Chapter 11

Two more days passed, and the fervor of the loose cultivators of Qingyun Island hunting down remnants of the Demonic Sect waned, allowing Fu Feng to finally dare go out for a stroll.

He sent off the underling suspected of having divided loyalties to watch those two infected with demonic qi, hoping they would perish together, Fu Feng thought maliciously.

According to what he understood, his identity should be that of a disciple sent by the Demonic Sect from another realm; he just doesn't know how he got captured, after which the Demonic Sect rushed to rescue him, but unfortunately after being rescued he found his home gone and everyone dead, so as long as he kills that surviving lackey, no one will know his identity!

However, the fact is, Fu Feng never had confidence against Xiao Yi; both are Foundation Establishment cultivators, but his spiritual sense far surpasses Xiao Yi's.

But the problem is, there's no output!

His vast spiritual sense made him sharp-eared and clear-sighted, even allowing him to anticipate impending danger, but aside from enabling a safer escape, it was otherwise useless.

As for buying powerful combat arts from the market, never mind the training time issue—the problem is he doesn't have them; otherwise he wouldn't have bought only these most basic basics.

Thus he came up with a new idea.

Not far ahead is the island's proclamation board, where the city lord's office posts edicts.

At this moment, a large crowd of unemployed loose cultivators had gathered to watch, and right in the center were the shopkeeper Yu and his daughter whom he had seen that day.

"If you want to go, go; if you don't want to go, don't go—why come here spouting all this nonsense?" Shopkeeper Yu bellowed into the crowd.

After listening carefully for a while, Fu Feng finally learned that the city lord's office was actually recruiting people to mine.

"Mine? Isn't that just cloud?" Fu Feng puzzled, stood in the crowd and kept listening.

"I say, Shopkeeper Yu, the city lord's office is hiring without you having to spend money—why are you so eager about it?" someone teased.

"Exactly, I heard that suppressing the Demonic Sect this time earned a lot of merit; when the great formation turns, those cloud ores will be valuable."

Shopkeeper Yu's eyes widened: "You even know about the merit? By the time the mine opens, there'll still be heavenly treasures and earthly riches, and the city lord's office hasn't even raised the price yet—what more do you want?"

The female cultivator, however, was impatient; rather than waste time arguing with them, she'd rather train more, noting that her team's Wandering Fish Formation still lacked a bit of timing, she made up her mind and said directly:

"Those interested can head to Yunhai City in ten days; farewell!" Having said that, she flew off with her father, leaving the crowd staring at each other.

"Alright, disperse—no one wants to hear you idly chatter here; do you really think you can guarantee a breakthrough to Golden Core?" The island's guards also began to break up.

"The mines of Yunhai City used to recruit only its own residents, but now they're taking anyone—this shows how huge this harvest is." Someone remarked enviously.

"What, you still want to dig up a treasure?" People who like to provoke are everywhere, and soon the two started arguing.

"Mine?" After listening for half a day and hearing nothing useful, Fu Feng decided to go see for himself. Compared to staying in his room cultivating those headache-inducing arts, he'd rather experience something new.

Besides, what's wrong with mining? Everyone's alt accounts practice a few life skills.

Fu Feng casually grabbed a passerby and said, "Excuse me, how do I get to the mine?"

"Sir, are you going to the mine?" He hadn't expected that a random grab would run into Xiao Yi.

"What are you doing here?" Fu Feng asked.

"Those two thieves you told me to watch are right here!" Xiao Yi replied.

"Hmm, got it. I want to go mine at the ore field—lead the way!" Fu Feng said directly.

"Uh, okay." After a brief pause, Xiao Yi hurriedly led the way, meanwhile introducing the situation of the mine.

The so-called ore is actually the highly compressed cloud qi collected after the great formation operates; only by dispersing it into loose cloud qi does it become convenient to use, and moreover, stockpiling too much cloud ore would interfere with the formation's operation.

"Cloud qi, spiritual qi—hehe, interesting." Fu Feng naturally understood the relationship between the two, thanks to the two manuals on refining cloud and refining spirit, which had ingrained much common knowledge into his mind.

All things are composed of spiritual qi; depending on its state, it manifests different forms, the simplest example being the Five Phases—essentially the same, differing only in the condition of the spiritual qi.

In the Cloud Immortal Realm, cloud qi is more like a universal material usable for cultivation, production, and even as food.

Of course, it's not for people to eat, but rather cloud essence. Cloud essence differs from cloud beasts; it has a very gentle temperament, making it suitable for raising.

"Where can one buy cloud essence?" Fu Feng suddenly asked.

Xiao Yi thought and said: "Generally, nobody sells cloud essence; besides, it's not very useful, consumes a lot, and yields little." Although it was a complaint, his tone hinted at some story.

"Of course, if the cloud qi is good, you might be able to dig some up." Seeing Fu Feng a bit disappointed, Xiao Yi said.

Thus Fu Feng became even more disappointed; as a ten-draw with only a guaranteed minimum black chief, the existence of luck merely served to prove that this was something he lacked.

"What, you two young gentlemen also want to try your luck?"

Looking up, he realized they had already arrived at the mine; the overseer was smiling at them. Around them there were no buildings, only the platform they stood on and the solid cloud layer—apparently this was the mine.

"Yeah, my brother and I came to try our luck; if we can't strike it rich, we can at least earn a little pocket money." Xiao Yi handed over a small bag of spirit stones, obviously more worldly-wise than Fu Feng.

"Hey, you two young gentlemen clearly have deep blessings; we happen to need more hands on the east side, hoping you'll return with full loads." The overseer naturally wouldn't refuse the favor of the spirit stones, personally picking out two sets of gear to hand over.

One was a long banner that gave a feeling of being half-immortal, its surface completely blank. The other was a pickaxe.

Xiao Yi took them, saying, "Thank you, overseer, for your care!" Then he led Fu Feng flying eastward.

The mine lay beneath Qingyun Island; surprisingly, it wasn't gloomy—although no sunlight could be seen, it was as bright as day.

"Junior brother, later unfurl the cloud banner a bit wider, so we won't have to keep moving back and forth." Senior Brother Xiao Yi arranged loudly.

"Okay, senior brother." Fu Feng continued to answer in a dazed manner.

The surrounding curious divine senses vanished all at once.

A sweep of his spiritual sense made him understand the cloud banner's purpose: it is specially used to gather ownerless cloud qi, and all such qi within its range will be collected into it.

【Gathering Cloud Banner, made by Yunhai City; do not carry privately, violators bear the consequences!】

At the end of the information, there was also a warning reminding users to keep a clear head.

The spirit stones weren't given for nothing; with few people here, it's pitiful, and after walking around a bit, the two unfurled the Gathering Cloud Banner.

Xiao Yi immediately skillfully began harvesting cloud ore, striking the pickaxe against the thick cloud, and strands of cloud qi separated out, subsequently being gathered into the Gathering Cloud Banner.

Fu Feng picked up the pickaxe and started swinging vigorously; soon, a pattern appeared on the previously blank surface of the banner.