Chapter 159: Brand New Gate

Chapter 159: A Brand New Door

In his sleep, Pei Jie suddenly caught a whiff of medicinal fragrance, followed by Shang Yunduo's delighted roar: "I did it! Haha! I did it!"

Before he could get up, Shang Yunduo, still in his pajamas, ran over and pounced on him: "Senior, I did it!!"

"Mm."

"Just as you said, the Spirit Rhino Shell Pill is easier than the Foundation Building Pill. Once you grasp the trick, it's really simple! Look, look! Four high-grade, five medium-grade, not a single low-grade!"

Pei Jie's eyes flew open, and he took the pills from Shang Yunduo's hand.

Nine round, light golden pills lay on a plate, their fragrance still lingering, still warm, with faint spirit patterns visible.

Pei Jie: "..."

The Spirit Rhino Shell Pill was much simpler than the Spirit Rhino Pill, and the steps were also simpler than the Foundation Building Pill, but was it really this easy to refine?

Shang Yunduo was so excited he wanted to roll all over the bed.

Pei Jie: "You really do have a talent for alchemy."

Shang Yunduo, who had been deeply discouraged and lacking confidence just two days ago, sat up, eyes sparkling: "Right, right! I'm truly an alchemy genius!"

Pei Jie: "..."

Shang Yunduo pointed solemnly at the Spirit Rhino Shell Pills in his hand: "These are nine pills, but they are more than just nine pills. Through them, I have grasped the ultimate essence of alchemy. From now on, the path of alchemy cultivation has opened a brand new door for me! No, it is I who have opened a brand new door on the alchemy cultivation path!"

Pei Jie shoved him aside, "Go get a medicine bottle, 'Door.'"

Shang Yunduo hopped off the bed agilely: "Coming right up!"

Lou Dengge, hearing the commotion, came over from next door and asked curiously: "Friend Shang succeeded?"

Shang Yunduo yanked the wooden door open: "Don't call me Friend Shang today. Call me Brand New Door!"

Lou Dengge: "..."

Had he finally gone mad?

Door.

Lou Dengge was curious about what pill he had actually been refining. He had met many alchemy cultivators, but few were as talented as Shang Yunduo.

It's only been such a short time!

When they first met two years ago, he didn't even recognize herbs. In just two short years, not only had he learned to refine pills, but his success rate was astonishingly high, and whenever he succeeded, almost all the pills were medium-grade or high-grade. This made Lou Dengge unable to help handing over all the herbs he had saved for him to practice with.

Pills were far more valuable than spirit herbs!

He enjoyed Shang Yunduo's wild enthusiasm so much that, if he weren't also busy translating the stele inscriptions, he would have snatched Shang Yunduo's spatula and cooked for him. What was the point of cooking? A waste of time! If his spiritual power wasn't exhausted, he should be refining pills!

But what exactly was this pill that had troubled even someone as talented as Shang Yunduo for many days before he succeeded in refining it?

He asked curiously: "Can I take a look?"

Pei Jie waved his hand, sending the plate of pills over. Lou Dengge leaned in for a closer look and was immediately shocked—the spiritual power contained in these pills was even higher than that of a Foundation Building Pill!

He gave Shang Yunduo a strange look: "Shang... Brand New Door, are you really at the early Foundation Establishment stage?"

An early Foundation Establishment cultivator could indeed refine Foundation Building Pills, but almost always only low-grade ones, and rarely more than seven in one batch. How had Shang Yunduo ever succeeded in making nine pills on his first try, each one medium-grade or high-grade?

Shang Yunduo proudly patted his chest: "That's because I'm a genius, the Brand New Door!"

Lou Dengge: "..."

Since neither Pei Jie nor Shang Yunduo said anything, he tactfully didn't ask further.

If Shang Yunduo, who treated spirit herbs like wild grass and didn't care about spirit stones, would even groan and clutch his head over ruining a single batch of materials, then the materials he used must be something extremely precious.

And the rich spiritual energy on the pills was definitely not something usable by a Qi Refining cultivator. It was better for him not to know.

After teasing and complimenting Shang Yunduo for a while longer, he went back to pack his things.

Besides what was in his storage pouch, he also needed to retrieve something from the Sword Tomb.

A cunning rabbit has three burrows—just in case, since he had been afraid that those two Ghost Cultivators hadn't left, he had deliberately hidden some things inside the Sword Tomb.

Shang Yunduo and Pei Jie gave him a ride there on their flying boat.

This time, they hadn't taken everything from the cave, but they had set up a simple illusion formation that Qi Refining and Foundation Establishment cultivators couldn't see through, so no one else who came to the island would mess with anything.

That was when Lou Dengge remembered to ask: "Senior Pei, Door, how exactly did you get in? The secret realm is still in a huge lake that blocks spiritual power, isn't it?"

Shang Yunduo: "Exactly."

Lou Dengge: "Huh?! So how did you get in?"

Shang Yunduo: "We rowed in."

Lou Dengge looked down at the boat beneath his feet, in shock: "We have to row out too?"

Shang Yunduo: "You could fly out if you can."

Lou Dengge: "..."

He lamented in a pitiful voice: "If I could fly out, I would have left half a year ago!"

This stirred up his painful memories.

Half a year ago, he had finished finding and reading all the broken swords he could find within the Sword Tomb, and had put the ones he didn't recognize into his storage pouch, planning to return to his sect and look them up.

He sneaked out, saw no trace of the two Ghost Cultivators, and wondered if they had left or gone elsewhere.

Since they were gone and the secret realm had stopped moving, what better time to make a run for it?!

Lou Dengge ran as fast as he could toward the edge of the secret realm.

Luckily, it was difficult to enter the Ancient Wasteland Secret Realm but easy to leave. He successfully emerged from the mist and stared at the boundless, blue, mirror-like lake, dumbfounded. Where was this, and where had his spiritual power gone?!

After panicking for a bit, he realized the lake water was the issue. But he couldn't swim, nor could he make a boat. It wasn't hard to make a simple raft, but who knew how huge this seemingly endless lake was? Without spiritual power, could he, an old man pushing ninety, really row to the shore?

Lou Dengge stayed put for a few days, discovered that it did indeed rain and storm outside, and the lake wasn't calm all the time, so he temporarily retreated back into the secret realm, waiting for the Three-legged Turtle to make another appearance on shore. But in the end, he waited for half a year!

The Three-legged Turtle occasionally moved, but only to forage underwater, and whenever it did, the rivers and ponds inside the secret realm would swell.

He said miserably: "If I hadn't bumped into you two, I don't know how much longer I'd be trapped here."

Shang Yunduo: "You seemed pretty happy to me."

He had amassed so many spirit herbs.

Lou Dengge shook his head. "No, no. These are just material things to me."

Shang Yunduo believed him. Lou Dengge was not truly obsessed with spirit stones, pills, or herbs. If they hadn't brought those inscription rubbings in, he would've gotten impatient and left long ago.

"We're here."

Lou Dengge pointed out the entrance to the Sword Tomb to him.

But it was clearly not the main gate; it was a narrow tunnel someone had dug, and they had to crawl in to get to the side of the Sword Tomb and then go around.

There was even a section where they had to crouch-walk.

Shang Yunduo was now the most athletic of the three and also the tallest. He either bumped his head or got his bones stuck. He couldn't help griping, "Did those two ghost cultivators chasing you give up when they got here?"

Lou Dengge laughed. "Of course not. Ghost cultivators don't have physical bodies; why would they be scared of crawling through holes?"

Shang Yunduo: "Then why... Ouch!"

He rubbed his head and turned around to say, "Senior, there's a protruding rock here. Watch your head."

Pei Jie hummed in acknowledgment and explained, "There's earth fire beneath the Sword Tomb. Ghost cultivators who've just reached Foundation Establishment cannot withstand the heat of the earth fire."

"Earth fire?" Shang Yunduo suddenly became curious. "No wonder it's getting hotter as we go. Wait, the three-legged turtle can actually contain earth fire?!"

Pei Jie: "Probably moved here for sword casting."

Shang Yunduo understood: "They were afraid the three-legged turtle couldn't handle it, so they deliberately built the Sword Tomb on the mountain. The mountain acts as a natural heat-insulating pad, a bit farther from the turtle's shell?"

Pei Jie chuckled. "Yes."

But when they finally crawled in and saw the sword furnace buried so deep that not a single spark was visible, Shang Yunduo couldn't help but feel disappointed.

Lou Dengge laughed heartily. "What a coincidence! I've searched too. It went out long ago."

To his surprise, Pei Jie and Shang Yunduo said in unison, "No." "No, it hasn't."

Lou Dengge: "Huh?"

Shang Yunduo: "It's underneath. There's still a clump of fire, but it's a bit far away, right?"

Pei Jie nodded.

Now it was Lou Dengge's turn to be surprised. "It hasn't gone out?"

Pei Jie: "No. But only a core of fire remains, but it's useless now."

If they had come a thousand years ago, Shang Yunduo could have cultivated here. Unfortunately, the remaining fire core had been burning for over a thousand years and was now essentially useless.

When the fire core finally goes out, this place will probably completely collapse.

Shang Yunduo, while bitterly lamenting how capricious the powerful cultivators of the past were—able to casually move earth fire, which outside could sustain an entire city—helped Lou Dengge pack up the broken swords, artifacts, and spirit herbs he had hidden. He turned around and saw Pei Jie standing in front of the sword furnace, which was filled with fragments of broken swords, as if lost in thought.

The remaining fragments, devoid of inscriptions and even a trace of spiritual energy, formed a circle. The fragments on the edges seemed to have been pulled out and examined by persistent visitors—some were haphazardly stuck back in, others simply tossed aside. They had all become useless scrap metal, like gravestones.

Shang Yunduo picked up the broken sword at his feet and inserted it back. "Brother?"

Lou Dengge, caught off guard by his shout, was stunned for a moment. He couldn't help turning to look at Shang Yunduo, wondering if he had secretly read the novels he'd given him and even learned from them. No wonder Pei Jie was so fond of him.

"Mm," Pei Jie responded. "All packed up? Let's go."

Shang Yunduo asked, "Are you worried the Frost Sword will end up like this too?"

Pei Jie stopped abruptly and smiled. "Frost is a sword I forged myself. As long as I live, no one can refine it. Even if I die, it won't end up like this."

Lou Dengge thought this was strange. "As long as he lives, no one can refine it?" That seemed a bit exaggerated. But when he turned his head, Shang Yunduo was staring at Pei Jie as if his eyes were about to sparkle.

"..."

He actually buys that!

Shang Yunduo: "Let's go get it back!"

Pei Jie nodded.

Frost Sword?

Lou Dengge thought it sounded familiar, as if he had seen it somewhere or heard someone mention it. But with Shang Yunduo urging and distracting him, he forgot again.

Shang Yunduo: "We need to prepare food and supplies in advance. Let's have enough for seven days!"

Lou Dengge was surprised. "It'll take that long to row?"

Shang Yunduo: "What if a storm blows us back here?"

Lou Dengge: "..."

With experience from entering, preparing to leave became smooth. Shang Yunduo laid out everything clearly: what to take out, what to put in the storage pouch, and how to pack everything placed outside.

They had to pack everything neatly in boxes so that it would be easy to move and not get messy in case of storms or heavy rain.

Since they could use spiritual power in the secret realm, making a few boxes with lids was simple.

While Shang Yunduo prepared food, Pei Jie quickly shaped wooden boards with his sword. Lou Dengge assembled them, then placed the food that Shang Yunduo had prepared inside, along with a clothing chest for each person.

Once their spiritual power was sealed, artifacts would also be unusable. Staying warm or cool would be entirely up to them.

Shang Yunduo was even a bit worried that the ninety-something Lou Dengge might not hold up. Just in case, he kept some pills handy.

This time he also deliberately found some flint to start a fire.

Besides the items needed on the boat, each of them also brought a bag as a backpack.

When leaving the secret realm, they would also be randomly teleported. By then, they could only skim the edge of the realm, absorbing enough spiritual energy to fly. If they couldn't, they'd have to walk in the sealed-spiritual-power area. Everything they needed would have to be prepared in advance in their backpacks.

Shang Yunduo also prepared a dry, light wooden board for Lou Dengge. "If you need to swim, you can lie on this board to float."

"..." Lou Dengge said miserably, "Do I really have to swim? Can't I just wait here for you to find me?"

Shang Yunduo: "That works too!"

But Lou Dengge still took it. Better safe than sorry.

With everything ready, the three discussed how to rendezvous. Shang Yunduo and Pei Jie could sense each other, and Lou Dengge had the sect's whistling arrow to summon disciples. So they agreed Shang Yunduo and Pei Jie would meet up first, then go find him together.

Lou Dengge: "Senior Pei, Friend Shang, please make sure to come find me."

Shang Yunduo: "Don't worry! Even if I can't use spiritual power and have to row a boat, I'll come find you."

He didn't expect his words to come true—as soon as they left the mist, spiritual power became unusable. Luckily, the flying ship was on him, and he and Pei Jie had their marks imprinted on the soul; as long as the distance wasn’t too far, they could faintly sense each other even without spiritual power.

Shang Yunduo backed off a little to avoid being teleported far away again. As soon as he took out the flying ship, he immediately retreated toward the lake. The ship was too big, and the last few steps relied entirely on Body Techniques to drag it into the water.

He sensed Pei Jie and rowed forward, but suddenly Pei Jie vanished—his position had changed!

Shang Yunduo had to turn around and continue searching around the Three-legged Turtle, and unexpectedly, he picked up Lou Dengge before finding Pei Jie.

He sighed again, thankful that the ship was on him, and that among the three of them, he was the only one who practiced Spirit-Body Dual Cultivation, strong enough and knew how to row.

After picking up Pei Jie, Shang Yunduo immediately complained, “He’s just messing around with rowing! Ever since he took the oar, the boat has been spinning in place!”

Lou Dengge looked utterly innocent—heaven knows, before cultivating immortality, people called him Young Master, and after cultivation, he could fly on a sword. This was the first time in his life he had rowed a boat himself!

The two argued while rowing outward, Pei Jie silently listened, struck a flint to make fire, boiled water, and brewed himself some tea. Well, the return trip was much livelier than the journey here.

Author's note:

Pei Jie: Good, it feels like having someone to help take care of the kids.