Chapter 04

Taking advantage of his current state, Gao Xian began to meditate and cultivate the *Five Elements Technique*.

The *Five Elements Technique* revolves around the five elemental forces of metal, wood, water, fire, and earth, which correspond to the five organs: lungs, liver, kidneys, heart, and spleen. Simultaneously, one must visualize the corresponding *Five Elements Fa Lu* (法箓) in their mind.

Each cycle of circulating the five elemental energies—metal, wood, water, fire, and earth—takes about three minutes.

To make meaningful progress in a single cultivation session, one must complete at least thirty-six cycles.

Guiding the spiritual energy through fixed pathways in the body using one's spiritual consciousness, while simultaneously visualizing the corresponding *Fa Lu*, is incredibly challenging.

Fortunately, the original host had been practicing since childhood and had a solid foundation. Gao Xian, having inherited these memories, had been managing his cultivation relatively smoothly over the past few days.

This time, as soon as Gao Xian willed it, Sister Lan appeared deep within his brow.

Through the *Great Puppet God Technique*, he shared an invisible yet exceptionally close connection with Sister Lan. Whatever he thought, Sister Lan naturally acted according to his intentions.

Gao Xian had Sister Lan assist him in visualizing the *Fa Lu* while he circulated the *Five Elements Technique* through thirty-six cycles.

Without precise timing tools, Gao Xian estimated that this cultivation session took only about thirty minutes.

This was more than four times more efficient than his usual cultivation speed.

Moreover, the results of Sister Lan's assistance were significantly better.

By the end of the day, Gao Xian had cultivated three times, completing a total of one hundred and eight cycles of the *Five Elements Technique*.

Looking at the front side of the *Wind and Moon Mirror*, he could see that his *Five Elements Technique* had solidly advanced by one point.

Gao Xian was thrilled with this outcome.

Since his transmigration, he hadn't neglected his cultivation.

After all, cultivation was the foundation, and he was deeply fascinated by the idea of wielding supernatural powers.

However, after several days of practice, he hadn't seen any increase in his cultivation level.

No wonder the original host relied on pills to level up—his innate talent was indeed lacking.

Additionally, with Sister Lan's assistance in visualizing the *Fa Lu*, the speed of casting spells had also improved dramatically.

On one of Gao Xian's fingertips, a flame flickered on and off, as if he held a lighter with a constantly toggled switch.

On his other hand, a faint, almost imperceptible mist of water appeared and disappeared—this was the *Water Control Technique*.

At this stage, even low-tier spells like the *Fire Control Technique* and *Water Control Technique* no longer required incantations or hand seals; Gao Xian could cast them instantly.

From the memories left by the original host, although these two spells were low-level, they served as the foundation for many advanced techniques.

For example, the *Cleansing Technique* is a higher-level variation of the *Water Control Technique*.

Gao Xian took out all the spells he knew and practiced them repeatedly, savoring the wondrous thrill of wielding extraordinary power.

After spending more than a day in this manner, Gao Xian gradually calmed down from his heightened state of excitement.

No matter how helpful Sister Lan was, she couldn't assist him in alchemy. For now, he still needed to find a way to refine the elixirs.

It was said that the shopkeeper's wife was at the ninth level of Qi Refining, just one step away from Foundation Establishment. In this small Feima Market, she was renowned for her combat prowess.

Spells like the *Fire Control Technique* and *Water Control Technique* were unranked and practically useless even if cast instantly.

Even if the shopkeeper's wife stood there and let him attack, he wouldn't be able to harm a single hair on her head.

Moreover, Shopkeeper Zhu was a disciple of the Lianyun Sect, and his master was a guest elder of the sect.

The social connections between the two parties were tightly knit, and this wasn't a problem that could be solved through force.

On the flip side, Shopkeeper Zhu and his wife wouldn't do anything too drastic to him. At most, they would hand him over to his master for punishment.

Thinking of the master he had never met, Gao Xian couldn't help but shiver.

Based on the memories left by the original host, if he were sent back by Shopkeeper Zhu, that master would undoubtedly break both his legs.

Should he secretly leave Feima Market?

Feima Market was a newly established trading post by the Lianyun Sect, located deep within the Tengshe Mountains, over two to three thousand miles away from the sect.

The Tengshe Mountains were teeming with demonic beasts and terrifying evil spirits.

From the original host's memories, Gao Xian knew that his current abilities were far from sufficient to escape the Tengshe Mountains on his own.

"With only eight days left, I still need to try every possible method."

Gao Xian picked up the *Essentials of Alchemy* and began flipping through it again. Over the past two days, he had absorbed more of the original host's memories, and now he could somewhat understand the contents of the book.

After patiently reading for a while, Gao Xian couldn't help but throw the book aside.

Even if he could barely grasp the theory, he was still far, far away from practical application.

"This won't work. I need to find another way."

Gao Xian picked the book back up, thought for a moment, and then went to a nearby cabinet to retrieve all the books and items inside.

Thirteen low-grade spirit stones, a pine-patterned steel sword, a few sets of clothes, several books, a box containing ten *White Dew Pills*, and a few low-grade talismans.

These were all the assets left to him by the original host.

He had actually gone through these items several times before, but he took them out again to organize his thoughts.

Gao Xian's mind was exceptionally clear now, and he had a strange intuition that among these items lay the solution he needed.

Spirit stones were natural crystallizations of spiritual energy and served as the universal currency in the cultivator world, comparable to gold in the mortal realm.

Thirteen low-grade spirit stones had limited purchasing power and couldn't solve his problem.

The sword was useless, the *White Dew Pills*, clothes, and talismans were all useless.

So, it had to be these books.

*The Theory of the Five Elements' Mutual Generation and Restraint*, *The Mysterious Formulas of Dongxuan*, *Thirty-Six Methods of Alchemy*...

Suddenly, Gao Xian's heart stirred, and he picked up *The Mysterious Formulas of Dongxuan*.

He had flipped through this book before. It contained formulas related to dual cultivation techniques—nothing particularly proper. At the time, he had tossed it aside after seeing the contents.

"Improper is just right! The *Wind and Moon Mirror* isn't proper either, so they're a perfect match!"

In reality, *The Mysterious Formulas of Dongxuan* was quite simple. It recorded nine formulas, including details on how to refine them.

After reading the first formula, *Deer Antler Powder*, Gao Xian suddenly felt a spark of insight.

He took out the *Wind and Moon Mirror* and saw that a new formula had appeared on its back.

**Deer Antler Powder**: A medicine for strengthening yang and kidneys. (Beginner 1/10).

Gao Xian was overjoyed. Learning a formula wasn't a big deal, but the key was that this formula could be upgraded with points!

After spending ten points of Human Dao Spiritual Light, *Deer Antler Powder* quickly leveled up to the proficient level.

Inside the *Wind and Moon Mirror*, Sister Lan began demonstrating how to select medicinal ingredients, wash, soak, boil, dry, grind them into powder, and how to refine them using fire...

In a short time, Gao Xian had learned how to refine *Deer Antler Powder* and mastered all the intricate details of the process.

"It really works!" Gao Xian grew even more excited. While *Deer Antler Powder* itself wasn't particularly useful, the refining techniques he had learned were exactly what he needed.

**Deer Antler Powder**: A medicine for strengthening yang and kidneys. (Proficient 1/10).

Upgrading once cost ten points. Looking at the remaining hundred or so points of Human Dao Spiritual Light, Gao Xian didn't hesitate and continuously allocated points to *Deer Antler Powder*.

It took fifty points to upgrade *Deer Antler Powder* to the master level. However, advancing from master to grandmaster required another fifty points.

Gao Xian glanced at the *Great Puppet God Technique*, which needed five thousand points to upgrade.

In comparison, this was much cheaper.

For the sake of his own life, Gao Xian gritted his teeth and pushed *Deer Antler Powder* all the way to the grandmaster level.

Clearly, there was a qualitative leap from master to grandmaster, which was why it required more Human Dao Spiritual Light.

Having finally found a path forward, Gao Xian was determined to go all out. After all, the remaining few dozen points of Human Dao Spiritual Light couldn't be used for anything else.

Inside the *Wind and Moon Mirror*, Sister Lan began refining *Deer Antler Powder* again.

Although the process was the same as before, Sister Lan's movements were now exceptionally elegant, carrying an indescribable aura of spiritual refinement.

Gao Xian's spirit was invigorated, and his mind was flooded with countless insights and experiences related to refining *Deer Antler Powder*.

At the same time, the original host's over a decade of alchemy memories were also triggered.

Selecting medicinal ingredients, opening the alchemy furnace, controlling the fire—scene after scene merged into Gao Xian's memories...