Taicang Mountain, Prince Peak.

At this time, tourists on the mountain were no longer allowed to stay and were all asked to leave the gate and Huangji Temple. In Xianle Palace, there were bursts of chanting, more than a thousand Taoists were doing evening classes, and four national masters were presiding over Taoist affairs at the feet of the five-meter-tall golden statue.

Inside the Prince's Palace, both sides were lined with prayer lanterns from the ground to the ceiling. Xie Lian descended from the sky, landed lightly on the altar, and sat right in front of his statue.

He waved his hand, and a breeze blew from the ground, and countless lamps slowly began to rotate. The lights were dim, and the Taoists looked up, marveling at the sight, and whispering to each other. The Imperial Master, who had been sitting slumped in his chair with his eyes drooping, suddenly opened his eyes and said, "That's all for today. Let's all go back."

The Taoists stood up and left. Although the other three deputy imperial masters could not see Xie Lian's true form, they guessed that something had descended, so they all left and closed the temple door. As soon as the high door closed, Xie Lian could not wait to speak. He said, "Imperial Master, do you know about the drought in Yong'an? There seems to be no movement from my father. Did something happen in the court? Or does he not know the details?"

The priests were not allowed to show their spirits in front of mortals, except for one situation. That was in front of high-ranking Taoist priests such as the Imperial Master and the Headmaster. These highly accomplished people were the representatives of the priests in the mortal world, so Xie Lian could talk directly to the Imperial Master. The rule of "not kneeling in the Crown Prince's Palace" was passed down by Xie Lian through the Imperial Master.

He originally thought that there was some special situation that caused the king to be too busy to deal with the disaster in Yong'an, and he had no choice, or the king did not know that the situation was so serious that people died. Unexpectedly, the national teacher said: "Your Majesty is still well, nothing serious has happened, and he knows the disaster in Yong'an very well."

Xie Lian was stunned and asked, “Then why did I never hear Father pray for Yong’an every time he came to Huangji Temple? How come he never even mentioned it?”

Although he had been at odds with his father for years, he also knew that the king was not a foolish ruler. Although he was proud of being the emperor and was more important than the inferior, he was not indifferent to the victims. The national teacher said: "This is not the king's business. It was my suggestion that he and the queen should not mention Yong'an when they prayed for blessings."

“…”

Xie Lian asked, “Why?”

The Imperial Master said, “Because it’s useless.”

Xie Lian was stunned: "What do you mean useless?"

After a pause, he came to his senses and said, "You mean, because I am a Martial God and cannot control the drought, it is useless to tell me? But have you forgotten that I am not only a Martial God, I am also the Prince of Xianle. My people are now in dire straits, how can I sit back and watch?" After thinking for a moment, he said, "The most urgent task now is to rescue the victims of Yong'an. Please advise my father not to build any more temples. There are already too many prince's palaces across the country, and I don't need them. And those golden statues can all be melted down and the funds can be allocated for disaster relief. Yong'an in the west is suffering from a severe drought and water shortage, so we can dig a river to bring water from the east to irrigate the crops and nourish the land..."

As he spoke, the Imperial Master shook his head and murmured, "Too early. Too early."

Xie Lian was puzzled and asked, “What do you mean it’s too early?”

The Imperial Master said, "Do you understand now why I said you shouldn't ascend too early? Because your people are still alive today."

“…” Xie Lian’s eyes widened as he angrily said, “National Master! You…what are you talking about? What do you mean…what do you mean my people are not all dead yet?!”

The Imperial Master said, "You are already a god, but you can never forget your identity as a mortal. You are still connected to the mortal world. But you are in it, but you can't do anything about it. In the end, it's just a mess."

Xie Lian sat on the altar, and the Imperial Master stood below. It was clearly Xie Lian looking down at him, but when the Imperial Master said this, it was as if he was the one who was superior. Xie Lian said, "How can I be powerless? As long as you do it, there will be rewards. Whatever you can save is better than nothing. If you don't want to convey this to my father, then I will go find him myself."

Xie Lian stood up suddenly. The Imperial Master grabbed his sleeve and shouted, “Come back! Do you know why priests cannot casually show their powers in front of mortals? The rules that have been set for thousands of years must have their reasons. Don’t do anything stupid!”

Xie Lian turned around abruptly and said, “What can I do? I can’t do this or that. Imperial Master, many people are dying on my land right now! Aren’t gods called gods because they can save people? If I can’t show up now, then when can I show up?! Then what’s the point of my ascension?!”

The Imperial Master grabbed him and sighed, "Your Highness, oh, Your Highness. Do you know what I saw?"

After calming down for a moment, Xie Lian sat down again and said, “Please go ahead.”

The Imperial Master stared at him and said, "I saw your future, it is pitch black."

Xie Lian said without looking away, “You may have seen it wrong. I only like to wear white.”

The national teacher said: "I am afraid that you cannot save your people, but will be pulled down from the altar by your people."

Xie Lian said, “My people are not like that. They can distinguish right from wrong. If I can’t save them, then there is no point in me staying on the altar.”

After a while, the Imperial Master sighed and said, "Although what your father did cannot be said to be right, it cannot be said to be wrong either. You said you wanted to allocate funds for disaster relief. In fact, your father has allocated funds before. You can see how the effect is. You said you wanted to dig a river to divert water. Go and see which river yourself to see if it will work."

Xie Lian nodded and said, “I understand. Thank you, Imperial Master.”

After leaving Taicang Mountain, he traveled westward and came to Yong'an City in Xianle Kingdom.

In the past twenty years, Xie Lian had never felt that the sun was so hot and deadly. The first step he took on this land, he felt the dryness and heat were unbearable, and everything in the air seemed to be distorted. The sun was scorching in the sky, and the earth was cracked into pieces of broken soil, old and scary. There was a deep ditch on the side of the road, which seemed to be a river, but due to drought, the bottom was exposed, and the black riverbed exuded a strange stench. After walking for a long time, he didn't see a field. Maybe there was, but it must be impossible to tell that it was originally a field.

Xie Lian looked around as he walked. The dry and hot wind made his long hair messy, but he had no intention of tidying it up. At this moment, he suddenly heard someone calling out from behind, "Your Highness!"

Xie Lian turned around and saw two figures in black rushing over. They were Feng Xin and Mu Qing. Xie Lian asked directly, "Do you have any information?"

Feng Xin shook the clothes on his chest to fan himself and said, "Yes. The whole west has been short of water for the past two years, and it broke out this year. Yong'an is the worst hit. The river has dried up, there's no rain, and we can't grow crops. Rich families are better off, as long as they have money, they can get water and food from far away. However, most of the rich people have already moved their families to the east. The rest are either poor or unable to move."

Xie Lian frowned and said, “The Imperial Master said that my father did do something and also issued an order for disaster relief. Why is the situation still so serious?”

Mu Qing said coldly: "Pull it off 10%, then peel off one layer at a time. In the end, there is nothing left. It is still so serious. In my opinion, it is better not to pull it off than to feed the termites."

After holding his breath for a moment, Xie Lian suppressed his anger and said, “I will make those termites spit out what they have eaten intact.”

Mu Qing reminded him, "Your Highness, you forgot again that this is not your business. Priests cannot interfere in the affairs of the mortal world. The ice is three feet thick and it is not formed in a day. His Majesty is in charge of the affairs of the mortal world. This is his duty. He cannot handle it all. How can you handle it when you are responsible for the prayers of countless believers? You want to take care of this and that, and in the end you will only get yourself into trouble. Besides, this is only a temporary solution and not a fundamental solution."

Feng Xin shaded his eyes with his hands and said, "To cure the root cause, we still need water. Otherwise, Your Highness, can you ask the Imperial Master to tell His Majesty the King to transfer the water from the east to the west to make it even?"

Xie Lian shook his head and said, “I just talked about this idea with the Imperial Master.”

Feng Xin said, "What did the Imperial Master say?"

“…” Xie Lian choked for a moment and said, “That probably means it’s impossible. However, I now realize that it’s indeed not feasible. If we want to divert water, we have to dig a river first. However, digging a river requires conscripting people to work, and I don’t know how many years it will take. It will cost a lot of money and manpower, and we can’t afford it.”

Feng Xin nodded and said, "That's right. Distant water cannot quench a nearby fire."

After a moment of silence, Xie Lian said, “However, if the mortal way can’t solve it, maybe we can try the way of the heavens. I heard that the Rain Master changed a few years ago, and a new Rain Master ascended. He is very aloof. I will see if I can pay him a visit and ask if I can guide the water from the east to the west in the form of rainfall.”

Since Xie Lian ascended to heaven, apart from meeting Jun Wu, he had not taken the initiative to visit any priests, nor had he deliberately established a close relationship with any of them. He treated everyone equally in the spiritual communication array. It would be a rare thing for him to visit any priest. Mu Qing said, "No."

Xie Lian turned around and asked, “How is it?”

Mu Qing said, "Your Highness, I have checked carefully just now. In fact, in the past two years, it is not Yong'an or the west that is short of water, but the entire Xianle Kingdom. It's just that Xianle East is close to the sea, lakes, and rivers, so it's not very obvious, so it hasn't become a disaster yet. But the overall water volume and rainfall are much less than before."

Xie Lian opened his eyes wide. Mu Qing continued, “If they really dug a river, or used the method of rainfall to move the water from the east to the west, then the situation in Yong’an might be alleviated a little, but it wouldn’t be completely saved. We can only say that it gave them a breath of fresh air. At the same time, there is a great possibility that drought will occur in the east of Xianle.”

Xie Lian’s heart tightened as he said, “And Xianle’s prosperous areas and the vast majority of its population are concentrated in the east, which is more than three times that of the west, especially in the Imperial City. If there is a drought here…”

Feng Xin also reacted immediately: "The consequences will definitely be more serious than Yong'an, and more people will die!"

Mu Qing nodded, and said solemnly: "The unrest caused by this will also be greater."

Taking a deep breath, Xie Lian said, “So, this is why the Imperial Master said that what my father did was not necessarily right, but not necessarily wrong either. He just made a choice.”

Mu Qing said: "So, Your Highness, it's a good thing that no one comes to your palace to pray for Yong'an. You can leave it to His Majesty the King to choose."

Xie Lian didn’t answer and turned around.

Along the way, everyone he saw was skinny and dark, men and children were bare-chested, with rows of ribs clearly visible on their chests, and women had dead skin all over their faces and lifeless eyes. No one wanted to move, nor did they have the strength to move, and everything exuded a stench of dying, making people want to scream and flee this dying land, and immediately return to the prosperous capital of singing and dancing.

After a long while, he said, "You guys stay here and help me. Bring as much water as you can. I'll think about it."

Feng Xin said, "Okay. Think about it slowly, and when you've figured it out, just tell me what to do."

Xie Lian patted his shoulder and turned away. But Mu Qing said calmly behind him, "Your Highness, you should think about this carefully. We can help for ten or twenty days, but not for one or two years. We can save a hundred people, but not hundreds of thousands. After all, you are a martial god, not a water god. Even if you are a water god, you can't create water out of thin air. If you can't solve the fundamental problem, this is not a solution. It's just a drop in the bucket."