Chapter 34 – Entering the Raindragon Guard (2/2)

“When one of you dies, the talisman becomes an ownerless object. Thus, we Raindragon Guards would immediately become aware of it,” the fat elder said. “Right now, fifty two of the talismans are in good shape, while the others are ownerless.”

Ning and Northson now both understood. So that tiny little talisman they had received…actually had this secret hidden with it. The Raindragon Guard’s methods really were unpredictable.

“Senior,” Northson asked, “A while ago, my senior apprentice-brother and I came back to send some ordinary mortals here. Those ordinary mortals who had been corralled and raised as livestock by the monsters…how are they doing?”

“Yes, are they doing alright?” Ning asked.

The fat elder said, somewhat surprised, “Oh, it was you two who sent them over? Don’t worry; of course they are doing alright. We Raindragon Guards will naturally take care of those pitiable tribesmen; however, they were teleported away long ago and left the Gaol Mountains long ago. We Raindragon Guards will take good care of them.”

Ning nodded slightly. That was good. Only, he didn’t know…what that little kid called ‘Ironboy’ would end up like.

“Let’s go.” Ning immediately moved with Northson to one side. With but a flick of their fingers, they each pointed towards a boulder that had been chopped flat. Crackle…frost appeared, instantly covering the stones with a layer of ice. These boulders were used for the Raindragon Guards who had come here to rest on, but with so much wind and dust swirling about, they had naturally been quite dirty. After Ning and Northson revealed this ability, quite a few nearby cultivators looked towards them.

Dire-ice?

Soon, cultivators came over to chat with the two of them. Ning and Northson chatted with them, making quite a few friends amongst them.

……..

One surviving cultivator after another hurried back from locations throughout the wild marshes of the Gaol Mountains. Eastriver Cloudsoar, who both Ning and Northson recognized, returned as well. However, Cloudsoar returned with only one arm, and the baleful aura around him was much stronger than it had been in the past. This caused quite a bit of silent discussion amongst the various cultivators.

“What happened?” Northson sent mentally, “In the past, Eastriver Cloudsoar was quite the talker; why is it that he’s grown so much colder? And he’s lost an arm…but it’s just an arm. All he needs to do is eat a spirit-pill that allows the regeneration of limbs. In addition, Wanxiang Adepts can also slowly regrow their arms by using their elemental ki. Why hasn’t he done so at all?”

Ning shook his head. He, too, had noticed…that after this tempering experience, Cloudsoar seemed to have changed dramatically.

In the blink of an eye, half a day passed. More cultivators returned. “Look, Meng Liuqing!” Northson sent mentally to Ning, “She’s the only survivor of those six Immortal cultivators who tried to gang up on us.”

“Meng Liuqing?” Ning saw this female cultivator of the Meng clan arrive as well. She descended from the skies. Upon seeing Ning and Northson, her face changed slightly. She immediately turned and was about to walk to one side, when…

“Meng Liuqing!”

A fierce voice rang out.

Meng Liuqing turned her head, only to see a one-armed, white-robed youth, filled with a baleful aura that reached the heavens, and whose eyes were filled with an icy light. “I, Eastriver Cloudsoar, will definitely avenge my slain younger sister. Meng Liuqing…prepare for your death! And the other five…I won’t spare any of you!” As the disciple of the Eastriver clan, he dared to say these words openly and directly!

“The other five?” Meng Liuqing shook her head. “I don’t know about Dong One, but the other four…Northriver Zhou, Xu Manquan, Nongsan, and Jihe…are already dead.”

Cloudsoar was stunned. “Dead?”

All the surrounding cultivators looked towards them as well. Dead? Four Wanxiang Adepts had died? These cultivators all grew curious…what exactly had happened?

“They died in the hands of the two disciples of the Black-White College.” Meng Liuqing glanced sideways towards Ning and Northson. Enmity had been created between her and the two of them; naturally, she didn’t mind giving the two of them a bit of extra trouble. Earlier, she had intentionally reported the names of those four, so that the friends and family members of the four would know who had done the deed.

“You b*tch!” Northson instantly rose to his feet and roared with fury, “Previously, the six of you tried to ambush and sneak attack the two of us. Four of you died, and now, you are still trying to plot against us? Listen up, you b*tch! In the future, you’d best never run into me. If I do, I’ll take your life!”

“Right.” Ning stared coldly towards her as well. Unfortunately, this was the encampment of the Raindragon Guards; no one dared to fight here. As for Meng Liuqing, she just gave Ning and Northson a cold glance; since there was already enmity between them, why fear this additional threat?

“Fellow Daoists Ji Ning and Mu Northson.” Eastriver Cloudsoar turned to look towards Ning and Northson, then bowed deeply. “Those six didn’t go kill Diremonsters; instead, they came to ambush and kill us, fellow cultivators. They deserved to die in your hands, fellow Daoists. In the future, if either of you need anything, fellow Daoists, just let me know; I, Eastriver Cloudsoar, will definitely comply, even if I have to go through water or climb past fire.”

“You are too courteous. We, too, were ambushed and attacked, so we simply dealt with them.” Ning and Northson hurriedly went over to raise Cloudsoar from his bow.

………

Soon, all of the remaining, surviving cultivators had returned. Adept Redleaf returned as well! Only, Adept Redleaf had no idea that it had been Ji Ning and Mu Northson within that formation! Still, he had heard the Dragonwhale King say something about ‘blame Ji Ning’, and so he naturally gave Ning a deep look.

“You fifty two survived. If you have brought back the corpse or the head of a Wanxiang Diremonster, then you will naturally become Raindragon Guards,” the skinny elder said. “Go. Go into the teleportation array and return to the Crimson Dragon Mountains.”

The fifty two cultivators all entered the teleportation array. Soon, the array lit up, and Ning’s group of fifty two were once more teleported back to the Crimson Dragon Mountains, more than two million kilometers away.