Chapter 252: Late Stage of Qi Refinement
Five hundred li south of Wulong Mountain, the land rolled with endless green peaks. On a nameless summit, Liu Xiaolou gazed into the distance and murmured, “Still no sign of snow…”
Beside him, Zuo Gaofeng rubbed his arms. “The air’s so damp and cold; it gives me the creeps. Is that Xiushan over there?”
Liu Xiaolou nodded. “Just beyond those two ridges. Xiushan isn’t very tall, you can’t see it from here.”
Zuo Gaofeng chuckled. “How many years has it been since we last saw little Ah-Zhen? She must’ve grown up by now.”
Liu Xiaolou thought for a moment. “Last time I saw her, she was already up to here. Almost to my nose.”
Zuo Gaofeng sighed. “When she was just a little girl, remember that time she came up the mountain? Fairy Huang Ye even said he wanted to take her as a disciple, but she hesitated. Looking back now, Fairy Jingzhen really had a sharp eye. And the nerve. The moment she saw the girl, she took her away without a second thought. …You really don’t plan to see her?”
Liu Xiaolou shook his head. “She’s finally found a way out for herself. Best not to disturb her, or drag her back into this mess.”
Zuo Gaofeng grunted. “The Tian family’s tied to your Sanxuan Sect. It’s your call.”
He turned, scanning the surroundings. “Nice spot. The more ordinary a place looks, the harder it is to find. Even the Tianmu Sect wouldn’t think to look here. Perfect for a quiet retreat. Bajhang and Junior Fang are already inside the cave; I’d better start too. You coming?”
“I’ll be right behind you,” Liu Xiaolou said.
Zuo Gaofeng stepped into the cave behind the mountain. There was nothing remarkable about it. And that was exactly the point. It used to be a bear’s den. After driving the beast away, they’d rinsed the place clean with the spring water that trickled through day and night, washing away the musky smell. Bit by bit, the four of them had turned it into a temporary refuge.
Once Zuo Gaofeng disappeared inside, Liu Xiaolou lingered outside a while longer, gazing at the mountains. Another hour passed before he finally managed to clear the jumble of thoughts in his head. He drew a deep breath, then stepped into the cave.
Inside, the passage twisted and turned, creating several small chambers. They had divided the space accordingly. Fang Bu’ai took the deepest one, followed by Tan Bajhang and Zuo Gaofeng. Liu Xiaolou kept to the outermost room.
It didn’t really matter who took which spot. What mattered was the feeling. Four brothers in arms, cultivating side by side, supporting each other through seclusion. It gave a rare sense of peace and steadiness.
Liu Xiaolou quickly settled into his cultivation, focusing on opening the final two acupoints of the seventh layer -- Shaofu and Shaochong.
Through the twelfth month and into the New Year, the four of them remained in that nameless cave on the nameless mountain, deep in cultivation. Whenever one of them emerged from cultivation, he would head into the hills to hunt some game, roast it, eat a share, and leave portions for the others.
They’d each brought spiritual rice and wine, and their supply of spirit stones was plentiful. With no worries and no distractions, those two months passed in pure, undisturbed cultivation.
Looking back on it now, that battle with Mount Tianmu had been reckless and insanely risky, , and had cost plenty of lives. But the payoff was huge. When the four of them had headed south later and started talking about the spoils, they all couldn’t help laughing and saying the same thing: when you shear a fat sheep, the wool you get is rich and glossy!
Then came the 11th day of the second month. During his cultivation, Zuo Gaofeng was the first to sense something strange. A strange aura seemed to rise from nowhere inside the cave.it felt heavy on his chest, but at the same time, breathing it in made him oddly excited. It was like it was pushing him to climb to a higher level of cultivation.
He’d been through this before, so he knew exactly what it meant: someone was about to break through to the late stage of Qi Refinement! He opened his eyes, ready to get up and head into the inner chamber to check on Tan Bajhang and guard him during the process. But to his surprise, the aura was coming from the outer chamber. That really caught him off guard.
He still remembered the first time they’d teamed up to hunt down Lu Zi’an. Back then, Liu Xiaolou was only at the third layer, Tan Bajhang was at the fifth, and he himself was already at the eighth. Six years had passed in a flash, and now Xiaolou was about to surpass Tan Bajhang and breakthrough first?
The step from the seventh to the eighth layer was a dangerous one. It involved opening the “heaven’s court” between the eyebrows. Not that it granted any special abilities, but it laid the groundwork for Foundation Establishment later on. The problem was, when that gate opened, it felt like being struck by a blazing axe. If the body wasn’t steady, it could collapse under the strain. It was a deadly trial.
So Zuo Gaofeng quietly moved to sit behind Liu Xiaolou, crossing his legs and keeping a close eye on him. The moment Xiaolou’s expression showed any sign of distress, he’d be ready to step in and help him pull through.
Liu Xiaolou’s face kept changing. Pale one moment, flushed red the next, drenched in sweat, then suddenly cold as if he’d fallen into an ice cave. But through it all, he never reached the point where he needed help.
Zuo Gaofeng stayed by his side the whole night, watching in silence. When dawn finally broke, he saw a faint glow shimmering across Liu Xiaolou’s face and finally let out a long breath. He headed back to his own chamber, certain that Liu Xiaolou had made the breakthrough.
On his twenty-fifth birthday, Liu Xiaolou stepped into the late stage of Qi Refinement. The eighth layer.
When he emerged from the cave, he tested his newfound strength. Drawing the Three-Mystery Sword, he channeled his true qi into it. The sword-light stretched to two feet and three inches, with a clear fork at the tip. Two pale, tender strands like the fresh shoots of a willow branch.
Without needing his conscious control, the two sprout-like sword-lights began to dance on their own. Though he wasn’t directing them, their movements flowed exactly as he would have wished. Graceful, precise, as if his intent had already been woven into them. It was a strange and wondrous thing to behold.
His true qi had grown stronger by twenty percent. And his leaps and bounds had become even more agile. No need to go into every single improvement in detail.
Liu Xiaolou had no time to bask in the joy of his breakthrough. He immediately began cultivating at the eighth level, ready to open the Hand Greater Yang Meridian. Nineteen acupoints in all, stretching from Shaoze to Tiangong. Each one was a steep and arduous climb.
A month later, after finally opening the Shaoze acupoint and focusing all his strength on breaking through to Qiangu, he suddenly caught a faint sound by his ear. So slight it could almost be ignored, coming from outside the cave. Someone was fighting out there.
It wasn’t just him, Zuo Gaofeng had sensed it too. He slipped quietly out of the cave and motioned for Liu Xiaolou to follow and investigate.
“Brother Zuo, how’s your cultivation coming along? And what about Bajhang and Junior Fang?” Liu Xiaolou asked as they moved toward the sound, worried.
Zuo Gaofeng replied, “Bajhang still isn’t quite there yet. He’s working on the seventh layer, cultivating the Foot Lesser Yin Meridian. it’ll probably take him a few more months. As for Junior Fang, there’s no need to worry. He’s a pure-hearted one, wholly absorbed in his cultivation. It would take a lot to disturb him.”
The Foot Lesser Yin Meridian had twenty-seven acupoints. That's no small number. It was no wonder Tan Bajhang’s progress had slowed. Liu Xiaolou truly hoped he could catch up soon; if Tan reached the late stage of Qi Refinement, their little brotherhood would stand much stronger when dealing with Tianmu Mountain.
After a pause, Zuo Gaofeng said, “As for me, it’s about time I started preparing for the Foundation Establishment Pill.”
Liu Xiaolou grinned, genuinely happy for him. “Congratulations, Brother Zuo! Wulong Mountain has gained another cultivator at the peak of Qi Refinement!”
As they talked, the two made their way down to mid-slope, circling around to the western cliff terrace. From there, the view opened wide, and looking down, they immediately saw the source of the disturbance.
Someone was in the middle of a chase… and a fight!