bookpower Chapter 239 - 225 Unsolved Mysteries
Chapter 239 - 225 Unsolved Mysteries
in the 351st year of the zhou dynasty.
summer.
xuan’an city was suffering from drought, with no rain for two consecutive months.
the luo river had dried up, revealing a stone figure on the riverbed with inscriptions on it.
because the inscriptions were so taboo, the villagers didn’t dare to remove and sell the figure, and instead, they reported it to the city’s cultural heritage bureau.
a team of more than a dozen experts was assembled to date the stone figure and to plan its protection and promotion.
xiao ran was one of them, having just graduated and entered the department not long ago. as a rookie in the bureau, he was responsible for carrying fishing rods, stools, tents, and other tools on his back.
upon reaching the site.
xiao ran set down the fishing gear and also squeezed in to take a look at the stone figure.
about five to six feet tall, its facial sculpture had turned into abstract art due to the long-term erosion by the river water, but the inscriptions on its chest were clear.
"the drying luo river, the world revolts!"
expert dong said, "looking at the script, it seems to be from the pre-qing period, at least two thousand years ago. back then, the most famous rebel army recorded was the black turban army."
"old dong makes sense, but there is another line of text below..."
the stone expert pointed at the inscription and said, "been here, and then there’s a string of communication numbers afterwards, this definitely doesn’t resemble the style of ancient times."
xiao ran also noticed that on the stone figure it was written: been here, with a communication number 1-9-9-****.
"could it be fake? but looking at this script and the craftsmanship, it doesn’t seem forged!"
expert dong walked around the stone figure twice, discussing it with the stone expert for a long time. yet, they still couldn’t understand the reason behind it, and they couldn’t find any similar messages in ancient books.
xiao ran used to be an avid fan of cultivation novels, dreaming of immortality because, after all, youth is wasted without a bit of rebellion. thus, he collected many cultivation groups on the internet and joined them one by one.
ninety-nine percent of such chat groups died a swift death on the grand path, and over the years, only this one remained active.
the core reason was that the group didn’t have many members, and the group owner required members to have at least read one daoist classic, or they would soon be kicked out.
rebellious teenagers only thought about defying fate and wouldn’t settle down to read. to this day, the group barely had a hundred members!
the group owner, daoist xuan ling, was a bona fide daoist priest who was said to have been born amidst auspicious purple clouds, and the first word he uttered was: immortal!
xiao ran, in his peak rebellious phase, was utterly astonished and deeply believed that daoist xuan ling was a true cultivator. following his advice, xiao ran had read many classics from daoist sages.
his current laid-back personality was probably influenced by this, as non-striving is the highest realm in daoism.
daoist xuan ling: "is this real? where was it found?"
send current location.
xuan miao the daoist: "bottom of luoshui river, i’m at the scene right now."
daoist xuan ling: "this location is about three hundred miles away from that immortal’s relic. it seems that the luoshui river really did have immortals cultivating in secret!"
seeing the group owner’s words, xiao ran felt both ashamed and unsurprised, as the other party was a true believer in the existence of cultivation.
most other group members, including xiao ran himself, were past their rebellious years and had come to terms with reality.
cultivation didn’t exist; the daoist scriptures were somewhat useful, providing solace when one felt troubled.
xuan miao the daoist: "if it was left by an immortal, why not try to invite them over? maybe they really exist?"
"well said!"
daoist xuan ling didn’t take this as a jest; instead, he took the suggestion very seriously. searching with the communication number, to their surprise, actually yielded a result.