Taking a Master and Foundation Establishment

Cultivation was the most mysterious of things. No matter what happened, it could be understood. At the very least, Liu Xiaolou now knew that he had entered a state of mental obstruction—the "Qi Deviation" Dongfang Yuying had spoken of.

A mild Qi Deviation.

He had entered this state rather early. Whether that was good or bad was hard to say. But no matter what, he decided to greet his first Qi Deviation with a positive mindset.

When he returned to the mountain, Zhou Tong, who had been away for half a year, had come back as well. Brimming with excitement, he told Liu Xiaolou about accompanying Uncle Zhou on investigations, recounting all the hair-raising, soul-stirring tales along the way. Liu Xiaolou listened in a daze for quite some time. Back then, he himself had been one of the bandits Zhou Tong spoke of being hunted down and captured.

After this trip, Zhou Tong's most noticeable change was that he had broken through to Qi Refining Level 5 and cultivated all the way to the end of that level. Having entered mid Qi Refining, he naturally ought to replace his magic artifacts if circumstances allowed. But Seventh Mistress Zhou's family had vast resources, and Steward Zhou, who had taken him along on the investigations, was no stingy man. He had already given Zhou Tong two mid-grade artifacts for protection—a fork and a shield, both top-quality among mid-grade artifacts, enough to see him through Qi Refining Perfection.

As his uncle-in-law, Lord Xingde naturally had not forgotten about inheritance either. He had long ago prepared a mid-grade artifact furnace for him, capable of both artifact refining and Pill Refining.

As Sect Leader, Liu Xiaolou was even less likely to be miserly. He had wanted to give him a high-grade artifact, but Zhou Tong