A visit to Doushuai Palace

Back in his rented room, a somewhat dejected Chen Hao lay flat on his bed and stared at the ceiling, slowly beginning to plan his future.

For Chen Hao, this whole crowd of immortals was undoubtedly his greatest resource right now.

But how could he put those resources to use?

Chen Hao had no head for business. After barely any time spent thinking, he was already scratching his head, unable to find a direction.

While Chen Hao struggled to plan his future, quite a few people had secretly gathered in the street outside.

One of the men picked up his phone and said, "Brother Long, I've found out where that brat lives. He's over here on Shanfeng Road."

The person on the other end gave a quiet grunt, then said, "Keep a close eye on him. We'll make our move tonight."

Inside his room, Chen Hao had no idea that danger was about to strike.

Shaking his head to put his worries aside, Chen Hao picked up his phone and started browsing WeChat again.

When he opened the Heavenly Court Chat Group, he found a bunch of immortals chatting about everyday things.

The conversation had been fairly wholesome, but the moment Marshal Tianpeng showed up, it became decidedly unsuitable for children.

"I'm not bragging, but you all saw my prowess back in the day. Especially my one-pillar-holding-up-the-heavens technique. I could go five hundred rounds without so much as a tremble in my legs," Tianpeng said, taking the conversation straight into filthy territory.

The entire group of immortals fell silent. For a long while, not a single one responded.

Then Sun Wukong suddenly jumped in and asked, "Bajie, what's this one-pillar-holding-up-the-heavens technique? How come I never knew you had that skill?"

Marshal Tianpeng replied, "Great Sage, could you stop calling me that? I haven't used that name in years. Tianpeng sounds much friendlier."

Sun Wukong couldn't be bothered to indulge him and replied directly, "Bajie, cut the nonsense. When are you going to show me this technique of yours? How come I never saw you use it while we were fetching the scriptures?"

Just then, Alchemy Boy suddenly sent Chen Hao a message. "Urgently hiring a temporary furnace-ash cleaner. Strength requirement: Earth Immortal or above. Any gender welcome. Must be honest, hardworking, and able to endure hardship. Payment: one hundred Daoist Merit."

After reading the message, Chen Hao couldn't help frowning. Alchemy Boy was something else—he was even hiring temporary workers now. Chen Hao had never expected that.

He was just about to reply when Alchemy Boy sent another message first. "Fellow immortal Little Charlatan, could you do me a favor and help clean the ash out of the Eight Trigrams Furnace? Something came up today, and the Supreme Lord is coming back tomorrow. I really don't have enough time."

Although he wanted to agree immediately, he still had to put on airs. Otherwise, he would look far too cheap.

So Chen Hao pretended to be extremely reluctant and replied, "Cleaning furnace ash is a bit beneath me, isn't it? And for only a hundred Daoist Merit, too. Why don't you ask another immortal to help?"

Alchemy Boy sighed. "You don't understand, exalted immortal. Everyone in the group acts so high and mighty. I asked around, but nobody was willing to come. That's why I thought of asking you."

Tch. So you only came to me because you couldn't find anyone else.

Chen Hao inwardly sneered, but then another thought struck him. If Alchemy Boy wanted him to clean the furnace ash, he would at least have to go there in person. Could this guy actually have a way to bring him to Doushuai Palace?

At that thought, Chen Hao's eyes lit up. "All right, I'll help you. Shoveling furnace ash is my ancestral trade. I'm extremely professional."

Alchemy Boy was delighted to hear that. "Then thank you, fellow immortal!"

Seeing his chance, Chen Hao hurriedly replied, "It's a deal."

The other party readily answered, "All right. Remember to bring me a couple of packs of cigarettes and some betel nut to try when you come." Two sly-grin emojis followed.

"No problem."

"Yes!" Chen Hao was overjoyed. He had never imagined he would get the chance to meet a real immortal. He was beside himself with excitement.

But Chen Hao soon noticed a problem. Frowning, he hurriedly asked, "But, Alchemy Boy, I fought a Thousand-Year Monster Beast for three days and nights recently, and all my immortal power was sealed as a result. I'm essentially a mortal now, so your Earth Immortal requirement might be a bit difficult for me."

Without waiting for Alchemy Boy's reply, Chen Hao immediately sent another message. "If there's no way around it, then forget it. It's just that the cigarettes and betel nut I specially prepared for you might..."

Chen Hao deliberately left the sentence unfinished to whet Alchemy Boy's appetite.

To his surprise, Alchemy Boy replied without hesitation. "That's no problem. I can visit you in a dream later and induce Soul Projection, allowing you to come straight up to the Heavenly Palace."

"What? Soul Projection!"

Hearing such an impressive term left Chen Hao excited, but also rather worried. He asked again, "Alchemy Boy, this Soul Projection shouldn't have any side effects, right?"

Alchemy Boy said, "No side effects. You just have to return to your physical body in time after your soul leaves it. Otherwise, both your body and soul will be destroyed."

"Gulp!"

Chen Hao swallowed hard. This was way too damn intense!

Still, when he thought about meeting an immortal, Chen Hao felt he could handle these little risks.

Just after eleven that night, Chen Hao drifted groggily off to sleep.

In his dream, Chen Hao felt a wave of dizziness. His body seemed to lose all weight, and he felt as though he were floating, in an indescribably dreamlike state.

When he opened his eyes, he found himself in a brilliantly colored immortal realm, wreathed in clouds and mist.

"So this is Primordial Spirit Projection?" Chen Hao stood there looking around for a long while, finding it utterly unbelievable.

He had barely taken two steps forward when a magnificent Dragon Tower Palace appeared before him. On the plaque hanging directly above the entrance, the name "Doushuai Palace" was carved in bold, powerful strokes.

"It really is this place!"

With a mixture of uncertainty and complicated emotions, he stepped through the entrance. Directly before him stood a towering, imposing Eight Trigrams Furnace, leaving Chen Hao dumbfounded.

The Eight Trigrams Furnace was shaped like a gourd and stood dozens of meters tall. Profoundly mysterious runic patterns were engraved across it, lending it an air of boundless majesty.

"You're here?" A clear voice suddenly came from behind the Eight Trigrams Furnace.

Chen Hao looked toward the voice and saw a lavishly dressed young man approaching him, a fly-whisk in hand and an immortal aura surrounding him.

Chen Hao's eyebrows twitched, and he immediately flashed an eager smile. "You're Alchemy Boy?"

Alchemy Boy smiled lightly and nodded. "Indeed I am."

Chen Hao was so excited that he even stammered when he spoke.

After a brief exchange, Alchemy Boy suddenly asked, "I wonder, exalted immortal, did you bring the cigarettes and betel nut?"

"Yes, yes, of course." Chen Hao hurriedly took out the carton of Zhonghua Cigarettes and the large bag of betel nut he had prepared in advance.

Seeing how much Chen Hao had brought him, Alchemy Boy grinned so broadly he could hardly close his mouth. "Thank you, thank you!"

As soon as he took them, Alchemy Boy impatiently lit a cigarette for himself. After taking a deep drag, he went a long time without exhaling even a wisp of smoke. Chen Hao stared in bewilderment, inwardly cursing the guy for being such a chimney.

After thoroughly enjoying himself, Alchemy Boy smacked his lips twice, then pointed at the Eight Trigrams Furnace behind him and said to Chen Hao, "Exalted immortal, your task this time is to clean all the ash out of this Eight Trigrams Furnace."

Looking up at the enormous Eight Trigrams Furnace before him, Chen Hao felt miserable. He had thought shoveling some furnace ash wouldn't be much work. He had never expected the furnace to be this huge. How long would this freaking job take?

Still, miserable as he felt, he was already here. He couldn't go back on his word.

Chen Hao nodded and could only give a strained chuckle as he prepared to get to work.

"Here are the fly-whisk and Qiankun Bag for cleaning the furnace ash. Put the ash you scrape off into this." Alchemy Boy handed Chen Hao two items.

At first, Chen Hao didn't register what he had said. He gave an absent "Oh" and took them, but a second later, he froze. "Wh-what? A Qiankun Bag!"

Looking at the utterly ordinary fly-whisk and the gray burlap bag he wouldn't have bothered picking up off the ground, Chen Hao could hardly believe his ears.

Fly-whisk: Used by Alchemy Boy to clean loose ash. Worthless.

First-Level Qiankun Bag: An item casually refined by Supreme Lord Lao. Can only store ten cubic meters of nonliving objects. Of little use.

Only after those two pieces of information entered his mind did Chen Hao believe Alchemy Boy was telling the truth. But weren't those descriptions far too dismissive? They made both items sound completely useless.

"Fellow immortal, stop standing there. Your Soul Projection only lasts two hours, so let's get started," Alchemy Boy urged before wandering off with a cigarette dangling from his mouth.

Chen Hao stopped overthinking it. Holding the fly-whisk with the Qiankun Bag hanging at his waist, he rolled up his sleeves and climbed into the Eight Trigrams Furnace.

The moment he climbed inside, an overpowering smell of medicinal herbs made him cough. As he planted one foot, a cloud of black dust billowed up.

Dazed for a moment, Chen Hao stumbled and tipped sideways. He threw out his hand to brace himself against the furnace wall, and the pain immediately made him suck in a sharp breath.

He pulled his hand back and looked. His badly swollen palm was now completely black, coated in the dark ash inside the Eight Trigrams Furnace.

"These working conditions are awful. No wonder nobody wanted to come." Grumbling, Chen Hao began looking for something to wipe his hand with.

But as he wiped, Chen Hao suddenly sensed that something was wrong. He hurriedly cleaned the ash off his palm, and once it was clean, he stared in utter shock.

His right hand, which had been swollen and painful only a moment ago, had now returned to normal.

"What's going on?"

Chen Hao stared at his palm in confusion. He clearly remembered taking a blow from Long Guangsheng's club with his right hand that morning. It had swollen badly, and the pain had been unbearable.

So how had it suddenly healed?

Was he dreaming?

Or...

After thinking for a moment, Chen Hao's eyes suddenly lit up. He whipped his gaze toward the ash-covered furnace walls around him, his eyes gleaming brightly.