"Mom, is your family, oh, I an your side of the family, really descendants of Gui Guzi? How co I’ve never heard Mr. Wang or you ntion it before?" Yun Xiaotian asked in surprise after listening to his mom’s story.
Wang Wanxi gently touched Yun Xiaotian’s soft hair and said softly, "What really happened hundreds of years ago is sothing we can no longer verify today. What I just said is based solely on our family genealogy. However, the Lifeless Tai Chi Secret Scripture has been passed down in the Wang family for over a thousand years. This scripture is profound and difficult to understand; its essence points directly to the path of immortality. I think only an ancestor like Gui Guzi could have created such a cultivation technique."
"So, it seems I have so connection with Aunt Wang," Lin Tian chuckled, then raised the golden thread on his wrist in response to her curious gaze.
Wang Wanxi’s expression grew serious as she said, "I heard from Elder Jiang that both you and Zi Yan learned acupuncture from the sa school, both originating from the Nine Needle Technique, which cos from the Ghost Valley sect. This golden thread you have signifies that you’re an inheritor of Ghost Valley. It seems there really is quite a connection."
"The talk about the golden thread is just a rumor; no one knows if it’s true or not," Lin Tian said flatly. He appeared indifferent about his identity as a Ghost Valley inheritor. Glancing at the scenery outside the car window, he asked curiously, "Judging by the direction, we’re heading west. Where’s Aunt Wang’s family ho?"
"Qi County," Wang Wanxi answered succinctly.
"Qi County, that sounds familiar. I rember now; in geography class, the teacher ntioned it’s a national tourist site." Lin Tian recalled his geography class, where his teacher talked about Huaxia’s cultural geography.
Qi County is an ancient county where the architecture maintains an ancient style, though many have been renovated. There are mountain ranges outside Qi County, with many ancient caves rumored to have hosted immortals practicing their arts. Two rivers flank the mountains. From a feng shui perspective, Qi County is a treasured land with beautiful mountains and water, an auspicious place producing extraordinary people.
Yet, in this tourist paradise, a family like the Wang’s, an ancient martial family, resides. Perhaps "resides" isn’t the right word; maybe the Wang family has always been a prominent family there.
"Aunt Wang, isn’t it risky for an ancient martial family to live among ordinary people? Aren’t you afraid of your identity being exposed?" Lin Tian asked quizzically.
Wang Wanxi smiled lightly, "To the local residents, the Wang family is just a prestigious family, a martial arts lineage. They only understand the concept of martial arts. In Huaxia, there are many martial arts schools and hotowns famous for martial arts. The Wang family being a martial arts lineage isn’t anything new."
"I see, so this is how ancient martial families exist," Lin Tian realized. He finally understood why ordinary people don’t know about ancient martial arts—or if they do, it’s rely as legends, stories to listen to.
The car left Jinghua City and got onto the highway. Wang Wanxi took out a book from sowhere and began reading, unaffected by the moving vehicle.
Lin Tian glanced over and saw it was an ancient copy of "Lianshan." Speaking of "Lianshan," most people wouldn’t know what kind of book it is—so might even think it’s a mountain. But ntion "The Book of Changes," and nearly everyone in Huaxia has heard of it.
Actually, "The Book of Changes" consists of three parts: "Lianshan," "Guicang," and "Zhou Yi." Among them, "Lianshan" and "Guicang" have long been lost. As for the "Lianshan" in Wang Wanxi’s hands, whether it’s real or not, maybe not even she knows.
Nevertheless, there’s a legend that true volus like "The Book of Changes" and "Classic of Mountains and Seas" hide great secrets of the world. Such true volus have been lost for that reason.
Of course, there’s a lot of nonsense in that, Lin Tian thought, gossiping in his mind, then he closed his eyes and studied his "Shennong Emperor’s dical Scripture." anwhile, Yun Xiaotian seed quite excited, probably feeling freer than at ho, where he didn’t have a bunch of bodyguards following him.
After a few hours, the car exited the highway, drove a section of the national road, and then a mountain city ca into view in the distance, with a continuous mountain range visible behind it.
"We’re here; this is Qi County," Wang Wanxi said, lifting her gaze from the book to look out the car window.
As she spoke, the car passed through a city gate. Although the gate looked ancient, Lin Tian could tell it was built in modern tis. The real ancient city walls should be like those in Lu County. Qi County built this for tourism.
"The mountain range behind Qi County is Yunng Mountain, right?" Lin Tian asked, having learned this from geographical information.
"That’s right, and the Yun family is at the foot of the mountain," Wang Wanxi answered Lin Tian’s curiosity.
The car passed through the entire county and exited through another city gate. Although the ground was still paved with concrete, the upward slope was now noticeable.
After about four kiloters, guided by Wang Wanxi, Ghost drove onto a side road, which, despite being a side road, was quite wide. Ancient trees towered on both sides of the road, growing naturally instead of being transplanted, as these trees were already integrated with their surroundings.
The car stopped at the end of the road, which truly was the end. Ahead, there was no road but a large gate, a towering archway. A massive plaque hung over the gate, inscribed with "Wang’s Mansion."
On either side of the gate were white walls topped with green tiles. Gazing over the tiles, one could see tall ancient trees inside.
The car had barely stopped when the gate creaked open slowly. It was then that Lin Tian noticed the gate was made of bronze and was extrely heavy, opening very slowly—likely under manual force.
Sure enough, after getting out of the car, Lin Tian saw through the gap two young n each gripping a door leaf, pulling them inward with effort.
Both young n wore short-sleeved outfits, exposing their arms. Every ti they tugged at the gate, their arms’ muscles bulged, and their legs stood firmly in a bent stance, stamping on the ground. As they exerted themselves, the heavy bronze gate emitted a muffled sound.
Lin Tian and Ghost watched this astonishing scene. Given the Wang family’s wealth, they should ideally have an automatic gate to match their status. Yet, surprisingly, the gate required manual effort and seed to need two people to open.
Wang Wanxi seed to read Lin Tian and Ghost’s thoughts and chuckled, "When Yun Haoyu first ca to my ho, he had the sa expression as you. This pair of bronze gates weigh more than any cut-off dragon stone, and due to the unique transmission structure, opening this gate requires great strength."
"I think I understand," Lin Tian said knowingly, but Ghost still seed clueless.
"This gate is also called the Testing Gate, used to test the strength of the Wang family disciples. Only those who have reached the Postnatal Early Stage can open this gate. Opening the Testing Gate is a proof of strength," Wang Wanxi explained with a slight smile.
"Although the Postnatal Early Stage is the lowest realm in ancient martial arts, reaching this threshold isn’t easy. What about those who haven’t achieved this strength? How do they get in and out?" Lin Tian asked, puzzled.
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