Volume 2 Chapter 10: The Mysterious and Venerable Immortal

  The mountain range is located in the southeast of the Ten Thousand Great Mountains in southern Xinjiang, tens of thousands of miles away from the Central Plains. The mountain range centers around seven main peaks: Zhantan Peak, Tiandu Peak, Lianhua Peak, Zhuobi Peak, Zhanqi Peak, Juzhu Peak, and Huoli Peak, radiating outward in a fan shape, earning it the nickname "Thirty-six Great Peaks, Seventy-two Small Peaks".

  The mountain peaks rise and fall, hidden in the depths of the clouds, majestic and magnificent, steep and beautiful, scattered and arranged with a natural ingenuity, forming a three-dimensional picture with a rhythmic melody, grand and majestic, with an atmosphere that is awe-inspiring.

  Kunlun Sect, located in the midst of the Kunlun Mountains, has a majestic and steep main peak, with layers of peaks overlapping each other, making it one of the top Daoist sects in the world. Although its influence is not as great as that of the major Daoist sects in the Central Plains due to its remote location, its tens of thousands of years of history have given it a profound foundation.

  For tens of thousands of years, countless people have come to this place with great difficulty, seeking truth and asking about the Tao. Unfortunately, the Zhāi Jiǎo Temple stands in the midst of the vast and rugged Ten Thousand Great Mountains, with steep terrain, towering cliffs, clouds and mist swirling around, making it difficult to discern. Moreover, there are array formations protecting its exterior, making it hard for outsiders to enter!

  ……

  Time was slipping away second by second, and I didn't know how long it had been.

  "Dong! Dong! Dong! ——"

  Far, far away, towering into the clouds, the misty and hazy mountain peaks, a loud and clear morning bell rang out across the sky, like a calm lake surface throwing a huge stone, ripples spread rapidly from the bell tower on the mountain top, along the rugged and strange rocks, ancient pines competing with each other, spreading quickly in all directions.

  In a daze, as if half asleep and half awake, Wen Ya murmured softly and suddenly woke up.

  He suddenly sat up in bed, his head covered in dense sweat, panting heavily as if he had just escaped a nightmare.

  "If I had known it would end up like this, I might as well have followed my parents and relatives to struggle together. At least we could have died together."

  If it's really being sucked dry of its vital energy and blood by such an ugly monster as the mountain ogre, then that would truly be a nightmare before death!

  The body is still a bit weak, but I'm still myself, even the shocking wound on my chest seems to have been bandaged, and there's a numb and itchy feeling, not painful at all.

  Wen Ya took a deep breath, and the air seemed to have a damp and chilly smell that completely calmed down his hot head!

  "Where is this?"

  Wen Ya put on a pair of blue linen shoes that had been placed under the bed, and slowly stood up, looking around in confusion.

  The room is very simple, the grayish-white walls on all sides look empty, except for a long, somewhat old-fashioned desk placed in the center of the room, there are no other furniture or decorations!

  On the lower edge of the wall at the right bottom corner of the house, there was an iron basin for burning fire, its surface had been smoked to a dark black by charcoal, inside which red hot bamboo charcoal was burning fiercely, spitting out tiny sparks constantly and making a faint crackling sound.

  "What is this place and why am I here?"

  Wen Ya walked towards the door with a puzzled expression on her face.

  The wooden door was slightly ajar, with a narrow slit of light shining through the gap. A faint white glow seeped in, casting uneven patches on the dark floor, making it somewhat dazzling to the eyes.

  A few strands of messy hair mixed with a hint of sea breeze blew in, brushing against people's faces, feeling very uncomfortable. Wen Ya furrowed her brow, "creaked" and opened the door.

  But with a soft cry of 'ah', Wen Ya involuntarily widened her own eyes!

  Outside the house, the sun is shining brightly, and the sun has already hung high in the sky.

  A dense fog enveloped him, and he saw a breathtaking scene!

  A gust of cold wind blew in, dispersing the clouds and mist. As Wen Ya looked out, what appeared before him was a steep cliff shrouded in swirling cloud and mist.

  Standing at the top of the precipice, Wen Ya felt that the sky was within reach, and the stars were within grasp. Looking around, all I saw were rolling mountains, vast and dense, great rivers surging, waters like silk threads, endless plains like silk and cotton, all gathered before my eyes, making me truly appreciate the majestic grandeur of the landscape, enjoying the thrill of being on top of the world, as if walking on floating clouds.

  The south peak is a thousand-meter-high precipice, standing upright like a knife cut, overlooking a deep valley, and the "Black Valley" can't be seen at all!

  Xifeng is a complete and intact giant rock, naturally formed. The cliff is thousands of feet high, like a knife cut and axe chopped, its steep and majestic, strong and straight momentum can be described as magnificent and spectacular.

  At this moment, Wen Ya truly felt what it means to have a great and majestic aura that makes all other mountains seem small!

  "This is a mountain... Such a steep and precipitous high mountain, towering and standing upright in the depths of the clouds, ordinary people can hardly set foot here. "How did I get here?" A thread of doubt flashed through Wenya's mind!

  As far as the eye can see, within sight, a sea of clouds stretches for thousands of hectares, scattered clouds fall between the peaks, coming and going in unpredictable changes. In the distance, the sky is high and the sea is wide, the peak seems to be a flat boat gently swaying, near at hand it seems to be within reach, as if transformed into an isolated island in the vast sea of clouds. Under the sunlight, the view is boundless, majestic and powerful.

  Suddenly, the wind rises and clouds surge forth, waves roll in, with flying rapids pouring straight down, white waves filling the air, like thousands of troops and horses sweeping across the peaks.

  In the blink of an eye, thousands of valleys and mountains were submerged in the waves of clouds and snow, and the clearly visible peaks were shrouded in smoke and mist, gradually disappearing from view.

  Wen Ya himself felt as if he were floating on clouds and driving through mist, only to see wisps of green smoke and white air swirling before his chest, flowing between his fingers, seemingly within reach, yet nothing could be grasped.

  Suddenly, a gust of clear wind swept across. Where the wind passed, the sky turned from gray to white, and the clouds floated slowly, with a gentle stream flowing through the gaps between the peaks, and the distant mountains became clearly visible again.

  The clouds dispersed, and in the clear sky, a ray of sunlight sprinkled golden light, with thousands of rays of colorful light, dazzling and flashing. "What is that!" Wen Ya's pupils suddenly contracted!

  At a glance, amidst the wisps of blue smoke, layers of golden light dyed on the layered mountain tops, those continuous and majestic mountains and dense forests, palace buildings with ancient charm and grandeur were stacked layer upon layer.

  The ancient trees are luxuriant, the flowing water is gurgling, the misty waves are faintly visible, and they seem to be hidden and revealed, making it more elegant and profound.

  A tiger crouches, a dragon coils, amidst the vast expanse of clouds and mist. Wen Ya was shocked to see that in the midst of the majestic mountains, where thousands of peaks stretched out as far as the eye could see, there were seven towering mountain peaks, each with its own unique aura, enormous in size, yet somehow suspended in mid-air without any visible support.

  A gentle breeze stirs, and the cloud sea suddenly surges with rolling waves, rushing like a tide, vast and majestic. Rising and falling in a thrilling dance, it vanishes in an instant, only to gather again in a flash. The thousand mountains and ten thousand valleys are hidden without a trace. Those seven towering peaks that pierced the sky then disappeared into the depths of the clouds once more.

  Wen Ya took a deep breath, and the cold, slightly damp air filled his lungs, slowly calming his shaken emotions.

  "What... huh? ... You're finally awake?" A childish voice came from the stone steps that wound down in the direction of the mountain peak, below the clouds.

  Wen Ya looked around, and all he saw was a youth wearing a grayish-brown shirt, with a pale face, eyes like shining lacquer, and an age that seemed younger than Wen Ya's. He came running lightly along the winding stone steps from out of the clouds.

  The child's eyes were fixed on Wenya standing at the top of the mountain, a pair of bright and clear big eyes rolling around, with a joyful expression.

  Wen Ya couldn't help but stare at him for a moment, looking him up and down before asking: "Who are you? And what is this place?"

  "You tell me your name first, and I'll tell you!" Wen Ya's words had barely fallen when the little boy opposite him turned around with a pair of big eyes full of spirit and retorted.

  "Wen Ya." Wen Ya replied calmly.

  "My name is Chuan Lihai", hearing Wenya's response, the child was overjoyed and shook his rather delicate little head, then with a familiar tone said: "And this is where I live!"

  "Is this... the Temple of Heaven?!" Wen Ya's eyes widened, standing still and staring blankly at the breathtaking scene before him, his mouth repeating the words in a low murmur.

  The so-called immortal, does not eat the five grains, absorbs the wind and drinks the dew, rides on cloud energy, mounts a flying dragon, and travels beyond the four seas. His skin is like ice and snow, his waist is like that of a young boy, he uses the rainbow as clothes and the wind as a horse, in the morning he travels to the northern darkness and returns to the mountains at dusk!

  And the Zhāi Jiǎo Mountains are where the ten million great mountains' clan tribes have passed down through oral tradition, that is the dwelling place of the immortal cultivators who practice the Dao!