Chapter 173: Sun Licheng's Method

Inside Barak’s council cave, everyone sat around the table as Sun Licheng began explaining what he had sensed.

At first, the others were simply awed by Sun Licheng’s elemental guidance power, but gradually, silence fell over the room. Sealed away by such a powerful ancient magic array, the entity—though none of them had seen it with their own eyes—sent a chill deep down into their hearts.

"However, the oasis must be restored, or all of us sandfolk will perish."

Hong Sunaibu spoke up after a moment of reflection.

Here, Sun Licheng, Caroline, Solomon, and Barak were outsiders, whereas they were the true natives; this was their home. More importantly, due to the deity's forbidden curse, the sandfolk could not leave the Sea of Sand at all. The furthest they could ever reach was Stone Bridge Fortress. Venturing any further would bring the punishment of the forbidden curse, and potentially mortal danger.

"Yet the underground river must never be opened again; that magic array is already on the verge of collapse," Barak said gravely. Even though he was a necromancer, he was not an evil man and would not stand by idly and watch the world be destroyed. Judging by the sheer power of that magic array, he understood far better than the others just how terrifying the suppressed entity truly was.

Seeing that the sandfolk and Barak were on the verge of a quarrel, Sun Licheng frowned.

Unseal the underground river, and the magic array would be shattered; keep the underground river blocked, and the sand-sea oasis would be doomed. What a genuine dilemma this was.

"If only the underground river water could bypass the magic array. That way, the water would not only nourish the oasis but also stop eroding the magic array—wouldn't that be the best of both worlds?"

Caroline suggested. A girl of simpler thoughts, she spoke the moment the idea struck her.

"That is impossible. Do you have any idea how massive an undertaking it would be to construct such an underground aqueduct? Even if you gathered every single person in the Sea of Sand, it still wouldn't be finished. Besides, how could one dig such a long tunnel underground? Unless you had specialized magical beasts and Saint-tier earth magic, it is nothing more than wishful thinking. During all my time at the Necromancy Academy, I have never once heard of a magician doing such a thing."

Barak directly refuted Caroline's words.

Hearing this, everyone realized that Barak made sense, and they inevitably fell silent.

"Indeed, if only we could channel the water out from the underground river without letting it pass through the magic array, that would be wonderful."

Although Abner knew it was impossible, he still muttered with lingering reluctance.

Upon hearing this, Sun Licheng pondered carefully whether there had ever been such a case on Earth. On the modern Earth, facing all sorts of harsh living conditions, humanity had constructed numerous classic water conservancy projects. Could he find a method among them?

Dams? No, there was no way to store water underground. Digging canals? That wouldn't work either; the sunlight here was far too intense, and the water would evaporate completely before it ever reached the oasis. The crucial point was that the construction difficulty could not be too high; there was no cement or heavy machinery here.

"If Mr. Handy and the Goblin Empire's mechanical puppet legion were here, perhaps they might have a way."

Sun Licheng sighed inwardly. But right after that, a flash of inspiration struck him, and he thought of a famous water conservancy project from Earth.

"I’ve got a way!"

The more Sun Licheng thought about it, the more feasible it seemed, so he shouted excitedly to the rest of the group.

Hearing that Sun Licheng had a solution, everyone’s eyes lit up instantly.

"Heh, I know how to divert the underground river, and the workload is well within our ability to complete. Even the technical requirements aren't that demanding," Sun Licheng laughed heartily.

But the next second, he let out a sharp cry of "Ouch," feeling a burning pain flare up in his right ribs. Turning his head, he saw Caroline glaring at him with a dark expression, her left hand pinching a fold of flesh on his right ribs and twisting it fiercely.

"Alright, let go, let go! I'll tell you, okay?"

Seeing his wife's anger, Sun Licheng hastily surrendered and began explaining to everyone.

As it turned out, many regions on Earth were plagued by water shortages, and the great Huaxia nation possessed a renowned water conservancy project that nourished that picturesque land in Xinjiang. Its name was the Karez well system.

Karez meant "well springs," and it was recorded as early as the *Records of the Grand Historian*, where it was called "well canals."

The Karez system had been constructed on a massive scale in Xinjiang (the Western Regions) since ancient times, and alongside the Great Wall and the Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal, it was hailed as one of the three great ancient engineering feats of Huaxia.

A Karez system generally consisted of four parts: vertical shafts, underground channels, surface canals, and "Laoba" (small reservoirs). Because it was deeply buried underground, the Karez prevented large quantities of water from evaporating due to extreme heat and fierce winds. Consequently, its flow rate remained stable, capable of guaranteeing a reliable water supply for the oasis in the Sea of Sand.

The crucial point was that this project could be constructed in stages, significantly reducing the difficulty of the work. If they encountered terrain that could not be directly pierced through, they could simply tunnel around it.

After listening to Sun Licheng’s explanation, everyone’s eyes brightened. None of them had imagined that such a simple method could solve the seemingly insoluble problem before them.

"Sun Licheng, you are amazing."

Overjoyed, Caroline lunged forward and threw her arms around Sun Licheng's neck.

"He truly lives up to what His Majesty the Deity said—he is the one who can save the Sea of Sand. If this Karez system he spoke of is successfully built, it might even turn the entire Sea of Sand into an oasis."

Abner murmured in admiration as he watched the playfully bickering Sun Licheng and his wife.

Water scarcity in the Sea of Sand was one aspect, but the biggest issue was the uneven distribution of water resources. Fresh water was abundant in a few places, but the vast majority of the region was completely devoid of water.

If they constructed the Karez system on a large scale, they could artificially connect various oases along the most optimal routes, completely revitalizing the entire Sea of Sand. Picturing that scene, Abner shed tears of pure happiness.

"Lord Sun Licheng, thank you for your help. Once the Karez system is completed, you will be the great benefactor of our entire Sea of Sand."

Hong Sunaibu said to Sun Licheng with a choked voice. Following that, he remembered his two brothers-in-law and the people who had died in the past, and sorrow welled up inside him. He wept bitterly, crying out, "Why didn't the heavenly gods send you to the Sea of Sand sooner? We sandfolk have suffered far too much! So many people died for this water channel, and it was all completely meaningless!"

Hong Sunaibu's weeping instantly moved all the sandfolk to burst into loud, bitter sobs.

"Envoy of the Gods, let's do it this way. If there is anything you need me to do, just say the word, and I, Barak, will not refuse."

The necromancer possessed deep emotions; with tear-filled eyes, he pounded his chest and shouted.

As for Caroline, her eyes were already sparkling with stars, wishing she could chase everyone else out immediately so Sun Licheng could feel her fiery affection.

"Alright! Since everyone agrees, we start working tomorrow! Let's save the entire Sea of Sand!"

Seeing that the morale was high, Sun Licheng stood up and shouted to the crowd.

"Yes!"

The others in the cave stood up as well, responding with a thunderous roar. Yet, upon closer inspection, one would notice a flash of shrewd light in the eyes of Solomon the half-elf, accompanied by a cold, sinister smirk at the corner of his mouth.