Join in on refining a defensive formation?
Liu Xiaolou looked at Su Wang, unable to figure out what she was really thinking.
Su Wang rolled her eyes. “Don’t bother guessing. Go or don’t go, it’s up to you. No one in the Su family knows how to refine formations. My father originally wanted to refuse, but when I ran into Green Bamboo before, she mentioned that you knew a bit about it. So I told my father, and he said you should decide for yourself. Just don’t make a fool of yourself when you get there and embarrass our Su family. Know your limits.”
Liu Xiaolou thought for a moment, then asked, “Is Green Bamboo going?”
Su Wang replied, “I don’t know. A few months ago, when she passed by Shenwu Mountain, she told me she was going into seclusion to try for Foundation Establishment. Yuezhou is far away, so I haven’t heard anything. I don’t know if she succeeded.”
“I’ve never taken part in forging this kind of mountain-guarding formation before. Are there particular rules to follow?”
“It’s not something you handle alone. You couldn’t manage it even if you wanted to, and the Zhao clan would never allow a single formation master to monopolize all the work. Most likely, it’ll be divided into large and small sub-formations. Each formation master refines a piece, then everything is combined and nested together at the end. I heard the great formation protecting our Shenwu Mountain was done that way. I also asked around about your formations. I heard they’re immersive? If that’s true, then going wouldn’t be a bad idea.”
“Do you want to give it a try, Ninth Lady?” asked Liu Xiaolou.
“Not interested. Anyway, this trip to Jinting Sect will take at least three to five months, maybe half a year or more. Usually, they give out some payment. Think it over yourself.”
Payment, experience refining formation disks, and maybe even a chance to learn more about the Dao of formations. Liu Xiaolou had already made up his mind. He had to go!
“So all I need to do is show up? They won’t test my formation skills?”
“Smaller sects have to go through tests, of course. But our family has already sent word to Fangle Peak. Once you arrive, you just sign up and go into the mountain. No tests. How far you can go depends entirely on you.”
“Thank you, Ninth Lady.”
“No need to thank me. You’ve helped me too. That’s that!” With that, Su Wang turned and walked away.
Liu Xiaolou let out a sigh. Su Wang… forget it… no point overthinking.
Jinting Mountain was six hundred li away. If he left for several months, he might be letting down those young masters he’d just renewed spirit stone contracts with. But then again, seeing his stuff too often wasn’t good for their bodies either. A quiet break would really be for their own good.
It’s all for your sake!
He called Susu in and told her his decision. Susu was clearly disappointed. Liu Xiaolou tried to comfort her. “Since Fifth Lady is willing to train you, go with her to the back mountain. Cultivation is always the foundation. If you can reach Foundation Establishment one day, who would dare treat you like a servant then?”
Susu said with grievance, “But I want to serve you, young master.”
Liu Xiaolou couldn’t help but laugh. “Susu, I’ve never once thought of you as a servant. From now on, you mustn’t call yourself that in front of me either. At the end of the day, cultivation is the root of everything. Only when your strength is high enough can you truly take charge of your own life. If you really want to stay with me, then let’s work hard at cultivation together. Once our strength grows, many things will become much easier. Otherwise, the Su family will never allow you to leave.”
Susu thought for a while, then nodded. “I’ll listen to you, young master. But what about Big White and Little Black?”
“They don’t need us to worry,” Liu Xiaolou said. “Just shut the garden gate when we leave and let them roam free here. They know how to tidy up the garden, it won’t get too messy. Hmm… the only concern is they might sneak off to the back mountain to steal food. I’ll have to warn them, and also remind Ninth Lady at Yunhai Pavilion. Otherwise, if someone really caught them and tossed them in a stew, that would be a tragedy.”
Three days later, after hosting two impotent old masters and leaving them fully satisfied, Liu Xiaolou announced that in order to test how long his illusion formation could hold up, and to further raise its level, he had decided to leave the mountain for a while. He asked the two old masters, “Do you have the confidence to last three months?”
The two impotent old masters pumped their fists and swore their resolve. “Don’t worry, Master Liu, we’ve got the confidence, we’ve got the determination. We’ll definitely hold out for three months without falling!”
After seeing them off, Liu Xiaolou left SunRain Hibiscus Garden and made his way to Yunhai Pavilion. But Su Wang refused to see him and sent Xiaoqin instead. Xiaoqin coldly acknowledged the matter of Big White and Little Black, then stared at Liu Xiaolou with a frosty expression and gave a cold snort. “What a waste of such a fine face.”
On the eighth day of the first lunar month, Liu Xiaolou arrived at Jinting Mountain, standing at the outer edge of this famed sacred peak. Jinting Mountain was a blessed land, but the true blessed land could not possibly be so vast. It was confined to the central main peak.
As one of the most important branches of Jinting Sect, the Zhao clan occupied Fangle Peak on the outer range of Jinting Mountain, more than ten li from the main peak.
The Zhao clan was a great family in its own right, much like the Su clan. Within their ranks were more than a dozen cultivators at the Foundation Establishment stage and above, and even a Nascent Soul expert, Zhao Yongchun, who served as the third elder of Jinting Sect.
Liu Xiaolou had first heard about Zhao Yongchun from Su Wang, back when he gad been preparing to take Seventh Lady of the Zhou family from Qingyu Sect as his second wife. Though already a venerable one hundred eighty-six years old, he was still in excellent health. For Zhou Qiniang, it should have been a good match. Unfortunately, her heart already belonged to someone else. What should have been a fortunate union turned sour, and Liu Xiaolou ended up getting involved, ruining that marriage and paving the way for another instead.
What he never expected was that one day he would end up working for the Zhao clan. Truly, fate was hard to predict.
At the mountain gate, Liu Xiaolou gave his name and identity to the Zhao family steward. The steward immediately invited him up the mountain with great courtesy.
Halfway up the slope, a jade-green lawn spread out before his eyes, dotted with countless flowers. Ahead, three peaks rose side by side, white clouds twining around their waists like jade sashes. From the summit, waterfalls plunged down, breaking into mist halfway and drifting upward, before merging with the floating clouds.
Fangle Peak took its name from the cranes raised there. Now and then, a cry of cranes rang out, yet no birds could be seen no matter how he looked. He could only wonder where they were kept.
This was the most untouched, unworldly mountain scenery Liu Xiaolou had ever seen. Standing within it, he felt as though all mortal dust had been washed away, leaving only a sense of detachment and transcendence.
He drew in a deep breath and suddenly found himself liking this place. A thought rose in his mind. Compared to all this, Zhou Qiniang had truly paid a heavy price to elope with Lord Xingde.
On the mountainside terrace stood several bamboo huts. In front of the central one, an elder sat cross-legged, his long beard draping down his chest. He gazed at Liu Xiaolou and gestured invitingly. “Please.”
Liu Xiaolou sat down across from him. “May I ask…”
The elder studied him with a hint of surprise in his eyes. “Which family’s formation master are you? And how old are you?”
Liu Xiaolou answered, “Greetings, senior. I am Liu Xiaolou, son-in-law of the Su family of Shenwu Mountain. In one more month, I’ll be twenty-two.”
The elder paused in thought, hesitating slightly. “I’ve heard of you. The Su family says you understand formations. That you are a formation master. Which branch of formation are you skilled in?”