Night.
Dark clouds rolled across the sky, veiling the moon and stars.
Mount Longhu, Xiaoyao Residence.
Lu Yuan stepped out of the wooden lodge and checked the time.
It was almost midnight, and pitch-black all around with scarcely a glimmer of light.
To Lu Yuan, however, this meant nothing. Having undergone a physical transformation, his strength had long since surpassed that of ordinary men.
Though his night vision could not quite compare to broad daylight, when he could see far into the distance, it was not far off.
If he focused his sight, not even the tiny ants and insects crawling through the grass could escape his notice.
"About time," Lu Yuan murmured to himself, glancing toward the location of the wordless stele.
Tonight, he would haul it away and load it into his vehicle.
He had no choice. Mount Longhu had strict rules prohibiting many items from being taken away. Even though the wordless stele looked like nothing more than an ordinary rock at present, he still refused to take any risks that might draw attention.
With that, Lu Yuan walked over to the stele.
The stone reached roughly to his knees, its surface remarkably smooth.
At a preliminary estimate, it weighed at least three to four hundred jin. An ordinary person would never have been able to lift it.
Yet in his hands, it rose with effortless ease. He hoisted it with a single hand, barely feeling any weight at all.
Next came getting it down the mountain.
As the old saying went, climbing up was easy, but heading down was hard. That was especially true when burdened with several hundred jin. Even several burly men would have had to inch carefully along the mountain path to avoid an accident.
However... given Lu Yuan's temperament, he was never going to take the conventional route.
"Time for this body of mine to show what it can do."
Lu Yuan smiled faintly. He found several sturdy vines, bound the stele securely to his back, and scanned the surroundings.
Then, without the slightest hesitation, he bent his knees, leaped high into the air, and plummeted off a boulder.
The drop to the ground below was at least several dozen meters—equivalent to three or four stories high.
If an ordinary person jumped from such a height, they would shatter their legs if not die on impact. Yet Lu Yuan plunged straight down...
Boom!
Under the tremendous force, fractures spiderwebbed across the surface of the boulder beneath his feet, threatening to shatter it completely.
Lu Yuan did not linger. Like an agile ape, he continued bounding downward, traversing the jagged crags and treacherous precipices of Mount Longhu.
The path was choked with brambles and weeds, making it a feat utterly impossible for any ordinary human.
Yet to him, none of it posed an obstacle.
Lu Yuan's skin was exceptionally tough. Even a razor blade would leave only a faint mark, let alone briars and thorns.
Through the dark night beneath the hazy moonlight, a figure leaped across the cliffs. Each landing kicked up plumes of dust as the boulders underfoot cracked and burst apart. Such power was terrifying, far exceeding human bounds.
Just like that, a trek that would take a normal person over an hour took Lu Yuan a mere ten-odd minutes of bounding across the cliffs to reach the mountain gate.
Parked just ahead was the car he had left behind during the day.
After stowing the wordless stele inside, he felt slightly relieved. Tomorrow, all he needed was an excuse to depart.
Lu Yuan turned around, preparing to head back up the mountain.
Yet at that exact moment, intense beams of light surged forth from Mount Longhu.
In an instant, ten thousand rays of resplendent glow pierced the darkness, dyeing the cloud layer in brilliant gold. The sky filled with dazzling golden light, radiant to the extreme. Across a radius of several kilometers, the pitch-black night was transformed into broad daylight, shining as bright as the midday sun.
"What is going on?"
Lu Yuan's heart stirred at the sight.
Looking closer, he realized that all the light seemed to be radiating from the Celestial Master Mansion.
Faintly visible amidst the iridescent glow were two sky-blotting silhouettes.
A white tiger and a golden dragon loomed proudly within the void.
Accompanied by faint, echoing roars that reverberated through the air.
A tiger's roar and a dragon's cry!
All at once, the birds across Mount Longhu took flight in panic, beating their wings frantically to flee the mountain.
"Could it be... the mutation is happening ahead of schedule?" Lu Yuan began to speculate upon witnessing such a phenomenon.
The spectacle was simply astonishing, looking like a scene straight out of myth and legend, unfolding right before his eyes.
Yet very quickly, when he tried to inspect it further, the white tiger and golden dragon soared into the heavens and vanished without a trace. At the same time, the radiance dissipated completely. Everything returned to calm, as if nothing had ever happened.
"It wasn't the mutation, but something major has definitely occurred at the Celestial Master Mansion."
Lu Yuan murmured to himself. Putting it out of his mind for now, he immediately began ascending the mountain.
Since no one was around, he cast aside all restraint, covering dozens of meters with a single stride.
At such breakneck speed, he made it back to Xiaoyao Residence in about twenty minutes.
He then lay down, pretending nothing was amiss.
He knew that after such an incident, the Celestial Master Mansion was certain to react.
"Mount Tai and Mount Jiuhua both had anomalous phenomena. Mount Longhu, as the ancestral court of Daoism, naturally belongs among them—it was only a little later. All of this is merely a prelude to the mutation. Once that day arrives, everything will change, and a new era will begin."
Lying in bed, Lu Yuan pondered deeply. The memories of his past life brought many things to mind.
He also knew in his heart that aside from the wordless stele, Mount Longhu possessed numerous other sacred artifacts and formidable heritages. That was how it had established its footing in the new era and commanded such an important status. If one took their time patiently, they would surely find many treasures.
However, he did not have that kind of time right now. Even if he did, he had few ways to locate them.
The Celestial Master Mansion was deeply enigmatic, with figures like Young Celestial Master Chunyang.
And Daoist Priest Yuyang—who appeared to be an ordinary man well into his nineties, yet possessed boundless stamina surpassing that of a youth—was certainly no simple individual.
Not to mention the Old Celestial Master himself.
Therefore, he had to proceed with caution. At least until the mutation arrived, prudence came first.
Drawing unwanted attention would bring immense trouble. Though he had broken free from ordinary human limits, he was still incapable of shrugging off modern firearms and heavy weaponry.
With these thoughts in mind, Lu Yuan waited as the hours slipped by.
Soon, the next day arrived.
A young Daoist priest came and invited Lu Yuan to the Celestial Master Mansion.
Boss Liu and the others were also there, utterly unaware of what was happening. Clearly, they had noticed last night's phenomenon as well and were questioning the young priests nearby. The results, however, were disappointing; the Daoists of the Celestial Master Mansion kept their mouths tightly shut.
Finally, Daoist Priest Yuyang arrived.
He first thanked Lu Yuan and the others for their donations, assuring them that the Celestial Master Mansion would keep their generosity in mind.
Then he announced that starting today, Mount Longhu would be officially sealed, and all outsiders had to descend the mountain as soon as possible.
Even those with lay sanctuaries were no exception. Daoist Priest Yuyang did add at the end that if conditions permitted in the future, the Celestial Master Mansion would provide compensation, such as a form of shelter and protection.
This left Boss Liu and the others completely bewildered. Everyone present was a person of wealth and status.
So long as they did not break the law, what kind of protection would they ever need?
And even if they did break the law, would the Celestial Master Mansion have the power to protect them?
Naturally, they had a barrage of questions. Daoist Priest Yuyang answered them earnestly, but whenever the topic shifted to last night's phenomenon, he claimed ignorance and spoke only in vague terms.
Seeing this, Lu Yuan knew that a major event had undoubtedly occurred on Mount Longhu, one tied directly to the mutation.
Since the Daoists were clearly unwilling to say more, staying behind served no purpose.
In the end, Lu Yuan was the first to take his leave.
With the mutation fast approaching, he needed to quicken his pace.
Chapter 18