Mercenaries in Two Worlds

After breakfast, Wang Yi, Zhang Qian, and Ye Mei, carrying a piece of red gardenia pomegranate and four pieces of cold jade grass, headed towards the Hong family. The Hong family was the oldest family in Yuluo City, with countless members, and it was said to be related to the Hong family in the Central Plains.

Apart from the mercenary center, it is estimated that no other force in Featherfall City can rival it.

Upon hearing that they had come to complete a mission, the Hong family's gatekeepers, their previous arrogant attitude vanished, and they eagerly welcomed the three of them in. The Hong family patriarch had been talking about these herbs every day and had been leaning against the door, eagerly anticipating their arrival.

Sitting in the hall was an old man with white hair and beard. When the three members of the Wang family mercenary group saw the four stripes of gold leaf on the old man's chest, their pupils shrank. He was actually a fourth-grade alchemist, also known as a pill refiner.

Hong Miao, the head of the Hong family, sat respectfully to the side. Behind the old man in black stood a boy, probably only fourteen or fifteen years old, with a baby face but an extremely serious expression. He glanced coldly at Zhang Qian and the other two before lowering his eyes again, no longer paying attention. Suddenly, as if sensing something, he looked up at Zhang Qian again, his brows furrowing slightly, seemingly lost in thought.

"Master, the Wang family mercenary group has collected three kinds of spiritual herbs," the gatekeeper said, bowing.

Hong Miaoxian and the old man in black, who were engrossed in their conversation, stopped talking and said happily, "Not bad, not bad, you collected them so quickly. Let me see them."

Hong Miaoxian was a little eager and stood up.

Wang Yi took out the three kinds of spiritual herbs. Hong Miao carefully took them and passed them to the old man in black. The old man smelled them and said, "Although the age is relatively low, they are still usable. This will provide enough materials for the Jin Yuan Pill."

Hong Miao, who had been staring intently at the old man in black, narrowed his eyes and smiled until they were just slits.

Ye Mei's eyes lit up when she heard the words "Jin Yuan Dan". She was already at the ninth level of Foundation Establishment, and the next step would be the Yuan Dan realm. If she had a Jin Yuan Dan to help her, her chances would increase by 40%.

As long as one's talent isn't too bad, with the help of the Advancement Pill, success is almost guaranteed.

Although this Jin Yuan Pill is only a third-grade spiritual pill, its price is comparable to that of a fourth-grade ordinary spiritual pill, making it extremely precious.

"This is a high-grade spirit stone." Hong Miao was overjoyed and generously handed a high-grade spirit stone to Wang Yi.

The old man in black was a distant uncle from his childhood named Hong Yunyi. They hadn't seen each other for decades, and he never expected that the old man would become a fourth-grade alchemist. He happened to be traveling through Yuluo City and had agreed to help refine a Jin Yuan Pill to help Hong Miao advance to the Yuan Dan realm.

He had been stuck at the Foundation Establishment stage for ten years, and now that he had a chance to advance, he was naturally excited.

Wang Yi and the others were very satisfied to receive a high-grade spirit stone. Looking at the high-grade spirit stone with its extremely rich spiritual energy, they were so excited that they were afraid of losing it. They quickly passed it to Ye Mei, who had the highest cultivation level.

Just as Hong Miao was about to see the guest off, Ye Mei took out the remaining three Cold Jade Grasses and asked, "I wonder if this alchemist still needs Cold Jade Grasses?"

Hong Yunyi asked in surprise, "The Cold Jade Grass is a rare Grade 3 spiritual herb. How did you manage to gather so much of it?"

Seeing that none of the three spoke, Hong Yunyi laughed and said, "I was rash. I shouldn't have asked. Here's what we'll do: I'll take your three Cold Jade Grasses for a high-grade spirit stone."

The price is fair, even a bit inflated. A fourth-grade red gardenia burl plus a single Cold Jade Grass would only fetch one high-grade spirit stone, but now three Cold Jade Grasses are worth one high-grade spirit stone, which shows that Yun Yi is much more generous than the head of the Hong family.

Alchemists are never short of money, so their generosity is perfectly reasonable.

"Thank you very much." Ye Mei accepted the spirit stone without ceremony. From then on, the Wang family mercenary group turned the tables and sang songs of joy, leaping from poor farmers to wealthy families.

Wang Er used to say that there were only a few high-grade spirit stones in the entire Yu Luo City, but now he can casually sell two, which shows how short-sighted the Wang family mercenary group is.

Zhang Qian hesitated for a moment before asking, "I wonder if Master Alchemist has ever heard of the Thunderfire Elixir?"

"A fifth-grade pill, the Thunderfire Spirit Pill? Of course I know it. I don't know why you're asking about it?" Yun Yi, being easygoing, answered immediately. "This Thunderfire Spirit Pill is a wonderful pill for tempering the body. After using it, it will imbue a person's spiritual energy with the power of thunder and fire. It's an extremely precious fifth-grade spirit pill."

"I don't know the price."

"Haha." Hong Miao, in a good mood, wasn't bothered by Zhang Qian's numerous questions and answered first, "These top-grade pills don't have prices; they're all bartered."

Zhang Qian's heart sank, feeling that his hopes were slim. He stopped asking questions, knowing that it wouldn't matter if he knew, since he hadn't reached that level.

"Farewell." After receiving Hong Miao's promise to help resolve the dispute between the Three Swords Mercenary Group, the Wang Family Mercenary Group took their leave.

Just as Zhang Qian and his two companions reached the door, the cold-blooded youth who had been silent suddenly shouted, "Wait, I challenge you to a duel!"

Zhang Qian turned around and saw the boy pointing at him. He asked in confusion, "Me?"

"Yes."

"Xia Yun, don't be rude," Hong Yunyi scolded. This young man came from the assassin alliance that had been wiped out a few years ago. He had been rescued by chance and later became Hong Yunyi's disciple. However, this young man possessed complete cultivation techniques and martial arts skills, so Hong Yunyi's master was merely a figurehead.

The boy was quite stubborn and kept staring at Zhang Qian.

"I'm not interested in this." Zhang Qian waved his hand. He didn't have time to play with this kind of hot-blooded youth. He wasn't even paying him, so why should he play with him?

The atmosphere was a little awkward for a while.

Hong Miao laughed and said, "How about this, let's stop here. I'll put up a prize: the winner gets a Yellow-Rank weapon. Young man, would you like to consider it?"

Hearing about the Yellow-Rank weapon, Zhang Qian was somewhat tempted. The opponent was only at the sixth level of Qi Refining, so he wasn't afraid. Hong Miao, for some reason, doted on this disciple, and seeing his insistence, remained silent.

“Alright then,” Zhang Qian agreed. Xia Yun’s youthful face remained calm as she pulled out two black daggers from behind her. They were clearly not ordinary items, gleaming with an eerie black light that seemed to absorb all light. They were easily overlooked unless one looked closely.

Zhang Qian scratched his head and said shamelessly, "Well, I don't have any weapons."

“There are plenty of weapons in the yard, take your pick.” Hong Miao pointed to the row of weapons in the yard.

This is a bit of a misinterpretation. Xia Yun's weapon was a spiritual artifact, while the weapons in the courtyard were just ordinary weapons, which caused Zhang Qian to suffer a great loss.

There was nothing he could do, so he picked up a large knife and casually swung it around a couple of times. It was fairly easy to handle, but it was too light. His desire to find a good knife grew stronger.

Amidst the astonished gazes of the crowd, Xia Yun put away the dagger and instead took two ordinary small knives from the shelf.

Although Hong Yunyi was somewhat dissatisfied, he nodded slightly upon seeing Xia Yun's actions.

"Uncle, your disciple has excellent martial virtue."

"It's extremely difficult for this child to maintain such a pure heart after growing up in such a harsh environment; it's just a pity he lacks the talent for alchemy..."

Zhang Qian's expression turned serious. This was a worthy opponent, which also indicated that the opponent was very confident in his own abilities.