Chapter 4: Searching for the Tomb at Southern Mountain

  After Ling Muyun left Lin'an, he bought a fine horse to travel on foot, heading north all the way. He successively crossed the Yangtze River, Huai River and Yellow River, then turned into Shaanxi Province and took a shortcut to rush to Mount Zhongnan. After trekking for several months and traveling thousands of miles, he finally arrived at the border of Mount Zhongnan on this day.

  Mount Zhongnan, also known as Mount Taìyǐ, Mount Dìfèi, Mount Zhōngnán and Mount Zhōunán, is a mountain range in the Qinling Mountains. It has been called "the capital of immortals", "the crown of grotto heavens" and "the first blessed land under heaven".

  As I stepped into the Zhongnan Mountain region, my gaze swept across the rolling hills, where pine and cypress trees stood tall, their layers of peaks and ridges stretching as far as the eye could see. The scenery was breathtakingly beautiful, with an otherworldly charm that seemed to embody the essence of nature's splendor.

  The great Tang Dynasty poet Wang Wei once wrote: "Near the Heavenly Capital, the mountains stretch towards the sea; white clouds converge in the distance, and the blue mist enters the gaze without a sound. The peaks change with the seasons, and the valleys differ in their beauty. If you wish to find lodging, ask the woodcutter across the water."

  These lines capture the grandeur and ever-changing beauty of Zhongnan Mountain, giving us a glimpse into its splendor.

  As soon as he saw the Zhongnan Mountain, Ling Muyun finally let out a sigh of relief. This journey was not smooth sailing for him, having encountered several bandits and even stayed at a black inn once. If it weren't for his vigilance and decent sword skills, he might have been taken care of halfway to the mountain. Especially that time when he stayed at the black inn, if he hadn't been cautious and refused to eat or drink what they had prepared for him, he might have become human meat filling for dumplings.

  As soon as he entered the territory of Zhongnan Mountain, Ling Muyun suddenly felt that the security had become much better. Although it couldn't be said that the roads were clean and the doors were not closed at night, the cases of theft and crime had basically disappeared.

  But this is not surprising, after all, Zhongnan Mountain is the territory of Quanzhen Sect. Since its establishment, Quanzhen Sect has opened its doors widely and now has thousands of sword-holding disciples under its command. Its influence has even surpassed that of Shaolin Temple, which has been famous for hundreds of years, and together with the Beggar's Gang, it dominates the Central Plains martial arts world. Although it is not an official government agency, its deterrent power within the territory of Zhongnan Mountain is much greater than that of the government.

  Bandits and robbers dare not enter this place, lest they be punished by the self-proclaimed chivalrous and righteous followers of the Quanzhen School. The officials also know better than to bully the common people here, for many of them have been taken care of by the Quanzhen disciples who are imbued with chivalrous thoughts and dare not wield their swords against the law. As a result, this area of Mount Zhongnan has become a rare haven in these chaotic times.

  Ling Muyun, although it was his first time in Zhongnan Mountain, didn't know the way, but he wasn't stumped. The Quanzhen Sect's territory in Zhongnan Mountain was truly well-known to everyone, and Ling Muyun simply asked someone casually and figured out where the Quanzhen Sect was located. With the Quanzhen Sect as a landmark, it wasn't difficult to find the Living Dead Tomb either.

  Ling Yun followed the local people's directions and headed towards Mount Zhongnan. Along the way, he arrived at the foot of Mount Zhongnan where the Quanzhen Sect was located. From the locals' mouths, he learned that some important passes on Mount Zhongnan were guarded by disciples of the Quanzhen Sect, and not just anyone could enter or exit. To avoid trouble, he didn't directly ascend the mountain but instead found an inn in the town at the foot of the mountain to rest temporarily, planning to sneak up the mountain quietly at night.

  Taking advantage of the rest, Ling Muyun also made some preparations. Since he came for the "Chongyang Legacy", he naturally wanted to enter the Living Dead Tomb. There are two ways to enter the ancient tomb: one is to openly enter through the main gate, which is unrealistic. The Living Dead Tomb is currently occupied by the Ancient Tomb Sect passed down by Lin Chongying. Although the founder of the sect, Lin Chongying, has long since passed away, judging from the time, the masters of Xiaolongnü and Li Mochou, who were also Lin Chongying's personal maidservants back then, should still be alive. Although Ling Muyun didn't know what kind of martial arts she had, being able to teach apprentices like Xiaolongnü and Li Mochou, she must not be weak, at least she should be on the same level as the Seven Sons of Quanzhen. With Ling Muyun's mediocre skills, if he really tried to force his way in, he probably wouldn't even be enough for them to play with.

  Another way is to dive into the waterway from underwater. This underwater passage was not discovered until later, during the time of The Return of the Condor Hero, by Little Dragon Girl and Yang Guo, and it is still unknown today, even to those living in the tomb of the Quanzhen Sect in China. Only Wang Chongyang knew about it, but he had already died at this point. Therefore, entering from here was the safest option. So Linghu Chong had already decided to dive into the tomb before coming to Mount Zhongnan.

  Since you want to dive into the grave, you have to do some diving preparation work. If Ling Mochou's memory is not bad, in the original book, Xiaolongnv and Yang Guo swam out of that underwater secret passage, it seems to take a considerable amount of time, as for how long he forgot, but it's absolutely not something that can be done in three to five minutes, it seems like it takes at least three or two quarters.

  At that time, Yang Guo and Little Dragon Girl had already achieved internal strength, their breathing was much longer than ordinary people, and they had also learned the "Nine Yin True Classics" closed-air method. Staying underwater for a while was no problem. But his current body hasn't practiced any internal strength at all, holding his breath for even half a minute is barely manageable, wanting to hold his breath like Yang Guo and Little Dragon Girl in the original work would only lead to suffocation. So Ling Mu Yun planned to prepare several oxygen bags to carry with him, just in case of an emergency.

  It's okay, oxygen bags don't have high requirements for materials and the manufacturing process is simple. Ling Mu Yun went to the market and bought some pig bladders, and in no time, he made a dozen or so simple oxygen bags.

  At night, Ling Muyun took the seven or eight oxygen bags he had prepared and left the resting inn, quietly climbing up Mount Zhongnan. After all, Quanzhen Sect was just a martial arts school, its vigilance was not comparable to that of the military, so after nightfall, most of the disciples guarding the mountain roads were withdrawn, leaving only a few sentries near the mountain gate, and Ling Muyun encountered no obstacles on his way up the mountain.

  According to his memory of the original plot, Ling Muyun came to the back mountain forbidden area of Quanzhen Sect and searched carefully. Fortunately, it was a full moon night, and the moonlight illuminated the path, so Ling Muyun didn't worry about not being able to see clearly. However, in such a vast Zhongnan Mountain, finding a place he had never been to before wasn't that simple, was it?

  It wasn't until dawn that Ling Mu Yun finally found the location of the ancient tomb after spending half the night searching.

  But then Ling Muyun encountered another difficulty, because although he had found the location of the ancient tomb, he had not found the entrance to the underwater secret passage. The main entrance of the ancient tomb was discovered by him, but even if he were given another chance, he would not dare to enter from here.

  Fortunately, the Gu Mu Pai only had two or three big cats and small cats, all of whom were standard homebodies who lived in seclusion. The Quanzhen Sect also designated a large area behind the ancient tomb as a forbidden zone, so Ling Mu Yun was not disturbed by anyone and began to search quietly everywhere.

  This search was again a scene of half a day, from dawn to dusk, Ling Mu Yun circled the entire ancient tomb and still couldn't find the exit of the underwater secret passage, but instead made his stomach growl with hunger.

  "Never mind, let's just get to this place today. I'm starving, so let's head down the mountain and fill our stomachs first, then we can come back up later."

  Ling Mu Yun was both tired and hungry, so he had no choice but to temporarily give up, find his way down the mountain, and head back to the inn where he would rest his feet and have a good meal before continuing.

  Returned to the inn in Shānxiàzhèn to rest, had a big meal and then slept soundly until the next day near noon. Had a brunch at the inn's dining hall, then went back to my room to think about what to do next, trying hard to recall my previous actions, speculating in my mind where the exit of the ancient tomb underwater passage was.

  "Where on earth could the exit of that underwater secret passage be? I've searched all around the ancient tomb and still can't find it. Could it be that the exit is hidden in a way that's beyond my imagination... Wait, could the exit of that underwater secret passage actually be at the foot of the mountain? Since it's from the ancient tomb going downwards, following the underground waterway to exit, and water flows downwards, it's possible that the exit of that underwater secret passage might indeed be at the foot of the mountain!"

  Ling Muyun thought the more he thought about it, the more possible it seemed. The Living Dead Tomb was originally a place where Wang Chongyang hid the weapons of the righteous army, and its scale was extremely large, like a large underground warehouse, almost hollowing out the entire mountain belly. Think about it, if the exit of the underwater secret passage is on the mountain, why would it take so long to emerge from it? It's very likely that this underground waterway leads directly to the foot of the mountain. If that's the case, then his previous search for the entrance to the underwater secret passage on the mountain was simply a waste of time, and it's no wonder he couldn't find it.

  Having thought it through and understood the reason, Ling Muyun made up his mind to start searching from the foot of the mountain before going again.

  After understanding, Ling Muyun also relaxed and rested for another night in the inn. The next morning, he got up early and left the inn, avoiding other people's attention and entering the mountain again. He started searching at the foot of the mountain and found a cave with a small pond inside after only half a day.

  Ling Muyun still didn't dare to confirm that this was the entrance to the ancient tomb's underwater secret passage, so he jumped into the water and dove down to take a look. Sure enough, at the bottom of the pool, he discovered a long underwater passageway. Seeing this, he was already 80-90% certain in his heart that this must be the entrance to the underwater secret passage.