Before the village chief could respond to the two children, Li Hai spoke first: "Children, you two don't have to be sacrifices to that damned Salt God anymore. Go home quickly and find your parents."

To their surprise, upon hearing this, the two young children exchanged glances, then shook their heads in refusal: "No, no, we are the designated sacrifices. We are to be eaten by the Salt God. If the Salt God is hungry, our village will suffer disaster."

"That's right, Captain," the old village chief chimed in.

"Our Yu Family Village has been doing this for over a hundred years. It's always been this way; everyone is already used to it."

"Just because it's always been this way, does that make it right?" Li Hai said coldly, his eyes glinting with a cold light as he looked at the old village chief.

He had come to realize that to persuade the foolish men and women of Yu Family Village, to save those two children and even more children, he first had to deal with this old man.

But simply killing him would be useless; it would only make the remaining villagers' stance even more resolute, unless he killed them all.

So now, there was only one way.

That was to control the village chief's mind and consciousness.

To make him an eager supporter of all Li Hai's upcoming actions, rather than a stubborn obstructionist.

And controlling a person's mind was as simple as eating and drinking for Li Hai.

There was no need for the Formless Evil Spirit possession; a single yellow Talismanic Incantation could suppress his spirit and confuse his mind, allowing him to be used like an ox or horse.

Even the pure Mental Energy brought by 【Spiritual Focus Level 2】 was enough to suppress and control the old man's thoughts.

Li Hai did exactly that.

His eyes glowed with an eerie light, and through eye contact, he immediately caused the old village chief's brain to go blank, his body stiffening in place.

Then, a second later, the old village chief returned to normal, only his gaze towards Li Hai had transformed from wariness and fear to respect and adoration.

And after his gaze shifted, the village chief immediately glanced at all the villagers, deliberately raising his voice and saying: "Captain, you are right! We really can't keep offering sacrifices like this, otherwise, what if the Salt God's appetite grows one day, so much that he needs to eat ten or eight children every month? What then? Our village doesn't have that many children to feed him!"

As soon as these words were spoken, all the villagers present looked at each other, thought for a moment, and then couldn't help but nod vigorously.

The village chief was right.

Eating two children every three months, they could still afford that.

But if they had to eat ten or eight children every month, then their Yu Family Village... would become extinct!

Upon realizing this, the villagers' blind fear of the Salt God quietly diminished a great deal, and even a hint of resentment began to brew within their numb hearts.

But just then, the two children who were to be sacrificed spoke again, saying anxiously: "But... but if the Salt God truly brings disaster, won't Dad and Mom, and little brother and sister, and the entire village... won't they all be finished?"

"Don't worry," Li Hai smiled. "With me here, your village won't suffer any disaster."

With that, he raised his right hand, revealing the word "hell" glowing in his palm, and aimed it at the Li Lake before him... and began to absorb.

Whoosh—

Under the suction of the Cave Heaven portal, a massive water spout immediately surged up from the surface of Li Lake, rumbling and swirling into Li Hai's palm, landing in a desolate valley within the Gui You Cave Heaven Donglin Garden.

The terrain there was sunken like a basin, perfect for holding lake water.

That's right, Li Hai's plan was to directly drain the entire Li Lake.

"You're a lake god, aren't you? Fine, I'll drain your lake, let's see if you show yourself!" Li Hai's idea and actions were simple and brutal, but they terrified all the villagers of Yu Family Village, who had never seen anything like this.

"Water Dragon King! This is the Water Dragon King!" The old village chief, now incredibly quick-witted, immediately knelt down and kowtowed like pounding garlic, while continuously muttering phrases like "Dragon King bless us."

Seeing the village chief kneel down, the Yu Family villagers not far away also knelt on the ground, kowtowing continuously while shouting heartbreakingly, "Dragon King bless us!" Even the two children who had just woken up did the same.

Thus, under everyone's prostration, this river god sacrifice ritual instantly transformed into a water pumping operation... no, it was a Dragon King water absorption scene.

On site, every second, tens of thousands of cubic meters or even more lake water were absorbed by Li Hai's single palm into the Gui You Cave Heaven Donglin Garden, becoming his future 'blood bottle' reserves, constantly increasing by thousands of tons.

"Too slow, too slow."

After absorbing water for a while, Li Hai couldn't help but raise his other hand, opening another Cave Heaven portal, and began absorbing water with both portals.

Whoosh~ Whoosh~ Whoosh~

Instantly, his water absorption power increased to another level.

But even so, Li Hai, who had absorbed countless tens of thousands of tons of water, was still not satisfied, still feeling it was too slow.

So, a few seconds later, he actually leaped up, jumping completely into the Li Lake, immersing himself entirely in the lake water, then opening Cave Heaven portals all over his body, beginning a 360-degree all-around water absorption.

And the surface of Li Lake, which was already turbulent with waves, instantly became agitated with surging waves, beginning to rush wildly and furiously towards the human-shaped 'water abyss' that was Li Hai beneath the water, at a rate of countless tens of thousands of cubic meters per second.

For a time, Li Lake, an inland small saltwater lake that had never stirred up any major storms, began to erupt with monstrous waves and steaming water vapor under the shocked gaze of everyone in Yu Family Village, slowly sinking visibly with a boiling vortex at its center.

Whoosh~ Whoosh~

Swish swish swish~

The rising water vapor, upon encountering the immense wind high in the sky, immediately turned into rain that pounded the earth, drenching everyone in Yu Family Village like drowned rats.

But just then, the soaking wet old village chief suddenly shouted against the wind and rain: "Don't be afraid, fellow villagers! Don't be afraid, look here, everyone look at me!"

Everyone immediately looked at him upon hearing this.

Then the old village chief scanned all the villagers and asked loudly: "Fellow villagers, do you know what exactly is happening to this Li Lake?"

Everyone shook their heads in confusion.

"This is the Water Dragon King, His Majesty..." The old village chief raised his head, pointed at the boiling Li Lake, and shouted, "He's fighting that illicit Salt God at the bottom of the lake!

Once the Dragon King kills the Salt God, all of us in Yu Family Village will be completely liberated!"

"Oh oh oh!!" All the villagers were first bewildered, then immediately excited, shouting, "The Dragon King saves us from suffering, saves us from suffering!"

"So villagers!" The old village chief continued, "The Dragon King has arrived, a clear sky has come, and we are saved! Let us all kneel down and pray for the Dragon King!"

Saying this, he was the first to kneel, putting his hands together towards Li Lake and muttering prayers.

The other villagers also hurriedly knelt down, facing the churning, roaring Li Lake, and likewise began to pray in a chaotic manner.