Chapter 153 Generous Rewards
"If you need to pay for the appraisal, Master, just ask." Yuan Ming said when he saw this.
"That's not necessary. This red curved horn contains powerful fire attribute spiritual power. I can't tell where it came from. I can only say that this thing is no less than the middle grade, and may even be higher." Huo Lian waved his hand and said.
Yuan Ming was delighted, but even a veteran refiner like Huo Lian couldn't recognize the origin of the red curved horn. It seemed that it would be impossible to find out in a short time.
"I wonder if Master Huo Lian can help refine this thing into a magic weapon?" He bowed his hands.
"Using it to refine a low-grade magic weapon is simply a waste of heaven's resources. I'm sorry that I can't help you." Huo Lian shook his head and said.
Yuan Ming was stunned when he heard this, and then said: "Master Huo Lian, I have seen the magic weapon you refined. The smelting, forging, and engraving are all excellent. They definitely meet the requirements of refining a middle-grade magic weapon. Why do you only refine low-grade magic weapons?"
"You also know how to refine weapons?" Huo Lian asked back.
"I know a little bit." Yuan Ming was vague.
"This involves my secrets, so I can't tell you." Huo Lian looked at Yuan Ming and shook his head.
"I'm sorry for being rude. I'll leave the Thousand Machine Mask to Master Huo Lian." Yuan Ming bowed his hands to apologize, put away the two materials, turned around and left the magic weapon shop, but Huo Lian's voice came from behind him.
"My friend, if you have a good rune, remember to come to me again. The price will not disappoint you."
"This breath-retaining symbol is said to prevent the spiritual consciousness of cultivators below the initial stage of foundation building from peeping. It seems that Huo Lian's cultivation is not low!" Yuan Ming paused slightly, and then continued to walk out without looking back, but thought secretly in his heart.
...
It was getting dark, and half of the sky in the west was red. It should be a beautiful scene of red clouds all over the sky. Unfortunately, there are two mountains around Black Rock City, which cover most of the western sky, and only a few red clouds can be seen.
Yuan Ming looked at the sky, did not return to the inn, and went to the South City of Black Rock City.
He was actually quite interested in the scattered alliances in the South City, but he was in a hurry to collect spiritual materials before and had no time to pay attention to it. Now he didn't expect that things would go surprisingly smoothly. With some free time, he planned to go and have a look.
As a result, when he passed by the central circular square again, he saw an old Taoist priest with white hair wearing a tattered Taoist robe setting up a stall, but there were no people asking, and it seemed a bit deserted.
There were no magic tools, talismans, or elixir books on the stall, but there was only one thing, a kind of incense that exuded a faint spiritual fluctuation.
This immediately aroused Yuan Ming's interest. After some inquiries, he learned that the other party came from a remote small country in the East Region. The incense it sold was not an ordinary stick incense, but a special thing called "spiritual incense". Although it was not a magic tool, talisman, or elixir, it was said to have the same effect as it, and could even complement elixir.
The three kinds of incense sold by this person are Qingxuan incense, which can improve the cultivation speed of cultivators in the Qi Refining Stage, Yangshen incense, which helps nourish the soul, and Jiangzhen incense, which can drive away ghosts and evil spirits.
The reason why it is not very popular is that on the one hand, there are not many people who burn incense when practicing in this place in Southern Xinjiang, and on the other hand, the price is too expensive. A bundle of thirty-six Qingxuan incense sticks costs twenty spirit stones, and each stick can only last for about two quarters of an hour. In terms of the effect of assisting cultivation, it is far inferior to the spiritual medicine of the same price.
However, the old Taoist claimed that he had encountered an accident and urgently needed a large amount of spirit stones, otherwise he would not sell incense in exchange for spirit stones, which means that the incense is still sold at a low price.
When Yuan Ming proposed to try the effect before deciding, the old Taoist agreed readily.
Under the guidance of the old Taoist, Yuan Ming tried it and found that this incense was indeed effective. He immediately learned from Gu Yue to bargain with it, and finally bought all thirty bundles of Qingxuan incense at the price of fifteen spirit stones per bundle, and also bought ten bundles of Yangshen incense, which was more expensive.
This time, Yuan Ming spent more than 600 spirit stones in one breath, but he was a little excited.
He had poor aptitude, but now he had the Nine Yuan Jue and a large number of Pei Yuan Dan, as well as these Qingxuanxiang, and the effect of his retreat would be greatly improved.
The white-haired old Taoist smiled and said that he had a predestined relationship with Yuan Ming. He introduced himself as "Xuanhua Zhenren" and gave Yuan Ming a dirty bronze token. He asked Yuan Ming to pass by the Xuanhua Temple in the East Region and go to the temple with the token to find him for a drink, and then packed up his bag and left.
After Yuan Ming put away the token and incense, he did not stay there for long and soon came to the South City.
The layout of the South City is similar to that of the East City and the West City, but the buildings on both sides of the street are not shops, but the bases of the scattered alliances. The areas are of different sizes and are a distance away from each other. The plaques hanging on the doors read "Zhanfeng Sanmeng" and "Pojun Sanmeng" and so on.
There are people in tight clothes standing at the gates of these scattered alliance bases, either two or four, and they all look very tough.
A red list was hung at the entrance of each building, which listed the things that the alliance was good at, basically collecting spiritual materials, hunting fierce beasts, and guarding bodyguards.
Compared with the East Market and the West Market, there were not many pedestrians in the South Market at this time, and it seemed a bit deserted.
Yuan Ming walked slowly forward, his eyes swept through the scattered alliances on the roadside.
He suddenly stopped and looked at a scattered alliance.
The people standing at the door turned out to be people from the Central Plains, and the name of the scattered alliance was also very Dajin style: "Hundred Battles Sanmeng".
"It's strange, could it be a scattered alliance formed by Dajin cultivators?" Yuan Ming thought to himself.
Yuan Ming noticed the Hundred Battles Sanmeng not only because of these, but also because there was a notice on its list to recruit members, and anyone with a cultivation level above the sixth level of Qi Refining could join.
At this moment, more than ten people gathered at the door, whispering about the recruitment notice, and it seemed that they were all talking about the scattered alliance.
After listening for a while, Yuan Ming had a rough understanding of the Hundred Battles Sanmeng.
As he expected, the Hundred Battles Sanmeng was indeed a scattered alliance founded by scattered cultivators from Dajin. It only entered Black Rock City this year and mainly did reselling tasks, transporting Dajin's items to Southern Xinjiang, and also transporting Southern Xinjiang specialties back to Dajin to make profits.
Rather than being a scattered alliance, it is more like a chamber of commerce.
Its leader is a cultivator in the foundation-building period, and the strength of his members is not weak. There are many masters of the eighth, ninth, and even tenth levels of Qi Refining. Although they have only been in Black Rock City for a year, they have already made a big name.
Some time ago, they returned to Southern Xinjiang from Dajin and encountered danger on the way, losing many members, so they publicly recruited members.
Yuan Ming was a little moved when he heard this.
The distance between the Southern Border and the Northern Region is far from Dajin, and it also spans across several areas of the Southern Border. It would be difficult for him to go back alone. Since the Hundred Battles Alliance often travels between Dajin and Southern Border, he can use their power to return to Dajin.
"The Bailuqiu Alliance is coming soon. It's not too late to consider joining the Hundred Battles Alliance after the alliance." He thought about it, but still didn't go forward.
At this moment, the crowd around suddenly became agitated and rushed forward. Words such as "so much reward" and "incredible" were faintly heard from the front.
After a brief pause, Yuan Ming followed.
The crowd stopped in front of a Sanmeng residence. The building of this Sanmeng residence was red-roofed and white-walled, tall and magnificent. On the plaque of the gate were four vigorous and powerful characters of Nanjiang.
"Bai Ye Sanmeng..." Yuan Ming muttered to himself.
When Bai Ri and Gu Yue were strolling in the market, he also asked Gu Yue about the scattered alliances in Black Rock City and learned the names of several famous scattered alliances. Bai Ye San Meng was one of them. It was said that its leader Bai Ye was a late foundation-building cultivator and was quite famous among the scattered cultivators in Southern Xinjiang.
Everyone was attracted here because of the red list of Bai Ye San Meng, which also had a recruitment notice, but it was for temporary members. The reward for hunting a powerful beast was very generous, and the highest reward could be 500 spirit stones depending on performance.
The recruitment requirements were not low either. It was clearly stated that the cultivation level must be above the eighth level of Qi Refining, and one must pass the test of Bai Ye San Meng before participating in this mission.
You should know that for ordinary scattered alliances recruiting Qi Refining cultivators, it is generally good to give five to ten spirit stones, and those that can give fifty spirit stones are generally extremely generous tasks.
Such a high-paying task is also extremely rare in Black Rock City. Although many people do not believe or take a wait-and-see attitude, one or two people still walk out of the crowd from time to time and enter the White Night Alliance.
Yuan Ming was also very tempted. Although he had more than a thousand spirit stones on him at the moment, he was considered rich among the cultivators of the same level, but if he wanted to improve his cultivation and strength faster, he could spend ten times more spirit stones in an instant.
He originally planned to return to Biluo Cave and look for ways to make money. Unexpectedly, he encountered a good task in Black Rock City. Although the description was not very clear, he was qualified and should not miss it easily.
And according to Gu Yue, the style of the White Night Alliance is also decent and has no bad deeds. This time recruiting people to hunt beasts on the street should not be a conspiracy.
After weighing the pros and cons in his mind, Yuan Ming stepped into the White Night Alliance.
After passing through the gate, a courtyard appeared in front of him, and two men in white tights stopped him.
"Is this fellow Taoist going to participate in this beast hunting mission?" The tall and thin man on the left stood with his hands behind his back, looked at Yuan Ming, and asked.
This man had pockmarks all over his face and yellow skin, and looked quite ugly, but his eyes were unusually bright, as if he was practicing some kind of martial arts.
"That's right." Yuan Ming replied.
"Fellow Taoist must have seen the requirements for participating in the beast hunting mission, and needs to test your cultivation. Please don't blame me." The tall and thin man said.
Yuan Ming naturally nodded without any objection.
The man on the right heard this, turned his hand and took out a crystal ball, pointed it at Yuan Ming, and pressed his other hand on the ball. The surface of the ball began to appear and flow with crystal light.
Although Yuan Ming didn't feel anything strange, he seemed to have a feeling that his body and mind were being seen by the other party.
After a while, Yuan Ming's figure emerged in the ball, with nine green lights wrapped around his body, shining brightly.
Yuan Ming took a closer look at the crystal ball. This thing could not only detect his cultivation level, but also the attributes of his skills. It was strange.
"Daoyou's cultivation level meets the requirements. Please enter the inner hall and accept the next round of tests." The tall and thin man said with a gentle look in his eyes, pointing to a hall in front.
Yuan Ming knew that the next test was the highlight. Bai Ye Sanmeng was not a fool. Since they offered a high reward of 500 spirit stones, they must have very strict requirements for personnel.