Chapter 43

The Five Gates and Six Emotions Array, though it sounds like an illusionary formation, is in fact Xingde Jun’s killing array. The Five Gates refer to the ears, eyes, nose, mouth, and heart; lose these five, and confusion entangles the body. The Six Emotions are pain, pleasure, form, scent, gain, and desire; if these six are lost, the spirit and mind grow stagnant.

As soon as the array was set, it immediately trapped the Three Heroes of Moshan, blocking their five gates and disrupting their six emotions; the three heroes could no longer withstand it.

The true cultivation base of the Three Heroes of Moshan was immediately revealed—merely Qi Refining fifth to seventh level; how could they possibly be Xingde Jun’s match?

Xingde Jun was greatly puzzled: how could three such lowly cultivators dare occupy Moshan? It was truly incomprehensible!

Watching the three heroes struggle desperately within the array, Liu Xiaolou felt immense satisfaction, arms crossed, watching leisurely from the side while studying the array’s control techniques. Of course, he had little chance to intervene.

In past battles, Liu Xiaolou’s side always relied on deceit and overwhelming numbers to catch opponents off guard. Today, fighting the so-called “Three Heroes of Moshan” with a righteous, open formation that crushed them outright—this novel experience was utterly exhilarating.

With a Qi Refining ninth-level expert guarding him, fighting was simply delightful.

“Big brother, third brother—the opponents are tough!”

“Big brother, second brother—I can’t hold on!”

“Second brother, third brother, don’t panic—old method!”

“Supreme Platform Star, respond without pause—Heavenly Hero Flag—unfold!”

“Expel evil, bind spirits, protect life and body—Earthly Hero Flag—unfold!”

“Wisdom clear and pure, spirit and mind at peace—Human Hero Flag—unfold!”

“Three Talents Protecting Soul and Spirit Flag—open! Swift as the law commands!”

Liu Xiaolou blinked his eyes—huh, these three brothers shouted in perfect unison; clearly they’d practiced this often.

Three small flags materialized in the heroes’ hands, combining into the Three Talents Protecting Soul and Spirit Flag. As the banners flapped, they forcibly tore the three brothers free from Xingde Jun’s killing array.

Xingde Jun could not help but praise: “Fine flags!”

As Xingde Jun prepared to respond, the Three Heroes of Moshan leaped far away, distancing themselves dozens of zhang, unwilling to approach again.

Liu Xiaolou shouted: “You three—why don’t you come back and fight?”

The eldest of the three, Tianying, replied: “If we can’t beat them, why fight? To die? Do you think we’re fools?”

He understood now: the Three Talents Protecting Soul and Spirit Flag was a treasure with extreme defensive power but no offensive capability. These three brothers must have found it somewhere and used it to seize Moshan.

Xingde Jun chuckled, dismissed the Five Gates and Six Emotions Array, and waved his sleeve: “Then I’ll spare you—run away now!”

His magnanimous words drew only mockery:

“You old fool—who needs your mercy? How dare you speak so boldly? If you’ve got guts, chase us!”

“Moshan is our brothers’ dwelling—you intruded rudely, may thunder strike you down!”

“If you’ve got the nerve, come down and mine stone—see how we’ll kill you!”

Xingde Jun, who always prided himself on elegance and composure, was so enraged by their insults that his head burned with fury. He summoned the Five Gates and Six Emotions Array once more and chased after them. His cultivation far surpassed the Three Heroes of Moshan; his speed was swift beyond measure. They had no chance to escape and were immediately trapped again.

The Three Heroes of Moshan repeated their old trick, chanting their flag incantation in perfect unison:

“Supreme Platform Star, respond without pause—Heavenly Hero Flag—unfold!”

“Expel evil, bind spirits, protect life and body—Earthly Hero Flag—unfold!”

“Wisdom clear and pure, spirit and mind at peace—Human Hero Flag—unfold!”

“Three Talents Protecting Soul and Spirit Flag—open! Swift as the law commands!”

The three flags once again merged into one, whisking the three brothers out of the great array. But they did not flee. Instead, they turned to the southwest corner of the cold pool and continued jumping and cursing, hurling even fouler insults.

Xingde Jun said to Liu Xiaolou: “Xiaolou, I’ll guard above. You descend into the pool and retrieve the stone. The Xuan Stone lies at the bottom—you’ll recognize it at once. Take a piece the size of a fist. Then stir the water at the bottom; the Spring Jade Pearls cling to bubbles like jade beads—collect a few grains.”

Liu Xiaolou took the jade box Xingde Jun tossed him and leapt into the pool.

The pool was deep—over eight zhang. Even with his Qi Refining third-level cultivation, he felt discomfort in his eardrums. After swimming around briefly, he spotted a fist-sized peculiar stone lodged in a crevice, hollow at its center—clearly the Xuan Stone. Its base connected to the mud, so he pulled and snapped it free.

Then he stirred the water around the crevices. Bubbles rose from the cracks, and indeed, a few contained tiny jade pearls. He promptly collected them in the jade box.

After retrieving the Xuan Stone and Spring Jade Pearls, Liu Xiaolou surfaced and climbed ashore to find Xingde Jun still battling the Three Heroes of Moshan—again, they had escaped. Their foul curses poured forth endlessly, turning Xingde Jun’s face crimson with rage.

Seeing Liu Xiaolou return successfully, Xingde Jun finally exhaled a long, heavy breath. After a moment’s hesitation, he spat a threat and left with Liu Xiaolou.

Down from Moshan, Xingde Jun’s anger still burned. Only after Liu Xiaolou gently comforted him did his temper begin to ease.

Ten li from the mountain, night had fallen. The two found a sheltered spot to rest, warming themselves by a campfire as they examined the Xuan Stone and Spring Jade Pearls.

Xingde Jun nodded in approval: “This Xuan Stone is of excellent quality, and the few Spring Jade Pearls are bright and lustrous—perfect! You chose well, Xiaolou.”

Liu Xiaolou said: “I found it right away upon diving in—didn’t even look for it.”

Xingde Jun thought a moment: “Perhaps those three scoundrels’ occupation of Moshan deterred others from mining the Xuan Stone and Spring Jade Pearls, allowing them to mature well in the pool. Come to think of it—those three scoundrels did us a favor?”

As they spoke, a gust of wind struck from the darkness. Liu Xiaolou swiftly drew his sword to block—it was only stones, but thrown with great force; had they struck, he would have been left bleeding and bruised.

Xingde Jun moved like a startled hare, darting toward the source of the stones. Instantly, the forest erupted in flashes of magical light from fierce combat.

Then came another synchronized chant of flag incantations:

“Supreme Platform Star...”

“Expel evil, bind spirits...”

“Wisdom clear and pure...”

“Three Talents Protecting Soul and Spirit Flag—open! Swift as the law commands!”

Not long after, Xingde Jun returned, furious, amid a barrage of curses: “Any good ideas? I wish I could tear these scoundrels into a thousand pieces!”

Liu Xiaolou was equally helpless. He now understood the Three Heroes of Moshan’s tactic—it was a known strategy among the Wulong Mountain disciples. Though he himself had never used it, having too little experience, he had certainly heard of it. It was nearly impossible to counter.

He could only shrug helplessly: “Anger won’t help. You can’t hit them. You can’t out-insult them. What else can you do?”

Xingde Jun said: “We can’t stay on Moshan. We leave tonight.”

Liu Xiaolou said: “This is the Dog Skin Ointment Fighting Method—clinging endlessly, impossible to shake off. Even if we flee a thousand li, they’ll follow and harass us a thousand li, playing the mad dog to the end! Master, don’t even think of retreating to Xingde Mountain—if they learn its location, you’ll never know peace again.”

Xingde Jun asked: “Then what do we do?”

Liu Xiaolou suggested: “Why not go talk to them?”

“Talk about what?”

“Offer them some benefit...”

“In this bright world, shall we be blackmailed by these three lowlifes? That’s surrender! Absolutely not!”