On the 22nd day of the second month of the 379th year of the Great Xuan Calendar.
Zhang Yu stood on a wide platform and looked into the distance. On the western horizon, half a huge pale white moon almost covered that side of the sky.
This scene made him clearly feel that he was no longer in the original inner layer, but in a foreign land.
He had been here for two days. After registering his name, he was temporarily considered a cultivator of the Ye Ya State.
In these two days, he also tried to understand the situation in the state.
Currently, in the Ye Ya State, there were more than a thousand cultivators, among which there were about three hundred middle-level cultivators.
Because the outer layer was infected by the Outer Void Evil, under such circumstances, to cultivate a divine power, one had to put in ten times or even a hundred times more effort than in the inner layer. Therefore, there were very few native cultivators, and most of them came from the inner layer.
Especially more than sixty years ago, when the inner layer was hit by a turbid tide, there were many gaps where the inner layer met. The inner layer was attacked by a large number of foreign enemies, so under the encouragement of Xuanting, a large number of cultivators went to the outer layer to resist the foreign enemies. Many of them did not return to the inner layer after the war, but stayed here.
It was different from the war in the Qingyang Upper Continent, because most of the time, the outer layer did not have to face a large number of enemies, but small and scattered groups of enemies with very strong fighting power. Therefore, except for the main army that was stationed in the Heavenly City for a long time, most of the troops were scattered and stationed in various places. Usually, they were responsible for eliminating and fighting against foreign and native enemies.
These troops ranged from more than a thousand people to dozens of people, and were collectively called "conscriptions". In addition, there were also mercenaries formed by the old soldiers, which were used to supplement the shortage of conscriptions.
Although the treatment of mercenaries was not as good as regular conscriptions, if their fighting power was strong enough, and the middle and upper levels of the troops were well managed, they could actually live very well.
But no matter what kind of troops, the core strength was always the elite armored soldiers and cultivators, and the most important was still the cultivators.
A troop with cultivators and without cultivators was completely different.
Cultivators were adept at sensing and were able to discover the tracks of their enemies from afar. Moreover, they could fly back and forth at an incomparably fast speed. This was especially the case for the middle level cultivators. They possessed various Divine Abilities and Dao techniques, and the increase in the combat strength of the entire group was not just a little bit.
This was especially true when fighting against the Shangchen cultivators and evil gods. If there were no cultivators to guard the team, it would be extremely difficult for them to deal with all kinds of strange and mystical powers. If they were not careful, they would be in danger of being wiped out.
As soon as the inner layer cultivators arrived in the outer layer, the most elite cultivators would be selected by the Military Affairs Department, and the rest would be recruited by the various prefectures.
Ye Ya Province was a place where battles frequently occurred, and there were many 'conscriptions'. Normally speaking, once a cultivator arrived in the province, it would definitely cause the various conscriptions to fight to recruit him.
Zhang Yu had been here for two days, but no one had come to invite him. This was mainly because his past records were too ordinary. There was almost no decent battle experience.
Anyone with experience would be able to tell that if such a cultivator wanted to possess a certain level of battle prowess, he would need to go through a period of tempering. However, during this period, the conscriptions would obviously have to pay a lot of sacrifices and casualties. This price was very high.
Moreover, no one could guarantee that this person would still stay in their team after making great progress. This caused many conscriptions to still be hesitant and wait-and-see.
Zhang Yu did not care about this. Even if there were no conscriptions looking for him, he could go out alone to kill evil spirits. It was just that when the time came, he would spend more effort to bring back the spoils of war. It was not that there were no cultivators in the province who made this choice.
However, this method would be a bit conspicuous and not conducive to integrating into the province. It might also attract the attention of the Golden Pupil Bureau, so this was the second choice.
After looking at the scenery in the distance for a while, he suddenly had an idea. Suddenly, a drawing board floated in front of him. After straightening it, he picked up the brush and began to draw the scenery in front of him on the rooftop.
At this moment, on the other side, two beautiful women were walking towards Zhang Yu's residence. Both of them had short hair that reached their ears, and they wore metal-colored close-fitting armor with a large cloak on the outside.
The woman at the back looked slightly younger and had a petite figure. She had a round face, red lips, and light eye makeup at the corner of her eyes. She was a little nervous as she asked, "Sister Wei, are we really going to recruit this Zhang Xuanxiu?"
Sister Wei was very tall and had a healthy body. She said, "Of course. Xiao Bai, let me tell you. In the past, whenever a cultivator came, he would be invited away within a few days. This time, if we don't hurry up, it won't be our turn anymore. If we have a middle-level cultivator in our team, it won't be so difficult to fight against those evil spirits and Shangchen cultivators. "
Xiao Bai was very unconfident and muttered, "But, in our current situation, will others be willing to come? They are middle-level cultivators. How can we afford to hire them? Moreover, we are just mercenaries … "
Sister Wei patted her head and said, "Don't worry. Leave everything to me."
Zhang Yu's current residence was a four-story stone platform built on top of a small hill. It had a high vantage point and a wide field of vision. One could overlook most of the scenery outside. In front of the platform, one had to pass through a stone staircase. As long as the people outside approached, the people on the platform would be able to see them.
When Li Qing He saw the arrival of the two from above, he walked out from inside, cupped his hands in greeting, and said, "Ladies, what brings you here?"
Sister Wei walked to the front and cupped her hands, saying, "My name is Wei Lingying. This is my assistant, Jin Xiao Bai. This time, we are here to invite Xuanxiu."
Li Qinghe said, "I see. Please come in and take a seat. Sir is painting. Please wait for a moment."
Wei Lingying hurriedly said, "It's okay. We will wait."
Li Qinghe invited the two in and arranged for them to sit in the living room. He poured them a cup of tea and left.
After he left, Wei Lingying looked around and whispered, "Xiao Bai, I didn't expect Xuanxiu to like painting."
However, Jin Xiaobai was not surprised at all. She said, "All Xuanxiu cultivators can only practice Taoism after passing proper examinations and entering the academy. People like that are one in a hundred. Even if they don't practice Taoism, they can still be taught by their masters and become officials. It's not strange that they like painting. However …" She seemed to be deep in thought. "I think this Zhang Xuanxiu's ordinary background might have something to do with his hobby."
She thought, "It's a pity. If I had known that Xuanxiu had this hobby, maybe I would have invited Uncle Lin as well. This way, the probability of inviting him may be greater."
Cultivators had always been aloof and arrogant in their eyes. The two thought they would have to wait for a long time, but after waiting for less than a quarter of an hour, they heard steady footsteps coming from above. Both of them involuntarily stood up and stared up.
Although Wei Lingying was full of confidence when she came, she couldn't help but feel a little nervous when she was about to come in contact with the owner of this place.
A moment later, she saw a young Taoist with an aura as bright as the sun and the moon walking down from above. For a moment, she couldn't help but stare at him, forgetting where she was.
However, at this time, the young Taoist's eyes flashed with awe-inspiring power, like a celestial being who was high above, looking down on all living things. Both of them trembled and came back to their senses.
Wei Lingying felt that she had lost her composure just now and was a little embarrassed. However, she was big-hearted and quickly threw this emotion to the back of her mind. She cupped her fists and said, "Are you Xuanxiu Zhang? Lingying greets you. "Jin Xiao Bai also hurriedly bowed to the side.
Zhang Yu nodded in return and made a gesture of invitation. He said, "Ladies, please sit down and talk."
After the two of them were seated, he also sat down and asked, "Wei Shuniu, are you two from the military?"
Wei Lingying said, "Yes, but we are a mercenary army, and … our current situation is difficult."
Jin Xiao Bai couldn't help but feel anxious when she saw that she had revealed her background. However, at this time, she couldn't interrupt and could only sigh inwardly.
Zhang Yu said calmly, "Then what's the situation on your side now?"
Wei Lingying said with a serious expression, "To be honest with you, Xuanxiu Zhang, this mercenary army was originally led by our elders. Previously, a cultivator in our army died in battle after encountering a strong enemy. Our elders were also seriously injured and are now recuperating."
Zhang Yu nodded slightly and said, "How long has it been since this incident?"
Wei Lingying said, "More than a year. However, after that battle, the original thousand-man army was reduced to just over a hundred people. This caused our battle strength to be severely lacking, and we can't fight against many enemies. If the situation doesn't improve in half a year, then we will be expelled from the Military Affairs Department and the entire mercenary army will be disbanded.
Therefore, right now, we urgently need the help of a cultivator.
To be honest, we can't offer any special conditions to attract anyone, but we can promise that as long as Xuanxiu Zhang is willing to come to us, we can use sixty percent, no, seventy percent of our profits to exchange for various seals and elixirs from other cultivators to support Xuanxiu Zhang's cultivation.
As long as we can recover during this period of time and wait for our elders to recover from their injuries and return to the army, we will definitely be able to return to our former glory. At that time, the conditions we promised will not change.
If Xuanxiu Zhang doesn't believe me, I have brought the official seal and the written complaint. We can sign a contract on the spot.
I'm done. "
After she finished speaking, she looked at Zhang Yu as if she was waiting for a verdict.
Zhang Yu thought for a moment, then looked up and said, "Ladies, you can go back first. I will give you a reply after considering it."
Wei Lingying couldn't help but feel dejected. In the past, it wasn't as if they hadn't invited cultivators, but every time the other party gave such an answer, there was no result. She stood up and forced a smile, saying, "Okay."
She walked out dejectedly. After walking for a long time, she said, "Little Bai, did I say something wrong again?"
Jin Xiao Bai comforted her, saying, "No, Sister Wei, you showed your sincerity. This is the best way."
Wei Lingying was startled, saying, "Really?"
Jin Xiao Bai grunted in agreement, and she said, "At first, I thought that we should cover up the weaknesses in the army. But later, I thought that we don't have any advantages over others, so what's the use of covering it up?
Even if we don't say anything, Xuanxiu Zhang can easily find out about our situation. So why don't we be a little more sincere? Who knows, maybe Xuanxiu Zhang will be willing to accept our invitation? "
Hearing her say this, Wei Lingying couldn't help but feel a little excited. But at this time, she glanced to the side and saw a well-built elder leading a young man towards the high platform. She was shocked, saying, "It's Fu Yong and his son." She gritted her teeth and said, "Why are they here too?"
Jin Xiao Bai was very calm, saying, "Old Fu's army already has a middle level cultivator and more than ten low level cultivators. Even if we invite Xuanxiu Zhang, the conditions won't be too good. Sister Wei, let's go back first and wait for the news. In any case, the result can't be too bad."
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