Daily life of a cultivation judge - #652 - 652 Price of greed (2)

“Okay then, we will start from my left going right. You will give your background and a clear, concise, and true account of events as you experienced them.

Do not deviate from the truth or exaggerate on it. I will know. Now would you please..” Yang Qing said as he pointed at the cultivator at the far left.

The cultivator in question was a lady wearing plain black robes who looked to be in her mid-thirties at the eighth stage of the core formation realm. 

She had black hair neatly tied in a ponytail without a strand out of place. She had a presence about her that made one feel like they were looking at a formless sword that would shape itself depending on what was around it.

In terms of beauty, even though, she wasn’t close to Luo Meili, or Meifeng, no one would say she wasn’t beautiful especially her big limpid black eyes that had a mesmerizing quality to them. It was sometimes sharp, like a sword revealing its edge and it was sometimes gentle.

“My name is Xin Zephyr from the Xin clan in the Deer Mountain Range. I am an elder of my clan..” said the black-robed lady.

Yang Qing knowing he would be sent to the Deer Mountain Range had researched all the organizations that inhabited said place, which he supplemented with the information the previous branch chief had in his office.

The Xin clan was a rank 4 clan and was one of the high-ranking organizations within the Deer Mountain Range but only when it came to human organizations. Their strength didn’t amount to much if considered as a greater whole of the Deer Mountain Range, but when pitted against other human organizations, they were definitely up there.

The clan was a clan famed for its swordplay, the fog crane dance mist weave sword art a sword cultivation art blended with the obfuscation of mist. With every swing, a layer of mist and fog would be created which hindered not only the opponent’s senses but also their movements.

Cultivators of the Xin clan were able to fight multiple enemies due to its ability to create a veiled fog that not only hindered the opponent’s perception but it also hid the presence of the user.

It was because of said technique that the Xin family had been able to gain a foothold within the Deer Mountain Range. The art was greater in defense and containment than its attack prowess, which it sorely lacked.

“About 78 days ago, our clan leader got a missive from the Hua clan leader about sighting the tricolored white-eyed tortoise and a fine pine porcupine about to invade their territory.

We were not the only ones who got the missive as the Hua clan leader sent the same information to the Flowing Fist sect and the Moon Essence Cauldron sect.

Our four organizations have all formed a binding pact with one another. If one of us faces a situation we can’t handle, we can request aid from the other three.

It’s the only way we could survive in a place like this..” said Xin Zephyr with a bitter smile.

The other three cultivators seemed to share her sentiments as they shook their heads too.

From the moment he saw them, he had already discerned the background of the four cultivators, and the previous branch chief’s report had notes that corroborated what the elder from the Xin family said about her clan’s alliance with the other three organizations.

The four organizations lacked a palace realm to hold the helm and without a palace realm cultivator, surviving the Deer Mountain Range, a place known to have palace realm spirit beasts and countless that were in the core formation realm would prove to be a tall order for them.

They had to choose to settle in locations that were not too rich in resources so as not to draw the eyes of those powerful spirit beasts, and not only that they had to live in constant fear that they may be attacked within their grounds or outside when they went to scout for resources.

As rich as the Deer Mountain Range was in resources, the organizations that settled within the range were always cautious in how they operated and thus could not freely make use of it. 

In the way they lived, they were no different than prisoners in the range. They were restricted in the areas they could operate and more often than not that area was restricted within their grounds or if they were to operate outside, it would have to be areas that were close to barren in resources, lest they attract the wrong kind of attention.

Few human-based organizations would want to settle in the Deer Mountain Range not unless they had the strength to survive there like the Deer Mountain Kingdom, or if they had no other option like the Clear Sword River Sect.

For those without the strength to survive in this place, there were only a few ways in which they could survive, one was to settle in a remote barren corner of the range like what the Clear Sword River Sect or they would form alliances like what the Xin clan and the other three organizations.

Through an alliance, they ensure the safety of each other whilst also maintaining autonomy. From what Yang Qing read, the alliance of the organizations of the Deer Mountain Range went much deeper than normal alliances. 

They not only answered calls for help when they faced doom like what the Hua clan did, but they traded and shared resources, techniques, and information that may be of value to the other party.

Like for example a certain plant that would help cure a certain ailment that a member of the alliance may have, or a treasure that may help another member break a bottleneck.

They operated as one body comprised of different entities united by the common threat of the Deer Mountain Range towards their existence. That threat kept them loyal to one another and conversely each other’s best interests.