After a while, he nodded and walked over to the group. “Then this stone statue of the Taoist priest should be Zhang Daoling. According to legend, Zhang Tian-shi had an extraordinary appearance—red-faced with a square jaw, standing seven chi and one cun tall, about 2.12 meters. Judging from this stone statue, it must be Zhang Tian-shi.”
Everyone suddenly understood. It seemed that the legendary Zhang Tian-shi had indeed existed in the long river of history.
At this moment, Fande Bao said, “Now we’re at a crossroads. Which way should we go?”
Liu Dashao said, “Master Jia, we need you to make the decision.”
Jia Zhuangyuan, with a weak tone, said, “That’s obvious. In ancient times, cities were built facing south because of the emperor’s tradition, so the main city gate was always in the north. Judging from our current location, heading north should lead us to the city center, and beyond that would be the main gate.”
Then, he pointed at the statue and said, “From the direction the Taoist priest is facing, the direction he faces is north.”
Liu Dashao said, “Since the direction is determined, let’s head north.” Saying this, he waved his hand to signal everyone to continue moving.
At this moment, Fande Bao suddenly asked, “Dashao, where exactly are we going? And where exactly is the secret? All this time, I’ve felt like a lost lamb, not knowing where we’re headed or what we’re doing.”
This sudden question was exactly what Liu Dashao himself had been puzzling over. He was first startled, then hesitated and said, “To be honest, I’m not sure either what our destination is or what exactly we’re looking for.”
Fande Bao seemed to have been holding this in for a long time. He continued, “Then what’s the point of wandering around without a clear goal? Don’t tell me it’s for Wang girl and Old Diao—they couldn’t possibly be here.”
Cai Qingchong then added, “Yeah, I feel confused too. I really don’t know where we’re going or what we’re doing anymore.”
At this moment, Yang Weidong, who had been standing silently nearby, finally spoke up, “I was assigned by the higher-ups to be part of this mission. Let me answer your questions.”
He paused for a moment, then sighed softly and continued, “The ancient ruins of Guge in Xinjiang were the initial trigger for this entire mission, but they are not the key point for carrying out our mission. Our true objective is to stop the Americans’ sinister plot at all costs and uncover the shocking secret of this ancient civilization.”
Seeing Yang Weidong pause, Fande Bao immediately asked, “Then what exactly is this shocking secret?”
Yang Weidong remained silent for a moment before finally saying, “This secret is the Wu Ji Dao Zang (Limitless Taoist Vault). Because this place was likely not built by humans.”
“What?” Everyone was shocked beyond belief upon hearing this revelation from Yang Weidong. Could it be that these mechanisms and amazing structures were actually the work of aliens? It was simply too absurd and eerie!
Yang Weidong’s face showed a faint, barely perceptible strange expression. He continued, “According to our investigation, this place was actually built by an unknown race of highly intelligent humanoids. At some unknown point, they suffered some catastrophe, and their race gradually perished. So they sent Zhang Jiao to the surface, hoping he could establish a terrestrial kingdom for their race. This, in fact, was the great Yellow Turban Rebellion at the end of the Eastern Han Dynasty.”
Everyone was stunned into silence by Yang Weidong’s account. Yang sighed deeply and continued, “I know this sounds incredible, but this is the truth. You can look into the beliefs of Taoism. The so-called ascension to immortality, the cultivation of Daoist techniques, the deities and totems they worship—all these things are somewhat strange.”
At this moment, Master Jia let out a sigh beside them and said, “The world is full of wonders. It turns out that legends may not just be legends, and myths may not just be myths—it’s just human ignorance.”
Yang Weidong continued, “To truly uncover this ancient secret, we must gradually excavate it ourselves. Finally, I must tell you all an important piece of information: hidden at the heart of the Wu Ji Dao Zang lies a sacred object of great importance to this alien race. It should be the ultimate goal of our mission.”
At this point, Liu Dashao also voiced his doubts, asking, “If this place was indeed built by an alien race, and you said they had extremely high intelligence, then why didn’t they conquer the entire world? Also, who exactly were Zhang Daoling and Zhang Jiao? And could there still be living aliens in the Wu Ji Dao Zang now? How do you explain the strange incidents we’ve encountered so far?”
Yang Weidong gave a bitter smile and shook his head, saying, “I’ve thought about these questions too, but I can’t explain them either.”
Suddenly, Master Jia said, “Looking at the traces of human involvement in the three great hidden treasures, from the ruins of Guge, the volcanic lake, and the haunted mansion, it seems the Americans have indeed arrived.”
At this moment, Liu Dashao felt his mind getting more and more confused. Looking around at everyone else’s puzzled expressions, he said, “There are too many mysteries now. I think no matter how much we guess, we won’t be able to solve these puzzles. Only by experiencing it ourselves might we understand.”
Everyone nodded in agreement. Then Master Jia said, “Everyone, let’s continue forward. No matter where the goal is, we can only take one step at a time now.”
So, the group passed the crossroads and headed north.
All along the way, the ghost city of Fengdu remained eerily silent, without a sound or movement. Heading northward, countless yin dwellings of varying heights lined the path—grand mansions of the wealthy, humble huts of the poor—all uniformly dark and terrifying.
About ten minutes later, a faint sound of flowing water suddenly reached everyone’s ears. As they walked forward, the sound grew louder and gradually turned into a rushing noise. Everyone felt puzzled—how could the sound of flowing water suddenly appear within the city? And judging from the sound, it must be a large body of water. Could there possibly be a river suddenly appearing before us?
Fande Bao whispered, “Flowing water may mean the presence of living creatures. Everyone must stay alert.” Everyone nodded in understanding.
Continuing forward, the sound of water grew louder, and their suspicions deepened. Master Jia said, “Could it be that we’re approaching the front of the city? Some ancient cities had moats around their main gates, though it was rare.”
Liu Dashao said, “No need to guess anymore. We’ll understand once we get close.”
Everyone remained alert and quickened their pace. As they gradually approached, the scene ahead came into view under their flashlight beams. Master Jia and Cai Qingchong, who were in the front, couldn’t help but exclaim in admiration.
All the flashlights were now focused straight ahead. At that moment, they finally saw it clearly—goodness! There was a massive fountain ahead.
In the center of the fountain stood a towering black column, made of an unknown material. Around this black column were carved eight black dragons soaring into the sky—but no, they were more like creatures with dragon heads and snake bodies. These eight strange sculptures lacked whiskers and claws, instead having smooth snake-like bodies.
From the mouths of the eight dragon heads, water gushed forth in a steady stream. Below the black column and the dragon-and-snake sculptures lay a large circular pool. The splashing water created mist, making the eight black dragon-and-snake sculptures appear as if they were twisting and moving within the mist—lifelike and incredibly vivid. On both sides of the pool were two long, curved channels, through which the fountain water flowed outward.
Everyone couldn’t help but marvel. This massive fountain gave them an almost unbelievable feeling. Who would have imagined that such a grand fountain would be built deep underground?
At this moment, Master Jia suddenly exclaimed again, “Everyone, quickly look—behind the fountain there’s a palace!”
Everyone hurriedly followed Jia’s pointing finger and indeed, through the mist of the fountain, they vaguely saw what looked like a palace floating on the water.
Liu Dashao said, “Everyone, look for a path. Let’s go check out the palace ahead.”
Everyone acknowledged and divided into two groups—one with three people, one with two—and each group headed to either side of the fountain to search for a way across.
They had only taken a few steps when Liu Dashao, Cai Qingchong, and Yang Weidong’s group spotted a white stone arch bridge spanning the water channel ahead.
Liu Dashao shouted to Master Jia’s group nearby, “We found a path—it’s a stone bridge.” As soon as he finished speaking, Fande Bao’s voice came from the other side, “We found a stone bridge too. Let’s meet in front of the palace behind the fountain.”
Liu Dashao replied, “Okay.” Then, the two groups each walked onto the white stone arch bridges on either side of the fountain, heading toward the palace beyond.
Tai Sui Yellow Amulet Paper FuLu Taoist Love Talisman Traditional Chinese Spiritual Charm Attracting Love Protecting Marriage