Lord Xingde refused to admit defeat, so he continued to wage a battle of wits and courage against the Three Heroes of Ink Mountain along the way. Relying on his cultivation, far surpassing that of the Three Heroes, he repeatedly swept them into his formations. Yet whenever he tried to give them a vicious beating, he could never manage it. Every time, the Three Heroes escaped, followed by ever more varied harassment and even more unbearable abuse.
Liu Xiaolou also tried to improve the situation, but the Three Heroes' tactic was difficult to counter. They were especially careful to keep their distance, making them truly hard to lay hands on. After several days, everyone was exhausted.
Lord Xingde was helpless as well. He complained to Liu Xiaolou, "Why do these three dog-skin plasters not know what's good for them? Why do they cling on without letting go? You and I are already a hundred li from Ink Mountain. Why are they still following us? What great hatred, what deep grievance is this?"
Liu Xiaolou explained the Three Heroes of Ink Mountain's motives. "They do not bear a grudge against us. By doing this, they are drawing a line for us, telling us that this line absolutely cannot be crossed."
Lord Xingde said indignantly, "They do not have the ability, yet they dare draw some line? They do not know their own weight!"
Liu Xiaolou said, "But this is their ability... Senior, how about this junior goes and speaks with them?"
Lord Xingde flicked his sleeve. "Speak about what? I do not know what there is to discuss."
Watching his retreating back, Liu Xiaolou called out, "Where is Senior going?"
Without looking back, Lord Xingde replied, "My head hurts. I'm finding a quiet place to rest for a while. Do not disturb me."
After he left, Liu Xiaolou climbed a nearby rise and looked around. Dusk had come again. The Three Heroes of Ink Mountain would most likely begin tonight's harassment soon.
After watching for a while, he indeed spotted the three brothers. They were poking their heads around as they crept this way, so Liu Xiaolou descended the rise and went out to meet them.
"Three... three brothers..."
The Three Heroes of Ink Mountain stopped far away. Tian Ying stood where he was and met Liu Xiaolou's gaze, while Di Ying and Ren Ying spread out to either side, searching for Lord Xingde's whereabouts.
Liu Xiaolou gave a dry cough. "Ahem... Stop looking. I wish to speak with you three brothers. If we continue tangling with each other like this, it will not do in the end."
Tian Ying asked, "You will speak? What about him?"
Liu Xiaolou said, "That senior of mine comes from an orthodox sect. He certainly will not come forward to negotiate."
Tian Ying sneered. "An orthodox sect? If we three brothers were afraid, we would not need to keep muddling through in the martial world!"
Liu Xiaolou nodded. "You three brothers are highly capable. I admire you greatly. Indeed, there is no need for you to fear."
Tian Ying said, "Actually, there is nothing much to discuss. You took a piece of Mystic Stone, did you not? Pay us one spirit stone, and that will do. We three brothers are most reasonable. We will not ask for more. What we seek is not a spirit stone, but justice!"
Liu Xiaolou shook his head. "One stone for one spirit stone? Absolutely impossible!"
Tian Ying said, "Impossible? Perhaps in a few more days, it will become possible."
Liu Xiaolou said, "My senior is considering returning to Ink Mountain and destroying that cold pool. It would not be difficult, really. Dig a ditch and drain the pool dry. Then wait by the pool for half a month and turn over and sun-dry the mud at the bottom for several days. That would ensure it could not recover for ten years."
Tian Ying's heart skipped a beat. He looked at his two brothers, whose expressions were equally ugly as they stared fixedly at Liu Xiaolou.
"If you truly do that, then you will become the mortal enemies of us three brothers!"
"If you three brothers keep making trouble like this, what difference does it make whether we are mortal enemies or not?"
The three brothers looked at each other for a moment. Tian Ying said, "How do you wish to negotiate?"
Liu Xiaolou said, "We did not bring spirit stones with us on this trip. Did we not take a piece of Mystic Stone? We are willing to compensate you with silver. I have a piece of fine jade here. I asked some friends on the road, and it is worth at least fifty taels of silver. That is enough for you three brothers to build a few rooms beside the pool, allowing the sect or gang you establish to steadily strengthen its foundation step by step and flourish far and wide."
Tian Ying said, "Fifty taels of silver? Are you telling a joke? Do you think we Three Heroes of Ink Mountain lack these fifty taels of silver?"
Liu Xiaolou said, "I also believe you three brothers do not lack it. What you lack is recognition. I am Liu Xiaolou, Sect Master of the Three Xuan Sect, and that senior is the Sect Leader of the Purple Extreme Sect. Our two sects recognize your three brothers' authority to govern Ink Mountain's cold pool. On the condition that, when our two sects come to Ink Mountain to purchase Mystic Stones and Spring Essence Jade in the future, we settle the accounts in silver. For example, fifty taels of silver for one Mystic Stone. What do you three think?"
Tian Ying considered it, then asked, "You say you are the Sect Master of the Three Xuan Sect?"
Liu Xiaolou took out a Sect Master token and displayed it before the three brothers. The token had a yellowed hue and looked quite old. It was certainly not something newly carved for the occasion.
The three brothers' gazes drifted as they tangled fiercely in the air, anxious and conflicted. At last, they reached a decision. "Deal!"
Tian Ying accepted the fine jade, then said, "Sect Master Liu seems to be one of our kind. May I ask where your honored sect's immortal homeland lies?"
Liu Xiaolou cupped his hands. "My humble sect is based at Wulong Mountain in western Hunan. When you three brothers have the time, you may visit Wulong Mountain. Liu will sweep his couch and await you!"
The three brothers immediately regarded him with solemn respect. "So you are fellow cultivators from Wulong Mountain. Forgive our discourtesy, forgive our discourtesy!"
The Three Heroes of Ink Mountain took their leave. Even after departing, they continued discussing matters in low voices.
"So they are from Wulong Mountain. No wonder..."
"Our big brother was wise. If we had truly fallen out with them, those fellows from Wulong Mountain would not have been easy to provoke."
"Do not even mention those thieving bastards from Wulong Mountain. That Liu fellow's rotten idea would have been hard enough to deal with. If they truly dug the cold pool up by its roots, what would we do then?"
"Big brother, Sect Master Liu just invited us to Wulong Mountain as guests. Should we go?"
"Are you stupid? Once you get stuck to those people from Wulong Mountain, you cannot shake them off. Better to respect them from afar. Still, this Sect Master Liu is not bad. His Three Xuan Sect is the first to acknowledge that we are the masters of Ink Mountain. With this one move, we brothers have gained enormously..."
"Second Brother, should we establish a sect too?"
"That depends on our big brother's wishes."
"Hm, let this brother ponder it..."
Liu Xiaolou watched the Three Heroes of Ink Mountain leave. At some unknown moment, Lord Xingde appeared behind him and spat bitterly. "Three dog thieves!"
Liu Xiaolou informed Lord Xingde of the results of the negotiation. Lord Xingde remained angry. "They truly got off too cheaply!"
But matters had reached this point, and Lord Xingde had no good way to shake off those three dog-skin plasters. He could only accept it. "This time down the mountain, we have gathered the materials. Return to the mountain."
Once they returned to Xingde Temple, the two did not delay and immediately began processing the materials.
They had spent more than a month down the mountain and gathered seventeen kinds of materials, all of which now had to be prepared. For example, they crushed chicken-blood stone into powder to extract cinnabar; baked toad skins into powder; mixed Mystic Stone with gold, silver, and other materials before refining them into Profound Gold Liquid; sealed mercury inside Spring Essence Jade...
For every step, Lord Xingde gave instructions at the side while Liu Xiaolou personally carried them out. Lord Xingde also carefully explained the obscure phrases in the formation manual whose meanings Liu Xiaolou did not understand.
In addition, he cut off a small section of his own Misty Incense Tendon, intending to add it to the formation as one of its trump cards.
A full month passed. With all the materials prepared, Liu Xiaolou's path of refining formation disks finally entered the proper track.
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