Life as a Rogue Cultivator

Chapter 262: The Vast, Imposing Mountains

If it weren’t for that one scene that kept replaying in his mind over the past few years, if it weren’t for that crisp still echoing in his ears, Liu Xiaolou probably wouldn’t have paid much attention after handing over the Formation Disk Key. He would’ve just treated the refining of it as another problem to solve along his cultivation journey.A tough problem solved, a bit of progress made in the Dao of Formations. Nothing more.

But now, there’s no way he can just let it go. For a cultivator, this kind of thing could mean a fateful opportunity. He doesn’t know what kind yet, but it’s definitely something worth asking about.

“Brother Daoran,” he said, “can you tell me who commissioned you to forge this Formation Disk Key? I know it’s not proper to ask, and I wouldn’t under normal circumstances, but this might be my chance, my .”

“Since you’ve put it that way, Xiaolou, I won’t keep it from you,” Daoran said. “The client came from the Ten-Thousand Great Mountains in the southwest. Didn’t give me a name. He just said he came because he’d heard of my work. But you and I both know what that really means. He must’ve stumbled upon some ancient cultivator’s dwelling out there. If we start poking around too much, we could bring trouble on ourselves.”

“I understand,” Liu Xiaolou nodded. “Don’t worry, Brother Daoran, I won’t go prying.”

“I’m handing over the formation key tomorrow,” Daoran continued. “It’ll be at Snake Ridge, up north. Best if you don’t show up and cause a stir. Once I get the spirit stones, I’ll make sure you get your share.”

“Got it,” Xiaolou laughed. “Thanks, Brother Daoran.”

The next day, Liu Xiaolou slipped out through the side gate of the manor and made his way toward Snake Ridge. He waited at the foot of the hill for quite a while before spotting Liu Daoran strolling lazily up the slope. Keeping a respectful distance of several dozen paces, Liu Xiaolou followed quietly behind.

He saw Liu Daoran climb onto a rocky ledge, where someone stepped out from behind the cliff. The man was bare-armed and barefoot, a bow slung over his shoulder and a quiver full of arrows strapped to his back. A typical Miao mountain hunter, by the look of him.

Liu Daoran passed the formation key to the man. The man caught it and dropped into a cross-legged squat. Liu Daoran mirrored him. The bushes closed around them like a curtain.

Liu Xiaolou grew anxious, wanting to stand up for a better view, but no matter how he shifted, he couldn’t find a good angle. So he began climbing sideways along the ridge, hoping to catch a glimpse from another spot. Just as he found a small opening through the bushes, the meeting was already wrapping up. He saw the stranger tuck away the formation key and clasp his hands in farewell to Liu Daoran.

After they parted ways, Liu Daoran headed down the mountain. Liu Xiaolou, however, tailed the stranger from a distance. Too far to risk being noticed, especially since he couldn’t gauge the man’s cultivation level. He followed for about two hours before finally discovering the man’s temporary hideout in a mountain cave. Only then did he turn back for Liu Manor.

When he met Daoran again, Liu Xiaolou asked about the exchange. Daoran replied, “I’ll have to go again tomorrow. The man said he’ll test the key and let me know if it works. If it’s usable, he’ll pay in spirit stones. And then we’ll fully unlock the key for his permanent use.”

That night, Liu Xiaolou said to Fang Bu’ai, “I might have to travel far for a while. Stay here and focus on your cultivation. Don’t come out until you reach the fifth layer of Qi Refinement.”

Fang Bu’ai was in the middle of a critical point in his cultivation. After a brief hesitation, he didn’t insist on going with Liu Xiaolou like before. He just nodded in agreement.

Once everything was settled, Liu Xiaolou set out for Snake Ridge overnight. He found a spot with an excellent view, mapped out the route he’d use to tail his target, and waited there until dawn.

This time, Liu Xiaolou could see the exchange between Liu Daoran and the other man clearly. There wasn’t much to it, really. The man had obviously gone back to test the formations key and confirmed it worked. After that, he handed over the spirit stones, and Liu Daoran took a few minutes to fully unlock the formation key’s opening. The deal done, they cupped their hands in farewell and went their separate ways.

Liu Xiaolou then turned and quietly followed the man. The route he had chosen for tailing was excellent. It was easy for him to keep track of the target, and hard for the target to notice him. As he trailed along, he kept studying the man’s cultivation, but the fellow walked the mountain path like any ordinary person, showing nothing unusual and not revealing any cultivation at all. That made Liu Xiaolou hesitate; he couldn’t bring himself to strike.

He had planned to make his move when the man returned to the cave he’d been staying in. But to his surprise, the man bypassed the cave entirely and never went back. Liu Xiaolou had no choice but to grit his teeth and keep following.

He ended up following the man for more than twenty li through the mountains until night fell. When they finally reached another cave, Liu Xiaolou was fairly sure the man’s cultivation wasn’t that high, so he made up his mind to act.

Moving quickly, he crept closer. As soon as the man stepped into the cave, Liu Xiaolou tiptoed up to the entrance, ready to use his Bewildering Fragrance Tendon. But just then, a sharp scream echoed from within the cave, freezing him in place. Startled, he immediately backed away into the shadows.

A moment later, someone emerged... but it wasn’t the hunter he’d been tracking. Instead, out stepped a middle-aged cultivator dressed like a typical rogue cultivator from the Central Plains.

The man leapt into the air as soon as he exited, flipping onto the cave’s rocky roof before darting off toward the southwest.

Liu Xiaolou glanced quickly toward the cave entrance. The hunter was sprawled inside, a dark smear of blood at his mouth. He was already dead.

A shiver ran down his spine. He warned himself to stay sharp, then leapt forward and followed the man ahead.

After tailing him for quite a while, he could tell from the man’s movements that he was probably around the tenth layer. Stronger than himself. Still, since the man wasn’t going all out, Liu Xiaolou managed to keep up. He stayed on high alert, shadowing him carefully through the mountains.

Liu Xiaolou had been on the man’s tail for over ten days. Through wild, empty mountains and forests they went, always heading southwest. Each day, the man covered roughly two to three hundred li. Not too fast, not too slow. And still took time to rest at night.

By Liu Xiaolou’s rough reckoning, they’d covered two, maybe three thousand li, and there was still no end in sight.

He found himself in a vast, untouched wilderness. Towering peaks and deep gorges stretched endlessly around him. Some cliffs rose or dropped hundreds of zhang. Layer after layer of mountains rolled into the distance, hazy and blue like drifting smoke, piling up all the way to the edge of the sky.

The deeper they went, the more dangerous it became. Thick vines, swarms of insects, venomous snakes, and wild beasts appeared at any time. The air often shook with the roars of spirit beasts echoing from the valleys, and creeping mists of poisonous vapor would silently spread across the forest floor. Even the ground itself hid peril. Marshes that looked completely normal could swallow a man without a trace. All of it made every step forward a constant trial.

What troubled him most was losing his sense of which way was up, time sliding sideways. And even space seemed to twist and blur. The disorientation was so intense it left him sweating bullets.

He had long since thought about giving up, but by now, turning back wasn’t an option. If he tried, he might lose his way completely and vanish into the forest, becoming just another part of the soil.

Thankfully, the man ahead clearly knew the terrain. He avoided the worst dangers and kept moving steadily forward, unknowingly leading Liu Xiaolou to safety again and again.

At this point, Liu Xiaolou’s pursuit had turned into something passive. He was no longer tracking the man so much as relying on him. Without that faint figure ahead, he had no idea how to find a way out.

One night, Liu Xiaolou was staring off at the faint glow of a distant campfire when a wild, feral roar ripped through the forest. He instinctively ducked and stayed hidden for a few breaths. When he looked again, the fire was out, and the man was gone.

Suddenly, Liu Xiaolou felt utterly alone, like he was the only person left in the world.