Reborn As Super Heiress

Zhou Shitao felt reassured at last and signaled to the professors behind him before walking straight into the scenic area.

Several sightseeing cars winding around the mountain were already waiting there. The group divided into batches and sat in them, driving all the way up to the mountain top.

Huo Sining had traveled to many places in both her past and present lives, but it was truly her first time at Luofu Mountain. So, after getting on the sightseeing car, despite it being nighttime, it didn’t hinder her from looking around curiously, observing everywhere.

The Luofu Mountain Scenic Area is Hua Country’s 5A scenic spot, with reportedly over four hundred peaks, nearly a thousand flying springs and waterfalls, eighteen unique wonders of Cave Paradise, and seventy-two secluded stone chambers and serene rocks. The mountain’s majestic and magnificent terrain coupled with enchanting natural scenery has earned it the title of The Number One Famous Mountain in Lingnan.

Many might find Luofu Mountain unfamiliar, but when mentioning the last two lines of Su Shi’s poem ”The Unequaled Huizhou,” nearly everyone knows them.

”Eating three hundred lychees a day, I’d never mind calling Lingnan my home,” many remember only the last two lines of this poem, but they might not know its preceding lines, ”Spring reigns all year below Luofu Mountain, oranges and bayberries ripen one after another.” The Luofu Mountain mentioned here refers to the current Luofu Mountain Scenic Area.

Perhaps due to the area’s exceptional environment, since the Qin and Han dynasties it’s been dubbed a gathering place for immortals. Historian Sima Qian compared it to Yue Yue, and Taoism referred to it as Cave Paradise.

There are many legends about immortals appearing at Luofu Mountain, the most famous likely being the saying ”Dog bites Lu Dongbin, not recognizing a good person’s heart.”

This idiom is well-known among all ages, and its origin is said to come from Lu Dongbin’s residence at Luofu Mountain’s Sulaodong.

It’s said that when Lu Dongbin was wandering, he passed by Sulaodong on the north side of Luofu Mountain and was attracted by its beauty, so he built a mountain retreat there, intending to stay for a few days.

One day, the other Seven Immortals came to find him, but he was practicing sword on the back mountain, leaving only a dog to guard the house. So, the Seven Immortals used their magic to enlighten the dog, instructing it to find Lu Dongbin.

The master was found, but the dog couldn’t speak, so it barked twice at Lu Dongbin and used its mouth to pull the hem of his pants, dragging him along.

Lu Dongbin, not understanding the intent, angrily scolded, ”Dog oh dog, I’ve never mistreated you, why do you bite me as soon as you see me?”

Since then, the saying ”Dog bites Lu Dongbin, not recognizing a good person’s heart” became widespread.

Though the legend’s truth is uncertain, it doesn’t stop tourists from flocking there. When Ge Hong arrived in Guangcheng, hearing these tales made him curious enough to visit Luofu Mountain.

He was captivated by the layers of strange peaks and rocks, famous springs, and the wonders of Cave Paradise, believing this place was closest to the immortals. He thought Cave Paradise was where immortals lived and enjoyed leisure, and the entirety of Luofu Mountain might be the auspicious and blessed realm leading to heaven that could aid his cultivation into Dacheng. That’s why he resolutely chose to settle here and lived reclusively in the serene mountain forest.

Nowadays, inside the Luofu Mountain Scenic Area, there’s a dedicated Ge Immortal Shrine, located at Snow Peak, built by later generations to commemorate Ge Hong’s deeds.

It’s said that Ge Hong lived at Luofu Mountain for thirty-six years, establishing the Taoist sacred land in Lingnan, creating several monasteries in the east, west, south, and north, and at eighty-one years old, consumed the Nine-Turn Golden Elixir he refined and transcended into immortality at Luofu Mountain.

Locals generally believe Snow Peak is where Ge Hong sought the methods of health from immortals, practiced building huts, and the art of refining elixirs, so the Ge Immortal Shrine is atop Snow Peak. Besides this, there are places like Hui Xian Bridge, Chongxu Ancient Temple, Medicinal Herbs Washing Pond, Alchemy Stove, Peach Garden in winter, Immortal’s Bed, Flown-in Stone, and Yellow Dragon Taoist Temple, many associated with Ge Hong.

When Huo Sining entered the scenic area, she casually took a brochure at the entrance, flipping through it while comparing her knowledge of Ge Hong and the cauldron inscribed with strange characters, implicitly forming a bizarre thought.

Did Ge Hong really discover the way to become an immortal, refining some elixir of immortality and ascending?

But as soon as this thought arose, Huo Sining couldn’t help but chuckle, finding her speculation amusing.

The Jiaoren clan can have a lifespan of three to five hundred years, already a defying existence, perhaps precisely due to this cheat-like mode, Heaven could not overlook, causing disasters to nearly annihilate the Jiaoren clan.

If immortal beings truly existed in this world, wouldn’t that cause chaos?

She couldn’t resist shaking her head, continuing to focus on the brochure in her hand.

The so-called immortal mountain and Taoist caves are mere exaggerated claims by businesses to attract tourists, yet Ge Hong is indeed a real person. However, there’s one point the scenic area managers and even the tourists chasing fame have misunderstood.

Snow Peak has been developed as a tourist resource, obviously the Oil Rat wouldn’t dare to dig directly where many tourists congregate.

But he just managed to dig into Ge Hong’s ancient tomb, indicating Snow Peak, even if it was Ge Hong’s residence and activity place, absolutely wouldn’t be where he ascended.

In ancient times, monks usually opted for cremation at passing, because Buddhism believes the Buddha’s perfect merit equated cremation to Nirvana, condensing into Shariputra.

Taoism, on the other hand, believes after attaining Tao, one can abandon the physical body and become immortal, referred to as ”abandoning the shell,” like a silkworm shedding its cocoon. Just a token object is needed, then they can be everlasting, said to live as long as heaven and earth.

Therefore, Huo Sining estimated, the ancient tomb the Oil Rat intruded into wasn’t built by later generations for Ge Hong, but highly likely built by himself for the matter of his body’s post-ascension abode.

Sure enough, as the sightseeing car drove forward, the Oil Rat led the way, guiding everyone past the Flown-in Stone and Magu Peak, leaving Snow Peak far behind, finally stopping at an unknown mountain base.

This was already deep within the scenic area, very secluded, with hardly any street lamps. In daylight, one might feel surrounded by auspicious clouds, bird chirps, and fragrant flowers with murmuring streams. But by nightfall here, one only feels enveloped in darkness, like a huge monster with open jaws waiting for the group to approach.

Su Qingqing felt a chill as soon as she got off the car. She hadn’t gone into a mountain late at night before, coupled with this being the harsh winter, despite this being Guangcheng, she couldn’t help but shiver, instinctively tugging on Huo Sining’s sleeve, hesitantly saying:

”Ningning, are we really going up there?”