Chapter Twenty-Three: The Drought Demon

Celestial Fox? Ji Feichen pondered a series of thoughts, betraying nothing on his face. Currently, he was assuming Qinghong's identity—this youngster shouldn't be able to recognize him. Wait—he’d witnessed him using the Azure Tide Pearl!

Ji Feichen’s gaze flickered, and the notion of silencing witnesses arose in his mind.

The young Celestial Fox sat calmly among the crowd, making no attempt to hide his true nature. The disciples of the Virtue Sect, however, paid it no mind for now—saving lives was paramount, and all else could be set aside.

Ji Feichen and Jing Xuan approached, listening as the leader at the center explained the current situation using a map.

A map—just like those Ji Feichen had seen in his previous life. The Grand Hong Empire strictly forbade commoners from charting geographical maps, so all maps of the regions near Chenghuang Mountain were freshly drawn. The map marked population centers and the extent of the drought.

Cultivators acted differently from mortals. In just a day, they had surveyed the region for a thousand miles.

"Currently, the drought spreads outward from Chenghuang Mountain. Beyond the drought, a corpse-poison also proliferates, with zombies running rampant," the man explained at length.

Jing Xuan whispered to Ji Feichen, "His surname is Zhang—Zhang Yuanchu, from the Virtue Sect. By the looks of it, he has already grasped the Heart of Virtue and only lacks a final deed of merit to ascend as a Human Immortal."

Zhang Yuanchu was the first to notice the drought, then summoned his fellow sect members and invited friends from other sects, such as the Chongxu Sect, to assist. He was currently overseeing the situation. This act of saving lives was the very merit he required.

"Zombies? So our earlier suspicions were indeed correct?"

The cultivators discussed among themselves, clearly having already deduced as much.

"In this regard, Brother Tushan is more knowledgeable. While I was drawing the map, he was already out saving people." Zhang Yuanchu invited the young Celestial Fox to share his observations.

The Tushan Clan—once renowned Celestial Foxes.

The assembled cultivators exchanged glances, quietly speculating about Tushan’s origins.

Tushan, undaunted, stepped forward and recounted his experience: "At first, I was traveling in the area and noticed that the locals had contracted a fiery poison, so I stayed to help. During this time, I saw many traces of zombies. If I’m not mistaken, these are the corpses of local people who succumbed to the corpse poison."

"To manipulate corpse poison with a fiery attribute that can scorch the earth—could it truly be a Drought Fiend?" An elder cultivator sighed, pressing his brow. "In all my years, this is my third encounter with a Drought Fiend."

At this, Zhang Yuanchu quickly asked, "Master Xu, with your broad knowledge, could you elaborate?"

Ji Feichen and the others drifted to the back of the group, listening as Master Xu twirled his mustache and began, "When a Drought Fiend rises, a thousand miles are scorched—this much is known. But there are three main ways a Drought Fiend is born."

"What are the three?" someone asked.

"First, a special corpse demon formed through cultivation by a zombie—king among corpses, adept at controlling corpse poison and animating corpses. Second, if the earth’s fiery energy accumulates and absorbs the essence of sun and moon for five hundred years, it may give rise to a Fire Demon. Such a demon can take many forms—a Geosha Fire Steed, a six-armed Fire God, or even coalesce into a Drought Fiend. Third, the Demonic Path has body-refining arts specifically for cultivating Drought Fiends. This, I’m sure you all know."

The Virtue Sect, being a major sect, naturally understood these matters. "The Celestial Corpse Sect boasted three thousand corpse demons, but didn’t they offend the Nether Hell Sect last year? The demonic sects warred, and the Celestial Corpse Sect was wiped out by the Nether Hell grandmasters, wasn’t it?"

The Celestial Corpse Sect! Ji Feichen’s heart skipped a beat—he knew of that sect. He’d once seen its leader wield the Nether River Dao Fruit in battle against a True Demon of the Celestial Corpse Sect. In the depths of the Nether River, all three thousand corpse demons perished, and the sect was annihilated by the Nether Hell Sect.

Master Xu hesitated, then shook his head. "I once saw a Drought Fiend corpse demon from the Celestial Corpse Sect. If we’re dealing with one of those fiends, we’re in trouble."

Of the three types, those who become Drought Fiends through natural corpse transformation are the easiest to deal with; the orthodox Daoist sects have several branches specializing in countering corpse demons. If it’s a monster born of the earth’s fiery energy, their intellect is low, and there are ways to deal with them—find the right magical implements to lock the earth veins, call down rain, and drown it out. But if it’s a cultivated demon, then one must be cautious. Their intellect is high and, armed with other Celestial Corpse Sect arts, such a battle would never be easy.

Zhang Yuanchu, seeing everyone’s uneasy expressions, soothed them with a smile. "Rest assured, I’ve already sent my junior brother to investigate. We should have news soon. By the way, my junior sister has just returned—perhaps the people she brought back are the ones who summoned rain earlier?"

At this, everyone looked toward Ji Feichen and the other four. The Celestial Fox Tushan’s eyes lit up, and he smiled at Ji Feichen.

Ji Feichen felt a chill, but together with Jing Xuan, greeted the assembled cultivators.

When they heard that Ji Feichen could summon rain, the crowd burst into cheerful laughter. "Splendid! We were just worried that we had no one to wield the Rain Summoning Banners, and here a comrade has arrived."

Zhang Yuanchu fetched several black cloth banners from a corner and offered them to Ji Feichen. "Brother Ji, pick whichever you like."

Jing Xuan eyed the banners—each bore a set of rain-summoning talismans and looked familiar.

"Senior Brother Zhang, where did these ancient implements come from?"

"Found in our Virtue Sect’s storeroom. A hundred years ago, one of our granduncles unearthed them from an ancient cultivator’s abode. Since these implements are only useful for summoning rain, they’ve been gathering dust in a corner ever since."

Magical implements had three stages of evolution. These Rain Summoning Banners were crafted by ancient cultivators, inscribed with talismans to perform rain-calling arts. But apart from that, they had no other use—lacking intricate arrays or flexibility.

"No one knows what our granduncle was thinking, always scouring old abodes for ancient implements. But those cultivators lived at the dawn of the Immortal Path; their treasures and elixirs are obsolete now. What could be worth finding?"

"That’s not entirely true," Li Jingxun replied with a smile. "Each generation builds on the last—without the ancients, our current immortal arts would not exist. Besides, aren’t these banners useful now?"

"True enough," Zhang Yuanchu conceded, allowing Ji Feichen to select a banner.

Ji Feichen picked one at random. Zhang Yuanchu continued warmly, "We’ll divide our efforts into four groups: one for rain and quelling fires, one for disaster relief and detoxification, one for eradicating corpse demons, and one for slaying the Drought Fiend. Brother Ji, you’ll be with the rain group, preparing alongside Junior Sister Li. Brother Jing Xuan, you’ll join us in slaying the Drought Fiend."

To kill a Drought Fiend was no easy task—one could rival a Human Immortal. As he’d only just met Ji Feichen, Zhang Yuanchu wouldn’t ask him to risk his life for their sake, so he assigned him a fitting and less dangerous role. As for Jing Xuan, all were familiar with his abilities.

Confident in Jing Xuan, Zhang Yuanchu pulled him aside to discuss plans for eliminating the Drought Fiend.

Ji Feichen, meanwhile, joined Li Jingxun’s group. After refining the Rain Summoning Banner, he went with Li Jingxun to find the other group members.

Rain summoning was neither too difficult nor too simple—a Daoist art not easily mastered without diligent study. Jing Xuan, for example, had never even attempted it.

After gathering all available cultivators, the rain group numbered six, including Ji Feichen. As they arrived at the base, they heard a heated debate from within.

"Rain summoning is all about water—that’s the key!"

"Nonsense! Without air currents, how do you expect the rain to fall properly?"

Li Jingxun led Ji Feichen inside to find five cultivators—three arguing, one observing, and one meditating.

"Here we go again," Li Jingxun said with a sigh, stepping forward to mediate. "Everyone, I’ve brought the one who summoned rain in the third sector of Chenghuang Mountain. You can exchange insights now."

A burly man immediately grabbed Ji Feichen. "Brother, you’re the one who called down rain earlier? Judging by the scale, you must be an expert! Tell us—is water or wind more important in rain summoning?"

"Nonsense! It’s clearly wind!" a gaunt cultivator shrieked.

The two sides squared off as a third cultivator ushered Ji Feichen to a seat. "Don’t mind them, brother—it’s rare to meet a fellow practitioner, so everyone gets a bit excited."

Each held their view, and as Ji Feichen listened, he understood their debate.

Daoist arts are means for cultivators to manipulate the elements, to mimic and harness the workings of heaven and earth. Does rain fall because wind stirs the clouds, or does rain descend, prompting the wind?

Ji Feichen recalled what he’d learned in his previous life.

Those emphasizing "wind" grasped the importance of atmospheric currents—how air flows drive cloud movement and rain formation.

Those emphasizing "water vapor" understood the principle of vapor condensing into clouds and rain.

Daoist arts distill this natural process, allowing practitioners to replicate the cycle by their own power.

"Well… I think it depends on one’s personal style. When we use Daoist arts to control wind and rain, we bypass much of nature’s process. We condense vapor into clouds, form raindrops, and let them fall.

"Without wind, the rain couldn’t spread evenly—it would pour down like a waterfall. Only with wind can the drops scatter across the land. Generally, we use our power to stir wind, speed up condensation, and force the rain to fall.

"But right now, with no way to gather water vapor, we have to move lake or sea water from elsewhere. In this case, the raw water is more important than the wind." Ji Feichen tactfully avoided siding with either party.

They continued to discuss rain-making techniques when suddenly a young man bounded in. "Sister Li, could you lend someone to help me summon rain?"

It was Tushan, come to fetch Ji Feichen. With a casual gesture, he pulled him away.

Ji Feichen excused himself and followed Tushan out.

Tushan was part of the disaster relief group, which often cooperated with the rain group. With perfect justification, he led Ji Feichen down the mountain, tossing him a small paper packet along the way. "There are two Human Immortals from the Virtue Sect here—be careful. Inside are three Concealment Pills. Take one and you’ll pass for a mere Qi Refiner."

Oh? Ji Feichen accepted the pills and asked cautiously, "You’re helping me—what do you want in return?"

"Tch, do you think everyone is as scheming as your Demonic Sect? I just don’t want unnecessary complications. But if you insist, consider yourself owing me a favor."

Tushan led him to a village, where he had Ji Feichen summon rain while he scattered medicinal powder into dried wells and riverbeds. Once the rain fell, it would naturally neutralize the corpse poison.

Half an hour later, Ji Feichen returned from his rain-making to find Tushan moving among the wounded, preparing decoctions to draw out toxins.

Ji Feichen took out one of the pills, examined it carefully, and swallowed it. Instantly, his surging vital energy masked his demonic aura, making him appear no different from an ordinary Qi Refiner—much like Tushan himself.

"It seems the pill works," Ji Feichen thought, standing quietly by. Suddenly, he sensed several zombies near the village and moved to dissolve them with poisoned water.

Busy for some time, they returned to the mountain only after night had fallen.