Winter on Wulong Mountain is freezing. It’s not the sharp, biting cold you find up north. The chill here creeps up from your feet and sinks deep into your bones.

When Liu Xiaolou awoke from his cultivation, he found himself once again wedged into the highest crack of Qianzhu Ridge. Big White was beside him, and perched warmly on his head was Little Black.

Big White staying put was nothing new, but this was the first time Little Black had ever gotten so close to him. The reason was simple. While Liu Xiaolou cultivated, the top of his head radiated heat, and on a freezing mountaintop like this, that warmth was irresistible.

Sensing he was awake, Little Black let out a reluctant meow, jumped down, and sprawled across Big White’s back.

Liu Xiaolou ran his hand along Da Bai’s smooth neck, climbed out of the crevice, and looked out at the mountains shrouded in light mist. A feeling of joy and peace welled up inside him.

That joy came from his progress in cultivation. In just over a month, he had opened five acupoints in succession. Xuanzhong, Qiuxu, Zulinqi, Dihui, and Jiaxi. Even the Qiuxu acupoint, which had a primordial pool and was known to block many cultivators, hadn’t slowed him down. One by one he’d broken through them all, until finally reaching the last acupoint—Zuqiaoyin.

Although he had struck at the Zuqiaoyin acupoint many times without loosening it, that was only to be expected. It was, after all, the final acupoint of the Foot Lesser Yang Meridian. The last acupoint of any meridian was a natural bottleneck, and failing to break through it in a short time was nothing unusual.

Still, to have opened five acupoints in just one month and twenty days was an extraordinary feat. Rarely seen in his life. Even compared to the progress he’d made back when he cultivated alongside Qingzhu, this pace was every bit as remarkable. A vague, hard-to-describe insight began to stir within him. It seemed his unusually rapid progress might have something to do with this crevice. Otherwise, why would he keep “sleepwalking” back here again and again during his cultivations over the past month?

He didn’t head down right away. Instead, he carefully studied the crevice, and to get a better look, he even shooed Big White and Little Black off to the side.

But no matter how closely he looked, he couldn’t make sense of it. So he changed his approach and examined the feng shui from the perspective of the formation. Looking at it that way, he finally started to see some clues.

The summit of Qianzhu Ridge seemed to form a light Sha configuration, where the Bing and Ding fires clashed with the coiling serpent beneath. When viewed together with the bamboo forest below, it transformed into a White Tiger Sha

pattern, where the Geng metal pressed against the white tiger’s charge. Looking further toward his own small courtyard, he noticed that the two ancient pines flanking the mountain path at its entrance created yet another configuration—a Heavenly Pillar Sha.

Surveying the surrounding peaks, he saw that the Ghostdream Cliff to the left formed a jagged “tooth mouth,” while the ridgeline stretching out from Guzhang Mountain resembled a dragon’s spine. The northern Jade Maiden Peak and the southwestern Flying Tiger Ridge curved like a dragon’s claws, with Qianzhu Ridge itself lying right at the dragon’s eye.

No wonder it was called Wulong (Black Dragon) Mountain. Looking back from Qianzhu Ridge, the surrounding peaks really did resemble a great black dragon.

But along the dragon’s back ran the Wuchao River, winding like a chain that bound it tight. A configuration known as the Bound Dragon Sha.

Liu Xiaolou had never thought about such things before, nor did he understand them. Seeing it clearly now for the first time, he stood there dumbfounded.

A Light Sha, a White Tiger Sha, a Heavenly Pillar Sha, and now a Bound Dragon Sha. Four ominous configurations, all intertwined. This was definitely not a good place.

And yet, strangely enough, his cultivation had clearly benefited from staying here. How could that be?

He wasn’t a master of formations, and the puzzle was beyond him. All he could do was bury his doubts for now and look for the answer slowly, in time.

On the first day of the second month, Liu Xiaolou hung two wooden plaques around Big White’s neck, each inscribed with the words “Yangliu Bay.” He sent them off, one toward Dragon Horse Falls and the other to Half-Acre Gorge. He had originally planned to carve the words “Hero’s Challenge” on the plaques as well, but after thinking it over, he decided against it. With just the two of them, it hardly seemed worth the trouble.

He slipped quietly down the mountain, circling east. He hadn’t gone far when someone came running after him. Turning his head, he saw it was Fang Bu’ai.

“Junior Fang?”

Fang Bu’ai was out of breath, one hand on his sword as he bowed. “Senior, if you’re going on a task, please call on me. I may be unworthy, but I’m willing to risk my life for you!”

Liu Xiaolou had been about to send him back, but suddenly he remembered. Back when he was only at the second layer of Qi Refinement, hadn’t he also gone down the mountain to fight for his life? Fang Bu’ai was already at the third layer, stronger than Liu had been back then. If he didn’t risk himself now, when would his cultivation ever grow?

Liu Xiaolou let out a quiet sigh. “Come along then.”

Fang Buai kept close behind Liu Xiaolou, moving along a path few people ever took.

“Junior Fang, this time people may die.”

“I’m not afraid of dying,” said Fang Bu’ai. “What I’m afraid of is never advancing in cultivation.”

“In this line of work, you’d better know how to keep your mouth shut.”

“Don’t worry, Senior. I understand.”

They skirted past Wuchao Town and Wuling Mountain, and when Tianmen Market came into view, they turned south instead, arriving at an old house in Yangliu Bay. They climbed over the wall and slipped inside.

Fang Bu’ai looked around curiously at the run-down residence, its walls overgrown with vines. After wandering through the place, he muttered, “A cursed house. The stench of blood is thick here.”

Liu Xiaolou chuckled. “So you’ve got a talent for that too, Junior Fang?” With that, he settled cross-legged in a corner of the courtyard, eyes closed.

Fang Bu’ai didn’t say more. He sat down by the wall, closed his eyes, and began to regulate his breathing.

By dusk, someone else vaulted over the wall. It was Wei Hongqing.

Liu Xiaolou greeted him. “This is Junior Fang, Fang Bu’ai. A new friend from Qianzhu Ridge. He’s at the third layer of Qi Refinement. You’ve seen his kind before. After the Battle of Zhuoshui he went to Wulong Mountain to scrape out a living. Good man.”

Anyone Liu Xiaolou brought along was someone Wei Hongqing could trust. After a few quick questions about Fang Bu’ai’s skills, he gave him a pat on the shoulder for encouragement.

Two hours later, Tan Bajhang and Zuo Gaofeng arrived in turn. Tan grinned. “Junior Fang’s here too!”

Zuo Gaofeng gave him a word of caution. “Listen, Junior Fang, this time it’s not a battlefield charge. Follow orders and don’t be reckless.”

Liu Xiaolou looked around at the gathered faces. “Now that everyone’s here, I’ll be upfront. Our target is Lu Zhongqiu, an inner-sect steward from Tianmu Mountain. He’s at the peak of Qi Refinement. Every year around this time, he comes down the mountain to purchase a batch of spirit materials. We don’t yet know how he pays for them, but we’re betting he carries spirit stones and maybe gold and silver on him. For the details, let’s hear from Brother Wei.”

The group perked up, their attention turning to Wei Hongqing. He began, “I’ve been digging around these past days. In recent years, Lu has mainly traveled along two routes. The northern route takes him through Nanshan, then along the Loushui to Jiashan before heading east. Where exactly after that, I don’t know. The southern route takes him along the Qi River, through the Taoyuan Mountains, to Donghu, and across Dongting before turning east. Again, I don’t know the final destination. But no matter which way he goes, on his way back he always passes through Jiashan, spending a night at the Jiashan market. And he's done this every year for the last three years, without fail.”

“You’re thinking of making a move at Jiashan Market?” said Zuo Gaofeng. “That would need careful planning. I’ve been there; it’s a huge marketplace, crowded and noisy.”

Wei Hongqing shook his head. “Of course not. We’ll watch him at Jiashan, then strike on his way back. Seven li west of the market is Guangfu Bridge. If that won’t do, we push farther west to Wulei Mountain, ten li out. And if that still doesn’t work, we fall back all the way to the Fengshui Crossing.”

Zuo Gaofeng frowned. “If we wait until his return, will he still have spirit stones and silver left after buying all those goods?”

“Then we take the goods themselves. They’re worth just as much,” replied Wei Hongqing.

It was, on the whole, a solid plan. Clearly Wei Hongqing had put in no small effort to learn this much about Lu Zhongqiu’s movements. No easy task. Zuo Gaofeng dropped his objections, while Tan Bajang grew excited, eager to “beat him in the dark.”

Liu Xiaolou, though, couldn’t help but worry. “Brother Wei, I’m just afraid suspicion will fall on you.”

Wei Hongqing chuckled. “It’s nothing. Ten days ago, I got into an argument with Zhang Zhengyi, one of the inner sect stewards, and we agreed to a duel. He left me badly injured, so I’m now in seclusion, trying to recover.”

Liu Xiaolou’s brow furrowed. “But if you’re supposed to be in seclusion, then why are you down the mountain? What if Madam Lu Yan comes to check on you…”

Wei Hongqing’s lips twitched in a bitter smirk. “I’ve been hurt for ten days now. She hasn’t asked about me even once.”

It was the first time Tan Bajhang and Zuo Gaofeng had heard about this. Zuo Gaofeng’s eyes widened in surprise. “So you and Madam Lu Yan… have broken things off?”

Tan Bajhang was already bristling with anger. “Those highborn ladies all look down on us heroes from Wulong Mountain. What the hell are they worth anyway? Pretentious snobs! Brother Wei, once this job is done, why don’t you come back with Xiaolou? Don’t let her treat you like dirt!”

Wei Hongqing didn’t explain any further. He only said, “We’ll take it one step at a time. As long as I can stay at Tianmu Mountain a bit longer, that means one more source of information. And more chances to strike it rich with my brothers.”

By now, the group was nothing like they had been a few years ago. After the battle at Zhuoshui, both Zuo Gaofeng and Tan Bajhang had advanced by a layer. Just last month, Zuo Gaofeng broke through to the ninth layer of Qi Refinement, nearly qualified to face Lu Zhongqiu in a duel. Tan Bajhang had reached the seventh layer, the very peak of the mid-stage of Qi Refinement.

Wei Hongqing had spent five years at Tianmu Mountain, climbing from the fifth to the eighth layer of Qi Refinement, stepping firmly into the late stage.

The fastest progress, though, belonged to Liu Xiaolou. Starting from the second layer of Qi Refinement when he first entered the path, he had risen four layers in just five years. He had already pushed the sixth layer to its final bottleneck, and was only a hair’s breadth away from the seventh. He was close enough now to be right on the others’ heels.