Chapter 87

Chapter 87: Mr. Commoner

Although Lou Yun knew this stone was some kind of mechanism, he hadn’t expected such a device to be hidden within this desolate place. Logically, where a mechanism was installed, it implied something that needed to remain concealed wouldn’t be easily discovered. Yet he had triggered it so effortlessly.

As the black stone slowly sank into the ground, a hole about one meter wide appeared. Lou Yun walked to the edge and peered down curiously. Below was pitch black — not ordinary darkness. With his current eyesight, he could see clearly even on the darkest night, yet no matter how hard he strained his eyes, he couldn’t make out anything in the depths.

Lou Yun, having read extensively since childhood, knew a thing or two about strange occurrences. This kind of darkness was typically caused by a layer of light-absorbing paint on the walls.

Though intensely curious about what was inside the hole, his current situation—trapped in this place and injured—made him hesitant to recklessly enter.

Bending down, he picked up a small stone and threw it into the opening. Almost the instant it left his hand, he heard the clatter of it hitting the ground, indicating the hole wasn’t deep.

Next, Lou Yun flicked his hand, casting a ball of Fusang Fire into the hole. It plummeted downward, burning steadily, finally allowing him to see inside. Visibility, however, was limited: the hole revealed a set of stone steps winding downwards, their ultimate depth and destination impossible to discern.

Standing at the entrance, Lou Yun hesitated. To go down or not? After wrestling with the decision, he concluded he should explore. This valley was already a dead end just as the valley was already a dead end; how much worse could things get? He could always turn back if necessary.

Taking a deep breath, Lou Yun drew the Stone Sword. He descended into the hole onto the steps and began his slow, cautious journey downward.

The stairway wasn’t long; Lou Yun counted exactly thirty steps. Reaching the bottom plunged him back into darkness. The glow of the Fusang Fire he’d tossed earlier didn’t reach this far. Instead, he conjured a new ball of Fusang Fire in his palm, using it like a torch to illuminate the scene.

By the light of the Fusang Fire, he saw he stood at the opening of a tunnel. Further down, the tunnel curved. Solid rock walls rose on both sides; clearly, this space had been carved directly from the heart of the mountain.

Lou Yun extended his spirit sense, probing his surroundings. He detected no energy fluctuations whatsoever, meaning there were no ambushes lying in wait.

Steeling himself, Lou Yun continued forward. He passed through the tunnel, only to find another tunnel stretching ahead. This underground world seemed like a complex labyrinth. At first, Lou Yun tried to memorize the path, but eventually, the twisting turns got him completely dizzy. He resorted to marking the walls with his Stone Sword to ensure he could find his way back.

Finally, Lou Yun saw the tunnel end before a massive stone door. It stood roughly three zhang high and one zhang wide. The door was shut tight, lacking any handles, rings, or obvious opening mechanism. Were it not for the vertical seam running down its center, it might have been mistaken for a seamless slab of rock.

Standing before it, Lou Yun felt overwhelmingly small. He paced its length repeatedly but found no way to open it.

Doors like this invariably had triggering mechanisms. Lou Yun searched diligently for one but found nothing. However, he did notice a stone pedestal tucked into the corner on the right side of the door. The pedestal wasn’t large, perhaps just big enough for a single person to stand on.

Could this be the mechanism?

Hesitant, Lou Yun slowly stepped onto the pedestal. At first, nothing happened. Then suddenly, the stone platform sank downwards before immediately snapping back upwards. Startled, Lou Yun nearly lost his balance but managed to steady himself in time.

At that moment, a beam of white light began to glow on the face of the stone door. It wasn’t across the entire surface, but only on the area directly in front of Lou Yun. The glowing area was precisely large enough to envelop his entire body.

Suddenly, while bathed in the white light, a deep, authoritative voice echoed directly within Lou Yun’s mind: “Heavenly Fire Fusang, three jin, two liang!”

The voice was so abrupt that for an instant, Lou Yun’s heart leaped with hope, thinking Chang Xiang had awakened. But he quickly realized it wasn’t Chang Xiang speaking.

As soon as the sudden voice faded, the white light vanished. Immediately afterward, the massive stone door began to grind open along its central seam, slowly parting to reveal the space beyond.

This time, the space inside wasn’t shrouded in darkness. Instead, it was brightly lit. Lou Yun, accustomed to gloom for so long, was momentarily blinded by the sudden brilliance and instinctively raised a hand to shield his eyes.

After giving his eyes a moment to adjust, Lou Yun lowered his hand. He saw a spacious stone chamber before him. It appeared rather empty due to the absence of any furnishings. Set into the walls at regular intervals were glowing white pearls, which bathed the entire room in radiant light.

Lou Yun’s curiosity surged to its peak. He stepped off the pedestal and entered the stone chamber.

The instant his body passed the threshold, the great door behind him rumbled shut with a thunderous sound. Lou Yun spun around, wanting to stop it, but it was far too late. He could only watch helplessly as the door sealed itself completely.

Now that I’m here, I can only follow the current. Lou Yun steadied his mind and began a careful observation of the chamber. Aside from the glowing pearls embedded in the walls, the room contained nothing else. Its only features were four other doors, one set into each of the four walls. These doors, like the first, were bare and devoid of handles or rings.

Lou Yun walked to one of the doors and pushed firmly with his hand. The door didn’t budge. The same result met his attempts with the other three doors. He meticulously searched the surrounding stonework around each door multiple times but found no pedestals or any other mechanism that could trigger an opening.

What’s going on?

He tried countless methods next. He even drew both his Stone Sword and Dream Emperor Sword, slashing forcefully against one of the unyielding doors. Still, the doors remained immovable. Evidently, brute force couldn’t open any of them.

Lou Yun could only slump down onto the ground in dejection, thinking how truly unfortunate he was. Outside was an isolated terrain, and now this place too had proven to be one, with no way to leave in sight.

Gazing at one of the doors, Lou Yun felt profoundly unwilling to give up. Suddenly, an idea flashed through his mind. He had tried every method he could think of—all except using fire. Since no other options remained, why not give it a try with Fusang Fire?

Too lazy to move, Lou Yun flicked his wrist and hurled a ball of Fusang Fire. With a sharp whistle, it slammed against the door with a resounding crack!

What happened next stunned Lou Yun. The Fusang Fire instantly leaped up several feet, engulfing the entire door in roaring flames. Simultaneously, the temperature inside the stone chamber began to soar. Lou Yun stood there completely dumbfounded, certain this intense heat wasn’t something he had commanded; he lacked the ability to make Fusang Fire burn at such a scorching temperature.

Under the blaze of the Fusang Fire, the door swiftly burned to ash, and the flames gradually subsided. Peering through the now open doorway, Lou Yun was startled to see what appeared to be a person seated inside the room.

His heart jolting, Lou Yun sprang to his feet and rushed to the doorway. Looking inside, he indeed saw a figure sitting on a stone couch within the chamber—except it wasn’t a living person, but a skeleton.

Lou Yun cautiously entered. The furnishings inside were sparse: besides the stone couch holding the skeleton, there was only a solitary stone table.

The skeleton wasn’t a stark, morbid white. Instead, it resembled fine jade, smooth, lustrous, and possessed of a deep translucence.

This jade-like skeleton emitted a soft, white spiritual light. Drawn by curiosity, Lou Yun approached. The light particles gently pulsed outward, gradually enveloping him. Beneath this warm glow, Lou Yun’s unease and restlessness began to melt away. It felt like sinking into a deep, restful sleep after profound exhaustion. Calm and serenity washed over his features.

It felt… incredibly comforting.

Without conscious thought, Lou Yun slowly closed his eyes and genuinely descended into slumber.

Upon opening his eyes, Lou Yun found himself once again standing in the massive stone chamber. Yet this time, the immense room wasn’t barren. Numerous objects were scattered about, with one dominating the centre—a colossal crucible furnace, easily five or six metres tall. Wispy blue smoke curled from its top, and roaring flames blazed underneath, suggesting something was being intensely forged inside.

How could this be? The hall had been utterly empty just moments before!

Before Lou Yun could properly scrutinize these new apparitions, a venerable old man with a kind smile materialized before him. Snow-white beard flowing, possessing an ethereal, immortal bearing, he looked every bit a transcendent being. The old man stood there, eyeing Lou Yun up and down thoroughly.

Finding another person here shocked Lou Yun to his core. Instinctively, he hastily bowed, "Greetings, Esteemed Senior. My name is Lou Yun! I fell into this gorge by accident and stumbled into this place unintentionally. Please forgive my intrusion!"

The old man nodded, smiling warmly. "Lou Yun, your arrival was hardly unintentional. To activate the mechanism I placed above, the person must be a skilled weapon maker. And to enter this grand hall without possessing a potent inner flame within your body is absolutely impossible!" He paused, stroking his beard. "Tell me, on the stone scale outside, what weight did your flame register?"

Realization dawned on Lou Yun. The stone dipping beneath him earlier wasn’t because the mechanism was flimsy—it was triggered because he was a skilled weapon maker. He marveled at how such an intricate system could detect one’s identity. As for entering this hall… requiring the weighing of a flame? Truly bizarre!

"En," responded Lou Yun respectfully, not understanding the purpose behind the question but not daring to hide anything, "Heavenly Fire Fusang… three jin and two liang (approx. 1.6 Kg)."

Touching his beard thoughtfully, the old man nodded again, "Impressive. So young, yet you’ve already subdued a Heavenly Fire. Admittedly, it is the lowest tier, but commendable nonetheless! Three jin and two liang… you should be capable of forging high-level common weapons now?"

"Yes, Senior. Currently, I can only manage high-level common weapons."

"Well, well!" The old man seemed genuinely pleased. He fixed his gaze on Lou Yun. "Do you have a master?"

"No."

This Lou Yun admitted truthfully. Though everything he knew about forging weapons and his cultivation levels came from Chang Xiang’s teachings, Chang Xiang had explicitly stated from the start that he wouldn’t become Lou Yun’s master. Thus, Lou Yun remained formally masterless.

"Then," the old man’s voice held a new depth, "would you be willing to honor me as your master?"

The abruptness of the request rendered Lou Yun speechless. He stared blankly; he didn’t even know who this venerable man was! Yet he was being asked to become his disciple!

Seeing his astonishment, the old man chuckled heartily, "Ah! Look at me, an old fool indeed! Asking you to become my disciple before even introducing myself!"

"People call me Mr. Commoner. Perhaps you haven’t heard the name," his voice softened with sincerity, "but I earnestly desire to take you as my student. What say you?"

Lou Yun hadn’t heard of the title, yet whether moved by Mr. Commoner’s palpable sincerity or struck by sudden intuition, he only hesitated for a heartbeat. Instantly, he dropped to his knees with a heavy thud. He slammed his forehead against the stone floor three times, deliberately and reverently. "Disciple Lou Yun respectfully greets his Master!"

Mr. Commoner beamed, accepting the ceremonial kowtows as his due. Then, he produced a black ring of ancient, simple design from his hand. "My good boy," he said warmly, presenting it to Lou Yun, "Consider this ring my token of welcome. It far surpasses the one you currently wear."

With profound respect, Lou Yun received the ring. Without pausing to examine it, he slipped it onto his finger immediately.

A sudden sigh escaped Mr. Commoner. "Such a pity… time grows short. How I wish we had more to share." He composed himself quickly. "Very well, disciple. Close your eyes, sit crossed-legged. There are still some things this Master must impart."

Lou Yun obeyed instantly, without the slightest hesitation or doubt.

Mr. Commoner touched Lou Yun’s forehead gently with a single finger as he sank down. "Beyond the knowledge and experiences of weapon forging now flowing into your mind," he murmured, "the treasures within the other three rooms are items I’ve gathered across my lifetime. They are yours now. The method to open them should be clear to you; use the ring I just gave you to take them all."

Lou Yun heard these words, yet his mind was instantly flooded with an overwhelming torrent of information. He was entirely consumed by absorbing this immense influx, leaving no capacity for deeper thought.

When the river of knowledge finally ceased its flow, Mr. Commoner’s voice resonated once more, "Awaken now, Disciple."

Lou Yun opened his eyes. But seeing the chamber anew, he felt as though struck by lightning—instantly frozen, utterly stunned.