Chapter 116: Magu Mountain (Bonus Chapter for Li Biao Heshan

Wang the cook was finally given a beating; she had already been injured by Liu Xiaolou’s palm strike, and with this beating, she wouldn’t be able to rise from bed for a month.

Su Su felt a pang of guilt and wondered whether she should bring some healing medicine to visit her, but Liu Xiaolou stopped her: “Your husband-in-law is a savage from Wulong Mountain—if you really go, the image you’ve just built up will collapse completely, and you’ll never be able to rebuild it. By the way, what’s the name of that broken pavilion at the mountain pass?”

“General’s Pavilion.”

“Go find Su the steward—does he handle construction? Get repairs started right away. We’ll pay for it ourselves.”

Su Su hesitated: "But Cook Wang said the master assigned that place a specific purpose."

Liu Xiaolou waved his hand: “Go find Su the steward. If he refuses, I’ll deal with him myself.”

Su the steward indeed had no objections—he agreed readily, descended the mountain himself, and gathered a group of masons from the village below who had built houses before, and they toiled through the night.

At night, Liu Xiaolou came to inspect and saw several windproof lanterns hanging, over a dozen strong laborers drenched in sweat, clearing broken bricks and rubble under Su the steward’s direction.

Su Su brought forward a large bucket of meat broth; the workers immediately swarmed around, devouring it greedily.

Liu Xiaolou bowed to Su the steward: “You’ve worked hard, steward.”

Su the steward smiled: “It’s nothing, Young Master. General’s Pavilion has been neglected for years—I’ve long wanted to renovate it properly. Today, I owe it all to your favor.”

Liu Xiaolou asked: “You’re also surnamed Su? Which branch are you from?”

Su the steward said: “To be honest, my maternal uncle and the clan’s founding ancestor were brothers. By my generation, my cultivation just wouldn’t advance, so I ended up handling mundane affairs—embarrassing.”

Liu Xiaolou patted him on the shoulder: “Still a Su! My apologies! Su the steward, let me introduce you to one of my good brothers—Tan Ba, the Eight-Palm Master. He’s the top expert in construction and landscape design for the Shenwu Mountain Su Clan!”

Tan Ba walked over smiling: “We’re already acquainted. This Su steward is a straightforward man—I like him!”

Su the steward smiled back and pledged: “Young Master, rest assured. Tan brother, rest assured—in seven days, you’ll have a clean, comfortable Daoist pavilion!”

Tan Ba thumped his chest: “Then thank you! If you run into trouble, just tell Tan Ba—I’ve got nothing else but an iron rod. If anyone dares to hassle you, I’ll knock them into total darkness!”

Su the steward wiped his sweat: “Of course, of course.”

Repairs to General’s Pavilion progressed quickly—in fact, by the third day, Tan Ba had moved into the first completed side room, and at this moment, Liu Xiaolou had already followed the Su Clan to Danxia Sect’s location—Magu Mountain.

Magu Mountain lies two hundred li southeast of Shenwu Mountain. Legend says that centuries ago, a female immortal named Magu emerged from the mountain, hence its name. Whether such an immortal truly existed remains unknown, but Danxia Sect has stood for a thousand years as a prominent orthodox sect, revered by countless cultivators.

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At the mountain’s base stands a stone archway with four pillars, inscribed with the ancient mountain name, worn smooth as jade by centuries of wind and rain. Following the stone steps upward, a pavilion overlooking the waterfall stands halfway up the slope. Looking up, two waterfalls, each over thirty zhang tall, plunge straight down amid layered green peaks, deafening in their roar.

From here, outsiders may not enter lightly—Danxia Sect’s inner-disciple overseers patrol here to verify visitors.

The Su Clan is a major branch of Danxia Sect. For this millennium ceremony, to prevent a mix of true and false cultivators, only Su Clan descendants may enter; servants and slaves are barred. Thus, of the thirty-plus who came, only half could ascend the mountain.

Liu Xiaolou, as a son-in-law, holds low status, but he is still counted as a Su—so he squeezed in with the Su Clan to enter the mountain. This was the Su Clan’s first time bringing him up—and perhaps their last. The purpose, as before, was to declare that Fifth Lady Su Xi had married and would not be wed elsewhere.

Turning west beneath the waterfall, after walking less than two li, they reached a stone bridge called Dragon Gate Bridge, inscribed with the four large characters: “Danxia Cave Heaven.” Here, another Danxia Sect inner-disciple overseer stood guard.

The overseer was surnamed Cai and clearly knew the Su Clan well—he exchanged greetings of “Senior Brother” and “Junior Brother” with Su Zhi and Su Xun, then quickly bent to lift up Fifth Lady Su Xi after her bow: “Niece, your cultivation has improved again.”

Su Zhi asked: “Junior Brother Cai, have all the families arrived?”

Overseer Cai replied: “The Wang Clan has come, my own Cai Clan has come too—only the Mao Clan remains. Most of the lesser vassal clans have also arrived.”

Over the past two days on Magu Mountain, Su Zhi had specifically summoned Liu Xiaolou to his side and given him an intensive briefing on Danxia Sect. Danxia Sect is dominated by four great families: the mountain’s own Cai Clan—the largest main branch—the Mao Altar Mao Clan, Xunxi Wang Clan, and Shenwu Mountain Su Clan. Among them, the Su Clan is the weakest.

Over a hundred and eighty years ago, the Su Clan once shone brightly—two of Danxia Sect’s five Elders were from the Su Clan. But now, the Su Clan can’t even place one among them. Why? Because they have no Nascent Soul cultivators. The highest cultivation in the Su Clan is Su Zhi himself, at Golden Core mid-stage. Most people know deep down how far he’ll go—and Su Zhi himself knows he will never reach Nascent Soul.

Fortunately, the next generation still has Fifth Lady Su Xi. Not only does the Su Clan favor her, but Danxia Sect’s Elders do too. On the day she established her Foundation, she was already listed among the inner disciples.

Overseer Cai turned his gaze toward Liu Xiaolou, his expression distinctly amused, making Liu Xiaolou shiver involuntarily—he quickly bowed his head.

Overseer Cai nodded to Su Zhi: “Senior Brother Su, please proceed.”

Beneath Dragon Gate Bridge lies a stone spring called “Divine Skill Spring.” Water seeps from rock crevices into a stone basin no more than a foot across. Liu Xiaolou had heard from Su Zhi on the way that it was formed when the Immortal of the Southern Pole struck it with his staff, so he glanced at it longer—but saw nothing unusual.

But Su Zhi’s next action revealed what truly was unusual. He pulled out a crimson jade and tossed it into the basin. The jade sank quickly to the bottom, and the spring water began to churn violently, suddenly shooting out streams of rosy light.

Each strand of light stretched an inch long, hovering in midair as if within reach, yet moving as swiftly as shooting stars, beyond perception.

Standing within the radiant light, Liu Xiaolou felt a tremendous force pulling him toward the stone basin—he was lifted off the ground, head down, feet up, hurtling toward the basin.

As his head neared the basin, he raised his hands to shield himself—but found he couldn’t move a single finger. He could only watch helplessly as his skull collided with the hard stone basin.

“Oh!” Just as Liu Xiaolou felt his skull would shatter, the myriad strands of light suddenly retracted.

The basin, which had loomed larger and larger before his eyes, vanished instantly—above him now blazed a sky full of fire!

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