Fenglin Manor was a complete mess, and Liu Xiaolou quickly figured out why. This place wasn’t some public stronghold; it was a small private estate, almost certainly Lu Yuanji’s home. There weren’t any top-tier cultivators guarding it. Or if there had been, they weren’t here now.

The strongest guy in the courtyard looked to be at the peak of Qi refinement. Everyone else was calling him “Yuanji” or “Steward Lu,” so he had to be Lu Yuanji. The four brothers of Guzhang Mountain lifted their carrying poles and swarmed him, fighting like men who’d come to settle a score. Their logic was brutally simple: “You Lu Yuanlang killed my brother, so I’ll kill yours.”

Dragon Mountain Wanderer was up against an old man who’d reached the tenth layer of Qi refinement. Lu Yuanji even called him “old uncle.” Even though Sanren himself had reached the peak layer, facing someone with that kind of backing felt like an uphill fight; it was the difference between a big sect disciple and a lone wanderer. Better teachers, stronger techniques, superior weapons.

So Liu Xiaolou shouted for Old Cripple and Qi Laoqi to jump in, and together they managed to pin down Lu Yuanji’s old uncle.

Fairy Huang Ye, at the ninth layer of Qi refinement, was fighting a Fenglin Manor cultivator who’d reached the seventh layer. She had the upper hand, sure, but she just couldn’t finish the guy off. Same story as before.

Old Hu Du, on the other hand, was doing great. He was bullying a Lu clan junior at the fifth layer, and before long had beaten the poor guy to a pulp, forcing him to turn tail and run.

Hu Du burst out laughing and chased after him, but after a long pursuit came back empty-handed, fuming. “That bastard’s vanished. Who knows where he’s hiding!” he grumbled.

Meanwhile, Liu Xiaolou was handling a Lu family cultivator trapped in his formation disk. About sixth layer, nothing special. It was easy work. He didn’t even bother sitting down to focus; hands clasped behind his back, he simply formed a few seals and kept an eye on the rest of the battlefield. Before long, he withdrew the formation, and the trapped man was already red-faced, unconscious, and slumped on the ground.

Hu Du blinked in surprise. “Wait... so this is how formation masters fight?”

Fang Bu’ai, who’d been itching to act, stepped forward eagerly. He searched the fallen Lu clansman, found two spirit stones and a magical tool, then raised his sword and finished the man off on the spot.

Ever since Lu Yuanlang had gone up Wulong Mountain and started killing people, this blood feud between the mountain’s heroes and Tianmu Mountain had been inevitable. The memory of how calmly Lu Yuanlang had acted afterward, chatting and laughing with Elder Lu Boqi as they descended the mountain, still made everyone from Wulong seethe with rage.

Fang Bu’ai moved to stand beside Fairy Huang Ye, watching the fight for a moment. Then, without warning, he drew his sword and charged straight into the fray, blade flashing. Cuts opened all over his body as he forced his way in. His sudden attack threw their opponent completely off balance. In that instant of panic, Fairy Huang Ye struck. A silver hairpin pierced the Lu cultivator’s throat, and he dropped dead.

By then, Liu Xiaolou had finished his own fight and hurried over to help the four brothers, but the battle was too chaotic for him to step in. Just as he spotted an opening and was about to strike with his Mysterious True Cord, Lu Yuanji suddenly broke away. He took a heavy blow to the shoulder from a carrying pole but used the force to propel himself backward, diving straight toward Dragon Mountain Wanderer’s fight. He grabbed his struggling old uncle and the two of them fled together, escaping toward the edge of Fenglin Ravine.

The four brothers and Dragon Mountain Wanderer chased hard, but every strike they threw was blocked by the two Lu family magical tools. For the moment, they couldn’t break through at all.

After all, these were elite disciples from Tianmu Mountain. One at the peak of Qi refinement, the other at the tenth layer. Even in defeat, they held their ground with stubborn pride. Taking them head-on just wasn’t working. As Liu Xiaolou watched them pull farther and farther away, he quickly called the four brothers and Dragon Mountain Wanderer back.

There was no time to waste. Reinforcements from Tianmu Mountain could arrive at any moment. And if even a single Foundation Establishment cultivator showed up, everything would turn disastrous in an instant.

After a tense wait, flames suddenly roared up from Fenglin Manor. Captain Hu emerged with his team, carrying out chests and bundles of loot.

Seeing that everyone was loaded down with boxes and sacks, Liu Xiaolou immediately gave the order to retreat. They ran for over thirty li without stopping before finally finding a quiet spot to rest and take stock of their spoils.

They didn’t find many spirit stones, true. But there were five full chests of spiritual materials for refining pills. Those supplies had originally been collected by Lu Yuanji, who meant to send them up to the sect. In the end, though, they all fell into the hands of the heroes of Wulong Mountain.

Everyone present was an expert in smuggling “black goods.” With just a quick look, they could all put a price on the goods. Their estimates for each material varied a bit, but the total value came out about the same.

Captain Hu figured the lot was worth seventy-five spirit stones. Dragon Mountain Wanderer and Fairy Huang Ye put it at eighty. Liu Xiaolou’s own estimate was around seventy.

Li Busan grinned as he looked over the pile of spiritual materials, still puzzled. “If they sold all this off, that’d be a fortune! How’d a little estate like his end up hoarding so much good stuff? And why didn’t he hurry to turn it in to Tianmu Mountain?”

Dragon Mountain Wanderer took the chance to instruct his disciple. “Places like that,” he said, “usually collect spirit materials slowly over time, trying to push the prices down. Then, when the sect puts out a call for supplies, they hand everything over at once and get a much better rate for it. So don’t underestimate these outer estates of the prestigious sects. They might look ordinary, but when one falls, the loot can be huge!”

From the side, Fairy Huang Ye chuckled. “The moment I saw that illusion formation protecting the place, I knew we’d hit the jackpot!”

Li Busan nodded. “I get it now, Master. So when we pick our targets, it’s best to go after small manors like this?”

Dragon Mountain Wanderer said calmly, “That depends on whether you’ve got the strength for it. First, can you break the formation? Second, what if there’s a Foundation Establishment cultivator inside?”

“But this manor didn’t have any Foundation Establishment cultivator,” said Li Busan.

“That was good luck,” said Dragon Mountain Wanderer. “Or good timing. If there had been one, you’d have had to fight for your life. Or run. Either way, the one leading the raid has to make that call immediately.”

Li Busan turned to Liu Xiaolou. “Martial Uncle, what would you do if there was a Foundation Establishment there?”

Liu Xiaolou thought for a moment. “If Senior Dai, Brother Zuo, and Brother Tan were with us, I’d go for an all-out fight. But as things stand now, I’d tell everyone to scatter and run. Split up, get out alive.”

“In front of a Foundation Establishment cultivator, could we even get away?”

“Most of us could,” Liu Xiaolou said matter-of-factly. “But some would be caught… maybe even die. Those who survive keep the fight going. Wait for a chance to take revenge. That kind of grudge can be avenged in three years, five years, ten years; it doesn’t matter. As long as you never forget it, you’ll always find a way to bite off a piece of their flesh eventually.”

After that, they turned to discussing their next move.

They’d struck Tianmu Mountain off guard, taking advantage of the Sword Trial Gathering at Danxia Grotto Heaven. But the news would reach Tianmu soon enough. Even if the elders, inner disciples, and key stewards were still away at the gathering, the people left behind on the mountain were more than enough to crush the Wulong Mountain outlaws.

So Liu Xiaolou’s plan was to lie low.

There was no going back to Wulong Mountain. Everyone would split up and divide the spoils. The spiritusl materials shared equally among them. Each person would then find some remote place to cultivate in seclusion, leaving Liu Xiaolou an address to contact them.

They would wait for his next “Hero’s Posts.”

The division of the spiritual materials followed their usual rule. Those who drew blood got to pick two items each, those who didn’t got one. With over a hundred pieces total, they went around four rounds of picks. The ten-odd materials left over, as always, went to Liu Xiaolou.

When the choosing was done, they each stepped forward to bid him farewell.

“Till we meet again in the rivers and mountains!”

“Take care!”

“See you down the road!”

“Take care!”

“Wait for your next Hero’s Posts!”

“Take care!”

“Don’t keep us waiting too long, haha!”

“Take care…”

The group slipped away in different directions, disappearing into the night.