The Woman in Black

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

Gao Xian had plenty of guesses about the newly added Humanity Aura.

The total came to exactly ten points of Humanity Aura, which could only correspond to the ten packets of Deer Antler Powder he'd sold.

So, if someone took Deer Antler Powder and had a good time, would that also produce Humanity Aura?

Gao Xian wasn't sure, but it wouldn't be hard to find out.

He'd given Old Wang another twenty packets of Deer Antler Powder this time. If the powder really did yield Humanity Aura, he'd see the results soon enough.

He opened the Alchemy Furnace and got back to work.

He couldn't make White Dew Pills, but there was no problem with Qi Recovery Pills and Foundation Strengthening Pills.

Alchemy, cultivation, petting the cat, eating, cultivating with Sister Lan, sleeping.

After three days, Gao Xian had made another batch of Qi Recovery Pills, yielding more than three hundred and forty pills.

Alchemy was a job that required tremendous patience. He couldn't leave in the middle of it and had to keep watch over the furnace.

Although it didn't interfere with eating, cultivating, petting the cat, or even taking a short nap, it was still an extremely dull, tedious job.

After several days of this, Gao Xian's skin had turned yellow and dry from the charcoal fire, and his entire body reeked of medicinal herbs.

During his first few sessions of alchemy, Gao Xian had found it fresh and exciting, full of energy.

Once the novelty wore off, the grueling work of alchemy became hard to endure.

Fortunately, the more than forty extra pills he'd made were equivalent to earning four Low-grade Spirit Stones.

Qi Recovery Pills quickly replenished spiritual energy and were also suitable for assisting cultivation. They were essential pills for cultivators.

But pills were expensive, and using Qi Recovery Pills to assist cultivation was a luxury. A month's supply cost at least three Low-grade Spirit Stones.

Even though Gao Xian knew alchemy, he couldn't afford to use them.

There was an old poem: "Year after year I bitterly hate the gold thread weighed down in my hands, sewing bridal robes for others."

Gao Xian wasn't discouraged, though.

Put plainly, he was just one part of an alchemy production line. The medicinal ingredients and Alchemy Furnace—the means of production—weren't his, and he had to hand over seventy or eighty percent of his alchemy earnings to his master.

That was how society worked.

If there weren't benefits to it, why would his master take on disciples?

There was no point complaining. He couldn't change things, so he might as well join in. Once he got stronger, he'd naturally be able to claim more.

Alchemy inevitably came with a lot of waste, so Shopkeeper Zhu gave him medicinal ingredients in quantities twenty percent above what he needed.

Fortunately, Gao Xian's alchemy skills had improved greatly. He could even turn that extra twenty percent of ingredients into pills.

The more than forty extra Qi Recovery Pills he'd made this time were his alone to keep. He could take them himself or sell them.

Gao Xian formed a hand seal with his left hand and gently brushed it over his Daoist robe. Deep in his brow, Sister Lan helped him condense the spell seal, and the Cleansing Art activated.

A faint wash of water-light passed from head to toe. The soot and dust on Gao Xian's body vanished, and his blue Daoist robe became as clean as new.

Even his long hair, tied up in a Daoist topknot, turned glossy and smooth.

Since crossing over into this world, life had become terribly inconvenient.

The simplest things, like personal hygiene, were a nuisance. Even washing his face without hot water was troublesome. Without modern shampoo, taking care of his long hair, tied in a Daoist topknot, was even more of a hassle.

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

It worked like wiping himself down with warm water and then drying off. It was very convenient.

After cleaning himself up, Gao Xian completed his daily required exercises. Only then did he lie down on the bed. Half asleep and half awake, his consciousness entered the Wind and Moon Mirror deep in his brow.

Sister Lan welcomed Gao Xian in the boudoir, gently helping him out of his clothes and shoes.

After completing the entire routine, Gao Xian went to sleep, deeply satisfied.

The next day, Gao Xian got up early. While he was feeling his best, he took out the Wind and Moon Mirror.

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

But when checking the stats, he preferred to take the mirror out and hold it in his hand. It felt more real that way.

His stats had all risen over the past few days, with the fastest growth in Alchemy Art.

Soul-Bewildering Powder had reached the master level, and he'd made several more batches of pills. That had brought him a great deal of progress in alchemy.

His Water Control Art, Fire Control Art, and Cleansing Art had all improved as well.

Turning the Wind and Moon Mirror over to examine its back, he saw that his Humanity Aura had increased in small increments over the past two days, for a total gain of twenty points.

It was obvious that the Humanity Aura came from the Deer Antler Powder.

He still had a hundred and seventy packets of Deer Antler Powder on hand. That meant a hundred and seventy points of Humanity Aura!

Unfortunately, Old Wang was terribly slow at selling the powder.

For the sake of Humanity Aura, Gao Xian would even give the Deer Antler Powder away. The ingredients for making it weren't worth much anyway.

But a man like Old Wang wouldn't appreciate it. Give him Deer Antler Powder for free, and he'd only grow greedier.

Judging by the timing, Old Wang should be coming by within the next couple of days.

Gao Xian hadn't thought much of Old Wang before, but Old Wang's wolfish ferocity last time had made him wary.

Flying Horse Market had rules. Generally speaking, no one would openly commit murder there.

Behind closed doors, though, it was another matter.

From the original owner's memories, people often died violent deaths in Flying Horse Market. No one would investigate the killer.

A man like Old Wang had spent years hunting in the mountains, earning money with his head on the line. He was genuinely dangerous.

The most dangerous thing about Old Wang was his greed and shortsightedness. A few dozen Low-grade Spirit Stones might be enough to make him think about killing.

It was like someone throwing nails onto a highway just to make money from tire repairs. He wouldn't consider how dangerous it was—or, rather, he simply didn't care about the risks.

Gao Xian wasn't paranoid. Even in the modern society of his previous life, there'd been all kinds of public safety problems.

And this was the chaotic Flying Horse Market, where practically everyone knew magic.

It was like everyone being fully armed, with pistols, rifles, grenades, rocket launchers, and everything else.

In such an environment, Gao Xian was naturally short on a sense of security. Worse still, he didn't seem to have a single decent pistol...

At first, he'd racked his brains trying to make up for the shortfall in pills.

Later, when he discovered the connection between the original owner and Zhu Qiniang, he'd felt relieved. At least Zhu Qiniang wouldn't really do anything to him!

With the Deer Antler Powder, he could make up for the shortage of pills eventually. He no longer had to worry much about that.

The most important problem now was his personal safety.

His cultivation in the Five Elements Technique increased by one point a day. It would take hundreds of days to advance.

Besides, higher cultivation didn't necessarily mean greater combat strength.

Gao Xian listed all the spells he knew. The only one that could deal any damage was the Fire Control Art, and its power was pitifully weak.

The Flying Feather Art made his body light as a feather, letting him jump very high. It was quite convenient for leaping over walls or onto rooftops, and lasted about ten minutes.

The spell was useful, but not all that useful.

With the Lightning Dragon Hand, unless he could grab his opponent, there was a good chance he could make them lose the ability to resist.

He'd never been in a fight as a child and had no combat experience at all. Reaching out to grab a cultivator was far too risky.

The Great Idol Spirit Method was even less suited to direct combat.

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

Gao Xian looked at the pine-patterned steel sword in front of him. It had what looked like a pure steel blade, three feet long, with beautiful pine-grain patterns running along it. It weighed a full seven pounds.

It was more than enough for cutting people down. Even ordinary iron armor would be pierced by a forceful thrust.

Gao Xian had tested it. With spiritual power circulating through his body, his strength, stamina, and agility were all far beyond an ordinary person's.

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

He twirled the pine-patterned steel sword, then smoothly returned it to its scabbard.

The original owner had practiced swordsmanship for a while, so Gao Xian handled these simple movements with ease.

Gao Xian tried to draw the sword using the Lightning Dragon Hand. The blade flashed out of its scabbard, but the result fell short of what he'd expected.

The Lightning Dragon Hand was fast, but its effect was limited to the fingers, palm, and wrist.

Swordsmanship required the whole body to move in coordination. The waist, back, shoulders, upper arms, forearms, and hands all had to exert force together.

No matter how fast the Lightning Dragon Hand was, it was difficult to make use of it in a movement that relied on the whole body.

That left Gao Xian a little disappointed.

If the Lightning Dragon Hand could be used with swordsmanship, it would greatly increase his combat strength.

Too bad...

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

After cultivating the Great Idol Spirit Method, his senses had become exceptionally sharp.

Under normal circumstances, he wouldn't even notice faint sounds like these that occurred naturally.

Only an unusual change would immediately set off his alarm bells, prompting his six senses to register the many minute changes in his surroundings.

Gao Xian couldn't see what was happening outside, but from the subtle changes in sound, he could sketch out the scene in his mind.

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

Old Wang again?

He had a hunch it wasn't Old Wang this time. The feeling was different.

This "feeling" wasn't a scent, but rather a sense formed by all kinds of information coming together.

Nervously gripping two talismans, Gao Xian went to the window. He carefully peered outside through a crack in the window paper.

A woman in black was walking lightly toward the door.

She looked to be around thirty, with soft features and a curvaceous, alluring figure. Her waist swayed as she walked, giving her quite the air of charm.

Gao Xian was astonished. Who was this? Why did she look so familiar?