Chapter 247: The Fate of the Wulong Mountain Rogue Cultivators
The last enemy left in Liu Xiaolou’s formation was at the tenth layer of Qi Refinement. Once he came in, the Bewildering Fragrance hit him even harder. By the time the formation dissolved, the man could barely tell which way was which. He was running on sheer instinct alone.
Everyone rushed him at once, and he barely managed a few moves before someone shattered his skull.
The moment his body hit the ground, Tan Bajhang and Captain Hu wobbled and collapsed as well. They’d been inside the inner chamber the whole time and had breathed in plenty of that incense. Even they couldn’t withstand the poison.
Next to fall was Fang Bu'ai. He’d only just rushed in, but with his cultivation stuck at the fourth layer of Qi Refinement, his resistance was the weakest of all.
Liu Xiaolou hurriedly called out to Zuo Gaofeng, and the two of them dragged the three unconscious men out of the tomb to get some fresh air. Then, one by one, Liu Xiaolou used the True Mysteries Technique to purge the poison from their bodies.
After working nonstop for what felt like ages, he finally managed to bring the three of them back to consciousness. Then he checked Zuo Gaofeng’s pulse as well and cleared the poison clogging his meridians.
In this battle, the Bewildering Fragrance technique really proved its worth. In the right situation, it can knock out anyone below the eighth layer of Qi Refinement without much trouble. It hits ninth- and tenth-layer cultivators hard too, and even those at the peak of Qi Refinement would struggle against it.
Later, after asking around, it turned out all three enemies were from Tianmu Mountain. Two were stewards from the inner sect, and the third was a relative from the Lu family’s allied branch. Their cultivation levels were peak Qi Refinement, tenth layer, and eighth layer.
The lookout outside was an outer-sect steward at the fifth layer.
It was just the four of them, chasing Zuo Gaofeng, Tan Bazhang, Captain Hu, and the other two all the way here, almost wiping them out completely. If they had fought head-on, the Tianmu Mountain cultivators clearly held the advantage.
“You five? Who were the other two? Where are they?” asked Liu Xiaolou.
Captain Hu’s face twisted with grief. “Brother Long and Brother Fan… they’re gone. Down below, in the inner chamber.”
They went down and carried the bodies up. Sure enough, it was Brother Long and Fan Zheng. Just a few months ago, they had been part of Captain Hu’s squad, hunting for treasure. Moving like the wind, rushing in and out with wild laughter, kicking doors open and smashing chests, swaggering with sacks slung over their shoulders. Full of life. Full of fire. Who could have imagined that in just a few months, they’d be separated forever by life and death?
Liu Xiaolou’s eyes burned red; he couldn’t hold it back.
But this is what happens when you go up against a great sect like Tianmu Mountain. Every one of them knew this was a possibility. As a matter of fact, this is the fate of the Wulong Mountain rogue cultivators. Whether you clash with the great sects or not, most roads end the same way.
“What happened? How did you end up trapped in a tomb?” asked Liu Xiaolou.
Zuo Gaofeng lowered his head in shame. “We lost our heads. Took the bait Tianmu Mountain dangled… Tan Bazhang and I returned last month. When we heard what happened on Wulong Mountain, we wanted revenge. We couldn’t find you, so I brought Tan Bazhang to look for Old Hu; I’d been here before. We were talking about hitting the Lu family again, and Old Hu mentioned the ledger you seized. It listed Baiye Mountain, and I know Baiye Manor. Figured it wouldn’t be too hard to take down. So… I suggested we give it a try...”
Captain Hu chimed in, “Don’t blame Chief Zuo. Brother Long and Brother Fan were here too, and they wanted to strike again as well. Xiaolou, the brothers waited months for you to give the word…”
“And why do you think I didn’t?” Liu Xiaolou said, exasperated. “They were waiting for us to walk right into their trap! We’re seasoned fighters, how did you still take the bait? So tell me, how exactly did they set the hook?”
Zuo Gaofeng sighed, frustrated. “We only meant to scout things out, not force our way in. But then we ran into the four brothers from Guzhang Mountain outside the manor. They’ve been watching Baiye Mountain for over a month. Said they hadn’t seen any experts going in or out that whole time. Then two nights ago, a few big wagons rolled out loaded with good stuff, so, well… you can guess the rest.”
“They joined in too?” Liu Xiaolou was anxious. “Where are they now?”
Zuo Gaofeng shook his head. “How were we supposed to know there was a Foundation Establishment cultivator hiding in there? Along with a few at the ninth- and tenth-layer Qi Refinement, all dressed like common laborers and coachmen. We tried to hijack the convoy halfway down the road and realized we’d walked right into a trap. That Foundation Establishment guy chased them north with his people. Don’t know if they’re alive or dead. As for us, these four freaks have been chasing us all the way to Yellow Wind Ravine…”
Liu Xiaolou’s heart dropped. “A Foundation Establishment cultivator… who was it?”
Zuo Gaofeng said, “It was Lu Xiansheng. Eighth on the Inner Sect disciple ranking.”
Liu Xiaolou thought for a moment. “I’ve heard Wei Hongqing mention him. Early Foundation Establishment.”
Zuo Gaofeng sighed. “Early Foundation Establishment is still Foundation Establishment. When he struck, he turned his pill furnace into a sword; it was no different from a flying blade. Nobody could stop that. Those four brothers from Guzhang Mountain… odds aren’t good for them.”
Tan Bazhang clenched his fists. “Xiaolou, we have to find a way to avenge those seniors from Guzhang Mountain!”
“Revenge aside,” Captain Hu siad, “if any of them survived, we need to find a way to get them out.”
Liu Xiaolou paused, thinking. “Was there anyone else at the Foundation Establishment stage?”
Zuo Gaofeng said, “There probably aren’t any more. The Lu family has so many estates and businesses; there’s no way they’ve got that many Foundation Establishment people to spare. If they did, they wouldn’t be able to assign even one Foundation Establishment guardian to each manor. And if there was another one, the ones chasing us wouldn’t just be these four.”
That made sense. After a moment’s thought Liu Xiaolou said, “First let’s bury Brother Long and Fan Zheng, then we’ll go check Baiye Mountain.”
They dug two simple graves and buried the two men. Liu Xiaolou insisted that if they ever made it back to Wulong Mountain, the bodies should be moved to Sky Pit Drum and proper tombstones set up.
He put the two men’s magical artifacts into his Qiankun Pouch for safekeeping. Life for lone cultivators on Wulong Mountain was hard; burying those artifacts would be inviting bad karma. So Liu Xiaolou collected the items and kept them himself; he was the only one with a Qiankun bag.
They also handed over the magic tools, spirit stones, pills, and everything else they’d taken from the four bodies. Liu Xiaolou kept it all for now. They’d divide it up later.
Then they burned the corpses and headed out again.
Baiye Mountain wasn’t far, less than thirty li away. If it were any farther, Zuo Gaofeng and the others wouldn’t have planned to come all the way here for revenge. They traveled through the night and reached the foot of the mountain around midnight.
Liu Xiaolou didn’t go straight up. He led the group to a nearby peak instead. From the moment he’d set foot in the Baiye range, something had felt off. But now, standing at the top and taking it all in, he couldn’t help but grin.
In the middle stood a lone, towering peak, surrounded by a ring of lower mountains, the land rising on the left and dipping on the right. A stream and a waterfall flowed down through the valley.
So that’s what the fifth formation disk he’d made back in Chicheng City was for. This mountain estate!
They came down the ridge and slipped onto a side trail, quietly making their way up. Once they got close to Baiye Manor and watched for a while, he confirmed it: Tianmu Mountain had moved fast. They’d already set up the formation he'd refined.
He wasn’t sure who’d done the installation. Probably disciples from the Pingdu Eight Formations Gate. Their setup didn’t quite match his design, and the effect dropped a bit because of it.
Not that he could blame them. After all, they hadn’t refined the formation disk themselves.
What he really wanted to know was whether Lu Xiansheng had returned. If he had, and he was sitting inside the manor right now…
Liu Xiaolou made up his mind. “Let’s go. Time to issue a Hero’s Post.”