Sect Master Token

Leaving Peach Blossom Spring, Liu Xiaolou reached Yangliu Bay halfway there and recalled what had happened a few months ago. He could not help but sigh.

Lu Zi'an, Ping Gu, Western Mountain Hermit—one on the verge of Foundation Establishment, one at Qi Refining Level 5, one at Qi Refining Layer 8. All had struggled along the path of cultivation for decades, only to fall short at the final step and become a mound of yellow earth. Was this their fate?

Then what was his own fate?

The Quze point on his Hand Jueyin Meridian suddenly throbbed violently, filling Liu Xiaolou with both delight and urgency.

He was delighted because the five spirit stones expended on refining the array plate had not gone to waste after all. Some of the spiritual power within had been converted into true essence, more or less, greatly helping him break through the Quze point. The point was about to open.

He was anxious because he needed to quickly find somewhere safe and stable to break through the acupoint barrier, lest someone disturb him.

The nearest place was naturally Ping Gu's old residence. Liu Xiaolou hurried over and climbed the wall into the courtyard. It had been abandoned for months and was already overgrown with weeds.

He casually found a room, went inside, immediately gripped Spirit Stones in his hands, converted true essence, sat cross-legged, and began assaulting the Quze point barrier.

After many days, at a certain moment, the Quze point barrier could no longer withstand the repeated impacts of true essence. The torrent of true essence crashed through it and flowed into the acupoint pool of the Quze point.

Of the nine major acupoints on the Hand Jueyin Meridian, he had now broken through three. It had taken half a year in all. By that measure, his cultivation speed was quite fast. The chief reason was that he had come into several small windfalls over the past year, while the Three Xuan Sect had only him to enjoy its Spirit Stones.

Of course, his little achievement could not compare with the disciples of those Renowned Great Sects. They never had to worry about spiritual power. They cultivated beside Spirit Springs, and their Qi Refining stage cultivation rose steadily, step by step. That was simply beyond envy.

Still, among Rogue Cultivators, an eighteen-year-old... ah, nineteen-year-old now, at Qi Refining third layer, ought to count as a rising talent. When Wei Hongqing was nineteen, he had only just entered Qi Refining third layer. Liu Xiaolou's progress was half a year faster than his!

In high spirits, Liu Xiaolou got up and took a little stroll around the courtyard. He remembered that he had arrived in a rush that day. When searching the residence, he had mainly been looking for people and had not focused on valuables. Perhaps if he searched again now, he might pick up a bargain.

After turning the place upside down, he really did find a small wooden box in a hidden compartment in the bedhead. Inside were several small silver ingots, totaling a little over twenty taels. A modest windfall.

Besides the silver ingots, there was also a thick stack of letters, all written by Lu Zi'an to Ping Gu. There were as many as thirteen. Liu Xiaolou flipped through them casually and found that they spanned over three years.

In the first few letters, Lu Zi'an's writing was full of teasing remarks, the contents mostly dwelling below the belt. It was clear that when he met Ping Gu and became involved with her, his mindset had chiefly been to satisfy his desires, with a side of novelty-seeking.

By the middle letters, his words gradually became more normal. They described how he had stepped forward to help Ping Gu resolve several troublesome matters, interspersed with occasional boasts. Ping Gu's replies were not in the box, but they were likely full of gratitude, which gave Lu Zi'an a strong sense of accomplishment.

Lu Zi'an also gradually began recounting major events in his own life. In particular, in the last few letters, he told Ping Gu that Tianmu Mountain would be selecting inner disciples. He had a great chance of entering the inner sect, receiving a Foundation Establishment Pill, and joining the ranks of Foundation Establishment cultivators. When that time came, he would surely do this and that...

In the second-to-last letter, Lu Zi'an was deeply uneasy. He said that his cultivation ranked among the best in the outer sect and that he had originally been the most favored candidate. Yet in recent months, several small incidents had occurred one after another, causing his standing in the eyes of the sect elders to plummet. The sect generally favored another female disciple named Lu Yan clan, and he suspected that Lu Yan clan had likely been behind those incidents.

In the final letter, Lu Zi'an cursed Lu Yan clan viciously, saying she would stop at nothing and was a black-hearted wife. He even compared her to a venomous spider called a black widow, saying she was worthy of the name and must have transformed from such poison in a previous life!

He further claimed that Lu Yan clan was wanton and promiscuous, pleasing men with her looks. Such-and-such sect elder and such-and-such disciple had become her patrons only because she had slept with them. Outside the sect, she even kept bandits and pretty boys, sending them scurrying about before her bed curtains and the like.

At the end of the letter, he said he would take Ping Gu thousands of miles away to begin a new life, and told her not to worry. He knew of an ancient immortal's cave dwelling somewhere in Bashu, knew its approximate location, and planned to take Ping Gu there to search for it. From then on, they would cultivate the great Dao, fly together like paired birds, and soar straight into the blue clouds.

After reading them, Liu Xiaolou was filled with emotion. He truly had not expected the theft of Tianmu Mountain's Foundation Establishment Pill to have happened for such a reason.

After some thought, he put the letters back into the wooden box and stored it away, intending to find an opportunity to give it to Wei Hongqing so that he could read it himself.

From his own perspective, Lu Zi'an had described quite a few people and events of Tianmu Mountain in the letters. Wei Hongqing was now attached to the Lu Clan of Tianmu Mountain. Liu Xiaolou did not know whether he had fulfilled his wish of becoming an outer sect disciple of Tianmu Mountain, but learning more of Tianmu Mountain's inner affairs should benefit him.

Several slabs of cured meat still hung from the beam in the kitchen. Liu Xiaolou helped himself without ceremony and filled his stomach.

As he ate, he thought of Lord Xingde's gift. Having just witnessed a secret scandal, his curiosity had been stirred, and he could no longer endure it. In the end, he failed to keep his promise and unsealed the wooden box.

There were only two items in the box. One was a Daoist book, made of thick mulberry-bark paper. Its title was Qianji Fang. It summarized eighteen categories of materials used in refining array plates. For every category, it described several major specific materials in detail, using them as examples to explain which other materials shared the same properties and could substitute for one another.

This Daoist book was clearly not a copy—or at least, not one copied in recent months. It looked quite old.

Beneath Qianji Fang lay a sandalwood Wooden Tablet. Engraved on its front were the three words "Purple Extreme Sect Token," while its back bore the sect precepts of the founding patriarch, Shen Wulu:

If one neglects scriptures and teachings, borrowing external tools, how can one attain the Dao? A person is the Dao; hold to the one without wavering. If one seeks only implements, it is like living at home all one's life, never once going out or coming in—one cannot see the Dao!

These words were likely meant to admonish later disciples not to rely solely on artifact refining to cultivate the Dao. Scriptures and teachings were important as well.

A secret manual of the Purple Extreme Sect, and a sect token—what did this mean?

Thinking back on the months he had spent with Lord Xingde, then recalling every detail of Lord Xingde's guidance while he refined the array plate, Liu Xiaolou roughly understood. Was Lord Xingde intending to pass the Purple Extreme Sect's legacy on to him?

He took out his own Three Xuan Sect Master Token and placed it beside the Purple Extreme Sect Master Token. The two tokens were very similar, both ancient with age. Turning them over and rubbing them, he could not help but give a bitter smile.

Considering that he had saved Lord Xingde's life, Liu Xiaolou did not think Lord Xingde's act was inappropriate. But Liu Xiaolou was already the Sect Leader of the Three Xuan Sect; what kind of business was it for him to become the Sect Leader of the Purple Extreme Sect as well?

Then he suddenly remembered: Lord Xingde was willing to give him even the position of Sect Leader, so why had he not wanted Liu Xiaolou to remain at Xingde Temple?

Liu Xiaolou abruptly realized it. Lord Xingde was leaving—and fleeing!

Why flee?

Naturally, to elope!