The Alchemy Chamber

At that moment, Lu Yan thought of the bean-sprout-soldiers technique from Huaxia mythology. The Guanshan Taibao's methods bore some resemblance: he used sorcery to refine ghosts into talisman beans, then controlled them with Paper Men when needed.

Unfortunately, this Guanshan Taibao was no good at it. Something went wrong during the ritual, and the ghosts turned on him and killed him.

The stone door was solid and unyielding. Chen Yulou searched the passage for a mechanism but found nothing, then came over with an ingratiating grin. "Master, how about showing us what you can do?"

Lu Yan pursed his lips, put the Paper Man and talisman beans into the Kamui Dimension, then drew Ivory and fired a shot at the stone door.

In an instant, the once-solid stone door melted into liquid and spilled onto the ground like quicksilver.

"That's the work of an immortal!"

"I'd say Master Lu is almost an immortal himself!"

"Bullshit, he's already one!"

The Xieling men had never witnessed anything like this. They were all awestruck, looking at Lu Yan as if he were a living immortal.

"Ahem."

Chen Yulou coughed twice, then raised a hand and pressed it down, signaling everyone not to make such a fuss.

"Of course my master, Chen Yulou's master, has peerless abilities. Come on, let's go in."

With that, Chen Yulou gripped the Little Divine Blade and strode through the stone doorway at the head of the group.

It was clearly an alchemy chamber, arranged according to the Eight Trigrams. An alchemy cauldron stood in the center, its cloud and beast patterns arranged in a mysterious, intricate design.

Many large black shelves lined the walls. Jade bottles and alchemy ingredients sat on them, but after so long, everything was covered in dust and cobwebs.

"Master, is there anything useful here?"

Chen Yulou stayed beside Lu Yan, watching him look around, and asked respectfully.

Lu Yan's Sharingan swept rapidly over the shelves. Frowning, he said, "They've been here too long. All their energy has dissipated. That furnace looks like a magical artifact, though. I'll take a closer look."

"You heard him. Carry the furnace out. Be careful."

Since becoming Lu Yan's disciple, Chen Yulou had readily taken on the duties of a devoted pupil. He hurriedly directed the Xieling men to move the furnace.

"No need. I'll do it myself."

Lu Yan shook his head. The tomoe in his eyes spun rapidly, forming a black pinwheel, and the furnace was thrown straight into the Kamui Dimension.

Chen Yulou had long wondered about the Kamui Dimension. They had not known each other well enough for him to ask before, but now that he had become Lu Yan's disciple, he no longer had any reservations. "Master, you can use that move to collect anything. What's the story behind it?"

"It's just storage. A special eye technique that comes with my eyes. You can't learn it."

Seeing there was nothing else worth taking, Lu Yan turned and headed out without looking back.

"Master, wait for me!"

Chen Yulou hurried after him. He had lost all interest in inspecting things at his leisure; all he wanted was to stay by Lu Yan's side and learn a few powerful spells.

Outside the stone bridge, the Xieling men carried ancient objects out of the alchemy chamber and side halls, sorting them into categories.

With his hands behind his back, Lu Yan looked at the imposing three characters on the plaque—"Immeasurable Hall"—and casually asked, "What are your plans from here on?"

A glint flashed in Chen Yulou's eyes. He cupped his hands and asked, "Do you have any advice for me, Master?"

"Luo Laowai is going nowhere. You can't make much of him, no matter how much you support him."

"And I've already told you about the situation at home and abroad. You don't have a chance in that arena. You might as well do something else."

Chen Yulou was proud and ambitious, always holding himself in high regard. He disagreed deep down, but still asked in a solemn voice, "Do what?"

Lu Yan turned and fixed his gaze on Chen Yulou's ambitious eyes. "Do something earth-shattering, something that benefits the nation and its people."

On the cliff, Luo Laowai was beside himself with anxiety. He paced back and forth, glancing repeatedly at the Centipede Mountain-Hanging Ladder in the ravine.

"Commander Luo, don't get worked up. The Chief and Mr. Lu will be fine."

Watching Luo Laowai pace around, Red Maiden had long since lost patience. At last, she snapped, "I can't take it anymore. Stop fretting!"

"Damn it, I'm worried! The Chief's been down there for so long. What if something happened to him?"

Luo Laowai stopped and scratched his head, his face tense with worry.

With Chen Yulou gone, Hua Maguai was in charge. All he could do was offer words of reassurance. "Commander Luo, Bottle Mountain is complicated. It's only natural for them to take a while. Chief Chen and Mr. Lu are both very capable men. Good fortune will surely be on their side."

Just then, the Xieling men up ahead cried out, "There's something in the clouds!"

Luo Laowai, Red Maiden, and the others hurried forward. The clouds and mist in the ravine suddenly churned, as if something were about to burst through.

"Get a bead on it!"

Luo Laowai stared at the churning clouds and barked through gritted teeth.

Behind him, two rows of men in the Pistol Company raised their German-made pistols and took aim at the clouds.

Suddenly, the white mist split apart. Just as Luo Laowai was about to give the order to fire, two figures shot upward from below and landed in front of the group. They were Lu Yan and Chen Yulou.

"Good heavens, Chief! You finally made it back up!"

"I nearly blew you away!"

Overjoyed to see Chen Yulou, Luo Laowai hurried over and grabbed him.

"Were there many treasures down there?"

Chen Yulou rolled his eyes helplessly, wriggled free, and brushed the dew from his clothes. "There's an Immortal Palace down there, full of gold and silver. Congratulations, Commander Luo."

Luo Laowai grinned from ear to ear and cupped his hands. "Haha, congratulations to you too!"

Then he glanced at Lu Yan, who had demonstrated the ability to fly through the air and travel beneath the earth, and said with a fake smile, "Brother Lu, you're impressive. Just like an immortal in the opera. We'll split the treasure three ways."

Lu Yan heard the insincerity in Luo Laowai's words but deliberately played along. "How generous of you, Commander Luo. Then I thank you."

"Haha, we're all brothers. It's only right."

Luo Laowai's face twitched with pain, but he forced a grin all the same.

Chen Yulou watched with an amused smile, then turned to Hua Maguai and instructed him, "Send some men down to help the brothers still below."

"The centipedes down there are highly poisonous. Anyone going down must stay close to the men carrying Antidote Pills. Don't wander off."

"Set up pulleys up here and use them to haul everything up!"

Hua Maguai bowed and accepted the order, then began organizing the men. The nimble Xieling men and Luo Laowai's men all got to work.

"I didn't expect things to go so smoothly this time."

Red Maiden watched the busy crowd, looking somewhat relieved.

"We have Master to thank for that. You've no idea how dangerous it was down there."

Chen Yulou opened his folding fan and waved it, ready to launch into a long-winded account.

"Master?"

Luo Laowai and Red Maiden spoke in unison, then looked at each other in surprise.

"My master is peerlessly skilled. I became his disciple down there."

Chen Yulou cupped his hands toward Lu Yan and spoke respectfully.

"Congratulations, Chief!"

"Congratulations, Boss!"

Luo Laowai and Red Maiden had both seen Lu Yan's ability to fly, so they cupped their hands and offered their congratulations.

"Same to you. Now listen while I tell you everything that happened down there."

Chen Yulou clapped his folding fan against his palm and brought out his greatest talent.

Lu Yan smiled. He couldn't be bothered to listen to Chen Yulou brag, so he walked over to a nearby boulder, sat down cross-legged, and began to meditate with his eyes closed.