Mercenaries in Two Worlds

After everyone had finished laughing, Zhang Qian learned that Xia Yun had discovered that A Zheng had a talent for alchemy and wanted to take him on as a disciple on behalf of his master.

"Isn't the true teachings of a master alchemist very precious? Will your master spank you if he finds out?" Zhang Qian patted Xia Yun's butt and chuckled wickedly.

"You... are ignorant. There is a shortage of alchemists these days. If an alchemist encounters a disciple with good talent, he will usually take him on as a disciple." Xia Yun ignored the latter part of Zhang Qian's words and looked at Zhang Qian as if he were an idiot.

"Really? Then tell me if I have the talent." Zhang Qian touched his clean-shaven chin, thinking that if he had the talent to refine pills, he would be one step closer to his goal of 20,000 spirit stones. Is there any profession in the world that is more profitable than alchemy?

"Boring. If just anyone had talent, would alchemists still be so scarce?"

"Hey, how do you know I don't? Tell me, what counts as talent?"

Xia Yun sorted through the two black pills in the alchemy furnace, sighing inwardly. Ah Zheng was only at the first level of Qi Refining, and to be able to do this on his first attempt was already quite talented. Without looking up, he replied, "Condensing the fire of divine sense is the basic qualification for judging whether a person has the qualifications of an alchemist."

"How to unite them?"

Seeing that Zhang Qian really wanted to try, Xia Yun put aside his disdain. He wouldn't refuse anyone when it came to elixirs and martial arts, and patiently explained...

“Using divine consciousness as the wick and spiritual energy as the fuel, the fire of divine consciousness is born. This is an innate ability. Even if someone breaks through to the incarnation stage, they cannot condense it. You…” He stopped abruptly halfway through his sentence because he saw that flames had already ignited in Zhang Qian’s hand.

"Is this it?" A wisp of purple flame burned fiercely on Zhang Qian's middle finger, hot and steady.

Xia Yun was a little embarrassed. He hadn't even explained the specific method yet, and Zhang Qian had already managed to condense it. His comprehension ability was truly remarkable. But why use the middle finger? It felt strange.

He pushed the three medicinal herbs to Zhang Qian, saying, "Carnation Grass, Bellflower, and Fox Tail Herb. These three herbs are the materials for refining the lowest-grade Spirit Gathering Pill. This is the alchemy furnace..." He then took out another alchemy furnace from his spatial ring.

Zhang Qian swore this was the most he had ever heard Xia Yun say; he hadn't expected the guy to have such patience.

"Control the fire of your divine sense to refine the essence of the medicinal herbs, then put them into the alchemy furnace, control the fire, and condense them into a pill according to the Spirit Gathering Pill Method."

The divine fire was quite peculiar. Zhang Qian felt that it was connected to his mind and spirit, and he could clearly see its form, firepower, and even temperature.

While refining the medicinal herbs, Zhang Qian memorized the pill-gathering method. By the time the essence was extracted, he had already memorized those few lines of text.

Unaware that Xia Yun's pupils had constricted, he was utterly shocked. How could Zhang Qian refine the essence of the medicinal herbs to such an exquisite degree on his first attempt, without wasting a single drop? Even Xia Yun himself wouldn't dare say he could do that every time.

Zhang Qian was extremely focused, ignoring even the few drops of sweat that trickled down his forehead and into his eyes. For some reason, his divine sense could seep into the alchemy furnace along with the heat of the divine sense fire, allowing him to constantly perceive the state of the pills and adjust the angle of the fire accordingly.

If it were an ordinary alchemist, they could only rely on experience and control over the fire of divine sense, but they could not penetrate into the alchemy furnace, because the fire of divine sense itself uses divine sense as its core to burn spiritual energy, and can isolate divine sense.

Xia Yun watched in confusion as Zhang Qian constantly shifted his divine fire. Just then...

"Boom!" The alchemy furnace exploded again, just like Ah Zheng's time.

Fortunately, Zhang Qian reacted quickly, and with a single step, he dodged far away. Xia Yun did the same, leaving only A Zheng, who was at the first level of Qi Refining, to be hit.

This time, even his eyes turned black, and his whole body became pitch black.

Although Ah Zheng was in a terrible state, he still bravely spoke up, "Young Master Zhang is amazing, even the sound of your furnace exploding is louder than the small one." This was pure flattery; Ah Zheng didn't know how to be sarcastic. He didn't utter a single word and even emitted a puff of smoke, looking utterly pathetic.

Zhang Qian frowned deeply because he clearly sensed that the pill was ready at the last moment, but he didn't know why the furnace exploded.

"What a pity," Xia Yun thought to himself. Zhang Qian's drug refining was so perfect; he wondered what caused this.

"Wait, something's not right..." He sniffed, and a rich fragrance of elixir wafted over.

He hurriedly brushed away the dust from the alchemy furnace, revealing a snow-white pill surrounded by mysterious runes. Although it was covered in dust, it was spotless. Xia Yun exclaimed in a hoarse voice, "Pill runes, a profound pill, heavens!"

I have never seen Xia Yun so excited before; his hand holding the elixir was trembling slightly.

"Mystic Pill?" Zhang Qian and A Zheng, both novices in pills, asked in confusion.

Xia Yun's expression changed several times. "There are three types of pills: spirit pills, profound pills, and divine pills. Generally speaking, only seventh-grade alchemists have a chance to create profound pills. As for divine pills, according to records over the past hundred years, only the previous Pill King, Ji Shan Yao Lao, refined one. The world changed color, and nine tribulations of divine lightning were unleashed. After the pill was formed, its fragrance filled the entire city and did not dissipate for a month."

"Oh." Zhang Qian wasn't most interested in that right now, but rather in seeing Xia Yun's usually expressionless face so expressive. He felt a strange sense of satisfaction; no matter how aloof you are, you have to kneel down and sing "Conquer" in front of a true genius.

"Oh what? Do you know how rare this is?"

Zhang Qian enjoyed seeing him both dislike and admire him. He pressed his cheeks, making a forced smile, and said, "I don't think it's difficult. Should I smile?"

"You... Hmph." Xia Yun sneered, "Do you know how much a Mystic Pill costs?"

Good grief, that hit Zhang Qian where it hurt. He, who had been pretending to be nonchalant, couldn't hold back any longer and blurted out, "How much? Is it expensive?"

"It costs more than ten times the price of a normal elixir. The higher the grade of the elixir, the more expensive it is. For example, this ungraded Spirit Gathering Pill originally yielded three pills in one batch, and each pill only cost one low-grade spirit stone. Although the Profound Pill can only yield one pill, it can sell for ten to fifteen spirit stones. If it comes into the hands of someone who likes to collect Profound Pills, the price can increase several times over."

"Damn, I'm going to be rich! It'll be incredibly profitable! Damn capitalism, here I come!" Zhang Qian's face lit up with joy, and he began to fantasize about his money-making scheme.

Xia Yun sneered inwardly. "Let them pretend," he thought, "they're overjoyed at the prospect of making money." He was also secretly pleased; his master must be thrilled to have found such a once-in-a-century talent.

A-Zheng, who was standing to the side, looked at Danwen as if he was deep in thought. The confusion in his eyes gradually disappeared and was replaced by the clarity of sudden enlightenment. Unbeknownst to him, a small wild grass that no one paid attention to was gradually growing into a towering tree.

While excited, Zhang Qian discovered that he had already reached the seventh level of Qi Refining. He realized that alchemy could break through realms. His aura became even more arrogant. "Hey, Xia Yun, you're a genius too. How come you're only at the sixth level of Qi Refining?"

Xia Yun was visibly taken aback, then regained his indifferent expression. "I started cultivating relatively late."

"I've only been cultivating for two months, and I'm already at the seventh level of Qi Refining."

"I traveled around with my master." The young man was still competitive after all, and couldn't help but retort when provoked by Zhang Qian.

"But I've already reached the seventh level of Qi Refining."

"I am a third-grade alchemist."

"But I've already reached the seventh level of Qi Refining."

……

"Enough talk, draw your sword."

"Haha, goodbye."

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