Usurious Profit

Gao Xian chose the Heavenly Gui Pill mainly to help Zhu Qiniang.

She had taught him the Iron Dragon Hand and even gifted him a Dragon Bone Pill; these were significant favors.

Gao Xian did not like owing favors. Zhu Qiniang's problem was an imbalance of yin and yang, leading to bodily alienation and even the cessation of her menses; the medicinal properties of the Heavenly Gui Pill were perfectly suited for her.

A standard Heavenly Gui Pill would naturally not suffice, so he upgraded the Heavenly Gui Pill to the Grandmaster level.

Heavenly Gui Pill: Regulates the primordial yin of female cultivators, balancing their temperament and enhancing their nature. It conditions the body, preserves youthful beauty, and delays aging. (1/100 Grandmaster)

The Wind and Moon Mirror's description of the Heavenly Gui Pill left Gao Xian extremely satisfied.

Just as he had anticipated, the Heavenly Gui Pill underwent a qualitative change upon reaching the Grandmaster level; it actually possessed the effect of preserving youthful beauty!

Men desire virility, and women desire beauty; both of these industries were the most lucrative of all.

Although Flying Horse Market was a small place, there were quite a few female cultivators.

A woman might not love a man, but there was no woman who did not love beauty!

A Heavenly Gui Pill that preserved beauty would sell even better than Deer Antler Powder. This could be considered an unexpected windfall.

The ingredients needed to refine the Heavenly Gui Pill were all common herbs, but he lacked most of them and would need to purchase them separately.

Just as Gao Xian was wondering whether to ask Zhou Ye for help, Zhou Yuling arrived, bringing a clerk who pushed a cart full of medicinal herbs.

The single-wheeled wooden cart was loaded with several hundred pounds of herbs.

Once the herbs were unloaded and delivered into the room, Zhou Yuling sent the clerk away.

Zhou Yuling paced around Gao Xian's room, wrinkling her nose in disdain as she said, "This place of yours is like a pigsty."

"I've had it rough..."

Speaking of this, Gao Xian was full of grievances; Zhu Hong'an had arranged this dump for him, so what could he do?

Zhou Yuling rummaged through Gao Xian's bed, but she didn't find anything unusual.

With a playful, inscrutable smile, she said, "You, living all by yourself, need to be careful. I've heard that some female cultivators who practice wicked arts love to seduce men like you."

Gao Xian hurriedly declared his stance, "I only love you; I don't even look at other women."

"Smooth talker." Although Zhou Yuling said this, her pretty face was filled with joy.

She was devoted to cultivation and had little contact with others, so she had no resistance to such sweet nothings.

Gao Xian felt his heart flutter at Zhou Yuling's smile. He reached out to take her delicate hands, and Zhou Yuling did not resist, merely casting a charming, sidelong glance at him.

Today, Zhou Yuling was wearing an apricot-yellow Daoist robe, the rich and vibrant color making her beautiful face appear even more radiant.

The charming, amorous air radiating from the bashful yet annoyed Zhou Yuling was like a love potion, leaving Gao Xian feeling weak in the knees.

"Look at that lecherous, silly expression on your face; you're about to drool." Thinking Gao Xian looked a bit dazed, she tapped his forehead with her finger and teased.

Provoked by this little spark, Gao Xian felt his entire being ignite. His other hand instinctively wrapped around Zhou Yuling's slender waist.

Zhou Yuling felt her whole body heat up; her face turned red instantly, and her bright eyes became watery.

She asked in a slightly uneasy, low voice, "What are you doing?"

"Heh..."

Gao Xian chuckled. Such questions didn't need an answer; he leaned his mouth directly toward Zhou Yuling's fresh, moist red lips.

At the final moment, a fair, slender finger blocked Gao Xian's mouth.

Gao Xian, who was in the heat of the moment, failed to succeed and felt a bit unhappy.

Seeing Gao Xian's displeased expression, Zhou Yuling hurriedly soothed him in a soft voice, "I practice the Bright Jade Art; I cannot do that before reaching the ninth level of Qi Refining. You are always so impatient, hmph..."

Gao Xian gave a dry laugh, "Ha, it's mainly because you are too charming, and the atmosphere was just right, so I was just playing along."

"Don't be impatient; I will be with you in the future."

Zhou Yuling gently tapped Gao Xian's brow with her finger, "Cultivate properly; don't think about these things all day."

"Yes, yes, yes."

Gao Xian nodded obediently to receive the instruction. He hadn't had a girlfriend in his previous life, but he treated a girlfriend the same way one would treat a client.

Before the deal is closed, the client is the boss.

Zhou Yuling was fairly satisfied with Gao Xian's attitude. She said sternly, "Cultivation is the foundation; alchemy is only used to assist in cultivation. You must never put the cart before the horse."

"In the future, we will reach Foundation Establishment together and become a pair of immortal companions."

Speaking of this, Zhou Yuling's bright eyes were filled with beautiful longing for the future.

This made Gao Xian feel a bit ashamed; he had never thought that far ahead. Compared to this girl, he lacked a bit of ambition.

Gao Xian suddenly had a thought and said, "You practice the Bright Jade Art, which requires conditioning your primordial yin. For your sake, I specifically studied alchemy formulas and improved the Heavenly Gui Pill; it will definitely be able to help you."

"Hmm?"

Zhou Yuling was full of suspicion, "The Heavenly Gui Pill only regulates menses and relieves pain and congestion; how could it help me?"

"That's where you don't understand; I am an alchemy prodigy. Even a low-level pill like the Deer Antler Powder, after my improvement, is something your father has to take every day."

Gao Xian was quite confident in his alchemy; how many people in the world could refine a Grandmaster-level Heavenly Gui Pill?

Zhou Yuling was persuaded; although she had never taken Deer Antler Powder, she had heard her father praise it several times.

The number of cultivators going to Spirit Talisman Hall to buy Deer Antler Powder had also increased significantly over the past few days.

Her father had been beaming with joy lately, clearly having earned quite a few spirit stones from selling the Deer Antler Powder.

That Gao Xian was thinking of her and had specifically researched a pill formula for her made Zhou Yuling very happy.

She took the initiative to kiss Gao Xian on the lips, "Brother Xian, you are so good!"

Having coaxed Zhou Yuling into a happy mood, she immediately became soft and tender, and Gao Xian found her more pleasing the more he looked at her.

He had felt a bit uneasy at heart initially; after all, he had lied. It was his first time deceiving such a beautiful girl, and he truly felt a bit guilty.

On second thought, he wasn't really lying. The Grandmaster-level Heavenly Gui Pill would still be very useful to Zhou Yuling.

Gao Xian did not know how the Bright Jade Method was practiced, but the requirement of not breaking one's chastity spoke volumes in itself.

The harmony of yin and yang is the ultimate path for the nourishment of all things. Such an ascetic technique completely contradicted the ultimate path and must have inherent flaws.

Practicing such a secret art would inevitably cause a certain degree of suppression and damage to the body. In this respect, Zhou Yuling and Zhu Qiniang both faced the same issue, though Zhu Qiniang's alienation was far more severe.

The Heavenly Gui Pill could regulate the body and mind, and even regulate one's primordial yin, so it would certainly be helpful to Zhou Yuling.

Even if it provided no other help, it could preserve one's youthful appearance and delay aging, which was more than enough.

Gao Xian listed the medicinal herbs needed to refine the Heavenly Gui Pill and asked Zhou Yuling to go back and help him purchase them.

The reason he did not show his face was that he did not want Zhu Hong'an to know he was refining pills in private. That man would try to squeeze oil out of a stone; if he knew Gao Xian was refining and selling pills on the side, there was no telling what kind of trouble he would stir up.

Zhou Yuling was quite proactive about this and returned in high spirits.

Two days later, Zhou Yuling delivered the medicinal herbs for refining the Heavenly Gui Pill.

The money for purchasing the herbs was all put on credit. Gao Xian had a close partnership with Zhou Ye, so Zhou Ye would advance the spirit stones for this portion, and the two would settle the accounts later.

With the Deer Antler Powder as collateral, Zhou Ye was not afraid of Gao Xian welching on the debt.

Gao Xian did not want to drag Zhou Yuling into these business matters.

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

Taking advantage of the time over these two days, Gao Xian opened the furnace and refined one thousand units of Deer Antler Powder.

As the Heavenly Gui Pill reached the Grandmaster level, his Alchemy Art also rose to the First-Rank Expert level.

At this stage, he could refine any First-Rank pill with ease.

Now, he could refine over a thousand units of Deer Antler Powder in a single furnace, taking less than half a day; it could truly be said he was doing it with ease.

Gao Xian chatted affectionately with Zhou Yuling for a while before handing her the one thousand units of Deer Antler Powder to take back to Spirit Talisman Hall.

Afterward, he spent the better part of a day refining five hundred Heavenly Gui Pills.

The emerald-green Heavenly Gui Pills looked as if they were glowing, possessing a jade-like quality.

It was a pity that these were for women to consume.

Although Gao Xian was curious about the medicinal effects, he dared not try them himself.

Fortunately, Zhou Yuling was very interested in the Heavenly Gui Pill and came running over the next day.

Zhou Yuling held the little emerald-green pill and hesitated, "Is this thing poisonous?"

"Brother wouldn't harm you, hurry up and eat it." Seeing Zhou Yuling's hesitation, Gao Xian couldn't wait any longer.

Zhou Yuling rolled her eyes at Gao Xian, "You only like to refine those virility-boosting drugs; who knows if this is an aphrodisiac?"

Gao Xian looked aggrieved and muttered in a low voice, "I am a decent person..."

"Pah!"

Zhou Yuling was even more disdainful, "What kind of decent person starts groping and sticking their tongue out the moment they get close!"

Gao Xian was left speechless.