After leaving Baiyunjin, Zhao Rong and his three companions walked for another twenty days and entered a group of towering mountains.

According to the map, the mountains here are called Zhongnan.

Mount Zhongnan is located within the territory of Zhongnan State, and Zhongnan State is not far from the large canal that runs from south to north across Wangque Continent. Judging from the distance already traveled, it would only take twenty or thirty days.

That afternoon, Zhao Rong and his two companions passed by a towering mountain.

This mountain is very strange. Looking up, the south side of the mountain seems to have been flattened by a sword of an immortal. On the cross section, there are four characters carved in stone. The font is ancient and seems to be made by nature.

"Quiet and inaction."

Zhao Rong thought lightly.

"How were such big words carved?" Su Xiaoxiao opened her mouth in surprise.

Zhao Rong was also amazed. Each of the four characters carved on the cliff was a hundred feet high, and each stroke was no shorter than a hundred meters. The scale was so deep that it was impossible to see it with the naked eye when looking from the bottom of the mountain. One could only vaguely see green vines and dense vegetation, with a few flying beasts popping out from time to time.

“Although Zhongnan Kingdom is small, most of it is located in Zhongnan Mountain, but it enjoys a good reputation among the dozens of surrounding countries, and even in the northern part of Wangque Continent. It is called the country of Taoists and the hometown of hermits by the people on the mountain. This is because Zhongnan Mountain is blessed with beautiful scenery and great fortune. It not only attracts many monks to live in seclusion, but also produces many spiritual objects to supply the entire northern immortals.”

Liu Sanbian knew a lot about the situation in Zhongnan Kingdom because it was very close to his hometown, the Great Wei Dynasty.

“Although there are many hermits in Zhongnan Mountain, there is only one immortal sect, which is Chongxu Temple located on Taibai Mountain. It is the only orthodox Taoist sect in Zhongnan Kingdom. The kings of Zhongnan Kingdom in all dynasties have respected the abbot of Chongxu Temple as the national teacher. Taoism in this country is extremely prosperous.”

"This ingenious cliff carving is a scenic spot in Zhongnan Mountain. As for its origin, there are many different opinions, but Chongxu Temple has always claimed that it was the work of its first ancestor. If this is true, then this ancestor must have great achievements."

"There is also a rumor on the mountain that when someone passed by this cliff carving on a moonlit night, he met an old man in strange clothes at the bottom of the cliff. He stood in the moonlight with his hands behind his back and his head raised, observing the carving and talking to himself. Passersby were curious and asked questions, but the old man ignored them and kept repeating, 'What is inaction? What is inaction?' And every time dark clouds covered the bright moon, this strange old man disappeared suddenly and was never seen again."

"Some people speculated that this was a great opportunity, so many people from the mountains came to try their luck with the answers to the 'Question of Inaction' from various books. However, this strange old man rarely appeared on moonlit nights. Even if a few lucky people met him, they tried various answers and used various methods, but they still got nothing. The old man would still talk to himself in the same place. Once the dark clouds covered the moon, he would disappear."

"As time went by, fewer and fewer people came to seek the secret, and no one paid attention to this matter. Some people in the mountain said that this was just a boring person trying to be mysterious; others said that this was a projection left by an ancient great power, looking for the successor of the inheritance."

"Nowadays, only a few young people who have just started practicing will occasionally come here looking for opportunities with great expectations. This matter no longer attracts attention on the mountain."

"Brother Zhao, do you want to give it a try? We can rest at the bottom of the cliff tonight."

Zhao Rong retracted his gaze, turned his head to look at Liu Sanbian, who rarely spoke with a teasing tone, and smiled gently. "Forget it, so many people have not met, how can I have such a good fortune."

Zhao Rong always kept his distance from things like trying his luck and drawing a lottery, and would not take the initiative to try them. Instead of working hard to enrich himself, he placed his fate on the illusory luck, which made him feel very empty.

Besides, I have been practicing under Liu Sanbian's gentle guidance for the past few days. It is so comfortable. My legs and feet are shaking even when I ride on a horse. If I rest in the wild, I have to keep watch. Who can stand this? I'd better hurry to the next city and find an inn to have a good rest for the night.

"Hey, Zhongnan Mountain, this name sounds familiar. Well, isn't it in Cangzhou?" The familiar voice came slowly in my mind.

Zhao Rong's expression changed. "This is Zhongnan Kingdom. What is Cangzhou? I didn't see this name on the map."

"In my memory, there is a place called Cangzhou in Wangquezhou. Because there is a Zhongnan Mountain here, it is one of the 72 Taoist blessed places, and its ranking is not low. The ancestral home of a certain Taoist lineage seems to be here. Let me think about it. Yes, it is the Louguan Taoist sect."

"Brother Sanbian said that the only Taoist sect in Zhongnan Mountain is Chongxu Temple."

"Oh, it seems that I have been away for too long, and things have changed. Well, the spiritual energy here is no longer up to the standard of a blessed land. The Louguan Taoist sect has either moved away or been destroyed. This once blessed land now has a mortal country. It's interesting. Logically, blessed lands are usually occupied by immortal sects, so they would never let mortals in."

“Do you know this stone carving?”

"I don't know. I've never been here before, but this stone carving feels a bit strange. But I can't tell what it is in this situation now."

Zhao Rong nodded and was about to chat for a while, but he noticed someone pulling at his clothes.

"Well, you bad boy... Zhao Rong, if you can't do it, why don't you let Xiao Xiao try?" The little fox demon looked at Zhao Rong eagerly, his voice timid but with some hope.

Zhao Rong was stunned, turned around and looked at the bully next to him, and suddenly smiled.

The next second, he rewarded her with a few chestnuts.

Make her an afternoon dessert.

"Ah! Why did you hit me?"

"Good for you, Su Xiaoxiao."

"Stop knocking!"

"He may be timid, but he has great ambitions."

“Ouch, that hurts!”

"Are you thinking that once you get the chance, you will instantly become a Nine-Tailed Fox Immortal of the Seventh Realm, and then skin me alive and take out my bones to relieve your hatred?"

“Wuwuwu…”

Zhao Rong bullied the little fox demon for a while and then let her go.

How did I meet such a stupid little fox demon?

Su Xiaoxiao rubbed her slightly red forehead and looked at Zhao Rong aggrievedly, with tears in her eyes.

How did Xiaoxiao meet such a bad guy? Hmm, it seems that grandma never told me how to deal with this situation...

After all, Su Xiaoxiao's grandmother could never have imagined that Su Xiaoxiao would meet a scholar like Zhao Rong who did not play by the rules. Aren't you men supposed to win a woman's heart with sweet words first, and then "bully" her? And her own little girl was so beautiful that she even wanted to hold her in her arms and cherish her, but there were men who would be so cruel to destroy her?

"Don't let your imagination run wild. Let's hurry up and get on with our journey. Well, I'll tell you a new story tonight. I've finished telling you Zhu'er's story last time, and these days I remembered another story about Yingning. Well, this one is quite interesting."

"Wow... huh? Really? Is this a happy ending? Xiaoxiao felt bad for several days after hearing that story last time."

"Well, I guarantee you'll be satisfied this time."

"Well, you have a conscience. I forgive you. Just don't let Xiaoxiao down again."

"Don't say things that could lead to misunderstandings. Hey, Brother Sanbian, ignore her."

"whee."

Su Xiaoxiao burst into laughter and wiped her tears with her sleeves. She was very happy at the thought of having another story to listen to in the evening. She raised her head and glanced at the bad guy beside her. Suddenly, her heart trembled.

His face was paler than before and his forehead was covered with sweat.

Xiaoxiao just saw that it wasn't that serious.

"Are you okay?"

Su Xiaoxiao thought again of what had happened in the past few days. Before, whenever they passed by a village or a city, they would stop for a few days to conduct "big training". Liu Sanbian would personally help Zhao Rong to strengthen his body. As for when they were on the road, they would do "small training", practicing boxing and walking meditation non-stop during the morning, noon and evening rest periods.

It was fine at the beginning of the practice, but later on, every time she practiced hard, she could hear Zhao Rong's screams of pain from a long distance away. The sound was very loud at first, but it got smaller and smaller as time went on, as if he no longer had the energy to waste on his throat.

Those faint words also made Su Xiaoxiao's face pale.

"The bones here are too brittle. Let me rub them for you."

“Crack!”

“Ahhhh!”

"The bone here has become harder. It seems that the medicinal bath is indeed effective. The recovery is good, but... it's not hard enough."

“No, no!”

“Crack, crack!”

“Aaaaaaaaaaah!!”

"Get up! You can't bear this? Then I advise you to give up quickly. The mountain doesn't need such a cowardly warrior. No, this person is not worthy of being called a warrior, he is a waste!"

Su Xiaoxiao didn't dare to look. She hid far away every time, covering her ears. When there was no more sound, she got up and prepared a medicinal bath for Zhao Rong that could heal bones and regenerate muscles. These medicinal herbs were carefully prepared by Liu Sanbian. Without them, Zhao Rong would probably have become a useless person.

Even if he didn't have to "practice hard" on the road, he still seemed to be in a bad condition, with a pale face. Whenever he had time, he would practice boxing and would not slack off at all.

Every time, he could only take a short break after dinner, but he still had to tell her stories. In fact, she had told him to take a break and stop telling stories, but he always gave her a chestnut in return. "You stupid fox demon, why are you worrying about this? This young master can still bear this pain. Just listen to your story obediently. You can only be happy at this time of the day. Uh, where were you just talking about? What? You don't know? Put your head over here, I'll give you a few more chestnuts!"

But his hands had actually been clenched tightly due to practicing too much boxing, and it seemed that they could never open again.

When Su Xiaoxiao thought of this, her heart inexplicably twitched.

Although Xiao Xiao doesn't know why you are practicing so hard, Xiao Xiao wants to help you, so I want to try my luck and see if I can get this stone carving and give it to you. Well, you just need to tell Xiao Xiao a few more stories...

"Hey, what are you thinking about? Why are you daydreaming while walking on the street? Alas, why hasn't such a stupid fox demon been caught yet? This world really disappoints me." Zhao Rong stretched out his hand and waved in front of Su Xiaoxiao who was staring at him in a daze. Seeing that she finally came to her senses, he sighed. "I'm fine."

There are only about ten places on my body that hurt.

"Oh, here's a handkerchief for you to wipe your sweat."

"Where did you get the handkerchief?"

"I bought it in that county town last time. The embroidery on it is very beautiful."

There were bursts of horse hoof sounds coming from behind. Zhao Rong turned his head and saw a carriage with extremely gorgeous decorations, driven by an old coachman. There were many followers on horseback around it, and a group of people were galloping towards them.

Zhao Rong turned around and didn't look again. He and his companions moved to the side of the road.

Most of the territory of Zhongnan Kingdom, including the capital, is within Zhongnan Mountain. There are only two ancient roads leading into Zhongnan Mountain. This is one of them, the Ziwu Road. There are many pedestrians passing by. Zhao Rong has even encountered more exaggerated formations, so there is nothing to be surprised about.

However, when this magnificent carriage passed by Zhao Rong and his entourage, the curtains were opened by the people inside the carriage and then suddenly dropped down.

Zhao Rong turned his head alertly, but all that was left was the swinging curtain.

The majestic carriage soon went away, and the road returned to silence, leaving only the rising dust.

Zhao Rong glanced at Liu Sanbian, who also noticed something strange. The latter shook his head, indicating that he didn't see anything clearly either.

Uh, why do those people look familiar?