Life as a Rogue Cultivator

Chapter 305: Before Huiyan Peak

Liu Xiaolou had already looked into it. The senior cultivators of the Guangtian Altar were actually worse off than Qingyue Altar's. At least Qingyue regularly brought in husbands from outside. Men with decent talent and cultivation. But Guangtian only took female disciples from within its own ranks, so they just had two Foundation Establishment cultivators to show for it.One of them was the Altar Mistress, at mid-stage Foundation Establishment. The other was probably the silver-haired old woman standing in front of him now. She was at the early-stage of Foundation Establishment. The Qingyue Altar Mistress had mentioned her before, calling her Granny Silver Flower.

“Are you the Libationer of this altar, Granny Silver Flower?”

“That’s me,” the old woman replied. “If you have something to say, then say it.”

True to her name, Liu Xiaolou thought, nodding slightly. He hadn't been scared facing Qingyue Altar with its four Foundation Establishment cultivators. Naturally, he felt no fear at all toward Guangtian Altar, which only had two.

If it really came to a fight, there was no question he could get away safely. Besides, they would not dare push him too far either. If they actually pissed himoff, he could spend an entire year doing nothing else but hanging around the Hengshan area, deliberately causing trouble for Guangtian Altar’s disciples. If that happened, they would be the ones paying the price.

This was the real leverage of a Foundation Establishment cultivator.

So Liu Xiaolou explained why he was there and, once again, smiled to show he meant no harm.

The silver-haired woman turned her head and glanced at the female disciple, Bai Qi. She saw fear on the girl’s face, mixed with confusion, and her heart tightened.

This female disciple, Bai Qi, was actually surnamed Zhou. She was one of the brightest of Guangtian Altar’s third-generation disciples. Despite her young age, she had already reached the tenth layer of Qi Refinement. Her talent was exceptional, something the sect had not seen in fifty years. The altar placed great hopes on her, which was why she had been assigned to enforce discipline at the mountain gate, as a form of tempering and experience.

Granny Silver Flower considered the situation carefully. Even she wouldn't be able to subdue Zhou Bai Qi in a very short time. On top of that, Bai Qi had been within the protection of the formation. Because of this, she treated the goodwill Liu Xiaolou was showing with far more caution.

“Our Guangtian Altar is a sect of female cultivators. Our techniques and inheritances are likely incompatible with yours. I’m afraid we’ll have to disappoint you.”

“Whether they suit me or not, I’ll know once I take a look,” Liu Xiaolou replied. “Granny Silver Flower, I would never presume to ask for your sect’s core inheritance. All I’m hoping for is to browse the various manuals and techniques your altar has collected from other sects. For any technique I choose, I’m willing to pay fifteen spirit stones, just to make a copy.”

“All the manuals stored in the Huiyan Peak Scripture Hall come from Guangtian Altar’s own lineage. There’s no techniques from any outside sect!”

“If spirit stones aren’t to your liking, then pills or spiritual materials will do just as well. Everything I offer is top quality. And as it happens, I’ve done quite a bit of study in formations. If your sect ever needs help setting one up, I’d be happy to lend a hand. I once assisted Formation Grandmaster Tang Song in refining the mountain-protecting formation for a major sect. Granny Silver Flower, you’ve heard of Master Tang, right? His reputation is known everywhere…”

“Our Huiyan Peak already has a mountain-protecting formation. There’s no need for your concern.”

“I could also help improve the quality of your current formation. To be honest, your sect’s mountain-protecting formation does have flaws…”

He was in the middle of trying to persuade her when a female voice suddenly rang out. “I’m the one who refined and set up this mountain-protecting formation. Where exactly are these ‘flaws’ you’re talking about? You’d better explain yourself.”

Liu Xiaolou blinked. He stared at the mountain path behind the massive boulder, mouth open; he couldn't get a single word out.

Two women were slowly making their way down the path. The one in front was tall and graceful, striking in a quiet, heroic way. She wore a pale green dress. It was Green Bamboo, whom he had not seen in many years.

Liu Xiaolou had always thought he’d forgotten her. Over the years, whenever the name crossed his mind, even her face had gone blurry; she could never quite pin down the details. But the moment he saw her today, that face hit him like it had been waiting right there all along. Every memory came rushing back, scene after scene flashing through his head in a rush…

Granny Silver Flower gave a few dry coughs, her face tightening with anger. “How dare you be so rude!”

Green Bamboo let out a soft laugh. “Granny, it’s not that he’s being rude. This Friend Liu here... he’s pretty much my half-disciple.” Then she called out, smiling, “Xiaolou, Xiaolou!”

Liu Xiaolou finally let out a long breath and gave a wry smile. “Who would’ve thought… I’d run into you here, of all places…”

The woman standing behind Green Bamboo was dressed in blue. She asked, “Green Bamboo, this is…?”

Only then did Liu Xiaolou notice her. She was about half a head shorter than Green Bamboo, roughly the same height as Fifth Lady Su Xi, but far more soft and alluring than Su ever was...

Damn it. Why the hell did Su Xi pop into his head?

Her looks weren’t on the same level as Fifth Lady or Ninth Lady but that soft, melting allure of hers... there’s just no way to put it into words. If I had to try, I’d say she was soft as water.

And she seemed oddly familiar.

A scene flashed through his mind at once. In front of a quiet bamboo cottage, a woman sat facing Green Bamboo, the two of them drinking together. It was that time years ago when, on a sudden whim, he’d traveled thousands of li to Green Bamboo Garden northeast of Siming Mountain, hiding in the woods and witnessing it all.

He had left the very same day he arrived.

Green Bamboo laughed. “All right, all right, Sister Meng. I’ll take care of him first. Granny Yin, don’t be upset. Haha.”

Then she turned to Liu Xiaolou. “Sister Meng is the head of the Guangtian Altar. If there’s anything to talk about, we can do it down below. Let’s not block the entrance. Come on.”

The Altar Mistress Meng watched Green Bamboo leave with a smile, her curious gaze lingering on Liu Xiaolou for quite some time, until the two of them disappeared from sight.

Liu Xiaolou followed behind Green Bamboo as they went down the mountain, not knowing what to say.

Green Bamboo led the way ahead, winding through turn after turn, until at one corner she stepped onto a narrow path hidden among the trees. It brought them to a wooden pavilion tucked into the mountains. They went inside and sat down. Green Bamboo pointed to a waterfall about thirty yards away. “That’s the Stone Drum Cave Water Curtain. When the rains are heavy, the cascade gets massive, crashes right up to the pavilion. It’s a hell of a sight. No rain today, though.”

Liu Xiaolou stared at the falling water for a good long moment before finally coming back to himself. He sat down beside Green Bamboo. “Why are you here?” he asked.

Green Bamboo said, “Altar Mistress Meng and I really get along. We’re close friends, and I come visit her often. Haven’t I ever mentioned her to you before?” She tilted her head, blinking as she thought about it, then shook her head. “I guess I really haven’t. Oh, right. You said there was a flaw in my formation. Where is it? Let’s hear it.”

Liu Xiaolou waved his hand. “What flaw could there be? I was bluffing her, just talking nonsense off the top of my head.”

Her eyes narrowed. “So what’s really going on? Why are you running around trying to buy cultivation manuals? And how did you end up all the way here at Hengshan?”

With Green Bamboo, there was nothing he couldn’t say. So Liu Xiaolou told her everything from beginning to end. She listened and laughed so hard she could barely sit straight. “I know all about Qingyue Altar. Why didn’t you go for the ‘two husbands serving one wife’ deal? Man, what a waste! Haha!”

After laughing for a while, she pressed him again. “Come on. What’s actually wrong with the Huiyan Peak Formation I refined? If you don’t give me a proper breakdown today, you’re not leaving Hengshan. I swear I’ll marry you off to Qingyue Altar myself. I’m telling you, I’m on real good terms with their Mistress!”

Liu Xiaolou said, “There really isn’t any flaw. Why won’t you believe me better than that? You know me. When I say something, I mean it. When have I ever gone back on my word.”

“Name one flaw and I’ll help you find one cultivation manual. Name two and I’ll find you two.”

Liu Xiaolou hesitated. “There really isn’t anything wrong. The formation is excellent. It’s just that the material used for that whip could be improved a bit. What kind of spirit bamboo is it? Wouldn’t gold or silver work better?”

Green Bamboo focused, thinking it over. “What do you mean?”

Liu Xiaolou muttered, “Pine or cypress in the rear, white waxwood and metal in front.”

Green Bamboo let out an “Ah,” then said in annoyance, “So there really is one. Anything else?”

Liu Xiaolou shook his head. “That’s it.”

“So I’m only finding you one manual, then?”

Liu Xiaolou blinked. “What if we shift the mountain gate seven feet to the southeast? Wouldn’t that be better? Up on the tower, there are rocks with pines and cypresses squeezed in beside them. It lets the wind leak through.”

Green Bamboo let out a long breath. “Xiaolou, you’ve really leveled up, haven’t you? You actually found two weak spots in my formation? Fine. I keep my word. I’ll get you two cultivation manuals.”

Seeing that Liu Xiaolou still looked unsatisfied, her face cooled. “There’s more?”

“Is there… a third manual?” he asked quietly.

Green Bamboo laughed in disbelief. “If you actually manage to find a third flaw, I’ll get you three manuals. Deal.”

Liu Xiaolou immediately pointed at the curtain-like waterfall in front of them. “And this waterfall. If my calculations are right, this spot is less than three hundred feet from Huiyan Peak, isn’t it?”

Green Bamboo’s face went pale.