Zhou Ye knew Gao Xian was short on money, so a few dozen low-grade spirit stones were nothing to him.
In comparison, the Deer Antler Powder was more important to him.
Such a top-grade elixir was truly priceless.
Gao Xian wasn't surprised by Zhou Ye's choice.
He had waited all night just to let the old man experience the effects of the Deer Antler Powder better.
He smiled at the old man, "Thank you, Uncle Zhou."
Zhou Ye chuckled and said, "After all, Deer Antler Powder is not mainstream. So, you can take a thousand pieces of Deer Antler Powder."
Ordinary Deer Antler Powder could be bought for forty pieces per low-grade spirit stone.
The old man was quite generous to Gao Xian, doubling the price for him.
Gao Xian also smiled, "Uncle Zhou, the Deer Antler Powder I refine has a special formula. You've tried it yourself. Not to boast, but the effects of my Deer Antler Powder are stronger than dozens of ordinary ones combined..."
Gao Xian argued logically.
A thousand pieces of Deer Antler Powder were not difficult for him, but he didn't usually do things like this.
Zhou Yuling was good to him, but she was herself, and her father was her father.
They couldn't be mixed up.
When doing business, one must have a business mindset.
Zhou Ye discussed profits with him, and if he talked about personal feelings with the old man, that would be too naive.
Zhou Ye wasn't angry either.
If he demanded a high price, he had to allow Gao Xian to repay him on the spot.
Gao Xian smiled, "Uncle Zhou, I have a proposal. I'll give you exclusive rights to sell Deer Antler Powder. I'll only take the cost price: ten pieces of Deer Antler Powder per low-grade spirit stone."
"Hmm?" Zhou Ye was a bit puzzled by Gao Xian suddenly bringing this up.
"Uncle Zhou, you've tried the effects of Deer Antler Powder yourself. Not to say it's unparalleled in the world, even in the Little Flying Horse Sect, it's a peerless elixir. The Little Flying Horse Sect has six to seven thousand male cultivators. Even if one-tenth of them have a demand, they can consume six to seven hundred pieces of Deer Antler Powder in a day..."
Gao Xian brought out his twenty years of experience in deceiving customers, throwing out terms like market, demand, consumption, quality, monopoly, and various other terms at Zhou Ye.
For the first time, Zhou Ye heard about these things.
Despite his extensive experience, he was still excited by the deception.
Indeed, Deer Antler Powder was a big market, and with its powerful quality, there were no competitors!
According to Gao Xian's calculations, this was a huge consumer market worth up to twenty thousand low-grade spirit stones a year.
Zhou Ye also knew that Gao Xian's words were exaggerated, but even if he only made one-tenth of the profit, he would still net two thousand low-grade spirit stones a year.
No matter how he thought about it, he felt this business could make a big profit and must be done!
In the end, Zhou Ye taught Gao Xian the True Yang Spear, and Gao Xian treated the exclusive sales rights of Deer Antler Powder as tuition fees.
He agreed to provide Zhou Ye with at least a thousand pieces of Deer Antler Powder every month, payment upon delivery, with settlement at the end of the month.
With Gao Xian's efforts, an additional condition was added, allowing Gao Xian to stay at the Zhou family's house for a few days.
After finalizing the terms, both Zhou Ye and Gao Xian were very happy.
"The True Yang Spear, condensing the innate Yang energy of a man into a spear of divine intent."
Zhou Ye revealed a meaningful smile, "Do you know where a man's Yang energy is strongest?"
Gao Xian didn't quite understand at first, but seeing Zhou Ye's somewhat lecherous smile, he suddenly realized, "There."
Zhou Ye explained the True Yang Spear in detail, even taking out a scroll with a shiny golden long spear drawn on it, looking quite majestic.
This was the visualization of the True Yang Spear, combined with a complete set of hand seals, incantations, and talismans, forming a complete set of secret techniques.
After explaining it, Zhou Ye gave the scroll to Gao Xian, who was busy setting up his shop.
Gao Xian took the scroll back to his room in the east wing and pondered over it all day.
He felt that this secret technique seemed a bit improper.
In the evening, after having dinner at Zhou's house, Gao Xian sought advice from Zhou Ye on some of the doubts and confusions he had about the True Yang Spear.
Zhou Ye responsibly explained and guided him through each point, leaving Gao Xian with a lot of insights.
Back in his room in the east wing, Gao Xian practiced the True Yang Spear for a while, with Lan Jie helping to condense the talisman at his brow.
He quickly found his rhythm.
Exiting the state of cultivation, Gao Xian took out the Book of Wind and Moon.
Sure enough, a new skill, the True Yang Spear, appeared on the backside skill list.
True Yang Spear: Condensing divine intent with Yang energy to form an invisible spear, capable of dispelling evil energy (1/10 novice).
All abilities manifested on the backside of the Book of Wind and Moon could be enhanced by human spiritual light points.
With his experience, Gao Xian could tell from the upgrade points required for the True Yang Spear that it was a very low-level spell.
Well, it could dispel evil, which was sufficient.
Looking at the human spiritual light points, with the contribution from Zhou Yuling, Gao Xian's human spiritual light points had reached seventy-eight.
So, why wait? He directly added points to upgrade.
By investing ten points of human spiritual light, the True Yang Spear reached the proficient level.
But to upgrade again, it would require twenty points.
This was different from the upgrade points for Deer Antler Powder.
Adding another twenty points of human spiritual light, it reached the expert level.
To upgrade again, it would require forty points.
Seeing that he still had over forty points of human spiritual light left, he made a bold decision to allocate all of them, raising the True Yang Spear to the expert realm.
In his experience, reaching the proficient level in a skill would already surpass eighty percent of his peers.
Reaching the expert level would bring about a qualitative change in the skill.
Lan Jie in the Book of Wind and Moon, formed hand seals, recited incantations silently, and a crimson long spear appeared in front of her.
As Lan Jie cast the spell, the crimson long spear suddenly thrust forward.
Gao Xian felt a sudden heat at his brow, as if an invisible hot spear pierced through his mind, shaking his spirit.
He gained many memories of cultivating the True Yang Spear.
After a while, Gao Xian opened his eyes.
Having fully assimilated these memories, he felt as if he had immersed himself in the skill for twenty or thirty years, completely mastering various subtle techniques of the True Yang Spear and gaining a very profound understanding of it.
Although the room was unusually dim, he could clearly see the shape of the teacup on the table.
This was something he couldn't do just a moment ago.
Upgrading the True Yang Spear to the expert level had enhanced his vision?
No, the smell of tanned animal hide wafting in from the next room became even stronger, and he could faintly sense the wisps of scent dispersing like smoke.
The small, crude bedroom suddenly became vivid.
Gao Xian must have enhanced his divine intent with the True Yang Spear, that is, his mental strength, making his consciousness more acute and his reactions faster, further strengthening his sensory organs like eyes, nose, and ears.
The powerful divine intent allowed him to gain more information and analyze and understand it faster, manifesting in these noticeable changes in him.
To put it simply, it was like upgrading from a standard 480P resolution to 1080P, where he could now perceive details that were previously unnoticed.
Therefore, he felt the environment around him became much clearer.
This slight benefit made upgrading the True Yang Spear worthwhile.
Gao Xian wasn't a military enthusiast, but with his limited military knowledge, he knew that the primary element of war was intelligence.
Sun Tzu had long said: Know yourself, know your enemy, and you shall win a hundred battles.
Having early knowledge of the enemy's information allowed for the calm formulation of tactics and the attainment of victory.
Enhancing his mental strength improved his senses, giving him access to more abundant information, which would translate into a significant advantage in battle.
The power of the expert-level True Yang Spear was also quite considerable.
The invisible long spear formed by divine intent and condensed Yang energy could not only dispel evil but also attack the enemy's spirit, or rather, their mental consciousness.
Gao Xian formed hand seals, and Lan Jie at his brow condensed the talisman, forming a crimson long spear at his brow.
As long as he willed it, this invisible long spear could fiercely thrust out according to his thoughts.
The power of the True Yang Spear was strongest within five zhang.
Beyond that, the power gradually decreased, reaching a maximum range of ten zhang.
Unfortunately, there wasn't a suitable target nearby to verify the power of the expert-level True Yang Spear.
Opening the Book of Wind and Moon, he noticed that the introduction to the True Yang Spear had changed.
True Yang Spear: Forging an invisible long spear by condensing divine intent with Yang energy, capable of intimidating the soul, and dispelling evil spirits (1/80 expert).
Gao Xian noticed the change in the introduction to the True Yang Spear, with the addition of intimidating the soul, indicating that the True Yang Spear was also useful for cultivators.
Intuitively, he felt that the expert-level True Yang Spear was enough to intimidate cultivators like Lao Wang.
Although Lao Wang's swordsmanship was formidable, he was ultimately weak in energy.
For this type of direct attack on the soul, he probably wouldn't have much resistance.
Of course, this was just his speculation, and the actual power would need to be tested in combat.
The most wonderful aspect of the True Yang Spear was its invisibility.
With Lan Jie at the center condensing the talisman, this spell could be quickly released to intimidate the enemy.
Condensing the True Yang Spear, Gao Xian could feel the fierce Yang energy like a spear at his brow, giving him a strong sense of security.
The lingering evil energy that had been troubling him seemed to be completely dispelled by the fierce Yang energy emanating from the True Yang Spear.
Gao Xian put away the True Yang Spear, feeling relieved.
He had finally resolved the lingering evil energy!
Tonight, he could finally sleep peacefully!
(End of this chapter)