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 corpse, and handling the stolen goods had drained Gao Xian of all his energy.

After practicing the Great Idol Spirit Method with Sister Lan, Gao Xian was exhausted to the point of collapse. He didn't even have the energy to worry about the consequences of murder, and he fell into a deep, blissful sleep.

Gao Xian sat on his bed in a daze, replaying everything that had happened the previous night in his mind.

He touched his chest, and the thick, resilient texture of the Black Scale Inner Armor told him that everything in his memory was real.

Gao Xian couldn't help but sigh; he had always been a man who stood against gambling and drugs, a truly good person.

No matter how justified the reason for killing Old Wang was, he couldn't help but feel a bit guilty at this moment.

He peeked through a crack in the window to look outside; there was no one in the yard, nor were there any ghosts.

Under the scorching sun, the muddy ground had almost dried up, leaving behind many uneven patches, but no traces of blood could be seen.

"Meow, meow..."

Little Black Cat called out to Gao Xian from afar. Its tail was stiff, its back slightly arched, adopting a posture of extreme caution and tension.

Gao Xian was a bit confused. He petted the cat every day and they were quite close, so he didn't understand why the kitten was acting this way today.

He reached out and beckoned, but Little Black Cat slowly backed away.

Is it just too hungry and grumpy?

Gao Xian didn't pay it much mind; his own spirits were low, and he wasn't in the mood to coax a cat.

He got off the bed and performed a Cleansing Art on himself to handle his personal hygiene.

Then, he washed the rice, chopped the meat, and started cooking.

When the rice bowl was ready, Gao Xian set aside a small portion for Little Black Cat, then sat down with his own small wooden basin full of food.

The spirit rice was fragrant, and the monster meat was thick with fat and oil. Gao Xian had been starving, so he devoured the entire basin, eating until his belly was round.

He followed it up with a pot of boiled water. Refreshing.

Little Black Cat waited until Gao Xian had left before cautiously approaching to eat, keeping a wary eye on him the entire time.

Gao Xian rolled his eyes at Little Black Cat. The little ingrate! It had forgotten all about him, but it certainly hadn't forgotten to eat!

Once fed and rested, Gao Xian sat cross-legged out of habit and circulated the Five Elements Technique for seventy-two cycles.

After finishing his cultivation, Gao Xian's mind felt clear and his thoughts were exceptionally sharp. He began to review the gains and losses of last night's battle.

His performance last night had been poor, and he had made several mistakes. If not for the Golden Body Talisman, he would have been killed by Old Wang's sword.

In battles between cultivators, life and death can be decided in a split second. He must never be so careless again.

Fortunately, Sister Lan was truly incredible. During the fight, she could spontaneously help him condense spell seals, boost his power, and sharpen his senses.

When it came to activating spells and artifacts, Sister Lan saved him from many cumbersome steps and procedures, playing a vital role.

It could be said that Sister Lan was the key to his victory.

The Great Idol Spirit Method was even more important and powerful than the Lightning Dragon Hand. It was just that the Humanity Aura required for upgrading it was too much. It wouldn't be possible to upgrade it for a while.

Secondly, the White Plum Needles had decent power, but their ceiling was low; he couldn't rely on them as his primary means.

On the contrary, his spells had greater power and higher potential, making them worth cultivating diligently.

Finally, physical combat techniques were truly useful.

Old Wang was right; at close range, a sword was far stronger than a spell.

Even with Sister Lan helping him condense spell seals and activate artifacts, his spell casting speed was still slower than Old Wang's sword.

Of course, that was also because the distance between them was too close. He had to be mindful of that in the future.

Cultivating physical combat techniques could also make his body more agile, his reactions faster, and his strength greater.

During last night's battle, he had clearly seen Old Wang's movements, but his body couldn't react in sync—that was because his physical technique was too weak.

Huang Ying, the owner of the weapon shop, had also said that no matter which path of cultivation one took, the physical body must be the foundation.

Therefore, he had to find an opportunity to cultivate physical techniques.

Gao Xian felt that cultivating physical techniques himself was too unreliable; he should find a way to upgrade the Lightning Dragon Hand instead, perhaps he could find a shortcut...

Ultimately, he had to rely on the Wind and Moon Mirror and fully unearth its energy!

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 the mechanism for generating Humanity Aura, but he suspected it had something to do with the "wind and moon" affairs.

He had gained Humanity Aura by helping Zhu Qiniang and Qingping with their "big health care"—the causal relationship there was very simple, and he could understand the logic.

The problem was that the Deer Antler Powder also brought in Humanity Aura, which was much harder to explain.

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

But how did the Wind and Moon Mirror know about this process? And how did it extract Humanity Aura from it?

Looking at the Deer Antler Powder, it seemed that as long as he could guide those "wind and moon" affairs, there was a possibility of obtaining Humanity Aura.

If I were to copy The Golden Lotus and circulate it, I wonder if I could collect Humanity Aura?

Or perhaps I could open a massage parlor and provide "special services" for female cultivators; that would also be a shortcut...

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

Thinking of this, Gao Xian suddenly felt a sense of unease.

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

Suspicion creates phantoms! I just killed an old thief, no need to scare myself!

Gao Xian felt that perhaps he was just being paranoid because it was his first time killing someone!

He forced himself to stay calm and stop thinking about it. Since the pill room had been wrecked by Old Wang, he might as well take this opportunity to execute the Fire Dragon Strategy!

Since ancient times, whenever the accounts didn't balance, the Fire Dragon Strategy could solve it—a truly divine maneuver!

Five hundred White Dew Pill had been traded for a single Crimson Blood Pill; there was no way to cover that deficit.

Gao Xian had realized that day that since he couldn't cover it, he simply wouldn't.

Telling Shopkeeper Zhu the truth was equivalent to handing the man leverage over himself. From then on, he would be at Shopkeeper Zhu's mercy.

It was better to use the Fire Dragon Strategy and burn it all down. At worst, he would just have to admit the loss!

Although he would still have to pay for the loss, Shopkeeper Zhu wouldn't be able to pin any personal fault on him. This was crucial.

Of course, before setting the fire, he had to make full use of the remaining medicinal materials.

Gao Xian pulled himself together and threw the thought of the black shadow to the back of his mind. Regardless of whether it was real or an illusion, it hadn't appeared yet, so it hadn't truly affected him.

For now, he had to focus on the task at hand.

Gao Xian sorted through the medicinal materials; the rest were common drugs, barely enough to refine a batch of Deer Antler Powder.

The window of the pill room was broken, but it didn't affect the alchemy. It was late summer, and the weather was still a bit muggy.

The broken window actually provided better ventilation.

Taking advantage of the good light, Gao Xian fired up the furnace to refine pills.

He was a master at refining Deer Antler Powder. Having been refining pills constantly during this period, he had made significant progress in every aspect.

Before dark, the Deer Antler Powder was finished, yielding over one hundred and twenty pills.

This time, to distinguish them from other Deer Antler Powder, Gao Xian added Blue Cherry Seed to the cinnabar, primarily for coloring.

He even repackaged the Deer Antler Powder he had refined previously, turning them into blue pills.

Gao Xian packed up the Deer Antler Powder; these were not just money, but also Humanity Aura!

Counting the more than ten thousand cultivators in Flying Horse Market, at least six or seven thousand were male.

Even if only one-tenth were lechers, they could consume hundreds of Deer Antler Powder a day.

This business had great prospects.

However, since Old Wang was dead, he would need to find a suitable agent.

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

This collaboration with Old Wang also made him realize the vicious nature of cultivators. He had to be cautious when choosing partners.

With Old Wang dealt with and the deficit issue resolved, he had nothing else pressing; these things could be handled slowly.

Gao Xian first went to the pharmacy to deliver the Foundation Strengthening Pill and Qi Recovery Pill he had refined.

Fortunately, Zhu Qiniang was not there; only Shopkeeper Zhu was present.

Shopkeeper Zhu was very satisfied with Gao Xian's proactive performance and offered several words of praise.

However, it was limited to verbal praise. There were no substantial rewards, and he didn't even keep Gao Xian for dinner.

Returning from the pharmacy, Gao Xian cooked a meal, ate his fill, and practiced his cultivation for seventy-two cycles.

When he opened his eyes again, it was pitch black outside.

Gao Xian packed up his important items and searched for the Little Black Cat, but found no trace of it.

He decided to ignore it; as long as it wasn't in the room, it was fine.

Gao Xian fired a Flame Bomb at the room where the medicinal materials were stored.

The highly flammable charcoal and wood scraps were ignited by the high temperature, and some medicinal materials quickly caught fire as well.

Gao Xian fired two more Flame Bomb, blasting a hole in the back wall of the room.

With the cross-ventilation, the flames surged, quickly licking up the rafters and turning the roof a brilliant red.

Seeing that it was enough, Gao Xian hurried off to find people at the pharmacy.

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

The raging fire illuminated the courtyard brightly. Shopkeeper Zhu glanced coldly at Gao Xian, his small eyes filled with undisguised suspicion...