Blackbird Guard

Biodata

Authority and Mandate

The Blackbird Guard is an imperial organization with authority to act first and report afterward. Local governments, including prefectural yamen, are required to obey its commands. Its members may apprehend and execute threats without ordinary local-official interference 37 95 139.

Its documented responsibilities include:

• Eliminating extraordinary, Dire-level, and other dangerous eerie entities 64 76 105.
• Hunting demonic beasts, including Great Demon Realm and Demon King-level threats 76 111 225.
• Pursuing imperial fugitives and criminal organizations 76 139 143.
• Suppressing the Pure World White Lotus Sect 79 140 225.
• Investigating reports of supernatural incidents; the Guard generally responds to reports rather than actively searching for eerie entities 92.
• Maintaining order and securing evacuation or exclusion zones during supernatural incidents alongside local yamen personnel 105 221.

Organization

Rank hierarchy

• A prefecture is ordinarily commanded by a single Profound Rank Blackbird Guard, known as the Blackbird Envoy 37.
• Deputy Envoys assist a prefectural Blackbird Envoy; He Yan and Yu Hong serve in this capacity in White Path Prefecture 105 158.
• The organization is managed by Deputy Division Heads beneath the elusive Division Head. Before Lu Xuan's appointment, three Deputy Division Heads managed the Guard; the Division Head was rumored to be a Divine Mansion Realm existence 202.
• Lu Xuan was later appointed the fourth Deputy Division Head, a second-rank position within Great Xia's official hierarchy 202 239 240.

Headquarters and prefectural residences

• The Heavenly Capital headquarters is marked by a plaque crafted and bestowed by Great Xia's founding emperor, bearing Mysterious Black Bird motifs 140.
• Access to the headquarters' Affairs Hall is restricted: Blackbird Guards below Earth Rank must verify their identities and report before entering 141.
• White Path Prefecture's Blackbird Guard mansion occupies several thousand mu in the prefectural city center; even the prefectural government follows its commands 87.
• Prefectural residences contain archive warehouses with records on eerie entities, demonic beasts, and prior Guard operations 91 92.

Personnel and Resources

Martial resources

The Blackbird Guard attracts martial artists with potent medicinal herbs and Heaven and Earth Spiritual Objects, resources considered more valuable to cultivation than silver 76 79 96.

• Heaven and Earth Spiritual Objects are categorized as Low, Mid, High, and Top Grade 95.
• In prefectural branches, Spiritual Objects are normally distributed based on completed missions. Dire-rank missions or above may award them 95.
• The prefecture's Profound Rank Blackbird Guard controls the allocation and handling of its Spiritual Objects 95.
• The Blackbird Guard Martial Arts Grand Competition is held every three years. The top three competitors in the under-28 Human Rank division and under-20 division become key cultivation targets for the following three years 158 191.
• Key cultivation targets receive enhanced martial resources; under Lu Xuan, they were promised double the usual allocation 195.

Tokens and communications

• Members carry named identity tokens for verification; Zhao Sheng, Qian Hao, and Li Daren used turquoise tokens during their Dengfeng County investigation 64.
• Deputy Division Head tokens are forged from Spirit Communication Red Crystal, which can preserve images across a thousand li and transmit sound across ten thousand li 203 242.
• The Guard uses specially trained Mysterious Black Birds as messenger birds. They fly quickly, possess limited intelligence, and can understand human language 113.
• Mysterious Black Birds can escape an Eerie Domain's Yin Energy, allowing them to carry warnings beyond an area from which ordinary people cannot flee 144.

Equipment and transport

• Blackbird uniforms — Rank-coded brocade uniforms bearing the Mysterious Black Bird pattern 117.
• Profound Azure Treasure Armor — Armor exclusive to Blackbird Envoys, capable of withstanding an Outer Strength Grandmaster's blow; Li Chengfeng gave one to Yu Hong for protection 208.
• Mysterious Black Bird Divine Wind Steeds — Exceptional Blackbird Guard mounts capable of extraordinary speed 162.
• Ritual Artifacts — High-ranking members wield artifacts containing Heaven and Earth Power, including Li Chengxing's Moon-grade Eight-Pattern Blackbird Sky Seal 225.

Associated Organization

Black Feather Guard

The Black Feather Guard is a secret imperial organization that inspects the Blackbird Guard rather than commanding it. It investigates records concerning the slaying of eerie entities and demonic beasts, then reports its findings directly to the sovereign 95 106.

• It is described as the emperor's “eyes and ears,” in contrast to the Blackbird Guard as an imperial blade 95.
• Its inspectors audit archive warehouses and warehouse records 141 202.
• Shangguan Yunlan led an inspection team at the Heavenly Capital headquarters 141.

Story Role and Major Operations

• Black Wind Stronghold pursuit — The Guard had pursued Fang Sheng, the Blood Refinement Realm chief of Black Wind Stronghold, for years before he escaped and hid in the Lofty Mountain Range. A Yellow Rank team led by Li Yanran was dispatched to Azure Cloud County to capture him 37.
• Human-Faced Eerie Entity investigation — Zhao Sheng, Qian Hao, and Li Daren investigated the entity's premature revival in Dengfeng County. The case revealed that extraordinary eerie entities and demonic beasts were appearing with increasing frequency 64.
• Lotus Birth Temple crackdown — After Lu Xuan identified Lotus Birth Temple as a Pure World White Lotus Sect hideout, Zhao Sheng's team moved against it 79.
• White Path Prefecture command transition — Li Chengfeng recruited Lu Xuan into the Guard and placed him in charge of White Path Prefecture while returning to the Heavenly Capital 95 96.
• Wind Moon Tower Ghost Shadow — The White Path branch secured Pear Blossom Street while Lu Xuan eliminated the Dire-Level Ghost Shadow; the branch subsequently accepted him as its Blackbird Envoy 105.
• Tiger Ghoul Demon King incident — Yu Hong and Yu Hua were attacked by a Ghoul bearing the Tiger Ghoul Demon King's Demon Qi. They used a Mysterious Black Bird to seek aid; Lu Xuan later sealed the area with Divine Sense and annihilated the Demon King 208 211.
• Azure Wind Valley battle — The Guard fought the Pure World White Lotus Sect and the Azure Snake Demon King. Li Chengxing and Mu Yun used Ritual Artifacts against enemies near the Divine Mansion Realm 225.
• Mingxin Prefecture crisis — The Guard temporarily took over Mingxin Prefecture following major unrest, but later suffered casualties; Lu Xuan discovered the remains of Blackbird Guards in a bamboo forest 268 270.

Notable Members

• Li Chengfeng — Profound Rank Blackbird Guard and Blackbird Envoy of White Path Prefecture; recruited Lu Xuan and entrusted him with the prefectural branch 88 95 96.
• Li Yanran — Yellow Rank Blackbird Guard, Blood Refinement Realm martial artist, and Ye Qingxuan's superior 37 38.
• Zhao Sheng — Yellow Rank team leader at Great Accomplishment of the Blood Refinement Realm; recruited Lu Xuan after the Human-Faced Eerie Entity case 64 79.
• Qian Hao — Yellow Rank Blackbird Guard who served under Zhao Sheng and later received orders from Lu Xuan 64 106.
• Li Daren — Yellow Rank Blackbird Guard who served under Zhao Sheng and later received orders from Lu Xuan 64 106.
• He Yan — Deputy Blackbird Envoy of White Path Prefecture 105.
• Yu Hong — Deputy Blackbird Envoy of White Path Prefecture; a strict adherent of Guard rules 158 207.
• Li Chengxing — Deputy Division Head and Greater Mastery Outer Strength Grandmaster 141 202.
• Mu Yun — Deputy Division Head who fought the Azure Snake Demon King with a Ritual Artifact 225 238.
• Shangguan Yunlan — Inner Qi Realm Greater Mastery Black Feather Guard inspector 141.
• Lu Xuan — Former White Path Prefecture Blackbird Envoy, later appointed the Guard's fourth Deputy Division Head 96 239 240.