Chapter 13: The Illusive Fragrance

As Liu Xiaolou left the market, a cool breeze swept over him. Only then did he realize his forehead was damp with sweat. He had no idea when it had built up, but now, with the wind brushing past, he suddenly felt chilled. Still, the tension in his chest eased, and he couldn’t help but feel a quiet sense of relief.... for saving two spirit stones, no less. Spirit pills just weren’t meant for someone like him. Wouldn’t building up more true qi be more rewarding in the long run? It almost felt like he’d lucked into those two spirit stones, and that made him want to treat himself. So he had a new robe tailored in town, picked up some oil, salt, sauces, vinegar, and herbs.... spending just over ten taels of silver. He packed it all into a big bamboo basket, slung it over his back, and made his way up the mountain with a spring in his step. The benefits of advancing his cultivation were obvious in every way. What used to take nearly four hours now took only about two and a quarter. And he felt light on his feet the entire time, not the least bit tired. On the way back, he even snatched up a pheasant and made a stew once he got home. A hot meal filled him up nicely. Big White in the courtyard was honking up a storm, locked in an epic battle with a pile of chicken bones. Meanwhile, Liu Xiaolou lit an oil lamp, took out a small alchemy furnace, and placed it over the flame. He channeled true qi into the furnace, keeping the heat concentrated and steadily rising. He wasn’t an alchemist and didn’t know the art of pill-making. His sect, Sanxuan, didn’t even have any official pill-refining techniques. What he was preparing was a secret skill passed down by his master—Elusive Fragrance. When the furnace began to glow faintly red, the heat was just right. Liu Xiaolou carefully placed the refined pine resin essence inside. Before long, it melted into a thick, milky-white liquid at the bottom of the furnace, gently bubbling. Then, following the recipe, he measured out just the right amounts of tiger penis, deer antler, cinnamon, desert cistanche, epimedium, and other medicinal herbs he'd purchased. With his true qi, he ground them into fine powder and added them in. The pine resin was the yin component. The herbs were yang. As soon as they mixed, yin and yang fused together like milk and water. The thick liquid at the bottom turned a faint amber color. Liu Xiaolou slowly lowered the temperature of the furnace using his mental technique, weaving strands of true qi into it from time to time. He refined through the entire night, and by dawn, he finally refined a fragrant tendon. It was just over three feet long, thin as a bamboo skewer, yet resistant to both fire and water; flexible, but incredibly tough. At first glance, it looked like some kind of whip or corded weapon used in magical combat. And in fact, it could be used that way; its effectiveness wasn’t much different from that of a low-grade magical item. But that wasn’t its real purpose. Its true ability was revealed once ignited. The fragrance it released could cloud a person’s mind, subtly at first, luring them into confusion and longing without even realizing it. Eventually, it would leave them dizzy, dazed, and in a deep, unshakable sleep. Even cultivators weren't immune. As long as someone’s mind wasn’t firmly grounded, they were vulnerable to its effects. What made the Elusive Fragrance so remarkable was that it’s infused with the Sanxuan Daoist technique. The higher the refiner’s cultivation, the purer their true qi, the deeper their understanding of the Great Dao, the deeper their mastery when using the technique—the stronger and more refined the Elusive Fragrance’s effects would be. As for those affected by it, their response depended entirely on their mental state at the time. Someone emotionally detached or free from worldly desire might not be affected at all. But anyone struggling with longing, romantic entanglements, or distracted thoughts would find its power almost impossible to resist. No matter the case, now that Liu Xiaolou had successfully refined the Elusive Fragrance again, his ability to protect himself had improved significantly. He wrapped the cord around his forearm using his sect’s special technique and concealed it beneath his sleeve. With a flick of his wrist, he could whip it out like a weapon, or, with a surge of true qi, ignite it and unleash its intoxicating fragrance on an enemy.....he could now deploy or retract it with perfect control. With the fragrant tendon complete, Liu Xiaolou didn’t waste any time. He immediately took out the two spirit stones and began absorbing them. For a broke rogue cultivator like him, spirit stones were never something to save.... unless he had a very specific purpose in mind, they were meant to be used. He sat cross-legged in his room, cultivating day and night. In what felt like the blink of an eye, nearly a month passed. By the end of it, the two spirit stones had turned to dust, the pale gray fragments scattered across the courtyard floor. Big White had tried several times to peck at the spirit stones in his hand, but failed every time. And took a few slaps to the head for the trouble, leaving it dazed and spinning. In the end, it had to settle for pecking up the leftover stone dust in the dirt, doing its best to find comfort in that small reward. With the help of those two spirit stones, Liu Xiaolou successfully broke through the first acupoint of the Hand Faint Yin Meridian—Tianchi. The spiritual energy transformed into true qi and began accumulating in the primordial pool of the Tianchi acupoint. Doing a quick mental comparison, he realized that his ability to absorb and refine spirit stone energy had improved since he’d reached the second layer of Qi Refinement. Where one spirit stone used to last him about half a month, now it seemed to run out a whole day sooner. The effects of his cultivation breakthrough were definitely noticeable. Unfortunately, the spirit stones were spent. These blissful, steady days of focused cultivation had to come to a stop for now. Time to start thinking about the next move. While mulling things over, he suddenly slapped his forehead and jumped to his feet. He hurried off to a nearby bamboo grove, chopped down two long stalks, and carried them to the Wunest River. There, he split the bamboo into six sections, tied them together with long grass, and quickly lashed together a makeshift bamboo raft. Then he hopped on and let the current carry him downstream. The spirit fields on Ewe Ram Mountain were probably ready for harvest. He’d been so focused on his closed-door cultivation that he completely forgot about it. Now the only question was.....was he already too late? Ewe Ram Mountain belongs to the prestigious Zhanglong Sect of western Xiang and lies adjacent to the blessed land of Zhanglong Mountain. Within the sanctuary of Zhanglong Mountain, a residual spiritual spring extends a channel into Ewe Ram Mountain. Though the spring itself is no longer visible, spiritual energy still seeps through this passage, enveloping a valley on Ewe Ram Mountain spanning over 2000 acres. Thanks to this, Zhanglong Mountain had cultivated a spiritual field there, producing spirit rice rich in spiritual energy. Ling’er, the fiancée who called off her engagement with Wei Hongqing, ended up marrying Zang Qianli, an inner disciple of the Zhanglong Sect. And it’s the Zang family who managed the spiritual fields of Eyang Mountain for the Zhanglong Sect. Every year in late autumn, when the crops in those fields ripened, the Zang family would hire a group of rogue cultivators to rush in and harvest as fast as possible. As payment, those cultivators were given a share of spirit rice.... which made the job a solid seasonal income for many rogue cultivators throughout western Xiang. On one hand was brotherhood; on the other, a gnawing hunger. Liu Xiaolou had been torn about whether to give up this opportunity, but now that his brother had run off, well, there wasn’t much point worrying about brotherhood for the moment. Following the Wunest River downstream, he passed through Wunest Town. After traveling another four or so miles, he left his bamboo raft behind and went ashore. Without slowing his pace, he headed northeast at a fast clip. He hurried through the night, crossing more than a dozen mountain ridges, and finally arrived at Ewe Ram Mountain just as the sky began to brighten. To the north of the mountain hollow stood dozens of buildings, large and small, the Ewe Ram Mountain Manor, home of the Zang family. To the south flowed a stream about ten feet wide. On both sides of this stream stretched more than 2,000 acres of paddy fields; these were the Ewe Ram spirit fields. By the time Liu Xiaolou arrived, he saw thin morning mist rising from the stream and drifting across the surrounding fields. This wasn’t ordinary mist; it was spiritual energy, seeping from the residual spirit spring. Every morning, it would rise with the steam from the creek and nourish the land on both sides. Liu Xiaolou really wanted to rush up and take a few deep, refreshing breaths of that mist. But unfortunately, doing so was strictly forbidden. If everyone came to breathe in the spirit mist, what would be left for the fields? Because of that, the manor had erected a long fence around the spirit fields to protect them. The fence wasn’t especially tall or sturdy; it could be pushed over or easily jumped. But it stood for the authority of the Zhanglong Sect. No one dared cross that line, and Liu Xiaolou was no exception. So, he followed the fence to the front of the manor and asked to see its manager, Zang Baili. While waiting at the manor's entrance to be announced, he saw a steady stream of rogue cultivators coming out from within. Each carried a sickle and had a bamboo basket strapped to their back as they headed down to the spirit fields. Crap, looks like I really am late after all.