Courtyard Check-in: Starting with a Small World of Cultivation

On the morning of the seventeenth day of the first lunar month, Chen Yu got off the train at Shaoguan Railway Station. The morning breeze in the mountainous area of ​​northern Guangdong was particularly crisp and cool, carrying a faint scent of pine and earth. There were few passengers on the platform, and a few farmers carrying shoulder poles were walking towards the exit. Bamboo baskets with freshly picked winter bamboo shoots hung from both ends of the poles.

"System, check-in for today." Chen Yu tightened his gray work jacket.

[Ding! Japanese visa successfully obtained]

[Received: 5 jin of Guangdong Province grain coupons, basic geology knowledge (small), military binoculars x1, 12 yuan in cash]

The geological knowledge came at just the right time. After using it, I gained basic knowledge of rock classification, stratigraphic structure, and mineral identification. The military binoculars were Soviet-made, with an 8x magnification scope and a leather case, which were rare items at the time.

Chen Yu put the binoculars into his backpack and walked out of the train station. Several dilapidated tricycles were parked in the square in front of the station, and the drivers, wrapped in cotton-padded coats, were squatting beside their vehicles. Seeing him come out, a man in his forties stood up:

"Comrade, where are you going?"

"Danxia Mountain Scenic Area".

"Danxia Mountain...it's a bit far, more than 30 li (15 kilometers) away." The man rubbed his hands together. "The fare is one yuan and fifty cents, I'll take you to the mountain gate."

Chen Yu didn't haggle and got on the tricycle. The tricycle bumped and jolted out of Shaoguan city and headed northeast along a gravel road. On both sides of the road were rolling hills with endless forests of Masson pine trees, and occasionally a few exposed red sandstone rocks could be seen—the characteristics of Danxia landforms were beginning to appear.

The driver was very talkative: "Comrade, are you going to Danxia Mountain for tourism? It's the middle of the Lunar New Year, it's very cold in the mountains."

"I guess so. I've heard that Danxia Mountain has beautiful scenery."

"The scenery is beautiful, but the road is difficult to travel," the driver said. "Especially around Yangyuan Stone and Yinyuan Stone, the steps are very steep. Last year, a student from Guangzhou fell and broke his leg while climbing the mountain, and it was several of us drivers who carried him down."

While keeping up the conversation, Chen Yu took out the Seven Star Key Finder from his robes. He infused it with a wisp of spiritual energy, and the Tianquan star on the disc shone brighter than yesterday, its pointer steadily pointing northeast—directly towards Danxia Mountain.

An hour and a half later, the tricycle stopped at the entrance of Danxia Mountain Scenic Area. In 1964, Danxia Mountain had not yet been developed on a large scale. There was only a simple wooden archway and a small brick building next to it, with the words "Ticket Office" pasted on the window. The ticket cost two cents and came with a hand-drawn guide map.

Chen Yu bought a ticket to enter the mountain. Following the directions on the key map, he needed to go to the "Elder Peak" area deep within the scenic area. The tourist map indicated that it was a 15-mile mountain road from the mountain gate to Elder Peak, which would take at least three hours.

The mountain path was paved with stone slabs, but it had fallen into disrepair over the years, with many slabs cracked and covered in moss. It was the first month of the lunar calendar, so there were few tourists; they only encountered a few local herbalists along the way. Chen Yu walked briskly, his body, refreshed after the marrow cleansing, traversing the mountain path as if it were flat ground.

After walking about five miles, a fork in the road appeared ahead. One path led left to "Xianglong Lake," and the other led right to "Jinshi Rock." The compass pointer was slightly to the right, pointing towards Jinshi Rock.

Chen Yu chose the right path. This path was steeper, with towering red cliffs on both sides, dozens of meters high, gleaming golden-red in the sunlight. Sparse shrubs grew on the rock faces, and occasionally birds would be startled and take flight from the crevices.

After walking another two miles, the key-finding compass suddenly began to vibrate! The light from the star Tianquan became dazzling, and after the pointer swung violently, it pointed to an inconspicuous crack on the right rock wall.

The crack was about a foot wide and over two meters high, half-hidden by vines. If it weren't for the key-finding disk, no one would have noticed it. Chen Yu parted the vines and found the inside of the crack to be pitch black, with a cool breeze blowing from its depths—indicating that it was hollow inside.

He took out his headlamp and squeezed sideways into the crevice. The crevice was narrow at first, but after walking about ten meters, it suddenly opened up into a natural cave. Sunlight streamed through the cracks in the rock ceiling, illuminating the interior.

This is a typical Danxia cave, with bright red sandstone walls and fine sand accumulation on the floor. The temperature inside the cave is significantly higher than outside, estimated to be around 15 or 16 degrees Celsius. The most striking feature is in the center of the cave—where stands a half-person-high, bright red rock, shaped remarkably like a meditating human figure.

"This is... a natural stone statue?" Chen Yu approached to observe. The surface of the statue was smooth, as if it had been washed by flowing water for a long time, but the facial contours were blurred, and its specific appearance could not be seen.

With his spiritual eye activated, he could see a faint flow of spiritual energy inside the stone statue. And at the base of the statue, the spiritual energy formed a vortex—there was something there!

Chen Yu crouched down and gently stroked the base of the stone statue. The base was a single piece of rock, without any gaps. But he could sense that the center of the spiritual energy vortex was just half a foot directly below the base.

"Underground..." He took out a military shovel—which he had prepared before leaving Guangzhou. Carefully digging away the sand around the base, he dug about a foot deep when the shovel hit something hard.

It was a stone box, about a foot long and half a foot wide, entirely crimson, the same color as the rocks of Danxia Mountain. The surface of the stone box was engraved with the Big Dipper pattern, with the Tianquan star recessed, its shape matching the Xuan character token.

Chen Yu took out the token and placed it into the recessed area.

"Click..." The stone box lid popped open automatically. Inside, there was no jade box or bamboo slips, only a palm-sized red jade token! The token was similar in shape to the Xuan character token, but its color was as red as blood. The front was engraved with the character "Power," and the back had a simple outline of Danxia Mountain.

[Obtained: Tianquan Key]

[The fourth of the Seven Star Keys corresponds to the Tianquan star in the Big Dipper.]

【Characteristics: Fire-type affinity, can withstand high temperatures】

Chen Yu picked up the crimson jade token, which was warm to the touch. At the same time, a mechanism whirred from the base of the stone statue, and a small drawer popped open on the side of the base, revealing a roll of animal hide inside.

Unfolding the animal hide revealed a detailed map of Danxia Mountain and its surrounding area, marking the locations of hundreds of caves. Seven of these caves were circled in vermilion, forming the shape of the Big Dipper. The cave corresponding to the star Tianquan was precisely where he was now!

On the edge of the map is an ancient seal script inscription: "Of the thousands of caves in Danxia, ​​only seven hold the truth. Tianquan Cave is in the center, with the other six guarding it. Whoever obtains this map can find the key to the rest. However, each cave has its own test, and only those with the right destiny can obtain it."

"A test?" Chen Yu looked around the cave. It looked peaceful here, but since Master Xuanzhen said there would be a test, there must be one.

He had just put away the map and the Heavenly Key when the cave suddenly began to shake! Gravel and sand fell from the cracks in the rock above, and at the same time, a pale red mist began to seep from the cave walls.

"Poisonous miasma!" Chen Yu immediately held his breath, took out the Tranquilizing Powder from his pocket, and placed it under his tongue. Under his spiritual eye technique, he could see that the red mist contained a faint trace of poisonous spiritual energy, which would cause hallucinations if inhaled.

He quickly retreated towards the cave entrance, but found that the crack he had come from was narrowing! The rock wall seemed to come alive, writhing as the crack shrank from a foot wide to half a foot, and it continued to close!

"Earth Element Formation!" Chen Yu immediately understood. This was a trapping formation set up by Master Xuanzhen to test whether the intruder had the ability to break it.

He formed hand seals and cast a dust-removing spell—a basic spell mastered during the Qi Refining stage, originally used for cleansing, but now used to dispel the mist. Spiritual energy formed a small whirlwind, blowing away some of the red poisonous miasma.

But the crack was still closing, only three inches wide left! Chen Yu's mind raced, and he took out the Heavenly Key he had just obtained. Since it had an affinity for fire, perhaps...

He infused the Heavenly Key with spiritual energy, and the Crimson Jade Token immediately emitted a red light. The red light shone on the rock wall, and the writhing rocks actually stopped moving! Not only that, the crack began to slowly widen, returning to a foot wide.

"It really worked!" Chen Yu quickly crawled out of the crack. As soon as he came out, a loud "boom" came from behind him, and the crack closed completely, the rock wall returned to its original state, and no trace could be seen.

He stood on the mountain path and let out a long breath. This time, retrieving the key was more dangerous than the previous three times. If he hadn't happened to obtain the Heavenly Key, he probably would have been trapped in the cave.

On the compass, Tianquan star was fully lit, shining brightly alongside the first three stars. The fifth star, Yuheng, began to twinkle, and the pointer pointed south—towards Mount Luofu.

"Mount Luofu..." Chen Yu remembered that it was a famous Taoist mountain in Lingnan, known as the "Number One Mountain in Lingnan." It made sense that Master Xuanzhen would hide the key in a Taoist holy site.

Looking at the time, it was already 2 PM. He decided to stay overnight at Danxia Mountain and head to Luofu Mountain tomorrow.

On his way down the mountain, Chen Yu encountered an old man gathering herbs. The old man was carrying a bamboo basket filled with several medicinal herbs. Seeing Chen Yu coming down from the direction of Jinshiyan, he asked curiously:

"Young man, you came down from over there? Do you see the 'Red Ape Cave'?"

"Red Ape Cave?" Chen Yu shook his head. "I didn't notice."

"That's strange, I clearly saw a red shadow disappear into that hole..." the old man muttered, then suddenly stared at Chen Yu's face. "Young man, you don't look well. Did you encounter some 'red miasma'?"

Chen Yu's heart skipped a beat: "Does the old man know about the Red Miasma?"

"How could I not know!" the old man said in a low voice. "There are some ancient caves in Danxia Mountain that emit red mist around noon. People who inhale it will hallucinate and see all sorts of strange things. We herb gatherers avoid those caves."

"Is there anything special about those holes?"

"Special? Legend has it that those caves are where ancient immortals cultivated themselves, and that they contain treasures. But nine out of ten people who go in never come out." The old man shook his head. "Young man, take my advice, don't go to those places."

"Thank you for the reminder, sir." Chen Yu offered him a cigarette. "By the way, is there anywhere to stay around here?"

"There's a commune guesthouse at the foot of the mountain, it's five cents a night, breakfast included." The old man took the cigarette. "If you want to go, I'll take you down the mountain."

On the way, the old man told the legends of Danxia Mountain: the red ape cultivating immortality, the brocade stone hiding scriptures, the jade maiden dressing up... Most of them were folk tales, but Chen Yu heard some clues—these legends may all point to other keys left behind by the Xuanzhen Immortal.

After settling into the guesthouse, Chen Yu entered the small world. He needed to organize today's gains.

He placed the Tianquan Key beside the spiritual spring to nurture it, and carefully studied the animal hide map. He discovered that the seven caves marked on the map corresponded precisely to the projection of the Big Dipper onto Danxia Mountain. The Tianquan Cave was in the center, while the other six caves were distributed within a ten-mile radius.

"If each cave has a key..." Chen Yu pondered, "but Master Xuanzhen only said that the seven keys correspond to the seven mountains, not that each mountain has seven keys. These seven caves of Danxia might just be treasure locations, or... other trials."

He decided to explore the nearest cave first thing tomorrow morning. If there were other keys, the key-finding plan would need to be adjusted.

Dinner was at the commune canteen—stir-fried vegetables with sliced ​​meat and white rice; the taste was so-so, but it was filling. There were also several members of a geological team in the canteen, discussing the geological structure of Danxia Mountain. Chen Yu listened for a while and realized they were using scientific jargon, nothing to do with cultivating immortality.

Back in his room, he swallowed a Qi-Nourishing Pill and began cultivating. Today's experience made him realize that his strength was far from sufficient. He had almost been trapped by a simple Earth-Element Trapping Array; what if he encountered a more powerful array or restriction...?

"I must improve my cultivation as soon as possible." Chen Yu decided that after obtaining the Seven Keys, his primary task would be to go into seclusion and break through to the next level. The third level of Qi Refining was too low; he needed to reach at least the late stage of Qi Refining to be able to explore the Xuanzhen Cave.

Late at night, Pseudo-Man No. 7 sent a message: "Master, the follow-up to the Xinghu incident is out. Zhao Gang has been rescued, but the bullet damaged a nerve, and his left arm may be disabled. The body of the man in black who fired the shot surfaced yesterday, and the police confirmed that he is a wanted criminal from Guangxi with three murders on his record."

"What about the Dragon Seeking Society?"

"Gu Wenyuan was taken away by the police for questioning, but because he was the head of the 'scientific expedition team' and had a guarantee from his unit in Shanghai, he was released this afternoon. However, their scientific expedition permit was revoked, and all their equipment was seized. Sun Xiaoliu and Li Xiuzhen are with Zhao Gang at the hospital."

"The rest of the Men in Black?"

"Three of them escaped, and the police are currently searching for them. But according to our tracking, they didn't return to Guangxi; instead, they headed towards the Xijiang River and may be hiding in the Wuzhou area."

Chen Yu pondered. The Dragon Seeking Society was temporarily crippled, and the men in black had dispersed, but that Gu Wenyuan... since he knew of the existence of the Seven Star Key, he certainly wouldn't give up.

"Continue to monitor Gu Wenyuan. Also, investigate the background of his 'unit' in Shanghai."

"clear."

The next morning, following the markings on the animal skin map, Chen Yu found the nearest "Tianxuan Cave." This cave was located on the south side of Xianglong Lake, with its entrance hidden behind a waterfall.

Passing through the curtain of water, Chen Yu was astonished by the scene inside the cave—it was actually an alchemy chamber! In the center of the cave was a stone alchemy furnace, which, although broken, still revealed its original design. There were shelves on the cave walls, holding dozens of jade bottles, but unfortunately, most of them were empty.

Using his spiritual eye technique, Chen Yu discovered three more pills in a jade bottle in a corner. Pouring them out, he saw they were pale yellow pills with cloud-like patterns on their surface, emitting a faint fragrance.

[Discovery: Residual medicinal properties of Yiqi Dan]

[Effects: Replenishes spiritual energy and heals internal injuries]

[Quality: Inferior (stored for too long, only 10% of the medicinal efficacy remains)]

Even if only one-tenth remains, it's still a valuable item. Chen Yu carefully put it away. Then, at the bottom of the alchemy furnace, he found a jade slip with an inscription of alchemy insights, signed "Recorded by Xuanzhen at Danxia."

The jade slip mentions: "When I traveled to Danxia, ​​I saw towering red cliffs and blazing earth fire. So I carved out seven caves as alchemy chambers. However, the earth fire was so intense that no ordinary alchemy furnace could withstand it. I specially made a set of 'Seven Luminaries Alchemy Furnaces' and stored them in the seven caves. Those in later generations who are destined can collect the seven furnaces and re-refine the 'Crimson Sun Elixir'."

"Seven Luminaries Alchemy Furnace!" Chen Yu looked at the broken stone furnace. According to the jade slip, this was only one-seventh of the original. If all seven parts could be collected, they could be combined into a complete alchemy furnace, specifically for refining fire-attribute pills.

He carefully examined the stone furnace and found that the bottom did indeed have a mortise and tenon structure, allowing it to be joined with other parts. So he put the entire stone furnace into his small world—although it was broken, its material was special and might come in handy in the future.

Over the next three days, Chen Yu followed the map and found the remaining five caves. Each cave yielded valuable results:

Tian Shu Cave contains a diagram of the "Earth Fire Spirit-Attracting Array," which can draw upon earth fire to aid in alchemy.

Tianji Cave—half of the "Red Sun Pill" formula is the elixir that comes with the Seven Luminaries Pill Furnace.

Jade Balance Cave – Three Crimson Sun Stones, fire-attribute refining materials.

Kaiyang Cave – a bottle of earth fire essence, which has solidified into red crystals.

Yaoguang Cave – a set of alchemy techniques specifically used to control the earth's fire.

When Chen Yu finished exploring the sixth cave, he found a stone tablet in Yaoguang Cave, which read: "Seven caves conceal the truth, seven furnaces unite as one. Earth fire is the catalyst, and the Crimson Sun is formed. However, to achieve complete success, one must go to Luofu, obtain the Jade Balance Key, and open the Zhu Ming Cave."

"Luofu Mountain, Zhu Ming Cave..." Chen Yu noted it down. It seemed that Danxia Mountain was just a prerequisite task; the true alchemy inheritance was in Luofu Mountain.

On the twenty-first day of the first lunar month, Chen Yu left Danxia Mountain. On his way down the mountain, he encountered the old man who was gathering herbs again.

"Young man, have you found any treasure while you've been wandering around the mountains these past few days?" the old man joked.

"I found some stones, they're quite pretty." Chen Yu handed over two yuan. "Thank you for reminding me the other day, sir."

"Oh dear, I can't accept this..." The old man declined and then accepted it. "Young man, I can tell you're no ordinary person. This Danxia Mountain holds many secrets, but remember—knowing some things isn't necessarily a blessing."

Chen Yu nodded: "I understand."

Back at Shaoguan Railway Station, he bought a ticket to Boluo County—Luofu Mountain is located within Boluo. Before boarding, he sent a telegram to the Guangzhou Shipyard, informing Chief Engineer Zhang that he would catch the ship on February 15th.

The train slowly pulled out of the station, and the red peaks of Danxia Mountain receded into the distance outside the window.

Chen Yu sat by the window, toying with the Heavenly Key in his hand. The crimson jade token gleamed warmly in the sunlight, and the fire-attribute spiritual energy within it flowed slowly.

With four keys in hand, the key-finding disc points to the fifth. The alchemy tradition begins to emerge, and the Seven Luminaries Alchemy Furnace awaits its completion.

The road ahead may be long, but every step is taken with firm footing.

The scenery outside the car window changed from red Danxia landforms to green hills. Spring comes early in northern Guangdong, and some trees have already sprouted tender buds.

Chen Yu closed his eyes to rest.

Next stop, Mount Luofu.

Zhu Ming Cave Heaven, a sacred site of Taoism.

The lineage of Master Xuanzhen is gradually being unveiled.

And he is the only treasure hunter of this era.