Chapter 153: Iron Blood Mercenary Group

Following the inn attendant, Ye Cheng walked along the street, his eyes casually scanning his surroundings. In just a few minutes of walking, he had already witnessed two separate fights, which showed that Poison Needle Town was indeed far from peaceful.

Not only that, but martial artists walked the streets in an endless stream. He could sense that the majority of them possessed the great accomplishment or peak strength of the Blood Qi Realm, and there were even a few at the lesser accomplishment of the Origin Realm.

"Attendant, it seems there are quite a few martial artists coming to Poison Dragon Town," Ye Cheng asked the attendant leading the way.

"Poison Dragon Town is close to the Demonic Forest, and beast tides frequently appear here, making it famous for chaos. How could there not be many martial artists coming here?" the attendant explained.

"But look at this street, the flow of people here is probably comparable to that of some major cities," Ye Cheng asked, puzzled.

"You wouldn't know about this, young master," the attendant said. "In Poison Dragon Town, there is an auction house called the Wright Auction House. This auction house holds a medium-sized auction every two months, often featuring treasures that cannot be bought on the open market. Therefore, every time this auction takes place, many nearby rogue cultivators rush to participate, and not even just them—even the various factions within Poison Dragon Town join in."

The attendant talked as he walked, explaining things to Ye Cheng.

"Oh? To actually open an auction house in Poison Dragon Town, which faction has such capability?" Ye Cheng asked in surprise.

He had seen with his own eyes at the town gates that not a single faction in Poison Dragon Town dared to stand up and send a guard detachment to garrison the gates. Yet now, running an auction house inside the town carried risks far greater than that; a misstep could leave one with neither people nor wealth.

"This auction house was not established by any faction in Poison Dragon Town. I heard that the headquarters of the Wright Auction House is located within the city of Nanyang Prefecture, and this is merely a branch," the attendant said.

"It is precisely because of this that the rogue cultivators and members of major factions going to the auction house compete according to proper procedures and dare not cause trouble. Otherwise, once they provoke the people of the Wright Auction House, they wouldn't be able to bear the consequences."

"Oh?" Ye Cheng nodded. Put this way, it was acceptable after all. Having its headquarters in Nanyang Prefecture meant its backers were undoubtedly extremely powerful, at least with Ancient Dan Realm experts presiding over it. Establishing a branch in a town without any Ancient Dan Realm experts left them with nothing to fear regarding turmoil.

"Where is the auction being held this time, and when exactly will it take place?" Ye Cheng inquired. Since he had already arrived in Poison Dragon Town, he certainly could not miss this opportunity and had to go experience it properly to see what was actually being auctioned. Perhaps he might even stumble upon something that interested him.

Inside his spatial ring, he still possessed a considerable amount of spirit stones, which constituted a not-so-small fortune.

"This auction will take place after sunset, right near the Iron Blood Mercenary Corps," the attendant replied.

***

"Kid, you need to be careful in Poison Dragon Town. I sense several powerful auras lurking in various parts of this town, likely reaching the peak of the Origin Realm."

Just as Ye Cheng was conversing with the attendant, Elder Mu's voice suddenly sounded in his mind.

"The peak of the Origin Realm?" Ye Cheng was astonished. Back in Ruyang Town, only the patriarch of his Ye family was at the peak of the Origin Realm. He had not expected so many experts to be hidden within Poison Dragon Town as well.

Yet immediately after, Ye Cheng could not help but smile faintly, communicating with Elder Mu in his heart: "Teacher, with you here, what do I have to fear? Didn't you possess the strength of the peak of the Origin Realm when you borrowed my body back then?"

"Heh, look at the scheme you're plotting, kid. You truly disregard the life of this old bone of mine," Elder Mu's somewhat哭笑不得 (laughable-yet-tearful) voice came across. "Every time my primordial spirit body controls your body, it consumes a significant amount of primordial spirit energy. A few more times, and this old frame of mine will probably be buried in the yellow soil."

"Is there no way to replenish your primordial spirit energy, Teacher? Or even allow you to be reborn?" Ye Cheng pondered for a moment before asking.

"A primordial spirit body is a heaven-defying soul physique. I have heard of a few ways to replenish primordial spirit energy, but they require me to become an alchemist first. As for letting this old man be reborn... I must say, you have a good heart, kid. But whether you can achieve this depends on how far you can walk on your martial path in the future," Elder Mu said with a hint of a smile.

"To what extent must I walk?"

"When you stand at the pinnacle of martial arts, perhaps you can achieve it," Elder Mu said after a moment of contemplation, having sensed the steadfastness in Ye Cheng.

Although Elder Mu knew that Ye Cheng's martial heart had always been firm, having a driving force for advancement could accelerate his growth even faster.

"Teacher, just wait. This disciple will certainly spare no effort to strive for the day you can see the light again," Ye Cheng said solemnly.

"Good, good. With this filial piety from you, I am quite satisfied, which shows I didn't take you on in vain." Elder Mu's words also carried a hint of excitement.

To obtain such a filial disciple in this lifetime—that truly brought no regrets!

"We have arrived, young master. That ahead is the Iron Blood Mercenary Corps." The attendant suddenly stopped walking, pointing at the mercenary corps headquarters a hundred meters away, which bore a purple-gold plaque.

Following the direction pointed out by the attendant, Ye Cheng saw the five bold and vigorous calligraphy characters reading "Iron Blood Mercenary Corps" inscribed on the purple-gold plaque.

"Alright, you may head back first!" Ye Cheng nodded immediately, then lengthened his stride and walked straight toward the Iron Blood Mercenary Corps.

***

"Halt! What are you here for?" Just as Ye Cheng was about to step through the doors, he was blocked by the guards at the entrance.

"To enlist!" Ye Cheng stated his purpose directly, not wasting too many words with the two mercenaries.

"Eh? To enlist? Old Wang, did I hear that wrong? This brat looks like his hair hasn't even fully grown yet, and he's coming to enlist. He's truly desperate for money and tired of living," the mercenary on the right said with a smile to the middle-aged mercenary on the left.

"Little brother, my buddy here is just like that; he loves making sarcastic remarks. Don't take it to heart," the middle-aged mercenary addressed as Old Wang smiled and said to Ye Cheng, his attitude noticeably much better than the former's.

"However, you should take my advice. The reason our Iron Blood Mercenary Corps is recruiting outside help this time is to cross the barren desert to the north. That place is extremely perilous, and those lacking in strength easily lose their lives there. So you'd better not join."

These two mercenaries possessed only the lesser accomplishment of the Blood Qi Realm, or else they would not have been assigned to guard the door. They failed to perceive Ye Cheng's true strength; although the latter's blood qi was formidable, as long as it remained concealed, those with lower cultivation than him found it very difficult to detect.

"Thank you for your kind intentions, but I still wish to enlist," Ye Cheng said with a smile.

"I say, you're quite arrogant, kid. Old Wang gave you nothing but friendly advice, so why won't you listen? Hurry back home," the other mercenary glared at Ye Cheng and said unpleasantly.

"Oh? Why is he here?" At the street corner in the distance, a clear and charming young woman emerged. It was precisely the maiden who had previously observed Ye Cheng from the restaurant's upper pavilion.

Seeing Ye Cheng standing at the entrance of the Iron Blood Mercenary Corps, her pretty eyes flashed with surprise, and she immediately walked over with a smile.