Chapter 6: The Land of Fengshan
In the desolate and dark expanse of space, nine colossal dragon corpses lay sprawled, the giant bronze coffin ancient and imposing, as if coexisting with the primordial chaos of the universe for eternity.
Several days had passed, yet the mysterious signals conveyed by the bronze patterns remained undeciphered, and no safe method had been found to "salvage" it and bring it down to the ground.
"It's moving!"
"It's deviating from its orbit and descending!"
At that moment, the elite astronauts aboard the International Space Station saw their pupils contract sharply—the nine dragons pulling the coffin had veered off course and were slowly sinking.
Mount Tai, towering and majestic, revered as the foremost of the Five Great Mountains, claimed the title of the number one mountain under heaven.
Since ancient times, Mount Tai has been a symbol of sanctity, located in the easternmost part of the ancient Central Plains, surrounded by the Yellow River and the Wen River. In antiquity, it was regarded as the place where the sun first rose and all things began to develop.
No mountain surpasses it in grandeur; no history is more ancient than its own!
Mount Tai, magnificent and vast, carries a profound historical sediment, tracing back to the era of the Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors of high antiquity, a place close to the realm of the gods.
"The heavens are too high to reach; thus, on Mount Tai, one establishes a Fengshan ceremony to offer sacrifices, hoping to draw near to the divine."
Qin Shi Huang, who swept across the six kingdoms, and Emperor Wu of Han, a man of great talent and bold vision, both held grand Fengshan ceremonies on Mount Tai.
Before them, in even more ancient times, seventy-two emperors had performed Fengshan on Mount Tai.
The pre-Qin ancient text *Guanzi: Fengshan Chapter* records: "In the past, Wu Huai Shi performed Fengshan on Mount Tai, offering sacrifices at Yunyun; Fu Xi performed Fengshan on Mount Tai, offering sacrifices at Yunyun; Shennong performed Fengshan on Mount Tai, offering sacrifices at Yunyun; the Yellow Emperor performed Fengshan on Mount Tai, offering sacrifices at Yunyun; Yao performed Fengshan on Mount Tai, offering sacrifices at Yunyun; Yu performed Fengshan on Mount Tai..."
In high antiquity, countless sage emperors and ancient sovereigns, without exception, chose this place for Fengshan, shrouding Mount Tai in layers of mystery and exuding an aura of the unknown.
During the Spring and Autumn period, Confucius traveled back and forth to Mount Tai, seeking the remnants of the ancient Fengshan rituals, but left with regret, finding nothing. When his disciples pressed him for answers, he found it difficult to respond.
Later generations made some discoveries.
In the twentieth year of the Republic, General Ma Hongkui led his troops to station at the foot of Mount Tai and accidentally unearthed a five-colored earthen altar. Inside were two sets of jade slips, sealed with "stone, mud, and golden cords," buried underground.
Why did the ancient emperors of the pre-Qin and high antiquity all perform Fengshan here remains a mystery to this day, one that may never be unraveled.
Ye Fan and the others rested for a night at the hotel and began their ascent of Mount Tai the next day.
Among the group, many were climbing Mount Tai for the first time. Only by being here in person could one feel its grandeur and majesty.
The mountain body had a three-tiered geological structure, like steps leading to the heavens, facing south with its back to the north. The entire mountain opened up, with a ten-kilometer-long path to the sky winding through the vast mountain expanse, extending to the summit.
Whether viewed from afar or up close, one could feel that overwhelming sense of grandeur, stirring the heart.
Before the magnificent Mount Tai, one experienced a strange illusion—feeling as insignificant as an ant, with even the sun, moon, and stars in the sky seeming utterly trivial.
It was a shocking sensation that made the soul tremble.
When the guide spoke of the various aspects of ancient Fengshan, it sparked endless imagination. Humanity is always drawn to the unknown and the mysterious.
Li Xiaoman walked side by side with Kaide, constantly translating and explaining for him, making the young American man increasingly astonished by Mount Tai as he kept asking questions.
Liu Yunzhi glanced meaningfully at Ye Fan, then at the two ahead, but his obvious intent seemed to be directly ignored by Ye Fan, who showed no reaction at all, leaving him disappointed.
In truth, Ye Fan hadn't even noticed him, so he remained perfectly calm.
Ye Fan had finished reading *The Yellow Emperor's Inner Canon*. Thinking of how the ancient sage rulers had all performed Fengshan here, he suddenly had a bizarre thought: Could there really be a lost ancient civilization? If so, Mount Tai would undoubtedly have been a sacred site during that era.
But he quickly shook his head, feeling that recent boredom had led him to such absurd fancies.
Mount Tai was lush with ancient pines and dotted with flowing springs and waterfalls, blending solemn grandeur with spiritual beauty. Coupled with the ethereal mist, it naturally added a layer of mystery and depth.
As they climbed upward, they passed countless famous historical sites, cliffside inscriptions, and stone tablets, all inspiring endless admiration.
From the sacrificial grounds, through the imperial palace of Dai Temple, to the Jade Emperor Summit where heaven was worshipped, it formed a ten-kilometer axis of the underworld—the mortal world—and heaven.
By evening, the group finally reached the summit of Mount Tai—Jade Emperor Summit. Looking down at the myriad mountains below and gazing at the Yellow River in the distance, they deeply understood Confucius's true meaning of "ascending Mount Tai and finding the world small."
"When I reach the top, I see that all other mountains are small under heaven!" The Poet Sage also left behind this timeless masterpiece.
At that moment, the setting sun hung low in the west, and the cloud peaks were all edged with a layer of golden, gleaming light, shimmering like rare treasures.
Such a splendid sight was intoxicating.
Suddenly, several black dots appeared on the horizon, gradually growing larger, accompanied by the rumble of wind and thunder.
Nine colossal objects descended from the sky, like nine black rivers crashing down. At that moment, everyone on Mount Tai was frozen in shock, staring in astonishment.
They were nine massive dragon corpses, pulling a bronze ancient coffin, pressing down toward the peak of Mount Tai.
Dragons—legendary beings, standing alongside gods, transcending the laws of nature. But with the progress of science, who would still believe dragons truly existed?
The tourists on the mountain, stunned, held their breath, even forgetting to scream.
After a brief silence, Mount Tai erupted into chaos. Everyone fled in panic, rushing in all directions to avoid the approaching dragon corpses.
It was a shocking scene: under the blood-red sunset, nine dragons pulling a coffin arrived at Mount Tai!
Terrified screams, helpless cries—everyone scattered in flight.
The nine dragons pulling the coffin did not fall with great speed, but when it landed, it still heavily shook the summit of Mount Tai.
"Boom!"
The nine colossal objects crashed down like nine mountain ranges, splitting the Jade Emperor Summit with massive cracks. Earth and stone flew, and dust filled the air.
The bronze ancient coffin also slammed down with a "clang" onto the summit, shaking the mountain as if an earthquake had struck. Many rocks tumbled down the mountain, rumbling like thousands of horses galloping.
Many people were caught in the chaos, battered by the rocks until they were bloody and disfigured, tumbling down the mountain. Fearful cries and wails filled the air.
The shaking stopped, and the mountain quickly calmed, but Mount Tai was already in turmoil. Many had fallen while fleeing, creating a scene of utter pandemonium. Countless people, bloodied and bruised, fled in terror down the mountain.
The nine hundred-meter-long dragon corpses lay mostly still across the summit, with a small portion hanging over the cliff, like a black steel Great Wall, exuding a shocking sense of power that assaulted the visual senses.
The Jade Emperor Summit of Mount Tai was cracked, the ground scarred with terrifying fissures.
The twenty-meter-long bronze coffin was plain and unadorned, covered with faint ancient patterns, bearing the marks of time's passage, with a mysterious aura flowing around it.