Chapter 100: Seawall
The Flowery Dragon even forgot to flap his wings and landed on the ground with a “thump,” tilting his head and asking blankly:
“Build… build a sea dike?”
“Revive… the Nine Heavens Tree?”
Could the Nine Heavens Tree really be revived?!
Chu Jiu squatted down, looking at the pink Flowery Dragon in front of him: “Yes, build a sea dike and revive the Nine Heavens Tree.”
“Building a sea dike” was definitely not an easy task. Even in ancient China, building a sea dike that could truly withstand the tides required the hard work of hundreds or thousands of people, and years or even decades.
However, from the very beginning’s waterwheels and mills, to the terraced fields of the Galewind Rock, the pastures of the Frost Shadow Hills, the roads connecting the villages…
Which one was easy?
We’ve done other difficult things before, and we can do this one too!
Just then, the system notification sounded:
[Congratulations to the host for achieving the hidden condition ‘Protection of the Nine Heavens Tree’?]
[The description of related hidden materials has now been unlocked. The host can trigger corresponding illustration cards when collecting in the map.]
[‘Lower Reaches of the Nether River Sea Dike’ dedicated facility blueprint X1 has been obtained] [Precautions: Please use the materials flexibly to efficiently advance the pioneering efforts!]
“Use the materials flexibly”?
Since the system gave such a prompt, it seemed that the materials needed for this facility construction were unusual.
Thinking this way, Chu Jiu took out the [Sea Dike] facility blueprint from the background and spread it out in front of him to examine it carefully.
This blueprint actually had dozens of thick pages. Judging from the “schematic diagram” on the first page, this kind of sea dike was first built with thick, long wooden stakes to form the foundation, and then thick stone blocks were layered and staggered to form the base stone. A strong adhesive would be used to connect the stone blocks, and connecting components would be used for reinforcement.
This layered stone dike, combined with a moderate curved alignment, allowed the stone blocks to tightly interlock, maximizing the prevention of wave impact with limited materials.
It was indeed a sea dike sufficient to change the entire situation of the lower reaches of the Nether River.
Chu Jiu skipped the detailed descriptions in the middle and directly flipped to the final [Material Requirements Table].
Stone and wood: 3000 units each—these were the most common materials.
Although the required quantity was large, with the jungle and mountains behind him, he could always collect them.
Strong adhesive: 50 units—he still had 90 units of Slime Sticky Glue in his backpack, which was completely enough.
Iron tenon: 300 units—
This was more troublesome.
[Iron Tenon: A metal block wide at both ends and narrow in the middle, used as a connecting component for stone materials to reinforce stone slabs and prevent them from shifting out of alignment.]
Simply put, it was a necessary iron block for fixing stones.
The blueprint required 300 iron tenons.
And each iron tenon required 3 units of iron ore.
This meant that he needed to prepare 900 units of iron ore and smelt it into the appropriate shape to gather the basic materials needed to build the sea dike.
There were only 50 units of iron ore left in his backpack, all of which were the “price” paid by the little squirrels after purchasing items at “Chu Jiu’s Little Shop.”
First of all, the raw materials were insufficient.
…Could he try to collect it?
Chu Jiu closed his eyes and began to use [Treasure Hunter’s Target] to locate [Iron Ore].
After a moment, he opened his eyes and sighed.
There was no iron ore at all in the map of the “Nether Jungle.”
And to be honest, even if there really was iron ore, it would most likely be buried deep underground—after all, even on the entire Earth, only a very few countries had iron ore that was “exposed on the surface and very easy to mine.”
In this case, without the help of the little squirrels, it would be impossible for him to dig out iron ore with just a shovel.
Moreover, even if he could dig out iron ore, how to smelt “iron ore” into “iron ingots” was also a big problem.
What to do?
Quickly return to the Carrot Continent and ask the little squirrels to smelt 300 iron tenons?
Chu Jiu’s heart stirred, and he asked the Flowery Dragon, “Kui’zai, if the Nether Flowers bloom again, how long is their flowering period?”
The Flowery Dragon replied very confidently: “From August to December! I heard the high priest say so, it won’t be wrong!”
Chu Jiu lowered his head and roughly calculated on the sand with the conch shell: the carrying capacity of the long-voyage ship, the weight of the iron tenons, the time required for a round trip…
The calculation results were not optimistic.
Even assuming the most favorable situation: Clara’s ship was large enough to transport such heavy iron products, the round trip was smooth sailing without any accidents, and the little squirrels could collect enough iron ore and smelt it in the shortest possible time, it would still take about 4 months to gather 300 iron tenons.
Building the sea dike after 4 months would mean missing the flowering period of the Nether Flowers, and thus missing the once-in-two-centuries opportunity for the Nine Heavens Tree to be reborn.
Chu Jiu bit his lip: The road of returning to the Carrot Continent to fetch materials and reinforcements was a dead end.
…What to do?
Chu Jiu frowned, squatting on the beach watching the sunset and the “long-voyage ship” reflecting the afterglow.
The Flowery Dragon had only known Chu Jiu for two days and wasn’t familiar with his various expressions. But the other little guys, especially Little Can, how could they not see that he was worried?
The little black cat jumped onto Chu Jiu’s shoulder and gently nuzzled his face.
Hoho Rabbit and Kakaba also jumped down from the backpack and gently hugged Chu Jiu’s arm with their little paws.
Glup-Glup, turning the small leaves on top of his head, flew in front of Chu Jiu: “Glup-Glup, Glup-Glup, the sea dike we are going to build this time is actually a kind of dam…”
Chu Jiu: “That’s right.”
Glup-Glup, as usual, was a little shy and said softly:
“Um, well, Glup-Glup and Big Beaver built a dam on the Wheat River together.”
“Glup-Glup, Glup-Glup, if Chu Jiu encounters any difficulties, maybe Glup-Glup can help…”
Chu Jiu smiled and touched Glup-Glup’s small leaves: “Thank you, Glup-Glup.”
“Actually, every time we build any facility, we can’t do without Glup-Glup.”
“Glup-Glup is an omnipotent construction master…”
Glup-Glup became even more shy: “Glup-Glup, I’m not any construction master…”
“That ‘Nine Heavens Tree’ senior who has already fallen asleep, in Glup-Glup’s opinion, is the most amazing construction master.”
“It didn’t even need other materials, it just used its own roots to build the sea dike…”
Chu Jiu: !!!
That’s right!
He had been so focused on thinking about materials based on the blueprint, how could he have forgotten this!
Weren’t all the “natural sea dikes” of the past made of roots?
Weren’t the roots of the Nine Heavens Tree as hard as iron and stone to the touch?
While shouting “Thank you, Glup-Glup!” again, Chu Jiu ran quickly towards the “reef” on the shore.
Just now, the system had prompted him that “related hidden materials have been unlocked.” If he wasn’t mistaken, this “reef,” the roots left behind by the Nine Heavens Tree, was the hidden material!
The moment Chu Jiu touched the “reef,” the system indeed prompted:
[Congratulations to the host for discovering the hidden material—Withered Roots of the Nine Heavens Tree.
This part of the root has completely withered and has no vitality left.
After withering, the cut surface of the root will show a faint metallic luster.
Rather than being a part of a plant, it is more like a type of ore?
If it is smelted with a special flame, perhaps a hard special metal can be obtained?]
Hard metal!
This could definitely serve as a substitute for iron!
Chu Jiu immediately took out the special machete made from [Shieldskin Fish Bone Plates] and collected 3 units of [Withered Roots of the Nine Heavens Tree].
It turned out that a whole “reef” could only provide three usable materials. To collect enough roots, he would have to dig through the sand afterwards.
At the same time, he also had to find a way to obtain the “special flame” to smelt these roots and obtain [Hard Metal] to make [Iron Tenons].
Special flame…
Chu Jiu narrowed his eyes and quickly made a torch with [Grease], [Wood], and [Cloth], then roasted a small pile of roots over the torch.
Ten minutes passed, and the roots didn’t change at all, not even a hint of burning smell.
As expected, ordinary flames had no effect.
Chu Jiu turned his head and looked at the little Flowery Dragon, who had been curiously staring at him with wide eyes.
Flowery Dragon: ?
Chu Jiu smiled and, holding up the roots, said to the Flowery Dragon, “Kui’zai, come on, try spitting some fire.”
The Flowery Dragon was a little shy: “Huh? Ah. I only breathed fire at you before because I thought you were intruders. Now you are honored guests, how could I be so rude…”
Chu Jiu: “Spit it out. For the sea dike.”
The Flowery Dragon’s big eyes were full of confusion, not understanding how “breathing fire” was related to “sea dike.”
But seeing Chu Jiu’s encouraging gaze and Glup-Glup’s gesture of “Kui’zai, go for it,” the Flowery Dragon still retreated slightly, then took a deep breath, and another deep breath…
His face flushed red, his tail stiffened, and sweat beaded on his forehead.
Watching the Flowery Dragon straining to breathe fire, Chu Jiu suddenly understood why, at the beginning, when Kui’zai wore a white bone mask trying to scare him away, it took so long.
It turned out that the pre-animation for this skill was so long.
Finally! Kui’zai had held his breath long enough!
He closed his eyes and forcefully spat outwards!
Pfft!
Bright flames burst out and hit the roots.
Chu Jiu remembered clearly that this little flame hadn’t even been able to cook a meat skewer.
But the same small burst of flame made the [Withered Roots of the Nine Heavens Tree], which hadn’t changed at all no matter how he roasted them, become soft and droopy like plasticine.
Chu Jiu smiled: As expected of dragon flames.
This was the “special flame” needed to smelt the withered roots!
He put away the roots, looked at the gradually darkening sky, and said to the Flowery Dragon and the spirit beasts, “It’s getting late, let’s go back to the tribe first.”
He had to quickly discuss with the red dragons, get the “land manager’s” consent, and then start work immediately!
“…The protection of the Nine Heavens Tree actually refers to a dike that blocks the waves.” After listening to Chu Jiu’s explanation, the two red dragons were first extremely surprised, then murmured, “However, this does explain something we couldn’t understand when we were young.”
“We never understood back then why those elders who wanted to ‘restore the protection’ all ended up drowning in the water…”
“Thinking about it now, perhaps they wanted to rebuild the dike in their own way, but the result was…”
The red dragons shook their heads and sighed.
After a moment of silence, the two red dragons told Chu Jiu frankly and sincerely:
They were willing to use the full strength of the entire tribe to rebuild this dike.
Whether it was manpower or materials, as long as they had it, they would provide it without reservation.
After all, this was for their own tribe, for their own dwelling place.
Chu Jiu’s expression was solemn: “If we want to build the sea dike and manage the riverbank within the flowering period of the ‘Nether Flower,’ then we really don’t have a minute to spare.”
He laid out the brief action plan he had just written and the [Facility Blueprint for the Lower Reaches of the Nether River Sea Dike] in front of the two red dragons.
He told the red dragons:
They needed to send out enough dragons to dig through the sand, cut down the completely withered roots of the Nine Heavens Tree, use “dragon flames” to refine them, and then strictly follow the shape on the facility blueprint to make a full 300 iron tenons.
At the same time, a portion of the dragons would also be responsible for cutting down trees and grinding stones to make wooden stakes and foundation stones.
After the first batch of materials was fully prepared, another group of dragons would be separated to follow Glup-Glup’s instructions and start building the stone dike on the shore.
After the stone dike began to take shape, another group of dragons would follow Hoho Rabbit to manage the river channel and clear the silt from the riverbanks.
The most perfect result would be that the day the sea dike was completed, the riverbank silt would also be cleared.
In this way, under Rawr Rawr Rabbit’s ability, the land on both sides of the riverbank could be restored to “cultivable land” in the fastest possible time, allowing the Nether Flowers to bloom upon it.
While Chu Jiu spoke, the mother dragon continuously recorded and calculated on a wooden board with her claws.
After a moment, the mother dragon raised her head: “If twenty adult dragons form a group, even if three groups work simultaneously, our manpower should be sufficient.”
She thought for a moment and added, “I heard that twenty adult dragons… can at least equal the efficiency of 200 adult humans.”
Chu Jiu nodded: “That should be enough.”
But the mother dragon was still a little worried: “However, they have never encountered such complex matters… once the actual work starts, they might be in a flurry…”
Chu Jiu said, “It’s okay, as long as they completely follow the instructions of Glup-Glup and Rawr Rawr Rabbit, there won’t be any major problems.”
Moreover, I have a supplementary measure here…
As long as this “supplementary measure” is in place, there’s no need to worry about “proficiency” and “later fatigue.”
That day, Chu Jiu and the two red dragons discussed until late at night, talking about all sorts of details.
Although the two red dragons repeatedly “sternly” asked Kui’hui to go back to sleep, and Chu Jiu also told the spirit beast babies to rest first, both the Flowery Dragon and the spirit beast babies kept their eyes wide open and stayed by their side, unwilling to go back first.
In the end, Kui’zai fell asleep hugging Glup-Glup.
Glup-Glup also drooped his small leaves and snored against Kui’zai.
While carefully picking up Kui’zai, the mother dragon looked at Chu Jiu’s spirit beasts curiously: “Huh? Why does it seem like one is missing?”
Wasn’t there still a little capybara yesterday? Could it have gotten lost in the tribe?
Chu Jiu said, “It has another task and won’t be in the tribe for the time being, so don’t worry.”
The mother dragon didn’t ask any further.
Here, Chu Jiu put away the facility blueprint and asked the father dragon, “Do you want to keep this ‘action plan’?”
I wrote this very carefully! It’s written very clearly!
The father dragon said, “Oh, that thing, wasn’t that plan written in human characters? We didn’t understand it anyway, so no need.”
Chu Jiu, who had carefully written out the plan stroke by stroke: …
He also put away the plan, holding back his tears: “Ha, haha, okay, okay.”
You! You clearly can understand the facility blueprint!
It’s clearly the same writing!
Lu Qingyan even praised my writing before as “a unique kind of beautiful”!
*
Starting the next day, the entire Red Dragon tribe, according to Chu Jiu’s plan, eagerly began digging pits, cutting down trees, and grinding stones.
It had to be said that their strength, speed, and load-bearing capacity far exceeded that of humans.
Pits that humans needed to laboriously dig for half a day with shovels, they could excavate with a few swipes of their claws.
Tree roots that humans needed the sharpest axes to cut through, they still used their claws, “swoosh swoosh,” and severed them.
The “root plasticine” that humans didn’t dare touch because it was scorching hot after being roasted by dragon flames, they actually treated like plasticine,? (ni? – pinching) it in their hands and playing with it.
And so on.
The mother dragon’s estimate of “one adult dragon’s efficiency = ten adult humans’ efficiency” was not an exaggeration at all, and even seemed slightly conservative.
After three weeks of such enthusiastic work, the first batch of materials was all in place, and they could begin building the sea dike.
At this point, Chu Jiu and Glup-Glup already had several experiences of “jointly constructing large-scale facilities with other races.”
Together with the father dragon, Chu Jiu organized the red dragons into teams and distributed detailed “operation flowcharts” for each step, clearly defining the daily progress. Chu Jiu had already planned these things thoroughly and carried them out methodically.
On Glup-Glup’s side, in addition to independently being responsible for a complete part of the construction, it also had to concurrently serve as the on-site general commander, general coordinator, and general supervisor, spinning around like a flying top, constantly monitoring whether anything was wrong and whether there was any place where it needed to directly intervene…
And the little sunflower always followed behind Glup-Glup, wherever Glup-Glup went, it went, practically a flying top number two.
During this period, the other two spirit beast babies were not idle either.
Every day, Rawr Rawr Rabbit circled along the Nether River and even jumped into the river several times to survey.
Chu Jiu had mentioned to it that for riverbank tidal flats, one way to transform them was to “pile up the silt dredged from the river channel and use this silt to plant trees.”
So Rawr Rawr Rabbit had to figure out in advance how much mud to dig, where to pile it after digging, and what kind of trees could be planted on the mud…
Little Can would also stroll around near the Nether River.
It was there to “catch fish.”
Because Chu Jiu had noticed that all the strong adult dragons who were capable of fishing and hunting had been sent to build the sea dike.
The rest were either too old to even fly with difficulty, or baby dragons who couldn’t speak yet.
And “building a sea dike” was a very physically demanding task.
Therefore, the food supply had to keep up.
Knowing that the Dragon Clan tribe had practically no surplus food, Chu Jiu entrusted the task of “replenishing food” to Little Can.
For this little black cat, “catching fish” was as easy as blowing off dust.
So, every morning, Little Can would go to the river and “scratch” a few times, and then cause a “fish rain” to fall on the shore.
After that, several elderly dragons would drag the large bamboo baskets woven for them by Chu Jiu, load the fish into the baskets, and then devoutly bow and thank Little Can.
Little Can, who usually couldn’t be bothered with anyone, would stand upright when facing these elderly dragons, conveying with its demeanor: You’re welcome, don’t be polite.
Time flew by, and it was October.
Half of the sea dike had been built.
But both Chu Jiu and the two high priest dragons noticed that the efficiency of the Dragon Clan was decreasing.
The progress that could be completed in half a day in the past now required a day or even longer.
For the “construction team” that had been working continuously for two months, this was actually unavoidable.
Every day, from morning till night, except for eating and sleeping, they were moving bricks—literally moving bricks. Even if the Dragon Clan had excellent physical fitness and abundant energy, they couldn’t withstand such an overworked arrangement.
However, there was no choice, time was too tight.
The Dragon Clan themselves knew: missing this flowering period meant waiting another two hundred years.
So even if they were so tired that they couldn’t even flap their wings, no one suggested taking a rest; even though the mother dragon’s eyes were full of worry, fearing that the young dragons in the tribe would work themselves sick, she didn’t order a work stoppage.
It was Glup-Glup who first found Chu Jiu: “Glup-Glup, how about, how about leaving the rest to Glup-Glup?”
Based on Glup-Glup’s work efficiency, if it worked day and night without rest, it could also be completed in another half a month.
The Flowery Dragon, who could now understand Glup-Glup’s words with a mix of guessing, was the first to shake his head angrily:
“No! Absolutely not!”
“This is our dike to protect the tribe!”
“How can such a project be entrusted to a small tree like you!”
“Our Dragon Clan absolutely will not allow such a thing!”
Chu Jiu knew that with the pride ingrained in the Dragon Clan’s bones, they would absolutely not be willing to “lie aside while letting others work themselves to death.”
He patted Glup-Glup and then the Flowery Dragon: “You don’t need to worry, our ‘reinforcements’ will arrive soon.”
Reinforcements?
The Flowery Dragon was confused, not understanding what Chu Jiu was talking about.
But Glup-Glup’s eyes lit up: “Glup-Glup! That’s right! The time should be up!”
*
The second week of October.
This morning, the Flowery Dragon, who was preparing to go to the construction site to help move bricks, got up early and was surprised to find as soon as he flew to the coast:
Eh? Why are there two more big ships coming over from the sea?
Eh? So many small boats are coming over!
Could it be invaders? Could it be invaders?
Wait, their small boats are the same as the one Chu Jiu rode on!
The Flowery Dragon flew forward a little more, squinting his eyes and trying hard to see:
Ah! The one standing at the bow of the small boat, isn’t that the little capybara beside Chu Jiu? The one called Kakaba!
Behind Kakaba are… are… little squirrels wearing clothes?!
*
That morning, Chu Jiu brought thirty little squirrels before the high priest dragons.
Without Chu Jiu needing to say much, the two red dragons were already constantly exclaiming in surprise:
This, isn’t this the dwarf beastmen who are best at smelting, mining, and building? Not to mention the entire Carrot Continent, even we on the other side of the sea have heard of them!
But, how did they appear here?
Chu Jiu smiled and told them: This was an arrangement he had made the first time he decided on the “building the sea dike” plan.
On that very day, he had Kakaba take his “personal letter” and A Li, riding the “ten-clawed fish,” across the ocean back to the Carrot Continent at the fastest speed, and then contacted the dwarf beastmen’s chief and the human city lord, arranging for manpower and ships to rush to their aid at full speed.
Now, at this moment when the Dragon Clan was already exhausted, this group of the best construction workers had arrived on time!
From now on, the Dragon Clan could take turns working shifts with the little squirrels and no longer had to work continuously for sixteen hours!
After listening to what Chu Jiu said, the high priest dragons were both moved and grateful, and hurriedly went to arrange a new work plan.
The Flowery Dragon on the side, after listening, was so surprised that his mouth hung open:
“This, this, Chu Jiu even considered this? Thought of this two months ago?”
“He… he’s so amazing?”
Glup-Glup proudly made a heart gesture beside him: Yes! This is our Chu Jiu! Super amazing!
*
The last day of November.
5 o’clock in the morning.
It was high tide again.
The seawater, just like many years ago, flowed, roared, surged, rushed towards the estuary, swallowed the beach, and thrust towards the river channel—
Splash! Splash!
The surging seawater all crashed against the stone fortress!
A group of dragons flying in the sky let out almost wailing sounds: “Blocked! Blocked! The seawater is blocked!”
Another fiercer, higher, more violent surge!
This wave still failed to break through the sea dike!
Again!
The seawater attacked tirelessly, while the sea dike stood firm, silent, on the shore.
Finally, the power of the tide weakened.
Swish, swish, the seawater receded.
At this time, the sky had already brightened.
Under the winter sun, a group of red dragons with outstretched wings hugged each other and cried into tear-dragons.
The loudest cry came from the pink Flowery Dragon.
*
The fifth day of December.
The Nether Flowers bloomed.
Blooming on the banks where green trees grew densely.
The fifteenth day of December.
On the dark brown, stone-like bark of the Nine Heavens Tree, beyond the moss and vines, a bit of different green appeared.
The tenth day of January, Big Can, carrying Chu Jiu and accompanied by the Flowery Dragon, flew to the top of the Nine Heavens Tree.
There, Chu Jiu saw the “flowers of the Nine Heavens Tree.”
Large, deep purple flowers, in the mist-shrouded canopy, were like treasures that only appeared in dreams.
*
The first day of February.
The Nine Heavens Tree bore fruit.
According to the promise of the high priest dragons, they would pick the fruit of the Nine Heavens Tree and give it to Chu Jiu.
Chu Jiu had previously heard the Flowery Dragon say that because the Nine Heavens Tree was a divine tree in the tribe, “picking the fruit” had never been done before.
Even his parents didn’t know what would happen after the fruit was picked.
Chu Jiu had asked the Flowery Dragon at the time, “Then where did the previous fruits go, if they were never picked?”
The Flowery Dragon scratched his little head in confusion: “Ah, this, this I don’t know…”
“After all, the Nine Heavens Tree has been withered for two hundred years… things from two hundred years ago… no one knows anymore…”
“There seems to be a saying that on the day the Nine Heavens Tree bears fruit, there will be thunderstorms or something. After the thunderstorms, it seems all the fruits of the Nine Heavens Tree disappear?”
After the thunderstorms, all the fruits disappeared?
After hearing what the Flowery Dragon said, Chu Jiu looked at the Nine Heavens Tree that soared straight into the clouds, and a nearly absurd guess suddenly formed in his mind.
Finally, it was time to “pick the fruit.”
This day, for some reason, even though it was February, the sky was covered with dark clouds, as if a heavy rain was about to fall at any moment.
In such oppressive weather, the two high priest dragons, the Flowery Dragon, and Chu Jiu all flew to the top of the Nine Heavens Tree.
Logically, it was early spring.
But Chu Jiu clearly felt that the wind here was even colder than in January.
Moreover, this wind seemed to be blowing directly down from the sky…
Chu Jiu said softly in his heart: How strange.
The Big Can beside him had been constantly staring at the sky since just now, as if there was something in the clouds.
Chu Jiu followed Big Can’s gaze to look at the clouds, then lowered his head to look at the “fruit of the Nine Heavens Tree” beside him.
A purple fruit.
Compared to the astonishing size of the tree, this fruit was not too big.
At this moment, the father dragon came to Chu Jiu:
“The eternal friend of the Dragon Clan, the respected pioneer, Chu Jiu—”
“Please allow me to pick the fruit of the Nine Heavens Tree for you, to help you find the Nine Heavens Jiaolong.”
Having said that, the two high priest dragons flew one after the other to the side of the fruit of the Nine Heavens Tree.
The moment their claws touched the deep purple fruit, a thunderclap suddenly exploded in the sky!
Big Can let out a low roar towards the sky!
Chu Jiu understood Big Can’s roar.
His heart tightened, and he shouted, “Don’t pick it! Whatever you do, don’t pick it!”
“I think the Nine Heavens Jiaolong will come to take the fruit itself!”
The high priest dragons all turned their heads, looking at Chu Jiu in surprise.
Chu Jiu pointed at the dark clouds that seemed about to press down overhead and shouted loudly, “The Nine Heavens Jiaolong, very likely, lives in the sky!”
