Life as a Rogue Cultivator

After reading the note, Liu Xiaolou let out a sigh. "That guy... I really don't want to deal with him."

Dai Shenggao chuckled. "From what I can tell, he probably just wants your help with some kind of business deal. Whether or not you want to go is entirely up to you. Wei Hongqing said that if you're willing, you should arrive before the first of next month. He'll wait until then. After that, he won't."

Liu Xiaolou did a quick count, only six days until the first of the month. It lined up neatly with the fact that he was just about out of spirit stones anyway. There was still enough time. Whether or not he could break through the Tianquan acupoint before then, though, was anyone's guess.

"Thank you, Senior, for going out of your way to bring me this," Liu Xiaolou said with a deep bow. "I really don't know how to repay you."

Dai Shenggao waved it off. "I just passed the message along; it wasn't any trouble. But actually... I do have a favor to ask."

He hesitated a moment, then said, "That Three Mysteries Scripture your sect passes down... would you mind letting me take a look?"

Liu Xiaolou blinked, surprised. Dai Shenggao quickly added, "Back when your teacher was still alive, he actually agreed to go over it with me, to discuss some of the techniques in the Three Mysteries Scripture. But that day something came up, and we missed the chance. After he passed, I've thought about it often... It's something that still weighs on me. Sometimes late at night, I dream of him.... of the way he carried himself... and, well..."

Seeing his old face flush and his words get tangled, Liu Xiaolou suddenly understood. "Please wait here, Senior. I'll go get it."

Dai Shenggao had been his teacher's close friend for years, visiting several times every year. They'd drunk together, traveled together, and faced danger more times than anyone could count. As far as Liu Xiaolou was concerned, there was no reason to hide this from him.

He turned and went into the house, pried up a floor tile beneath the bed, and pulled out a small stack of books. From the pile, he took a worn leather-bound volume. On the cover were three characters: Yin-Yang Scripture.

The Sanxuan Sect's inheritance had three scriptures: the True Mysteries Scripture, the Illusion Scripture, and the Yin-Yang Scripture.

The True Mysteries Scripture was the main cultivation technique Liu Xiaolou was currently practicing. The Illusion Scripture contained the techniques for refining and using the sect's signature Illusion Incense. As for the Yin-Yang Scripture... well, that one didn't need much explanation.

Liu Xiaolou handed the Yin-Yang Scripture to Dai Shenggao, and seeing the older man's face still slightly flushed with embarrassment, he offered a bit of relief with a smile:

"Senior, dual cultivation of yin and yang is part of the natural order. My teacher used to say that to live in this world is to harmonize with heaven and earth on the outside, and balance yin and yang within. Only then can one lay a true foundation for the Dao. A woman without a husband is called a lonely flower; a man without a wife, a barren tree..."

Dai Shenggao gave a couple of awkward coughs and quickly cut in, "Yes, yes, your teacher spoke wisely, no doubt about it. Ahem... I won't take it with me. I'll just read it here, just a glance is enough."

Liu Xiaolou chuckled and said nothing more. He let Dai Shenggao read in peace, then sat down nearby to continue absorbing spiritual energy from a spirit stone, converting it into true qi as he pushed toward breaking through the acupoint's gate.

Time passed unknowingly. When he opened his eyes again, night had already fallen. Beside him, Dai Shenggao was muttering under his breath:

"'Casting pearls into darkness'? 'Casting pearls into darkness'... What does that even mean?"

Liu Xiaolou immediately responded, "Senior, the 'pearl' isn't a literal one. It's a product of focused visualization; a golden pearl imagined in the abdomen, linked to the root of the Dao just below the navel. It travels in and out, disappearing into the root. That's what it means by 'casting pearls into darkness.'"

Dai Shenggao slapped his forehead. "So that's it! That's what it means." He sat cross-legged, deep in thought, and without realizing it began rocking back and forth on the bamboo platform. The whole structure creaked loudly under him, but he was completely oblivious.

Liu Xiaolou found it amusing but said nothing. He simply got up, climbed down from the terrace, and went over to the cooking area to start making dinner.

On the woodpile lay a colorful pheasant, its neck broken and the insides already cleaned. Clearly another of Big White's recent catches. Liu Xiaolou plucked the feathers, rubbed it with sauce, skewered it on a stick, and set it up to roast beside the stove.

Meanwhile, he brought a pot of water to a boil and began slicing bamboo fungus, wild greens, and mountain gourds to stew into soup.

About half an hour later, dinner was ready: a steaming pot of soup and a plump roast pheasant.

The delicious aroma drifted through the air. Big White, drawn by the scent, came darting out of the forest. The sudden noise startled Dai Shenggao, who had been unconsciously rocking back and forth the whole time. Snapping out of his trance, he laughed and said, "Empty belly, full insight. This method really is something."

The two men and one goose sat around the fire, enjoying their meal. Dai Shenggao shared tales of strange happenings in the cultivation world, occasionally asking Liu Xiaolou for clarification on certain difficult passages from the Yin-Yang Scripture. The meal was lively and cheerful.

Three days passed in this way. Eventually, Dai Shenggao closed the scripture with a long sigh and said,

"This Dao is truly boundless in its mysteries. Best not to overindulge; it's far too easy to get lost in it."

"Senior, you're done reading?" Liu Xiaolou asked.

Dai Shenggao nodded. "Three days is enough. What I've learned is sufficient for now. Besides, this kind of path can't be explored just by burying one's head in a book. It requires... hmm... experience."

Liu Xiaolou helpfully offered, "When my teacher was alive, he often said that real experience could be found in the first alley of Wuchao Town. He claimed that Sister Qing at the alley entrance, though never taught this scripture, had mastered many of its principles intuitively. Their interactions, he said, were enlightening and full of subtle wonder."

Dai Shenggao's eyes lit up. "That's excellent, excellent news! Ahem... Xiaolou, I shall take my leave and head down the mountain. No need to disturb you further."

After Dai Shenggao departed, Liu Xiaolou reached a pivotal moment in his cultivation. With the last of his spirit stones consumed, the gate of his Tianquan acupoint finally gave way. A surge of true qi poured in, filling the newly formed primordial pool within.

The second acupoint had been broken through at last!

He calculated with his fingers: only three days remained until the first of the eleventh month; the date agreed upon with Wei Hongqing. It was time to set out.

Over the past few days, he had wrestled with the decision of whether or not to go. After much thought, he finally decided he should. Not for that old ginseng root, and not solely for the potential "business deal." The real reason was simple: it was Wei Hongqing's invitation. And no matter what, Wei was still his only friend.

Honestly, who else would bother trying to scam him?

At the foot of the gate, Big White stood tall, craning its neck as it watched Liu Xiaolou prepare to leave. It let out a few noisy honks in protest.

Liu Xiaolou smoothed the feathers on its head and said with a chuckle, "Take good care of the place. And if you find anything interesting out there, don't just drag it back without thinking. You need to know who you're dealing with, alright?"

Early winter approached, and the water level of the Wuchao River had dropped significantly. Poling his bamboo raft downstream became more of a struggle in many spots. By the time the moon had risen high into the trees, Liu Xiaolou finally merged into the main current, drifting downstream overnight, covering nearly a hundred and fifty li.

At a bend where the river curved southward, he disembarked.

He was still seventy to eighty li from Tianmen Market, with the Wuling Mountains looming between. He had heard tales of Wuling's treacherous terrain, sheer cliffs and jagged ridges, nothing like the gentle undulations of Wulong Mountain. The area was said to be teeming not only with venomous beasts and fierce predators, but also with bandits.

Still, the mountain range stretched endlessly north to south. To go around would mean adding nearly two hundred li to the journey. A detour far too long. Liu Xiaolou, recently advancing swiftly in cultivation, believed he could manage it. After a brief rest at the foot of the mountain, he decided not to wait for dawn. His spirits high, he began climbing under the cover of night.

This was his first time entering Wuling Mountain. After crossing just one small ridge, he came upon a deep ravine—over 70 zhang (around 70 feet) down. Under the moonlight, the stream at the bottom shimmered with silver ripples, giving the illusion of shallow water. Both ends of the ravine disappeared into darkness, and circling around it would take who knew how long.

The opposite ridge was only about ten zhang away. The closest point was an old pine tree clinging to the cliff, its limbs angled down toward Liu Xiaolou's side, the gap possibly even under ten zhang. Yet even that short distance felt impossibly far for someone only at the third layer of Qi Refinement.

He could only sigh and stare.

Even if his teacher were still alive, could he have crossed it? Perhaps after reaching Foundation Establishment, one might be able to leap such a distance?

Looking around, not a single tree was tall enough to span the gap, so building a bridge was out of the question.

The most straightforward solution… was straight up and straight down.