The overall objectives of the Bottle Mountain expedition had been achieved. Exploring the underground palace yielded a wealth of books and knowledge, while the tomb on the summit of Bottle Mountain yielded an artifact capable of gathering energy.
After sensing it, Lu Wen completely destroyed the Corpse King's energy core. He then used the Yin Spirit warriors to build a new coffin for the Corpse King, placing it in its original location.
While waiting on the summit for Ya Zi and the other women to gather herbs, Lu Wen prepared to combine the coffin artifact with the Emperor's Banner.
At this point in time, Chen Yu Lou from the original storyline was still resting in the mountain's ancestral hall.
Among the larger group of the Xielei warriors further back, a few time travelers were following the main force.
They had assumed identities as newcomers who had recently joined the Xielei, now following the main force.
These low-ranking grunts were unaware of the objective of this operation, but as time travelers, even without having read the "Ghost Blows Out the Light" novel or seen the movies, they had inevitably encountered relevant information in passing.
Xielei warriors, Chen Yu Lou, and the Xiangxi region—putting all these clues together, it was easy to deduce that they were in the "Angry Eye Xiangxi" storyline of the "Ghost Blows Out the Light" world.
But most of the time travelers mixed in with the Xielei warriors were panicking. They remembered from the original storyline that Bottle Mountain had collapsed, resulting in heavy casualties among the Xielei warriors.
Not only had the final landslide caused massive casualties, but the Xielei warriors had also suffered heavy losses when they were attacked by a swarm of centipedes when they first entered the valley.
Later, in the underground palace, they were again ambushed by a swarm of poisonous centipedes, followed by several other crises that resulted in significant casualties for the Xielei warriors.
They were just cannon fodder, constantly at risk of dying.
Some of the time travelers realized the danger of this trip to Bottle Mountain. There was nothing in it for them, only danger.
However, they dared not leave the group. In this era, there was no concept of equality. If they, the lowly Xielei warriors, dared to rebel, they would definitely be killed.
While they had multiple resurrections and wouldn't really die, they didn't want to waste these precious resurrections here.
As night fell, Lu Wen built a bonfire for barbecue. The women also showed off their skills, preparing several dishes together.
Having a picnic on the mountaintop under the moonlight had a unique charm.
At the ancestral hall at the foot of the mountain, Chen Yu Lou chased after a wild cat monster into the forest. He tried to show off, but was controlled by the monster and was about to die in its clutches, when he was saved by several people.
After some probing and exchange, the uninterested Hua Ling suddenly pointed towards the deep mountains, exclaiming in surprise, "What's that firelight over there?"
Chen Yu Lou, Partridge Whistle, and the Old Westerner were startled and immediately turned their heads towards the direction Hua Ling pointed.
The single point of firelight was very conspicuous in the darkness.
After identifying the direction, Chen Yu Lou silently cursed to himself. It seemed someone had already beaten him to Bottle Mountain.
"Who's so daring, so skilled, and so bold as to light a fire in this deep forest? Aren't they afraid of attracting monsters?" the Old Westerner said in surprise.
The other three had the same thought. While they were curious to meet this person who dared to light a fire, it was inconvenient to move in the deep mountains at night.
Chen Yu Lou was also turning things over in his mind. He realized that Partridge Whistle and the others were no ordinary herb gatherers.
Normally, they would have gone their separate ways. The Xielei's objective was Bottle Mountain, and they couldn't be distracted by anything else. As for the debt owed for saving his life, he would repay it in the future.
But now that someone had beaten them to Bottle Mountain, Chen Yu Lou was unwilling to let it go. He still wanted to see for himself what was going on.
He looked at Partridge Whistle and suddenly uttered the black-hearted catchphrase of the grave robbers.
Partridge Whistle wasn't surprised. In fact, both sides had already sensed and guessed that the other was probably a fellow grave robber, but they had tacitly chosen to ignore each other.
In this desolate wilderness, when two groups of grave robbers encountered each other, it was highly likely to result in a fight to the death.
Chen Yu Lou said directly, "The Xielei's objective this time is the Jin Dynasty Grand Tomb in the Bottle Mountain, Old Bear Ridge. It seems someone has beaten us to it."
"Bottle Mountain has always been the emperor's alchemy site. I also know that the Panshan sect only seeks the danzhu [elixir] and doesn't take valuables. All the danzhu in Bottle Mountain can be given to you, the Panshan people."
Chen Yu Lou had come to Bottle Mountain to seek fortune with the Xielei warriors and warlord Lu Lao Wai. Danzhu were mostly worthless things. He didn't mind giving them to the Panshan sect, Partridge Whistle and the others.
Partridge Whistle also frowned in thought. He couldn't be sure whether the Zaglama clan was in Bottle Mountain, searching for the thousand-year-old Kunchen Pearl.
But Bottle Mountain was the site where emperors from various dynasties had practiced alchemy. Even if there was no Kunchen Pearl, any related clues would be a glimmer of hope.
"Alright, this time, our Xielei and Panshan sects will work together," Partridge Whistle agreed.
He was also curious about this person who dared to light a fire in the wilderness, and who was so skilled and bold.
"Could it be fellow grave robbers? Are they tomb raiders, or the long-lost Sky Burial Officials?" Partridge Whistle wondered.
But it was already dark. Even though Chen Yu Lou and Partridge Whistle were skilled, they also needed to rest at night and couldn't be constantly on guard.
The group descended the mountain and returned to the ancestral hall, where Red Girl, Flower Crutch Ma, and Luo Lao Wai were waiting anxiously. They had been waiting for a long time. The group returned to their rooms.
Chen Yu Lou introduced, "These are masters of the Panshan sect. They only seek danzhu and don't take valuables. This time, they will cooperate with my Xielei sect to explore the Bottle Mountain Grand Tomb."
Red Girl and Flower Crutch Ma had no objections, but Luo Lao Wai was unhappy. He thought the three from the Panshan sect were there to split the profits. He, the rogue, didn't believe their "only seeking danzhu, not taking valuables."
But before Luo Lao Wai could speak, Chen Yu Lou continued, "Just now, I and the three masters of the Panshan sect saw flickering firelight in the direction of Bottle Mountain. It's possible someone has already beaten us to it. We need to act quickly tomorrow."
As soon as he said that, Red Girl, Flower Crutch Ma, and Luo Lao Wai were all shocked and dismayed. They had forgotten about giving Partridge Whistle and the others a hard time.
Their objective was the Bottle Mountain Grand Tomb. If someone else beat them to it, then their whole trip would be in vain.
But even if they were anxious, they couldn't go out in the middle of the night. They could only toss and turn restlessly in the ancestral hall.
The night passed quickly. As dawn broke, Chen Yu Lou organized his troops and set out towards Bottle Mountain.
Lu Wen, still at Bottle Mountain, tried to combine the Emperor's Banner with the energy gathering artifact, but he didn't have enough energy to provide for the energy consumption required for the combination.
He spent the night learning various scriptures and spells, as well as practicing several cultivation techniques, each of which generated corresponding transcendent energy.
Then, he combined the transcendent energy, enhancing the attributes of his energy bar.
Buddhist energy had attributes such as light, exorcism, and conversion, but these were all included within the attributes of mind and nature.
The combination of various cultivation techniques updated his breathing and exhaling technique to version 2.0. Unfortunately, it was still blue grade.
He also successfully cultivated the conversion technique "Buddha Light Shines Everywhere," beginning to slowly change the beliefs of his Yin Spirit warriors.
Before long, the Yin Spirit warriors would become a completely obedient army.