Full of Tribulations

In August at the Flying Horse Market, the clear, boundless sky turned into a torrential downpour in the blink of an eye.

The heavy rain came quickly and left just as fast. Before long, the clouds had dispersed and the rain had vanished.

The air after the rain was fresh, but the roads were muddy and difficult to traverse.

Zhu Qiniang formed a hand seal to cast the Wind Control Art, her figure becoming light and graceful amidst a flicker of spiritual light.

While the Wind Control Art might seem similar to the Flying Feather Art, they were, in reality, completely different.

The Flying Feather Art allowed one to drift, making the body as light as a feather, but it could not achieve high speeds.

The Wind Control Art allowed a cultivator to ride the wind; the stronger the cultivator's power, the faster their speed.

As a body cultivator, Zhu Qiniang disliked the sluggishness of the Flying Feather Art; the Wind Control Art allowed for much better adaptability.

Along the way, Zhu Qiniang pushed off various surfaces, skimming lightly over the muddy ground without a single speck of mud staining her shoes.

Arriving at a crossroads, Zhu Qiniang saw a black, mummified corpse lying on the ground.

Several cultivators were gathered around it, pointing at the corpse with faces full of fear.

Zhu Qiniang knew this was a cultivator killed by an evil spirit; their essence, blood, and vitality had been sucked dry, leaving them looking like a charred, mummified husk.

She had long heard that the evil spirit with half a head had reappeared, harming people all over the Flying Horse Market.

In this short time, more than a dozen rogue cultivators had been killed, leaving the others in the Flying Horse Market in a state of panic.

Some of the rogue cultivators had sought out the deacon Li Shuanglin, requesting that he step in to exterminate the evil spirit.

Li Shuanglin was a Foundation Establishment master and the manager of the Lianyun Sect at the Flying Horse Market.

With the evil spirit running rampant, it was only natural for the rogue cultivators to look to Li Shuanglin for leadership. It was said that Li Shuanglin had made a promise to resolve the matter as soon as possible.

Zhu Qiniang had only heard a passing mention of it and didn't know the specifics, nor did she care much about such things.

Her Primordial Golden Body was formidable; such low-level evil spirits posed no threat to her.

With the evil spirit killing people everywhere, I wonder if the timid Gao Xian will be frightened...

When Zhu Qiniang arrived, Gao Xian was in the courtyard practicing the Iron Dragon Hand.

He had made rapid progress with the Iron Dragon Hand during this period and had begun to enjoy the sense of fulfillment that came with training it.

The Five Elements Technique, the Iron Dragon Hand, and even spells like the Fire Control Art could not be upgraded using the Humanity Aura; he had to train them through his own hard work.

The Five Elements Technique was a method for refining qi, spirit, and body—complex and exquisite—and its daily progress could only be determined through the Wind and Moon Mirror.

The Iron Dragon Hand, however, was different; every time he practiced, he could clearly feel the powerful sense of strength in his muscles and bones, and he could distinctly feel himself improving.

This was the difference between internal and external cultivation.

Zhu Qiniang watched Gao Xian finish a set of the Iron Dragon Hand and nodded, saying, "Your technique is already very proficient. Truly excellent."

When she had first practiced the Iron Dragon Hand years ago, she hadn't been as proficient as Gao Xian, which showed just how fast he was progressing.

Gao Xian was very happy; although Zhu Qiniang was very good to him, she wouldn't praise him casually.

To hear her say this now, it was clear his progress was indeed significant.

He also understood that he could achieve this level mostly thanks to the Lightning Dragon Hand, and partly due to the Dragon Bone Pill.

Zhu Qiniang said, "I have nothing left to teach you regarding the Iron Dragon Hand; just keep practicing diligently."

As she spoke, she handed Gao Xian a medicine box: "These are fifty Dragon Bone Pills."

Gao Xian hurriedly accepted them with both hands: "That's wonderful, thank you, Qiniang. I've caused you to spend more money again."

During this period of practicing the Iron Dragon Hand, Gao Xian had realized that the aid of medicinal pills was indispensable.

It was no wonder alchemists made so much money; if one wanted to improve, one had to consume pills.

The Dragon Bone Pill was quite special, and since he couldn't refine it himself, he had to rely on Zhu Qiniang.

Fortunately, he could also provide Zhu Qiniang with Heavenly Gui Pills and offer his "specialized health services," making their cooperation mutually beneficial; he accepted the Dragon Bone Pills with a clear conscience.

"That half-headed evil spirit has reappeared recently, and it seems its power has increased."

Zhu Qiniang reminded Gao Xian: "You must still be careful and make sure to carry the One Yang Talisman on your person at all times."

A look of shock appeared on Gao Xian's face: "That evil spirit is out again?"

He had hit Old Wang with a True Yang Spear last time, severely wounding the creature on the spot; he hadn't expected it to recover so quickly.

This news felt like a heavy stone pressing down on his heart; the feeling of oppression was unbearable.

"The more essence and blood an evil spirit consumes, the stronger its power becomes."

Zhu Qiniang shook her head slightly and said, "If it isn't resolved quickly, the evil spirit will only become more formidable."

Seeing Gao Xian's grim expression, Zhu Qiniang comforted him: "The evil spirit won't come looking specifically for you; naturally, Foundation Establishment cultivators like Li Shuanglin will handle it, so you don't need to worry too much."

She paused and added, "The real trouble is Old Zhu."

"Hm?"

Gao Xian looked confused, "What's wrong with Shopkeeper Zhu?"

Zhu Qiniang said, "Old Zhu recently discovered that his pharmacy's business has declined. He sent people to investigate and found out that the Heavenly Gui Pills and Deer Antler Powder are selling extremely well, stealing his business. He already suspects you..."

Gao Xian's expression shifted in alarm: "Ah!"

He looked at Zhu Qiniang with a sense of unease, "Have I been discovered so quickly?"

The alchemy furnace belonged to Zhu Hong'an, and his master had signed an alchemy contract with him, stipulating a minimum of 1,500 pills to be refined for Zhu Hong'an each month.

The contract did not specify who owned any extra pills refined, as neither party had ever considered such a possibility.

Primarily, the original owner of this body was only a low-level alchemist; barely completing the monthly quota was already a struggle, and there was no spare capacity to refine other pills.

The only reason he had the surplus materials to refine Deer Antler Powder was because the alchemy ingredients provided always included a thirty percent margin.

A low-level alchemist could not succeed with every batch, so that extra third was considered normal wastage.

By adding points through the Wind and Moon Mirror, his Alchemy Art had advanced by leaps and bounds, allowing him to utilize the materials to their absolute limit with almost zero loss.

Gao Xian was aware of the alchemy contract, and he knew Zhu Hong'an was greedy; if he found out that he was refining something as exquisite as the Heavenly Gui Pill, he would never let him go.

By using Zhou Ye and Huang Ying as proxies, Gao Xian had hoped to avoid such issues.

Yet, the Heavenly Gui Pills had been on the market for less than a month, and Old Zhu had already discovered them?!

Gao Xian looked to Zhu Qiniang for help: "Qiniang, what should I do?"

The Deer Antler Powder and Heavenly Gui Pills were the foundation of his wealth. If they were seized by Zhu Hong's, he wouldn't be able to recover for years.

Cultivation required more than just the Humanity Aura; it demanded various pills, magical artifacts, and other resources, all of which required vast amounts of spirit stones.

He was only at the second level of Qi Refining, and he already needed Zhu Qiniang to provide Blood Dragon Pills just to significantly boost his cultivation speed.

It was easy to imagine that the higher his cultivation, the more resources he would need. Without spirit stones, where would those resources come from?

Zhu Hong'an held the contract, had deep connections within the Lianyun Sect, and was acquainted with his master; both publicly and privately, he was no match for the man.

Gao Xian's mind was in turmoil, unsure of how to respond. Although Zhu Qiniang's relationship with Zhu Hong'an was poor, they had been together for many years; she understood him well and should have a strategy to deal with this.

Zhu Qiniang gave Gao Xian a deep look and said indifferently: "I already told you the way to deal with this. It's very simple: kill Old Zhu."

"Uh..."

This time, Gao Xian did not rush to refuse; he fell into deep contemplation.