Chapter 318: Luo Fu Mountain Gate

Liu Xiaolou sat quietly in front of the mountain gate, his expectant eyes sweeping back and forth across the mountain gate, his heart filled with thoughts. One was to reorganize his judgment again to see if he was being wishful, and the other was that after suddenly learning of such a possibility, he could not help but feel a sense of closeness to Luo Fu

He recalled the scenes from when he first ascended Er Yue Peak of Mount Luo Fu, and at this moment, he suddenly felt that everything on Er Yue Peak was so intimate.

Why so intimate? This is the spiritual sense left behind by his ancestors!

Thinking of this, he looked again at the three archways before the mountain gate and felt they were majestic and grand; he looked at the lush greenery along the mountain path and felt the profound heritage; he looked at the cultivators entering and exiting the gate and felt they were quite dashing.

Hmm, this person's eyes are like bright stars; he is truly dashing indeed.

And this person, with nimble steps, is also quite dashing.

Right, this one with thick eyebrows and large eyes is equally dashing.

Eh? Thick eyebrows and large eyes? Why does he look so familiar?

Oh my, isn't this Zhao Ru? The Zhao Ru who forced him to refine array plates on Er Yue Peak! He had escaped down the mountain while Zhao Ru was caught off guard; he must not be discovered by him!

Liu Xiaolou felt a sudden panic. He immediately turned around, forced himself to remain calm, and walked away step by step.

Behind him came the sound of Zhao Ru's inquiry; he was asking a fellow disciple guarding the mountain gate: "Who is that?"

"Don't know. He's been staring blankly outside the mountain gate for half an hour, grinning like an idiot. He must be a fool."

"Oh, not from the Nanhai Sword Sect? Haven't the people from the Nanhai Sword Sect arrived yet?"

"We've long since received your instructions, Senior Brother, and we are waiting attentively. Rest assured, once they arrive, we will immediately invite them into the mountain gate to meet you. You can just sit comfortably at the Red Flower Pavilion, Senior Brother Zhao."

"Very well."

The voices faded. Liu Xiaolou had already walked far away and quickly ducked into the forest outside the mountain. Once inside, his first instinct was to flee desperately. He ran for six or seven *li* in one breath, past two mountains, before finding a dense thicket to hide in.

This frantic run shattered all his fantasies.

After much longing and boiling blood, he finally calmed down, returned to reality, and suppressed the impulse to pay a visit and acknowledge his ancestors.

Acknowledge his ancestors? Wouldn't he just be captured and dragged up the mountain the moment he showed his face? Although he was at the Foundation Establishment stage and had caused a stir at Mount Heng, displaying the demeanor of an expert, he didn't even have the qualifications to make a scene before the gate of the Luo Fu Sect!

Not to mention others, just looking at this Zhao Ru, he felt he had the bearing of a Foundation Establishment cultivator. How could he make a scene?

After calming down and reflecting, many questions emerged.

If the Three Mystical Sect truly originated from the Luo Fu Sect, then for what reason did the founder leave Luo Fu to establish a separate sect? Why had the Three Mystical Sect declined to this point, yet neither the founder nor his teacher had the slightest intention of returning?

As a rogue cultivator from Wulong Mountain, Liu Xiaolou's first reaction was "internal strife." As for whether it was "brothers fighting within the walls," "uneven distribution of spoils," or "greed for beauty," he had no way of knowing.

These were all questions that had to be clarified.

But for something that happened so long ago, who could he ask to get a clear answer?

Suddenly, he remembered the "Nanhai Sword Sect" that Zhao Ru had mentioned. He couldn't help but pat his forehead, secretly thinking he was truly a fool. After calculating back and forth, he had actually forgotten Su Jing.

Wasn't his brother-in-law, the thirteenth son of the Su family, Su Jing, from the Nanhai Sword Sect?

Zhao Ru waiting specifically at the mountain gate for the Nanhai Sword Sect to arrive showed that the Nanhai Sword Sect had a say at Mount Luo Fu!

He also recalled the cultivation technique Su Jing practiced—he initially practiced his family's technique, but after joining the Nanhai Sword Sect, he switched to the Tide-Watching Sword Art. And the first seven meridians of this Tide-Watching Sword Art were the same as his own!

Although the order was different, the meridians cultivated up to the mid-stage of Qi Refinement were identical. Such a high degree of similarity already explained a lot; perhaps the Nanhai Sword Sect was originally a branch of Mount Luo Fu!

He had no connections at Mount Luo Fu, but he could go find Su Jing!

Thinking of this, Liu Xiaolou rubbed his hands, gathered his courage, and snuck back to the Luo Fu mountain gate. Of course, before such a major sect as Mount Luo Fu, he didn't dare to truly "lurk," so he just sat and waited silently a little further away from the gate.

Seeing him return, the outer-sect deacon of the Luo Fu Sect guarding the gate finally couldn't hold back and stepped forward to interrogate him: "Kid! Where are you from? Why are you in front of our Luo Fu mountain gate..."

He stopped there, unable to continue, because Liu Xiaolou was neither making a scene nor causing trouble; he was just sitting quietly, so the deacon was momentarily at a loss for words.

"... Hmm, spying!" The deacon finally found a word.

This word gave Liu Xiaolou a fright. The nature of the accusation was a bit serious, and he didn't dare to be labeled with it.

Liu Xiaolou hurriedly stood up and bowed: "This is the great Luo Fu Sect; how would I dare to spy? I am merely waiting for someone here. May I trouble you to ask, when will the people from the Nanhai Sword Sect enter the mountain?"

Liu Xiaolou also knew that bringing up the Nanhai Sword Sect so suddenly was quite rash. Fearing the other party would be suspicious, he quickly added: "I am a relative of Su Shisan, an inner-sect disciple of the Nanhai Sword Sect. Passing through your precious land, I accidentally learned that someone from the Nanhai Sword Sect was paying a visit. I wonder if the thirteenth young master has arrived?"

The Luo Fu Sect outer-sect deacon's expression softened, and he said: "I saw you staring here just now and thought you were some thief from somewhere. Since you are visiting relatives, why didn't you say so earlier? Just wait..."

As he spoke, the deacon turned back and said a few words to another young Luo Fu cultivator—it was unclear if he was a disciple or a deacon. The young man walked over and asked: "You said Su Shisan just now?"

"The thirteenth young master, Su Jing."

"Oh... so you are a disciple from Shenwu Villa? How should I address you?"

Liu Xiaolou vaguely avoided his own name and replied: "I am Su Jing's brother-in-law, his former brother-in-law."

The young man was stunned: "Former brother-in-law?"

Liu Xiaolou nodded: "I... divorced Su Jing's fifth sister."

The young man blinked: "Oh..."

Liu Xiaolou pressed: "May I ask if the Nanhai Sword Sect has arrived?"

The young man sized Liu Xiaolou up for a moment and said: "Wait a moment, I will go pass on the message."

This young man was Lin Zisheng, an outer-sect disciple of the Fushan Sect, the Southern Sect of the Luo Fu Sect.

He was originally from a wealthy family at the foot of Mount Xiqiao and showed extraordinary cultivation talent in his youth. He was originally supposed to join the Nanhai Sword Sect on the mountain—the Nanhai Sword Sect was right on Mount Xiqiao—but he happened to be spotted by Elder Lu, who was visiting, and was brought to Mount Luo Fu to begin his cultivation as an outer-sect disciple. It had been nine years, and he had reached the eighth stage of Qi Refinement before the age of eighteen. He was quite outstanding among the many outer-sect disciples of the Luo Fu Southern Sect. If there were no accidents, he would likely be admitted to the inner sect in the future, and from there, Foundation Establishment and Core Formation would be expected, with a promising future.

Today, Elder Lu of Upper Boundary Peak was receiving guests from the Nanhai Sword Sect. Because he was from Mount Xiqiao, he was also drafted to listen to orders and act. It was said to be helping out, but there was really nothing to help with. Having been idle for a long time, he grabbed onto this task as soon as it appeared.