347: Nothing is difficult in the world if you set your mind to it.

“According to the inn owner, Shen Jiang Mountain is still twenty kilometers from Hongye Town.”

After Shen Bei walked five kilometers out of Hongye Town, he was already in the wilderness and could not see any other people.

He directly took off his mask, and Zhuang Bifan also walked out of the mirror.

The two walked one after the other.

Zhuang Bifan was constantly surveying his surroundings and replied, “That boss also said the road to Shen Jiang Mountain is not peaceful.”

Shen Bei was silent for a moment, then smiled, “It’s just a foal crossing a river. For ordinary people, even common small beasts are a deadly threat.”

After walking another kilometer, the two officially entered Shen Jiang Mountain.

This mountainous area, in Shen Bei’s eyes, was no different from other mountainous areas, all lush green.

A wisp of cloud, white as pure milk, brushed past the scorching sun, beginning to steam the moisture from the forests and large mountains, and the light made the world appear very bright.

Shen Bei walked through the grass, like a cold-blooded animal continuously exposed to the sun. The rising muggy humidity made him feel like a steamed bun piled in a steamer.

At this moment, Zhuang Bifan began to constantly look around, running back and forth, not even missing a single blade of grass or tree.

Shen Bei found it strange and teased, “What, do you understand Feng Shui or something? What are you looking at? Just go straight in!”

Zhuang Bifan waved his hand and pointed, “What do you know? The mountain range of Shen Jiang Mountain winds like a Dragon soaring through the Nine Heavens. Since ancient times, it has been regarded as a rare Feng Shui treasure land between heaven and earth, containing endless auspicious Aura.”

“What the hell!”

Shen Bei was stunned and greatly surprised, “You really understand Feng Shui?”

Zhuang Bifan raised his chin, “If you admit you’re just here to make up the numbers, I can teach you.”

Shen Bei pouted, “I’ll give you a chance to show off, otherwise no one will watch your performance.”

Zhuang Bifan coughed once, showing off his knowledge, “Some common cultural knowledge in these underground caves is actually largely interconnected with ancient Chinese classics.”

“As for why, I won’t go into too many complicated speculations.”

“Now, look at the trend of this mountain range.”

Zhuang Bifan pointed casually, gesturing in the air, “Shen Jiang Mountain faces south with its back to the vast mountains and its front embracing vast blue waves, perfectly aligning with the Feng Shui principle of ‘Black Tortoise bowing its head, Vermilion Bird soaring and dancing.’ The mountain peaks are shrouded in mist, like an immortal realm, perfectly matching the meteorological pattern of ‘clouds follow the Dragon, wind follows the tiger,’ which indicates the gathering of Qi and the continuous flow of Dragon veins. On both sides of the mountain, streams babble, like Azure Dragon and White Tiger guarding the left and right, forming natural protective sand.”

“The mountain is covered in lush trees, evergreen throughout the four seasons. Among the Five Elements, wood thrives and gives birth to fire, symbolizing the vigor and continuation of life. Strange, jagged rocks, varied in form, are naturally distributed in the pattern of the Eight Trigrams, secretly conforming to the changes of heaven and earth, attracting the convergence of Earth Qi and forming a rare Tai Chi halo, which is considered a treasure among ‘acupoints.’ Ascending to the summit, one sees a churning sea of clouds and myriad rays of light, just like purple Qi coming from the east.”

Shen Bei listened, finding it extremely profound. Whether Zhuang Bifan’s words were true or false, he didn’t know, as Shen Bei didn’t understand Feng Shui.

But he could tell that this little chatterbox was quite good at bluffing people.

Shen Bei asked, “You mean, there’s a powerful being buried here?”

“A rare and precious place,” Zhuang Bifan sighed. “If it weren’t for wanting to return to my roots, I’d want to be buried here. In other words, if tomb raiders came, it would be a carnival.”

Shen Bei rolled his eyes, “Alright, let’s stop worrying about Feng Shui, brother, finding the collapse (landslide) is the real deal.”

After they walked into the mountain forest for about half an hour, Shen Bei began to chatter incessantly, saying, “Old Bi, I’m not lying to you, everything I see now looks like braised pork hock, and every body of water looks like Harbin Beer. Damn it, I’m really about to pass out from hunger. But then again, why don’t you look hungry? Did you secretly eat something good behind my back, you son of a bitch? Confess and be lenient, resist and be strict. Explain everything clearly and strive for leniency.”

Zhuang Bifan threw a bag of compressed biscuits to Shen Bei and said, “If you’re hungry, just have some of this. It’s filling.”

When they left Hongye Town, they were too impatient to eat anything, so they rushed out. Now, running around in the mountain forest, they were starving.

Shen Bei looked at the compressed biscuits in his hand and sighed again, “Ugh, every time I eat this stuff, I always feel like my maternal aunt is riding on my neck, stuffing her foot-binding cloth into my mouth.”

Zhuang Bifan gave him a disdainful look and said, “Can you stop babbling, you son of a bitch? My ears are breaking out in a rash from your noise. You’re clearly just being delicate. When we were on military training, we ate this stuff for ten days to half a month.”

“To put it bluntly, these compressed biscuits are made from scallion oil and wheat, embodying the sweat and wisdom of the working people. Not only are they fragrant and crispy, with a dense texture, leaving a lasting taste and never getting old, but after careful chewing, there’s even a hint of simple, natural sweetness. They are the most intimate companion for those of us who often go on outdoor missions, yet you always compare them to foot-binding cloth. This makes me feel like you, you son of a bitch, might have actually eaten foot-binding cloth, otherwise how could you have such a profound insight.”

Shen Bei exclaimed, “What the hell, Old Bi, are you even speaking human? What does my ear rash have to do with me? You’re not looking for the root of the problem by considering that you have too much earwax; instead, you’re pinning this blame on your only revolutionary comrade. Besides, it’s just the two of us in this deep mountain forest. If I don’t talk to you, am I supposed to talk to ghosts?”

The two bickered all the way, pushing deeper into the desolate mountain forest.

After advancing about ten kilometers, they were almost at the periphery of the Shen Jiang Mountain collapse.

Suddenly, the atmosphere in the mountain forest became somber, with only the sound of their feet stepping on piles of rotten leaves and breaking branches.

Although it was a hot summer day, there were no insect sounds or bird calls in the mountain forest, making it exceptionally quiet, even eerily silent.

A layer of mist lingered among the tree canopies, making the sunlight that filtered through appear particularly dim. Looking vaguely, through the faint light, the clustered shrubs and weeds seemed like shadowy, clawing figures hidden in the darkness.

Strange, twisted trees stood near and far, like ghosts wandering in the mist.

Clustered, dense shadows, accompanied by a miasma of decay, permeated everywhere. A gust of wind blew, yet brought no coolness, only an even more inexplicable heat and dead silence.

During this entire period, all sounds were hushed.

The deeper they went, the sparser the sunlight became. Mist rose from the decaying leaves, like lost, withered, and weak phantoms.

The scenery grew increasingly bizarre.

Shen Bei also lost his mood for teasing, taking every step with extreme caution.

Fearing something strange might happen.

Just then, Zhuang Bifan, who was walking ahead, suddenly stopped. He reached out to push aside the tangled undergrowth and peered forward.

Suddenly, a straight flight of steps appeared before him, nine hundred and ninety-nine steps in total. He didn't even count them; this number simply appeared in his consciousness without explanation.

Above the steps was a majestic palace, or perhaps a temple, exuding a powerful Aura to the world.

There must be something miraculous in that temple, there must! he thought without reason, and then stepped onto the stairs.

After nine hundred and ninety-nine steps, Zhuang Bifan pushed open the heavy, tall temple door and walked in. Immediately, a golden light flooded his eyes.

This light was sacred, pure, and inviolable.

A tall idol stood in the main hall, its majestic Aura surging like a tide, making Zhuang Bifan feel incredibly respectful and devout.

He slowly walked forward, stood by the prayer cushion, and began to slowly bend his knees, about to prostrate himself.

The moment his knees were about to touch the prayer cushion, a hand grabbed his shoulder.

“That’s enough.”

A familiar voice, deafening, rang in his ear.

With that shout, the majestic Aura of the idol before Zhuang Bifan surged like a tide, then receded like one.

The moment that hand touched his shoulder, Zhuang Bifan was plunged into an intense, dizzying sensation, feeling his consciousness being stripped away little by little.

His vision blurred, unable to even distinguish the simplest colors.

This feeling lasted for quite a while before slowly fading.

After the intense dizziness subsided, a figure slowly appeared in Zhuang Bifan’s eyes.

It was Shen Bei.

At this moment, Shen Bei’s eyes moved, and he deliberately weighed his words, saying, “Son, you’ve fallen into a Dao trap.”

Zhuang Bifan then began to look around, his gaze sweeping across the area.

It was no majestic and grand temple at all, but a dilapidated temple with broken beams, cobwebs (without spiders) everywhere, overgrown with weeds, a few moldy prayer cushions, and permeated with the smell of mold and decay.

There was no golden, awe-inspiring, tall idol either, only a cracked idol covered in sawdust and dust, its face blurred.

From the size of the temple, one could perhaps imagine that it was once a large temple, but now, all that met the eye was utter ruin.

Zhuang Bifan’s eyes widened in disbelief, his hands and feet trembling uncontrollably, “An illusion?”

Shen Bei nodded.

In fact, Shen Bei had also fallen into the trap, but his Fifth Dimension Attribute was much stronger than Zhuang Bifan’s, and he broke free in a few seconds.

Then he saw Zhuang Bifan rushing up the hill, entering the dilapidated temple, and prostrating himself before the ruined idol, which was no longer recognizable.

Only then did Shen Bei speak to stop him.

“Damn it.” Zhuang Bifan slowly stood up. “My knee almost took an arrow. It’s truly eerie.”

“Luckily, there was no danger,” Shen Bei said with lingering fear.

“I feel like we’re about to reach the collapsed area.”

Zhuang Bifan had this intuition; he hadn't encountered anything strange along the way, not even a killer.

Now, almost being forced to kneel by an illusion, there must be an irresistible force at play nearby, which perfectly fits the prestige of the “Martial Dao Pinnacle.”

The two looked around the dilapidated temple but found no valuable clues or items.

They then exited through the back door of the dilapidated temple.

The back door led to a courtyard, which was no longer recognizable from its original appearance; the surrounding walls had long since collapsed under the erosion of time.

Passing through the backyard, they arrived at the rear cliff of this mountain.

The cliff was a full thousand meters high.

He looked out.

Shen Bei’s eyelids slowly widened.

But he saw.

What should have been a continuous mountain forest of lush green.

A scar of a giant rock pit, several kilometers long, appeared, like a patch of vitiligo, so glaring amidst the green mountains.

It looked exactly like a sinkhole caused by a mountain collapsing.

“Found it!” Shen Bei took a deep breath, speaking with extreme excitement.

Zhuang Bifan looked at the large amount of rubble and frowned, “How do we even start here…?”

Shen Bei waved his hand, took out some food, sat on the ground, and said confidently, “Nothing is impossible for a willing heart. Let’s eat our fill before going down; I don’t believe we can’t find the entrance!”