True Yang Spear

"Come on, show me the True Yang Spear from beginning to end..."

After receiving the hundred portions of Deer Antler Powder Gao Xian had brought him, Zhou Ye was in a good mood. He even offered to guide Gao Xian in his cultivation.

"The basics start with hand seals. Make sure you form all five in the right order and get them right. Don't go so fast."

Zhou Ye watched Gao Xian form the seals at lightning speed, finishing all five in the blink of an eye. He blinked, astonishment hard to hide on his weathered face.

How could Gao Xian form hand seals so quickly? His movements looked precise, too.

Looking closer, he saw that Gao Xian had long, broad palms of just the right thickness, with slender fingers and distinct knuckles. His hands even had an elegant, nimble grace to them.

Zhou Ye sighed inwardly. It was bad enough that the kid had a handsome face, but how in the world were his hands so good-looking, too?

He cleared his throat awkwardly. "Forming the seals quickly isn't enough. You also have to chant the incantation."

"Swift!"

Gao Xian uttered a single word, the chant's seventeen complex syllables running together into it.

Zhou Ye's expression changed again. He hadn't expected Gao Xian to chant so quickly, too.

His face darkened. "If you chant that fast, your pronunciation won't be accurate. Your spell could easily fail!"

"Uncle Zhou, I can feel the spell and hand seals resonating." Gao Xian asked earnestly, "Isn't that right?"

"Uh..."

Zhou Ye was at a loss for words. If the spell and seals were resonating, what could possibly be wrong?

He patiently explained, "No matter how quickly you form the seals and chant, you still have to visualize the spell talisman in your sea of consciousness. Only when all three come together can you cast the spell.

"Visualizing the spell talisman is the hardest part. You need to get a feel for it and grasp the fierce, masculine aura of that golden spear..."

Gao Xian waited patiently for the old man to finish before carefully saying, "Uncle Zhou, I think I can already visualize the spell talisman."

"What did you say? You learned it in one day? Ha! The True Yang Spear may be a minor spell, but it took me years to truly master it."

Zhou Ye was getting angry. What kind of joke was this? Was the kid messing with him? There was no way something like that could happen!

Gao Xian wasn't the sort to show off or brag. But Zhou Ye's lecturing, old-man tone had gotten under his skin.

People couldn't recognize your talent unless you showed it.

Gao Xian didn't argue. He only gave Zhou Ye an honest, guileless smile, which made the old man even more annoyed. "Use the True Yang Spear on me. Let's see how much you've really mastered!"

"Ah, I don't think that's a good idea, Uncle Zhou." Gao Xian looked troubled. "What if I hurt you?"

Zhou Ye scoffed. "I'm a dignified ninth-level Qi Refining cultivator. How could you possibly hurt me?"

He waved Gao Xian over. "Hurry up. Quit dragging your feet."

Gao Xian hesitated. Seeing how insistent Zhou Ye was, he had no choice but to form the seals and chant.

Deep between his brows, Sister Lan appeared and rapidly formed the spell talisman.

In his sea of consciousness, his divine sense, magical power, and yang energy gathered into a golden spear.

At the turn of his thoughts, the fully formed spear shot toward Zhou Ye, seven feet away.

To avoid an accident, Gao Xian used only thirty percent of his magical power.

Zhou Ye had been disdainful. The True Yang Spear's yang energy was highly effective against Evil Spirits, but posed little threat to cultivators.

Besides, Gao Xian's cultivation was far below his own. Zhou Ye had honed his divine sense for decades; it was who knew how many times stronger than Gao Xian's. Why would he worry about such a minor spell?

Then he saw golden light flicker deep in Gao Xian's eyes and was genuinely startled. It meant Gao Xian had actually formed the True Yang Spear.

A searing pain flared between Zhou Ye's brows, as if a red-hot iron needle had been driven into his flesh.

Caught off guard, Zhou Ye nearly cried out, but forcibly swallowed the sound. Shouting in front of Gao Xian would have been humiliating.

He managed not to cry out, but his weathered face still crumpled with pain.

"Uncle Zhou, are you all right?" Gao Xian asked anxiously.

Zhou Ye suppressed the pain, arranged his face into a calm expression, and waved a hand. "What could possibly be wrong with me?"

"Uncle Zhou, did I do anything wrong when I used the True Yang Spear?" Gao Xian asked humbly.

"Not bad. You reached the entry level in one day. You've got some talent."

The searing pain from the True Yang Spear had been intense, but it had come and gone quickly. Zhou Ye caught his breath, and his expression relaxed somewhat, though his mood remained poor.

"Just focus on your cultivation from now on. You don't need to come ask me again."

Before Gao Xian could say anything, Zhou Ye added, "I have talismans to make. You can go."

Gao Xian could tell the old man was a little unhappy, but he didn't understand why. Was the old man jealous that he was cultivating too quickly?

He didn't dare say more and obediently bowed before taking his leave.

Back in his bedroom in the East Wing Room, Gao Xian was in a pretty good mood. Zhou Ye had said he'd practiced correctly, which proved that the Wind and Moon Mirror's improvements really were useful.

What a pity he didn't have enough Humanity Aura. Otherwise, he could improve the True Yang Spear by two levels and wouldn't have to fear Evil Spirits!

Over the next few days, Zhou Ye was sour-faced whenever he saw Gao Xian.

Gao Xian felt a little aggrieved. The old man had told him to use the True Yang Spear, but got angry when he tried it out. That was just poor sportsmanship.

Fortunately, Zhou Yuling came by every morning to spend time with him. The warm, lively, beautiful, and charming Zhou Yuling healed the emotional wounds the old man had left him with.

Gao Xian was quite content with this life. He didn't have to make pills, someone prepared all three meals every day, and after finishing his daily cultivation, he had plenty of free time to relax—and a beautiful woman for company.

But those good days ended soon enough.

On the fifth day, Shopkeeper Zhu notified Gao Xian that the house had been repaired and the medicinal ingredients restocked. He told him to return at once and resume pill-making.

When Zhou Yuling heard Gao Xian was leaving, she gave him a thick stack of talismans: One Yang Talismans and Three Yang Talismans.

Zhou Yuling said she had made them while practicing. Their quality wasn't very good, but there were plenty of them. He could put up a few in his room to ward off Evil Spirits.

Gao Xian was deeply moved and immediately offered himself to her. Zhou Yuling firmly stopped him before anything came of it.

That day, Gao Xian left the Zhou Family reluctantly and returned to his earthen hut.

After staying in a spacious, brick house for a few days, his earthen hut looked wrong in every way. Wasn't this just a pigsty?

The original roof had been burned through, and the replacement was covered in thick thatch. The windows were new, but the outer walls still bore black soot marks, making the place look dilapidated.

Shopkeeper Zhu led Gao Xian inside and pointed to the rebuilt apothecary. "I've prepared all the medicinal ingredients for you. From now on, you need to make at least two thousand pills every month...

"Also, the repairs cost ten Spirit Stones. You'll be paying that bill, too."

Gao Xian looked over the rebuilt house. Everything seemed so slapdash. Was this really worth ten Spirit Stones?

He was about to reason with Shopkeeper Zhu when he noticed the short, fat man's hostile gaze.

Shopkeeper Zhu pointed to the simple shed on the west side. "I've also prepared charcoal and lumber for you. You think those are free?"

Gao Xian remembered they were relatives, and he'd been the one who started the fire. He decided to count it all as paying the original owner's debts!

Gritting his teeth, Gao Xian swallowed his complaints and forced a laugh. "Yes, yes, yes. Put it all on my tab. I'll pay it back later."

Shopkeeper Zhu nodded in satisfaction. At least the kid knew what was what. He gave Gao Xian some more instructions before leaving.

Gao Xian looked around the room. The rice was gone, too. When he checked the cellar, he found that someone had taken the monster-beast meat as well.

Those losses weren't a big deal. What made Gao Xian a little sad was that he couldn't find the Little Black Cat. He had no idea where the little thing had gone.

With the five remaining Spirit Stones in his pocket, Gao Xian went to the shop and bought twenty jin of green corn, a piece of monster-beast meat, cooking oil, salt, tea, bedding, and other necessities.

When Gao Xian got home, he put everything in order and sat on the bed. Even so, the room felt too cold and empty, as if nobody lived there.

He still didn't know where the Little Black Cat had gone, and he was starting to miss it.

Then Gao Xian suddenly remembered how much the Little Black Cat loved food. He came up with a plan and hurried to start a fire and cook.

Once the hand-held rice was ready, the rich aroma of spirit rice mingled with monster-beast meat and filled the room.

Before long, Gao Xian heard the Little Black Cat scratching at the door and meowing loudly.

Gao Xian smiled smugly. He'd known the little glutton would come!

He opened the door and greeted the Little Black Cat affectionately, but it eyed him warily. It deliberately circled around him, jumped onto the dining table, found its own bowl, and began to eat.

As it ate the rice and meat, the Little Black Cat kept a wary eye on Gao Xian.

Gao Xian was getting annoyed. It ate his food and still treated him like a thief. Did it think it could get away with anything?

His mood turned heavy, too. The Little Black Cat was so wary of him. Could it be that the baleful energy hadn't completely dissipated?