Chapter 50: Flame Rat

Song Qingming pondered for a while and decided to participate in this action, agreeing to Old Ghost Feng.

Seeing him agree, Old Ghost Feng asked him to wait here, walked out of the tent full of joy, and sent a sound transmission talisman. Before long, a white-clad man dressed in Confucian attire arrived in the tent.

The white-clad man was named Jia Sixing, in his thirties, and like Song Qingming, he hadn't joined the Flying Cloud Guard for long. He had known Old Ghost Feng for many years in Guiyun Market, and it was only after Old Ghost Feng introduced him that he was able to join the Flying Cloud Guard.

Seeing that there was another person in Old Ghost Feng’s tent, Jia Sixing was also a bit surprised. After nodding and greeting Song Qingming, he said to Old Ghost Feng, "I was just saying, Brother Feng, you just came out of closed-door cultivation, why are you so anxious to go and pick that spirit herb? So you found another helper. It seems Brother Feng is determined to succeed this time."

Old Ghost Feng smiled and nodded, saying, "Daoist friend Song and I have some friendship, and he has already agreed to act together. With one more person, our hope of success this time is also greater. Anyway, I only want the White Jade Flower afterward, and all the materials on the demon beast will belong to you two."

Jia Sixing nodded and said, "Since that’s the case, then it’s agreed beforehand. I don't care about other things, but the fur on the Flame Rat must belong to me. I want to ask someone to refine a high-grade magic treasure, and this thing is of great use to me. If Daoist friend Song agrees, I have no problem on my side."

Flame Rats, as demon beasts, didn't have many valuable parts. The best was the outer skin of this demon rat. The fur of a high-level Flame Rat was a good material for refining magic treasures, and its value was higher than all other items on its body combined. Jia Sixing saying this was clearly wanting to take advantage.

"Good, then it’s agreed. You take the Flame Rat fur, and the remaining demon beast materials belong to me."

Although Song Qingming knew that this would be a bit of a loss, he didn't argue with Jia Sixing. He also knew in his heart that although the three of them had the same cultivation base, these two were both cultivators who had reached the sixth level of Qi Refining for many years, and their fighting ability should be higher than his. After all, he was a newcomer to the Flying Cloud Guard, and being too calculating might make the other party dissatisfied.

Regarding the Flame Rat to be dealt with this time, Song Qingming also knew from Old Ghost Feng that this Flame Rat had at most the cultivation base of the seventh or eighth level of Qi Refining. Although it was already a high-level demon beast, among the many high-level demon beasts in the Qi Refining stage, the Flame Rat’s divine abilities were average and it was not a difficult demon beast to deal with.

Otherwise, if they were dealing with those difficult high-level demon beasts, even if Old Ghost Feng could talk flowers into blooming and offer a sky-high price, Song Qingming could only be helpless. After all, spirit stones were good, but one had to be alive to spend them. If it really didn't work, he would just go to the market to inquire about news of Bailong Mountain. As long as he was willing to spend time, there would always be a way.

This time, acting to deal with a high-level demon beast, although there was also a great risk, as long as he could get half of the demon beast materials, he could also have twenty or thirty spirit stones, and he could save a few spirit talismans. By the way, he could get familiar with the two teammates and understand their divine abilities. For Song Qingming, no matter how he calculated it, it was very cost-effective. Going out for training, he still had to experience this bit of risk.

——

The location of the White Jade Flower was only fifty li away from the camp. After the three of them agreed, they left the camp one after another early the next morning.

The time and speed of the Flying Cloud Guard completing missions were generally not pursued too tightly from above, and the rewards were also issued based on the quality of each person’s completion. As long as they didn't bring disaster to the camp, Lu Yunfei was too lazy to care where they went.

After meeting at the foot of the mountain, led by Old Ghost Feng, the three spent more than half an hour on the road and arrived at a small mountain with many rocks.

"The Flame Rat is in the cave ahead. This demon beast has a particularly sensitive nose. As long as someone approaches the cave, they will immediately be attacked by this beast. Even if you use an invisibility talisman, it won't work."

Old Ghost Feng pointed his finger at a small rock cave dozens of zhang in front of the three and said to Jia and Song beside him.

"Just follow the plan agreed on the road. Brother Feng, use the puppet to lure the demon beast out first. After the demon beast comes out, Daoist friend Song, block its retreat to prevent this fellow from retreating back into the cave."

Jia Sixing repeated the action plan that the three had studied yesterday.

Afterward, Old Ghost Feng patted the storage bag at his waist, and a three-inch-sized white puppet beast was released. The puppet beast flashed with golden light and soon turned into a seven-foot-sized white tiger. The white tiger was shining with spiritual light and looked very majestic.

Old Ghost Feng cast a prohibition spell with both hands. The white giant tiger puppet flashed with spiritual light, its eyes lit up with a white light, and it quickly rushed toward the cave where the Flame Rat was hiding.

When it was still four or five zhang away from the cave entrance, the white tiger puppet opened its mouth wide, and a bolt of lightning instantly sprayed out from its mouth. After a loud bang, rocks flew into the sky, and this cave entrance, which was half a person high, was almost completely buried by the exploding rubble.

Looking at this white tiger puppet, Song Qingming’s eyes also lit up. Old Ghost Feng’s mid-grade white tiger puppet was actually a relatively rare puppet beast that could use thunder-type spells.

Level 1 puppets were not rare; many large sects had such inheritances, and there were many cultivators in the Carefree Sect of Song Guo who could refine Level 1 puppet beasts. But Level 2 Foundation Establishment stage or higher puppet beasts were very rare. No one in the entire Song Guo could refine them, and it was estimated that even if all the Golden Core cultivators in Song Guo were added together, there wouldn't be a few.

Thunder-type spells had always been the most powerful in attack ability among many attribute spells. If Old Ghost Feng’s white tiger puppet beast was used properly, it could be equivalent to a fifth-level Qi Refining cultivator.

Puppet beasts generally only had about half the power of cultivators or demon beasts of the same rank. Normally, ordinary cultivators could at most control one or two puppets of the same rank; if there were more, they wouldn't be able to exert the full strength of the puppets.

Only cultivators who practiced special techniques and had relatively strong spiritual sense could control more puppet beasts.

In the west of Donghuangxianzhou, there was a Zijin Country that was several times larger than Song Guo. In Zijin Country, there was a large sect that specialized in practicing puppet techniques, named the Golden Puppet Sect.

Within the Golden Puppet Sect, there was a secret technique that specialized in practicing cultivators’ spiritual sense, which could make cultivators who practiced this technique have a spiritual sense several times stronger than cultivators of the same rank. There had even appeared powerful cultivators in the Golden Puppet Sect who could control more than a dozen puppets at the same time.

Relying on the help of many puppet beasts, Golden Puppet Sect disciples could often occupy the upper hand in fights with cultivators of the same rank. For this reason, when Golden Puppet Sect cultivators walked outside, they were always feared by cultivators of other sects.

Although the Golden Puppet Sect only had three Nascent Soul cultivators, relying on several Nascent Soul-level puppets passed down from generation to generation, it had dominated the immortal cultivation world of Zijin Country for thousands of years. Other major Nascent Soul sects in Zijin Country had risen and fallen, but only the Golden Puppet Sect, relying on this skill of puppets, had always stood firm for thousands of years.

Old Ghost Feng was operating the white tiger puppet and was about to attack again. Just at this moment, a rumbling sound suddenly came from the rubble at the cave entrance. Following a strange squeaking sound, a three-foot-sized red demon rat darted out from the rubble pile.

(End of Chapter) ===== CHAPTER 51 =====