Yang Hong's well was rather large, comparable to a small lake.
120 zhang, or 360 meters, in diameter, and 240 zhang, or 720 meters, deep. It was less like a small lake and more like a deep pool.
Under Yang Hong's control, the well water was kept at a level three inches below the rim. Moreover, due to Yang Hong's formation, the well water flowed constantly and rhythmically, fully ensuring its vitality.
This wasn't all. Yang Hong had also set up spirit-gathering formations at the bottom and on the walls of the well. Given enough time, this well water could transform into a spring of spiritual energy.
After the well was dug, it greatly benefited the villagers of Chishi Village. However, they were only allowed a small bowl of free water each day. To get more, they had to pay a price.
Yang Hong never considered himself a saint.
With the well dug, the villagers of Chishi Village were out of work. Even if they knew how to forge iron, they had little market for their wares. Eventually, Old Man Liu approached Yang Hong, begging him to find them more work.
Seeing this, Yang Hong smiled.
As the saying goes: it is easy to go from frugality to extravagance, but difficult to go from extravagance to frugality. This was the very principle.
Before Yang Hong arrived, these villagers could only struggle to survive. Yang Hong had brought them a life of happiness, and it was impossible for them to return to hardship.
"Alright, I have two new tasks for you:
First, help me cultivate land in the Gobi Desert. Just plant Hai Ting Feng.
Second, help me collect various plant seeds. These are all very simple tasks."
"Thank you~ Thank you~ Boss Yang, we will work hard. May I ask about the remuneration..."
"For planting Hai Ting Feng, it's still one small bowl of water per day. For seeds, it depends on the type, but at least one vat."
"Good~ We'll go look for them now~ We'll go right away!"
Old Man Liu left, expressing his profuse thanks. In his opinion, he had struck a great deal. He didn't realize that Yang Hong's true objective was to have them gather information everywhere, with collecting plant seeds being merely a secondary task.
Just as Yang Hong had expected, any villagers of Chishi Village who were physically strong and had received half of their water in advance from Yang Hong went out to search for plant seeds.
"Hey, you've had quite a haul this trip."
Looking at the two men, who resembled beggars with not a single intact piece of clothing on them, Yang Hong was somewhat surprised but also admired them.
At least they were willing to work hard for the sake of their mortal families. That was commendable.
"Boss Yang is joking. What harvest could we possibly have? It's just some grass seeds. Boss Yang, please take a look. How much water are these seeds worth?"
Chen Xiaohu, his rough, dark face scorched by the sun and scoured by the sand, showed a hopeful smile.
"Very well, let me see. Spirit Appraisal Art~"
Yang Hong cast a low-level spell, a Tier 1 spell, the [Spirit Appraisal Art], onto the two large cloth bags in front of them.
A chaotic, gray-white light emanated from within. Seeing this, Yang Hong's eyes lit up slightly. The presence of white light indicated that there were Tier 1 or even Tier 2 plants inside these two bags.
"Gentle Breeze~"
Yang Hong murmured softly, and a faint, gentle breeze blew from the heavens and earth. The two cloth bags were opened by this breeze, and an invisible hand of wind scattered the seeds within.
The seeds, varying in weight, were arranged by the gentle breeze into a screen wall around Yang Hong.
Even without using his divine sense, just with the Spirit Appraisal Art, Yang Hong quickly discerned the quality and quantity of these seeds.
Chen Xiaohu and Old Man Liu, witnessing his sophisticated technique, each showed a hint of regret. They had deliberately mixed the seeds together.
However, their small trick was destined to fail. Yang Hong was not an idiot or a fool. He would certainly inspect them.
Chen Xiaohu rubbed his hands and sidled up to Yang Hong, grinning shamelessly.
"Boss Yang, entering the desert is not easy for us. Our clothes are all ruined, and two villagers were injured for this. Please give us a little more."
As he spoke, Chen Xiaohu displayed his tattered attire.
"Water, 46 vats. For clothes, I'll give each of you two sets."
As for water, Yang Hong would not give any more. In the desert, water was the most precious commodity.
Even if he gave them four sets of sixteen pieces of Tier 1 magical artifact clothing, he wouldn't feel any heartache.
"This~ This is Tier 1 magical artifacts, ten~ sixteen pieces of Tier 1 magical artifacts!"
Old Man Liu, who had been standing silently behind Chen Xiaohu, rushed forward, grabbed the clothes Yang Hong had thrown on the ground, his face flushed with surprise and joy.
"What~ These are Tier 1 magical artifacts!"
Chen Xiaohu also exclaimed and lunged onto the ground, joining Old Man Liu in scrambling for the clothes like starving dogs.
Seeing this, Yang Hong's lips curved upwards again. Everything was proceeding as he had planned.
"Tier 1 magical artifacts are much more valuable than water."
"Worth it~ So worth it! Thank you, Boss Yang~"
Afterward, Yang Hong casually inquired about the situation outside the sect. Initially, it was fine, but finally, Old Man Liu said with some hesitation:
"Boss Yang, you'd best seal the well now. Great calamity is about to befall us."
"Oh~ What calamity? Is it the Xu family from Linghu Town causing trouble again?"
"No! It's a sandstorm. The sandstorm of the Junshi Desert is about to arrive."
"Isn't it just a sandstorm? Chishi Village encounters sandstorms once every ten to fifteen days. We're used to it."
Initially, Yang Hong was unconcerned about the so-called calamity. Upon hearing it was a sandstorm, he became even more nonchalant.
Since arriving at Chishi Village, Yang Hong had grown accustomed to sandstorms occurring at least once every ten days to a month.
Once a sandstorm arose, fierce tornadoes, carrying immense amounts of yellow sand, would descend like dark clouds.
The sand within the sandstorm, accelerated by the tornadoes, possessed a power no less than the attack of a peak Tier 1 Qi Refining cultivator.
Any cultivator below the Foundation Establishment stage, or mortals, exposed to a sandstorm would surely perish.
Only upon nearing the Zikun Mountain Range would the sandstorm gradually cease due to the mountains' obstruction.
This was also why people only survived on the Gobi Desert's outer edge, near the Zikun Mountain Range.
Of course, there were still many scattered oases within the Junshi Desert, where quite a few humans and demons lived.
However, in the vast expanse between the Zikun Mountain Range and the Junshi Desert, neither humans nor demons resided.
The reason was...
"Boss Yang, this sandstorm is completely different from the ones we usually encounter.
The highest damage intensity of normal sandstorms is only Tier 1, at most barely reaching the level of a Tier 2 Foundation Establishment cultivator."
Seeing Yang Hong's indifference, Old Man Liu said with some urgency.
"Boss Yang, the sandstorm that is about to arrive has a saying in the Junshi Desert: 'Black Despair'!"
"'Black Despair'? The name sounds rather terrifying."
Hearing Old Man Liu's words, Yang Hong slightly tempered his nonchalance.
"Let me put it this way, 'Black Despair' is a great disaster that erupts unpredictably, occurring only about once every 30 years. Under 'Black Despair,' any building with defenses less than Tier 5 will be destroyed. Humans and demons who have not reached the Tier 5 Nascent Soul stage have absolutely no chance of survival."
"Although 'Black Despair' rapidly weakens as it approaches the Zikun Mountain Range, its power will still be no less than that of a Tier 3 Fusion stage cultivator."
"Our small village would have to hide underground and only emerge after the sandstorm has passed."
"Hmm~"
Only after listening to Old Man Liu's explanation did Yang Hong become slightly more concerned.
The well indeed needed to be sealed. Otherwise, even if the sandstorm itself couldn't destroy the well, the immense amount of sand that settled would surely bury it, potentially even forming a treacherous quicksand swamp.
"Alright, I understand. Approximately when will this 'Black Despair' arrive?"
"Within five days at the longest, two days at the shortest. We only rushed back after we discovered that 'Black Despair' had erupted."
"Boss Yang, look at the western horizon. Is that a reddish-yellow line? That is the 'Black Despair'."
Following Old Man Liu's pointing finger, Yang Hong indeed saw a faint line on the western horizon, resembling the clouds of a sunset fire. If Old Man Liu hadn't mentioned it, Yang Hong wouldn't have noticed it.
He then looked at the old man with a peculiar expression.
"Old Man Liu, if I hadn't produced those Tier 1 magical artifact clothes, would you have told me about this?"
"Impossible~ Impossible~ Absolutely impossible!"