Lord Xingde

Liu Xiaolou exited the east side hall and went to the front of the main hall. He leaped onto the eaves and searched several beams and pillars beneath them, successfully finding the key to the main hall.

He opened the main hall, and the first thing he saw was the statue, about ten feet tall. The statue wore a tall crown and looked down at Liu Xiaolou from its high position, causing Liu Xiaolou to fall into deep thought and a daze once again.

Looking at the couplets on the sides, they read: "Retribution is like an echo; heaven does not send down disasters without cause. Fear comes from self-cultivation; man has a life that can be extended."

The horizontal inscription on the plaque read: "Illuminating the Dark and Penetrating the Subtle."

Liu Xiaolou seemed to understand, pondered for a moment, but then became confused again, unable to make sense of it.

He walked around the statue, and the great hall was very simple. Apart from the statue, the offering table, and a few prayer mats, there was nothing else.

Liu Xiaolou searched behind the statue and under the offering table but didn't find anything good. He then closed the door and left, opening the west side hall using the same method.

The west side hall had only two rooms. One large room occupied two-thirds of the space and contained a stove, a cupboard, firewood, a rice bin, and wooden buckets. A string of smoked cured meat hung on the wall, and besides that, there were various sundries like brooms and buckets piled up.

The other, smaller room was a bedroom with a small bed. The cabinet against the wall was empty. Liu Xiaolou guessed it was where the servants lived. This room was covered in a thick layer of dust, clearly indicating that no one had lived there for a long time.

Judging by this, the severely injured Handsome Bearded Gentleman should be the owner of the Taoist temple—Lord Xingde.

Returning to the east side hall, the Handsome Bearded Gentleman was still in a deep sleep, only coughing occasionally.

Liu Xiaolou entered the room on the right. Several layers of shelves were built against the wall, holding furnaces of various sizes, all sorts of knives, strangely shaped wooden blocks, and ores of different colors.

In the center stood a furnace rack. At the bottom of the rack was a circular copper lid, flush with the ground. When he pried up this copper lid, a fire pit suddenly appeared below. The heat that rushed out almost singed Liu Xiaolou's eyebrows and hair.

The copper lid was an inch thick and had the ability to insulate fire. The bottom was inscribed with four characters—Nine Star Earth Fire.

Could this be the legendary subterranean fire that could be used for refining elixirs and artifacts?

Liu Xiaolou curiously approached the fire pit, attempting to investigate the Nine Star Earth Fire. He imagined how this earth fire ascended from the bottom of the mountain straight to the summit, but after thinking for a long time, he couldn't grasp the essence of it. He re-placed the copper lid, covering the fire pit.

Whether it was the furnaces, the knives, or the wood, they were all ordinary objects without any spiritual energy. As for the ores of different colors, Liu Xiaolou didn't recognize any of them and didn't sense anything unusual, which disappointed him greatly.

This artifact refiner was also a pauper. All his possessions were the odds and ends by his pillow, not even as good as his own. It seemed he wasn't doing very well, indicating his artifact refining skills were limited.

He was introduced by Wei Hongqing, so it should be within his capabilities to refine a simple formation disk. Liu Xiaolou decided to help this Lord Xingde. He would spend a few days taking care of him, and when he recovered, he would refine a formation disk for him. Surely, he wouldn't have the nerve to charge him then, would he?

With his mind made up, Liu Xiaolou stopped wandering around. He went to the Handsome Bearded Gentleman's bedside and called out, "Lord Xingde? Senior Xingde?"

The Handsome Bearded Gentleman was roused from his stupor by his call. He grunted, then closed his eyelids again, murmuring, "Water... water..."

Liu Xiaolou had woken him to confirm if he was Lord Xingde. After receiving his reply and confirming his identity, he began to provide aid.

He fetched a bowl of water and poured it down his throat. Then, he felt his pulse at his wrist. It seemed to have calmed down slightly compared to when he was in the wind and snow. However, when he tried to further probe his heart, lungs, and meridians, he felt a strong backlash of true essence, which caused his own true essence to surge.

At least Qi Refining level eight or above? Liu Xiaolou felt a surge of respect.

The backlash of true essence indicated that although the injury was severe, it was not fatal. It only needed to be treated slowly.

He went to the west side hall, took rice from the rice bin, washed it, started a fire, added water, and cooked a thick pot of porridge. He took a bowl of rice soup from the top, went over, helped Lord Xingde up, and poured it into him.

Returning to the kitchen, he took half a strip of cured meat from the wall, sliced it, put it in a wooden bowl, and steamed it. When he opened the pot lid, the aroma of the meat was enticing, making his mouth water.

After eating the most delicious meal since coming up the mountain, Liu Xiaolou continued his cultivation. However, his cultivation spot was no longer under the eaves but had officially moved into the artifact refining room.

The heavy snow had fallen all night. By the time of Chenshi the next day, it finally stopped. Liu Xiaolou pushed open the door and went to the edge of the cliff to gaze at the mountains.

Countless mountain peaks were covered in pristine white snow, shimmering with golden light in the morning glow. It was truly a breathtaking sight.

For the next few days, Liu Xiaolou continued to take care of Lord Xingde. He began adding some oil to the rice soup he gave him, then gradually increased the portions of rice porridge, wild vegetables, and chopped cured meat.

The only annoyance was helping Lord Xingde with bowel movements. He was busy fetching the chamber pot, helping him to sit up, and making encouraging noises, keeping him occupied.

On the evening of the third day, he even helped Lord Xingde with a major bowel movement. He hastily tore two pages of yellow paper from the shelf in the artifact refining room and personally cleaned up after him.

After helping Lord Xingde lie down, Liu Xiaolou couldn't help but mutter, "Lord Xingde, Senior, I never served my master to this extent back then. You must be grateful! Get well soon and repay me handsomely!"

Lord Xingde's snoring grew louder, and he slept soundly, seemingly not having heard him.

Shaking his head, Liu Xiaolou returned to his room to continue cultivating. Around midnight, he felt a slight loosening in the blockage of his Quchi acupoint. He suppressed the joy in his heart and was about to accumulate true essence to increase the impact when he suddenly felt something amiss. Opening his eyes, he saw a figure leaning against the doorway in the dim lamplight. It was Lord Xingde.

Blinking his eyes, Liu Xiaolou exclaimed with joy, "Senior, you're awake?"

Lord Xingde stared at Liu Xiaolou for a moment and asked, "Boy, who are you?"

Liu Xiaolou replied, "Senior, don't you remember? You were injured and fell on the mountain road. I brought you back."

Lord Xingde said, "I know... I'm asking, who are you?"

Liu Xiaolou said, "Junior admires Senior's reputation for artifact refining and specifically came to seek an audience, only to request a formation disk."

Lord Xingde waved his hand, "You leave!"

Liu Xiaolou was speechless, "..."

Lord Xingde urged, "Leave!"

Liu Xiaolou blinked, "No... Senior, you're injured! Junior stayed to take care of you!"

Lord Xingde said coldly, "No need!"

Liu Xiaolou got angry, "Without me, you would have died long ago! I saved your life, and this is how you thank me? Huh?"

Lord Xingde threw a small bundle at him, "Take this gold, jade, and spirit stones, and leave!"

Liu Xiaolou was furious, "Who do you think I am? Do I come for these things? Is your life only worth a few spirit stones and a bit of gold?"

Lord Xingde was very impatient and was about to say something else when he suddenly broke into a violent coughing fit, unable to stop. He bent over.

Liu Xiaolou sneered, "Just cough yourself to death then! You old, unmannered fool! I, from Wulong Mountain, know that a drop of kindness should be repaid with a gushing spring. Yet you, old fool, don't know this and are so rude..."

As he was scolding, he saw Lord Xingde unable to hold on, coughing and collapsing on the ground, with blood seeping from the corner of his mouth again. Only then did he grudgingly stop his scolding, went over, lifted Lord Xingde, and threw him back onto the bed.

Lord Xingde finally stopped coughing, gasping for breath, and said, "Heart Nurturing Pill... buy a Heart Nurturing Pill..."