Fire Dragon

The sun was already high in the sky when Gao Xian finally woke up.

Last night had been far too intense. The fighting, the killing, disposing of the body, and dealing with the spoils had all taken a heavy toll on Gao Xian.

After cultivating the Great Idol Spirit Method with Sister Lan, Gao Xian had been utterly exhausted. He hadn't even had the energy to worry about the consequences of killing someone, and had slept like a baby.

Gao Xian sat on the bed, staring blankly for a while as he replayed everything that had happened last night.

He felt his chest. The thick, supple feel of the Black Scale Inner Armor told him that everything he remembered was real.

Gao Xian couldn't help sighing. He had always been utterly opposed to gambling and drugs. He was a thoroughly good person.

Even with ample reason to kill Old Wang, he couldn't help feeling a little guilty now.

He peered outside through the crack in the window. There was no one in the courtyard, and no ghost, either.

Under the blazing sun, the muddy ground had almost completely dried, leaving plenty of pockmarks, but no trace of blood.

"Meow, meow..."

The Little Black Cat called to Gao Xian from a distance. Its tail was taut, and its back slightly arched, its whole posture tense and wary.

Gao Xian was a little puzzled. He petted the cat every day, and they were close. Why was the little cat acting like this today?

He beckoned to it, but the Little Black Cat slowly backed away.

"Is it unhappy because it's too hungry?"

Gao Xian didn't pay it much mind. He was in low spirits, too, and didn't feel like coaxing the cat.

Getting out of bed, he first cast a Cleansing Art on himself to take care of his personal hygiene.

Then he washed the rice, cut the meat, and cooked.

When the hand-grabbed rice was ready, Gao Xian set aside a small bowl for the Little Black Cat, then served himself a whole basin.

The spirit rice was fragrant, and the demonic beast meat was fatty and rich. Gao Xian was ravenous, too, and polished off a whole basin until his belly was round.

Then he had a kettle of boiled water. Bliss.

The Little Black Cat waited until Gao Xian had left before cautiously coming over to eat. Even as it ate, it kept a wary eye on him.

Gao Xian gave the Little Black Cat a big, exasperated look. You ungrateful little thing—you forgot all about me, but you didn't forget to eat!

Once he was full and satisfied, Gao Xian habitually sat cross-legged to cultivate, cycling the Five Elements Technique through seventy-two revolutions.

After finishing his cultivation, Gao Xian's mind was clear and his thoughts especially lively. He began reviewing what he had done right and wrong in last night's fight.

He had performed terribly last night and made several mistakes. If not for the Golden Body Talisman, Old Wang would have killed him with a single sword strike.

In a fight between cultivators, life and death could be decided in an instant. He absolutely couldn't be so careless again.

Fortunately, Sister Lan had really come through. During the fight, she had instinctively helped him condense spell talismans, increase his strength, and sharpen his senses.

When it came to casting spells and activating magical artifacts, Sister Lan had spared him countless tedious steps and procedures, playing a crucial role.

You could say Sister Lan had been the key to victory.

The Great Idol Spirit Method was more important and powerful than the Lightning Dragon Hand. It just took too much Humanity Aura to upgrade. He couldn't possibly level it up anytime soon.

Next, the White Plum Needles were decent in terms of power, but their potential was limited. He couldn't rely on them.

Spells, on the other hand, were more powerful and had greater potential. They were worth cultivating properly.

And finally, physical combat techniques really were useful.

Old Wang had been right. At close range, a sword was far more powerful than a spell.

Even with Sister Lan helping him condense spell talismans and activate magical artifacts, his spells were still slower than Old Wang's sword.

Of course, they had also been too close to each other. He had to watch out for that in the future.

Training in physical combat techniques would make his body more agile, his reactions faster, and his strength greater.

In last night's fight, he could clearly see Old Wang's movements, but his body couldn't react in time. His physical combat skills were simply too weak.

Huang Ying, the owner of the weapon shop, had also said that no matter which path of cultivation one followed, the body was the foundation.

So he needed to find an opportunity to train in physical combat techniques.

Gao Xian felt that training in physical combat techniques himself wasn't very practical. He'd rather find a way to improve the Lightning Dragon Hand. Maybe there was a shortcut...

When all was said and done, he still had to rely on the Wind and Moon Mirror and fully tap its power!

Using the Wind and Moon Mirror required Humanity Aura.

How could he obtain more Humanity Aura as quickly as possible?

Gao Xian still hadn't figured out how Humanity Aura was generated. He guessed it had something to do with those carnal affairs.

He had helped Zhu Qiniang, and Qingping had received a full-body massage. In both cases, he had gained Humanity Aura. The cause and effect were simple enough. He could understand the logic.

The problem was that Deer Antler Powder could also produce Humanity Aura. That was much harder to explain.

Someone took Deer Antler Powder, then went off to have a good time, and Humanity Aura was generated.

But how did the Wind and Moon Mirror know that had happened? And how did it draw Humanity Aura from the process?

Judging from Deer Antler Powder, as long as he could facilitate those carnal affairs, he might be able to obtain Humanity Aura.

He wondered if copying a book of The Plum in the Golden Vase and circulating it would let him collect Humanity Aura.

Or he could open a massage parlor and offer full-body massages to female cultivators. That would be another shortcut...

As long as the matter with Old Wang didn't come to light, the future looked bright.

At that thought, Gao Xian suddenly felt a pang of unease.

For some reason, the fleeting black shadow from last night appeared in his mind again.

Suspicion breeds ghosts! I only killed one old bastard. There's no need to scare myself!

Gao Xian figured he was probably just acting paranoid because it was his first time killing someone!

He forced himself to stay calm and stop thinking about it. Old Wang had damaged the alchemy room, so this was the perfect chance to carry out the Fire Dragon Strategy!

From ancient times to the present, whenever the books didn't balance, the Fire Dragon Strategy could solve the problem. It was a brilliant scheme!

Five hundred White Dew Pills had been exchanged for one Crimson Blood Pill. There was no way to make up that shortfall.

Gao Xian had figured it out that day: if he couldn't make up the difference, he might as well not try.

Telling Shopkeeper Zhu the truth would be like handing him leverage. After that, Gao Xian would be at his mercy.

Better to use the Fire Dragon Strategy and burn everything down. At worst, he'd pay for the loss!

Though he would still have to cover those losses, Shopkeeper Zhu wouldn't be able to find fault with him. That was crucial.

Of course, before setting the fire, he had to make the best possible use of the medicinal ingredients.

Gao Xian rallied his spirits and put the shadow out of his mind. Whether it had been real or imagined, it hadn't shown itself again, and it hadn't truly affected him.

For now, he had more important things to do.

Gao Xian sorted out a batch of medicinal ingredients. The rest were all ordinary herbs; if he scraped them together, there would just about be enough to brew one batch of Deer Antler Powder.

The alchemy room's window was broken, but that didn't affect pill refining much. It was late summer, and the weather was still a little muggy.

The broken window actually made the room better ventilated.

With the weather so fine, Gao Xian fired up the furnace to refine pills.

When it came to Deer Antler Powder, he was a master. He had also been refining pills constantly lately, and had made huge progress in every area.

It wasn't even dark yet when the Deer Antler Powder came out of the furnace. He had produced more than a hundred and twenty pills.

This time, to distinguish them from the other Deer Antler Powder, Gao Xian added Blue Cherry Seed to the cinnabar, mainly to dye the pills.

He repackaged all the Deer Antler Powder he had refined before, too, turning them into blue pills.

Gao Xian packed away the Deer Antler Powder. They were not only money, but Humanity Aura as well!

Flying Horse Market had more than ten thousand cultivators. At least six or seven thousand of them were male cultivators.

Even if only one in ten was a lecher, they could go through several hundred pills a day.

This business had a bright future.

But now that Old Wang was dead, he needed to find a suitable agent.

Gao Xian knew very few people, and couldn't think of anyone suitable for the moment.

His partnership with Old Wang had also made him realize how vicious cultivators could be. He needed to be cautious when choosing a business partner.

With Old Wang dealt with and the shortfall in the medicinal ingredients handled, he didn't have much else to worry about. He could take care of the rest slowly.

Gao Xian went to the medicine shop first and delivered the Foundation Strengthening Pills and Qi Recovery Pills he had refined.

Fortunately, Zhu Qiniang wasn't there. Only Shopkeeper Zhu was around.

Shopkeeper Zhu was very pleased with Gao Xian's enthusiasm and praised him a few times.

But that was all. He offered nothing beyond a few words of praise—not even dinner.

After returning from the medicine shop, Gao Xian cooked, ate his fill, then circulated his energy through seventy-two revolutions.

When he opened his eyes again, it was completely dark.

Gao Xian packed up his valuables and searched everywhere for the Little Black Cat, but couldn't find it.

He decided not to worry about it. As long as it wasn't inside his room, that was fine.

Gao Xian cast a Flame Bomb at the room where the medicinal ingredients were stored.

The high heat set the flammable charcoal and wood chips ablaze, and some of the herbs quickly caught fire as well.

Gao Xian fired two more Flame Bombs, blasting a hole through the room's back wall.

With the air flowing straight through, the flames surged, quickly reaching the rafters and turning the roof red-hot.

Once Gao Xian decided it was about time, he hurried to the medicine shop to find someone.

By the time Shopkeeper Zhu followed Gao Xian over, the roof had already collapsed.

The blazing house lit up the courtyard. Shopkeeper Zhu shot Gao Xian a cold glance, suspicion plain in his narrow eyes...