The Smiling, Proud Wanderer, becoming a disciple of Yue Buqun.

The bright moon hangs in the sky, its shimmering silver light spilling across the hillside. A young man practices his sword by a campfire not far away, his figure sometimes nimble and sometimes graceful. The firelight illuminates his figure, and his shadow on the ground dances with his movements.

An incredibly strong donkey was dozing on the grass, snoring loudly.

call out!call out!

The boy's sword danced in the air, slicing through the wind and creating a flurry of sword shadows.

Suddenly.

The boy thrust his sword forward with such speed that it was breathtaking. His movements ceased with the thrust, and a gentle breeze stirred, ruffling his disheveled hair.

Jiang Ning sheathed his sword, then returned to the campfire and sat down.

"Hmph~"

Maodou, who was dozing off, suddenly sneezed. He opened his eyes groggily, glanced at Jiang Ning, and then went back to sleep.

"The speed is indeed faster than before."

Jiang Ning sat cross-legged on the grass, talking to himself.

The move he just practiced was one of the Huashan School techniques, "The Phoenix Arrives." He had practiced this move for a long time and put the most effort into it. It was the last move he used when he fought Linghu Chong. However, compared to before, the "The Phoenix Arrives" he is practicing now is the one carved on the stone wall.

Although he now possesses almost all the sword techniques of the Five Mountains Sword Sect, including those more advanced than the Phoenix Comes to Ceremony, Jiang Ning did not rush to practice those techniques. Instead, he chose to relearn the Phoenix Comes to Ceremony, which he was most familiar with.

Just as Yue Buqun had worried, Jiang Ning also considered that aiming too high and practicing haphazardly would lead to mistakes. It would be better to start with the sword technique he was most familiar with, and then practice other techniques later.

Too much to chew.

If he can thoroughly understand the inscription "The Phoenix Arrives" on the stone wall, it will be a great improvement for him.

Jiang Ning's consistent belief is that whether it's a sophisticated swordsmanship or a simple slash or thrust, it's all just a technique.

So-called techniques are merely temporary ways to enhance one's combat power when one's own strength is insufficient. They are just icing on the cake and may be important in the early stages, but in the end, one's own strength will always be the primary factor, and sword techniques will be secondary.

This is also why Jiang Ning wasn't particularly eager to learn the Dugu Nine Swords from Feng Qingyang by currying favor with him.

It's better to have it, but it's okay if you don't.

As long as you are strong, every move you make can unleash tremendous power.

snoring~

snoring~

Maodou was snoring loudly beside him, while Jiang Ning lay on the lawn gazing at the night sky, his eyes sparkling like stars.

……

Zhongnan Mountain.

Also known as Taiyi Mountain, it is located in the middle section of the Qinling Mountains. Its terrain is rugged and its valleys are continuous. It is a famous Taoist mountain.

Since the demise of the Quanzhen School, no sect has settled in this famous Taoist mountain, but it has attracted many hermits to live here.

After traveling and stopping for five days, Jiang Ning finally arrived here, with Maodou leading the way.

At this moment, the clothes he was wearing were no longer the Huashan Sect's uniform, but rather clothes he had bought in Huayin County. They were light gray in color, and although they were cloth clothes, the workmanship was quite good.

Maodou carried luggage on his back, which included clothes, dry food, paper umbrellas, and other items.

Not far from Xi'an Prefecture, there was a small town at the foot of the mountain. Jiang Ning bought some dry food in the town as a supplement and then began to climb the mountain.

Although Zhongnan Mountain is also a famous mountain, its scenery is slightly inferior to that of Huashan Mountain.

After all, the scenery of Mount Hua is rare in the world, and it is a famous scenic tourist attraction and a national scenic area in modern times.

Chapter 29: The Tomb of the Living Dead

The roads in Zhongnan Mountain are rugged, and Jiang Ning found it a bit strenuous to climb, not as easy as Maodou behind him.

The townspeople say that many hermits live in Zhongnan Mountain. Every so often, some people come to Zhongnan Mountain to live in seclusion. Some are talented people who are not successful in their careers, while others are people who resigned from their official posts in anger after being thwarted in their official careers and came here to live in seclusion.

When climbing Zhongnan Mountain, Jiang Ning discovered many traces of human habitation and even saw some houses.

It seems there are quite a few people living in seclusion in these mountains.

The mountain was filled with the chirping of insects and the shadows of trees, with small animals darting through the woods from time to time.

The mountain path here was not much easier to climb than that of Mount Hua. The higher you went, the steeper it became. In the end, Jiang Ning had no choice but to stick his sword into the ground to use as leverage to climb upwards.

However, he climbed with some difficulty, while Maodou walked very easily on the rugged and steep mountain path. Its tall and strong body appeared very light, which made Jiang Ning take a sidelong look. He wondered what breed of donkey it was.

He rested overnight in a small town at the foot of the mountain before starting his climb. He began climbing in the morning and it's almost noon now.

Jiang Ning finally climbed Zhongnan Mountain and saw the towering buildings in the distance.

This is the site of the Quanzhen School of Taoism.

The Quanzhen School has been based here for hundreds of years, and its headquarters have long been abandoned, with the buildings in ruins and broken walls.

"Wanshou Chongyang Palace".

Jiang Ning walked into the ruins. Not far from his feet was a plaque covered in dust, with the words "Wanshou Chongyang Palace" written on it.

"Alas, where are those who came to gaze at the moon with me? The scenery is vaguely the same as last year. What a pity, what a pity."

Just then, a voice rang out from not far away.

Jiang Ning followed the sound and found a young man in a long robe with his hands behind his back, shaking his head and talking about the ruins in front of him.

The man was thin and frail, wearing a hat and headscarf, looking as if he would fall over with a gust of wind.

“Brother Ziyan, we traveled together to Zhongnan Mountain last year. Who would have thought that you would pass away this year? What am I to do?”

The man had tears in his eyes and a look of reminiscence on his face. When he saw Jiang Ning, he turned back to look at him, then shook his head and sighed for a while before leaving and heading down the mountain.

It turns out they came here to reminisce about someone by looking at the objects.

Jiang Ning searched the site carefully to see if there was any information, but found nothing.

This is normal, though. This site has been here for hundreds of years, and countless people have probably been here. If there were a manual for the Innate Skill here, it would have been taken long ago, and it wouldn't have been his turn. He was just trying his luck.

After touring the ruins of the Quanzhen Sect, Jiang Ning left and began searching the surrounding area within a ten-mile radius. He didn't know the location of the Tomb of the Living Dead, but he knew it wasn't far from the Quanzhen Sect.

Jiang Ning's first search site was the back of Zhongnan Mountain, but when he arrived, he found that there was nothing there at all. It was overgrown with weeds, and there wasn't even a tombstone, let alone a grave mound. There was only a pool of water and a patch of weeds.

"Isn't it here?"

Jiang Ning muttered to himself.

After looking at the pool of water in front of him, he turned and left to search carefully in other places.

Three days later.

Jiang Ning stood once again on the ruins of the Quanzhen Sect, frowning and remaining silent.

He searched every inch of the area for the past three days, but couldn't find the entrance to the ancient tomb. He did see a few burial mounds, but they all had names written on them. Judging from the epitaphs, they were all buried several decades ago. They were people who had been frustrated in their careers and had lived in seclusion in Zhongnan Mountain. After they died, they were buried here.

Nothing else was found.

Jiang Ning looked at the ruins before him, his brows furrowed.

After a while.

As if he had thought of something, he turned and ran towards the back of the mountain.

The back mountain.

Jiang Ning stood before the pool of water, gazing at the calm surface in silence.

If there's anything he missed, it's this place.

Looking at the deep, bottomless pool, Jiang Ning instructed Maodou behind him, "Wait for me here."

Maodou blinked its big eyes but didn't respond. It stood obediently in place without moving.

Jiang Ning tied his sword to his waist, then jumped into the pool. The water splashed up with a loud thud, creating ripples on the surface, but soon returned to calm, as if nothing had happened. Only a donkey stood motionless at the edge of the pool.

After entering the pool, Jiang Ning kept swimming downstream. Fortunately, he knew how to swim and was quite good at it.

The pool was very deep, and he swam downstream for a while without seeing the bottom.

The further downstream he went, the more he felt a tightness in his chest, as if a heavy object was pressing down on him. Moreover, his vision was not very clear at the bottom of the pool, and the water pressure at the bottom forced him to squint, which made his vision even more blurry.

By the time Jiang Ning finally swam to the bottom, he already felt a pressure on his chest that made it hard to breathe.

Jiang Ning's gaze swept across the bottom of the pool, but because his vision was poor at the moment, he couldn't see very clearly. What he saw in front of him was almost the same, and he couldn't distinguish them at all.

After scanning the area for a while, Jiang Ning felt a tightness and pain in his chest. He had almost used up all the oxygen he had been holding in, and he had to swim up as soon as possible, or he would suffocate.

Jiang Ning scanned the bottom of the pool, but finding nothing unusual, he had no choice but to swim upwards.

As Jiang Ning was swimming upstream, he glanced down at the bottom of the pool, his gaze unconsciously sweeping over a spot before turning back. But the next second, he opened his eyes slightly and looked back at the spot he had just swept over.

His vision was blurry, but he could vaguely see a sharp corner peeking out from the seaweed in the area he had been scanning earlier.

It was a piece of granite.

Most of that granite was buried by the water plants at the bottom of the pool. If the water plants hadn't moved and exposed it just now, Jiang Ning definitely wouldn't have been able to see it.

Jiang Ning suddenly felt a surge of excitement.

Granite has many uses, but it is usually used to make tombstones. Since he saw granite at the bottom of the pool, that place is very likely the tombstone of the Tomb of the Living Dead.

Thinking of this, Jiang Ning wanted to turn back and check that place, but he was running low on oxygen and had to go up immediately.

Jiang Ning memorized the location he had just seen, and then swam toward the surface of the water.

"call!"

After swimming to the surface, Jiang Ning breathed a sigh of relief, as the tightness in his chest had eased considerably.

Jiang Ning returned to the pool and sat down to recover his strength, while the donkey waited for him in the same spot.

Wiping the water off his face, Jiang Ning took out some food from his bag and ate it while recovering his strength, his mind still focused on the location he had just thought of.

After a moment, Jiang Ning jumped back into the pool. Once he had a direction, he quickly swam to the bottom. This time, he was prepared and held his breath for a long time.

Returning to the spot he had just seen, Jiang Ning unhesitatingly used his sword to clear away all the weeds, and a tombstone quickly appeared before him.

The Tomb of the Living Dead.

The four characters on the tombstone came into view before Jiang Ning.