"Ouch, it hurts..."
Gao Xian grimaced in pain from the bite, feeling the fire in his heart extinguished instantly, he immediately surrendered and begged for mercy, "I give up, I give up."
Zhou Yuling finally loosened her grip, a smug look on her face as she asked, "Old man, did you have fun?"
Gao Xian jumped off the bed and looked into the bronze mirror, only to see a deep bite mark on his upper lip, blood oozing out.
Muttering under his breath, he said, "These young girls are so vicious, almost turned me into a gourd..."
"What?" Zhou Yuling, disregarding her disheveled clothes, hurriedly approached Gao Xian, examining him closely. She looked a bit uneasy as she said, "Oh no, it's bleeding, I didn't mean to."
She quickly apologized in a low voice, "Brother, I'm sorry, please don't be angry."
As she spoke, she leaned in to blow on Gao Xian's wounded lip.
Gao Xian gave Zhou Yuling a disdainful look, "Blowing on it won't do any good."
Before he could finish his sentence, he felt a slight warmth on his lips, making it impossible to complain further.
After a while, the two separated, with Gao Xian still feeling a bit unsatisfied.
Zhou Yuling had already taken out a handkerchief to help Gao Xian wipe his mouth clean. She looked at his swollen, red lips, feeling a mix of pity and amusement.
She teased, "You didn't suffer in vain, you got to enjoy all the benefits..."
Despite the pain, Gao Xian couldn't help but smile.
He enjoyed Zhou Yuling's lively and mischievous demeanor, which was particularly charming. This was a youthful charm that mature women lacked.
On the other hand, only a stable and civilized society could cultivate such carefree joy.
Among the casual cultivators at Feima Ji, such temperament was nowhere to be found. Because they dared not make mistakes, they were busy with daily life and had no room for liveliness.
Being with Zhou Yuling always made Gao Xian feel as carefree and happy as he did in his past life.
Zhou Yuling stayed until the afternoon before returning home.
After Zhou Yuling left, Gao Xian looked at himself in the mirror and suddenly understood why Zhou Yuling had bitten him so hard—it was a declaration of dominance.
Fortunately, Qiniang didn't mind this, as she considered Gao Xian the most intimate and important person to her. If he sought out other women, she felt it was only natural. There was nothing to say about it.
Qiniang's attitude helped put Gao Xian's mind at ease.
After that, Zhou Yuling came almost every day. She would come in the morning and leave in the afternoon, never overlapping with Qiniang.
With the two women not meeting face to face, Gao Xian felt much more relaxed.
A few days later, Zhou Ye found Gao Xian and explained that the sect did not allow the spreading of the Foundation Building technique. Even his teacher was helpless.
Naturally, Gao Xian could not accept this explanation and left in a huff.
Zhou Ye, knowing he was in the wrong, dared not mention the matter of the twenty thousand deer antlers again.
A few days later, Gao Xian had Zhou Yuling deliver two thousand deer antlers. The matter was handled smoothly, and Old Zhou had indeed put in some effort.
In the future, he might still need Old Zhou's help, so he couldn't afford to turn his back on him.
Moreover, for the sake of his girlfriend's face, he had to give Old Zhou some benefits. Well, in the end, it would all belong to Zhou Yuling.
Zhou Yuling's, was also his.
The ban on entering the Lianyun Sect's mountain continued until July, causing many casual cultivators to leave Feima Ji.
This move led to curses from Zhu Qiniang, Zhou Ye, Huang Ying, and others. However, they could not change the sect's decision.
In July, the situation suddenly changed.
The Lianyun Sect publicly issued a recruitment order, calling on cultivators from all sides to explore the ancient sect ruins of Qingxia Peak together.
However, Zhou Ye was unaware of the details.
With the ancient sect ruins as the bait, casual cultivators from all directions flocked to Feima Ji.
Feima Ji immediately became lively, with the number of casual cultivators more than doubling.
The influx of casual cultivators brought chaos, but also vitality. Various businesses in Feima Ji flourished.
Gao Xian felt this most directly, as the sales of deer antlers and Tianbi Dan also more than doubled.
While earning spirit stones, he also acquired a large amount of human spiritual light.
On the other hand, after practicing for more than ten days, he finally mastered the Great Five Elements Technique.
Similar to the Three Elements and Five Elements Techniques, the Great Five Elements Technique showed a significant difference at the fourth level, with the difficulty of cultivation increasing exponentially.
Despite his daily antics with Zhou Yuling and Qiniang, Gao Xian never slackened in his cultivation.
After mastering the Great Five Elements Technique, the first step was to open the lung aperture. According to the secret method of the Great Five Elements Technique, it was best to combine it with the Red Gold Fruit to achieve the best results.
What was the Red Gold Fruit? He didn't know. And he had no idea where to get it.
After dinner, Gao Xian asked Qiniang about it.
Qiniang actually knew about it. She said, "The Red Gold Fruit is a fruit that contains golden spiritual energy. Because it is naturally formed, the golden spiritual energy is very gentle. It is very beneficial for cultivators practicing golden elemental techniques.
"The Red Gold Fruit is quite rare, with a price of around fifty spirit stones per fruit."
"So expensive!" Gao Xian, despite being wealthy, felt a chill upon hearing the price.
According to the Great Five Elements Technique, he needed to consume a Red Gold Fruit every three days, requiring at least forty of them.
That added up to two thousand spirit stones. This was not a fruit assassin, this was a fruit bandit!
Qiniang knew Gao Xian cherished his spirit stones, so she said, "Spirit stones are external objects, cultivation is one's own. At this time, don't be stingy with spirit stones."
Gao Xian sighed, "This is hard-earned money, of course I feel reluctant."
He had earned less than fifteen hundred spirit stones from alchemy that year, with the rest being hard-earned.
Purchasing the Great Five Elements Technique had depleted half of his savings. If he bought the Red Gold Fruit, he would be left with only a few spirit stones.
Gao Xian was truly reluctant, but Qiniang was right. No matter how many spirit stones he had, they were external possessions, while cultivation was fundamental.
Qiniang said, "I have some spirit stones, enough to buy ten Red Gold Fruits. Let's try the effects first."
"No, I'm not broke." Gao Xian said, "If it doesn't work, I'll sell the Scale Sword Robe and Golden Edge Sword. These two things are too conspicuous. I don't really need them."
Since the Red Snake Gang had been wiped out, there was less concern about selling these items. Together, they could fetch over two thousand spirit stones.
As for the Red Flame Sword, Gao Xian was truly reluctant to sell it. This flying sword consumed a lot of spiritual energy, but it was very useful.
It could easily break through any defensive talisman or magical tool, making killing as easy as cutting tofu.
Unless absolutely necessary, he wouldn't sell the Red Flame Sword.
But the fourth level of the Great Five Elements Technique required so many spirit stones, and there were five more levels to go, each requiring spiritual objects for cultivation.
Gao Xian felt distressed at the thought.
"Selling the Scale Sword Robe and Golden Edge Sword might be a good idea. The ancient sect ruins are bound to unearth some magical tools, which might lower the prices..." Qiniang said.
"As far as I know, a lucky person has already dug up a first-grade top-tier sword in the ruins, worth two thousand spirit stones."
Gao Xian curiously asked, "Why doesn't the Lianyun Sect excavate the ruins themselves?"
"It is said that the ruins are very vast, covering thousands of miles, with most of it underground in the form of caves. Due to collapses, a large amount of manpower is needed to excavate. The Lianyun Sect cannot spare so many people for excavation.
"Abandoning it would be a pity, so they eventually decided to open it up. To enter, one must pay five spirit stones. If a magical tool is found, the Lianyun Sect will share half of the profits."
Qiniang said, "One casual cultivator has already made money, so other casual cultivators will definitely flock in. Feima Ji will become even more lively.
"However, with so many casual cultivators mingling, there have been deaths in Feima Ji every day recently. We must be careful about safety..."
(End of this chapter)