Flying Cloud Guard

Song Qingming looked up and saw that the speaker was a cultivator in black robes and a bamboo hat. His cultivation was formidable, already at the Eighth Layer of Qi Refining.

After looking around and confirming that the man was speaking to him, Song Qingming stopped and calmly asked, "Fellow Daoist, are you speaking to me? We have never met before. Have you mistaken me for someone else?"

The black-clad cultivator nodded, then took out a black Token and held it before Song Qingming. "Fellow Daoist, do not misunderstand. I am a patrol cultivator of Guiyun Marketplace. There are a few matters I would like to ask you about. It is crowded and noisy here, so it is not convenient to talk. Would Fellow Daoist be willing to speak elsewhere?"

Song Qingming glanced at the black Token and nodded. Led by the black-clad cultivator, he left the center of the plaza. After passing through several bustling streets, the two arrived at a quiet teahouse.

The black-clad cultivator did not say anything else along the way, merely telling Song Qingming to keep up. As soon as they entered the teahouse, the owner spotted the black-clad cultivator walking in front and immediately came forward to welcome him warmly.

"Lord Lu, you have come. Shall it be the usual today?"

The black-clad cultivator nodded, then added, "We have some matters to discuss today. Do not let anyone disturb us." With that, he led Song Qingming into a private room on the second floor.

Seeing how familiar the proprietor was with this black-clad cultivator, it was obvious that he came here often.

The moment the two sat down, a waiter soon brought over a pot of Spirit Tea. After setting it on the table, he quickly withdrew at the black-clad cultivator's gesture.

The black-clad cultivator poured Song Qingming a cup of Spirit Tea and courteously placed it before him. Then he said, "My name is Lu Yunfei. May I ask Fellow Daoist's name?"

"My name is Song Qingming." Facing the patrol squad from Guiyun Marketplace, Song Qingming did not dare conceal his identity as he had before. His identity had already been checked and registered before he entered the city; deceiving the patrol cultivators here was impossible.

"Oh, so you are Fellow Daoist Song. I saw you wandering around the Demon Hunting Platform today. You must not have been in Guiyun Marketplace for long, then. Have you heard of the Flying Cloud Guard?" After speaking, Lu Yunfei fixed his eyes on Song Qingming.

After considering for a moment, Song Qingming cautiously answered in a low voice, "I have heard of it. It is a demon scouting team specially established by Guiyun Marketplace, responsible for investigating information on the demonic beasts in the Floating Cloud Mountain Range."

"Would Fellow Daoist Song be interested in joining our Flying Cloud Guard?"

Lu Yunfei's words immediately left Song Qingming looking surprised. At first, he had thought this man intended to interrogate him about something, and he had been on tenterhooks for a long while. Only now, after learning his purpose, did he finally relax.

"I have heard that the Flying Cloud Guard has always been strict in accepting people, and those who joined in the past were mostly individuals skilled in unusual arts. I wonder what Brother Lu sees in me. Could you tell me a little, so I may weigh the matter carefully?"

"Mm, there is no harm in telling you. I cultivate a divine sense technique that allows me to discern the depth of a cultivator's Mana within the same realm. Today, in the Marketplace, I noticed that Fellow Daoist Song's Mana was somewhat deeper than that of other cultivators at the same level, so I had the thought of recruiting talent." Lu Yunfei took a sip of the Spirit Tea in his hand, then continued.

"You also know that the Flying Cloud Guard has always been strict in recruiting talent. It is only because the Demonic Beast Turmoil in the Northern Frontier is drawing near, and the demonic beasts around the Floating Cloud Mountain Range have also been particularly restless lately, that our Flying Cloud Guard has begun recruiting people to help investigate them. Compared to risking your life in a direct fight with demonic beasts, I think Fellow Daoist Song would have greater security joining our Flying Cloud Guard. We only need to investigate the demonic beasts' locations, habits, and movements, then bring back useful information. The monthly rewards are no worse than those of the demon-hunting teams."

"May I ask, after joining the Flying Cloud Guard, would it be easy to leave in the future?" Song Qingming cautiously asked another question.

"Please rest assured, Fellow Daoist Song. Aside from a small number of sect disciples, most Flying Cloud Guard members are Rogue Cultivators who come and go freely, just like those demon-hunting teams. So long as you complete the task, you can collect your reward. Moreover, with the status of a Flying Cloud Guard member, whether you rent a Cave Abode in Guiyun Marketplace or purchase needed supplies in the marketplaces controlled by our Carefree Sect, you can enjoy the same discounts as sect disciples."

"However, the Flying Cloud Guard also has certain mandatory task quotas every year, requiring members to explore unknown areas of the Floating Cloud Mountain Range. If Fellow Daoist cannot complete them or refuses to go, the Marketplace will directly strip you of your Flying Cloud Guard status. Please bear this in mind."

After speaking, Lu Yunfei looked at Song Qingming with a smiling face. He had laid out the benefits so clearly; surely this kid would not refuse now.

Two months later, in the Floating Cloud Mountain Range, Song Qingming, dressed in black and wearing a bamboo hat, hid behind a huge boulder as he watched from afar a massive green crocodile wandering through a swamp dozens of zhang away.

After a long while, Song Qingming took a black Manual from his Storage Bag. Opening it, he picked up a brush and wrote: "High-grade Demonic Beast, Azure Water Crocodile. Capable of using high-grade water-element spells. Lives alone in Azure Water Pond, three hundred li southwest of Azure Cloud Mountain. Likes to leave its pond at midday and forage for fish in the swamp south of the pond."

After putting away the black Manual, Song Qingming watched the Azure Water Crocodile swim back into the pond, full and satisfied. Only then did he rise, cautiously survey his surroundings, and swiftly leave the area.

After receiving Lu Yunfei's invitation at the teahouse that day, Song Qingming gave it some thought and decided to join the Flying Cloud Guard of Guiyun Marketplace, taking up the work of venturing deep into the Floating Cloud Mountain Range to investigate demonic beast information.

The Flying Cloud Guard truly was no ordinary cultivator organization. It had not only gathered more than a hundred skilled Qi Refining Cultivators, but also had several Foundation Establishment Cultivators leading the way and holding the line. Song Qingming's Sixth Layer of Qi Refining cultivation was utterly inconspicuous within it, practically at the bottom.

The tasks they accepted mainly involved investigating the demonic beasts in their respective assigned regions of the Floating Cloud Mountain Range, recording valuable information about those demonic beasts, and then returning it to Guiyun Marketplace in exchange for Spirit Stones.

Generally, Foundation Establishment Realm cultivators would first survey these regions from the air. They would record the information on the Level 2 Demonic Beasts within the area beforehand, preventing Qi Refining Cultivators from accidentally entering the territory of a Level 2 Demonic Beast.

Only then would they assign Qi Refining Cultivators like them to conduct detailed investigations into the Qi Refining Stage demonic beasts in those areas.

At the same time, roughly once or twice each year, there would also be mandatory assignments from above to investigate unknown regions on the map. Although Foundation Establishment Cultivators would survey these tasks first as well, compared to the places already marked on maps and frequently visited by cultivators, these unknown regions were often more dangerous.

There were often Level 2 Demonic Beasts that had slipped through the net hiding among them, escaping the searches of Foundation Establishment Cultivators. A Foundation Establishment Cultivator's divine sense could only extend three to five li, and in places they were already unfamiliar with, overlooking some areas was commonplace. Once a Qi Refining Cultivator encountered a Level 2 Demonic Beast, surviving often came down to luck alone.

Thus, nearly every cultivator in the Flying Cloud Guard possessed some special skill for self-preservation—perhaps an unusual escape spell, agile cultivation arts and divine abilities, or a divine sense technique like Lu Yunfei's, giving them exceptionally powerful perception and allowing them to sense danger in advance. Only with such varied special techniques and abilities could they greatly increase their chances of survival. Otherwise, ordinary cultivators would easily go and never return.

Song Qingming was somewhat confident in this regard as well. Though he did not yet possess any particularly formidable Mana divine abilities in battle, after cultivating the Jade Profound Scripture, his Mana was far more abundant than that of ordinary people. That was precisely what Lu Yunfei had noticed in him. Added to that, he possessed fine magical artifacts, Spirit Talismans, and other protective spiritual items. So long as he did not encounter a powerful Level 2 Demonic Beast, escaping with all his heart would not be difficult for him.

In truth, the main reason he had agreed to Lu Yunfei's offer was that he valued the status of a Flying Cloud Guard member. With that identity, many things would be much more convenient for him to handle in Guiyun Marketplace from then on.