The next place was still within the Taoyuan Mountain Range, about seven li from Xingde Mountain, in a gorge.
"To the northwest is Wulei Mountain, and to the southeast is Wangyue Mountain. This valley leads east, onto the main road to Dongting..." Standing at the mouth of the valley, Lord Xingde pointed to either side as he explained things to Liu Xiaolou.
As he spoke, several people came down from each of the two mountains, following the mountain paths eastward, preparing to leave Taoyuan. When they saw Lord Xingde and Liu Xiaolou, they asked, "Were you driven out by the Qingyu Sect too?"
Lord Xingde kept a cold face and said nothing, but Liu Xiaolou picked up the conversation. "Were all of you as well?"
With more people gathered, they began complaining one after another. "Damn it! May every last person in the Qingyu Sect die a miserable death!"
"How did we offend them? Why won't they let us scrape out a living here?"
"The Zhou family got robbed, but we didn't do it. After I heard about it, I did rush over, hoping to get a slice of the pie, but it had already been picked clean. I didn't make it in time. And now? I got none of the benefits, yet caught the fallout for nothing. What an unjust death!"
"Taoyuan won't let people live. Where else can we go?"
"Where else? Each back to his own hometown, I suppose."
"Brother, where is your immortal homeland? I'm not going back. There's no way to live if I return."
"Fine, you're more than welcome! I'm from Black Mountain. Brother, you can come to Black Mountain, and we can plot great things together..."
"Black Mountain?"
"North Cliff of Black Mountain."
"North Cliff? Do you know the Thousand-Faced Butcher?"
"Well now, after all that talking, we're actually family! Butcher Brother is my elder brother. Not by blood, but closer than a true brother..."
"Close my ass! Big Crotch, he's gone wild! Shoulder to shoulder, get him!"
"Hey... why are you attacking? Brothers, what's this supposed to mean? Ow..."
"Go back and ask that butcher! We'll beat you first to vent our anger, then drag you to North Cliff of Black Mountain to settle the score with him. Give my Sister back!"
At the mouth of the valley, flying swords flashed alongside long sabers, while water arrows danced with fireballs. In an instant, they were fighting in a chaotic stew.
Liu Xiaolou hastily pulled Lord Xingde away, and they soon slipped into the valley. Lord Xingde looked back as he sneered. "That bunch of Rogue cultivators!"
Liu Xiaolou rolled his eyes. Isn't that perfectly normal?
The valley was thick with trees and vines, making travel difficult. Liu Xiaolou led the way, hacking out a narrow path with his sword until they reached a field of scattered rocks.
Lord Xingde pointed at one large boulder. "Move it."
Once the boulder was moved aside, a narrow hole was revealed beneath it.
"What kind of mine is this?" Liu Xiaolou asked curiously.
"This isn't a mine. It's an ancient tomb." As Lord Xingde spoke, he leapt inside.
After descending into the underground chamber and lighting a firestarter, they found a tomb passage three zhang long before them. Following it inward, they came upon a stone chamber, in the center of which sat a stone coffin.
"When I discovered this place, all the burial objects had already been stolen. Even the bones were gone. Only the mercury inside this coffin remained. Perhaps the tomb robbers had no way to take it with them."
Liu Xiaolou leaned close to the coffin and saw it filled with a thick layer of silvery liquid. He dipped his sword into it, stirring faint ripples. It truly was mercury.
"I heard mercury could preserve a corpse and keep it from decaying. So it was true?"
"Indeed. But it requires an enormous amount of mercury. Ordinary people could never obtain so much. The owner of this tomb was likely a great hero and eminent scholar of one region in his day."
"So it's our bargain now."
"Mercury can preserve spiritual power, keeping it gathered rather than dispersed. It is indispensable in artifact refining. But remember: never use too much. The key lies in making it light, thin, and even. Most artifact refiners believe that the more they add, the better they can lock in true essence. In truth, that is mistaken. Add too much, and the magical artifact loses its nimbleness, leaving behind only dull clumsiness."
That was another secret of artifact refining. Liu Xiaolou hurriedly committed it to memory.
Lord Xingde took out a small bamboo tube and had Liu Xiaolou fill it with mercury from the stone coffin.
Afterward, the two gathered orpiment, saltpeter, and other materials from various mountains. By then, the sky had darkened.
Yet Lord Xingde had no intention of returning to the temple. Instead, under cover of night, he left Taoyuan with Liu Xiaolou and headed east. From time to time, they would veer off course into some desolate mountain wilderness or deep stream-filled ravine to gather what they needed.
He told Liu Xiaolou that the materials needed for artifact refining varied in a thousand ways, but some were required for the overwhelming majority of magical artifacts: the Five Metals and Eight Stones.
The Five Metals were gold, silver, copper, iron, and tin. The Eight Stones were cinnabar, orpiment, mica, azurite, sulfur, Rong salt, realgar, and saltpeter. Every metal and stone had different varieties and distinctions, with effects that differed as widely as heaven and earth. Whatever quality of material one used, the refined magical artifact would display corresponding traits.
Their quality had to be judged through color, hardness, weight, and impurity or purity, before finally being classified into the Five Elements.
And the essence of artifact refining was the refinement of the Five Elements.
They traveled as Lord Xingde spoke. Liu Xiaolou listened attentively and asked questions from time to time. Without realizing it, he had studied until dawn.
The path of artifact refining was broad and profound. Lord Xingde himself said that what he had taught was merely the art of formation plates within artifact refining. Even so, Liu Xiaolou's head swelled from the lesson. He knew the what, but not the why. This was not something that could be mastered overnight; he could only learn slowly, and learn again and again.
As he studied, Liu Xiaolou also came to understand Lord Xingde's painstaking intentions. Lord Xingde was passing on his family's secret artifact-refining methods, likely to repay a debt of gratitude. This delighted Liu Xiaolou greatly, and he became even more diligent in his learning.
Fortunately, the Three Xuan Sect's cultivation method included the art of refining Misty Incense Tendon. Liu Xiaolou had spent many years laboring over it, and many principles were interconnected. Thus, he absorbed the lessons swiftly, leaving an excellent impression on Lord Xingde.
Before they knew it, a vast expanse of blue-green waves appeared ahead. Dozens of fishing boats had raised their sails and cast nets across the water. They had reached Dongting Lake.
There was a large island at the heart of the lake, though it could not be seen from the shore because Dongting Lake was too vast. That unseen island was Jun Mountain, one of the world's blessed lands and the mountain gate of the Qingyu Sect. Liu Xiaolou gazed toward the center of the lake, filled with longing.
Following the lakeshore southward, they made a wide circuit before leaving the shore again. After traveling more than twenty li northwest, they saw a mountain manor with layered tiles and overlapping eaves.
Lord Xingde did not advance any farther. He led Liu Xiaolou into the nearby woods and took out dry provisions to fill their stomachs.
Liu Xiaolou asked, "Senior, were you watching that manor the whole time?"
Lord Xingde said, "This is the Zhou family manor."
Liu Xiaolou was surprised. "The family that was ransacked a few days ago? It doesn't seem as wealthy as the Zhang family manor in Xiangnan."
Lord Xingde said, "You mean Zhang Xianbai's Jinping Mountain Villa? The Zhou family manor has far deeper foundations than Jinping Mountain Villa, and the expert cultivators within it are beyond compare with those of Jinping Mountain Villa. Aside from Zhang Xianbai, Jinping Mountain Villa has no other capable figures. But in this generation of the Zhou family, there are three great experts. Two of them entered Foundation Establishment long ago and are inner disciples of the Qingyu Sect."
Liu Xiaolou glanced at Lord Xingde and tested the waters. "Senior's injuries, were they...?"
Lord Xingde nodded. "I was injured here."
Liu Xiaolou was overjoyed. "So Senior also received a Hero's Invitation! Or perhaps Senior was the one who sent it? I wonder, Senior and Old Boss Wang..."
Lord Xingde froze. "What Hero's Invitation? What Old Boss Wang?"
Seeing that he did not seem to be pretending, Liu Xiaolou quickly changed the subject. "Senior said the Zhou family had no good people. Why have we come here? Could it be that the Zhou family possesses some treasure for artifact refining? Does Senior wish to follow the example of those heroes from a few days ago... no, those thieves, and raid the manor once more?"
Lord Xingde shook his head. "This visit is merely along the way. My main purpose is still to gather materials nearby. But... since we are here, help me with something. Lure Lady Zhou Qi out of the manor."
Liu Xiaolou was stunned, then smiled. "So that's how it is. Rest assured, Senior, I'm rather skilled at this sort of thing. Does this Lady Zhou Qi possess cultivation? How high is it?"
Before you continue