True Yang Spear

"Come, demonstrate the True Yang Spear for me..."

Having received the one hundred Deer Antler Powder pills Gao Xian had brought, Zhou Ye was in a good mood and took the initiative to offer guidance on Gao Xian's cultivation.

"The foundation starts with the hand seals. There are five, and they must be performed in order and with precision. Don't go so fast."

Watching Gao Xian form the seals rapidly, completing all five in the blink of an eye, Zhou Ye blinked, his aged face unable to hide his shock.

How was Gao Xian's speed so fast, and his movements so precise?

Looking closer, he noticed the young man's palms were flat and of moderate thickness, his fingers slender with distinct knuckles; the pair of hands actually possessed an elegant and nimble charm.

Zhou Ye sighed inwardly. It was one thing for this brat to have a handsome face, but why did his hands have to be so damn good-looking too?

He coughed awkwardly and said, "Speed in forming seals is useless if you don't chant the incantation."

"Strike!"

Gao Xian swallowed the seventeen complex syllables of the incantation, condensing them into a single word as he spat it out.

Zhou Ye's expression shifted again; he hadn't expected such rapid chanting either.

His face darkened slightly: "Your pronunciation is imprecise when you chant that fast. It's very easy for the spell to fail!"

"Uncle Zhou, I can feel the resonance between the incantation and the hand seals," Gao Xian asked with a humble expression. "Is that not correct?"

"Uh..."

Zhou Ye was speechless. If the incantation and seals were already resonating, what could possibly be wrong?

He exhorted earnestly, "No matter how fast you form the seals or chant, you must visualize the spell talisman within your sea of consciousness. Only when the three are unified can you cast the spell."

"Visualizing the spell talisman is the most difficult hurdle. You must contemplate it carefully and grasp the masculine, domineering essence of that golden spear..."

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

"What did you say? You mastered it in a day? Heh... although the True Yang Spear is a minor art, it took me several years to truly grasp it."

Zhou Ye was becoming annoyed. What kind of joke was this? Was the brat making fun of him? Such a thing was impossible!

Gao Xian was not the type to show off, but Zhou Ye's condescending lecture had left him feeling somewhat disgruntled.

Talent was something that had to be displayed for others to see.

Gao Xian did not argue, merely offering an honest, simple smile, which only irritated Zhou Ye further. "Use the True Yang Spear on me. I want to see exactly how much you've mastered!"

"Ah, that wouldn't be good, Uncle Zhou," Gao Xian said, looking troubled. "What if I hurt you?"

Zhou Ye replied with a look of utter disdain, "I am a dignified ninth-layer Qi Refiner! What could you possibly use to hurt me?"

He beckoned to Gao Xian, "Hurry up, don't dawdle."

Gao Xian hesitated, but seeing Zhou Ye's stubborn attitude, he had no choice but to form the seals and chant.

Deep within his brow, Sister Lan emerged, rapidly condensing the spell talisman.

Inside his sea of consciousness, his divine intent, mana, and yang energy condensed into a golden spear.

As his thoughts shifted, the materialized golden spear thrust forward toward a point seven feet away.

Fearing an accident, Gao Xian only used thirty percent of his mana.

Zhou Ye had been full of disdain; the yang energy of the True Yang Spear was highly effective against evil spirits, but it posed little threat to a cultivator.

Furthermore, the gap between their cultivation levels was vast. Having tempered his divine sense for decades, it was countless times stronger than Gao Xian's; he hadn't expected to care about such a minor spell attack.

When he saw the golden light flickering deep within Gao Xian's eyes, he was genuinely startled—this meant Gao Xian had truly condensed the True Yang Spear.

Immediately after, a searing pain struck the center of Zhou Ye's brow, as if a red-hot iron needle had pierced his flesh.

Caught off guard, Zhou Ye nearly cried out, but he forcibly suppressed it; it would be too shameful to scream in front of Gao Xian.

Enduring the pain, Zhou Ye's aged face twisted into a knot.

Gao Xian asked with some unease, "Uncle Zhou, are you alright?"

Zhou Ye fought through the pain to maintain a nonchalant expression and waved his hand, "What could possibly be wrong with me?"

"Uncle Zhou, then do you see any mistakes in how I practiced the True Yang Spear?" Gao Xian asked humbly.

"It's passable. Mastering it in a day shows some talent."

The searing pain caused by the True Yang Spear was intense, but it came and went quickly. Zhou Ye caught his breath, his expression relaxing, though his mood remained sour.

He said, "Just cultivate properly from now on. No need to come and ask me again."

Before Gao Xian could speak, Zhou Ye added, "I need to craft talismans. You may go."

Gao Xian could see the old man was unhappy, though he didn't understand why. Was the old man jealous that he had learned it so quickly?

He didn't dare say more and obediently bowed to take his leave.

Back in his bedroom in the east wing, Gao Xian felt quite good. Since Zhou Ye had confirmed his practice was correct, it was clear that adding points via the Wind and Moon Mirror was highly effective.

It was a pity that he lacked enough Humanity Aura; otherwise, if he could raise the True Yang Spear by two levels, he wouldn't have to fear evil spirits at all!

Over the next few days, Zhou Ye gave Gao Xian nothing but cold looks.

Gao Xian felt a bit aggrieved. It was the old man who had told him to use the True Yang Spear, and getting upset after playing around was truly lacking in class.

Fortunately, Zhou Yuling would run over to be intimate with him every morning; her enthusiastic, lively, and pretty, delicate nature healed the mental trauma brought on by Old Man Zhou.

Gao Xian was quite satisfied with this kind of life. He didn't need to refine pills, someone prepared his three meals every day, and after finishing his daily cultivation lessons, he had plenty of free time to relax, not to mention the company of a beautiful woman.

This good life, however, ended very quickly.

On the fifth day, Shopkeeper Zhu notified Gao Xian that the house had been repaired and the medicinal materials were fully restocked, telling him to return immediately to refine pills.

Knowing that Gao Xian was leaving, Zhou Yuling gifted him another thick stack of talismans, all of them One Yang Talismans and Three Yang Talismans.

Zhou Yuling said these were talismans she had made while practicing; the quality wasn't high, but they had the advantage of quantity. He could stick a few more in his room to ward off evil spirits.

Gao Xian was deeply moved and wanted to offer himself to her on the spot, but he was forcefully stopped by Zhou Yuling, so it didn't happen.

That same day, Gao Xian left the Zhou residence with great reluctance and returned to his own earthen house.

After living in a large green-brick house for a few days, looking at the earthen house now, it was an eyesore no matter how he looked at it—wasn't this just a pigsty?

The roof had been burned through, and though it had been re-thatched with thick straw and the windows were new, the outer walls still bore black, smoky scorch marks, making it look quite dilapidated.

Shopkeeper Zhu led Gao Xian into the room and pointed to the rebuilt pharmacy, saying, "All kinds of medicinal materials have been prepared for you. From now on, you must refine at least two thousand pills every month..."

"Also, the house repairs cost ten spirit stones, and you will be paying for this as well."

Gao Xian looked at the rebuilt house; no matter how he looked at it, it was sloppy. Was this really worth ten spirit stones?

He wanted to reason with Shopkeeper Zhu, only to find that this short, fat fellow's eyes were unkind.

Shopkeeper Zhu pointed to the simple storage shed on the west side and said, "The charcoal and firewood have also been prepared for you. Do you think these are free?"

Gao Xian thought about how they were relatives and that he was the one who had started the fire, so he would just treat it as paying the bill for the original owner!

Gao Xian gritted his teeth and endured it. He gave a dry laugh and said, "Yes, yes, yes, put all of this on my tab. I will pay it all back when the time comes."

Shopkeeper Zhu nodded with satisfaction, thinking the kid knew how to behave. He gave a few more instructions before leaving.

Gao Xian walked around the room; the rice was gone, and when he went to check the cellar, he found that the beast meat had been taken by someone as well.

These losses didn't amount to much, but not being able to find the little black cat made Gao Xian a bit sad; he wondered where the little guy had run off to.

Clutching the remaining five spirit stones, Gao Xian went to the shop to buy twenty catties of green corn, a piece of beast meat, as well as oil, salt, tea, bedding, and other daily necessities.

Returning home, Gao Xian got everything settled. He sat on the bed but felt the room was too cold and lacked any sign of life.

He didn't know where the little black cat had gone, and Gao Xian missed it again.

Gao Xian suddenly remembered that the little black cat was very gluttonous, and an idea struck him. He hurriedly got up to light a fire and cook.

Once the hand-grabbed rice was ready, the rich aroma of spirit rice mixed with beast meat wafted everywhere.

Before long, Gao Xian heard the little black cat scratching at the door outside, meowing incessantly.

Gao Xian smiled triumphantly; he knew this little brat was a glutton!

Opening the door, Gao Xian greeted the little black cat affectionately, but the little black cat eyed him cautiously. It deliberately bypassed Gao Xian, jumped onto the dining table, and found its own dedicated bowl to enjoy the meal.

While eating the rice and meat, the little black cat still kept a wary eye on Gao Xian.

Gao Xian felt a bit annoyed being watched like that. You've eaten my food and you're still acting like I'm a thief? Are you trying to turn the world upside down?

His mood also grew heavy; with the little black cat being so guarded against him, could it be that the evil energy hadn't completely dissipated?