The Woman in Black

"These ten points of Humanity Aura actually came from the Deer Antler Powder..."

Gao Xian had many guesses regarding the newly increased Humanity Aura.

Calculating it, the exact ten points of Humanity Aura could only correspond to the ten Deer Antler Powder he had sold.

So, does that mean as long as one finds pleasure after taking Deer Antler Powder, it generates Humanity Aura?

Gao Xian was not certain about this, but it wouldn't be difficult to verify.

He had given Old Wang another twenty Deer Antler Powder this time; if it were true that the powder could provide feedback in the form of Humanity Aura, he would see the results soon enough.

He opened the alchemy furnace and got back to work.

He couldn't refine White Dew Pill, but Qi Recovery Pill and Foundation Strengthening Pill were no problem.

Refining pills, cultivating, petting the cat, eating, cultivating with Sister Lan, and sleeping.

Over the course of three days, Gao Xian refined another batch of Qi Recovery Pill, yielding over three hundred and forty pills.

Alchemy is a task that tests one's patience; one cannot leave halfway and must guard the furnace at all times.

Although it didn't interfere with eating, cultivating, petting the cat, or even taking short naps, it was ultimately a very dull and boring job.

After a few days, Gao Xian's skin had turned sallow and dry from the charcoal fire, and his entire body was permeated with a thick medicinal scent.

During his first few alchemy sessions, Gao Xian had found it novel and was full of drive.

Once the novelty wore off, the high-intensity alchemy work became a bit hard to endure.

Fortunately, he had refined over forty extra pills, which was equivalent to earning four Low-grade Spirit Stone.

Qi Recovery Pill is used to quickly restore spiritual energy and mana, and is also suitable for assisting cultivation; it is an essential pill for cultivators.

However, pills are expensive, and using Qi Recovery Pill to assist cultivation is very extravagant, costing at least three Low-grade Spirit Stone per month.

Even though Gao Xian could refine pills, he couldn't afford such consumption.

There is an old poem: "Bitterly hating that year after year I press the golden thread, only to sew wedding clothes for others."

However, Gao Xian was not discouraged.

To put it bluntly, he was just a part of an alchemy production line; the raw materials and the alchemy furnace were not his, and he had to give seventy to eighty percent of his alchemy income to his master.

This is the rule of this society.

If there weren't such benefits, why would his master take on an apprentice!

Complaining about these things is meaningless; if you can't change it, join it, and once you become powerful, you will naturally gain more.

There is inevitably a lot of waste during the alchemy process, and the medicinal materials Shopkeeper Zhu gave him included a twenty percent allowance for waste.

Fortunately, his Alchemy Art had improved significantly, and he could now convert the original twenty percent waste into pills.

The forty-plus extra Qi Recovery Pill he refined this time were his exclusive profit. He could eat them himself or sell them.

Gao Xian flicked his left hand lightly over his Daoist robe, and Sister Lan, deep within his brow, helped him condense the Dharma Seal simultaneously, triggering the Cleansing Art.

A faint shimmer of water flashed from head to toe, sweeping away the charcoal soot and dust from Gao Xian's body, leaving his cyan Daoist robe as clean as new.

Even his long hair, tied into a Daoist bun, became dark, glossy, and moist.

Since crossing over to this world, life had become very inconvenient.

The simplest thing is personal hygiene; not having hot water to wash one's face is a troublesome matter. Without modern hair care products, managing long hair tied into a bun is even more of a hassle.

With the Cleansing Art, he could wash both himself and his clothes clean at once.

The effect was equivalent to wiping with warm water and then drying, which was extremely useful.

After tidying up his personal hygiene and completing his daily required practice, Gao Xian lay on the bed, his consciousness entering the Wind and Moon Mirror deep within his brow while he was half-asleep.

Sister Lan in the boudoir greeted Gao Xian, gently helping him undress and remove his shoes.

After completing the entire routine, Gao Xian drifted off to sleep, feeling content.

The next day, Gao Xian rose early. Taking advantage of his refreshed state, he took out the Wind and Moon Mirror.

When cultivating the Great Idol Spirit Method with Sister Lan, he was accustomed to using his consciousness to immerse himself in the Wind and Moon Mirror.

But when checking the data, he preferred to take the Wind and Moon Mirror out, feeling that holding it in his hand was more real.

The data had increased over the past few days, with Alchemy Art showing the fastest growth.

Having raised Soul-Bewildering Powder to the master level and refined several more batches of pills, he had made significant progress in alchemy.

His Fire Control Art, Water Control Art, and Cleansing Art had also improved.

Turning the Wind and Moon Mirror over to the back, he saw that the Humanity Aura had been increasing sporadically over the last two days, totaling twenty points.

It was clear that this Humanity Aura was brought about by the Deer Antler Powder.

Calculating that he still had one hundred and seventy Deer Antler Powder on hand, that meant one hundred and seventy points of Humanity Aura!

It was just a pity that Old Wang's efficiency in selling the medicine was too poor.

For the sake of Humanity Aura, Gao Xian was even willing to give the Deer Antler Powder away for free. The main reason was that the medicinal materials for refining Deer Antler Powder were not worth much.

However, a person like Old Wang would not appreciate it. Giving him the Deer Antler Powder for free would only make him more greedy.

Calculating the time, Old Wang should be coming over these past two days.

Gao Xian didn't think much of Old Wang initially, but the way Old Wang looked as fierce as a wolf last time had stirred up a strong sense of caution in him.

Flying Horse Market has order; generally speaking, no one would publicly commit murder within the market.

In private, however, it's hard to say.

Judging from the original owner's memories, people often died unnatural deaths in Flying Horse Market, and no one would ever bother to track down the culprit.

A man like Old Wang, who spends his years hunting in the mountains and risking his neck for money, is truly dangerous.

The most dangerous part is that Old Wang is greedy and short-sighted. Perhaps a few dozen Low-grade Spirit Stone would be enough to trigger his murderous intent.

It's like someone throwing nails on a highway just to make money off tire repairs. He wouldn't consider how dangerous doing so is, or rather, he simply doesn't care about such risks.

Gao Xian isn't suffering from paranoia; even in the modern society of his previous life, there were all sorts of public security issues.

Not to mention this chaotic Flying Horse Market, where almost everyone can use magic.

It's equivalent to everyone being fully armed with pistols, rifles, grenades, rocket launchers, and so on.

In such an environment, Gao Xian naturally lacks a sense of security. What's even more terrifying is that he doesn't even seem to have a decent pistol...

At first, he racked his brains to make up for the deficit in medicinal pills.

Later, when he discovered the relationship between the original owner and Zhu Qiniang, he felt a sense of relief. At the very least, Zhu Qiniang wouldn't really do anything to him!

With the Deer Antler Powder, the deficit in pills can always be made up. This matter is no longer a major concern.

The most important issue now is personal safety.

The Five Elements Technique increases his cultivation by one point a day; it will take hundreds of days to level up.

Moreover, an increase in cultivation does not equate to an increase in combat power.

Gao Xian listed all the spells he knew; only the Fire Control Art had any offensive capability, but its power was pitifully low.

The Flying Feather Art allows the body to become as light as a feather, enabling high jumps—very convenient for jumping over walls and onto roofs—with the effect lasting about ten minutes.

This spell is useful, but not particularly so.

As for the Lightning Dragon Hand, unless he can grab the opponent, there is a high chance the opponent will lose the ability to resist.

He had never fought since he was a child and had absolutely no combat experience. Facing a cultivator and reaching out to grab them carries too much risk.

The Great Idol Spirit Method is even less suited for direct combat.

The only combat skill the original owner mastered was the Clear Wind Swordplay.

Gao Xian looked at the pine-patterned steel sword in front of him. It was a blade of pure steel, three feet long, with beautiful pine wood patterns, weighing a full seven jin.

It was enough to hack someone. Even against standard iron armor, a fierce thrust would be enough to pierce it.

Gao Xian had tested it; relying on the mana flowing through his body, his strength, stamina, and agility were far beyond those of an ordinary person.

But among cultivators, he was just a weakling at the second level of Qi Refining.

After practicing a few sword flourishes with the pine-patterned steel sword, Gao Xian skillfully sheathed it.

The original owner had practiced swordplay for some time, so these simple movements were executed with ease.

Gao Xian tried to activate the Lightning Dragon Hand while drawing the sword; the blade flashed as it left the scabbard, but it didn't achieve the effect he had anticipated.

The Lightning Dragon Hand is fast, but it is limited to the fingers, palm, and wrist.

Swordplay requires the coordination of the entire body; the waist, back, shoulders, upper arms, forearms, and hands all need to exert force together.

No matter how fast the Lightning Dragon Hand is, it is difficult to utilize within this full-body movement.

This left Gao Xian a bit disappointed.

If the Lightning Dragon Hand could be applied to swordplay, it would significantly boost his combat power.

Unfortunately...

As Gao Xian sat on the bed pondering how to become stronger, he suddenly heard a very faint sound.

After practicing the Great Idol Spirit Method, his perception had become extremely sharp.

Under normal circumstances, he wouldn't have noticed these naturally occurring faint sounds.

Only abnormal changes would immediately trigger his internal vigilance, subsequently using his six senses to perceive the many subtle changes in the outside world.

Gao Xian couldn't see the situation outside, but through the subtle changes in sound, he could outline the situation in his mind.

Someone had just climbed over the wall into the courtyard, moving lightly.

Old Wang again?

He had an intuition that it wasn't Old Wang this time, because the "scent" was different.

The "scent" here wasn't about smell, but a feeling synthesized from various pieces of information.

Gao Xian nervously gripped two magic talismans and walked to the window, carefully peering out through a crack in the paper.

A woman in black was walking lightly toward the door.

The woman looked to be about thirty, with soft features and a graceful, alluring figure; her waist swayed as she walked, quite full of charm.

Gao Xian was stunned. Who is this? Why does she look somewhat familiar?