The Purple Datura Flower

Gao Xian looked at Old Wang's swaggering face and felt a wave of lingering fear.

When Old Wang had suddenly reached out just now, Gao Xian had nearly unleashed Ice Arrow Art. At that distance, an ice spike would have pierced Old Wang straight through on the spot.

He steadied himself and slowly let out a breath. "Give me the Spirit Stones first."

Old Wang glared at Gao Xian and shouted, "Didn't we agree? I risked life and limb to get you the Purple Datura Flowers, and you'd give me Deer Antler Powder.

"What, trying to welsh on the deal?"

As he spoke, he had already gripped the sword at his waist, poised to draw and fight.

"We were clear about this from the start. You bring me the Purple Datura Flowers, and I'll sell you the Deer Antler Powder."

Gao Xian didn't want Old Wang to turn against him, but he couldn't back down now.

He'd spent years navigating society and knew people like Old Wang never had enough of a good thing. They always pushed their luck, and the more you yielded, the more brazen and vicious they became.

Gao Xian stressed, "If you want Deer Antler Powder, you can only buy it with Spirit Stones."

"Kid,"

Old Wang said impatiently, "don't make me fight you!"

He shot Gao Xian a threatening sidelong look. "With your paltry skills, I could chop your dog's head off with a single stroke!"

"My master is a guest elder of the Lianyun Sect, and Shopkeeper Zhu at the apothecary is my martial uncle. Don't do anything reckless."

Gao Xian slowly backed away. He understood now: people like Old Wang never knew where their next meal was coming from and couldn't see beyond their noses. Even a tiny profit was enough to bring out their vicious side.

He'd better be careful. Old Wang really might attack.

Gao Xian's warning brought Old Wang to his senses a little. He snorted, "Don't try to scare me with that. I'm not giving you my Purple Datura Flowers for nothing!"

"Fine. I'll value these Purple Datura Flowers at ten packets of Deer Antler Powder."

Gao Xian didn't want to keep arguing. Once he'd refined Soul-Bewildering Powder, he wouldn't have to fear Old Wang if they crossed paths again.

He'd let him have his way this time.

Old Wang's eyes darted about. "No. Twenty packets of Deer Antler Powder!"

"Then forget it."

Gao Xian took two more steps back and waved dismissively, signaling Old Wang to take his Purple Datura Flowers and leave.

Seeing how firm Gao Xian was, Old Wang had no choice but to agree.

He also spent two Spirit Stones to buy twenty packets of Deer Antler Powder.

As he left, Old Wang made a point of warning Gao Xian never to sell Deer Antler Powder to anyone else!

After this confrontation, Gao Xian had a clearer idea of how dangerous Old Wang was.

As soon as Old Wang left, he hurried to light the fire and start refining Soul-Bewildering Powder.

With the help of the Wind and Moon Mirror, Gao Xian raised Soul-Bewildering Powder to Master level. Combined with his previous experience in alchemy, he managed to refine it in less than a day.

A large handful of powder, fine as dust, looked nearly transparent and colorless, giving off a faint, elusive fragrance.

Gao Xian poured all the Soul-Bewildering Powder into the small gourd he'd prepared, tightened the lid, and sealed in its medicinal properties.

He'd taken a White Dew Pill just beforehand, in case the powder poisoned him.

The White Dew Pill couldn't directly detoxify him, but it could guard the spirit, ward off evil, and gather qi. It wasn't a targeted antidote, but it was more than enough to resist a low-grade drug like Soul-Bewildering Powder.

And yet, just now, he'd caught a trace of its faint fragrance, and the world had spun before his eyes. He'd nearly passed out on the spot.

The effects of Master-level Soul-Bewildering Powder were astonishingly strong.

Gao Xian realized this was a bit troublesome. The stuff had no antidote, so he'd have to be very careful using it. If he knocked himself out before anyone else, that would be a complete farce.

It seemed Soul-Bewildering Powder wasn't exactly a clever way to protect himself.

He needed to think of something safer and more reliable.

Gao Xian took out the Wind and Moon Mirror. The stats on its front had all increased slightly.

Ice Arrow Art and Flame Bomb had both reached Proficient Level.

But according to Old Wang, these spells took too long to cast, making them hard to use effectively in a fight.

Old Wang might have been a man of poor character, but he was a cultivator who often ventured into the mountains to hunt. He had plenty of combat experience, and there was no reason to think he'd lie.

Gao Xian felt a little uncertain, too. The two spells looked powerful, but could he actually hit anyone with them? And if he did, how much damage would they cause?

He had no idea.

Old Wang had also said that swords and sabers were still the most useful!

Gao Xian glanced at the Pine-Patterned Longsword propped beside the bed. With his third-rate swordsmanship, he'd die even faster if he tried to fight someone with it.

The astonishing speed of his Lightning Dragon Hand could help with swordsmanship, but it didn't give him any real improvement.

"Wait..."

Gao Xian suddenly had a flash of inspiration. He thought of a certain sect leader who had wielded his sword to castrate himself, then mastered an unparalleled sword art. To make the most of his speed, he'd simply switched to using an embroidery needle.

The Lightning Dragon Hand gave Gao Xian little advantage with a sword, but flicking needles with it should be easy.

Gao Xian had watched videos of people using flying needles. They simply flicked them with their fingers, relying entirely on the strength of their fingers and wrists. He'd thought it was quite incredible at the time.

With his Lightning Dragon Hand, doing the same should be a piece of cake.

The thought excited Gao Xian.

He packed up his things and brought along several talismans. He strapped the Pine-Patterned Longsword to his belt.

A belt like this was a versatile, wide sash that could hold all sorts of items. The sword was hung from it by a sword stud.

The sword stud was a hook set into the scabbard. This way of carrying a sword was more secure and made it easier to draw.

Although Gao Xian wasn't good with a sword, carrying one projected a tough image and could deter others from causing trouble.

He held a Golden Body Talisman in his left hand, hidden inside his sleeve. Once he felt prepared, he headed out.

He'd been here for a while, but the farthest place he'd gone was Old Wang's house next door.

Leaving home, Gao Xian walked slowly along the yellow-earth road.

The houses on either side had been built without any consistent plan. The brick, stone, and earthen buildings were all haphazard, as were the courtyard walls. Everything looked incredibly disorderly.

Firewood, bricks, stones, and other junk cluttered the roadside. Countless kinds of household garbage had been tossed into heaps everywhere, drawing swarms of mosquitoes and flies that buzzed around without leaving.

Gao Xian wasn't unfamiliar with the sight. His own hometown in the countryside had looked like this, only this place was even messier and filthier.

He passed a few cultivators on the road, and everyone cautiously kept their distance. Two female cultivators, though, looked him over with keen curiosity. The glint in their eyes showed how strongly he'd caught their interest.

He'd never received this kind of attention in his previous life. He was used to being ignored as just another passerby. Catching a pretty woman's eye simply by walking down the street had been his wildest dream.

It made Gao Xian feel great, giving him a boost of confidence and helping him relax.

Following the route in his memory, Gao Xian arrived at the busiest central street in Flying Horse Market.

This Long Street split Flying Horse Market in two, and almost every shop was located along it.

Grain shops, clothing shops, apothecaries, taverns, weapon shops, general stores—the shops along this Long Street supplied the cultivators of Flying Horse Market with everything they needed for daily life.

There were also plenty of cultivators with roadside stalls, selling things like beast hides, beast meat, and low-grade magical artifacts.

People thronged Long Street, and all kinds of hawking and conversation blended together in a lively din.

The scene finally put Gao Xian at ease.

It was broad daylight, and there were so many people around. Surely no one would dare cause trouble.

No one struck up a conversation with Gao Xian, either. The unfamiliar cultivators instinctively kept five or six feet away from him.

What truly bothered Gao Xian were the cultivators running the stalls. Every one of them had a greasy face and a fawning smile. They looked like petty merchants, with none of a cultivator's bearing.

The moment he so much as paused, a stallholder would hurry over to enthusiastically pitch his wares.

Their service was as solicitous as a Haidilao waiter's. It made Gao Xian, who was already a little socially anxious, even more uneasy, and he could only quicken his pace and leave.

From a distance, Gao Xian could see that the apothecary in the center was the grandest shop. A gleaming sign hung over its entrance, and a neatly dressed clerk stood outside, loudly calling in customers.

He didn't want to run into Shopkeeper Zhu or see Qiniang.

He slipped quietly into a general store nearby and spent a few bits of silver on dozens of thick steel needles.

These ordinary sewing needles weren't worth much. They could only sell for such an inflated price in a semi-isolated place like Flying Horse Market.

Once he got home, Gao Xian pinched a sewing needle, over two inches long, between his middle finger and thumb. He muttered excitedly, "Whether this works or not all comes down to this..."