Storage Bag

After dealing with Shopkeeper Zhu and successfully reaching the third level of Qi Refining, Gao Xian went to sleep in high spirits, looking forward to meeting Sister Lan in his dreams.

Over the next few days, Gao Xian stopped practicing alchemy and devoted most of his energy to cultivation.

After breaking through to the third level of Qi Refining, his magic power, strength, speed, and other attributes improved day by day. He was in a period of rapid growth.

On the evening of the third day after the incident, Gao Xian was practicing swordsmanship in the courtyard when Zhu Qiniang arrived.

Zhu Qiniang wore a deep blue robe. Its surface had a lustrous sheen like glazed porcelain, and it was very beautiful.

The robe lent Zhu Qiniang an air of elegance and poise. Her expression had also softened, no longer as cold and hard as before.

She had gained a distinctly feminine charm, and her allure had increased considerably.

One look at Zhu Qiniang told Gao Xian that she had untied the knot in her heart. Her spirits had improved, and she even seemed radiant.

He knew things had gone smoothly without her having to say a word.

Zhu Qiniang also noticed Gao Xian's changes. His vitality was clearly stronger, and his body was more upright and powerful.

The bones formed the framework of the body, supporting the internal organs within and bearing the muscles and skin without.

The obvious changes in Gao Xian's physique were clearly due to his bones becoming stronger.

"You've reached the third level of Qi Refining?" Zhu Qiniang asked.

"Yeah. I broke through as soon as I got back that day."

Gao Xian smiled. "Mostly, it was because my thoughts were clear and nothing was holding me back. That let my qi flow through my whole body and connect everything in one go."

"Clear thoughts. Exactly right."

Zhu Qiniang mulled it over. The phrase "clear thoughts" really did put it well.

After dealing with Zhu Hong'an, the resentment that had weighed on her for years had suddenly lifted. She felt light and at ease, so happy she could have soared into the heavens.

"Zhu Hong'an's body has been taken back to Lianyun City. No one in the Zhu Family has said anything. They're all arguing over who gets control of the medicine shop, and no one cares about his death..."

At this, Zhu Qiniang grew more serious and formal. "This worked out thanks to you. You planned everything carefully and handled it so well that the Zhu Family couldn't find fault with anything."

Seeing how the Zhu Family had reacted, Zhu Qiniang was even more impressed by Gao Xian's plan.

If she had followed her own suggestion and simply killed Zhu Hong'an, it would certainly have aroused the Zhu Family's suspicions.

Now Zhu Hong'an had been killed by an Evil Spirit. Even if someone in the Zhu Family thought something was off, they couldn't prove a thing.

The Zhu Family didn't know Gao Xian was involved. They would never suspect she had joined forces with an outsider to deal with Zhu Hong'an.

Besides, Zhu Hong'an had been stingy and greedy, and no one in the Zhu Family liked him. Plenty of them were probably happy to hear he was dead.

All in all, things couldn't have worked out better.

Gao Xian felt relieved, too. As long as the Zhu Family hadn't noticed anything amiss, they were in the clear.

He smiled. "It wasn't me who was clever. It was us."

Zhu Qiniang's expression softened, too. Gao Xian knew how to speak; with one sentence, he'd drawn them closer.

"An airship makes the trip once a month. Even if the Zhu Family sends someone, they won't arrive for another month. Stock up on herbs while you can. I'll tear up that medicine shop contract for you..."

With Gao Xian's alchemy skills, making pills for the medicine shop was a raw deal.

Now that Zhu Hong'an was dead and no one in the Zhu Family knew about Gao Xian, this was the perfect chance to tear up his contract with the shop.

Gao Xian was delighted. His contract with the medicine shop was practically a deed of sale.

Shopkeeper Zhu had set his sights on Gao Xian's Heavenly Stem Pills and Deer Antler Powder because of that contract.

It was hard to argue about these things. Gao Xian had used the shop's Alchemy Furnace and herbs, so Shopkeeper Zhu wasn't entirely unreasonable to demand a share of the profits.

Gao Xian said excitedly, "That's wonderful. Thank you, Qiniang. Without the contract, I won't have anything hanging over my head."

"Old Zhu is gone. These are trivial matters."

Zhu Qiniang didn't think much of it. They had conspired to kill Old Zhu, so of course she would help Gao Xian resolve this problem.

However, it was no secret that Old Zhu had hired Gao Xian as an alchemist, and the matter also involved Gao Xian's teacher, Xu Mingyuan. There might be complications again in the future.

Seeing how happy Gao Xian was, Zhu Qiniang decided not to bring up something so dispiriting.

Changing the subject, she said, "You've entered the third level of Qi Refining, which is usually called the Blood Refining stage. That name isn't quite accurate. Strictly speaking, the third level is about tempering your vitality and condensing qi in your third Qi Aperture.

"With the Five Elements Technique you practice, the Qi Aperture is at the Huiyin Acupoint. Opening it connects the dantian and the Spirit Platform..."

Zhu Qiniang explained the key points of cultivation at the third level in simple, clear terms. Then she said, "The essence of the third level is to guide spiritual qi through marrow cleansing and blood exchange. Only when the vitality throughout your body is at its peak can you open the Huiyin Acupoint and condense a Qi Aperture.

"The best pill for this stage is the Tiger Blood Pill. I'll get some for you."

Most people at Flying Horse Market were Rogue Cultivators. They couldn't even afford low-grade pills like the Foundation Strengthening Pill, let alone Dragon Bone Pills and Tiger Blood Pills, which were specially made for body tempering.

Longevity Hall sold all sorts of ordinary, low-grade medicines. Dragon Bone Pills and Tiger Blood Pills had to be ordered specially.

Fortunately, the Zhu Family was in that line of business and had its own channels.

With Zhu Hong'an dead, Zhu Qiniang was temporarily managing the medicine shop, so it was even easier for her to arrange these things.

"Thank you, Qiniang." Gao Xian was very happy. With Qiniang guiding his cultivation, he'd be spared who knew how much trouble.

His original body's master had really taken him for a ride. He'd given him a set of the Five Elements Technique and then left him to fend for himself.

Gao Xian's body had only average talent. The main reason he'd advanced to the third level of Qi Refining so quickly was that Sister Lan had guided his cultivation, boosting his efficiency more than tenfold.

Add Zhu Qiniang's guidance, a large supply of Dragon Bone Pills to strengthen his bones and muscles, and the external training of the Iron Dragon Hand—

With all these conditions working together and abundant resources piled on, he'd made such rapid progress.

Gao Xian didn't bring up money with Zhu Qiniang. Dragon Bone Pills and Tiger Blood Pills were only low-grade body-tempering pills, so even if they were expensive, they wouldn't cost an outrageous amount.

It would be awkward to bring up payment over such a small thing. Not mentioning money turned it into a favor, and could bring him closer to Qiniang.

The main problem was that he didn't have the pill formulas. Otherwise, he could make them himself.

"Keep practicing the Iron Dragon Hand. That body-tempering art will serve you all the way to Foundation Establishment."

Gao Xian nodded repeatedly. He was a complete novice when it came to cultivation, so whatever Zhu Qiniang said went.

After they finished discussing cultivation, Zhu Qiniang handed Gao Xian a gray leather pouch about the size of his palm. "This is Old Zhu's spare storage bag. It has a cubic meter of space. It'll be more than enough for your personal belongings."

Gao Xian took the storage bag with delight. Whenever he saw Qiniang use hers to put away pills, he'd been terribly envious.

A little bag with a separate space opened up inside it—by the standards of low-grade magic, that was an impressive feat.

Gao Xian didn't know what the gray storage bag Zhu Qiniang had given him was made of. It felt like some kind of leather, smooth and supple, and weighed almost nothing in his hand.

Following Zhu Qiniang's instructions, Gao Xian refined the storage bag with his spiritual sense. Once he untied the cord sealing its opening, he sensed a space of about one cubic meter inside—about the size of a large storage cabinet.

Gao Xian tried using his spiritual sense to put things in and take them out. It was quite convenient.

Putting things into and taking them out of the storage bag looked, to other people, like making objects appear out of thin air.

Gao Xian played with it for a while. This simple act of putting things in and taking them out might have seemed a little childish to a kid, but for an adult, it was just right.

Seeing how happy Gao Xian was made Zhu Qiniang feel good, too.

She said, "This storage bag and the Azure Wood Armor were Old Zhu's personal belongings. He kept them very well hidden, so no one else knows about them. You can use them without worry..."