Chapter 46: The Flying Cloud Guards

Song Qingming looked up and saw that the speaker was a cultivator wearing a bamboo hat and black robes. This person possessed considerable cultivation, having already reached the eighth layer of Qi Refinement.

After looking around and confirming that the person was speaking to him, Song Qingming stopped in his tracks and asked calmly, "Fellow Daoist, are you speaking to me? We have never met; have you mistaken me for someone else?"

The black-robed cultivator nodded, then produced a black token, held it before Song Qingming's eyes, and continued, "Do not misunderstand. I am an inspection cultivator of the Guiyun Workshop. I simply have some matters I wish to ask you. It is too noisy and crowded here for a proper conversation; could we step aside to speak?"

Looking at the black token, Song Qingming nodded. Under the guidance of the black-robed cultivator, he left the center of the plaza. After passing through several bustling streets, the two arrived at a quiet teahouse.

The black-robed cultivator did not say anything else along the way, merely signaling for Song Qingming to follow closely. As soon as they entered the teahouse, the owner saw the black-robed cultivator leading the way and immediately approached them enthusiastically.

"Lord Lu, you have arrived! The usual routine for today?"

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

Seeing how familiar the shopkeeper was with the black-robed cultivator, it was obvious that this man was a frequent visitor.

As soon as they sat down, a waiter soon brought a pot of spiritual tea. After placing the tea on the table, the waiter quickly withdrew upon a gesture from the black-robed cultivator.

The black-robed cultivator poured a cup of spiritual tea for Song Qingming, politely presented it to him, and then spoke, "I am Lu Yunfei. May I ask your honorable surname, fellow Daoist?"

"I am Song Qingming." Facing the inspection team of the Guiyun Workshop, Song Qingming did not dare to hide his identity as he had in the past. After all, his identity had been verified and registered before entering the city; it would be impossible to deceive the inspection cultivators here.

"Oh, so it is Fellow Daoist Song. I saw you wandering around the Monster Hunting Platform today; I presume you have not been in the Guiyun Workshop for long. I wonder, have you heard of the Flying Cloud Guard?" As Lu Yunfei spoke, his eyes remained fixed on Song Qingming.

After a moment of thought, Song Qingming replied cautiously in a low voice, "I have heard of them. They are a specialized demon-scouting team established by the Guiyun Workshop, responsible for investigating information regarding the demonic beasts in the Fuyun Mountains."

"I wonder, Fellow Daoist Song, if you would be interested in joining our Flying Cloud Guard?"

Lu Yunfei's words caught Song Qingming completely off guard. Initially, he had thought the man was going to interrogate him, and he had been on edge for quite some time. Only now, knowing the man's true purpose, did he feel relieved.

"I have heard that the Flying Cloud Guard is very strict in its recruitment. In the past, those who joined were mostly individuals with unique skills or crafts. I wonder, Brother Lu, what quality of mine caught your eye? Could you tell me a little so that I may consider it?"

"Hmm, there is no harm in telling you. It is because I have cultivated a divine sense technique that allows me to sense the depth of the spiritual power within cultivators of the same rank. Today in the market, I observed that your spiritual power is somewhat deeper than that of other cultivators at your level, so I had the thought to recruit you." After Lu Yunfei finished speaking, he took a sip of his spiritual tea and continued.

"As you know, the Flying Cloud Guard has always been strict in recruiting talent. This is because a disturbance of demonic beasts in the Northern Border is approaching, and the beasts in the Fuyun Mountains have also been quite restless lately. Consequently, our Flying Cloud Guard has been recruiting personnel to assist in scouting. Rather than risking your life in direct combat with demonic beasts, I believe joining the Flying Cloud Guard would offer you more security. We only need to scout the locations, habits, and movements of the beasts and bring back useful information. The monthly compensation is no less than that of the hunting teams.

"May I ask, once I join the Flying Cloud Guard, will it be easy to leave in the future?" Song Qingming asked cautiously.

"Please rest assured, Fellow Daoist Song. Aside from a few sect disciples, most of our members are like the rogue cultivators in the hunting teams—free to come and go. As long as you complete your tasks, you can receive your compensation. Furthermore, with the identity of the Flying Cloud Guard, whether you are renting a cave dwelling in the Guiyun Workshop or purchasing necessary supplies in the markets controlled by our Xiaoyao Sect, you will enjoy the same discounts as sect disciples.

"However, the Flying Cloud Guard also has certain annual task quotas, such as exploring unknown areas of the Fuyun Mountains. If you fail to complete them or refuse to go, the workshop will directly strip you of your Flying Cloud Guard status. Please keep this in mind."

Having finished, Lu Yunfei looked at Song Qingming with a smile. He had laid out the benefits so clearly; surely this kid wouldn't refuse.

Two months later, in the Fuyun Mountains, Song Qingming—wearing a bamboo hat and black robes—was hiding behind a massive boulder, watching from a distance as a giant green crocodile wandered through a swamp dozens of feet away.

After a long while, Song Qingming took out a black notebook from his storage bag. Opening it, he took up his pen and wrote: "High-level demonic beast, Green Water Crocodile. Capable of using high-grade water-element spells. Lives alone in the Green Water Pool, three hundred miles southwest of the Cangyun Mountains. Prefers to venture into the marshes south of the pool during midday to forage for fish."

After putting away the black notebook, he watched as the Green Water Crocodile, having finished its meal, swam back into the pool. Only then did Song Qingming stand up, carefully scan his surroundings, and quickly depart.

After receiving Lu Yunfei's invitation in the teahouse that day, Song Qingming had thought it over briefly and decided to join the Flying Cloud Guard of the Guiyun Workshop, taking up the job of venturing deep into the Fuyun Mountains to scout demonic beast information.

Speaking of the Flying Cloud Guard, it was truly no ordinary cultivator organization. It not only gathered over a hundred skilled Qi Refinement cultivators but also had several Foundation Establishment cultivators leading and providing backup. With his sixth-layer Qi Refinement cultivation, Song Qingming was quite unremarkable within the group, essentially near the bottom.

The tasks they received mainly involved scouting demonic beasts within their assigned areas in the Fuyun Mountains, recording valuable information about them, and then returning to the Guiyun Workshop to exchange the data for spirit stones.

These areas were generally scouted from the air by Foundation Establishment cultivators first. These cultivators would record information on any Level 2 demonic beasts in the area to prevent Qi Refinement cultivators from accidentally wandering into their territory.

Only then would the Qi Refinement cultivators be arranged to conduct detailed explorations of the Level 1 demonic beasts within the area.

At the same time, about once or twice a year, there would be tasks forcibly assigned from above to explore unknown areas on the map. Although these tasks were also scouted by Foundation Establishment cultivators first, these unknown regions were often much more dangerous than the places already marked on the map that cultivators frequently visited.

There were often Level 2 demonic beasts that slipped through the cracks and evaded the search of the Foundation Establishment cultivators. Since a Foundation Establishment cultivator's divine sense could only extend three to five miles, it was common to miss some spots in such unfamiliar terrain. Once a Qi Refinement cultivator encountered a Level 2 demonic beast, surviving often depended entirely on luck.

Therefore, almost all cultivators in the Flying Cloud Guard possessed some form of specialized skill, whether it was a unique escape spell, an agile movement technique, or a divine sense technique like Lu Yunfei's, which allowed for powerful perception to predict danger in advance. Only with these various special abilities could they greatly increase their chances of survival; otherwise, an ordinary cultivator would easily go missing and never return.

Regarding this, Song Qingming had some confidence in himself. Although he did not yet possess any formidable combat spells or divine powers, fortunately, after practicing the *Jade Profound Scripture*, his spiritual power was much deeper than that of an average person. This was exactly what Lu Yunfei had seen in him. Coupled with the fact that he possessed high-quality magical tools and spirit talismans for protection, as long as he did not encounter a particularly powerful Level 2 demonic beast, focusing solely on escaping would not be difficult for him.

In truth, the main reason he had agreed to Lu Yunfei's proposal was the status of the Flying Cloud Guard. With this identity, many things in the Guiyun Workshop would be much more convenient for him in the future.

I must have a cold; this headache arrived silently. I lie in bed tossing and turning, unable to sleep. I got up to brew two cups of 999—one is mine, and the other is also mine.

(End of Chapter)