Three mountains float on the sea and lean against Penglai, the road to Zhenyuan is free from dangers...

…A solitary crane has been crying on the Huabiao stele for a thousand years, while cicadas are chirping in the evening in the human world.

The dragon chased the tiger god king, and the accumulated fire burned his heart and spirit gradually cleared...

...I heard that there was an immortal in Songyang, and I wanted to ask about immortality with a golden tablet...

Su Xiaoniu muttered softly and remained silent for a long time in deep thought.

I asked curiously, "What does this mean?"

"This is 'A Letter to the Taoist Priest of Songyang' by the Tang Dynasty poet Cao Ye. It contains a message about his quest for immortality..." Su Xiaoniu observed it for a moment and then said, "But in my opinion, this poem is not simply about Cao Ye's quest for immortality."

"Three Mountains floating on the sea lean against Penglai... The Three Mountains are three sacred mountains on the sea in Han Chinese mythology. Wang Jia, an alchemist in the Eastern Jin Dynasty, mentioned this in his "Records of Lost Things: Gao Xin": "The Three Pots are three mountains in the sea. One is Fanghu, which is Fangzhang; the second is Penghu, which is Penglai; and the third is Yinghu, which is Yingzhou." Su Xiaoniu explained, "These are all names of sacred mountains, said to be the abodes of immortals. They also generally refer to fairyland... Of course, if we only interpret this meaning as described in the poem, it's a little unlikely..."

Xuanxuan suddenly said, "Zhenyuan, I've read Ten Questions in the Complete Works of Jingyue, and it refers to the vital energy stored in the kidneys. The kidneys are located in the lower abdomen, so they are also called the lower energies. And the phrase 'once the road leads to Zhenyuan, all dangers are overcome,' does that imply some kind of guidance?"

I found that they were both very knowledgeable, unlike me who couldn't understand anything.

Su Xiaoniu pondered, "True Essence, Nature, Lower Jiao, Lower Yuan... The path to True Essence..." She suddenly looked up, her burning gaze sweeping across the bronze door. She said, "Fei Fei, starting from the center of this poem, take three steps to the left. Then, use the Seven Star Sword, using your waist as the base point, to pierce this bronze door."

"Ah? Stab the bronze door?" I was a little unresponsive.

"Hurry up."

"oh."

I nodded, and starting from the poem on the bronze door, I took three steps slowly to the left, then took out the Seven Star Sword, used my waist as the reference point, and stabbed the bronze door fiercely.

There was only a crisp "click" sound, and a small hole appeared in the bronze door in an instant.

Su Xiaoniu said calmly, "Next, return to where you were, take three steps to the right, and stab the bronze door in the same way."

I nodded, returned to the location of the poem, then took three steps to the right and stabbed the bronze door with the Seven Star Sword. The bronze door made a crisp "click" sound again, and I pierced a small hole in it again.

I was slightly shocked. Is this bronze door made of mud? So brittle? I only poked it lightly, and it broke? I subconsciously stabbed it a few times elsewhere, but heard a "ding, ding, ding" sound. This level of hardness is practically invulnerable. So why did I pierce through the two points Su Xiaoniu mentioned?

At this time, Su Xiaoniu smiled happily: "Is that really the case?"

"What's going on? Explain it clearly." I was a little confused. Xuanxuan also became curious and stared at Su Xiaoniu.

Su Xiaoniu didn't hold back at this point and told us, "According to my preliminary analysis, every line of this poem holds the key to unlocking this bronze door. Let's put aside the first line and go directly to the second, 'The road enters the true essence, and all dangers are leveled.' Xuanxuan's words just now reminded me that true essence refers to the vital energy stored in the kidneys. The kidneys are located in the lower abdomen, hence the name 'lower energies.' 'The road enters the true essence' here means 'the road is in the lower energies,' which is the area around the waist and kidneys. The poet Cao Ye lived in the Tang Dynasty. In the several Tang Dynasty tombs I've excavated, the mummies found were generally over 1.7 meters tall. Xuanxuan and I aren't that tall, so there might be a discrepancy. But your height, Feifei, is a perfect match, which is why I asked you to try it, and I didn't expect it to be so."

Holy shit, is this even possible? I have to admire Su Xiaoniu's wisdom!

"Sister-in-law is so smart! Xuanxuan really admires her!" Xuanxuan actually started to admire Su Xiaoniu. I rolled my eyes and said, "Don't show off yet. We haven't completely broken the door yet... What should we do next?"

Xuanxuan stuck out her tongue. "Yeah, what should we do next? I don't quite understand what's going on."

We all looked at Su Xiaoniu. Among the three of us, Su Xiaoniu had the most extensive experience. Who else could we rely on if not her?

And Su Xiaoniu deservedly took on the role of our "ghost military advisor", and her "ghostly schemes" were truly convincing.

"A lone crane chirps at the Huabiao for a thousand years, while the world is but a dream, and the cicadas sing in the evening..." Su Xiaoniu lowered her head and pondered: "A lone crane for a thousand years...a dream in the world...it should be "A lone crane for a thousand years in the world, a dream in the evening"!"

Xuanxuan and I asked in surprise at the same time: "What do you mean?"

Su Xiaoniu smiled and said, "Look, isn't there a faint mural on the surface of the two small holes that were just pierced?"

I looked over and saw, indeed, a mural on the surface of the two small holes in the bronze door where I had just pierced it with the Seven Star Sword. It was very blurry and impossible to make out without careful observation. I studied it for a long time before I realized that the mural depicted a solitary wild crane soaring high in the sky, oblivious to the mundane world of millennia.

From the prosperous Tang Dynasty a thousand years ago to the current urban appearance, it has experienced more than a thousand years of vicissitudes. Each period is a painting, all displayed on the bronze door, forming a huge mural of the thousand-year dynasty style.

But what does this mean? I looked at Su Xiaonu curiously.

"These two sentences mean we should find this mural that has endured thousands of years. Then there's 'The first king chased the dragon and the tiger, and the accumulated fire burned his heart and spirit gradually cleared'..." Su Xiaoniu pointed at the mural and said in a calm voice, "This huge, thousand-year-old mural has background paintings from more than a dozen dynasties. Among them, the lone crane is bound to appear, as are dragons and tigers. Did you see it? In paintings from the Song Dynasty, there's a dragon, and in paintings from the Yuan Dynasty, there's a tiger."

My dear, there is more to this chapter. Please click on the next page to continue reading. It will be even more exciting later!