“This lowly one pays my respect to the two esteemed cultivator sirs!” the village head, Shan Shou, prostrated before the duo.


    Behind him, the various elders of the village quickly followed suit.


    “We pay our respects to the two esteemed cultivator sirs!”


    “Rise,” Zhao Yunxiao answered nonchalantly.


    After all, this was not the first time that he had been addressed in such a manner by ordinary mortals.


    Right now, the group was in the village centre – a huge hut made of nothing but straws, sticks, and mud.


    “


    “


    “


    “


    “


    “


    “


    “Strange incidents?” Shan Shou rubbed his chin in contemplation. “Now that you mention it, I do recall something that was slightly out of the ordinary.”


    “Please do tell,” Zhao Yunxiao prompted.


    “I’m not sure if esteemed cultivator sir knows this, but our village seldom gets visitors. Therefore, every visitor to our village will naturally stand out,” Shan Shou started. “And several months ago, there was a strange merchant who visited our village.”


    “


    “


    “


    “


    “


    “Is there anything else?” Zhao Yunxiao asked.


    “Not that I remember,” Shan Shou scratched his cheek in embarrassment. “That said, the drought might be bad, but it is not without any benefits as well. At the very least, bandit activity in the area has stopped altogether now. I guess even the bandits have left since this area has been reduced to such a state, hah!”


    “That is inconsequential in comparison to the sufferings that we are going through, Village Head...” one of the elders reminded from behind.


    “Yes, yes, I know. Don’t you see that the esteemed cultivator sirs are already here to help us with that? Stop whining about it already,” Shan Shou chided.


    “It’s good that you can still bring yourself to be slightly positive about the situation,” Zhao Yunxiao said with a smile. “Unfortunately, those things you mentioned do not strike me as possible reasons for the sudden shortage of rain. We can help you to summon a bit of rain now that we are here, but we cannot give you any promises for the future.”


    “You can help to summon rain?” Shan Shou beamed upon hearing that, as did the elders behind him. “Don’t worry about the future! I’m sure this drought will not last much longer, so it would be good enough as long as you can help to tide us over this difficult period!”


    Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings.


    “Then, shall we get started?” Zhao Yunxiao stood up.


    “Will you be starting right now?” Shan Shou was slightly taken aback. “Is there no need to wait for an auspicious time or something?”


    “Why? Would you prefer to wait?” Zhao Yunxiao asked in a teasing manner.


    “No, no! The sooner the better! The sooner the better!” Shan Shou hurriedly waved his hands. “Is there anything you’d need from us, then?”


    “Don’t worry about that, and just try not to disturb us later. You can even wait here if you want to,” Zhao Yunxiao smiled. “Let’s go, Senior Martial Brother Nie. Let’s get this over and done with.”


    The duo walked out of the hut and walked around the village, finally coming to a stop in the middle of a large field.


    Even though Zhao Yunxiao had told them that they could just wait patiently, Shan Shou and the other elders could not help following out of curiosity.


    Similarly, the other villagers also lingered around to watch.


    Still, all of them took note to keep a distance from the duo, afraid that their presence would result in some form of distraction.


    “Here?” Nie Hanchang asked while looking around.


    They were currently standing in the middle of a field that was covered in wilting grass. There were also various barren spots in the field, showing where the grass had already completely died off.


    “It doesn’t really matter,” Zhao Yunxiao shrugged. “Now then, what do you know about rain dances, Senior Martial Brother Nie?”


    “


    “


    “


    Since Nie Hanchang had taken the effort to study the execution of rain dances, Zhao Yunxiao did not want his efforts to go to waste.


    “Then I would have to rely on Junior Martial Brother Zhao to correct my mistakes,” Nie Hanchang did not turn down this opportunity to practise.


    With that, Zhao Yunxiao passed Nie Hanchang a set of array flags, which the latter in turn planted around the open area.


    Of course, this was not done in a haphazard manner.


    Nie Hanchang might not be an array master, but he still understood the fundamentals.


    He carefully investigated the area with his spiritual sense, planting each array flag only after numerous calculations based on the flow of world origin energy in their surroundings.


    Zhao Yunxiao watched him closely from the beginning, and was pleased to see that Nie Hanchang did not commit any huge mistakes.


    The manner in which he had set up the array was not the most ideal, but it also would not cause any big problems, at least not when they were at a terrain as simple as this.


    Perhaps the only problem would be a slightly higher inefficiency in terms of energy consumption.


    “


    “There are still areas for improvement, but definitely passable,” Zhao Yunxiao answered with a smile. “Have you considered pursuing a career in this field?”


    “Spare me,” Nie Hanchang rolled his eyes.


    “Haha, fine. But it truly isn’t too bad – good enough for today, at the very least,” Zhao Yunxiao laughed. “All right then, shall we get started with the show?”


    With that, Zhao Yunxiao turned around to look at the village head, Shan Shou, who was watching from a distance with the other villagers.


    “If you are all right with it, I will commence with the rain dance,” Zhao Yunxiao said.


    “Please do, esteemed cultivator sir!” Shan Shou gave a deep bow, and the other villagers quickly followed suit.


    “Understood,” Zhao Yunxiao nodded.


    “Is there anything you’d like me to do?” Nie Hanchang asked.


    “Just do whatever to make yourself look important,” Zhao Yunxiao shrugged.


    “Look important?”


    Zhao Yunxiao did not give Nie Hanchang any time to think things through. With a flick of his wrists, he pulled out a horsetail whisk and raised it high into the air.


    “Gods of the heavens and earth, heed my call!” Zhao Yunxiao shouted loudly.


    At the same time, he lightly tapped on the ground with his foot, silently activating the array that Nie Hanchang had just completed.


    Weng-!


    An emblem of light promptly appeared on the ground with a low buzz, appearing as though the world itself was showing a response to Zhao Yunxiao’s call.