Chapter 76: Each Reaps What They Sow

The river was neither deep nor shallow; Liu Xiaolou, bound by the Lidisanyuan Rope, struggled in the water, unable to rise to the surface or sink to the bottom, drifting helplessly in all directions as if suspended in midair.

A strange force emanated from the rope, enveloping every acupoint pool in Liu Xiaolou’s meridians, pulling at the true qi within, as if tearing it from his body. In great alarm, he struggled desperately, fighting to retain control of his true qi, but grew weaker by the moment.

After an indeterminate time, a bamboo pole descended from the water’s surface, touched Liu Xiaolou’s body, and lifted him upward—he flew out of the river and landed back in the stone cave.

In a daze, Liu Xiaolou saw several faces leaning close to him—blurry in shape, faintly familiar—but his entire being was consumed by the struggle against the rope, desperately holding back his true qi from being scattered, leaving no room for other thoughts.

After enduring longer, just as his strength failed and the true qi in all his acupoint pools was about to be fully drained by the Lidisanyuan Rope, the true qi suddenly surged back from the rope, flooding into him and nearly rupturing his meridians.

He spat out a long-held black clot of blood from his chest, finally regaining his breath, lying on his back in the cave, gasping heavily, both relieved and terrified.

Today was truly perilous—the Daoist almost died!

The three faces before him finally came into focus: Wei Hongqing, Zuo Gaofeng, and Tan Ba. At the corner of his vision, he saw a figure lying motionless in the inner chamber of the cave—it was Hou Sheng.

“He’s awake! He’s awake!” Tan Ba rejoiced, gripping Liu Xiaolou’s shoulders and shaking him vigorously, causing Liu Xiaolou to vomit several mouthfuls of sour river water before he finally stopped.

Liu Xiaolou gasped out: “Did we kill him?”

Wei Hongqing smiled: “How could we leave him alive?”

Liu Xiaolou pointed at the corpse: “My array plate...”

Zuo Gaofeng, already searching the body, casually tossed the Linjian Xuanshi Array Plate toward him. Liu Xiaolou caught it, stroked it for a moment, and his heart finally relaxed—after all the effort he’d poured into forging it, it was finally back!

Wei Hongqing was examining the Lidisanyuan Rope, murmuring as he did: “Xiaolou, was this the rope that bound you just now? Why doesn’t it show any spiritual vitality?”

Liu Xiaolou looked at his hand—the Lidisanyuan Rope had shrunk to a slender cord, about a foot long, limp and resting on Wei Hongqing’s palm. As soon as his gaze fell upon it, a sense of connection stirred within him—as if the rope and he shared an unspoken bond. The rope leapt from Wei Hongqing’s palm, coiled around Liu Xiaolou’s wrist, and sank beneath his skin, appearing like a faint blue vein.

“Oh! A treasure!” Wei Hongqing exclaimed.

A treasure that could recognize its master was undoubtedly a fine one; it must have bonded with Liu Xiaolou because its original master, Hou Sheng, was dead, and because Liu Xiaolou had previously mingled his true qi with the rope.

Liu Xiaolou was also deeply delighted. The Lidisanyuan Rope could drain an enemy’s true qi—he had suffered its effects firsthand. He had heard Hou Sheng mention that Hou Sheng dared to come alone to capture Xingde Jun precisely because he possessed this spiritual rope; its power was self-evident.

Artifacts that harmonize with their master’s meridians are exceedingly rare. Among all the magic treasures Liu Xiaolou owned—including Mili Xiangjin, Sanxuan Sword, and the Linjian Xuanshi Array—none had ever bonded with his meridians.

In the instant the rope bonded with him, a flash of insight flowed through it, revealing its full function: hundreds of acupoint shadows lined the rope, each corresponding precisely to a human acupoint. The more acupoints he had opened, the more shadows on the rope would glow, allowing him to encircle an enemy’s opened acupoints. When all of an enemy’s opened acupoints were encircled, they could no longer transfer true qi through their meridians, leaving them helpless as the rope drained their energy.

In other words, the rope’s power was directly tied to Liu Xiaolou’s cultivation base—if he reached Qi Refining peak and opened all acupoints, the rope would bind anyone he targeted, one-on-one.

Of course, its power was limited to Qi Refining; after Foundation Establishment, cultivators focus on the dantian, not meridians or acupoints.

Having claimed this treasure, Liu Xiaolou felt he could not claim any of Hou Sheng’s other belongings. He now only hoped Hou Sheng had carried plenty of spirit stones, silver, or other magic treasures, so he could distribute them generously to his brothers who had risked their lives to help—this would ease his conscience, as was the custom of Wulong Mountain.

Hou Sheng, as an inner sect steward of Qingyu Sect, indeed carried many possessions: two magic treasures on his person—a peachwood sword and an iron square plaque—seven spirit stones, and a vial containing three Yangxin Pills, all fine items hard for ordinary cultivators to obtain.

Especially the peachwood sword and iron square plaque—both mid-grade, one offensive, one defensive, each with boundless utility. Had Hou Sheng not first inhaled the Mili Incense and then been ambushed, the outcome might have been uncertain.

Liu Xiaolou declined to take any of these fine items; they were to be divided among Wei Hongqing and the others.

Zuo Gaofeng was at Qi Refining eighth layer, the highest among them, but during the ambush on Hou Sheng, the greatest effort came from Wei Hongqing, who was only at Qi Refining sixth layer—solely due to his magic treasure. He had specifically borrowed a superior-grade Seven-Colored Flying Locust Stone from an inner sect member. Seizing the moment when Hou Sheng was dazed by the Mili Incense, he launched the locust stone first—it struck Hou Sheng squarely on the face. This stone was especially effective against cultivators who practiced soul arts, and Hou Sheng was instantly stunned, unable to even activate his techniques before the three of them closed in and killed him.

Therefore, Wei Hongqing had first pick.

Wei Hongqing, as an outer sect steward of Tianmu Mountain, held a status nearly official—he dared not choose the peachwood sword or iron square plaque, so he took the seven spirit stones and the vial of Yangxin Pills.

Zuo Gaofeng took the peachwood sword; Tan Ba received the iron square plaque. They could use these treasures themselves or sell them for spirit stones; mid-grade magic treasures like these could fetch at least fifteen or sixteen spirit stones on the black market—even at half price—equivalent to two years’ hard-earned harvest.

Besides these, Hou Sheng carried a few other items: three sect master tokens and a silver hairpin.

The three sect master tokens differed in appearance. One matched exactly the shape of Liu Xiaolou’s existing Sanxuan Gate and Zijí Gate tokens—both made of unknown black wood, inscribed with “Xingming Gate.” The other two were more refined: one carved from purple sandalwood, one forged from pure silver, inscribed with “Jiangsha Sect” and “Five Tiger Gang,” respectively.

Tan Ba asked curiously: “What use are these? Why did Hou carry them?”

Zuo Gaofeng said: “A few years ago, I heard of these sects—they’re all sects of our wandering cultivators. Xingming Gate is from Yue region; Jiangsha Sect and Five Tiger Gang seem to be from Huai River.”

Wei Hongqing pondered: “Hou Sheng is a Qingyu Sect investigator. These sects were probably destroyed by him. He kept the master tokens to record his achievements? Doesn’t matter—burn them.”

Liu Xiaolou reached out: “If you don’t want it, I’d like to keep the Xingming Gate token.”

Tan Ba teased him: “Whoever holds the token becomes sect master—so you want to be Xingming Gate’s master? Do you want the Five Tiger Gang token too? If not, give it to me—I can melt it down for five taels of silver.”

Thus, Liu Xiaolou received the Xingming Gate token; Tan Ba took the Five Tiger Gang token; the remaining purple sandalwood Jiangsha Sect token was left unclaimed.

The silver hairpin was also left untouched; Zuo Gaofeng crushed it underfoot and tossed it into the river.

Wei Hongqing lit a fire in the cave, burning Hou Sheng’s body and all his belongings into ashes, then scattered the remains into the Miluo River.

Wei Hongqing said: “Hou Sheng often leaves the mountain on investigations—he’s been known to stay away for four or five months. We have at least that long to erase all traces. Even if Qingyu Sect later senses something amiss, they’ll have no leads. Left and Eight Palm, if you plan to exchange the magic treasures for spirit stones, don’t rush now—be cautious during this time. Wait until the heat dies down.”

Both replied: “Understood.”

Wei Hongqing hesitated: “What about Lüyi Courtyard...”

Liu Xiaolou thought a moment: “No need to worry. Even if they go to Lüyi Courtyard, they’ll find nothing—it sees over a hundred guests daily. Who remembers what happened three or five months ago? Besides, Qing-jie knows nothing and won’t bring trouble upon herself.”

All nodded, yet none wished to speak further. Could they really kill everyone at Lüyi Courtyard? After all, the girls there—including Qing-jie—were, in a way, part of Wulong Mountain. Who hadn’t received their kindness?

Wulong Mountain heroes act, and once they act, they bear the risks. Who among us doesn’t have a debt? This is merely one more.

Now, the group carefully erased every remaining trace from the cave, then parted ways, each heading their own path.