Scheming

As a decent person, as a civilized man who received nine years of compulsory education, as a modern individual accustomed to order, and as a middle-aged homebody who once struggled with his weight, Gao Xian did not like to solve problems with violence.

Having become Gao Xian, he slowly grew accustomed to cultivation, alchemy, the earthen house with its wooden bed, the excrement littering the ground, and the evil spirits with half-severed heads running wild everywhere.

However, he was still very unaccustomed to killing people.

Last time, Zhu Qiniang had mentioned helping him kill Zhu Hong'an as if it were a joke, and he had taken it as nothing more than that.

Now that the topic had been raised again, Gao Xian dared not treat it as a joke, nor could he afford to.

If he were to be cornered by Zhu Hong'an, he would surely suffer a miserable fate. Yet, for him to kill someone before Zhu Hong'an had even made a move—he simply could not bring himself to cross that mental threshold.

Gao Xian looked up at Zhu Qiniang. Her expression was calm, yet her emerald eyes held a hint of cold, unyielding resolve.

He found it difficult to read her; he did not know if she was doing this for his sake, or if she harbored such deep resentment toward Zhu Hong'an that she wanted to use this opportunity to exact revenge.

Gao Xian asked, "Qiniang, Shopkeeper Zhu is not just one man; he is part of a family, and he has an elder from the Lianyun Sect backing him."

"If we kill Shopkeeper Zhu, how are we to answer to the Zhu family and that elder?"

Zhu Qiniang had a plan for this long ago. She said, "Zhu Hong'an is always running into the mountains to collect medicinal herbs. We can find an opportunity to finish him off there, where no one will know or see a thing. No one will ever know it was us."

Gao Xian felt that Zhu Qiniang's plan was far too crude. If Zhu Hong'an were to disappear without a trace, the Zhu family would certainly hunt down the culprit.

Could he and Zhu Qiniang truly escape such an investigation?

However, Zhu Qiniang's resolve was firm; she spoke of murdering Zhu Hong'an without a shred of hesitation.

He thought for a moment and said, "Qiniang, this is no small matter. Once the truth comes to light, the Lianyun Sect will never let us go. I need to think this over carefully..."

Zhu Qiniang looked at Gao Xian with a complex gaze. She seemed to want to say more, but eventually, she sighed softly and said, "If you hesitate, you will regret it."

She was somewhat disappointed in Gao Xian and had no mood left for massage therapy, so she turned and walked out the door.

Watching Zhu Qiniang's departing back, Gao Xian could not help but sigh.

He understood many principles, had read many historical tales, and had experienced a fair share of life himself.

The experiences of the successful are not necessarily suitable for you, and the stories of the successful are merely stories.

Just like Ban Chao killing the enemy envoys in the night; if he succeeded, he was decisive and possessed both wisdom and courage. If he had failed, he would have been impulsive, reckless, and brainless.

Han Xin endured the humiliation of crawling between a man's legs; because he succeeded later, it was seen as having great ambition and knowing when to bend and when to stretch. Had he not succeeded, that act would have been seen as cowardly, weak, and pathetic.

Later generations can derive ten thousand reasons from the final result, but as the person involved, it is difficult to make an accurate judgment about the future.

Based on his own experience, every specific situation requires specific analysis; there is no universal truth that applies to all places and all times.

Gao Xian failed to reach an agreement with Zhu Qiniang, and he had no heart for cultivation, let alone alchemy.

Returning to his bedroom, he closed the doors and windows, lay on the bed, and thought for a long time, yet he could not find a way to solve the problem.

He took out the Wind and Moon Mirror; the Humanity Aura on it had already accumulated 3,992 points.

Ever since Huang Ying began selling the Heavenly Gui Pill in large quantities, Gao Xian discovered that the Heavenly Gui Pill could also increase his Humanity Aura.

Over the past three months, the Heavenly Gui Pill, combined with the Deer Antler Powder, had helped him accumulate nearly 4,000 points of Humanity Aura.

Gao Xian had originally intended to upgrade the Lightning Dragon Hand, but seeing how quickly the Humanity Aura was accumulating, he changed his mind.

Although the Lightning Dragon Hand was good, it was far inferior to the Great Idol Spirit Method.

If he could raise the Great Idol Spirit Method to the Grandmaster level, he would gain a massive boost in every aspect.

Besides, he was in a good state right now and had no pressing troubles to deal with, so he had been saving the Humanity Aura.

Today, however, the situation had changed.

"What a pity, what a pity..."

Gao Xian looked at the Humanity Aura with reluctance; if he just waited another month or so, he would have reached 5,000 points!

Gao Xian turned his gaze to the True Yang Spear. Old Wang had come back to life and had even become stronger; the True Yang Spear had to be upgraded.

After more than two months of uninterrupted cultivation, the True Yang Spear was only 431 points away from reaching the Grandmaster level.

With the Humanity Aura added, the True Yang Spear reached the Grandmaster level in the blink of an eye.

Sister Lan emerged from the depths of the mirror's surface. Without moving her hands or opening her mouth, a golden light flashed in the depths of her eyes, manifesting a golden spear.

Gao Xian felt a heat in the center of his brow, and various techniques for wielding the True Yang Spear poured into his consciousness like a tidal wave. He felt his divine sense expanding and growing.

When his divine sense reached a certain limit, it exploded with a roar, and a ball of golden light rose from the darkness...

He did not know how much time had passed before Gao Xian opened his eyes, only to find that the sky had already darkened.

Upgrading the True Yang Spear to the Grandmaster level this time had taken at least half an hour.

The wooden window of the bedroom was very small, with a lattice made of thick, hard wood designed to prevent anyone from entering through it.

The thick mulberry paper on the window blocked out most of the daylight.

The room was very dim at this moment, yet Gao Xian could see the fine texture of the wood on the lattice.

The dim lighting could no longer hinder his vision.

This feeling was truly marvelous.

It was as if he were watching a black-and-white film; everything had turned into shades of black and gray, yet no detail was obscured.

Outside the room, the chirping of insects and croaking of frogs were audible, and Gao Xian could clearly distinguish the exact location of each sound.

Inside the sealed bedroom, he could even sense the subtle flow of air currents.

There was no doubt that the True Yang Spear reaching the Grandmaster level had strengthened his divine sense, thereby enhancing his six senses and even increasing the speed of his cognitive reactions.

Unfortunately, the Wind and Moon Mirror would not display these specific changes.

Gao Xian opened the Wind and Moon Mirror, and the first thing he noticed was the change in his data panel.

His lifespan had increased from the original 68 to 72 years.

He was pleasantly surprised; the most important goal of cultivation was longevity.

Living longer was also an instinct deep within the genes of every living creature.

The Grandmaster-level True Yang Spear had increased his lifespan by a full four years. The annotation for the True Yang Spear had also changed.

True Yang Spear: Condense divine sense with Yang energy to forge an invisible spear. Can refine divine sense, shatter souls, and slay evil spirits (1/2000 Grandmaster).

The Grandmaster-level True Yang Spear clearly possessed significantly greater power.

With a single thought from Gao Xian, Sister Lan responded immediately, and the golden True Yang Spear had already condensed between his brows, poised and ready.

At this level, he no longer needed to form seals or chant incantations, and Sister Lan's response speed had become even faster, truly achieving an instantaneous True Yang Spear.

Although Gao Xian hadn't tested it, he was certain that he could now perform a triple-pierce with the True Yang Spear.

If Old Wang dared to show his face again, a triple-shot would send him straight to the heavens.

While channeling the True Yang Spear, Gao Xian also sensed a wisp of smoke-like black energy clinging to his body.

Without anyone needing to tell him, Gao Xian immediately understood that this was the evil energy Old Wang had left on him.

It was through this connection of evil energy that Old Wang was able to track him.

Because the True Yang Spear was becoming increasingly powerful, this wisp of evil energy had already become very faint.

As long as he activated the True Yang Spear, he could absolutely purge this wisp of evil energy completely.

Just as Gao Xian was about to act, a thought suddenly stirred in his heart.

He retracted the True Yang Spear; there was no need to rush to resolve this wisp of evil energy—it might still be useful!

The Grandmaster-level True Yang Spear also gave Gao Xian an extra layer of confidence, allowing him to handle matters with a bit more composure.