For three straight days, Chen Yulou and Luo Laowai's men had been working at full tilt. All kinds of treasures were hauled up from the ravine without end, and Luo Laowai was so delighted he could barely stop grinning.
By now, everyone was exhausted, but as they watched one treasure after another emerge from the clouds and mist, they felt as if they had strength to spare.
Lu Yan paid them no mind. He sat meditating on a blue-gray rock in the distance, hoping to bring himself into peak condition before taking the precious pill and advancing.
But everyone looked at Lu Yan with awe. Even when they passed near him, they lowered their steps.
Two days earlier, the Six-Winged Centipede's corpse had been hauled up. When they learned that Lu Yan had slain such a fearsome monster, everyone had been filled with awe for him.
There were three great threats on Bottle Mountain: the Six-Winged Centipede, the White Ape, and the Corpse King of Western Hunan. The Six-Winged Centipede was gone now, but neither the Corpse King nor the White Ape had been seen.
It was a little disappointing, but with Lu Yan on the verge of a breakthrough, he no longer wanted to waste time on Bottle Mountain.
"Master, we've got almost everything. We can leave now."
Chen Yulou truly had talent. After three days of personal instruction from Lu Yan, he had already made a start with the Meditation Technique.
"Then let's go."
Lu Yan opened his eyes and saw that Chen Yulou's energy and spirit were completely different from before. He nodded in satisfaction.
With the Xieling men's return, word of what had happened on Bottle Mountain quickly spread through the bandit underworld.
"Hey, have you heard? The Xieling men dug up treasure on Bottle Mountain. Their loaded wagons made the road sink three inches."
"That's nothing. One of my brothers serves under Luo Laowai. I heard that after he got back, he married eight concubines in a row. Even the bridal sedan was made of gold."
"You're all wrong. My neighbor's cousin's brother-in-law is a local from Bottle Mountain. He says the mountain's walls are made of gold and its roads paved with jade. The Xieling men got rich just by prying up a few paving stones outside."
Rumors might stop with the wise, but most people in the bandit underworld were poorly educated. They turned Bottle Mountain into a second San Francisco, and one after another, people flocked there.
Even the warlords around Bottle Mountain heard that Luo Laowai had made a fortune. Envious and convinced they had been cheated out of a windfall, they sent out troops, hoping to grab a share.
But Bottle Mountain's dangers were impossible to predict. Without Lu Yan's help, Chen Yulou and the others would have suffered heavy losses, just as they had in the original story. How could these jealous bandit warlords possibly subdue it?
The first to arrive were Liu the Pockmarked and his gang, a notorious band of horse thieves from the region. Their men were tough and well equipped. They seized a guide and followed Chen Yulou's route down through the ravine, but the moment they reached the underground palace, centipedes and poisonous insects melted them into yellow sludge.
The next few groups took heed of that lesson and tried another route, only to meet an even worse fate. They ran into the White Ape and the Corpse King of Western Hunan. Hundreds went in, but only a dozen came fleeing out, scared witless.
Several warlords who had just fought a battle steeled themselves and chose to bomb the mountain, just as Luo Laowai had. Thousands upon thousands of pounds of explosives blasted Bottle Mountain full of holes.
Seeing that they were getting nowhere, Commander Long, Luo Laowai's bitterest rival, had a famous feng shui master abducted and found the outer city. The group was overjoyed, but all of them perished beneath its traps.
When word got out, everyone in the bandit underworld turned pale at the mention of Bottle Mountain and admired Chen Yulou, leader of Ever-Victorious Mountain, all the more.
But Chen Yulou, now the center of everyone's attention, was pacing restlessly around the main hall.
"Why hasn't Master come out yet?"
Chen Yulou glanced toward the place where Lu Yan had gone into seclusion. He kept tapping his folding fan against his palm, his expression anxious.
"What day is it today?"
Chen Yulou looked at Red Maiden behind him and asked urgently.
"The fifteenth."
Red Maiden twirled a throwing knife in her hand, one foot propped on a chair. Then she suddenly spun around and hurled the knife.
Hua Maguai had just walked in. Seeing the knife fly over his head, he wiped away a cold sweat and came over trembling to plead, "My dear girl, I know you're worried, but don't take it out on me."
Then he reported to Chen Yulou, "Chief, we've sold some of the goods. The food we got in exchange is enough for the refugees. We'll have to sell the rest slowly if we don't want the price to drop."
Chen Yulou waved impatiently. "I'm not in the mood to hear about that. Handle it however you see fit."
Hua Maguai reluctantly set down the account book in his hand and said sheepishly, "Old Master wants you to go see him."
Chen Yulou frowned, then nodded. "All right."
As soon as he entered the courtyard, Chen Yulou saw his father sitting in a recliner, holding the pipe he never let out of his hand.
"Father."
"Mm. Your master still hasn't come out?"
Chen Yulou nodded anxiously. "Not yet. I've been worried about it."
Old Master Chen tapped his pipe against the table leg and squinted at Chen Yulou. "Your master is a man of real ability. He treated these old bones of mine as soon as he arrived, so it's clear he truly sees you as his disciple. You're right to worry."
"But now that you've taken on the burden of leading Ever-Victorious Mountain, you need to pay more attention to your duties. Don't let private concerns interfere with public business."
"Your master doesn't seem like a careless man. Since he's gone into seclusion, he must be confident. You don't need to worry too much."
"My Chen family has been established in Xiangyin for many years, but we've never risen or fallen far. You've had a tremendous opportunity this time, so make the most of it. Treating your master like a father is the least you can do. And you must keep practicing what he's taught you. Understand?"
As Chen Yulou listened to his father's earnest advice, his restless, agitated heart gradually settled. He nodded. "I understand."
"Then go on."
"Guai, do your best to help him."
Old Master Chen waved his pipe, then turned and instructed Hua Maguai, who stood behind him.
"Yes, Old Master."
Hua Laoguai bowed in response.
Meanwhile, in a sealed chamber elsewhere, Lu Yan sat cross-legged on a stone bed. The precious pill in his mouth was shrinking, while the aura around him grew stronger and stronger.
In his sea of consciousness, a complex magic array rotated slowly, radiating purple and crimson light.
What Lu Yan was doing was using the existing array as a foundation, then guiding his magic with his spiritual power to engrave a second array. It took an immense amount of concentration. Without the pill's steady supply of medicinal energy, Lu Yan might not have been able to endure it.
After fifteen days and nights of relentless work, only one corner remained before the second array would be complete. Sweat beaded on Lu Yan's forehead, and his mind had reached its limit, but he gritted his teeth and pressed on.
The arrays wizards engraved in their minds were extremely complex, shifting constantly with fluctuations in their thoughts. A wizard needed to accumulate extensive knowledge to cope with all those changes before successfully engraving one.
What Lu Yan faced now was even more difficult. Not only was the second array changing on its own, it could also be pulled by the first at any moment. He had to maintain total concentration at all times, responding to every tiny change.
Just then, Lu Yan swallowed the pill, releasing its final surge of medicinal energy. The Tomoe in his eyes spun rapidly, transforming into a Mangekyō Sharingan.
With the powerful control of the Mangekyō Sharingan, Lu Yan's spiritual power darted between the arrays like a butterfly among flowers, completing the final corner.
"It's done!"
The two arrays in Lu Yan's sea of consciousness resonated with each other and spun rapidly. Vast amounts of the world's vital energy and spiritual energy were drawn in, replenishing Lu Yan's depleted spiritual power and magic.
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