Chapter 126: On the Road to Wenshi Taoist Temple
Qinglong Ridge is located in the rarely visited primitive forest at the southern foot of the Qinling Mountains, surrounded by thousands of mountains and valleys, making roads difficult to navigate. Throughout history, it has been an uninhabited deep mountain forest, and wherever Li Changsheng's gaze can be, there are thousands of years old ancient cypresses and pine trees that are difficult for a few people to embrace. Wolves, insects, tigers, and leopards roam around, while wild boars, bears flock together.
Within two days, Li Changsheng climbed mountains and valleys, and wherever he went, the crowd became increasingly sparse. On the third afternoon, he arrived at a small village. Li Changsheng saw a large black stone on the winding mountain road and carved three words towards the side of the road: Yin Family Village.
According to the information given to him by his master, this is the closest village to Wenshi Temple. There are still over fifty miles away from Qinglong Ridge here.
His master told him that Yin Lingzhi was the daughter of the hunter Yin Shanwang, who was closest to the entrance of the mountain in this village. Thirty years ago, the entire family of a hunter was killed by a group of bandits passing by this place. Taoist Wuwei adopted this starving baby and traced it all the way to Chang'an City, annihilating the group of bandits and avenging her entire family.
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Passing through the village, Li Changsheng walked straight up the steep winding mountain path without stopping. Tall pine, cypress, and cedar trees support large areas of dark green leaves, even in the clearest weather, only a hint of sunlight can be seen.
Between the trees are clusters of withered yellow thorns and shrubs, with various fallen leaves scattered all over the ground. No matter which direction Li Changsheng looks at, it is a vast expanse with no obvious path at all. He bravely walked up the mountain, occasionally faintly seeing a path that villagers had stepped on, hidden in the dense greenery of pine and cypress.
After Li Changsheng climbed over two large mountains to the north, even the villagers who had walked out of the forest path with their feet for generations disappeared. This can be considered the farthest place that the people of Yinjia Village can reach.
Li Changsheng constantly encountered high mountains and small streams along the way, seeing dense bamboo forests and winter blooming plum blossoms. Li Changsheng used his long stick to pry open a wolf toothed thorny thicket, and his eyes lit up with a green lake.
Li Changsheng breathed a sigh of relief. Because Taoist Wuwei told him to start climbing from here. At this point, whenever he sees the fifth pine tree along the way, he should just look at the third horizontal branch pointing towards it. He walked along the small lake in the mountains to the end, where a towering spruce, like a giant, blocked the way. This was the first sign. Li Changsheng began to silently count the large pine trees passing by. Sure enough, on the fifth tree, he saw the third horizontal branch being cut off with a knife, and half of the branch was also cut off. He saw the bare half of the branch pointing towards a fork in the east.
In winter, the mountains are cold, and when the sun sets in the west, a thin mist begins to drift in the forest, and the air is somewhat humid. Li Changsheng plucked open the branches, and there would be dewdrops condensed on the leaves of pine and cypress trees, scattered on his head and face.