Chapter 159

With every level gained in cultivation, perception becomes a fraction sharper, control over the body grows a fraction stronger, and the true qi becomes a fraction more solid.

Liu Xiaolou tapped his toes and easily reached the treetop thirty feet high. He arrived in the bamboo forest outside, leaped back and forth between several tall bamboo stalks, and then sat cross-legged upon the lush branches, steady and secure.

Remembering last year at Red Snail Villa, when he saw Yun Ao sitting cross-legged on the treetop to cultivate, he had been very envious. Today, he could finally do it himself.

Actually, it wasn't that hard; Qi Refinement Stage 5 is enough to do it!

Suddenly, he saw a white figure appear on the bamboo cluster opposite. It was Dabai, who had also flown up. It stood on a single bamboo leaf with one claw, tilting its head to examine him.

Liu Xiaolou couldn't help but laugh. "You fellow, are you showing off in front of your master?"

So he plucked a bamboo leaf and flicked it with his finger. Dabai was immediately knocked off by the leaf and fell down, flapping its wings and "quacking."

Entering the Mid Qi Refinement stage, the most important manifestation in cultivation is the projection of true qi through objects—that is, through the transmission of a magic treasure, one can shape the true qi. This was the "Gang" radiance Liu Xiaolou had been striving for.

He channeled his true qi into the Three Mystical Sword, filling the emptiness of the blade. As his intent projected outward, the true qi that had never been able to penetrate before suddenly projected from the tip of the sword, shaping itself in front of the tip and extending about an inch. Although it was slightly thin and not as wide as the sword, it had finally formed a sword radiance!

Liu Xiaolou was overjoyed. He calmed his excitement and performed a sword flourish, but suddenly felt a bit bewildered.

Compared to the "Gang" radiance of other people's magic treasures, this inch-long sword radiance was completely different. It was not only thin but also soft, dancing in the wind like a blade of grass.

He stared blankly and tried to touch an old bamboo stalk as thick as a bowl with the sword radiance. When the inch-long radiance touched the bamboo, it appeared so soft and powerless that it curled back upon being pushed by the stalk.

This...

Liu Xiaolou steadied himself and tried again, swinging the sword quickly. This time, it worked; the sword radiance swept past and cut the bowl-thick bamboo stalk in two.

It seems the sharpness of this sword radiance is fine, and the inch-long length is also fine. The problem lies in its thickness and hardness.

What is the reason for this? Liu Xiaolou was baffled and could only temporarily attribute it to the fact that the sword radiance had just formed and was not yet fully developed. He felt very uncertain and could only speculate that perhaps these problems would improve in size and hardness as his cultivation strengthened and his sword practice increased.

There was another problem, and that was the Three Mystical Sword itself.

This Three Mystical Sword was passed down by his teacher and was the only flying sword of the Three Mystical Sect. But after taking it over, Liu Xiaolou always felt its power was insufficient and mediocre. He had originally planned to change swords once he entered the Mid Qi Refinement stage and could practice sword radiance, but today, when his true qi projected through the sword, he suddenly realized the wonder of this flying sword. It seemed to be specifically crafted for the "Mystical Truth Scripture" technique. When the sword radiance projected, that feeling of comfort and smoothness struck his soul directly.

No wonder his teacher passed it to him, and no wonder this was the only magic treasure inherited by the Three Mystical Sect.

Therefore, he decided not to change swords and chose to continue using it to see.

After entering Qi Refinement Stage 5, the next step was, of course, to continue opening the seventh meridian.

The fifth level of the "Mystical Truth Scripture" cultivates the Foot Jueyin Meridian, which has fourteen points on one side. It requires opening fewer points than the Hand Shaoyang Meridian cultivated in the fourth level.

But the difficulty of cultivating each meridian is not necessarily tied to the number of points; everything depends on opportunity.

Currently, Liu Xiaolou started with the Great Mound point, attacking the first point of the fifth level. As for returning to Spirit Wushan, he threw that to the back of his mind. He was already over half a month late; what was another half a month?

What truly matters is cultivation!

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Twelve days later, the moment the Great Mound point was opened, the wind chimes rang.

"Ding-dong, ding-dong, ding-dong."

The wind chimes swayed gently under the eaves. Liu Xiaolou put on his clothes and looked outside the courtyard. Before long, footsteps sounded, and it was Tan Bazhang who had come.

Since returning to Wulong Mountain, Liu Xiaolou had rarely associated with Tan Bazhang, Zuo Gaofeng, the Longshan Wanderer, and others. He had greeted them, of course, but he was busy studying array techniques and dual cultivation with Zhou Qingzhu, so he had no time to visit other mountains or caves. Seeing him accompanied by a noble lady, they didn't come to disturb him either.

Tan Bazhang had come twice, but he had never met Su Wuniang and mistook Zhou Qingzhu for her, which made Zhou Qingzhu very unhappy and nearly caused a falling out, so he didn't dare to visit again.

"Xiaolou, Xiaolou!" Tan Bazhang arrived in front of the courtyard, peered toward the thatched hut, and pointed at the house.

Liu Xiaolou said: "She's gone."

Tan Bazhang was surprised: "She's already gone?"

Liu Xiaolou nodded: "Gone."

Tan Bazhang said: "That's true. Xiaolou's home-visiting period is almost up, so it's time to go back... Xiaolou is lucky, but be careful, don't let the Su family know. But don't worry, we brothers will never speak of it; just handle it yourself."

Liu Xiaolou laughed at himself: "Brother Tan, why are you here in the middle of the night? Is there an emergency?"

Tan Bazhang shook the wooden plaque in his hand and said: "War is about to break out. Several managers from the Zhanglong Sect have come to distribute mobilization orders to every mountain peak today. I came specifically to see Xiaolou. If you have nothing else to do, go back to Spirit Wushan early."

Liu Xiaolou was stunned: "What mobilization order? War with whom?"

Tan Bazhang said: "It's the Gengsang Cave. They've been playing tricks again this year. They say that in the past two months, they sent people into our Xiangxi to plot the assassination of many inner sect disciples of our Zhanglong Sect, such as Zang Qianli and Qu Xuan, who were all on the assassination list. Of course, their scheme didn't succeed. The Zhanglong Sect discovered them and captured or killed several people they sent, especially the ringleader named Ning Sangzi, who was captured alive by our Zhanglong Sect's Qu Xuan and detained. This person is the nephew of the Gengsang Cave's Master Ning. The Gengsang Cave demanded that our Zhanglong Sect release him, but we refused, so the Gengsang Cave is coming."

The Gengsang Cave is a sect in Badong that occupies the blessed land of Gan Mountain. Located west of Xiangxi, it has had many disputes with the Zhanglong Sect for hundreds of years. They had a major war seven years ago, and no one expected them to come back again.

After hearing this, Liu Xiaolou realized a bit. It was likely that the person he had reported to the Zhanglong Sect over a month ago was from the Gengsang Cave, though he hadn't known it at the time.

"Which manager delivered the mobilization order?"

"Hou Hou Guanshi Luo, an inner sect manager named Mo. Have you heard of him, Xiaolou?"

"He was the one who issued the mobilization order to my teacher seven years ago during the war with the Gengsang Cave. I haven't seen him since. He was at Stage 10 back then; what about today?"

"He's still not at Foundation Establishment. He's a real jerk; let him issue the mobilization order, he'll never reach Foundation Establishment in his life!"

"I wonder when he'll come to Dry Bamboo Ridge?"

"He won't come to Dry Bamboo Ridge. Don't worry, Xiaolou. I asked him when I received my order, and he said you are the son-in-law of the Su family of Spirit Wushan, half a member of the Su family, so the Zhanglong Sect won't issue you a mobilization order."

"There's such a good thing?"

"So Xiaolou, if I don't come back, please visit my home more often and help me show filial piety to my father."

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