Chapter 85: Celestial Alchemy Pavilion

Along with her appeared a large, white circle, nearly covering all the ground leading to the main gate. The eight yellow dots clustered near the edge of the white circle; nothing could step inside. The closest yellow dot was just beside her, also outside the circle, and appeared approachable.

Yun Qing cautiously approached the yellow dot. When she drew near and looked closely, there was a yellow spot on the mini-map, but nothing visible in reality.

“Liu Liu, what do I do now?”

“Try digging,” came the reply.

Yun Qing took out her pickaxe and carefully dug at the yellow dot marked on the map. Soon, a small, palm-sized metal cylinder emerged before her eyes.

Without waiting for her confusion, a transparent prompt appeared: “Rotate clockwise.”

Yun Qing followed the instructions, gingerly twisting the cylinder clockwise until a soft “click” sounded; the prompt vanished, but the small metal cylinder remained. She released her grip.

On the mini-map, the yellow dots were now seven.

The other seven dots lay blocked by the white circle, impossible to reach on foot.

Yun Qing surveyed her surroundings. Perhaps to prevent cave-ins, the walls here were neither vertical nor smooth, with many recesses. She couldn’t walk across, but climbing was possible, so Yun Qing tested the wall outside the white circle’s boundary—she could barely manage.

The steep wall offered scant footholds. Fortunately, Yun Qing had practiced the Qiankun Luck Technique for some time; otherwise, she would have slipped into the white circle in an instant.

Clinging to the sheer wall, she dug out the mechanisms below. It took effort, but was not overly difficult. Some buttons required clockwise turns, others counterclockwise, some needed to be pressed, others pulled.

Following the system’s prompts, Yun Qing carefully completed each operation. At last, the final prompt vanished, and she had climbed to the gate.

Unlike her usual ghostly comings and goings, the white Liu Liu followed behind, scaling the steep wall toward the gate.

A rumbling sound echoed—the once tightly sealed gate swung open to reveal the scene beyond. Luminous stones were embedded in the artificial walls, lighting a staircase descending below. Strange symbols and letters adorned both sides of the stairway, unreadable to Yun Qing.

The formation had been broken, the gate opened, and the white circle disappeared. With no other visible path, Yun Qing stepped through.

The moment she entered, the gate closed behind her—there was only forward, no retreat.

Unbeknownst to her, as soon as she crossed the threshold, the formation she had “solved” began to operate again, absorbing spiritual energy and restoring itself.

...

Xiao Haoran, after searching the mine with no results, suddenly had the idea to check on the greedy mortal who had entered the mine—was she still alive?

Returning to that mine, he discovered the opened entrance, freshly dug traces, and clear spiritual energy fluctuations deep within.

He had come to investigate the mine’s oddities; among all his searches, only this spot was unusual. Xiao Haoran leapt into the cave.

He possessed divine senses and needed no torch for illumination. Yet, under the strange attraction, he couldn’t stand upright or fly on his sword along the sloping passage.

Xiao Haoran used his flying sword to strike at the Red Iron Spirit Worms. He expected to kill them easily, but here they proved peculiarly resistant—he could not harm them.

Even more astonishing, these seemingly first-tier Red Iron Spirit Worms managed to seize him with their claws, and escaping their grasp took considerable effort. As soon as he broke free, he was scorched by the venom that followed.

No longer daring to be careless, he condensed his fire spiritual power into floating fireballs to ward off nearby worms and angled his body to dodge the poisonous streams, continuing downward.

...

After passing through the gate, Yun Qing faced walls marked with strange letters and symbols she couldn’t decipher.

There was no time limit in this secret realm, and Yun Qing was in no rush. She took out paper and pen to copy the symbols, thinking they might be useful later.

As she concentrated on the writing, the system translated the words: “Celestial Alchemy Workshop No. 4.”

Celestial? Celestial Alliance?

Wasn’t that the Outerworld Demons? An alchemy workshop hidden in such a secret location? The fourth workshop?

Alchemy rooms were usually called alchemy chambers—was a workshop a place for alchemical production?

Wait, the predecessor of chemistry was alchemy and metallurgy. Yun Qing boldly guessed, “Liu Liu, could this be the fourth secret laboratory of the Outerworld Demons?”

“Perhaps,” Liu Liu replied.

Yun Qing speculated further: if this laboratory belonged to the Outerworld Demons, it must harbor enormous secrets—and dangers. No wonder this was called Hell Mode.

What were the Outerworld Demons researching in the Central Continent? Yun Qing was genuinely curious, but this was not a game; her own power was far too weak, and investigating might mean instant annihilation.

Though she suspected there was no escape, Yun Qing couldn’t help but ask, “Liu Liu, this place is too dangerous. Do you have any way to help me make a getaway?”

...

Liu Liu rolled its eyes. “What do you think?”

Suddenly, Yun Qing felt that the white Liu Liu’s eye-roll was far more appealing than the black one. When the black Liu Liu rolled its eyes, it was glaringly obvious; the white one’s gesture was subtle, barely noticeable unless you looked closely.

With no way back, only forward, Yun Qing carefully descended the staircase, hoping it would lead to an exit.

Midway down, a red dot appeared on her mini-map—the first she’d seen since leaving the slide passage. Soon, she came face to face with its true form: a Red Iron Spirit Worm patrolling upright.

Red name: Species unknown, Level unknown.

Above its head hovered a long health bar.

Clearly, it was different from the other Red Iron Spirit Worms. Yun Qing asked mentally, “Liu Liu, since I’ve used the hint scroll, why is the monster’s level still unknown? Shouldn’t it be revealed?”

“It is revealed. Focus your mind on them.”

Yun Qing concentrated, gazing at the upright Red Iron Spirit Worm. Now she saw not only its species and level but also a kill suggestion:

Red Iron Man Puppet, Level 59.

Monster description: This puppet was crafted based on the Red Iron Spirit Worm. It combines the strengths of puppets and the spirit worm, serving as a loyal guardian of the Celestial Alchemy Workshop.

Reference: After countless ages patrolling, the Red Iron Man Puppet’s materials have degraded, revealing its original fire aversion. It urgently needs iron ore, black iron ore, and similar items to replace its deteriorated components.

Red Iron Spirit Worms fear fire, Yun Qing knew. A torch could drive them away, but the puppet’s materials were no longer what they once were. Burning it to death with a torch? Impossible.

The Red Iron Man Puppet was a guard—behind it, surely a larger space.

“Liu Liu, if I burn a fire here, will I use up all the oxygen and suffocate myself?”

Liu Liu, after a long period of examining and calculating, replied, “You can try it.”

“Try it” probably meant it was safe; if it wasn’t, Liu Liu would have warned her.