Medicine Escort Team, Wolf Head Mercenary Group

Firelight blazed as Xiao Yan connected his heart and qi with the Crimson Flame Berserk Blade in his hand. Knowing the moment had come, he swung it fiercely forward.

A ball of golden light shot from the blade. With a flash, it struck a huge boulder in the distance, triggering a muffled boom like rolling thunder.

With a boom, the massive rock over three meters tall shattered in an instant. The attack carried scorching heat, and countless fragments steamed with rising vapor.

Ya Fei had only read the description that came with the blade. This was her first time seeing the Crimson Flame Berserk Blade in use, and her heart pounded wildly as she was deeply shocked by its power.

Xiao Yan looked at the Crimson Flame Berserk Blade, which had returned to its blood-red color, with both surprise and delight. He had expended quite a bit of Battle Qi, and a surge of Killing Intent from the blade rushed straight into his mind, making his consciousness waver.

This influence was far weaker than the attack of the Magic Beast remnant soul within the flying Dou technique. Xiao Yan shook his head and regained clarity, liking the Crimson Flame Berserk Blade even more.

The master who had forged this weapon clearly did not understand the cultivation technique of its user. The fire-attributed Battle Qi cultivated through the Sacred Sun Technique conflicted somewhat with the Killing Intent of the Crimson Flame Berserk Blade.

Yet when he drove his Battle Qi in great quantities, it became supremely holy and unyieldingly forceful; when he swung the blade normally, its wicked Baleful Intent seized the soul. The transformations were unfathomable, giving it a merit beyond mere evil qi.

For a weapon that came with power comparable to a mid-level Profound Tier Dou technique, Xiao Yan felt that its practical value over the first two or three realms far surpassed that of the Heavy Xuan Ruler.

The latter was an unusual weapon type. Without Yao Lao's Earth Tier Dou technique, the Flame Splitting Wave-Cleaving Ruler, it would be difficult for an ordinary person to find a high-level ruler-type Dou technique.

Xiao Yan flicked his Storage Ring, and three wooden racks immediately appeared on the ground. Rows of jade bottles were neatly arranged atop them. The first two racks held many bottles, while the last held fewer. "Now that the weapon has arrived, it is time to settle the remaining payment."

Looking at all those medicine bottles, Ya Fei said enviously, "Alchemists truly are a terrifying bunch. A bill worth over a million gold coins was paid off just like that."

Xiao Yan smiled faintly and introduced them one by one. "The medicinal liquids on these two racks are Spirit Gathering Liquid and Foundation Establishment Spirit Liquid. The jade bottles on the final rack are for you—they contain Upgraded Foundation Establishment Spirit Liquid."

"Upgraded?" Ya Fei was somewhat surprised.

Xiao Yan smiled. "The Foundation Establishment Spirit Liquid works from the lower stages through the eighth stage, while this Upgraded Foundation Establishment Spirit Liquid is suitable for people with Battle Qi from the sixth through the ninth stage."

By adjusting the age of the medicinal ingredients, the Upgraded Foundation Establishment Spirit Liquid was somewhat inferior to the deluxe version effective for Dou Practitioners, but it filled the gap left in the Foundation Establishment Spirit Liquid's coverage during the Battle Qi stage.

Ya Fei looked at the third wooden rack with delight. Her talent was poor, but with this Upgraded Foundation Establishment Spirit Liquid, she could rely on external aid all the way to becoming a Dou Practitioner.

Xiao Yan smiled. "If you want to learn alchemy, I can teach you in the future."

"Then I shall thank you in advance." Ya Fei gave a charming smile and sighed softly. "But this older sister was tested long ago and does not possess the aptitude to become an alchemist."

"That is not absolute." Xiao Yan shook his head. He had originally shared Ya Fei's understanding, but after learning of Tang Zhen, who could forcibly refine medicine, his horizons had broadened greatly.

Whether one possessed wood affinity within fire, and whether one's soul perception was powerful, could no longer be absolute requirements for becoming an alchemist.

Ya Fei had never heard of such a strange matter. Yet Xiao Yan had already shattered the common understanding that her Battle Qi could not be stimulated through external means. If he could forcibly make her refine medicine as well, it did not seem impossible. Her thoughts ran wild for a time. When Xiao Yan withdrew from the engagement in the future, how could she help him?

Xiao Yan flicked his Storage Ring and took out the item he had taken from the mercenary he killed. "Do you recognize this mercenary badge?"

Ya Fei lowered her head and examined it for a while. "This is the badge of the Snake Nest Mercenary Group. They rarely operate in Wutan City. How did you get it? They are a somewhat famous mercenary group in Black Rock City."

"So it was the Snake Nest Mercenary Group." Xiao Yan murmured. He knew of this mercenary group. Its leader was the son-in-law of a Dou King from the He Family of Black Rock City, and was himself a Dou Spirit Realm expert. The group had developed quite well—but that was about ten years in the future.

Seeing that he did not wish to say more, Ya Fei did not ask further and instead brought up another matter. "The Jialie Family did not buy medicinal ingredients from Mitre, but they were not in a hurry."

Xiao Yan was not surprised. "Mitre may be powerful, but it cannot cover the sky with one hand. How much farther did they travel, how much more did they spend, and where did they buy the ingredients?"

Ya Fei shook her head. "You guessed wrong. Not long after your father acquired that Profound Tier cultivation technique, the Jialie Family acquired the medicine shops in Qingshan Town. That earlier move has now proven immensely useful. Perhaps they had long been plotting to hire an alchemist to refine medicine."

She already knew that Xiao Yan and his father had once taken people to Qingshan Town, though she did not know the exact reason. The Jialie Family's choice of that place had, to some extent, been influenced by them.

"Qingshan Town?" Xiao Yan was greatly startled. It was close to the Magic Beast Mountain Range, and it had the Thousand Medicine Hall occupying excellent herb-gathering sites. If the Jialie Family sent people to gather and transport herbs themselves, they could save quite a bit compared to purchasing them.

Xiao Yan quickly calmed down. "It is very close to Wutan City. We cannot let them transport the medicine smoothly."

Hearing that Xiao Yan immediately had thoughts of sabotage, Ya Fei smiled. "The Jialie Family truly brought terrible misfortune upon themselves by provoking your Xiao Family."

After smiling, Ya Fei revealed the information she knew. "They care greatly about that alchemist's safety. The medicine transport was merely entrusted to a mercenary group from Qingshan Town called Wolf Head. If the Xiao Family wishes to sabotage it, it will be easy."

The strongest member of the group was only a Two-Star Dou Practitioner. That truly would be easy. Xiao Yan swiftly formulated a plan in his mind.

After seeing Ya Fei off and learning that another batch of medicinal ingredients would arrive tomorrow, Xiao Yan began making poison.

The next afternoon, Xiao Yan activated his flying Dou technique and soared into the clouds, vanishing beyond the horizon in the blink of an eye...

On the broad road, seven or eight horse-drawn carriages moved slowly forward. Two banners stood upon them: one bore the mark of the Jialie Family, while the other displayed a vicious one-eyed wolf head.

The blazing sun hung like fire in the sky, yet the mercenary guards around the carriages showed no sign of fatigue. Every one of them remained fully focused, vigilantly watching their surroundings.

After being tempered in the Magic Beast Mountain Range, this sort of work was practically a leisurely outing to them. Moreover, for mercenaries from Qingshan Town to be hired by a great family of Wutan City was an immense honor.

Among the guards was Gan Mu, an experienced veteran and the person in charge of this mission. He was the deputy leader of the Wolf Head Mercenary Group.

Nothing unusual had happened along the way, yet a thread of danger suddenly rose in his heart. Following his instincts, he looked up and discovered in horror that a massive white object was hurtling down like a falling meteor.

Gan Mu was greatly alarmed. He urged his horse forward at a mad gallop and shouted, "Watch the sky! Everyone, scatter!"

Hearing their deputy leader's shout, the mercenaries looked up and saw the attack descending from above. Before they could react, the massive white object crashed into the ground. With a bang, white smoke rapidly engulfed the entire convoy.

Gan Mu had sensed the danger earlier than the others and escaped the encircling smoke first. Cold sweat rose within him. With his sharp gaze, he clearly saw that the elite mercenaries of his group fell to the ground the moment the smoke touched them. The smoke was obviously poisonous.

Dou King Realm experts capable of forming wings from Battle Qi were exceedingly rare in the Jia Ma Empire. Their medicine escort team could never have imagined that this batch of medicinal ingredients would draw the attention of a Dou King Realm expert, who had attacked them from the sky and even used poison.

Gan Mu clasped his fists toward the surroundings and shouted, "May I ask which senior is here? If you have taken a liking to these medicinal ingredients, we will offer them to you."

"If I kill you, I can take them all the same." A fierce shout rang out from the sky. Golden light burst from the Crimson Flame Berserk Blade in Xiao Yan's hand as he slashed down from afar.

A scorching wave of air surged from behind him. Gan Mu turned toward the sound and saw a golden fireball filling his vision.

Like Xiao Yan, he was now a Six-Star Dou Practitioner. But terror filled his heart, and he had been caught in an ambush. At this critical moment between life and death, he actually failed to react, and in the blink of an eye, the golden fireball struck his body.