In August, the skies over Flying Horse Market had been clear just moments ago, but in the blink of an eye, a torrential downpour swept in.
The rain came fast and left just as quickly. Before long, the clouds had cleared and the rain had stopped.
The air after the rain was fresh, but the roads were muddy and hard to travel.
Zhu Qiniang formed a hand seal and cast Wind Control Art. As spiritual light flickered, her figure grew light and graceful.
Wind Control Art seemed similar to Flying Feather Art, but in truth, they were completely different.
Flying Feather Art made one drift through the air, its magic rendering the body as light as a feather, but it could not make one move very fast.
Wind Control Art allowed a cultivator to ride the wind as they traveled. The stronger the cultivator, the faster they went.
Zhu Qiniang was a body cultivator. She disliked the slow-moving Flying Feather Art; Wind Control Art let her adapt to changing situations far better.
Along the way, Zhu Qiniang used every available foothold to skim lightly over the muddy ground. Not a speck of mud or water touched her shoes.
At a crossroads, Zhu Qiniang saw a black, shriveled corpse lying on the ground.
A few cultivators had gathered around it, pointing and whispering, their faces full of fear.
Zhu Qiniang knew it was a cultivator killed by an Evil Spirit. The spirit had drained away all his blood essence and vitality, leaving behind a corpse as dry and black as charcoal.
She had heard long ago that the half-headed Evil Spirit had appeared again, preying on people all over Flying Horse Market.
More than ten rogue cultivators had already been killed during this time. The deaths had left the rogue cultivators of Flying Horse Market in a state of panic.
Some of them had gone to Li Shuanglin, the steward, and asked him to step in and exterminate the Evil Spirit.
Li Shuanglin was a Foundation Establishment cultivator and the Lianyun Sect's administrator at Flying Horse Market.
With the Evil Spirit running rampant, the rogue cultivators naturally looked to Li Shuanglin to take charge. Word was that Li Shuanglin had promised to deal with it as soon as possible.
Zhu Qiniang had only heard a little about it; she didn't know the details, and she wasn't particularly concerned.
Her Primordial Golden Body was formidable. A low-level Evil Spirit like this posed no threat to her.
With the Evil Spirit killing people everywhere, I wonder if timid Gao Xian will get scared...
When Zhu Qiniang arrived, Gao Xian was practicing Iron Dragon Hand in the courtyard.
He had made rapid progress with Iron Dragon Hand lately, and had begun to enjoy the sense of fulfillment that came with training it.
Five Elements Technique, Iron Dragon Hand, and even spells like Fire Control Art couldn't be upgraded with Humanity Aura. He could only train them himself.
Five Elements Technique cultivated qi, spirit, and body. It was complex and subtle, and the only way to gauge his daily progress was through the Wind and Moon Mirror.
Iron Dragon Hand was different. After each session, he could feel the powerful strength in his muscles and bones. He could clearly tell that he was improving.
That was the difference between internal and external cultivation.
Zhu Qiniang watched Gao Xian perform Iron Dragon Hand once, then nodded. "You've already mastered it very well. Excellent."
She had practiced Iron Dragon Hand for years, yet she hadn't mastered it as well as Gao Xian. That showed just how quickly he was improving.
Gao Xian was delighted. Zhu Qiniang treated him well, but she didn't praise him lightly.
If she said that now, it meant he had truly made great progress.
He also understood that most of the credit went to Lightning Dragon Hand, and the rest to Dragon Bone Pills.
Zhu Qiniang said, "There's not much more I can teach you about Iron Dragon Hand. Just keep practicing."
As she spoke, she handed Gao Xian a medicine box. "Here are fifty Dragon Bone Pills."
Gao Xian hurriedly took it with both hands. "Wonderful. Thank you, Qiniang. I've put you to the expense again."
While practicing Iron Dragon Hand lately, Gao Xian had realized that pills were essential to supplement his training.
No wonder alchemists made so much money. If you wanted to improve, you had to take pills.
Dragon Bone Pills were rather special, too. He couldn't refine them himself and could only rely on Zhu Qiniang.
Fortunately, he could provide Zhu Qiniang with Heavenly Gui Pills and offer her his excellent massage service. Their partnership was mutually beneficial, so he accepted the Dragon Bone Pills without a trace of guilt.
"The half-headed Evil Spirit has appeared again recently. It seems to have grown stronger, too."
Zhu Qiniang warned Gao Xian, "You still need to be careful. Make sure you keep a One Yang Talisman on you."
Gao Xian's face filled with alarm. "That Evil Spirit is back?"
Last time, he had hit Old Wang with a True Yang Spear, badly wounding him on the spot. He hadn't expected him to recover so quickly.
The news felt like a huge boulder pressing down on his heart. The oppressive feeling was unbearable.
"The more blood essence an Evil Spirit consumes, the stronger it becomes."
Zhu Qiniang shook her head slightly. "If we can't deal with it soon, it'll grow more and more powerful."
Seeing Gao Xian's grim expression, Zhu Qiniang reassured him. "The Evil Spirit won't come looking for you specifically. Foundation Establishment cultivators like Li Shuanglin will take care of it. You don't need to worry too much."
She paused, then said, "The real trouble is Old Zhu."
"Hm?"
Gao Xian looked baffled. "What happened to Shopkeeper Zhu?"
Zhu Qiniang said, "Old Zhu recently noticed that business at his apothecary had fallen off. He sent people to investigate and learned that Heavenly Gui Pills and Deer Antler Powder were selling very well, taking away his customers. He already suspects you..."
Gao Xian was horrified. "What?!"
Uneasy, he looked at Zhu Qiniang. "He found out so quickly?"
The Alchemy Furnace belonged to Zhu Hong'an. Gao Xian's master had signed an alchemy contract with Zhu Hong'an, agreeing to refine at least fifteen hundred pills for him each month.
The contract said nothing about who would get any additional pills, since neither side had ever considered the question.
Gao Xian's original body had been a low-level alchemist who could barely fulfill his monthly quota. There was no way he could have had the energy to refine other pills.
He had been able to make extra Deer Antler Powder only because alchemy ingredients came with a one-third surplus.
Low-level alchemists couldn't possibly succeed with every batch. The extra third of the ingredients was considered normal wastage.
By using the Wind and Moon Mirror to add points, his Alchemy Art had improved by leaps and bounds, letting him use the ingredients to their fullest with almost no waste.
Gao Xian knew about the alchemy contract. He also knew Zhu Hong'an was greedy. If Zhu Hong'an learned that Gao Xian was refining such exquisite Deer Antler Powder and Heavenly Gui Pills, he would never let him go.
Gao Xian had thought that having Zhou Ye and Huang Ying act as intermediaries would prevent this sort of problem.
And yet, Heavenly Gui Pills had been on the market for less than a month, and Old Zhu had already found out?!
Gao Xian looked to Zhu Qiniang for help. "Qiniang, what should I do?"
Deer Antler Powder and Heavenly Gui Pills were the foundation of his income. If Zhu Hong'an took them from him, he wouldn't be able to turn his fortunes around for years.
Cultivation required more than just Humanity Aura. It also required pills, magical artifacts, and other resources, all of which demanded a great deal of Spirit Stones.
He was only at the second level of Qi Refining, yet he already needed Qiniang to supply him with Blood Dragon Pills to greatly speed up his cultivation.
It went without saying that the higher his cultivation, the more resources he would need. Without Spirit Stones, where would the resources come from?
Zhu Hong'an held the contract, had powerful connections within the Lianyun Sect, and knew Gao Xian's master. Both professionally and personally, Gao Xian couldn't compete with him.
Gao Xian's thoughts were in a jumble. He didn't know how to respond. Zhu Qiniang's relationship with Zhu Hong'an might have been poor, but they had been together for so many years. She knew him well and should have a way to deal with him.
Zhu Qiniang gave Gao Xian a long look and said coolly, "I told you a long time ago how to handle this. It's simple: kill Old Zhu."
"Uh..."
This time, Gao Xian didn't rush to refuse. He sank into deep thought.
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