Progress

After living for a few months, Gao Xian had adapted to this world of cultivators and its way of life.

He had just killed a cultivator, and he felt his reasons were sound. His conscience wasn't troubled.

Still, the scene had been rather horrifying, and he could hardly bear to look at it.

Zhu Qiniang, however, didn't seem to care at all. She searched through every corpse strewn across the ground.

The one Gao Xian had killed was in relatively good shape. The other four were sprawled all over the place, and those were the truly gruesome ones.

Zhu Qiniang rummaged through them and came up with more than thirty Low-grade Spirit Stones, a stack of low-tier talismans, all sorts of miscellaneous pills, and several low-tier magical artifacts.

Nearly everything was stained with blood, but Zhu Qiniang didn't mind. She casually put it all into her storage pouch.

"These things are worth sixty or seventy Spirit Stones altogether. Add these Spirit Stones and the Iron-Back Gray Wolf, and the total comes to over a hundred. Once I sell everything, I'll give you half."

Gao Xian had wanted to refuse, but then he thought of the fifty-odd Spirit Stones he'd get. He couldn't bring himself to turn them down.

Zhu Qiniang could tell he was conflicted. She said calmly, "These are our spoils. No need to stand on ceremony."

By the time they had finished, darkness was already falling.

Zhu Qiniang felt they'd had a bountiful day. She immediately set off back with Gao Xian.

"Your swordplay against that dark, skinny cultivator was excellent. One strike broke his shield, severed his hand, and knocked aside his arrow. Then you followed with another strike and took his head clean off. It was all one fluid motion, swift and decisive.

"He was a mid-stage Qi Refining cultivator, with far more magical power than you, yet he still couldn't withstand your fast sword. You're only at the third level of Qi Refining, but you can already fight above your level. You have an extraordinary talent for combat."

Zhu Qiniang praised Gao Xian earnestly. He could chalk up killing the Iron-Back Gray Wolf to good luck, but killing that cultivator had been pure skill.

The dark, skinny cultivator was at the mid-stage of Qi Refining. He had opened at least his Heart Aperture and Lung Aperture, and his blood and qi were vigorous and his magical power profound. In almost every way, he was far superior to Gao Xian.

Normally, a mid-stage Qi Refining cultivator could easily crush someone at the early stage. But Gao Xian's fast sword was simply too formidable. He had killed the man with hardly any effort! Such talent was truly rare.

She went on, "That's what combat is like. You have no idea how strong your opponent is, and you can never have complete control over a fight.

"Your problem was that you dragged things out too much at the start. You used your Wood Shield to keep your opponent at bay, and you looked composed, but you were completely on the defensive. How could you know whether he had some powerful killing move?

"One unexpected turn, and you could have been the one to die. In a fight, you have to do everything in your power to kill your enemy. There are no rules, and certainly no benevolence, morality, courtesy, or shame. Any carelessness, slackness, or softness is a failure to take responsibility for your own life..."

Zhu Qiniang knew Gao Xian was capable, whether it was alchemy or combat. But he had one serious problem: he didn't understand how cruel this world was.

Cultivators had all kinds of talismans and magical artifacts. Their methods were endless.

That made battles between cultivators exceptionally dangerous. One wrong move, and you could be killed on the spot.

There was no room for warmth or hesitation in this kind of fight.

Gao Xian knew Zhu Qiniang was right. He also knew he still hadn't fully adjusted; he couldn't kill without batting an eye the way she did.

All he could do was nod and take her advice, looking very obedient.

"The Red Snake Gang is said to be led by several rogue cultivators at the late stage of Qi Refining. They treat Soaring Snake Mountain as their own backyard. Whenever they encounter cultivators who've trespassed, they slaughter them all. Their methods are exceptionally vicious."

Even after they reached Gao Xian's home, Zhu Qiniang continued to caution him. "If you run into anyone from the Red Snake Gang—or anyone claiming to represent them—in the future, be especially careful."

Gao Xian nodded firmly. "I understand. I'll just stay home and not go out."

Zhu Qiniang agreed. "You should go out less. The outside world is too dangerous for you."

As she was leaving, Zhu Qiniang added, "Get some rest. Tomorrow, we'll set out from the south side of Flying Horse Market..."

Gao Xian stared at her in surprise. "We're going again?"

"I have some free time over the next few days. I'll keep you company."

Gao Xian wasn't particularly eager to go, but Qiniang was so enthusiastic that he could only nod.

After Zhu Qiniang left, Gao Xian began to feel that something wasn't quite right.

Why was Qiniang in such a hurry to take him to Soaring Snake Mountain for training? What was she preparing for?

Had something happened with the Zhu Family?

Gao Xian felt uneasy, but he knew nothing about the situation at Lianyun Sect. His master was there, but the original owner hadn't had much of a relationship with him.

After thinking it over, he decided it would be best to make time to ask Huang Ying about what was going on.

Gao Xian had been out all day, killing wolves and people. He was tired.

Even so, he pushed himself to complete all his usual exercises.

While cultivating the Five Elements Technique, he could clearly feel his blood and qi growing stronger. He was also becoming more adept at controlling and circulating them.

Qiniang had been right. Actual combat had drawn out his potential and taught him how to unleash the power of his blood and qi.

Only after that did Gao Xian seek out Sister Lan in his dream to practice dual cultivation.

The next day, Zhu Qiniang arrived early, and the two entered the mountains from the south side of Flying Horse Market.

Flying Horse Market lay amid a range of mountains, with mountains to the east, south, west, and north. There were clearly more cultivators in the southern area. On their way through, Gao Xian and Zhu Qiniang ran into several groups.

Cultivators generally traveled in groups of three or five. Even pairs were uncommon.

After a full day out, Zhu Qiniang and Gao Xian had only gathered some herbs and hadn't encountered any demon beasts.

On their way back, however, they were ambushed by several cultivators.

Caught off guard, Gao Xian was badly startled. He didn't hold anything back. He brought forth his Wood Shield, then combined his fast sword with the True Yang Spear and killed three people in succession. Zhu Qiniang killed five.

Every one of the ambushing cultivators was killed.

Zhu Qiniang searched their bodies and found more than forty Spirit Stones. Each cultivator had only about five on average. They didn't even have magical artifacts, just a few talismans.

Gao Xian figured they were so poor that they'd resorted to anything to get by.

For the next month or so, Zhu Qiniang took Gao Xian into the mountains every day. They ran into trouble almost every time.

Two cultivators traveling together made it all too easy to stir up the greed of other groups.

Those brief thirty-odd days of training in the mountains had truly shown Gao Xian how cruel the cultivation world was.

Rogue cultivators would draw their swords and kill over the smallest scrap of resources. They didn't care about right or wrong; all they could see was profit.

Gao Xian also learned one thing: in Soaring Snake Mountain, you didn't have to be a bad person, but you couldn't be a good person.

The price of being good was too high. He didn't have what it took to pay it.

Zhu Qiniang was very pleased with the results of his training. Gao Xian had shed that layer of naivete—or rather, that worthless habit of always trying to please other people.

His eyes held noticeably more confidence, and he had become more capable in his dealings with others. He no longer seemed like an ignorant little weakling who was easy to bully.

Gao Xian was pleased with his training, too. Fighting almost every day had familiarized him with how low-tier cultivators fought, as well as with all kinds of low-tier spells and magical artifacts.

He had gained a wealth of combat experience and learned how to protect himself better and kill his enemies more effectively.

Just like alchemy, these things could only be learned by doing them yourself.

Zhu Qiniang wasn't exactly a good teacher. She rarely explained anything, instead letting him learn, experience, and understand through actual combat.

But Zhu Qiniang really was powerful. Her Azure Wood Lightning Spear was almost unstoppable. Her Lion's Roar could kill an early-stage Qi Refining cultivator outright at close range.

And that was without even mentioning her formidable Primordial Golden Body and peerless swordsmanship. Once she got close, she became every Qi Refining cultivator's nightmare.

Gao Xian had compared their strength many times in secret. Even with his Grandmaster-level Lightning Dragon Hand, Grandmaster-level True Yang Spear, and Sister Lan's help, he had less than a one-in-ten chance of beating Qiniang head-on.

Zhu Qiniang's cultivation at the ninth level of Qi Refining was simply too powerful. Apart from speed, she completely outclassed him in every way.

Even in speed, he was only a little faster. It gave him no real advantage.

Fortunately, Qiniang was his teammate—and an extremely reliable one.

What's more, those several dozen days of combat training had helped him make great progress in the Five Elements Technique. He improved significantly every day.

He had now grasped the fundamentals of blood and qi and learned how to control and circulate them.

Now that he understood the key, he only needed to continue cultivating steadily to condense his third Qi Aperture!

Feather-like snowflakes danced in the wind. The courtyard was already covered in a foot of snow.

Gao Xian sat quietly by the door, watching the snow fall. Honestly, he hadn't expected it to snow so heavily in mid-November.

The temperature had plunged overnight. His earthen house had no heating, and even as a cultivator, his feet had gone numb with cold.

To keep warm, he had no choice but to fire up the alchemy furnace. The huge furnace made the alchemy room as warm as spring and put him in the mood to enjoy the snow.

The Little Black Cat was sprawled on the brick platform beside the furnace. The warmth had it so comfortable it could barely keep its eyes open.

Gao Xian, on the other hand, was a little worried. Using the furnace for heat was certainly nice, but it was too extravagant. He couldn't make pills every day.

The best solution was still to get a different house.

Gao Xian thought of Zhou Ye's beautiful, tidy house with its blue bricks and tiled roof, and his heart stirred. He had saved up some Spirit Stones by now. It was time to move.

A blue blur flashed, and Zhu Qiniang arrived.

Gao Xian stared at her in surprise. "Qiniang, are we going into the mountains in this heavy snow too?"