"The human aura at these ten points is actually brought by the Deer Antler Powder..."
Gao Xian had many speculations about the newly added human aura.
Calculating that exactly ten points of human aura could only correspond to the ten Deer Antler Powders sold.
So, does that mean as long as one consumes Deer Antler Powder and feels happy, human aura will also emerge?
Gao Xian was not certain about this, but verifying it wouldn't be difficult.
This time, he gave Old Wang another twenty Deer Antler Powders.
If it was indeed the Deer Antler Powder that could feedback human aura, the results would soon be visible.
Opening the alchemy furnace, he continued his work.
The White Dew Pill couldn't be refined, but the Qi Recovery Pill and Essence-Stabilizing Pill were no problem.
Alchemy, cultivation, lazing around, eating, practicing with Lan Jie, sleeping.
After three days, Gao Xian refined another furnace of Qi Recovery Pills, yielding over three hundred and forty pills.
Alchemy was a patient-testing activity; one couldn't leave midway and had to guard the furnace.
Although it didn't affect eating, cultivation, lazing around, or even taking a short nap, it was still a very tedious and boring job.
After a few days, Gao Xian's skin was yellowed and dried out from the charcoal fire, and his whole body was filled with a strong medicinal scent.
During the first few times of alchemy, Gao Xian found it exciting and full of vigor.
But once the novelty wore off, the high-intensity work of alchemy became somewhat unbearable.
Fortunately, he managed to produce over forty pills, equivalent to earning four low-grade spirit stones.
The Qi Recovery Pill was used to quickly restore spiritual energy and mana, making it suitable for assisting in cultivation, an essential pill for cultivators.
However, the pills were expensive, using the Qi Recovery Pill to aid cultivation was extravagant, costing at least three low-grade spirit stones per month.
Although Gao Xian could refine pills, he couldn't afford the consumption.
There's a saying: "Bitterly resenting year after year the pressing of the golden thread, making wedding clothes for others."
However, Gao Xian was not discouraged.
In essence, he was just a part of the alchemy production line; the medicinal herbs, alchemy furnace, and other production materials were not his own, and he had to give seventy to eighty percent of his alchemy income to his master.
That was the operating rule of this society.
If there were no such benefits, why would his master take in disciples!
Complaining about these things was meaningless; if one couldn't change it, one had to adapt, and when he became powerful, he would naturally gain more.
During the alchemy process, there were inevitably many consumptions, and Zhu, the shopkeeper, provided him with twenty percent more medicinal herbs.
Fortunately, his alchemy skills had greatly improved, and the excess twenty percent of medicinal herbs could all be transformed into pills.
This time, the over forty Qi Recovery Pills he refined were his exclusive gains.
He could either consume them himself or sell them.
Gao Xian lightly brushed his hand on his Daoist robe with an imprint on it, and Lan Jie, who was deep in his brow, helped him condense the talisman, activating the Cleansing Technique.
A faint water light flashed from head to toe, sweeping away the charcoal dust on Gao Xian's body, making his green Daoist robe as clean as new.
Even his hair, tied into a Daoist bun, became shiny and moisturized.
Living in this world had become very inconvenient.
The simplest thing like personal hygiene, not having hot water to wash one's face was troublesome.
Without modern hair care products, managing the Daoist bun hair was even more troublesome.
With the Cleansing Technique, one could clean oneself along with the clothes.
The effect was equivalent to wiping with warm water and then air-drying, very convenient.
After tidying up his personal hygiene, Gao Xian completed his daily mandatory tasks and then lay on the bed, half asleep, half awake, his consciousness entering the Moonlight Treasure Mirror deep in his brow.
In the boudoir, Lan Jie greeted Gao Xian, gently helping him undress and remove his shoes.
Completing the entire set of procedures, Gao Xian contentedly entered dreamland.
The next day, Gao Xian rose early.
Taking advantage of his good spirits, he took out the Moonlight Treasure Mirror.
Accustomed to practicing the Great Duality Divine Art with Lan Jie, he immersed himself in sensing the Moonlight Treasure Mirror with his consciousness.
Although he liked to check the data, he found it more realistic to hold the Moonlight Treasure Mirror in his hands.
In the past few days, the data had all increased, with Alchemy showing the fastest growth.
The Illusion Dispelling Powder had been upgraded to the level of a master, and he had refined several furnaces of pills, which had greatly improved his alchemy skills.
Including the Fire Manipulation Technique, Water Manipulation Technique, and Cleansing Technique, all had made progress.
Turning over to look at the back of the Moonlight Treasure Mirror, the human aura had been steadily increasing these two days, totaling twenty points.
It was obvious that these human auras were brought by the Deer Antler Powder.
Calculating that he still had one hundred and seventy Deer Antler Powders, that would be one hundred and seventy points of human aura!
It was a pity that Old Wang's efficiency in selling medicine was too poor.
For the sake of human aura, Gao Xian was willing to give away Deer Antler Powder for free.
Mainly because the medicinal herbs used to refine the Deer Antler Powder were not valuable.
However, people like Old Wang would not appreciate it.
Giving him Deer Antler Powder for free would only make him greedier.
Calculating the time, Old Wang should be coming over these two days.
Gao Xian didn't really think highly of Old Wang.
The last time Old Wang had a fierce and wolf-like appearance, it made him very wary.
The Flying Horse Market had its order; generally, there wouldn't be open killings in the market.
But things were different in private.
From the memories of the original owner, there were often people who died mysteriously in the Flying Horse Market, and no one would investigate the killers.
People like Old Wang, who hunted in the mountains all year round to earn a living, were very dangerous.
What was even more dangerous was that Old Wang was greedy and short-sighted.
Perhaps just a few dozen low-grade spirit stones could trigger his murderous intent.
It was like someone throwing nails on the highway just to earn money from tire repairs.
He wouldn't consider how dangerous it was to do so, or he simply didn't care about the risks.
Gao Xian wasn't being paranoid; in the modern society of his previous life, there were various public security issues.
Not to mention this chaotic Flying Horse Market, where almost everyone had magical abilities.
It was like everyone was fully armed with pistols, rifles, grenades, rocket launchers, and so on, all readily available.
In such an environment, Gao Xian naturally lacked a sense of security.
What was even more frightening was that he seemed to lack even a decent pistol...
Initially, in order to make up for the deficit of pills, he racked his brains.
Later, when he found out about the relationship between the original owner and Zhu Qiniang, he felt relieved.
At least Zhu Qiniang wouldn't really harm him!
With the Deer Antler Powder, the deficit in pills could always be made up.
This was no longer a matter of concern.
The most important issue now was personal safety.
The Five Elements Technique increased by one point of cultivation every day, and it would take several hundred days to level up.
Moreover, an increase in cultivation didn't necessarily mean an increase in combat power.
Gao Xian listed out all the spells he knew, with only the Fire Manipulation Technique having some damage potential, albeit very weak.
The Feather Flight Technique made the body as light as a feather, allowing for high jumps, making it very convenient for jumping over walls onto roofs, with the effect lasting for about ten minutes.
This spell was useful but not very practical.
The Lightning Dragon Grasping Hand, unless one could grab the opponent, had a high chance of making the opponent lose resistance.
Having never been in a fight since childhood, Gao Xian had no combat experience at all.
Reaching out to grab an opponent as a cultivator was too risky.
As for the Great Duality Divine Art, it was even less useful in direct combat.
The only combat skill the original owner mastered was the Gentle Breeze Sword Technique.
Gao Xian looked at the Damascus steel sword in front of him, with a pure steel blade, three feet long, adorned with beautiful wood grain patterns, weighing about seven catties.
It was sufficient for cutting people.
Even an ordinary iron armor would be pierced by a single thrust.
Gao Xian had tried it; by circulating mana within his body, his strength, endurance, and agility far surpassed that of an ordinary person.
But among cultivators, he was just a weakling at the second level of Qi cultivation.
Waving the Damascus steel sword, Gao Xian skillfully sheathed the sword back into its scabbard.
The original owner had practiced swordsmanship for some time, so these simple movements were easily done.
Gao Xian tried to unleash the Lightning Dragon Grasping Hand to draw the sword, and the blade flashed out of its sheath, but it didn't achieve the effect he had anticipated.
The Lightning Dragon Grasping Hand was quick, but limited to the fingers, palm, and wrist.
Swordsmanship required coordinated movements of the whole body, including the waist, back, shoulders, upper arms, lower arms, and hands, all needing to exert force together.
Despite its speed, the Lightning Dragon Grasping Hand was difficult to perform in this full-body action, making it challenging to execute.
This left Gao Xian somewhat disappointed.
If the Lightning Dragon Grasping Hand could be used in swordsmanship, it would greatly enhance his combat power.
Unfortunately...
Gao Xian sat on the bed, pondering how to become stronger when he suddenly heard a very faint sound.
After practicing the Great Duality Divine Art, his perception had become very sharp.
Under normal circumstances, he wouldn't pay attention to such faint sounds.
Only abnormal changes would immediately alert him, prompting him to be vigilant and use his senses to perceive various subtle changes in the surroundings.
Gao Xian couldn't see the situation outside, but through the subtle changes in the sound, he could outline the situation outside in his mind.
A person had just climbed over the wall into the courtyard, moving lightly.
Was it Old Wang again?
He had a strong intuition that it wasn't Old Wang this time because the aura was different.
The aura here wasn't a scent but a feeling formed by various pieces of information.
Gao Xian nervously held two talismans and approached the window, carefully peering outside through the crack in the window paper.
A woman in black was gracefully walking towards the door.
She looked about thirty years old, with soft features, a graceful figure, and a seductive sway in her waist as she walked, exuding charm.
Gao Xian was astonished.
Who was this again? Why did she look somewhat familiar?
(End of this chapter)