"Snatch..."
A cold light flashed, a steel needle over two inches long deeply embedded in the solid wooden door, with the needle tip still buzzing and vibrating.
Gao Xian inspected the results of the battle, quite satisfied with it.
Although the wooden door of his room was rough, it was made of pine wood, with a door panel three inches thick, very sturdy.
Flicking his finger ten steps away, the needle pierced the wooden door by an inch. Although this power was far from the Ice Arrow Technique and Flame Bullet spells, it was enough to penetrate the human body and cause harm.
The key was that using flying needles was simple and convenient, just requiring more practice for accuracy. Also, the issue of how to carry such long flying needles on one's person and how to access them quickly needed to be resolved.
The Electric Light Solar Dragon Hand was indeed very useful, and the simple action of flicking a needle posed no difficulty for him.
Gao Xian practiced a few more times and quickly mastered the trick.
Just as a fly happened to land on the door, he flicked his finger, and in a flash of cold light, the fly was already nailed to death.
To be precise, the fly had turned into a pool of murky blood.
The kinetic energy on the flying needle was too strong, and under the impact and vibration, the fly was directly crushed.
Practicing flying needles had a low cost and did not create as much commotion as spells. Precisely hitting the target with a flying needle would bring a great sense of accomplishment.
It was like hitting a basket every time, that smooth and satisfying feeling that was addictive.
The pack of sewing needles that Gao Xian bought was quickly used up.
These flying needles either shot into the door or stuck on the wall. The excessive force of the ejection caused these flying needles to bend, break, and shatter, rendering them unusable.
Gao Xian had to go out again, but this time he couldn't find any sewing needles. There were many cultivators in the Flying Horse Gathering, but not many of them sewed their own clothes.
Over sixty sewing needles were already the entire stock of the grocery store.
The shopkeeper of the grocery store also noticed that Gao Xian's purchase of needles was not for any legitimate use. He reminded Gao Xian, "If you want to buy defensive weapons, it's better to go to Old Huang's weapon shop; she has everything there."
Gao Xian thought there was some truth to it; it was more reliable to find a professional for such matters.
To his surprise, Old Huang was not old at all; instead, she was quite charming.
Old Huang looked around forty, with symmetrical features that were not particularly outstanding, but fine lines were already visible at the corners of her eyes.
However, her lips were full, her chest broad, her waist slender, and she looked quite enchanting in a bright red Daoist robe.
"Young man, are you the alchemist from the Zhu family?" Old Huang couldn't help but smile when she saw Gao Xian come in. Although there were many cultivators in the Flying Horse Gathering, there was only one as young and handsome as Gao Xian.
She had seen him from a distance once and left a deep impression.
Today, as she closely examined Gao Xian's handsome face, she found herself liking him more and more.
She leaned in affectionately towards Gao Xian, "What's your name, young man? How old are you this year?"
"My surname is Gao, given name Xian. I'm twenty-four years old."
Gao Xian had fully embraced this identity now and appeared quite composed.
"At only twenty-four, you've already achieved Qi cultivation; your future is limitless," Old Huang said with a smile. "I'm Huang Ying, a few years older than you. Just call me Sister Ying."
"Sister Ying." Gao Xian wasn't fond of socializing, but he was quite familiar with this brother and sister social etiquette and didn't find it bothersome.
Huang Ying was very pleased, "Don't worry, you don't have to call me sister for nothing. Whatever you want, I'll give you a discount."
"What do you want?" Gao Xian, seeing Huang Ying's warmth, also relaxed a bit.
The weapon shop wasn't very large, but it had a variety of weapons.
There were knives, spears, swords, halberds, bows and arrows, various throwing knives, javelins, short-handled axes, and various types of armor.
In addition, on another display case were some low-grade magical instruments, swords, knives, and various shapes.
Gao Xian didn't see what he wanted, so he hesitated and said to Huang Ying in a low voice, "I want some needle-type hidden weapons..."
Huang Ying was slightly surprised; many cultivators used hidden weapons, but few used needles as weapons.
Needles were too small and posed very little threat to cultivators.
"Young man, I see you're at the second level of Qi cultivation?" Huang Ying looked Gao Xian up and down and asked.
Gao Xian was a bit surprised; a cultivator's Qi cultivation level wasn't marked on their forehead, so how did this woman see that he was at the second level of Qi cultivation? Her insight was truly sharp! No wonder she owned a weapon shop!
He complimented her, "Sister Ying has a keen eye, I admire that."
"It's nothing. Cultivators at the Qi cultivation stage go through three levels: opening the Qi aperture and guiding Qi into the body at the first level, strengthening muscles and bones at the second level, and refining marrow and changing blood at the third level.
"There are distinct characteristics for the first three levels of Qi cultivation. For example, your muscles are now contracted, much leaner than normal, because the second level strengthens the muscles and bones, guiding the essence Qi into the bones and muscles. It's all visible through Qi observation..." Huang Ying was knowledgeable and, seeing Gao Xian's bewildered look, she gave him a simple explanation.
Gao Xian gained a lot from this; he knew his own situation but didn't know how others cultivated.
This was also due to the incomplete memory of the original owner and the fact that the original owner was an alchemist who might not have much knowledge in this area.
He couldn't help but ask, "Are all Qi cultivators the same?"
Huang Ying found it amusing and said, "Your master didn't tell you all this? The physical body is the foundation of a cultivator's practice. Before foundation building, no matter what cultivation method you practice, the first and most important thing for a cultivator is to temper the body.
"Different cultivation methods just have different focuses.
"It's only when you reach foundation building that the cultivation path will truly diverge..."
"Oh, thank you for enlightening me, Sister Ying," Gao Xian earnestly thanked her.
"These are common knowledge, nothing special."
Huang Ying thought Gao Xian was quite innocent and lovable. She turned back to the counter and took out a silver wrist guard, handing it to Gao Xian. "Needles are too small; no one uses them as weapons. This wrist guard contains a set of White Plum Needles, a first-grade magical instrument, a set of six flying needles, three inches long, made of a mix of white steel and flowing silver, engraved with sharp runes. Do you think it's suitable?"
Opening the wrist guard, six three-inch long silver needles were neatly arranged in six raised grooves.
He liked it at first sight; the material of the flying needles was excellent, and even without using magical power to drive them, they would make excellent hidden weapons.
"Sister Ying, how much for this set of flying needles?"
"Although the White Plum Needle is only first-grade, its quality is very good. After refinement, it can penetrate heavy armor within ten steps. The White Plum Needle itself is extremely light and requires low magical power."
Huang Ying smiled, "I'll sell it for twenty spirit stones."
"Oh..." Gao Xian nodded; this price didn't seem too expensive, considering it was a complete set of magical instruments. The key was that he didn't have that many spirit stones.
He originally had thirteen low-grade spirit stones and earned three more from Old Wang, totaling sixteen.
Without waiting for Gao Xian to speak, Huang Ying said, "We're like siblings, so I'll give you the best price. Fifteen spirit stones will do."
Gao Xian was a bit surprised; did this woman have X-ray vision to see how many spirit stones he had in his pocket?
Thinking of Old Wang's fierce appearance, he gritted his teeth, "Alright, I'll buy it."
"Brother, rest assured, this price is definitely worth it. When you don't want to use it anymore, I'll buy it back at the original price."
Seeing the deal done, Huang Ying was even happier.
Gao Xian was also quite pleased; with his current skills, he could always earn more spirit stones. As for the medicinal materials owed to Boss Zhu, he had already thought of a solution...
(End of this chapter)