Liu Xiaolou would never force his way through like Dragon Mountain Wanderer back did back then. That took too much effort, and it’s not the way of a formation master. When a formation master dismantles a formation, it’s always done with ease, calm, and without the slightest hint of struggle.

Following the method Liu Daoran had taught him, he deduced the solution, then used the Northern Dipper Step, blending it with the Dipper Pivot Step. Each move landed right on the formation’s key points. In less than half a cup of tea’s time, he had walked out of the layers upon layers of earthen barriers and arrived beneath an ancient pine that had stood for ten thousand years.

That ancient pine carried a strength and vigor of its own. The air was thick with an austere and timeless presence. It was born to command awe, like an elder who had witnessed the trials of the world and now looked upon Liu Xiaolou with a gaze both stern and discerning.

Liu Xiaolou couldn’t help but feel a trace of reverence. He looked up for a moment, clasped his hands in respect without even thinking, and only then steadied his heart before searching among the trunk and branches for the amber-colored essence of pine resin.

Pine resin essence was the condensed essence of sun and moon, drawn together over millennia by the ancient pine. It was pure spiritual substance, seeping out from the trunk like the tree’s tears. All he needed to do was collect those droplets one by one as they welled up between the branches.

After an hour of work, he had finally gathered every drop of that tear-like resin essence, molding it into a ball as large as a dog’s head. His heart brimmed with joy. The long, grueling journey south for a thousand li had been worth it.

With such a massive ball of pine resin essence, he could refine plenty of Bewildering Fragrance Tendons. Used freely, it would last three to five years without issue.

After checking once more, Liu Xiaolou made sure he hadn’t missed anything. He had gathered every bit of resin he could, and only then did he stop. For this ancient pine to produce so much pine resin essence again would probably take another five or even ten years.

Content, he let his gaze linger on the branches. For a moment, he was tempted to snap a few off, but in the end he held back. To him, the pine resin essence was the true treasure of the ancient pine. The branches might be excellent materials for refining artifacts, but breaking them would trigger the formation and alert Feiyun Summit. His purpose here was already achieved, and there was no need to invite trouble.

Back then, Dragon Mountain Dragon and the others had come specifically for the branches, so it was natural they’d take the risk. He, however, had no reason to. He was only at the sixth layer of Qi Refinement, and if things went wrong, he wouldn’t be fast enough to escape.

So he pressed down his greed, turned away, and quietly slipped out of the trapping formation once more. Crossing the rope bridge back to the opposite cliff, he gave the vine rope a flick, loosening the knot so it recoiled into his hands. He buried it in a hidden spot, erasing all trace of his passage, then hurried down the mountain before dawn broke.

Liu Xiaolou walked with a light step. After leaving Huashou Terrace, he quickly entered Qingxia Valley. As usual, he kept close to the edges while moving, and his mind was already at work:

With all that pine resin essence in hand, once the young masters of the Impotence Circle gather the remaining materials for the formation disks, he could refine the simplified version of the Abyssal Blackstone Formation he had envisioned.

Getting the pine resin essence this time had cost him almost no effort. He hadn’t even spent a single spirit stone. Once the formation disks were finished, it would be a clean profit of twenty stones, and every six months after that he could count on a steady income from maintaining it. This business was more than worthwhile.

And if he could find another “Impotence Circle” outside of Shenwu Mountain and refine another set of formation disks, wouldn’t that double his income?

The problem was that such Impotence Circles were always hidden. Where would he even start looking?

Maybe he should take a trip to Yuezhou to see Green Bamboo. Didn’t she claim she had plenty of connections with that sort of crowd?

The road ahead seemed brighter than ever. So long as he kept working hard, he might really save up a hundred spirit stones. When the year was up, he could return to Shenwu Mountain and finally ask Butler Song whether his promise still held, whether he could truly take Su Su away.

The way down was always quicker than the climb up. Step by step, without realizing it, he had already passed out of Qingxia Valley. The cliff walls on both sides stretched wider and lower.

He was just about to leave Jade Goose Peak. With a bit more circling around, he could be off Mount Luofu before dawn. Liu Xiaolou’s mood soared. But just a few breaths after his spirits lifted, his heart dropped straight down.

Someone was standing in the middle of the path ahead, back turned to him, gazing up at the stars.

Liu Xiaolou instinctively pulled on his bamboo hat and covered his face with the black scarf.

The man turned around. His half-smiling expression froze, and he snapped, “Take off that hat and scarf. Who are you trying to hide from?”

Of course Liu Xiaolou wasn’t about to remove them just because the man said so. The Mysterious True Cord on his wrist gave a faint pulse. His right hand bent slightly, ready to draw his sword at any moment, while the formation disk slid halfway out from his sleeve, poised between the fingers of his left hand.

First he would see what this man was about. If things didn’t look right, he was ready to strike.

The plan was clear in his mind: bind the enemy with the Mysterious True Cord to weaken him, then unleash the Three-Mystery Sword for a quick hit-and-run. If escape failed, he would have to rely on the formation. But ever since he had repaired the disk, he hadn’t replenished it with Bewildering Fragrance Tendon, and its power was greatly reduced. It was no more than an ordinary illusion formation now. If it came to that, the outcome would be unpredictable.

The other man clearly had plenty of experience in combat. With just a glance he picked up on Liu Xiaolou’s subtle preparations, and sneered. “I’ve been watching you all day. Think I don’t know what you are? Sixth Layer of Qi Refinement, maybe seventh at best. Certainly no higher. And with cultivation like that you still want to play the cornered beast? Take my advice. Drop the idea. Don’t waste your strength on a struggle you can’t win.”

An ancient bronze sword suddenly appeared at his side, floating in the air and humming.

Liu Xiaolou’s heart instantly sank to rock bottom.

He hadn’t even seen how the other man drew his sword. Did he unsheath it, or did it fly out from within his body? If it was unsheathed, then the man must be at the peak of Qi Refinement. If it flew out from within, then he was already in Foundation Establishment. As for Golden Core, that was unlikely. Against a small cultivator like him, someone in the Golden Core stage wouldn’t even need to draw a blade.

Go one-on-one against someone at least at the peak of Qi Refinement? Liu Xiaolou knew he didn’t have that kind of ability, especially with no Bewildering Fragrance. There was no chance at all. So he quickly adjusted his attitude, tore off his bamboo hat and black cloth, clasped his fists, and bowed. “May I ask the master for his esteemed name?”

“I am Zhao Ruyu, an Inner Sect patrolling steward of the Luofu Sect. I had my eyes on you from the moment you stepped onto Huashou Terrace. Do I need to say anything more?”

“Ah… I was misled by rumors in the jianghu, and thought Jade Goose Peak was unclaimed. Out of admiration for the grandeur of the Luofu Sect, I couldn’t help but climb the mountain. I beg Steward Zhao’s forgiveness.”

“Ha. And who told you Jade Goose Peak was unclaimed?”

“I… can’t quite remember. Maybe I heard wrong.”

“Then what were you doing inside the Earth Gate Formation?”

“I’ve always been fond of studying formations. When I saw this one, I couldn’t resist taking a closer look. It was purely out of scholarly interest, with no malicious intent.”

“You’re a formation master? From which sect?”

“I’m just a rogue cultivator, nothing more. I only studied formations on my own out of personal interest. I don’t belong to any sect or school.”

Zhao Ruyu stared at Liu Xiaolou for a while, long enough to make him feel uneasy. “Where’s the ten-thousand-year pine branch?” he finally asked. “Where did you hide it?”

Liu Xiaolou spread his arms, took off his pack, and emptied its contents onto the ground. “Steward Zhao, I truly didn’t take the pine branch. I only went in to study the formation. Look here... this gourd holds miasma I collected while traveling through the wilderness, and this pouch has a kind of wild beehive. They’re just materials for refining formation disks. If your sect has use for them, I’d be glad to offer them up.”

Zhao Ruyu snapped, “Do you think the Luofu Sect would covet trifles like these?”

Liu Xiaolou quickly gathered his things back up. “Yes, yes, of course. My vision is too shallow.”

“Wait,” Zhao Ruyu suddenly said. “What’s in that cloth bag?”

Liu Xiaolou untied it. “Ah, this? While studying your sect’s formation, I noticed some of this resin beneath a pine tree. I picked a little up along the way.”

Zhao Ruyu sneered. “Under the tree? Pine resin would fall under a tree?”

“I mean at the base of the trunk,” Liu Xiaolou quickly explained.

“That’s called Pine Resin Essence,” Zhao Ruyu said. “My Luofu Sect uses it to refine divine talismans. Don’t believe it would just fall to the ground, and even if it did, ha, landing under a tree doesn’t mean you can just pick it up!”

Liu Xiaolou nodded repeatedly. “Yes, yes, of course. I’ll return it right away. I truly didn’t know.”

Zhao Ruyu gave a cold laugh. “Pick it up? You gathered this much by ‘picking it up’? You came here for the Pine Resin Essence, didn’t you? Planning to use it for formation disks?”

Liu Xiaolou admitted, “Ah, there’s no hiding anything from Steward Zhao’s sharp eyes.”

Zhao Ruyu tilted his head, studying him. “So you really are a formation master?”

Liu Xiaolou raised his hand and swore, “Absolutely genuine! Steward Zhao can test me on the spot.”

Zhao Ruyu nodded, then waved his hand. “Very well. Come up the mountain with me. I’ll give you a proper test.”