for food, but the middle camp did not even have any villages to raid and pillage!

The most crucial point now was, when the Xiao Family knew that their supply lines had been cruelly cut, would they burst forth with their final terrifying strike, or would they simply give up?