Chapter 505: Journey Cultivator's Cloud Skill

At 10 AM, Li Banfeng arrived at the Dark Star Bureau for a meeting. He had originally not wanted to come, but Shen Jingye called him three times in a row, repeatedly stating that it was a very important meeting.

He had expected a large conference for the entire bureau, but upon entering the meeting room, Li Banfeng found that only Shen Jingye and members of the Security Team were present.

The main purpose of today's meeting was to summarize the previous operation to apprehend psychics in Garden Community. Shen Jingye praised the participating team members, specifically highlighting the newly appointed Deputy Director Li Qi for personally going to the scene and taking part in the arrest.

"Director Li is a role model for all members of the Dark Star Bureau. His actions demonstrate to us that no matter what position they hold, the core principles and responsibilities of Dark Star Bureau members remain unchanged! The bureau has repeatedly emphasized that our work focus must revolve around and serve the front lines. If one hasn't genuinely experienced frontline work, any talk of revolving around and serving is mere empty rhetoric! Going forward, whenever conditions permit, I will personally participate in frontline operations. Through practical work, I will truly understand the difficulties and needs of frontline personnel and ensure the bureau's key priorities are thoroughly implemented on the ground. Now, I invite Director Li to say a few words."

Li Banfeng blinked, surprised that he was expected to speak at this meeting.

"Director Shen's willingness to personally participate in frontline operations is an example for all Dark Star Bureau members. For the next operation, make sure to inform Director Shen. Anyone who doesn't go is a coward!"

As Director Li finished speaking, prolonged applause erupted from the audience.

Shen Jingye took a sip of tea, held it in his mouth for a moment, swallowed with difficulty, and then announced the meeting's conclusion.

What was the purpose of him calling this meeting? They had only caught a low-level Nightmare Cultivator, which wasn't a major operation. There were no substantial rewards like raises or promotions for the team members after the meeting, just a few verbal praises. Why did he call me three times just for this?

Li Banfeng found Shen Jingye to be somewhat perplexing. He must have had another reason for being so eager to find me.

That afternoon, Li Banfeng indeed received a notification for an operation: an unknown creature had appeared at Ruirong Textile Factory on Chengyun Road.

Li Banfeng had reviewed the files on Ruirong Textile Factory. This factory, abandoned for many years, had been the site of numerous incidents. The most recent involved a silkworm, which almost cost Zhong Er his life.

Shen Jingye had kept his promise; this time, he was personally participating in the operation and had already arrived at the scene.

Li Qi and the Security Team traveled by car to the scene. On the way, Chen Changrui said, "Director Li, during field operations, we all use codenames. Since you often participate in the team's operations, you should come up with one too!"

Li Banfeng nodded and replied, "My codename is Director."

Chen Changrui shook his head. "That's not advisable. We generally don't use job titles as codenames; it makes it easy to reveal one's identity."

Li Banfeng said, "What's there to be afraid of? There are over a dozen directors in the bureau. Even if someone comes seeking revenge, it's not certain which director they'll find."

And so, Li Banfeng's codename was settled.

Upon arriving at the textile factory, Shen Jingye was giving a pre-operation briefing, and the demolition team members were already prepared.

Li Banfeng asked Shen Jingye, "What's the demolition team here for?"

Shen Jingye said earnestly, "Xiao Li, before participating in an operation, you should have a general understanding of the specific situation. Team Leader Song, please brief Director Li."

Song Qingwen, the leader of the demolition team, explained the situation. In the factory's second workshop, a meatball-like entity, 2.3 meters in diameter, had appeared. It was immobile but could react to damage to some extent, including surface contraction and the expulsion of a somewhat irritating gas.

Li Banfeng asked, "What's the origin of this meatball entity?"

Song Qingwen shook his head, indicating he didn't know. Li Banfeng looked at Chen Changrui, who also had a bewildered expression.

Shen Jingye handed Li Banfeng the laboratory report. They had taken samples earlier, which showed the entity's surface was composed of fibrous proteins, similar to mammalian muscle fibers, with no cellular or neural structures. Under external stimulation, these fibrous proteins would contract.

Li Banfeng frowned as he read the report. "It hasn't been fully understood, so why not continue studying it? Why must it be blown up? Why not just take it back to the lab?"

Shen Jingye replied, "The lab already has samples, a sufficient quantity for research purposes. This entity exhibits certain vital characteristics and is extremely resilient, showing good resistance to both trauma and corrosive agents. If it were to behave erratically during transportation, we would struggle to find emergency countermeasures, potentially leading to a safety incident. After deliberation by experts, the most appropriate current solution is to detonate it in a secluded location. Ruirong Textile Factory itself is very remote, with no permanent residents within a three-kilometer radius, making it an excellent choice for dealing with this unknown creature. Rather than risking transport, it's better to deal with it on-site. Xiao Li, I hope you've understood my explanation so far?"

Li Banfeng remained silent. He was indeed not very familiar with the Dark Star Bureau's operational procedures. How would this entity be handled if it appeared in Pro Province? That would depend on the region. If it appeared in Greenwater City, whoever's territory it was would handle it, likely by burning it or finding special cultivators and magic artifacts to contain it. What if it appeared in Blue Willow Village? Someone would probably offer a high price to hire a fearless individual to sample a few pieces. If no ill effects resulted from eating it, the entity would be considered a powerful tonic, sliced, dried, and then sold.

Li Banfeng said, "I want to go in and see this entity."

Song Qingwen shook his head. "Director Li, the explosives have already been set up. No one is allowed to enter the operational area."

Shen Jingye said, "Xiao Li, not every operation requires direct combat. Today, the demolition team is the main actor. The Security Team's primary task is to provide support and prevent unforeseen circumstances."

Only then did Chen Changrui realize that this entity hadn't just appeared; the Dark Star Bureau had been involved for a long time, but the Security Team had been kept in the dark. In this operation, they were considered backup personnel.

Shen Jingye's secretary handed Li Banfeng several photos, all taken at the scene. The entity was dark red, with an uneven surface, and overall, it resembled a fleshy walnut.

While the demolition team was busy inside the factory, Chen Changrui stood outside. Candied Fruit snorted, "Such a big fuss, only for us to watch the show."

Lightbulb chuckled, "What's wrong with watching? Director Shen himself said not every mission requires us to charge into battle. I think he has a point!"

Tangyuan was also disappointed. She had been full of anticipation for this operation, hoping to achieve significant progress under Li Qi's guidance. Now, she just hoped the operation would end soon so she could return to the bureau, find an excuse to do something for Seventh Master, and seize the opportunity to learn some real skills. It wasn't even necessary to go back to the bureau. Seventh Master didn't seem busy now; she could go over and chat.

As Tangyuan started walking towards Li Qi, Zhong Er got there first and began talking to him. That idiot is truly annoying!

Zhong Er lowered his voice. "Director, I think something isn't right."

"What's wrong?"

"Director Shen has some issues with how he's handling this situation."

"Where's the problem?"

"The demolition itself is problematic. While he's doing it in a way that can't be faulted, there's a better approach."

As they spoke, a countdown began at the scene. Ten seconds later, the countdown ended.

Boom! A cloud of smoke and dust rose, and the demolition was complete.

Because Pro Province was quite unique, Li Banfeng wasn't very familiar with demolitions, so he didn't perceive anything unusual. Demolition Team Leader Song Qingwen's expression was clearly off. Even Chen Changrui, who rarely dealt with demolitions, felt that the explosion lacked something.

Shen Jingye looked at Song Qingwen. "Is something wrong?"

Song Qingwen didn't dare to answer lightly. He called out to his subordinates, "Send a drone in to check."

His subordinates prepared a drone and flew it into the textile factory. The signal inside the factory was very poor, seemingly due to a shielding device. The drone's footage was very blurry, but it showed a large quantity of explosives at the scene that had not detonated, remaining undisturbed. Looking at the large meatball entity again, its surface appeared undamaged.

No, there was damage!

Song Qingwen saw a wound on the spherical entity. The wound was located in the shadow between the entity and the ground, and dark red liquid was flowing from it. The entire wound was about the size of a fist. Laboratory personnel stated, "Wounds of this size usually heal within a minute."

The wound was slowly wriggling. Shen Jingye glared at Song Qingwen. "What exactly is going on?"

Song Qingwen couldn't explain.

Shen Jingye ordered, "Quickly clear out the unexploded charges!"

Song Qingwen hesitated for a moment. "Director, my suggestion is to reconnect and detonate them." Clearing out unexploded charges was inherently dangerous; re-detonating them was the correct choice. Shen Jingye urged Song Qingwen to act immediately. Song Qingwen personally led his team into the textile factory to re-lay the fuses.

Li Banfeng watched the footage from the drone, feeling that something was off. "What is that flowing out?"

Shen Jingye said, "It's a blood-like liquid."

A lab technician nearby added, "We also found a similar liquid during sampling. Its composition is very similar to blood, but it lacks blood cells..."

The video quality was indeed poor, but Li Banfeng still spotted the problem: "That's not liquid; those are bugs."

The staff operated the drone, adjusting its flight path and camera angle. The flowing dark red "liquid" was extending further away. Shen Jingye was startled. Such a long distance clearly didn't conform to the laws of fluid dynamics. Although the footage was blurry, Li Banfeng could discern that they were worms, which reminded him of his encounter at Iron Thread River.

Shen Jingye grabbed his walkie-talkie. "Detonate immediately! Prevent the unknown creatures from leaving the factory!"

Song Qingwen didn't respond. The drone located him; Song Qingwen was standing next to the entity, wearing an anti-explosion suit, and hadn't moved. Li Banfeng stared at the screen for a moment and noticed a red line near Song Qingwen's feet. It was a red line formed by worms, which were crawling out of his anti-explosion suit. The demolition team members at the scene successively ceased their movements. Without struggling or crying for help, they stood still like statues, and soon worms began drilling out of their bodies.

After a moment of stunned silence, Shen Jingye issued an order: "Security Team, deploy! Prevent the unknown creatures from leaving the textile factory!"

Chen Changrui received the order and quickly organized the Security Team to assemble, but from the drone's perspective, the red worms were already close to leaving the second workshop.

Shen Jingye said, "Incinerators go first, Drunks assist. Contain the unknown creatures within the second workshop!"

Incinerators are fire cultivators. Drunks are alcohol cultivators. Sending fire cultivators to burn the worms, with alcohol cultivators assisting, seemed like the correct tactic.

Chen Changrui shouted, "Incinerators can't go! The second workshop is full of explosives!" With a large quantity of unexploded ordnance present, fire cultivators rashly starting fires could easily trigger a secondary explosion. A secondary explosion might not destroy the entity or eradicate the worms. Not only would the fire cultivators die in vain, but it could also accelerate the worms' spread.

Given the emergency, Chen Changrui was still pondering a countermeasure when Li Banfeng asked, "Are there any insect cultivators!"

A middle-aged man named He Bensheng stepped forward. The Insect Cultivation path was very rare; among the entire Security Team of over a hundred people, there was only one insect cultivator. He Bensheng glanced at the video, then shook his head. "I haven't seen this type of worm before; I'm afraid I can't control them."

Li Banfeng said, "It's okay if you can't control them. Gather all the insects in the factory area, surround these worms, and fight them!"

This was He Bensheng's specialty. As he was about to enter the factory area, Big Head stepped forward and said, "I'll go with you." He Bensheng needed someone to protect him while dealing with the insects.

Li Banfeng asked Big Head, "What's your cultivation path?"

"Combatant."

"Martial cultivators, don't go; it's useless!" Li Banfeng turned and shouted, "Are there any Travel Cultivators?"

Six people stepped forward: two at the third tier, four at the second tier. Li Banfeng said, "The second-tier cultivators don't need to go yet. The two third-tier cultivators will accompany Old He inside. If Old He can't hold out, you two use 'Treading Through Ten Thousand Rivers' to reinforce him. If 'Treading Through Ten Thousand Rivers' still can't hold, then quickly withdraw. Your main task is to surround these worms and prevent them from spreading further."

After the three went in, Li Banfeng called Tangyuan over. "Summon all cultural cultivators at the fourth tier and above."

Tangyuan paused. "Does that include me?"

"Aren't you at the fourth tier?"

"I am! I understand!" Tangyuan gathered the cultural cultivators at the fourth tier and above in front of Li Banfeng.

Including Tangyuan, five people arrived. Li Banfeng warned them, "If you're scared, stay here. Those who aren't, follow me!" These cultural cultivators were indeed not cowards; not one chose to stay behind.

Li Banfeng instructed the remaining members of the demolition team, "You all wait outside on standby. When you receive my order, go in immediately and clear out the explosives." The demolition team was ready. Li Banfeng turned to Old Chen. "Tell the Fire Cultivators, Alcohol Cultivators, Water Cultivators, Oil Cultivators, and Ice Cultivators to get ready." Chen Changrui was a seasoned veteran; Li Banfeng didn't need to explain too clearly. He knew what to do.

Li Banfeng led the five cultural cultivators into the textile factory. Zhong Er watched anxiously but couldn't help. He Bensheng was already leading insects to surround the second workshop. In the middle of summer, the abandoned factory had plenty of insects, and under the insect cultivator's techniques, these insects had become exceptionally powerful, now fiercely battling a swarm of worms. The insects had an advantage in numbers, as well as clear superiority in speed and strength. Initially, they held an absolute advantage, not only forcing the worms back into the workshop but also continuously tightening the encirclement, seemingly intent on wiping them out entirely.

However, these worms were incredibly resilient. A locust moved forward and bit a red worm in half. Both halves of the red worm remained alive, with one segment burrowing into the locust's belly. The locust didn't struggle and remained motionless. Soon, several small worms emerged from its body. Next to the locust, a dragonfly suffered the same fate. It consumed a worm, but the worm didn't die; instead, it reproduced within the dragonfly's body. A group of ants nearby dismembered a red worm, which finally died completely. To completely kill a red worm, the insects had to go to great lengths. As long as a red worm wasn't entirely dead, it would parasitize the insect's body. If this trend continued, the insects wouldn't last long, and the worms would proliferate.

But He Bensheng's mission was accomplished: he had prevented the red worms from spreading outside the workshop. Li Banfeng had two Travel Cultivators escort He Bensheng away, then instructed the five cultural cultivators to act. Without hesitation, he directly activated "Counting Ink to Trace Paths" this time.

This technique had many limitations because it didn't distinguish between friend and foe. However, there was no need to distinguish between friend and foe now. Within the technique's range, anything that moved would be killed.

Tangyuan was the first to rush into the workshop, writing hundreds of the character "Tang" (汤). This was the first character of her codename, and she wrote it with great ease. As soon as the 'Tang' characters appeared, they emanated heat. Each character was scalding hot, like boiling water. A 'Tang' character embracing a red worm could quickly scald it to death.

"Counting Ink to Trace Paths" had a very short duration. Tangyuan's technique soon wore off, but it had significantly tightened the encirclement, forcing the red worms to retreat further towards the meatball entity.

Tangyuan rested to the side, and an elderly Security Team member in his fifties followed suit. This experienced veteran wrote a very simple character, 'Shi' (十), meaning 'ten'. The character only had two strokes. The cultural cultivator's hand was swift, allowing him to write thousands of 'Shi' characters at once. This character seemed flimsy and clearly not durable, but the old cultural cultivator had seen through the battle: against worms, durability wasn't needed; quantity was key. When a 'Shi' character was thrust into the ground, it acted like a nail, first pinning the worm. Then, a slice along the worm's body, lengthwise, could cleave it in half. If it were severed horizontally, the worm might have a chance to regenerate, but split lengthwise, it died instantly. The characters killed the worms as easily as slicing melons and dicing vegetables. While the worms excelled at parasitism, they couldn't affect the characters in the slightest. After the veteran's turn, the encirclement shrank considerably.

When the veteran's technique wore off, the next Security Team member charged forward. Seeing the veteran gain an advantage by writing 'Shi', this person also wanted to take a shortcut and wrote an even simpler character, 'Yi' (一), meaning 'one'. The 'Yi' character was even faster to write than 'Shi', but after he wrote it, he regretted it. 'Counting Ink to Trace Paths' allowed characters to fight automatically and uncontrollably. If this 'Yi' character moved vertically, piercing the ground, its effect would be similar to 'Shi'. However, if 'Yi' moved horizontally, it became a stick. A stick chasing and hitting a worm would take ages to kill even one, and its lethality would be vastly inferior. This cultural cultivator's ineffective attempt, he retreated, looking chagrined. The remaining two cultural cultivators learned their lesson and both wrote 'Shi' when it was their turn, further shrinking the encirclement.

'Counting Ink to Trace Paths' was extremely draining. After one round of attacks, three cultural cultivators reached their limit and needed to rest. The veteran cultural cultivator, with superior skill, used less energy and deployed another round of 'Counting Ink to Trace Paths'. Tangyuan also used one more round. The other cultural cultivators were astonished. In their impression, Tangyuan was good for nothing except her privileged background. They hadn't expected her technical foundation to be so outstanding.

After the second round ended, the veteran cultural cultivator also gave out, but Tangyuan activated her technique for a third round. The veteran cultural cultivator was stunned. How many years had Tangyuan been cultivating? Could it be that she had practiced the technique more proficiently than him?

After the third round, Tangyuan's body trembled, her legs shook, and gritting her teeth, she activated her technique for a fourth round. Li Qi watched in amazement. Not to mention outside the province, even within Pro Province, cultural cultivators below the seventh tier couldn't possibly use 'Counting Ink to Trace Paths' so frequently.

Tangyuan struggled to steady herself and then used the technique for a fifth round. After using it, Tangyuan was completely exhausted and collapsed to the ground.

Continuously encircled by the characters, the red worms' movement was limited to a single row of machine tools next to the meatball entity.

Outside the textile factory, Big Head was stunned, Lightbulb was stunned, and even Shen Jingye watched in amazement. Everyone was astonished. Only Chen Changrui remained calm, knowing how much effort Tangyuan had put into her technique. One could call her useless, but not that she didn't work hard.

As everyone stood in bewildered shock, the three drones in the workshop were knocked down by the flying characters. Shen Jingye couldn't see the battle unfolding in the workshop and was anxious. He wanted to lead people into the factory area, but Chen Changrui advised, "It's best to wait for Director Li's orders." Shen Jingye wasn't stubborn, but he couldn't understand why all three drones would be accidentally damaged. Actually, it wasn't the characters that damaged the drones; Li Banfeng had shot them down. His movements were too fast for anyone at the scene to clearly see, let alone Shen Jingye, who was only watching the footage.

Li Banfeng embraced Tangyuan. Tangyuan struggled to speak, "Director, how... how did I do?"

"Excellent!" Li Banfeng praised, then handed Tangyuan over to others. "Everyone, withdraw!"

Everyone else withdrew, and Li Banfeng pulled out his teapot. The red worms' encirclement had shrunk to a certain extent, and Li Banfeng was now confident he could trap them with a barrier. The old teapot spilled tea onto the ground, creating a barrier that enclosed the red worms, the meatball entity, and the deceased demolition team members. Once enclosed, boiling tea spilled from the ground. The red worms on the floor struggled briefly before dying entirely. Such formidable red worms, capable of burrowing into skin upon contact, even Li Banfeng had been somewhat wary of them. Yet, once they were within the old teapot's attack range, subduing them proved to be remarkably simple.

The enormous meatball entity turned from red to grayish-white, indicating it had been cooked. There should be no more worms regenerating inside. All worms inside the barrier were dead, but were there any stragglers outside?

Li Banfeng caught one under a lathe, then called for the Security Team members outside to come in and "cleanse the ground." First, he had the demolition team clear away the explosives. Then, he had the Alcohol Cultivators come in and spray alcohol everywhere. After spraying alcohol, he had the Fire Cultivators come in and set fires. Water Cultivators stood by, controlling the flames to ensure the 'cleansing' effect was achieved without causing a widespread conflagration. The Ice Cultivators were the most crucial; they had to freeze the large meatball entity solid. Although the entity was cooked, Li Banfeng wasn't sure if it could still regenerate. Once the Ice Cultivators had frozen the entity completely, turning it into a block of ice, they then used an ice cultivation technique to shatter the ice, causing the entity to explode into pieces. The fragmented pieces continued to burn in the flames until they turned to charcoal.

With the ground cleansed, Li Banfeng didn't need to worry about the remaining cleanup. He left the factory walls, found a corner, hid the key, and returned to his Portable Dwelling, handing the only remaining worm to his wife.

"My dear wife, what kind of worm is this? Was it made by an insect cultivator?"

His wife used a gramophone needle to pick up the worm, examined it for a moment, and said, "This isn't an insect cultivator's worm. This is a Gu seed, something made by a Gu cultivator."

"This was also made by a Gu cultivator?" Li Banfeng showed his wife the photos of the meatball entity.

After looking at them, his wife said, "This is a worm mass cultivated by a Gu cultivator. Just from these photos, I can't tell its size."

Li Banfeng said, "This worm mass is more than two heads taller than me."

"My dear husband, then this Gu cultivator's tier isn't low at all. They might no longer be 'on the ground'. Why did you offend this person, my husband?"

Li Banfeng shook his head. "It's not really offending them; it's more like a fortunate coincidence that I encountered them."

"My dear husband, you must be extremely careful. Gu cultivators 'above the clouds' are not easy to deal with. Since you've encountered one, you must make preparations early."

Hong Ying scoffed at Gu cultivators. "So what if you offend him? Our man is also 'above the clouds'! Why be afraid of this worm-wrangling fellow?"

The Gramophone sighed, "My husband's promotion was too rushed. He's been 'above the clouds' for too short a time, his physique still lacks refinement, and he hasn't learned any techniques. If he truly encounters a ruthless individual 'above the clouds', he might suffer a disadvantage."

Hong Ying nodded. "Upon promoting 'above the clouds', one should learn the techniques of the 'above the clouds' tier. This is serious business."

The Gramophone was worried. "Besides, as I said, his physique isn't yet fully refined, so he shouldn't rush."

Hong Ying said, "I don't think it's rushed. Seventh Lad, how's your body recovering?"

As soon as he heard about learning techniques, Li Banfeng puffed out his chest. "Compared to when I was 'on the ground', there's a world of difference! I think I'm ready!"

Hong Ying said, "I also think my husband can do it. Seventh Lad, let's start with one of our Travel Cultivator 'above the clouds' techniques. Once you master it, you'll definitely be able to distinguish between different factions!"

"What's the name of the first-tier technique?"

"Carefree and Unfettered!"

Li Banfeng thought for a moment. "Once I can distinguish between factions, I'll be carefree and unfettered?"

"Not only must you distinguish between factions, but you must also distinguish clearly in other areas," Hong Ying said. She picked a slender board from among the Gramophone's usual collection and handed it to Li Banfeng. "Seventh Lad, hit me."

Li Banfeng truly didn't understand why Hong Ying was so fond of his wife's board.

"Yingying, let's not play this game right now. Let's talk about the techniques first."

"We are talking about techniques," Hong Ying said, standing still. "I'll stand still. You can hit me anywhere you like. If you land a single blow, Xiao Wan will let you do whatever you want tonight!"

*Smack!* The Gramophone hit Hong Ying with a board first. "Why drag me into this?"

Hong Ying rubbed her backside. "Come on, Seventh Lad, didn't you say there's a world of difference compared to being 'on the ground'? Show me what you've got."

Li Banfeng swung the board, sweeping it towards Hong Ying's waist. The waist was a peculiar spot, difficult to dodge. Hong Ying stood motionless, but Li Banfeng's swing missed. Li Banfeng recalled his swing's trajectory and asked, "Yingying, did you just use 'Quibu'?"

Hong Ying chuckled, "If it was Quibu, then I won unfairly, and Xiao Wan can punish me however she likes. Seventh Lad, hit me again, put all your strength into it!"

If she truly stood still, some specific spots would be impossible to evade. Li Banfeng suddenly bent down, sweeping the board close to the ground. He aimed for Hong Ying's ankle. Hitting the waist, Hong Ying could lean back to dodge. Hitting the ankle, as long as her foot didn't move, she definitely couldn't evade it. Hong Ying's foot didn't move, yet Li Banfeng's strike missed again. Li Banfeng shook his head. "That makes no sense. You must have used Quibu."

Hong Ying chuckled, "If I used Quibu, then tonight I'll let Xiao Wan hit me a hundred times with a board, and Seventh Lad can watch while I count each strike myself!"

The Gramophone snorted, "Hitting you would be too much effort for me. My husband, you definitely won't hit her using ordinary methods."

Li Banfeng was puzzled. "Is it because I'm too slow?"

The Gramophone said, "Not just because you're slow, but also because you're hitting the wrong place, my husband."

Li Banfeng paused. "If I want to hit her ankle, naturally I'd aim for her foot."

"My husband, her ankle wasn't on her foot just now."

"Her ankle wasn't on her foot? Then where could it be?"

The Gramophone replied, "It could be on her shoulder, or behind her back, or even in an unspeakable place."