Praying for Rain

The mystery was soon solved.

The Garrison Immortal Master hurried out to greet them.

"Your presence honors our humble shrine, Talisman Master Shen! I am Ding Mingyan, the garrison cultivator of Hongcheng County. A pleasure to meet you."

Shen Xuan's Spiritual Sense swept imperceptibly over Ding Mingyan. He found that the man was only at the Qi Refining Second Layer of the Cultivation Realm.

"I am Shen Xuan, a Talisman Master. A pleasure to meet you, Daoist Ding. This is my wife, Ding Yuyao, and my father-in-law, Ding Yifan."

"Ah! Lord Ding, why didn't you tell me you had such an outstanding son-in-law?" Ding Mingyan's expression changed at once.

"We've been friends for over ten years. How could you keep this from me?"

Shen Xuan smiled. "Don't blame my father-in-law, Daoist Ding. My wife and I only came to visit her family for the first time yesterday."

"Indeed. The secular world is a place of worldly entanglements, hardly conducive to cultivation. How could Talisman Master Shen come down here so easily?"

After they entered the shrine, Ding Mingyan had fine tea brought out to entertain Shen Xuan and the others.

"Praying for rain to relieve the drought in Hongcheng County is, of course, part of our duties as garrison cultivators."

"However, that County Magistrate of Hongcheng is truly despicable. He tried to fob me off with a mere hundred taels of gold."

"In three days, Songjiang Prefecture will send officials to Hongcheng County to inspect the autumn harvest."

"I had planned to wait until the County Magistrate was called to account before casting a rainmaking spell."

"Since Talisman Master Shen is here, I'll set up an altar and pray for rain tomorrow."

The matter that had seemed impossibly difficult to Ding Yifan was settled before Shen Xuan even had to speak. Ding Mingyan readily agreed to handle it.

"Then I thank you, Daoist Ding."

Shen Xuan handed him a High-grade Breath Concealing Talisman and a High-grade Invisibility Talisman.

They were worth two spirit stones.

Ding Mingyan's eyes lit up. He quickly accepted them with both hands, though he said, "You're too kind, Talisman Master Shen. It's a trifling matter, nothing worth mentioning."

After they returned, notices went up throughout Hongcheng County: the Garrison Immortal Master would set up an altar and perform a ritual to pray for rain.

The next day.

Ding Mingyan set up an altar on the mountaintop and performed the ritual while Shen Xuan watched from the side.

With just one glance, Shen Xuan recognized the spell Ding Mingyan was using: the Cloud Rain Technique, commonly used by Water Method Cultivators in the Cultivation World.

However, Water Method Cultivators used it to gather Spirit Rain and grow Spirit Plants.

Ding Mingyan, on the other hand, was only using it to gather ordinary clouds and turn them into rain.

Rainwater without spiritual energy naturally lacked the life force contained in water-based spells.

Shen Xuan watched for a while. Ding Mingyan cast the spell for half an hour, bringing down about five millimeters of rain before his spiritual energy was completely spent. He was left panting with exhaustion.

"Daoist Ding, let me try!"

Shen Xuan had also studied the Cloud Rain Technique, though he rarely used it.

At that moment,

he felt an itch to give it a try.

"Of course."

Ding Mingyan quickly stepped aside.

Shen Xuan stood before the altar and recalled the Cloud Rain Technique's Magic Seal.

He remembered that when he had cast it in the past, it had brought Spirit Rain down over a radius of ten zhang, nourishing Spirit Fields and increasing the yield of Spirit Rice.

Now, the spiritual energy in his body was at least ten times greater than it had been back then!

And he had also gained the Water Control Talent.

The Cloud Rain Technique had advanced from the Entry Stage to the Proficient Stage.

Shen Xuan circulated the Divine Treasure Canghai Technique. The vast spiritual energy within him suddenly erupted, the Five Elements revolving as powerfully as a boundless, surging sea.

[Talent: Water Control Mastery (3/400)]

[Cloud Rain Technique: Proficient (28/200)]

Golden, archaic characters flickered and shifted across the Mysterious Jade Talisman.

Shen Xuan formed the Magic Seals with his hands. The sky changed abruptly, dark clouds pressing down and piling one atop another, their number more than ten times greater than those Ding Mingyan had summoned.

A thunderclap split the heavens.

The sky seemed to tear open. Gale-force winds sprang up, and torrential rain poured down like a waterfall.

Ding Mingyan froze in stunned silence, unable to recover for a long time.

Was this what a Talisman Master could do?

It was the same Cloud Rain Technique, so how could it unleash such overwhelming power in Talisman Master Shen's hands?

Its range was dozens of times greater than his own!

It blanketed the entire city of Hongcheng County.

Half an hour later.

Ding Mingyan seemed to suddenly remember something.

"Talisman Master Shen, that's enough! There's plenty of rain! Don't gather any more clouds. Otherwise, we'll turn a drought into a flood, and that'll be even more trouble!"

"Oh."

Shen Xuan felt a little reluctant to stop.

As he cast the spell, he had felt his Water Control Technique improve a little more.

[Talent: Water Control Mastery (6/400)]

After advancing to the Mastery Stage, his Water Control Talent's Proficiency increased very slowly.

That day,

Hongcheng County erupted in celebration.

The rain poured for a day and a night, leaving two cun of rainfall—more than enough to end the drought.

Ding Yifan and his wife stared at the visiting cards before them, feeling as if they were dreaming.

Their owners were all people of wealth and influence, the true powers behind Hongcheng County.

Even the gravely ill County Magistrate had suddenly recovered. He came to Ding Yifan's home in person to apologize.

No sooner had the County Magistrate left than the Prefectural Governor of Songjiang Prefecture arrived for a personal visit, offering his concern and kind words.

Then came the appointment letter naming Ding Yifan the County Magistrate of Hongcheng County.

When he heard that Talisman Master Shen and his wife had already returned to Qinglong Bay, the Prefectural Governor was deeply regretful.

"If your son-in-law comes to visit again, Lord Ding, please let me know."

"I will obey your command, Your Excellency," Ding Yifan replied respectfully.

He understood that everything he had gained that day was because he had raised a good daughter and married her to a good son-in-law!

After praying for rain atop the shrine's mountain, Shen Xuan stayed with the Ding Family for two days, then set off with Ding Yuyao to return home.

During that time, Ding Yuyao was pestered endlessly by her older brothers, sisters-in-law, older sisters, brothers-in-law, and a whole crowd of nieces and nephews.

One by one, they used the excuse of keeping in touch to ask her, openly or indirectly, for Spirit Pills, Spirit Talismans, spirit stones, and all sorts of other things.

Rumors had spread through the county that Ding Yuyao was lucky: she had married an all-powerful Immortal Master who could live forever and stay forever young, and had countless Spirit Pills and Spirit Talismans.

The family affection she had once felt slowly soured beneath her relatives' constant demands.

After staying in the secular world for too long, even breathing felt difficult.

Her skin seemed to have lost some of its smoothness and softness, too.

After much reflection, Ding Yuyao resolutely decided to return to Qinglong Bay Market early with her husband.

She had visited her parents, brothers, and sisters on this trip, and that settled one of the worries in her heart.

Ding Yuyao no longer felt attached to life in Hongcheng County.

Compared with Qinglong Bay Market, this place had no spiritual energy to nourish her, nor any sweet, delicious Spirit Rice or Yao Beast Meat.

And here, she seemed to age especially quickly!

She hoped that she and her husband could live in harmony in Qinglong Bay Market, growing old together.

"Thank you, Talisman Master Shen!" Old Liu gratefully thanked him as he accepted a spirit stone.

"If you need to go out, Talisman Master Shen, just give me the word."

"Good. I'll hire you again next time."

Shen Xuan was quite satisfied with Old Liu's service, too.

He wasn't talkative, knew the customs and geography of the secular world well, and made a good guide.

As soon as they entered the house, Zhao Chunsheng hurried over.

"Talisman Master Shen, do you still have any of those High-grade Spring Return Talismans from last time?"

"I do, but not many."

"Why don't you make some more?"

"My wife and I just went to visit her family."

"Ah, Talisman Master Shen, the price of your High-grade Spring Return Talismans has gone up!"

It turned out Zhao Chunsheng had taken some High-grade Spring Return Talismans to sell.

Some Monster Hunters had been injured while hunting Yao Beasts and used Shen Xuan's High-grade Spring Return Talismans. They discovered that the effects were remarkably good.

They found Zhao Chunsheng and specifically asked to buy these special water-method High-grade Spring Return Talismans.

"In the past, they all used Wood Method Spring Return Talismans. They only bought some water-method ones because of me. I never expected them to work this well!"

Zhao Chunsheng rubbed his hands together, as if he could already see glittering spirit stones beckoning to him.