Sweat beads were forming all along his forehead as Zhao Yunxiao sat cross legged in his meditation room.

Even though the celebratory banquet had ended much later than expected, he did not intend to simply rest for the night after returning to his residence.

Immediately after his return, Zhao Yunxiao cleaned himself up and started practising the Earthen Clone Technique once more.

At this moment, there was already a huge pile of earth in front of him, beside which stood an earthen figure with features that were almost identical to his own.

There were still a few discrepancies, but they were almost undetectable unless under close scrutiny.

The earthen figure then began to change colours, slowly taking on the colour of an actual person.

Its rough surfaces smoothened out like skin, and even its clothes gained the texture of actual clothing.

It was finally starting to look like a proper clone of his.

Zhao Yunxiao nodded to himself in satisfaction, then slowly closed his eyes.

In his head, an image slowly began to form.

It was the image of a familiar-looking young man sitting cross legged in a familiar-looking room – his room.

This was none other than Zhao Yunxiao himself, observed through the perspective of the earthen clone.

The Earthen Clone Technique not only allowed cultivators to create and control a clone of themselves, it also allowed cultivators to monitor the clone’s surroundings through spiritual sense.

Fortunately or not, cultivators could not share in the physical senses of the clones.

This meant that cultivators would not feel any physical pain even if their clones were sliced in half.

But at the same time, this also meant that indulging in physical pleasures, such as enjoying good food with their clones, would be absolutely meaningless since the tastes could not be transmitted back to the main body either.

Zhao Yunxiao willed it, and the earthen clone started to move.

He slowly opened his eyes, then turned his head rigidly.

Next, he tried to move his hands, stretching to the front and sides to explore the full range of movement.

Unable to feel anything physically made every action feel extremely rough and awkward, but that was something that could be refined over time.

For now, this was already great progress.

The next step would then be to fully refine the clone’s features and smoothen out the movements.

And there was also the most difficult step of learning to split his focus and control the clone while moving freely himself!

Knock-! Knock-!

“Junior Martial Brother Zhao, are you in there?” a male voice suddenly came from the front door.

Hmm?

Zhao Yunxiao was surprised by the late night visit, but quickly cancelled the Earthen Clone Technique and went to get the door nevertheless.

It was a voice that he did not recognise.

However, he had a good guess as to what this could be about.

Because of that, Zhao Yunxiao made sure to tidy himself up a little to make himself look more presentable before opening the door.

Standing at the door was an unfamiliar young man, who possessed looks that could not look more mediocre.

Even so, Zhao Yunxiao knew better than to show any form of disrespect.

“Junior Martial Brother Zhao Yunxiao?” the young man confirmed again the moment he saw Zhao Yunxiao.

It would appear that just like how Zhao Yunxiao did not recognise him, he did not recognise Zhao Yunxiao either.

“That’s me,” Zhao Yunxiao nodded. “May I know who...?”

“Phew, thankfully I did not get the location wrong,” the young man let out a sigh of relief. “My name is Mo Mian, inner disciple. You can just refer to me as Senior Martial Brother Mo. I am here on Junior Martial Brother Zheng’s recommendation. I believe he has spoken to you about going on a demon slaying mission?”

“Greetings, Senior Martial Brother Mo,” Zhao Yunxiao clasped his fists in greeting. “Indeed, Senior Martial Brother Zheng has spoken to me about it earlier.”

Zheng Biru had raised this topic when they were returning from their trip to the Origin Lake Sect.

Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.

Because Zheng Biru had been grounded by Elder He Luoxuan, he asked Zhao Yunxiao if he wanted to replace him for the upcoming demon slaying mission, and Zhao Yunxiao had expressed his interest.

Back then, Zheng Biru mentioned that he would suggest this matter to his party leader, and that it could only materialise if his party leader agreed to it.

Judging from the current situation, it would appear that he had passed the initial screening.

That also explained why Mo Mian would be here this late at night after the celebratory banquet too.

Zheng Biru had said that the party was planning to leave for the mission within five days, and would likely let Zhao Yunxiao know of the results within three.

That was two days ago.

Since this was a demon slaying mission that involved a certain degree of danger, it was not surprising that Mo Mian would want to speak to Zhao Yunxiao as soon as possible, even if it meant visiting in the middle of the night.

Ample preparation had always been the key to success.

“Good, that saves me the trouble of explaining then,” Mo Mian said. “Anyway, I have heard a few things about you from Junior Martial Brother Zheng, so I will be skipping the part where I should be testing you.”

“Thank you for your trust, Senior Martial Brother Mo,” Zhao Yunxiao replied. “But just out of curiosity, what did Senior Martial Brother Zheng say about me?”

“That is a secret,” Mo Mian answered with a smirk before handing over a rolled-up scroll. “Here is all the information we have regarding this mission, feel free to have a look before deciding if you want to join us.”

“How unfortunate,” Zhao Yunxiao lamented before receiving the scroll. “Please excuse me then.”

With that, Zhao Yunxiao opened up the scroll without hesitation to reveal the contents within.

Prior to this, Zheng Biru had only mentioned that this was going to be a demon slaying mission, dealing with a demon estimated to possess strength at the Intermediate or Advanced Essence Physique realm.

And now, Zhao Yunxiao had finally been given access to the full picture.

This mission arose from a request for help from the nearby East Stream Village. With their means as cultivators, it would only take them around two full days to get there from Purple Plum Mountain.

According to the request, a monkey demon had been terrorising the village in recent months, capturing young men and women and bringing them deep into the wilderness.

Not a single one of those captives was ever seen again.

After months of living in constant fear, the desperate villagers finally decided to send a plea to Purple Plum Mountain, hoping to get help from the powerful Black Tortoise Sect.

Upon receiving the request for help, the sect administrators had put it up as a demon subduing sect mission, seeking interested disciples who were willing to go handle the situation.

According to the description of the monkey demon, the sect had then assessed it to likely possess strength at the Intermediate or Advanced Essence Physique realm.

As East Stream Village was but a poor fishing village, the rewards would naturally be provided by the Black Tortoise Sect itself.

Zhao Yunxiao frowned upon reading it.

“Is there something wrong, Junior Martial Brother Zhao?” Mo Mian noticed his expression and asked.

“The premise for the demon subduing mission is straightforward enough, not complicated whatsoever,” Zhao Yunxiao said. “However, the only ones who have seen the demon are the villagers. As ordinary mortals, their description of the demon has to be taken with a pinch of salt. This means that the estimated strength of the monkey demon might differ greatly from its true strength.”

“So it’s about that,” Mo Mian let out a gentle smile. “Don’t worry, Junior Martial Brother Zhao. Our party has taken on various similar missions in the past, and we know better than to blindly trust the assessment as well. Before engaging the enemy, we will always make sure to do our own reconnaissance. If there is something amiss, we will surely make the necessary changes to our plans.”

“Even if it means abandoning the mission altogether?” Zhao Yunxiao questioned.

“Even if it means abandoning the mission altogether, yes,” Mo Mian nodded in assurance. “Rather than the rewards, we always prioritise our own safety.”

“That’s good to hear,” Zhao Yunxiao was satisfied to hear that their thoughts were aligned. “In that case, may I know what role Senior Martial Brother Mo is expecting me to play in this mission?”

“Combat support,” Mo Mian answered without hesitation. “I understand that Junior Martial Brother Zhao’s cultivation level is at the Essence Gathering realm, so you naturally cannot be the one directly confronting the monkey demon. Instead, I’m hoping that you can aid our main combatants with support fire or traps. Will you be able to do that?”

From that, Zhao Yunxiao immediately understood that Mo Mian was likely to be the leader of the party. Or even if not that, he would at least be the brains behind the party.

Otherwise, he would be using the term ‘we’ instead of ‘I’.

Of course, he could also just be bad with words, but that did not quite fit the impression that he had been giving so far.

As for the suggested role...

“That should be fine,” Zhao Yunxiao replied. “However, it would be better if I can find out more about the individual strengths of the party members so that I can make the necessary preparations beforehand.”

“Junior Martial Brother Zhao’s caution is admirable. Unfortunately, our members are all busy making their own preparations so that might not be possible, considering we are intending to set off in two days’ time,” Mo Mian let out a bitter smile. “Instead, will it be okay for me to tell you the general characteristics of each member to help you paint an overall picture?”

“That will do,” Zhao Yunxiao nodded.

In fact, he was not too comfortable with the fact that he would have to go on the mission without first meeting the rest of the party members, but time was indeed a little tight if they were leaving just two days later.

This meant that everyone effectively only had tomorrow left to complete the rest of their preparations, so it might indeed be asking for a little too much to get everyone to gather just to introduce themselves.

The good thing was that he had already heard of Zheng Biru’s party prior to this – that they could be considered regular customers when it came to such missions issued by the sect.

That helped Zhao Yunxiao trust them just enough to go through with this.

For a party that had been doing this so often, surely they already had a solid plan going for themselves.

“Thank you for understanding,” Mo Mian said with a smile.

With that, Mo Mian proceeded to explain more about their party – the Mystic Cavalry – and the individual strengths of each member.

Zhao Yunxiao listened intently, not willing to miss a single word.

And even while he was listening, Zhao Yunxiao was already starting to picture possible scenarios in his head, trying to come up with the best way that he could complement their strengths and cover their weaknesses.

Since he was only joining them for the first time, the last thing Zhao Yunxiao wanted was to end up becoming a burden to the seasoned party!