I flew on a sword at the magic academy

However, such barren mountains without any vegetation are not uncommon in the desolate state, and Shi Daohan did not pay much attention to them.

The next morning, Shi Daohan came out of her residence and saw the old village chief bowing three times and nine times to the mountain in the morning light, which puzzled her greatly.

There doesn't seem to be a temple built on that mountain to worship the mountain god, so why would the old village chief worship it?

"The first thing the old village chief does every morning is to worship that mountain," a young man explained.

The young man named Er Lengzi explained honestly, "The first thing Master Zhang does every morning is to pay homage to that mountain."

"I don't see any mountain god on that mountain, so why is the village chief doing this?" Shi Daohan asked, puzzled.

"I don't know either. The old village chief only told us that it was an ominous place and that he didn't let us go near it on ordinary days." The young man's name was Wang Ping, and he had an honest appearance.

"An ominous place..." Shi Daohan was even more puzzled, as she couldn't see anything wrong with it.

After breakfast, Shi Daohan arrived at the foot of that majestic mountain.

This mountain is entirely silver-gray, as if it were polished from dull metal. It is several thousand meters high, thick and imposing.

Shi Daohan walked around and found many marks of knife and axe strokes, which were of unknown age and could not be detected without careful examination.

She flicked her finger and unleashed a sword beam, sparks flew, the sword beam shattered, but the rock remained completely untouched, as hard as divine iron.

Afterwards, she slowly ascended into the air and discovered that the mountain was almost entirely covered with marks from being cleaved by knives, axes, spears, and swords.

"This mountain can't possibly be a soldier, can it?" This absurd guess popped into Shi Daohan's mind.

She reached the mountaintop and looked out into the distance, discovering nine majestic mountain ranges stretching for thousands of miles to the southeast, and nine dried-up riverbeds along the same two thousand miles.

"Holy crap... this feng shui layout is something else..." Shi Daohan couldn't help but gasp.

If you connect this mountain with those nine mountain ranges and the nine dried-up riverbeds, wouldn't it look like nine dragons pulling a coffin?!

The mountain is a coffin, the nine dried-up riverbeds are chains, and the nine mountain ranges are the dragons pulling the coffin. This immediately reminded Shi Daohan of the phrase "nine dragons pulling a coffin".

Centered on this mountain, the land stretches for thousands of miles, flat and without even a small hill. Only the nine dried-up riverbeds and nine mountain ranges can form a pattern with this mountain.

"Nine dragons pulling a coffin... Even imperial tombs might not dare to use this layout, right? If you can suppress the aura, your descendants will naturally rise to prominence. But if you are not virtuous enough to hold the position and cannot suppress it, then you are basically courting death."

Shi Daohan muttered to herself, unable to discern whether this was a naturally formed feng shui arrangement or something man-made.

The morning glow cast its golden rays, gilding the mountain and making it appear even more majestic.

Shi Daohan used her hand as a knife and cleaved at a rock with all her might. The rock was far harder than she had imagined; even with her full strength, she couldn't leave a single mark.

In the end, they had to use supernatural powers and magic to create a shallow crater.

"Such a hard material would be good for forging weapons." Shi Daohan collected some pebbles, thinking that he could try incorporating them into weapon forging in the future.

The next day, she woke up as usual and saw the old village chief, just like the day before, worshipping the mountain with piety and reverence as the first thing he did after getting up.

Unable to contain his curiosity, Shi Daohan asked, "Old village chief, why do you worship that mountain every day? Is there anything special about it?"

After the old village chief finished performing the three kowtows and nine prostrations, he pulled Shi Daohan into the courtyard and said, "That is an ominous place; you must not provoke it."

"Provoke?" Shi Daohan was even more puzzled. Could that mountain be sentient?

"Old village chief, what is the origin of that mountain?"

"I don't know much either, I've only heard my ancestors say that it's an ominous force."

Shi Daohan didn't get any useful information. After breakfast, he wandered around the village and found the honest young man named Wang Ping. He questioned him carefully again, but still couldn't get any answers.

"I do know a little about it." A young boy passed by and, hearing Shi Daohan asking about the mountain, took the initiative to come over.

His name was Wang Lin, and he was about fifteen or sixteen years old. He whispered, "The old village chief once got drunk and said that the mountain was called Wuji Mountain, an ominous place. He also vaguely mentioned something related to immortals."

Shi Daohan was shocked. The layout of the Nine Dragons Pulling the Coffin was one thing, but daring to name it Wuji (limitless) was even more audacious, as even immortals were involved.

Immortals are ethereal and elusive; whether or not one can cultivate to become an immortal remains a mystery to this day.

The fact that Mount Wuji was associated with immortals immediately made Shi Daohan think of many things.

"Did the old village chief say anything else?" Shi Daohan asked eagerly.

Wang Lin shook his head and said, "The old village chief was drunk at the time. He only said a few drunken words before falling asleep. That's all I heard."

Wang Ping seemed to suddenly remember something and said, "I once heard my grandfather say that the Ge family has lived here for generations in order to guard Wuji Shang."

Upon hearing this, Shi Daohan realized that the main surname of Heihe Village was Wang, while the old village chief's surname was Ge, and he was an outsider.

"Guarding Mount Wuji? Why guard it?" Shi Daohan pressed.

"I don't know, my grandfather only heard it from the older generation." Wang Ping thought for a moment and then said, "I heard that the loss of the 'Dragon Seeking Scripture' is also related to that Wuji Mountain."

"What do you mean?" Shi Daohan was deeply troubled. She longed to see the classic text passed down by the Dragon Seeker, but unfortunately, that text had been lost long ago, and even the old village chief, a descendant of the Ge family, had never seen it with his own eyes.

"It seems that an ancestor of the Ge family disobeyed the ancestral teachings and took the clan's classic text, the 'Dragon Seeking Manual,' into Wuji Mountain, and never came out again."

Wang Ping lowered his voice, afraid that others would hear, because this was a taboo for the Ge family, the old village chief.

Shi Daohan pinched his chin, sorting through the information he had gathered.

"The feng shui layout of 'Nine Dragons Pulling a Coffin' can be used as a mausoleum. The Ge family has guarded this place for generations, which makes them seem like tomb guardians. If it involves immortals, then Wuji Mountain can't be a mausoleum for immortals, can it?!" Thinking of this possibility, Shi Daohan almost exclaimed.

Afterwards, Shi Daohan came to the front of Wuji Mountain and circled the mountain several times, carefully observing every corner.

"The ancestors of the Ge family once entered this mountain, which means that the interior space has been hollowed out, and it is very likely a tomb. But how did they get in?" Shi Daohan circled Wuji Mountain several times but could not find the location of the tomb entrance.

"Since this involves immortals, how did the Ge family ancestors learn of it?"

Shi Daohan was eager to find the secret to becoming an immortal here, but she still had doubts about those who became immortals, thinking that the ancestors of the Ge family might have exaggerated or misjudged.

Aside from the awe-inspiring arrangement of the nine dragons pulling the coffin, she couldn't see anything that could be related to the legendary immortals.

She climbed back to the summit, but the next second her expression froze, her eyes filled with disbelief.

Just yesterday morning, she used her supernatural powers to create a shallow pit, but now it's gone.

"How is this possible?" Shi Daohan was dumbfounded. Although it was just a shallow pit a little over half a meter wide, it was still very conspicuous. She was certain that she had not mistaken the location.

"This is really weird. Could it possibly self-repair?"

Shi Daohan checked his storage ring and found that all the pebbles he had collected yesterday had disappeared without a trace.

"Could there really be a spirit?"

Shi Daohan felt a chill run down his spine. All the pebbles in his storage ring had disappeared, indicating that the mountain might indeed be sentient and possess the ability to self-repair.

After a moment's thought, she blasted another shallow pit, more than two meters wide and a little over an inch deep, into the mountain. Then she put all the pebbles into her storage ring and applied dozens of layers of restrictions and seals. Finally, she flew into the clouds and stared intently at the shallow pit on the mountaintop.

She was very patient and stayed up until late at night, wanting to see if this mysterious mountain was truly spiritual and had the ability to heal itself.

It wasn't until late at night that Shi Daohan finally made a discovery, his eyes widening in astonishment at what he saw.

Right on the mountaintop, the shallow crater she had created was silently changing, slowly becoming flat, and right before her eyes, it returned to its original state.

Shi Daohan hurriedly checked her storage ring, and as expected, the pebbles she had stored inside had once again vanished without a trace.

It was as if it had evaporated into thin air, without touching her restrictive seal.

"This is bizarre!" Shi Daohan finally managed to utter those two words after a long pause.

She didn't linger there any longer and returned to Heihe Village. Since the Ge family had been guarding this place for generations, they must know some secrets. She decided to wait until tomorrow morning to find an opportunity to ask the old village chief.

She returned to Heihe Village, and as soon as she entered her residence, she saw that the old village chief was still awake, sitting in her yard smoking a pipe.

"You're finally back. Did you go to that mountain to investigate?" The old village chief asked nervously.

Shi Daohan didn't hide anything and nodded.

"Oh dear!" The old village chief jumped up and down in alarm, saying, "You absolutely mustn't go there again! Didn't I already tell you? That's an ominous place; if you keep going there, something bad will happen!"

Shi Daohan helped him into the house and asked, "What is the origin of that mountain? What is its connection to the legendary immortals?"

"Alright, alright, I'll just tell you everything I know today, otherwise you'll definitely investigate it yourself!" The old village chief sighed and said, "Actually, what I know is also very vague. After you hear this, don't go and investigate anymore. That place is truly haunted."

The old village chief spoke earnestly, genuinely not wanting Shi Daohan to attract misfortune because of his curiosity.

Shi Daohan poured him a cup of hot water and said, "I know what I'm doing, don't worry."

"That mountain is called Wuji Mountain. Its history is so ancient that it cannot be traced back. My Ge family's first ancestor, who was also the third Dragon Seeker in the history of our Huangzhou, settled in Heihe Village when he discovered this mountain. He left behind ancestral instructions, warning his descendants not to approach the place and to worship it from afar every day."

The third Dragon Seeker in the history of Huangzhou, who was also the first ancestor of the Ge family in Heihe Village, solemnly warned his descendants that Wuji Mountain was related to the legendary immortals, and that the immortals' power should not be profaned and should be respected. However, Wuji Mountain was also an ominous place and should never be approached.

"There is a great terror in the mountains; do not provoke it, or disaster will surely follow!"

The old village chief sighed heavily and said, "Unfortunately, seven thousand years ago, an ancestor still disobeyed the ancestral teachings and took the 'Dragon Seeking Scripture' into that ominous place, and never came out again."

"Why did that ancestor choose to enter Wuji Mountain?" Shi Daohan wondered.

The old village chief shook his head and sighed softly, "It might have been driven by curiosity like you, or it might have been due to other unavoidable reasons. It's been too long; who can say for sure?"

"There are living creatures in Wuji Mountain!" As he finished speaking, cold sweat broke out on the old village chief's forehead. He quickly knelt down and kowtowed three times in the direction of Wuji Mountain before trembling as he stood up.

"Just listen to my advice, don't go there again. Sometimes, curiosity can cost you your life!"

Shi Daohan was shocked. Was there a living thing in Wuji Mountain? Was it a ghost or some other kind of life form?

She felt it necessary to find an opportunity to visit Wuji Mountain, and she now speculated that Wuji Mountain might be the tomb of an immortal from ancient times.

The legacy of those who attain immortality and the secrets to achieving it are so captivating that it's absolutely worth the adventure.

The very next day, amidst shouts and howls of beasts, and dust billowing everywhere, the bandits from Luhe Village finally came knocking.

"Hide! Those beasts from Luhe Village are back!"

The able-bodied men and women in the village hid with the elderly and children, and then rushed to the village entrance with their weapons.

"Do these despicable beasts really have to drive people to their deaths?!"

The able-bodied men of the village gathered at the village entrance, their eyes filled with anger and murderous intent, ready to fight these bandits and robbers to the death at any moment.

Outside the village, dust billowed into the sky as dozens of strange beasts galloped in, each carrying a ferocious-looking bandit with a menacing expression, exuding murderous intent.

This is a group of thugs, all of them ruthless bandits and robbers.

The leader was a burly man in his forties with a thick beard and a two-inch-long scar above his left eye, making him look fierce.

"What do you mean? You dare point knives at us? Are you lowly people tired of living?!" Seeing the posture of the Black River Village bandits, many of them shouted curses.

The old village chief stood at the front, cupped his hands, and said, "Gentlemen, which man in our desolate land doesn't carry some weapons for self-defense? Please calm down."

"Stop your damn nonsense! Have you prepared all the spirit stones I asked for? Don't tell me it takes more time. We've run into some trouble these past few days, and we've already given you two extra days!"