Life as a Rogue Cultivator

Chapter 318: Sword Forge

So this little island is called Nanjian. It’s part of the Ten Thousand Mountains Archipelago, but it’s way down south, pretty far out to sea. We’re talking a good hundred li from shore.The island itself is tiny. Its highest point lay on the northern side, rising a little over hundred feet above the water. The peak is only big enough for two people to stand on, and from there you can see everything for miles around.

On the eastern side stands a cluster of reefs that block the wind and rain coming in from the east. Behind the reefs is a low-lying hollow, and standing there all by itself is a small stone hut. This is where Su Jing has built his hermitage.

Liu Xiaolou had never really gone out to sea, so he didn’t get what was so great about this hermitage. Seeing the stone house built right there, he found it a bit odd. Wouldn’t it just end up soaked by seawater?

When they got up close to the stone hut, sure enough, whipped up by the howling wind and pouring rain, waves surged one after another into the low-lying area, flooding into the hermitage and churning into swirling currents that echoed with a deafening roar.

The hermitage was built by stacking stones, but under the relentless pounding of wave after wave, it looked like it could collapse at any moment.

Su Jing formed a hand seal, and a streak of sword light shot toward the hut, planting itself in front of the door. Most of the blade was swallowed by the waves. it was the Tidewatching Sword he had honed through years of hard work.

He muttered, “Open!” Instantly, the waves seemed to obey, pulling back rapidly from the sword at the center. A patch of rocky reef and shallow ground, several dozen feet across, appeared. A few crabs and shrimp scuttled into holes in the rocks, while some fish flopped and thrashed, struggling desperately.

This hermitage was also where Lin Twin Fish went into seclusion. Long before Su Jing joined the sect, she'd often come here to cultivate, so scenes like this were nothing new to her. She casually scooped up the few sea fish, then reached into a couple of stone crevices with an open-handed grab, instantly pulling out the shrimp and crabs hiding inside. Grinning with delight, she circled around to a reef behind the hut and started scaling the fish and shelling the crabs.

Su Jing grabbed Liu Xiaolou and pulled him toward the hermitage. He sat down on the reef slab by the door. “Brother-in-law, come on!”

Liu Xiaolou leaned forward and peeked inside the dim hermitage. It was tiny, with a narrow stone bed taking up most of the space. Aside from a straw hat hanging on the wall and a few bundles, there was nothing else inside.

They always said that most sword cultivators lived hard, austere lives. Seeing this, it seemed the rumors were true.

He also picked a clean spot on the reef in front of the hermitage and sat down, then looked around. The flying sword planted before the door was faintly vibrating, releasing a powerful aura in all directions. Amid a soft hum, it propped up a clear, tranquil barrier, shielding the hermitage beneath it. No matter how fierce the wind and rain were outside, they could not break into this space.

Wave after wave crashed in, but all of them were stopped three zhang away by that unseen force, shattering into countless sprays of foam that bloomed around the hermitage like flowers.

“Thirteen, how many years has it been since you achieved Foundation Establishment?” Liu Xiaolou asked. When he asked the question, there was a trace of bitterness in him. Deep down, he'd already admitted that the brother-in-law he had once taken down with a single casual move now possessed far deeper cultivation than his own. And on top of that, he was a sword cultivator... the kind whose attacks were known for their devastating ferocity.

“Two winters ago,” Su Jing replied. “I was on Beijian Island then. After I formed my foundation, I moved to Nanjian Island. It’s farther out to sea here, and the tides are stronger.”

He did not ask when Liu Xiaolou had reached Foundation Establishment. In his eyes, his brother-in-law reaching that stage was only natural. There was no need to ask such an obvious question.

That flicker of resentment faded almost at once. Liu Xiaolou was genuinely happy for him. He nodded and said warmly, “Thirteen, you’ve grown up. You’re stronger than your brother-in-law now. I’m proud of you.”

Su Jing said, “How could that be? I know what my brother-in-law is capable of…”

“What capabilities?” Lin Twin Fish cut in. She had already finished cleaning the fish, shrimp, and crabs and wrapped them in a large palm leaf, setting them down in front of the two men. She then sat cross-legged herself. “Junior Brother Su, it’s been a while since you last ate, hasn’t it? Have some. The green-flower crabs are nice and plump today. Fellow Daoist Liu, you should try some too. Have you ever had green-flower crabs from the South Sea?”

She broke off a thick crab leg and pressed it into Liu Xiaolou’s hand. “So,” she added with a smile, “whose ‘capabilities’ were you talking about just now?”

Su Jing produced a short dagger from who knows where, skewered a piece of fresh fish, and popped it into his mouth.

“My brother-in-law is something else,” he said proudly.

Then he launched into the story again. How back then he had not been able to last even a single exchange against him, how he had been taken down again and again with one move. How he was later captured by Gengsang Cave and nearly lost his life. And how his brother-in-law had charged into danger, into the lion’s den itself, and dragged him out alive.

Liu Xiaolou felt a little embarrassed listening to how much Su Jing was embellishing things. In truth, Lin Twin Fish had already talked about all of this with Liu Xiaolou before. She had heard Su Jing tell these stories countless times. But even now, she listened with a gentle smile, without the slightest hint of impatience. While listening, she kept removing the bones from the fish and placing the clean pieces on the palm leaves closer to Su Jing, making it easier for him to spear them with his dagger.

“... I told my family a long time ago that my brother-in-law was different from everyone else,” Su Jing was saying. “Nobody believed me. They all said he had no future in cultivation. So what if he’s a rogue cultivator? Does that mean a rogue cultivator can’t reach Foundation Establishment? Well? He did it, didn’t he? Wasn’t I right?”

Lin Twin Fish nodded with a smile. “Exactly.”

Su Jing went on, “Are you going back to Shenwu Mountain, brother-in-law? If you do, the people back home are definitely going to regret it.”

Liu Xiaolou shook his head with a wry smile. “No. I wouldn’t even know who to see, or what I’d be supposed to say.”

Su Jing said loudly, “Then I’ll ask my master for leave and go back with you. I want to see how those snobbish people look when they eat their words.”

Liu Xiaolou knew his own limits. In front of the Su family, his Foundation Establishment was not all that impressive. Especially since he had divorced Fifth Sister. She had always taken it upon herself to restore Shenwu Mountain’s glory. What was one Foundation Establishment compared to that? She had been aiming to form a Golden Core within twenty years. And now, there were only ten years left.

“How is your Fifth Sister’s cultivation these days?” he asked.

Su Jing blinked, then gave a dry cough. “She… back in in the seventh month two years ago, her true qi finished condensing… uh… but it’s fine, brother-in-law. With your talent, refining true qi is inevitable too. It’s only a matter of time.”

There are three major stages to Foundation Establishment. In the early stage, true qi fills the Qi Sea as a hazy, mist-like energy. In the middle stage, that true qi transforms into true liquid. In the late stage, the liquid is refined even further, becoming thick and sticky like honey. Su Fifth Lady’s true liquid had already reached that honey-like state. This meant she had entered the late stage of Foundation Establishment. She really did live up to her reputation as the standout of the Su family’s younger generation.

And she had reached that level two years ago. No wonder the Su clan had gone to such lengths back then to keep this daughter, even arranging a matrilocal marriage for her. Looking back now, it was clearly a brilliant decision.

Lin Twin Fish smiled and went along with it. “That makes sense… sooner or later, he’ll catch up to Su Fifth Lady.”

Su Jing, however, shook his head and spoke very seriously to Lin Twin Fish. “Senior Sister, my Fifth Sister is a true genius. No one can catch up to her, not even you. It might look like you’re at about the same level right now... but within five years, she will definitely reach the Golden Core stage.”

That was a little too blunt. Even Liu Xiaolou felt awkward listening from the side, and he wanted to smooth things over for Lin Twin Fish. She'd taken very good care of him throughout their journey.

But Lin Shuangyu was not upset at all. She kept smiling and nodded. “Junior Brother is right. Your Fifth Sister truly is a once-in-a-generation talent.”

Liu Xiaolou actually wanted to ask about Susu. But in front of his brother-in-law, pressing for news about his ex-wife’s maid felt inappropriate, so he held his tongue. And besides, his brother-in-law’s senior sister was right there as well.

Still, he could not help thinking about it. That sweet, lively maid from back then would be all grown up by now. In most places, she would probably already be married, with children of her own.

Of course, Shenwu Mountain was different. She had been trained as Fifth Lady’s attendant, so she was likely still cultivating alongside her, staying by her side. He wondered whether she had reached the peak of Qi Refinement yet. And would the Su family be willing to go as far as securing a Foundation Establishment Pill for her?