Chapter 335: The Han Clan of Great Seal Mountain

There were twelve satchels pressed under the bedding, varying in size and fullness. Once emptied, most contained gold, silver, and spirit stones; the gold and silver totaled over five hundred taels, while the spirit stones numbered over sixty.

For a moment, Liu Xiaolou felt deeply shocked.

The reason for his shock was that he could deduce that if there were over sixty spirit stones right here, how many had Bai Bai and Xiao Hei already swallowed?

If they were all added together, the total would surely exceed one hundred!

"Are these your savings from the past few years? How did you get them?" Liu Xiaolou asked.

"Ga ga ga."

"Meow~ meow~ meow~"

"Even if you went around robbing, cheating, or swindling, you couldn't have gotten this much, could you?" Beyond his shock, Liu Xiaolou was also filled with heartache. "Don't do this kind of thing anymore, alright? Do you know how dangerous it is?"

"Ga!"

"Meow!"

"Don't give me that look! Your tricks may be clever, but accidents happen in everything. You can't succeed every time; there will eventually be a day when you get caught. If you get countered by someone, you'll end up in a stew pot! It's only by sheer luck that you've survived until now."

After a bout of nagging, Liu Xiaolou gathered all the gold, silver, and spirit stones into his storage bag for safekeeping.

In the corner of the cave sat a wooden cart. Liu Xiaolou stepped forward and stroked the small cart he had built with his own hands. He was filled with emotion—how many years had it been? These two beasts had actually kept it with them all this time.

Bai Bai waddled over and flapped its wings, creating a powerful gust of wind that swirled the thick dust accumulated on the cart, blowing it all the way out of the cave.

Soon, the cart was clean and spotless.

With this feat alone, Bai Bai's strength was no less than that of a mid-stage Qi Refinement cultivator. As for how strong it was in a fight, that remained to be seen.

Bai Bai finished cleaning the cart, and Xiao Hei leaped onto the stone platform, rolling up the bedding and dragging it onto the cart. It spread the bedding out into a thick layer, then jumped on and looked at Liu Xiaolou: "Meow~"

Bai Bai crawled into the harness at the front, pulled the ropes taut, turned around, and began pulling the cart out of the cave.

Liu Xiaolou climbed onto the cart and squeezed Xiao Hei to the back. He felt the ride was quite bumpy, but as a Foundation Establishment expert, he didn't mind. Besides, this jolting process was quite conducive to practicing the Yellow Dragon Sword Art.

Leaving the cave, they continued to travel through the mountains. Liu Xiaolou felt that this mountain range was quite good; he even suspected the existence of a spiritual eye, as a faint aura of spiritual energy permeated the air.

"What mountain is this?" Liu Xiaolou asked the two companions.

"Ga ga ga!"

"Meow meow meow~"

"So this is Great Seal Mountain?"

Great Seal Mountain—wasn't this Han Jiuqian's home?

Liu Xiaolou looked at the mountain name carved into the cliff; each character was taller than a person, and he felt the master of this place had an imposing aura.

So these two fellows had been building their nest right at the Han family's doorstep.

Speaking of Han Jiuqian, Liu Xiaolou was quite grateful. After all, this man had been very enthusiastic in helping him search for sword techniques, even personally contacting the Green Peak Altar of Heng Mountain. Although he had nearly fallen into a trap of romance, he found such experiences quite pleasant, so he felt Han Jiuqian was a decent person—a man of refined character.

Since he was a man of refined character and he was now at his doorstep, it wouldn't be right not to pay a visit.

After some thought, Liu Xiaolou walked along the mountain path. After a hundred paces, he saw the mountain gate, and behind it, a manor nestled among green trees.

Pavilions, towers, birdsong, and fragrant flowers.

It truly had a spiritual eye. The concentration of spiritual energy was several times stronger than the one he had opened on Wulong Mountain.

Was it five or six times stronger? Liu Xiaolou couldn't be certain, but he knew that for spiritual energy to diffuse over such a wide area, the intensity of the eye could not be low. His own eye back home could never achieve this.

Of course, this bit of diffused energy might be beneficial to birds and beasts, but for a cultivator's practice, the benefits were limited. Only a true Cave Heaven blessed land could allow a cultivator to completely abandon spirit stones.

Savoring the taste of the spiritual energy in Great Seal Mountain, he left Bai Bai and Xiao Hei to wait at the gate while he knocked on the manor door. Before long, a Han family disciple came out to greet him and invited Liu Xiaolou into the guest hall for tea.

During their conversation, Liu Xiaolou learned more about the Han family of Great Seal Mountain.

The Han family was considered a cultivation family, but compared to the Su family of Mount Shenwu Mountain, they were several levels lower.

Although the Su family had declined, that was only compared to their past. They still possessed two Golden Core cultivators and over ten Foundation Establishment experts, and they were likely to produce a third Golden Core within ten years. Furthermore, the Su family was one of the five great families of the Danxia Sect and had close ties to the Feather Soaring Crane Gate, one of the ten great sects of the world.

The Han family of Great Seal Mountain relied on the Luo Fu Sect, also one of the ten great sects, but they were merely one of many dependents, not a main branch. In terms of cultivation, they had six Foundation Establishment experts, but the most senior elder was only at the late Foundation Establishment stage.

Liu Xiaolou was, after all, a Foundation Establishment expert. After waiting for half an hour and sipping a few cups of mountain tea, the person truly in charge of the Han family appeared.

This man was Han Jiuqian's fourth uncle. He was twenty years older than Liu Xiaolou and also at the Foundation Establishment stage, but he was only at the early stage. Liu Xiaolou had met someone similar in the Su family; their cultivation was forcibly raised using vast amounts of resources, and they usually stopped at the early stage after reaching Foundation Establishment, never to advance again.

During their pleasantries, Liu Xiaolou stated his purpose. The Fourth Uncle said, "You've come at a bad time, little friend. Jiuqian went out to visit a friend a few days ago and I don't know when he'll be back."

"Ah." Liu Xiaolou felt a wave of regret and bowed. "In that case, I won't intrude further. Please convey my regards to Brother Jiuqian and tell him that Liu Xiaolou came to pay a visit."

The Fourth Uncle stood up to see him off. "When Jiuqian returns, I will certainly have him pay a return visit."

After leaving the Han manor, Liu Xiaolou searched for Bai Bai and Xiao Hei. These two fellows must have been familiar with Great Seal Mountain, as they had disappeared somewhere. It took a long time to find them. Just as he was about to scold them, he saw Bai Bai holding a pink spiritual flower in its beak. Liu Xiaolou recognized it instantly—it was a July Fragrant Orchid, an excellent material for refining spiritual incense. If he added a bit to his Illusory Fragrance, it would be even more intoxicating.

This July Fragrant Orchid was complete with roots and leaves, perfect for transplanting. Liu Xiaolou stroked Bai Bai's head, took the flower, glanced at the Han manor behind him, and whispered, "Don't let this happen again!"

Thinking that a single July Fragrant Orchid might not be enough for a successful transplant, he asked, "Where did you find it?"

Just as he was about to follow Bai Bai to find more, a maid ran out of the manor, looking quite anxious. Seeing him, she ran over. "May I ask if you are Young Master Liu? Young Master Xiaolou?"

"Yes, and you are?"

"I am a maid serving the secondary mistress. I heard a guest had come to visit, so I rushed over to see you. Please, Young Master, help us find our master and bring him back quickly to save our mistress!"

"Which secondary mistress?"

"My master is Han Jiuqian. He once said that you were his good friend!"

Liu Xiaolou certainly knew Han Jiuqian's secondary mistress—it was Lüzhu. He didn't know how many times in his dreams or at the Green Joy Pavilion he had been teased by her; their relationship was as close as siblings, so how could he not know her?

"Tell me, what happened?"

The maid then recounted the situation.