Up on Qianzhu Ridge, Golden Ring bees Liu Xiaolou raised on his own had now grown to fifteen mature bees. This spring, they’d produced half a jin of honey. If he could harvest again by late summer, that would make about a full jin for the year.

According to Yun Ao, that was worth about one spirit stone a year.

The news left Liu Xiaolou a little down, though he soon talked himself out of it. He’d tasted Golden Ring Honey before and knew well how much spiritual energy it held. A jin of that honey didn’t come close to the power of a spirit stone. Maybe only thirty or forty percent of it. The reason it could still sell for that much was because of its rich sweetness and how easily young children could absorb it.

Children from wealthy families were practically raised in honey. From birth, they drank honey-infused spiritual water, ate porridge made with spirit rice, and dined on spirit fish and spirit meat. By the time they were old enough to begin cultivation, their bodies were already soaked in spiritual energy. Naturally, their progress far outpaced that of ordinary rogue cultivators, and their chances of becoming geniuses were much higher too.

And that was exactly what you saw. Among noble clans, cultivators were everywhere. Early- and mid-stage Qi Refinement cultivators were as common as pebbles on a path. Only once they reached the later layers did things slow down, when deeper understanding and insight became necessary to advance.

So Liu Xiaolou gave up on the idea of selling his Golden Ring Honey this year. He decided his family would just enjoy it slowly for now. Selling it could wait. At least until his bee colony grew to a hundred or more, which probably wouldn’t happen for another three to five years.

“Alright then, forget it,” he said with a shrug. “I guess I don’t really understand the market. By the way, Brother Yun, you mentioned something about the formation disk earlier?”

Yun Ao quickly took out the disk and handed it over. “Take a look, Xiaolou. It just doesn’t look the same anymore. The images don’t come to life like they used to, and that feeling of being right there in the scene... it’s gone. Feels almost useless now.”

The images themselves hadn’t changed, of course. But the Bewildering Fragrance Tendon that had powered it was all used up. Without that catalyst, the illusion lost its sparkle and effect. Liu Xiaolou understood that perfectly well.

He put the formation disk away. “It’ll take about three days to repair,” he said. “I’ll have to trouble you to stay here in my shabby little courtyard for a bit… Oh, and how are Brother Xiong and Daoist Lei Ming doing?”

“Funny you ask,” said Yun Ao, “Lei Ming was actually the one who used the disk the most. So many people took turns with it, but he probably accounted for a third of the time. He felt bad about that, so out of the five spirit stones for this repair, he’s paying two himself.”

Liu Xiaolou chuckled. “Yeah, I fell for his trick back then. Everyone else paid per session, but he signed up for a monthly pass. Ended up costing me a fortune, haha! He kept saying it was all for the sake of his dual cultivation method. But honestly, who isn’t cultivating for that?”

Yun Ao sighed. “In his case, he really was. He’s actually completed his dual cultivation stage just last month and is preparing to form his foundation now.”

Liu Xiaolou blinked, then burst out laughing. “Seriously? Haha… well, good for him! I’ll be waiting for the good news then. What about his Foundation Establishment Pill... how’s he handling that? If I remember right, his Daoist temple’s under the Wang family of Xunxi, isn’t it?”

Yun Ao nodded. “That’s right. The Wang family has already reported it to Sect Master Cai, and the sect’s gathering spiritual materials to refine the pill for him.”

“By the way,” Liu Xiaolou asked curiously, “how are our Danxia Sect’s Foundation Establishment Pills? Any chance they can compare to those from Mount Tianmu?”

Yun Ao smiled. “Mount Tianmu specializes in alchemy; they’re in a league of their own. We can’t quite match their purity, but our pills have their strengths too. They’re especially effective for cultivators who cultivate Thunder Path. Brother Lei Ming’s main path is lightning cultivation, so taking our Danxia Sect’s pill suits him perfectly.”

“And you, Brother Yun,” Liu Xiaolou said, “your main path is the sword, right? Does that mean you’ll need to seek a Foundation Pill from one of the sword sects?”

“My family’s White Cloud Sword Technique draws thunder from the clouds. After I form my foundation, my sword-light will still carry the essence of lightning. So, taking our sect’s Foundation Pill is the best fit for me. Of course, I could try to get one from a sword sect... but those aren’t exactly easy to come by.”

The moment talk turned to Foundation Pills, excitement naturally rose. After all, only by reaching the Foundation Establishment stage could a cultivator truly be said to have stepped onto the path of cultivation. And that step was anything but easy. Take Wulong Mountain, for example, over a hundred fellow cultivators there, yet not a single one had formed their foundation. Even among noble clans, you might find only one Foundation Establishment cultivator out of every ten or twenty at the Qi Refinement stage.

For most Qi Refinement cultivators, taking a Foundation Establishment Pill was their only real chance of advancing.

But refining such a pill was no simple task. In nearly every sect, only the most senior elders—or even the sect master themselves—had the skill to attempt it. The process could take a month to complete just one pill, and the spiritual materials required were extraordinarily rare. Rumor had it that each pill was worth hundreds of spirit stones, yet even at that price, they were almost never seen on the open market.

When Liu Xiaolou asked whether any marketplace had ever auctioned one off, Yun Ao shook his head. “Never heard of it happening,” he said.

They talked for a long time on that topic, until the moon was high in the sky. Only after sharing a meal of wild game from Wulong Mountain did the conversation finally come to an end.

All the while, Big White and Little Black had been crouched nearby, waiting. But since no duel or grand formation ever took place, the two beasts eventually grew bored and wandered off lazily.

That night, Yun Ao stayed in Liu Xiaolou’s hut, while Liu himself moved into the neighboring cottage. He spent the whole night refining a short strand of Bewildering Fragrance Tendon, barely an inch long, into this formation disk.

Over the next two days, Liu Xiaolou remained indoors, cultivating diligently as he worked to open his Shaohai acupoint. He barely set foot outside. Even Yun Ao began to feel a little embarrassed watching him work so hard. He couldn’t help but sigh, realizing how much effort those five spirit stones must have cost Liu Xiaolou to earn. It also made him reflect: had he become too comfortable, too idle?

And so, inspired by Liu’s dedication, Yun Ao gave up his leisurely wanderings. He even turned down Fairy Huang Ye’s invitation to a wine feast, choosing instead to focus wholeheartedly on his cultivation in Qianzhu Ridge.

After three days, Liu Xiaolou finally took out the formation disk and invited Yun Ao to test it. Yun Ao, seasoned and sharp-eyed, stepped in for a look. But after just one glance, he didn’t dare examine it further. He withdrew at once, exclaiming with delight, “It’s fixed. Perfectly fixed!”

With five spirit stones earned, Liu Xiaolou was thoroughly satisfied. Nothing brings in spirit stones faster than formation work, he thought with a grin.

Yun Ao, carrying the hopes of several young masters who depended on him, planned to return as soon as possible. That evening, a farewell banquet was held for him once again on Qianzhu Ridge.

Over drinks, Yun Ao asked about the situation down the mountain. “When I came up earlier,” he said, “I noticed people moving through the fields below. Not just one or two. They looked like men from Tianmu Mountain. Has something happened?”

Liu Xiaolou nodded. “Yes, they’re from Tianmu Mountain. They still haven’t given up and have been keeping watch ever since.” He went on to recount what could be told—the death of Lu Zhongqiu, the Lu clan’s siege of the mountain, and how the Badong faction had intervened to stop them.

Yun Ao frowned. “If this concerns revenge for the late Sect Master Lu’s grandson, I doubt Tianmu Mountain will let the matter rest.”

Liu Xiaolou sighed. “That’s why I haven’t dared go down the mountain these past few months... just to avoid their wrath.”

Yun Ao thought for a moment. “Everything else should be fine. With the major sects discussing matters together, and both the Pingdu Pingdu Eight Formations Gate and the Qingyu Sect acting as guarantors, Tianmu Mountain probably won’t do anything reckless. But that Lu Yuanlang... he’s impulsive, and powerful. You should be wary of him making a move.”

Liu Xiaolou frowned slightly. “I doubt it. It’s been three months already. If he meant to cause trouble, he’d have done it by now.”

Yun Ao shook his head. “Not necessarily. Remember when he challenged Jingzhao in our sect’s grotto-heaven and lost?”

Liu Xiaolou nodded. “I remember.”

Yun Ao went on, “Word has it that loss weighed heavily on him. Some say it even pushed him to a breakthrough in his state of mind, and after that, he went into seclusion. When I left White Cloud Manor, I heard our Danxia Sect had accepted another Sword Trial Conference; Lu Yuanlang himself proposed it. This time it’s him, Qu Xuan, and Sun Zhenliu joining forces to challenge Jingzhao. The date hasn’t been set yet, but…”

Liu Xiaolou caught on. “So what you’re saying is... he’s come out of seclusion? After all this time?”

Yun Ao said, “Four years in seclusion. Hardly long at all for a Golden Core cultivator.”

Liu Xiaolou’s heart skipped a beat. “Is this guy really that reckless?”

Yun Ao shrugged. “I’ve never dealt with him personally; he’s out of my league. After all, he’s one of the top talents of Tianmu Mountain’s younger generation. Hard to say for sure, but from what I’ve heard, he’s pretty aggressive. So you’d best stay alert. Who knows... after the Sword Trial Conference, he might head to Wulong Mountain looking for trouble. Of course, maybe I’m just being paranoid. Wei Hongqing isn’t on Wulong Mountain right now, is he?”

Liu Xiaolou nodded thoughtfully. “brother Yun… do you think Tianmu Mountain might pull a sneak attack?”

Yun Ao considered it. “It’s possible. They could wait until you all let your guard down then strike suddenly. They might actually catch someone off guard that way.”

“But Wulong Mountain’s boundaries were set by the major sects themselves…” murmured Liu Xiaolou, “they’re not supposed to trespass without cause.”

Yun Ao said, “Well, that depends on whether they set any punishments when they made the rules. If not, the worst that’ll happen is everyone just says, ‘Let’s not do that again,’ and moves on.”