The “Five Paths and Six Emotions Formation” sounded like some kind of illusion-based formation, but in reality, it was Lord Xingde’s killing formation.

The “five paths” referred to the ears, eyes, nose, mouth, and heart; once these were blocked, confusion and chaos followed. The “six emotions” were pain, pleasure, lust, fragrance, gain, and love. If these were disrupted, one’s spirit would no longer flow freely.

As soon as the formation was activated, the Three Heroes of Mount Mo were trapped inside. Their senses were sealed off, their emotions thrown into disarray, and they couldn’t hold out for long.

Their true qi was quickly exposed; they were only at the fifth to seventh layer of Qi Refinement. How could they possibly be a match for Lord Xingde?

Even Lord Xingde was baffled. With cultivation like that, these three actually dared to take over Mount Mo? It made no sense at all.

Watching the trio struggle in the formation, Liu Xiaolou felt thoroughly satisfied. Arms crossed, he watched the battle unfold at ease, taking the opportunity to study how the formation was being controlled. Not that he could really jump in anyway.

In the past, every battle involved all sorts of tricks, ambushes, and swarming the enemy by surprise. But today, facing off against the so-called “Three Heroes of Mount Mo,” they were using a proper formation to crush their opponents head-on. This kind of open and overwhelming victory was a totally new experience. And honestly, it felt amazing.

With a Qi Refinement ninth-layer expert guarding his back, it felt incredible to finally fight without stress.

“Big Brother, Third Brother.... this one’s tough!”

“Big Brother, Second Brother. I can’t hold on!”

“Second Brother, Third Brother. Don’t panic. Same old plan...”

“Supreme Heavenly Star, ever ready and ever-shifting, raise the Heavenly Spirit Banner!”

“Drive away evil, bind dark spirits, protect life and body, raise the Earth Spirit Banner!”

“Wisdom clear and bright, calm and peaceful mind, raise the Human Spirit Banner!”

“Three Talents Banner to Guard Soul and Spirit, activate! Swiftly and surely, as the law commands!"

Liu Xiaolou blinked. Huh, those three really called it out in sync. Must’ve practiced that a lot.

Three small banners materialized in the hands of the Three Heroes, joining together into the Three Talents Banner to Guard Soul and Spirit. As the flags whipped through the air, they tore open a path, breaking the three of them free from Lord Xingde’s killing formation by sheer force.

Lord Xingde couldn’t help but praise, “Excellent banner.”

He steadied himself, ready for their counterattack, but the Mount Mo trio jumped far back, several dozen yards away, and made no move to continue the fight.

“Hey!" Liu Xiaolou shouted. "Why aren’t you coming back to finish this?”

The eldest, Tian Ying, called back, “Why the hell would we? You want us to charge in and die? You think we’re that dumb?”

Ah, so that’s what this was. The Three Talents Banner to Guard Soul and Spirit was one of those powerful defensive artifacts. Strong protection, but no offensive capabilities. Who knows where they found it, but clearly they'd been relying on it to hold Mo Mountain.

Lord Xingde chuckled, then waved a hand and dismissed the Five Paths and Six Emotions Formation.  “Very well," With a sweep of his sleeve. "I’ll let you go. Run along while you can.”

His words sounded gracious enough, but they only drew a chorus of jeers in response:

“Who asked you to let us go, you old fossil? Don’t flatter yourself. Come chase us if you’ve got the guts.”

“Mount Mo is our home! You barged in like thugs. You should be the ones struck by lightning...”

“If you’ve got the balls, go down to the quarry; let my brothers show you how we kill you!”

Lord Xingde always prided himself on being elegant, refined, and composed. But now, thanks to the nonstop insults from those three brothers, he was absolutely fuming. His face was practically glowing with rage. Without a word, he summoned the Five Paths and Six Emotions Formation again and charged after them.

His cultivation was far above that of the Three Heroes of Mount Mo, and his speed was unmatched. There was no way they could outrun him. In a flash, the three were trapped inside the formation once more.

The Three Heroes fell back on their old trick and shouted out their chant in perfect unison:

“Supreme Heavenly Star, ever ready and ever-shifting, raise the Heavenly Spirit Banner!”

“Drive away evil, bind dark spirits, protect life and body, raise the Earth Spirit Banner!”

“Wisdom clear and bright, calm and peaceful mind, raise the Human Spirit Banner!”

“Three Talents Banner to Guard Soul and Spirit, activate! Swiftly and surely, as the law commands!"

Once again, the three flags fused into one, sweeping the brothers out of the formation. But instead of fleeing, they circled around to the southwest corner of the cold pool and started yelling again; this time with even filthier, more colorful curses.

Lord Xingde turned to Liu Xiaolou. “Xiaolou, I’ll cover things up here. You go down and fetch the stone. The Black  Stone is at the bottom of the pool. It's easy to spot. Just grab a fist-sized piece. After that, stir up the water at the bottom. The spring’s essence forms as tiny jade-like beads inside the bubbles. Just collect a few of those.”

He tossed Liu Xiaolou a jade box. Liu Xiaolou caught it and leapt straight into the pool.

The water was deep, more than eight zhang. And even with his third-layer Qi Refinement, he felt the pressure in his ears. After swimming around for a bit, he spotted an unusual fist-sized rock wedged in a crack. It was hollow in the center. Clearly the Black Stone. Its base was embedded in the mud, so he swam over and broke it off.

Then he stirred the water around the rock crevice, and sure enough, bubbles began to rise. Within some of them, tiny pearl-like beads shimmered. He quickly used the jade box to gather a few.

After collecting the Black Stone and the spring essence pearls, Liu Xiaolou swam back to the surface and climbed ashore. The moment he looked up, he saw Lord Xingde still locked in a battle  with the Three Heroes of Mount Mo. But in just a few moments, the three brothers managed to escape again, hurling a fresh wave of filthy insults as they fled. Lord Xingde's face turned red with anger, fuming from the relentless barrage.

Seeing that Liu Xiaolou had returned safely, Lord Xingde finally let out a long, frustrated sigh. He hesitated for a moment, then spat out a sharp warning to the trio and left the area with Liu Xiaolou.

Once they’d made it down the mountain, Lord Xingde was still visibly upset. Liu Xiaolou offered a few calming words, and after a while, the senior finally began to settle down.

About ten li out, night had fully fallen. The two of them found a sheltered spot out of the wind to rest. Under the glow of their campfire, they took out the Black Stone and the spring essence pearls to inspect them.

Lord Xingde nodded with satisfaction. “This Black Stone is excellent quality, and these spring pearls are bright and full of energy. Very usable. Well done, Xiaolou.”

“I found them right after diving in," Liu Xiaolou replied, "wasn’t even trying to be picky.”

Lord Xingde thought for a moment. “Maybe those three bastards hogging Mount Mo actually did us a favor. With no one else gathering from the spring, the stone and the pearls had time to form properly. In a twisted way, I suppose they’ve earned some credit.”

Just then, a sharp gust tore through the night. Stones came flying out of the darkness with shocking force. Liu Xiaolou quickly drew his sword to block. If any of them had hit, they would've split his skull wide open.

But Lord Xingde moved like lightning, leaping toward the direction the stones had come from. In a blink, brilliant lights lit up the forest as a fierce battle erupted once again.

And then, from the shadows, came the all-too-familiar chant, loud and clear:

“Supreme Heavenly Star, ever....”

“Drive away evil, bind dark spirits...”

“Wisdom clear and....”

“Three Talents Banner to Guard Soul and Spirit, activate! Swiftly and surely, as the law commands!"

Not long after, Lord Xingde came storming back, furious and flustered. The air was still filled with the Three Heroes’ taunts and curses. Gritting his teeth, he turned to Liu Xiaolou and demanded, “Got any bright ideas? I swear, I’d tear those scoundrels limb from limb if I could!”

Liu Xiaolou could only shrug helplessly. He’d already figured out the Three Heroes of Mount Mo’s strategy. Some of the folks back at Wulong Mountain used the same tactic. Liu Xiaolou himself hadn’t used it; he was still pretty new. But he’d definitely heard of it. It was practically impossible to counter.

He spread his hands. “Getting mad won’t help. We can’t hit them, we can’t out-curse them, what else can we do?”

Lord Xingde snapped, “There’s no staying on Mount Mo now. We’re leaving tonight.”

“This is what they call 'dogskin plaster combat'," Liu Xiaolou said, "they stick to you like glue and never let up. Even if we fled a thousand li, they’d follow just to mess with us. That’s their whole game: act like rabid dogs until you crack. And don’t even think about retreating to Xingde Mountain. If they ever figure out where your house is, you’ll never know peace again.”

Lord Xingde frowned. “Then what do you suggest?”

"Maybe I should go talk to them?”

“Talk about what?”

“Offer them something. A little... incentive.”

“In broad daylight, we’re supposed to let ourselves be extorted by three gutter-rat thugs?" Lord Xingde exploded. "That’s the same as surrendering! Absolutely not!”