With his condition just right, Gao Xian began cultivating the Five Elements Technique in a seated position.
The Five Elements Technique circulated the powers of metal, wood, water, fire, and earth, corresponding to the five organs of the lungs, liver, kidneys, heart, and spleen. At the same time, he had to visualize the corresponding Five Elements Dharma Talisman in his mind.
He had to circulate each type of spiritual energy—metal, wood, water, fire, and earth—once. Completing a full cycle took about three minutes.
He had to complete at least thirty-six full cycles in a single session to make any progress.
Guiding spiritual energy through his body along a fixed route with his spiritual sense while visualizing the corresponding talisman was actually very difficult.
Fortunately, the original owner had cultivated since childhood and had a solid foundation. Gao Xian had inherited those memories, so his cultivation these past few days had gone fairly smoothly.
This time, with a thought, Sister Lan appeared deep in his brow.
Through the Great Idol Spirit Method, he and Sister Lan shared an invisible yet exceptionally close connection. Whatever he thought, Sister Lan naturally acted accordingly.
Gao Xian had Sister Lan help him visualize the talismans while he circulated the Five Elements Technique through thirty-six cycles.
Without an accurate timekeeping tool, Gao Xian estimated that this cultivation session had taken only about thirty minutes.
That was more than four times as efficient as cultivating on his own.
And Sister Lan's cultivation results were even better.
By the end of the day, Gao Xian had cultivated three times, circulating the Five Elements Technique through one hundred and eight cycles.
Looking at the front of the Wind and Moon Mirror again, he could see that his proficiency in the Five Elements Technique had risen by a solid point.
Gao Xian was overjoyed by the result.
He hadn't slacked off in his cultivation during these past few days since crossing over.
After all, cultivation was the foundation, and he was deeply interested in transcendent powers.
But after several days of practice, his cultivation hadn't increased at all.
No wonder the original owner had relied on pills to level up. His aptitude really was poor.
What's more, with Sister Lan helping him visualize the talismans, he could cast spells much faster.
A ball of flame flickered at Gao Xian's fingertip, like a lighter hidden in his hand, being switched on and off over and over.
In his other hand, a faint wisp of vapor appeared and vanished. This was the Water Control Art.
At this point, for low-level spells like the Fire Control Art and Water Control Art, Gao Xian didn't even need to chant or form hand seals. He could cast them instantly.
From the memories the original owner had left behind, these two spells, though low-level, were the foundation of many other spells.
For example, the Cleansing Art was an advanced variation of the Water Control Art.
Gao Xian took all the spells he knew and practiced them over and over, savoring the wondrous thrill of wielding transcendent power.
After messing around like this for more than a day, Gao Xian gradually calmed down from his feverish excitement.
As good as Sister Lan was, she couldn't help him refine pills. For now, he still had to find a way to make them.
The Boss Lady was supposedly at the ninth level of Qi Refining, just one step away from Foundation Establishment. In this little Flying Horse Market, she was famous for being a tough fighter.
The Fire Control Art and Water Control Art were both spells without a grade. Even if he could cast them instantly, they'd be no use at all.
Even if the Boss Lady stood still and let him hit her, he probably couldn't harm a single hair on her head.
Besides, Shopkeeper Zhu was a disciple of the Lianyun Sect, and his master was a guest elder of the sect.
Their social connections ran deep. This wasn't something he could resolve with violence.
On the other hand, Shopkeeper Zhu and his wife wouldn't do anything to him either. At most, they'd hand him over to his master to deal with.
At the thought of the master he had never met, Gao Xian couldn't help shivering.
Judging from the memories the original owner had left behind, if Shopkeeper Zhu sent him back, that master would definitely break both his legs.
Sneak out of Flying Horse Market?
Flying Horse Market was a newly established market run by the Lianyun Sect, deep in Soaring Snake Mountain, two or three thousand li from the sect.
The mountains were teeming with demonic beasts, as well as terrifying Evil Spirits.
From the original owner's memories, there was no way someone with his abilities could make it out of Soaring Snake Mountain on his own.
"There are still eight days left. I should try every possible method."
Gao Xian picked up Alchemy Essentials and flipped through it again. Over the past two days, he had recovered some more of the original owner's memories, and now he could just barely understand the book.
After reading patiently for a while, Gao Xian couldn't help throwing the book away.
Even if he could just barely understand the theory, he was still a very, very long way from being able to put it into practice.
"This won't do. I need to find another way."
Gao Xian picked up the book again, thought for a moment, then went to a nearby cabinet and took out the books and objects inside.
Thirteen Low-grade Spirit Stones, a Pine Pattern Steel Sword, several sets of clothes, a few books, a box of ten White Dew Pills, and a few low-level talismans.
That was the entirety of the original owner's belongings.
He had actually gone through these things several times already. He took them out again mainly to organize his thoughts.
Gao Xian's mind was especially clear right now. He had a strange intuition that what he needed was among these items.
Spirit Stones were crystals formed naturally from spiritual energy and the universal currency of the cultivator world, comparable to gold in the mortal world.
Thirteen Low-grade Spirit Stones had limited purchasing power. They couldn't solve his problem.
The sword was useless. The White Dew Pills, clothes, and talismans were useless too.
So it had to be these books.
Five Elements Mutual Generation and Restriction Theory, Mysterious Truth Prescription, Thirty-Six Alchemy Methods...
Gao Xian's heart stirred, and he picked up Mysterious Truth Prescription.
He had skimmed through this book before. It contained recipes for dual cultivation pills, nothing proper. He had tossed it aside as soon as he saw what it was about.
"Nothing proper is exactly right. The Wind and Moon Mirror isn't proper either. They're a perfect match!"
Mysterious Truth Prescription was actually very simple. It recorded just nine recipes, along with details like how to make them.
After reading the first recipe, Deer Antler Powder, Gao Xian suddenly felt a stirring of understanding.
He took out the Wind and Moon Mirror and saw that a new recipe had appeared on its back.
Deer Antler Powder: A virility tonic. (Beginner 1/10).
Gao Xian was overjoyed. Learning a recipe wasn't much, but the key was that he could level it up!
He spent ten Humanity Aura points, and Deer Antler Powder quickly advanced to the Skilled level.
In the Wind and Moon Mirror, Sister Lan began demonstrating how to sort the ingredients, wash them, soak them, boil them, dry them, grind and blend them into powder, and roast them over a flame to refine them...
In a short time, Gao Xian learned how to make Deer Antler Powder and mastered every detail of the process.
"It really works!" Gao Xian was even more excited. Deer Antler Powder was useless; what he wanted was the technique for making it.
Deer Antler Powder: A virility tonic. (Skilled 1/10).
Each level-up cost ten points. Seeing that he still had over a hundred Humanity Aura points left, Gao Xian didn't hesitate to keep spending them on Deer Antler Powder.
It took only fifty Humanity Aura points to raise Deer Antler Powder to Master level. But advancing from Master to Grandmaster required another fifty.
Gao Xian checked the Great Idol Spirit Method. It needed five thousand Humanity Aura points to level up.
By comparison, this was dirt cheap.
For the sake of his life, Gao Xian steeled himself and forced Deer Antler Powder all the way to Grandmaster level.
Clearly, there was a qualitative leap between Master and Grandmaster. That was why it took so much more Humanity Aura.
He had finally found a way forward, so of course he had to go all in. The few dozen Humanity Aura points he had left couldn't do anything else anyway.
Sister Lan, inside the Wind and Moon Mirror, began making Deer Antler Powder again.
The process was the same as before, but Sister Lan's every movement was exceptionally graceful, imbued with an indescribable and wondrous rhythm.
Gao Xian's spirits lifted. Countless insights into making Deer Antler Powder filled his mind.
At the same time, the original owner's decade-plus of alchemy memories were stirred awake.
Sorting the ingredients, firing up the alchemy furnace, controlling the heat—one scene after another merged into Gao Xian's memories...
Before you continue