Flying Needles

"Thwack..."

A cold glint flashed by, and a steel needle over two inches long embedded itself deep into the solid wood door, the tail of the needle still humming and vibrating.

Gao Xian inspected the results of his efforts and was quite satisfied.

Although the wooden door to his room was crude, it was crafted from pine and was three inches thick—very sturdy indeed.

Flicking a needle from ten paces away to penetrate an inch into the door—while this power was far inferior to spells like Ice Arrow or Flame Bullet, it was more than enough to pierce a human body and cause injury.

The key was that the flying needle was simple and convenient to use; it just required more practice to improve his accuracy. Furthermore, how to carry such long needles on his person and how to draw them quickly were problems that still needed to be solved.

The Lightning Dragon Hand was indeed exceptionally useful, and the simple motion of flicking a needle posed no difficulty for him at all.

Gao Xian practiced a few more times and quickly grasped the knack of it.

Just as a fly landed on the door, he flicked his finger, and amidst a flash of cold light, he pinned the fly dead.

To be precise, the fly had been reduced to a smear of filthy blood.

The kinetic energy of the flying needle was too great; under the impact and vibration, the fly had been smashed to pieces.

The cost of practicing with flying needles was very low, and it didn't create the massive commotion that spells did. Successfully hitting a target with a flicked needle brought a great sense of accomplishment.

It was like the smooth, satisfying feeling of making every shot in basketball—a sensation so good he couldn't stop.

The pack of sewing needles Gao Xian had bought was soon exhausted.

These needles either shot into the door or embedded themselves into the walls. The excessive force of the ejection also caused the needles to bend, snap, or shatter, rendering them unusable.

Gao Xian had no choice but to head out again, but this time he couldn't find any more sewing needles; while there were many cultivators at Flying Horse Market, few of them sewed their own clothes.

The sixty-odd needles he had bought were the entire inventory of the general store.

The shopkeeper had also noticed that Gao Xian wasn't using the needles for any legitimate purpose, so he reminded him: "If you want to buy defensive magical artifacts, Fellow Daoist, you should go to Old Huang's weapon shop. She has everything there."

Gao Xian felt that made sense; it was always more reliable to seek out a professional for such things.

To his surprise, Old Huang was not old at all; in fact, she was quite alluring.

Old Huang looked to be about forty, with symmetrical features that weren't particularly striking, and faint crow's feet visible at the corners of her eyes.

However, her red lips were full, her chest was ample, her waist was slender, and she wore a bright red Daoist robe that made her look quite enchanting.

"Is the little brother the alchemist from Old Zhu's place?"

When Old Huang saw Gao Xian walk in, a smile couldn't help but bloom on her face. Although there were many cultivators at Flying Horse Market, there was only one as young and handsome as Gao Xian.

She had seen him from afar once and had been left with a deep impression.

Today, observing Gao Xian's handsome face at close range, she found herself liking him more the longer she looked.

She leaned in toward Gao Xian quite intimately: "I don't yet know what to call you, little brother? How old are you this year?"

"My surname is Gao, given name Xian. I am twenty-four."

Gao Xian had fully integrated into this identity by now and appeared quite composed.

"Only twenty-four, and already you've achieved success in Qi Refining. Your future is truly boundless."

Old Huang said with a beaming smile: "My name is Huang Ying. I'm a few years older than you, so just call me Sister Ying."

"Sister Ying." Gao Xian didn't care for socializing, but he was very familiar with this "brother" and "sister" social mode and didn't think much of it.

Huang Ying was very pleased. "Don't worry, you won't be calling me 'sister' for nothing. Whatever you want to buy, I'll give you a discount."

"What is it you're looking to buy?"

Seeing Huang Ying's enthusiasm, Gao Xian relaxed a little.

The weapon shop wasn't actually large, but it had a fairly complete range of weapons.

There were sabers, spears, swords, halberds, bows and arrows, as well as various throwing knives, javelins, short-handled axes, and all sorts of armor.

In addition, another display case held some low-grade magical artifacts—swords, blades, and various other forms.

Gao Xian didn't see what he wanted, so he said to Huang Ying in a slightly embarrassed, low voice: "I would like some needle-type hidden weapons..."

Huang Ying was slightly surprised. While many cultivators used hidden weapons, few used needles as a weapon.

Needles were too small and thin, posing very little threat to a cultivator.

"Little brother, I take it you're at the second level of Qi Refining, right?" Huang Ying asked, looking Gao Xian up and down.

Gao Xian was a bit surprised. Cultivators didn't have their cultivation level marked on their foreheads, yet this woman had seen through his second-level status at a glance. Her eyes were truly sharp! She was worthy of being the owner of a weapon shop!

He cupped his hands in praise: "Sister Ying's eyes are like torches. I am impressed, truly impressed."

"That's nothing. A first-level Qi Refining cultivator opens their Qi apertures to draw Qi into the body, the second level strengthens the tendons and bones, and the third level cleanses the marrow and replaces the blood."

"The first three levels of Qi Refining all have distinct characteristics. For instance, little brother, your muscles are currently taut, making you look much leaner than in your normal state. That is because at the second level of strengthening tendons and bones, the guided primordial Qi is all absorbed into the tendons and bones. One can tell at a glance with the Qi Observation Technique..."

Huang Ying was quite knowledgeable, and seeing Gao Xian's bewildered expression, she gave him a brief explanation.

Gao Xian gained a great deal; he knew his own situation, but he hadn't known how others cultivated.

It was also because the original owner's memories were incomplete, and furthermore, the original owner was an alchemist who likely didn't know much about these things.

He couldn't help but ask: "Is it the same for all Qi Refining cultivators?"

Huang Ying said with a hint of amusement, "Your master didn't tell you any of this? The physical body is the foundation of a cultivator's practice. Before reaching Foundation Establishment, no matter what method one cultivates, the most important thing for a cultivator is to temper the body."

"Different methods simply have different areas of focus."

"Only upon reaching Foundation Establishment do the paths of cultivation truly begin to diverge..."

"Oh, I see. Many thanks for the guidance, Sister Ying." Gao Xian cupped his hands and thanked her very earnestly.

"These are just common facts, it's nothing."

Huang Ying found Gao Xian to be genuinely and adorably naive. She turned back to the counter, took out a silver bracer, and handed it to him. "Needles are too thin; no one uses them as weapons."

"Inside this bracer is a set of White Plum Needles, a first-rank magical tool. The set consists of six flying needles, each three inches long, crafted from a mixture of white steel and flowing silver, and engraved with sharpness runes. Do you think they'll suit you?"

Opening the bracer, he saw six three-inch silver needles resting in orderly, raised grooves.

He took a liking to them the moment he saw them. The material of the flying needles was excellent; even without being driven by mana, they would be superb as hidden weapons.

"Sister Ying, how much for this set of flying needles?"

"Although the White Plum Needles are only first-rank, their quality is very high. Once refined, they can pierce heavy armor within ten paces. The White Plum Needles themselves are extremely light and have low mana requirements."

Huang Ying smiled. "They would normally sell for twenty spirit stones."

"Oh..."

Gao Xian nodded. The price didn't seem too expensive, considering they were a set of magical tools. The problem was that he didn't have that many spirit stones.

He originally had thirteen low-grade spirit stones, and after earning three from old Wang, he had sixteen in total.

Without waiting for Gao Xian to speak, Huang Ying took the initiative. "Since we are like siblings, I will naturally give you the best price. Fifteen spirit stones will do."

Gao Xian was a bit surprised. Did this woman have X-ray vision to see exactly how many spirit stones were in his pocket?

Thinking of old Wang's fierce demeanor, he gritted his teeth. "Fine, I'll buy them."

"Don't worry, little brother, this price is an absolute bargain. Whenever you don't want to use them anymore, Sister will buy them back at the original price."

Seeing the deal was done, Huang Ying smiled even more happily.

Gao Xian was also quite pleased. With his current skills, he could always earn more spirit stones. As for the medicinal herbs he owed Boss Zhu, he had already thought of a way to solve that problem...