Gathered together, the heroes were quite warm and animated. All cultivated in the Jing-Xiang region; though they had not met often, they were Rogue Cultivators after all, and naturally felt a sense of kinship. They exchanged news of their recent lives, each spoke of what they had heard, and the conversation was exceedingly lively.
Liu Xiaolou knew very few people. He was young as well, so he did not rashly interrupt, only listened in silence. This was his first time attending a gathering of heroes, and it truly broadened his horizons. He heard no small number of interesting tales from the cultivation world.
After talking for a long while, the heroes began denouncing the Zhang family of Jinping Mountain for their many evil deeds.
The Rogue Cultivators had been bullied far too harshly by the famous orthodox sects, and quite a few had suffered grievous losses at the Zhang family's hands. Either spirit stones they had won through luck in a gamble were confiscated, or Spiritual Materials they had extorted through clever schemes were forcibly reclaimed, or spiritual pills they had seized with their cultivation were snatched back. The Zhang family truly left the Rogue Cultivators no way to live. For a time, everyone was filled with righteous indignation.
Liu Xiaolou felt the same way as he listened, and he too burned with indignation.
Thus they waited until dawn approached, and everyone turned their eyes toward the Zhang family manor in the Mountain Hollow, awaiting Old Boss Wang's command.
The lights elsewhere in the manor had dimmed somewhat, but the courtyard at its center remained brightly lit. It was Zhang Xianbai's mourning hall; Zhang Xianbai had once been prominent throughout Xiangnan. Everything was as usual, showing that the Zhang family remained wholly unguarded.
After waiting a little longer, a letter adorned with twin tails suddenly rose from the valley and burst into flames in the night sky, illuminating the mountains in an instant.
A Hero's Invitation!
Dai Shenggao rose to his full height and shouted, "Gentlemen, charge the manor with me!" His body sprang up, and he leaped from the cliff.
The heroes charged after him, each employing their own methods. Some climbed vines, some stepped upon mountain rock, and all swiftly descended to the cliff bottom.
Liu Xiaolou also slid down the vine he had prepared earlier and leaped downward. The cliff was more than ten zhang high, yet he reached the bottom before long. At this moment, his mind was free of all distractions. There was only the Zhang family manor ahead of him!
How much he could take depended entirely on himself!
From the forests of Sifang Mountain, more than a hundred figures sprang out at once and shot toward the Zhang family manor on the mountain flat at the center. Some were nimble and agile, some swift as rushing thunder, some graceful as startled swans, some like fierce tigers descending the mountain!
One Hero's Invitation had gathered more than half the heroes of Xiangnan and western Hunan.
As he ran, Liu Xiaolou took a black scarf from his robes, put on a bamboo hat, and covered his face. He exerted force beneath his feet and sped up further. But no matter how fast he was, he was only a young man newly out of his master's gate, unable to match the Heroes of Wulong Mountain. These seniors likewise had black scarves over their faces; some wore bamboo hats, some soft caps, with even their topknots tightly concealed. Like madmen, they rushed toward the manor.
They had starved in the mountains for too long. If they did not gamble everything now, then when would they?
Such a commotion naturally alarmed the Zhang clansmen within the manor. Although Zhang Xianbai was dead, the clan still possessed many skilled cultivators. If Old Boss Wang had not used the Hero's Invitation to summon heroes from every side here, few would have dared stroke the Zhang family's tiger whiskers.
A bronze gong immediately rang out within the manor, and someone shouted, "Where did these petty thieves come from? Are you looking to die?"
Countless green vines suddenly emerged from the earth surrounding the manor. The densely packed vines entwined with one another and rapidly grew upward, forming an ever-higher wall of vines—one foot, three feet, five feet...
At the same time, some of the vines had already flowered and borne fruit. The fruits burst apart, firing scattered arrows like shooting stars!
Attacked at night, the manor activated its immensely costly yet supremely protective manor-guarding formation!
They had to stop the formation from taking shape. Otherwise, charging inside afterward would be more than several times as difficult.
Dai Shenggao, charging at the front, was the first to strike. Stream after stream of radiance flew toward the growing, spreading vine wall, igniting blossoms of flame upon it. Unfortunately, the effect was poor, barely better than nothing.
The heroes raised shields, iron hammers, blades, and poleaxes, blocking the swiftly flying arrows. Yet the arrows launched by the manor's protective formation carried tremendous force, often exploding into meteor-like flames. The heroes' various protective spells shattered at a touch, achieving little effect.
Liu Xiaolou's cultivation was weak, and he had fallen to the rear. He too drew the Three Xuan Sword bestowed by his master and spun sword flowers above his head. Those sword flowers were nothing more than psychological comfort. Fortunately, the arrows remained sparse, and the heroes ahead shielded him. Not a single arrow was aimed at him. If he were truly struck by such a powerful arrow formation, he absolutely could not block it.
At the same time, heroes from the Donghe River, the Pai Sect, the Yunshan Gang, and even Xiangnan itself came charging from every direction. Flames of every color bloomed across the vine wall, all manner of magical artifacts wheeled and crossed in the night sky, and countless shouts rose one after another:
"Brothers, charge!"
"Rush into the manor and take whatever you need!"
"Jinping Mountain Villa is richer than all Xiangnan; there are over a hundred spirit stones piled in its storehouses..."
"And there are Foundation Establishment Pills from the Dongyang Sect!"
"Is that true?"
"Whoever grabs it first keeps it! Old Boss Wang takes no cut!"
"Damn formation..."
"Ah! I've been hit by an arrow! Who'll give this brother a hand?"
"Damn it, you hit me..."
"Heroes of our Pai Sect..."
"You fool, stop yelling nonsense!"
The Pai Sect had many members and many experts among them. Two great experts at the Qi Refining tenth layer even led the charge, reaching the vine wall from the east first. Yet the wall had already grown over a zhang high, blocking their way. When they leaped upward, several were shot down by the increasingly dense arrows. For a time, wails and cries filled the air without end.
Suddenly, radiance blazed forth, and the mountains became bright as day. Liu Xiaolou was dazzled into instinctively closing his eyes, and his steps slowed as well.
Several breaths later, a thunderous boom reached his ears, shaking him until his head spun and his vision blurred. He nearly fell.
After another moment, everything finally returned to normal. When he opened his eyes, darkness had returned, somehow even deeper than before. He could not see his hand before his face.
Yet even more frenzied shouts came to his ears:
"The formation's broken! The formation's broken!"
"Old Boss Wang has marvelous methods!"
"Kill! The Zhang family monopolized Jinping Mountain and left the brothers no path to cultivate. Today, rob the bastards!"
"Charge for the mourning hall! Open the coffin and take the burial goods..."
"Is a coffin so easy to open? Fool! Find the Great Storehouse!"
"Shut up! You're the fool!"
"Where is the Great Storehouse? Who knows where it is?"
"Stop shouting nonsense! Follow me!"
"This target is tough, brothers, come over here..."
"Help! Hurry and give us a hand!"
Those who charged at the front naturally faced greater risks, but they also gained more. Those lagging behind were safer, yet could easily make the trip for nothing. How one weighed these two sides depended on one's own choice.
Liu Xiaolou's cultivation was too low. The method that had broken the manor had just left him stunned, and by the time he finally recovered, there was no choice to speak of—he had already fallen behind. He hurriedly followed the sounds and charged into the manor as well.
A great fire was already burning within. Guided by its light, Liu Xiaolou found where the formation had been broken: a gap more than two zhang wide. The damaged vine walls on either side were still writhing and growing, trying to seal the breach, but a layer of violet-white phosphorescence clinging to them stopped them. However much they grew, it burned away.
Such methods were beyond Liu Xiaolou's understanding. Only Old Boss Wang could have created such a spectacle, and this was also what Old Boss Wang had relied upon when sending Hero's Invitations far and wide.
Firelight flared throughout the manor. Figures darted everywhere, the clashing of magical artifacts, the release of spells, and the collapse of houses rising and falling without pause, leaving one dizzy and dazed.