Divine Transcendence

"If you require an appraisal fee, Master, feel free to say so," Yuan Ming said upon seeing this.

"There’s no need for that. This red horn contains a powerful fire attribute spiritual power. I can’t discern its origin, but I can say that it’s no less than a mid-grade item, possibly even higher," the fire refiner waved his hand and said.

Yuan Ming was delighted. Even a veteran refiner like the fire refiner couldn’t identify the origin of the red horn, it seemed that it would be impossible to find out in a short time.

"May I ask Master Fire Refiner to help refine this item into a magical tool?" He asked with a bow.

"Using it to refine a low-grade magical tool would be a waste. I’m afraid I can’t help you with that," the fire refiner shook his head and said.

Yuan Ming was taken aback, then said, "Master Fire Refiner, I’ve seen the magical tools you’ve refined. Your smelting, forging, and rune carving are all excellent, definitely meeting the requirements for refining mid-grade magical tools. Why do you only refine low-grade ones?"

"Do you also understand refining?" The fire refiner asked in return.

"I know a little," Yuan Ming vaguely replied.

"This matter involves my secrets, it’s not convenient to tell," the fire refiner shook his head after glancing at Yuan Ming.

"I apologize for my rudeness. I’ll leave the Thousand Mechanism Mask to Master Fire Refiner," Yuan Ming bowed in apology, put away the two materials, turned around and left the magical tool shop. However, the voice of the fire refiner came from behind him.

"Young friend, if you have good runes, remember to come find me. The price won’t disappoint you."

"This Concealment Symbol is said to prevent cultivators below the Foundation Establishment stage from spying with their divine sense. It seems that Fire Refiner’s cultivation is not low!" Yuan Ming paused slightly, then continued walking without looking back, thinking to himself.

......

As evening approached, half of the western sky was red. It should have been a beautiful scene of the sky filled with red clouds, but unfortunately, two large mountains around Black Rock City blocked most of the western sky, only allowing glimpses of the red clouds.

Yuan Ming looked at the sky, but did not return to the inn. Instead, he headed towards the southern market of Black Rock City.

He was actually quite interested in the Loose Cultivator Alliance in the southern market. However, he had been too busy collecting spiritual materials before and had no time to spare. Now that things had gone surprisingly smoothly, he had some free time and planned to take a look.

However, when he passed by the central round square again, he saw an old Taoist in a worn-out robe setting up a stall. The stall was rather deserted with few customers.

On the stall, there were no magical tools, talismans, pills, or books. The only thing was a kind of incense that emitted a faint wave of spiritual power.

This piqued Yuan Ming’s interest. After some inquiries, he learned that the old Taoist came from a remote small country in the Eastern Region. The incense he sold was not ordinary incense, but a special kind called "Spiritual Incense". Although it was not a magical tool, talisman, or pill, it was said to have a similar effect and could even complement pills.

The old Taoist sold three types: Green Mystery Incense that could enhance the cultivation speed of Qi Refining cultivators, Nourishing Spirit Incense that could nourish the soul, and True Subduing Incense that could ward off evil spirits.

The reason why they were not popular was partly because not many people in the Southern Region burned incense during cultivation, and partly because the prices were too high. A bundle of thirty-six sticks of Green Mystery Incense cost twenty spirit stones, and each stick could only last for about a quarter of an hour. In terms of aiding cultivation, its effect was far inferior to that of spirit medicine of the same price.

However, the old Taoist claimed that he was selling the incense to exchange for spirit stones due to an urgent need, implying that he was selling the incense at a low price.

When Yuan Ming proposed to try the effect before deciding, the old Taoist readily agreed.

Under the old Taoist’s guidance, Yuan Ming tried it and found that the incense was indeed effective. He then bargained with the old Taoist like Gu Yue did, and finally bought all thirty bundles of Green Mystery Incense at a price of fifteen spirit stones per bundle. He also bought ten bundles of Nourishing Spirit Incense, which was a bit more expensive.

In this way, Yuan Ming spent over six hundred spirit stones in one go, but he was somewhat excited.

His aptitude was not good, but now he had the Nine Elements Formula and a large amount of Yuan Cultivation Pills, as well as these Green Mystery Incense to assist him. His cultivation progress during closed-door cultivation would greatly improve.

The white-haired old Taoist was overjoyed and claimed to have a fate with Yuan Ming. He introduced himself as "True Person Xuanhua" and gave Yuan Ming a dirty old bronze token. He told Yuan Ming to use the token to find him for a drink at Xuanhua View in the Eastern Region when he had time, and then packed up his things and left.

After putting away the token and incense, Yuan Ming did not stay at the original place for long and soon arrived at the southern market.

The layout here was similar to the eastern and western markets, but the buildings on both sides of the street were not shops, but the bases of the Loose Cultivator Alliance. They varied in size and were spaced apart from each other. The plaques hanging on the doors read "Wind Cutting Loose Cultivator Alliance", "Army Breaking Loose Cultivator Alliance", and so on.

There were strong men standing at the entrance of each base, either two or four, all looking very sturdy.

Each building entrance had a red list hanging on it, listing what their alliance was good at, basically collecting spiritual materials, hunting fierce beasts, and providing bodyguard services.

Compared with the eastern and western markets, there were not many pedestrians in the southern market at this time, making it seem somewhat deserted.

Yuan Ming walked slowly, his gaze sweeping over the Loose Cultivator Alliances along the road.

His steps suddenly stopped as he looked at one of the alliances.

The people standing at the entrance all had Central Plains faces, and the name of the alliance also had a Great Jin style: "Hundred Battles Loose Cultivator Alliance".

"How strange, could it be an alliance formed by cultivators from the Great Jin?" Yuan Ming thought to himself.

What caught Yuan Ming’s attention about the Hundred Battles Loose Cultivator Alliance was not just these. There was a recruitment notice on its list, stating that anyone with a cultivation level above the sixth level of Qi Refining could join.

At this moment, there were more than ten people gathered at its entrance, whispering about the recruitment notice, seemingly discussing matters about this alliance.

After listening for a while, Yuan Ming had a rough understanding of the Hundred Battles Loose Cultivator Alliance.As he had expected, the Hundred Battles Alliance was indeed a loose alliance established by rogue cultivators from the Great Jin. They had only entered Heiyan City this year, mainly dealing in task reselling, transporting goods from the Great Jin to the Southern Border, and also bringing back special products from the Southern Border to the Great Jin, profiting in the process.

Rather than an alliance, it was more like a merchant association.

Its leader was a cultivator at the Foundation Establishment stage, and the members under his command were not weak either. There were many who were at the eighth, ninth, and even tenth level of Qi Refining. Although they had only been in Heiyan City for a year, they had already made quite a name for themselves.

Some time ago, they had returned to the Southern Border from the Great Jin and encountered danger on the way, losing many members. That’s why they were openly recruiting members now.

Upon hearing this, Yuan Ming was somewhat moved.

The Northern Region of the Southern Border was far away from the Great Jin, and he would have to cross several regions of the Southern Border. It would be difficult for him to return on his own. Since the Hundred Battles Alliance often traveled between the Great Jin and the Southern Border, he could use their power to return to the Great Jin.

"The Bai Lu Hill Alliance Meeting is imminent. After participating in the meeting, it’s not too late to consider joining the Hundred Battles Alliance." He thought for a moment, but did not step forward.

At this moment, there was a sudden commotion in the crowd around him. Everyone surged forward, and from the front came vague words like "so much reward" and "incredible".

After a moment of hesitation, Yuan Ming followed.

The crowd stopped in front of a loose alliance’s residence. The building of this alliance was red-roofed and white-walled, grand and majestic. On the plaque above the main gate were four vigorous and powerful characters in the Southern Border script.

"Bai Ye Alliance..." Yuan Ming murmured to himself.

During the day, when he and Gu Yue were strolling around the market, he had also asked Gu Yue about the loose alliances in Heiyan City and learned the names of several famous alliances. The Bai Ye Alliance was one of them. It was said that its leader, Bai Ye, was a cultivator in the late stage of Foundation Establishment and had quite a reputation among the rogue cultivators in the Southern Border.

The crowd was attracted because of the red list of the Bai Ye Alliance. On it was also a recruitment notice, but they were recruiting temporary members to hunt a powerful beast. The reward was very generous, and according to performance, the highest could be up to five hundred spirit stones.

The recruitment requirements were not low either. It clearly stated that the cultivation level had to be at least at the eighth level of Qi Refining, and one had to pass the test of the Bai Ye Alliance to participate in this task.

You should know that the tasks that ordinary loose alliances recruit Qi Refining cultivators for usually give five to ten spirit stones, and those that can give up to fifty spirit stones are generally tasks with extremely generous rewards.

Tasks with such high rewards were very rare in Heiyan City. Although many people didn’t believe it or were watching, there were still one or two people who walked out of the crowd from time to time and entered the Bai Ye Alliance’s residence.

Yuan Ming was also very tempted. Although he had more than a thousand spirit stones on him at the moment, which was considered wealthy among cultivators of the same rank, if he wanted to improve his cultivation and strength faster, even ten times more spirit stones could be spent in an instant.

He had originally planned to return to Bi Luo Cave and look for ways to make money. He didn’t expect to encounter a good task in Heiyan City. Although the description was not very clear, he was just qualified and should not be missed easily.

Moreover, according to Gu Yue, the Bai Ye Alliance’s style of doing things was quite upright, and there were no bad records. This time they were recruiting people to hunt beasts in the street, it should not be a plot.

After weighing the pros and cons in his heart, Yuan Ming stepped into the Bai Ye Alliance.

Passing through the main gate, a courtyard appeared in front of him, and two men in white robes blocked his way.

"Are you here to participate in the beast hunting task, fellow Daoist?" The tall and thin man on the left stood with his hands behind his back, glanced at Yuan Ming, and asked.

This man had a face full of pockmarks, yellowish skin, and looked quite ugly, but his eyes were exceptionally bright, seemingly due to some kind of cultivation method.

"Indeed." Yuan Ming replied.

"Fellow Daoist must have seen the requirements for participating in the beast hunting task. We need to test your cultivation level. Please don’t take offense." The tall and thin man said.

Yuan Ming naturally had no objections and nodded.

Upon hearing this, the man on the right took out a crystal clear sphere, aimed it at Yuan Ming, and urged it with his other hand. The surface of the sphere began to show dots of crystal light flowing uncertainly.

Although Yuan Ming didn’t feel anything unusual, he felt as if his body and mind were being completely scrutinized by the other party.

After a moment, the image of Yuan Ming appeared in the sphere, with nine green light shadows swirling around him, shining brightly.

Yuan Ming took another look at the crystal sphere. Not only could it detect his cultivation level, but it could also detect the attributes of his cultivation method, which was quite interesting.

"Fellow Daoist’s cultivation level meets the requirements. Please enter the inner hall for the next round of testing." The tall and thin man said with a soft look in his eyes, indicating a hall in front.

Yuan Ming knew that the next test was the real deal. The Bai Ye Alliance was not a big spender. Since they offered a high reward of five hundred spirit stones, they must have very strict requirements for personnel.

(End of Chapter)

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