The leader of the Mountain Movers, Partridge Whistle, cautioned Chen Xiazi that he had seen signs of ill fortune deep in the mountains from afar. While ancient tombs holding rare treasures often bore auspicious clouds, he warned, those same dense thickets could conceal monstrous things. He pointed to the corpses of the two raccoon dogs as proof, signaling Chen Xiazi and his men not to act rashly. To enter the ancient tomb of Pingshan, they needed guile as grave robbers. It would be best to wait a few days until both parties could rendezvous before making any further plans.

Chen Xiazi offered no reply, merely nodding. Still eager to boast to his subordinates, he asked Partridge Whistle for the body of the old raccoon dog.

Partridge Whistle readily agreed: "Raccoon dog meat is foul, but the bones of a centenarian raccoon dog, when ground, can be used medicinally to cure soul-departing illness; they are extremely precious ingredients. This white-spotted, grey-skinned old fellow had deep cultivation, yet he was old and foolish, likely never having formed a Golden Core. His aged flesh is inedible; only the bones should be harvested for medicine, or perhaps to craft potent incense."

Chen Xiazi thanked him and took the old raccoon dog’s corpse. He knew that in ancient China, the art of "Yuan Guang" (Spirit Vision) was divided into genuine and fraudulent schools. The true practice allowed the practitioner, through the process of summoning and sending off spirits with hundreds of complex and profound talismans, to actually see recognizable figures. In contrast, false Yuan Guang was merely a deceptive trick used by charlatans, involving drawing a figure on paper with lye solution, which would then appear when sprayed with water.

This old raccoon dog, making its lair in a desolate grave, had perpetually circled its surroundings with saliva and urine. This substance, colorless and odorless, would befuddle the mind of anyone entering its perimeter, acting as a visual obstruction. Only the intervention of an external force could awaken the trapped victim; otherwise, they would be slaughtered at will, much like in the true Yuan Guang art. The raccoon dog focused its entire mental energy to cast the spell, causing the victim to see strange scenes while their consciousness was clouded. However, once the subject awoke, the caster suffered the backlash. The old, cunning raccoon dog managed to escape, but the younger one could not bear the strain and died vomiting its bile.

With the bone powder of this yellow demon, capable of dispelling all forms of illusion upon ingestion, Chen Xiazi collected the old raccoon dog’s body and parted ways with the three Mountain Movers. The sky was just beginning to lighten as they made their way back to the ancestral hall at the Granny Temple on the ridge. Upon returning, he summoned the cave-dwelling guide and ordered him to lead the way. To his surprise, the local Miao man flatly refused: "I must inform all you esteemed guests that while Old Bear Ridge is remote and isolated, the scenery of Pingshan is truly unique in all the world. It is fine to observe it from here, but to dare ascend the mountain? I hear that the mountaintop is home to Lingzhi mushrooms and Nine Dragon Coils, often frequented by giant pythons. Even those who venture up to collect herbs rarely return. And within the mountain caves lies an ancient tomb. A century ago, an earthquake cracked the Pingshan Ancient Tomb open in several places, emanating a powerful aura of treasure. Many grave robbers and bandits tried to enter and seek fortune, but in the end, those who entered died—not a single soul has ever emerged alive. They say a Corpse King lies buried in that mountain. You gentlemen are honest merchants; why risk such a perilous place? I advise you to heed my words, stop here, and return to your homes soon..."

Old Man Luo grew impatient. He kicked the guide over and pressed his revolver to the man's head: "Damn your filthy hide, open your eyes! Who is an honest man? You savage, haven't you heard the fame of I, Luo Laowai, the Hell King who slaughters men, even here in the mountains? I told you to lead, so lead! If you utter one more damned word, I’ll blow the crown of your head off with this gun, and then I’ll slaughter your whole family!"

Luo Laowai was a major warlord from Xiangyin, a man who had butchered countless people before becoming a commander. Locally, children were quieted by the mention of his name. However, in the secluded region of Old Bear Ridge in Western Hunan, the local cave dwellers knew nothing of Commander Luo.

But prestige is no match for cold steel. The icy muzzle of the revolver pressed against the guide’s forehead, startling the man so badly he nearly soiled himself. Only then did he realize that this group of "merchants" were bandits; cross them, and they would slaughter a living man without hesitation. Terrified, he stammered his compliance: "I… I must inform you honorable sirs that to ascend the mountain, you must first take some wooden sticks to beat the grass and startle the snakes..."

Before the guide could finish, Luo Laowai kicked him again: "Stop your incessant noise! You scoundrel are the very stick for beating the grass! You march ahead of us, clearing the path!"

Chen Xiazi had always considered himself a dispenser of heavenly justice. Though he despised the tyrannical, villainous air about Luo Laowai, their relationship was one of mutual exploitation; neither could do without the other. He had no choice but to turn a blind eye to Luo Laowai's behavior, allowing him to forcibly march the Miao guide toward Pingshan to inspect the cracks in the ancient tomb. They descended the ridge, circled around, and reached the entrance of Pingshan. Here stood a massive rock formation hollowed out to form a natural stone gate, known locally as the "Earth Gate," which was as famous as the "Heaven Gate" on Tianmen Mountain. Passing through it meant entering the mountain pass. Pingshan was surrounded by dense forests and peaks. Though smaller than the truly towering mountains, it was still a stone mountain several hundred zhang high.

Viewed up close, the entire mountain appeared to be one vast slab of dark, bluish stone. The stone's dark cyan color carried a nature of deep, inherent coldness, chilling to the touch, and starkly contrasting with the surrounding geology. Through the marvelous, uncanny workmanship of creation, this colossal bluestone, existing since the dawn of time, had formed into a shape strikingly resembling a large, bellied ancient bottle. Its base was sunk into the earth, and the bottle-shaped mass tilted dramatically to the north as if perpetually on the verge of toppling. The rear cliff face slanted precariously in mid-air for thousands of years, creating a bizarre spectacle where extreme danger met profound strangeness.

Because the mountain mass was so steeply inclined, the downward force, exacerbated by several earthquakes, caused countless large fissures to appear on the sun-facing side. The smaller cracks were filled with soil blown in by the wind, allowing strips of vegetation to grow between them at intervals, while the untouched rock remained a dark cyan. These patches of green vegetation dotted the surface like intricate patterns painted on an ancient vase, with varying depths and overlapping continuity.

The widest fissures were not covered by soil, creating more than ten massive chasms slicing through the bottle-shaped mountain as if cleaved by knives and axes. These gaps were shrouded in swirling mist, bottomless and perilous, with strange pines clinging upside down from the sheer cliff edges—a sight of utter jeopardy.

Chen Xiazi, Luo Laowai, and the others had already surveyed Pingshan’s terrain from the high cliffs of Old Bear Ridge. Stone bridges, built in ancient times, connected the wide fissures. As the group ascended, they looked like ants crawling on a gigantic porcelain vase compared to the mountain. From the entrance gate, a wide ancient path paved with bluestone ascended steeply, winding its way through successive layers of forest and cliff, twisting and turning through ninety-nine sharp bends, each connected to the next, layer upon layer, resembling a coiling dragon reaching toward the heavens.

As they climbed, the weather grew overcast. By the time they reached the mountainside, the rainbow vapors that had been in the air vanished, replaced by a misty, drizzling rain. The path on the large bluestone was slicked over by moisture, becoming slippery everywhere. As the drizzle and fog thickened, the shapes of the mountains and trees blurred, losing clarity.

The fine mist from above irritated the group, and they worried about the slick terrain causing danger, preparing to find shelter. But at that moment, the sun suddenly broke through the clouds, bathing the mountainside in a blaze of golden light. The deep mountain rocks and springs were miraculously revealed with astonishing clarity; every blade of grass and leaf was perfectly visible. Before they could fully take it in, however, a colored mist billowed up from the depths of the valley, instantly shrouding and swallowing the secluded areas once more.

Chen Xiazi and the others stood midway up the slope, watching the mountain’s spectacle. They saw clouds and rain rise and recede within mere inches of space, and hidden valleys and springs appear and vanish in the blink of an eye. They privately marveled that Pingshan was truly a wonderland veiled by shifting vapors and clouds, and who would have thought that in the desolate wilderness of Old Bear Ridge existed such genuine mountains and waters?

On this steeply inclined bottle-shaped mountain, there were two peaks. One was the relatively flat "Shoulder" of the bottle, where a very wide ravine also lay. The other, the highest point, was at the "Mouth" of the bottle—a place characterized by strange trees, bizarre rocks, and sheer, imposing ancient walls; a location of unparalleled danger and singularity. Standing on the Shoulder, the group surveyed their surroundings for a long time but saw no giant pythons. Furthermore, the guide had never been up the mountain in his life, relying entirely on hearsay regarding Pingshan; he had no idea where the ancient tomb’s cracks were located. Luo Laowai was so furious he wanted to shoot the guide on the spot, but Chen Xiazi managed to stop him.

Chen Xiazi observed that where soil existed on the mountain, the forest was dense, but where there was no topsoil, it was all the monolithic dark cyan bedrock. Using the "Wang" (Observation) Art's technique of discerning grass color from soil traces, determining the location of the underground palace of the ancient tomb was utterly impossible. Moreover, Pingshan was solid rock, not ordinary earthen hills; to dismantle it layer by layer down to the tomb passageway without a specific target would require mobilizing tens of thousands of troops, a feat they could not accomplish.

Now, they had no choice but to try the "Wen" (Listening) Art. He led the group to the deep ravine at the mountain's summit. The depths were filled with thick white mist, making it impossible to gauge the bottom. Chen Xiazi leaned against the cliff face, instructing Luo Laowai to fire several shots into the ravine so he could employ his methods to probe the general location of the ancient tomb within the mountain.

Luo Laowai aimed his large-caliber revolver downward into the chasm and pulled the trigger for the first shot. The gunshot echoed through the valley for a long time. Chen Xiazi seized the opportunity to execute the "Wen Shan Bian Long" (Listening to the Wind, Listening to the Thunder to Discern the Dragon) technique within the "Wen" Art. From birth, his five senses had been extraordinarily keen; no other person under heaven possessed his skill. He pressed himself against the wall, listening intently, and faintly heard a hollow resonance from the base of the mountain—an expanse as large as a walled city.

As Luo Laowai fired all six rounds into the ravine, Chen Xiazi had roughly discerned the contours of several tomb passages and three underground palaces. Most likely, these corresponded to the temple complex that had once served as a Yuan Dynasty tomb. The largest underground palace was situated directly beneath this deep cliff fissure on the summit.

Luo Laowai saw that Pingshan indeed housed an ancient tomb, and that the entrance to the underground palace lay precisely beneath this sheer cliff—and it was "as large as a walled city!" How much gold, jade, and treasure must be inside! As the saying goes: "Abundant wealth inspires wicked intentions." He was growing impatient. Seeing the others all focused with Chen Xiazi on the deep ravine, he noticed that the bamboo basket carried by the mute Kunlun Molar lay on the ground. It contained rations, a water flask, and bundled ropes. Luo Laowai quickly reached in, grabbed the ropes, and threw them before the Miao guide, forcing him to use the long rope to descend and scout the underground palace. His expression was coldly determined as he stated, "I'll let your Master Luo see exactly how one never returns from an ancient tomb. If you savage utter a single word of refusal, don't blame Master Luo for killing you without even burying you." With that, he dragged the Miao guide to the edge of the cliff and forcefully pushed him downward.