Death... and me

It didn't take long for Rean and Kentucky to arrive at the Beast Taming Guild. Sure enough, it was just as Rean mentioned. It was very small and had even fewer members now that the Salt Sweep was ongoing. Nevertheless, Rean found one worker there on the counter who seemed to be an aquatic demon beast in human form. It didn't seem to have any work to do, so it was cultivating when Rean arrived and only stopped because of their arrival. "Hi, are you the only one here in the guild at the moment?"

The aquatic demon beast shrugged his shoulders as he replied, "Do you think I'm here because I want to be? During the Salt Sweep, all the humanoid race beings get out of the city, so the guild master pays us to take care of it while they're out. If the payment wasn't good, it wouldn't be a surprise if you didn't find a single soul here. By the way, are you one of those crazy guys who want to absorb the white powder for cultivation?"

Rean nodded since it would be easier if the demon beast thought that way. "That's correct. Of course, I'm being very cautious." Rean could tell that the demon beast looked at him as if he was an idiot. The guy definitely didn't think it was worth the risk. In any case, Rean just ignored that. "By the way, sir. I rented a room in a nearby inn, but I have nowhere to leave my Demon Bird. Is it possible to rent a space for a demon beast here in the guild?"

The aquatic demon beast simply nodded in response. "I didn't really expect to get any customers since demon beasts don't become beast tamers. Anyway, that also means the entire guild is pretty much empty. Any non-aquatic demon beast that had been tamed had been brought away with the other guild members, so there's a lot of space available. However, only beast tamers can leave their demon beasts there."

Rean immediately brought out his Beast Tamer badge in response, which he hadn't used in quite a while. "Here you go, sir."

The demon beast in human form checked the badge and was surprised to see it was from another continent. "Huring Continent? That's a crazy far away continent. Why would you come all the way here?"

Rean laughed in response, saying, "I'm just passing by. Hahaha! However, when I heard you could cultivate with the white powder during the Salt Sweep, I immediately decided to stay. After all, this powder seems to be equivalent to Rank Three Divine Stones. How great do you think is that?"

The demon beast didn't share the same enthusiasm as Rean, though. "Well, if you're crazy enough to try and cultivate with it, I'm not the one stopping you. Just be aware that if you end up becoming a salt statue, your demon beast will be taken away by the guild."

"No problem," said Rean after that. "So, can I leave him here?"

The demon beast nodded before he left the counter. "Come with me. Other than me, there are only two more Transition Realm aquatic demon beasts taking care of this place. They take care of the few tamed aquatic demon beasts left behind. I can have them take care of your Demon Bird while it stays here if you want."

Kentucky had intelligence but pretended to be a common demon beast. With that said, Rean didn't think there was a need for anyone to take care of it. "That's not necessary. I'll come by every now and then during the Salt Sweep to see how he's faring. You can just make sure he stays alone."

"If you say so." A few moments later, they arrived at the place Kentucky would stay. "Here you go. We obviously don't have a specific area for Demon Birds, but this should suffice. It has a formation to keep water away as well since not all demon beasts that come to Salt Canyon City are aquatic."

Kentucky and Rean were more than satisfied. It was a lot better than staying in the middle of the street. "That's good enough. How much it is to keep my Demon Bird here?"

"Ten Rank One Divine Stones per week," the aquatic demon beast answered.

Rean immediately took a hundred in response and passed it to the guy. "I'll be staying in the city during the Salt Sweep, obviously. I'll come back to pay more later."

Kentucky then entered the area and quickly found a corner for himself. Rean was then guided out of the guild by the aquatic demon beast after receiving the payment. Of course, Rean and Kentucky could see each other with their Divine Senses, so it wasn't as if Kentucky would stay alone anyway. 'Let me know if you need something. Also, I left a lot of Divine Stones with you, so make sure you cultivate with them as well. We can use this year and a half to get closer to the Transition Realm.'

Kentucky agreed with Rean before he took out a few Rank Two Divine Stones. The twins had Rank Three Divine Stones, but they were being used by Celis in the Dimensional Realm. Naturally, they couldn't get them now since the Dimensional Realm is closed. 'Since the Dimensional Realm is still closed, it might mean that there's still some other danger than the Salt Transformation, so be careful.'

Rean smiled in response after that. 'I know. With you, Roan, and me paying attention, we should be fine.'

With that, Rean returned to the inn and went up to the room once more. There, he saw that Falangia and Rafatia had already taken the Divine Stones and started to cultivate. The same could be said for Roan, who cultivated beside Luan. As for Luan, he would probably take a few weeks until he got his own Star Body.

"Well, I guess all I can do now is cultivate as well." And so, Rean took a few more Rank Two Divine Stones from his spatial ring before sitting on his bed.

And just like that, everyone began to cultivate once more.