In this lawless place lacking order, Gao Xian learned to struggle, learned to battle, learned to kill.
Gao Xian was no longer the weak and gentle middle-aged office worker. He was as sharp as a sword in his hand, tempered and honed through each conflict and battle.
Qing Ping took a Red Blood Pill in exchange for five hundred White Dew Pills from its original owner, which was already excessive.
He didn't hold Qing Ping accountable for the original owner because the original owner was foolish.
Now Qing Ping was trying to pin the blame on him, and Gao Xian was starting to lose his patience.
Gao Xian was not a hot-blooded youth after all, and he quickly calmed down.
The man in the room had a high cultivation level, with a deep and profound aura, likely a late-stage Qi Cultivator on par with Seventh Sister.
There were fourteen other cultivators in the room, and even though their spells were powerful, facing so many opponents left him with little chance of victory.
Judging from the situation of this group, they were all notorious members of the Red Snake Gang, affiliated with Yao Qingshuang.
The beginning of the "Secrets of the Cave Dwellers" had a very good saying: "I am like gold and jade, my enemies are like tiles and stones."
The principles of men and women in the "Secrets of the Cave Dwellers" could be applied in the current situation as well.
One's life is precious and must be valued greatly. Exchanging one's own life for a hundred enemies' lives is not worth it.
Because the enemy is like tiles and stones, while oneself is like gold and jade, how can gold and jade clash with tiles and stones? No matter how many enemies' lives are sacrificed, one's own life cannot be replaced.
Acting now would only bring temporary satisfaction but could likely lead to one's demise here. That would be too foolish!
Thinking up to this point, Gao Xian completely calmed down. Even if he were to take action, he needed to understand the enemy's strengths and weaknesses, and formulate a plan.
The men and women in the room were now getting intimate, hardly speaking anymore.
Gao Xian didn't rush to leave. He walked around the courtyard, listened at the windows of other rooms for a while, basically understanding the situation of the cultivators inside, and noted down the layout of the courtyard and some details.
When he was about to leave, Gao Xian originally planned to jump over the wall. But when he reached the wall, he noticed something was amiss.
There were transparent threads strung along the top of the wall, thinner than hair, circling the wall countless times with wooden sticks inserted at the corners as support.
If his spiritual sense wasn't strong, he would have definitely been caught by these threads even in the darkness.
Gao Xian didn't know the purpose of these threads, but they seemed resilient, possibly having strong adhesive properties like spider silk.
Being caught by these threads would not lead to anything good. There might even be traps like pits dug outside the wall.
He became more vigilant, knowing that the Red Snake Gang had been staying in the Tengshe Mountain for a long time, gaining experience in hunting and battles. They may seem like a ragtag group, but they should not be underestimated.
In the end, Gao Xian left from above the gate. There were no threads set up at the gate, making it the only gap.
Moreover, people frequently entered and exited through the gate, making it unlikely for traps to be set up there.
Back at home, Zhu Qiniang and Da Niu were waiting for him to have dinner together.
Da Niu was still young and had a lower cultivation level, so Gao Xian didn't say anything in front of him, only mentioning that he was going out to see off some guests.
The dinner was still the meat of the Ironscale Demon Tiger, and the three of them enjoyed a hearty meal.
After dinner, Da Niu cleaned up the dishes and tidied up while Gao Xian and Zhu Qiniang went back to their room to cultivate and meditate.
Gao Xian circulated the Five Elements Technique for a hundred and eight cycles, converting most of the spiritual energy from the demon tiger's blood and flesh into Five Elements Mana.
After finishing, he practiced the Iron Dragon Hands in the courtyard twice.
Once Gao Xian finished these tasks, Zhu Qiniang took him to the room to see the tiger blood paste.
Despite the large size of the demon tiger, the blood extracted only filled about half a small tub.
There were many medicinal herbs placed in the rough pottery tub, and now the blood and herbs had solidified into a mass, with a dark red hue that wasn't very appealing.
"After soaking for two more days, the medicinal herbs and tiger blood will merge together, and then it can be used. When the time comes, you can store it in your storage bag for easier preservation."
Zhu Qiniang said, "Tiger blood contains strong vitality and spiritual energy. You should only consume a small piece at a time, not too much.
"Wait until your cultivation level gradually improves and you adapt to the medicinal power of the tiger blood paste, then you can adjust accordingly."
Gao Xian nodded, "I understand."
Seeing that Gao Xian's expression wasn't too good, she asked, "What's the situation with that woman?"
"Qing Ping is from the Red Snake Gang. They plan to abduct me back to the mountain to help them refine pills."
Gao Xian didn't hide his anger in front of Zhu Qiniang, "These bastards deserve to die!"
"The Red Snake Gang can gather a large number of medicinal herbs in the mountains, transporting them out for sale is troublesome and not very profitable. Refining pills on-site is undoubtedly a good choice."
Zhu Qiniang said, "No wonder they targeted you. However, they might have acted on impulse.
"If they had planned it for a long time, they would have taken you back long ago, not waited this long."
The Little Fei Horse Gathering is not home to many alchemists. Gao Xian is young and easy to deceive, so the Red Snake Gang had no other choice.
"They probably fear that you will cause trouble, so they used the Red Blood Seal on you, hoping to attract the Ironscale Demon Tiger to kill you."
Gao Xian found it somewhat amusing, "They still want me to willingly follow them, probably to maintain my enthusiasm for work."
The failure rate for ordinary alchemists is actually quite high. Once a batch fails, all the medicinal herbs are wasted.
In the realm of cultivation, alchemy is a very costly skill and highly dependent on talent.
The original owner had some talent and, under the guidance of his teacher Xu Mingyuan, could finally refine three types of low-grade pills independently.
After reincarnating into this body and possessing the Moonlit Treasure Mirror, Gao Xian's alchemy skill had reached an expert level through enhancements.
The success rate of refining those few low-grade pills was one hundred percent.
Bluntly speaking, in terms of alchemy skills, he was not inferior to his teacher Xu Mingyuan. Especially the few types of pills he could refine, no one in the Cloud Sect could compare.
However, he didn't have the pill formulas on hand, so he could only refine low-grade pills.
Qing Ping and the others were probably unaware of this. They were likely afraid of forcibly taking him away, affecting his enthusiasm, deliberately ruining the pills.
But these bandits were not patient, and in the end, they couldn't resist taking action.
Gao Xian said, "It's almost certain that it was the Red Snake Gang who brought the demon beast to the Little Fei Horse Gathering, but I don't know what they're planning to do."
Whether it was using the Red Blood Seal to target Zhu Qiniang or using the demon beast to scare him, these were just side effects.
The Red Snake Gang wouldn't have caused such a big commotion just for him; there must be another motive.
Zhu Qiniang pondered and said, "The Red Snake Gang has been entrenched in the depths of the Tengshe Mountain for many years, and no one knows what they're up to. Many speculate that they have support from another sect..."
Although the Tengshe Mountain is on the border of the Cloud Sect, crossing the Tengshe Mountain and heading north leads to the White Dragon River.
This great river winds through the mountains, serving as a natural boundary.
Beyond the White Dragon River are the territories of the Seven Killings Sect and the Crimson Flame Sect.
To reduce conflicts, the three sects have agreed that the area near the White Dragon River is a buffer zone and generally avoided.
If the Red Snake Gang has support from another sect, it would likely be either the Seven Killings Sect or the Crimson Flame Sect.
The Cloud Sect doesn't pay much attention to such matters. The Little Fei Horse Gathering is too small to warrant a big fuss.
Moreover, these speculations are just rumors without any evidence.
If the Red Snake Gang has support from another sect, it would make sense for them to disrupt the Little Fei Horse Gathering.
Zhu Qiniang wasn't very interested in these matters and wasn't clear on the specifics, so she could only make a rough guess.
"Is there involvement from another sect?"
Gao Xian was surprised. After thinking for a moment, he said, "Why don't we go find Li Shuanglin, explain the situation of these people to him, and let him deal with them."
Using external forces to deal with enemies is both simple and safe. He thought this was the best course of action.
But Zhu Qiniang shook her head, "No, Li Shuanglin is unreliable. What if he's an ally of the Red Snake Gang?"
Gao Xian was taken aback, "Ah, how could that be?!"
He couldn't understand why Li Shuanglin, a Foundation Building cultivator, would have any ties to the Red Snake Gang.
"The Red Snake Gang has been causing trouble in the depths of the Tengshe Mountain for so long, and Li Shuanglin hasn't made a move. I don't believe they have no connection at all."
Zhu Qiniang said seriously, "If Li Shuanglin has a problem, we will all die."
Despite her and Gao Xian's joint effort to kill the Ironscale Demon Tiger, a Foundation Building cultivator was not something the demon tiger could compare to.
"What should we do?" Gao Xian hesitated a bit. With so many opponents, their strength seemed too weak.
Zhu Qiniang dismissed his concerns, "The highest among them is only at the Ninth Level of Qi Cultivation, the rest are just a bunch of ragtag individuals. We can outsmart them and kill them like pigs and dogs."
She looked at Gao Xian earnestly, "Calculations are right, but too many calculations are wrong.
"Throughout history, no one has achieved great things through calculations."
Gao Xian fell silent, a hint of fierceness in his eyes, "You're right, damn them!"
(End of Chapter)
(End of this chapter)