Profits

Gao Xian had chosen the Heavenly Gui Pill mainly because he wanted to help Zhu Qiniang.

She had taught him the Iron Dragon Hand and given him a Dragon Bone Pill. Those were both huge favors.

Gao Xian didn't like owing people. Zhu Qiniang's problem was an imbalance of yin and yang that had changed her body and even stopped her menstrual flow. The Heavenly Gui Pill's effects were just what she needed.

An ordinary Heavenly Gui Pill wouldn't do, of course, so he had raised it to the Grandmaster level.

Heavenly Gui Pill: Regulates the primordial yin of female cultivators, harmonizing their emotions and enhancing their nature. It also conditions the body, preserves beauty, and slows aging. (1/100 Grandmaster)

The Wind and Moon Mirror's description of the Heavenly Gui Pill pleased Gao Xian immensely.

Just as he'd expected, raising the Heavenly Gui Pill to the Grandmaster level had brought about a qualitative change. It even had the effect of preserving beauty!

Men wanted virility, and women wanted beauty. Both industries were immensely profitable.

Though Flying Horse Market was a small place, it had no shortage of female cultivators.

A woman could live without loving a man, but no woman could live without loving beauty!

A Heavenly Gui Pill that preserved beauty would sell even better than Deer Antler Powder. That was an unexpected bonus.

The Heavenly Gui Pill required only ordinary herbs to make, but he didn't have most of them and would need to buy them separately.

Gao Xian was wondering whether to ask Zhou Ye for help when Zhou Yuling arrived, bringing a shop assistant who pushed a cart piled with medicinal herbs.

The single-wheeled wooden handcart carried several hundred pounds of herbs.

After the herbs had been unloaded and taken into the room, Zhou Yuling sent the shop assistant away.

Zhou Yuling looked around Gao Xian's room and wrinkled her nose in disdain. "This place is like a pigsty."

"I've got it rough..."

At the mention of it, Gao Xian felt aggrieved. Zhu Hong'an had stuck him in this dump. What could he do?

Zhou Yuling casually rummaged around on Gao Xian's bed but didn't find anything unusual.

She gave him a knowing smile. "You're living all by yourself, so you should be careful. I've heard some female cultivators who practice unorthodox secret arts love to seduce men like you."

Gao Xian hurried to declare, "You're the only one I love. I don't even look at other women."

"What a silver tongue." Zhou Yuling said that, but her pretty face was full of delight.

She devoted herself to cultivation and had little contact with other people, so she wasn't yet immune to sweet talk like this.

Zhou Yuling's smile made Gao Xian's heart flutter. He reached for her slender hand, and she didn't resist, only giving him a coy, coquettish glance.

Today, Zhou Yuling wore an apricot-yellow Daoist robe. Its rich, vivid color made her lovely features shine even more brightly.

With her expression half delighted, half annoyed, Zhou Yuling radiated such enchanting allure that it was like a drug. Gao Xian was left weak in the knees and hard as a rock.

"Look at that silly, lecherous face of yours. You're practically drooling." Thinking Gao Xian looked a little dazed, Zhou Yuling playfully tapped his forehead with a finger.

The little spark Zhou Yuling had fanned into flame set Gao Xian ablaze. He slipped his other arm around her slender waist.

Zhou Yuling felt heat spread through her body. Her pretty face flushed, and her bright eyes grew dewy.

A little flustered, she asked softly, "What are you doing?"

"Hey..."

Gao Xian laughed. There was no need to answer a question like that. He leaned in to kiss Zhou Yuling's soft, fresh red lips.

At the last moment, a slender, pale finger blocked his mouth.

Gao Xian, who had been caught up in the moment, didn't get his way and felt a little annoyed.

Seeing the displeasure on Gao Xian's face, Zhou Yuling hurried to soothe him in a gentle voice. "I practice the Bright Jade Art. I can't do that before the ninth layer of Qi Refining. You're always in such a hurry, hmph..."

Gao Xian gave an awkward laugh. "Ha, it's mainly because you're so charming, and the mood was right. I was just going along with it."

"Don't rush. I'll be with you when the time comes."

Zhou Yuling lightly touched Gao Xian's brow. "Focus on your cultivation. Don't think about these things all day."

"Yes, yes, yes."

Gao Xian obediently nodded along. He hadn't had a girlfriend in his previous life, but he could just think of a girlfriend as a client.

Before he'd won her over, the client was always right.

Zhou Yuling seemed satisfied with Gao Xian's attitude. She said seriously, "Cultivation is the foundation. Alchemy is only there to support it. Don't ever put the cart before the horse.

"Let's establish our foundations together one day and become a pair of immortal companions."

As she spoke, Zhou Yuling's bright eyes filled with lovely hopes for the future.

Gao Xian felt a little ashamed. He'd never thought that far ahead. Compared to a girl, he seemed to lack even more ambition.

Gao Xian's heart stirred, and he said, "You practice the Bright Jade Art, so you need to regulate your primordial yin. For your sake, I specially researched and improved the pill formula for the Heavenly Gui Pill. It'll definitely help you."

"Hm?"

Zhou Yuling's face was full of doubt. "The Heavenly Gui Pill only regulates your menstrual cycle, relieves pain, and helps with bloating. How could it help me?"

"You don't understand. I'm a genius at alchemy. I improved a low-level pill like Deer Antler Powder, and now even your father has to take it every day."

Gao Xian was quite confident in his alchemy. How many people in the world could make a Grandmaster-level Heavenly Gui Pill?

Zhou Yuling was convinced. She hadn't tried Deer Antler Powder herself, but she'd heard her father praise it several times.

These past few days, more and more cultivators had been buying Deer Antler Powder at the Spirit Talisman Hall.

Her father had been grinning from ear to ear lately. Clearly, he'd made quite a bit of Spirit Stone selling Deer Antler Powder.

Zhou Yuling was delighted that Gao Xian had kept her in mind and researched a pill formula just for her.

She took the initiative to kiss Gao Xian on the lips. "Brother Xian, you're so good to me!"

After Gao Xian had made Zhou Yuling happy, she immediately grew soft and tender. He liked everything about her.

He'd felt a little uneasy, since he'd lied. It was the first time he'd lied to such a beautiful girl, and he'd truly felt a bit guilty.

But then he reconsidered. It wasn't really a lie. The Grandmaster-level Heavenly Gui Pill would be very useful to Zhou Yuling.

Gao Xian didn't know how the Bright Jade Method was practiced, but the rule against losing one's virginity alone said a lot.

The union of yin and yang was the supreme way by which all things came into being. A method of abstinence like this ran completely counter to the supreme way; there had to be something wrong with it.

Practicing such a secret art would inevitably suppress and harm the body to some degree. In that respect, Zhou Yuling and Zhu Qiniang had the same problem. Zhu Qiniang's physical changes were simply much more severe.

The Heavenly Gui Pill could regulate the body and mind, even the primordial yin, so of course it would help Zhou Yuling.

And even if it didn't help, it could preserve her beauty and slow aging. That alone was enough.

Gao Xian wrote down the herbs needed to make the Heavenly Gui Pill and asked Zhou Yuling to buy them for him.

He didn't go himself because he didn't want Zhu Hong'an to find out he was making pills on the sly. That man would squeeze oil out of a stone. If he found out Gao Xian was secretly making and selling pills, who knew what sort of trouble he'd cause?

Zhou Yuling was quite enthusiastic about it and hurried home.

Two days later, Zhou Yuling brought him the herbs needed to make the Heavenly Gui Pill.

The cost of the herbs was all put on credit. Gao Xian and Zhou Ye worked closely together, so Zhou Ye would advance the Spirit Stones for him, and they would settle the balance later.

With Deer Antler Powder as collateral, Zhou Ye wasn't worried Gao Xian would skip out on the bill.

Gao Xian didn't want to drag Zhou Yuling into business matters like these.

Dating was dating, and business was business. He didn't want to be like the men and women in his previous life who insisted on mixing the two together and making a mess of things.

Over those two days, Gao Xian had fired up the furnace and made a thousand Deer Antler Powder pills.

With the Heavenly Gui Pill reaching the Grandmaster level, his alchemy had also advanced to first-tier expert.

At this point, he could make any first-tier pill with ease.

He could now make over a thousand Deer Antler Powder pills in a single batch. It took less than half a day, and he could do it with plenty of time to spare.

Gao Xian chatted affectionately with Zhou Yuling for a while, then gave her the thousand Deer Antler Powder pills to take back to the Spirit Talisman Hall.

Next, he spent half a day making five hundred Heavenly Gui Pills.

The pills were a glossy green, almost as if they were glowing. They had a jade-green look to them.

What a pity they were for women.

Gao Xian was curious about their effects, but he didn't dare try one himself.

Fortunately, Zhou Yuling was very interested in the Heavenly Gui Pills and came by the very next day.

Holding one of the little green pills, Zhou Yuling hesitated. "This thing isn't poisonous, is it?"

"Your brother wouldn't hurt you. Go on, eat it." Watching Zhou Yuling hesitate, Gao Xian was beginning to lose patience.

Zhou Yuling shot Gao Xian a look. "You just love making aphrodisiacs. Who knows if this is a love potion?"

Gao Xian looked aggrieved and muttered under his breath, "I'm a respectable man..."

"Pah!"

Zhou Yuling was even more disdainful. "What respectable man would start groping me as soon as he saw me, then stick his tongue in my mouth!"

Gao Xian was left speechless.