Chapter 180: Pre-Qin

His gaze suddenly shrank; he saw a crack appear on the windshield ahead, then spread like a spider web.

You should know their glass was also specially modified, even able to block bullets; now it's shattered like this, seemingly encountering an irresistible external force.

This terrifying white light was actually aimed at them!

The drug dealers were terrified, their eyes almost bursting, they hurriedly sped up, but even with the pedal to the metal, the speedometer already at its limit, they couldn't match the speed of the white light falling.

Behind them, the police car kept chasing; Gao Liwen vaguely saw an ancient‑looking sword actually descend from the sky!

The sword's appearance seemed small, but to him it felt like a towering mountain, possessing the strength to uproot mountains.

It flashed past before his eyes, soon disappearing; Gao Liwen thought he was seeing things.

But in the next instant, that white light fiercely fell above the off‑road vehicle, like the sun falling, stars exploding; the white light instantly spread around, blinding those nearby so they could hardly open their eyes.

Boom—

A loud bang was heard, the earth shook and mountains trembled.

At the moment the white light contacted, the beast‑like vehicle suddenly split in the middle, flew and collided with the nearby mountain; all four wheels were torn off and rolled to the side.

On the road surface, a ditch several meters deep suddenly appeared!

Like an abyss, it blocked north and south.

Everyone watched in disbelief, mouths agape, thinking they were hallucinating.

"Did I see wrong? What was that just now?"

"It looked like a light fell from the sky, then this off‑road vehicle was split in two."

"Where did that white light come from?"

"I just saw it fly from Mount Tai! It's simply miraculous."

"Could it be a meteorite?"

Gao Liwen and the others got out of the car; after seeing the off‑road vehicle's appearance, their hearts were overwhelmed with shock.

Needless to say, the drug dealers inside were already dead beyond death, all killed in a single blow.

The cut marks on the vehicle body were extremely neat and smooth, as if caused by some sharp instrument; this could also be seen from the wounds on the corpses.

Like a cutting machine, it split in half down the middle; even a cutting machine couldn't leave such a trace.

Moreover, the narrow ditch on the ground was clearly visible, like an earthquake fissure.

"A line of sky!"

Everyone's mind filled with the same doubt: what exactly was that white light just seen, and why did it possess such enormous energy?

Gao Liwen recalled the white light before, remembering that fleeting glimpse, and couldn't help muttering, "Did you guys see anything just now?"

The others looked at each other, puzzled why he would ask that, "Captain Gao, besides the white light, what else could there be?"

Gao Liwen uncertainly said, "I seemed to have just seen a sword?"

The police beside him wore an incredulous expression, "Captain Gao, you definitely mis‑saw; it's surely a hallucination from strong light, how could there be a sword?"

"I also felt like it was a sword, or sword qi? Otherwise how to explain this scene?"

Gao Liwen fell into silence, "First bring the bodies back to the Bureau, then we'll talk."

At that moment the road was in disarray, because the vehicles needed to be towed back, plus many scattered parts had to be cleaned up to avoid puncturing passing tires; soon traffic police arrived, and clearing the scene would take some time.

Since the incident happened suddenly, no one managed to capture that white light, but tourists on Mount Tai did record it; however the light was too fast, so the footage looked blurry, just a white streak.

At first they didn't understand what was happening, until the tourists came down the mountain; the necessary route was this mountain road.

But ahead, a long dragon of cars lined up, blocking traffic completely, with no end in sight.

It was a workday, not a holiday; normally it shouldn't be jammed like this, leaving the tourists puzzled.

"Strange, the cars were fine coming here, why are they blocked on the way back?"

"Looks like an accident happened ahead."

"What accident? It's the police chasing drug dealers, with traffic control still in place behind them, even traffic police have arrived!"

"I heard during the chase a miraculous thing occurred: a flowing light flew down from Mount Tai and split the drug dealers' vehicle in half!"

"You must be bragging."

"I'm not lying; look at the online news—pictures and truth—many tourists saw that white light, and the place sealed off by the police has a huge crack on the ground."

TZ City Police Bureau, this drug‑capture operation can be described as having many twists; several officers were injured, but fortunately none were life‑threatening.

The damaged vehicles and corpses have been sent for inspection; the report will come out soon.

"Caused by a sharp instrument."

Gao Liwen stared at the bold characters on the report, unable to believe it—what kind of sharp instrument could split an off‑road vehicle in half?

"Could it have been taken by mistake?"

The officer delivering the report shook his head: "No mistake; the inspection department also found it amazing, checked repeatedly, and finally arrived at this conclusion."

Gao Liwen glanced several times; the report didn't specify what caused it, presumably the inspection department also didn't know.

After so long investigating, this is the first time I've encountered such a strange thing—a white light actually split a vehicle in half; after inspection, it turned out to be caused by a sharp instrument, truly baffling.

As for what that white light actually was, everyone thought for a long time but couldn't figure it out; after all, it's beyond visual perception, even if we guessed it was a sword, there's no evidence, nor can science explain it, so we can only classify the case as an accident.

The junior police officer handed his phone to Gao Liwen: "Captain Gao, there's a rather hot theory online saying Mount Tai manifested its spirit."

Originally this matter wasn't small‑scale; later the driver of the escaped private car posted a Weibo, attracting even more netizens' attention.

Actually the car owner had just finished worshiping Mount Tai, even obtained an amulet; plus the white light came down from Mount Tai, so he was certain it was Mount Tai manifesting its spirit, protecting his family.

Many netizens agreed with this view, and some even commented wishes below, all in the format "May Mount Tai bless me".

#Mount Tai Manifests Spirit#

This topic even hit the hot search list, attracting many contemporary superstitious youths.

Gao Liwen looked at the netizens' varied replies, couldn't help laughing, "Mount Tai manifested its spirit?"

All this is too coincidental; if not for that flying beam of light, who knows what trouble would have followed; Gao Liwen couldn't help murmuring, "Maybe Mount Tai really blessed us."

Thinking of this, he hesitated for a moment, then immediately issued the order.

「Deploy some more personnel to Mount Tai, and keep an eye on whether any other movements will appear there recently! 」

……

At this moment, Mount Tai is peaceful and tranquil, completely unaffected by those matters at Mountain Base.

Gazing into the distance, amidst the vast sea of clouds, blue-green peaks rise on all sides, ridges stand tall on both flanks, the mountainside trees are lush green, and a picturesque view unfolds before the eyes.

Ye Qin gazed at the ancient sword hovering in midair, his green eyes full of admiration.

The prayer beads have already been used; they once helped him resist the Time Guardians, leaning more toward defense than offense, and the use of the wine gourd has not yet been discovered.

Now the lethal power of the bronze ancient sword is exactly what Ye Qin needs; he now has both offense and defense.

Most importantly, the previous two treasures could only be used in the Time Fragments, whereas this sword can be wielded in reality!

「It truly feels like being an immortal swordmaster! 」

However, after just swinging that sword, Ye Qin sensed that the aura on the ancient sword seemed to have diminished somewhat; if he were to swing again, the power would surely not be as great as before, and later it would likely decrease layer by layer.

「It seems there are also limits. 」

But thinking about it, it's perfectly normal; if such tremendous power could be used without limit, wouldn't that be too heaven-defying?

Continuing to place it back in the water channel to nurture, it should be able to keep recovering its peak!

After figuring out the effect of the bronze ancient sword, Ye Qin moved his thoughts, and the sword's silhouette gradually vanished in midair.

Looking around, the mountainside is lush green, not knowing where the opportunity he seeks will appear; Ye Qin's figure also vanished on the spot as he continued his search.

Fortunately, he has spiritual energy to support him; even if he doesn't rest midway, nothing will happen.

As a day passed, he had nearly finished exploring the part of Mount Tai; Ye Qin still had no gains, but he wasn't discouraged, after all, opportunities cannot be rushed.

Ye Qin reached the summit of Mount Tai; this is the highest point of Mount Tai, which can be described as 'to stand atop the peak and look down on all mountains,' with sheer cliffs and jagged rocks below, bottomless.

On the peak, clouds and mist swirl; the mountain path winds and twists like a colorful ribbon drifting down from the clouds, visitors appear as tiny black dots sparsely scattered on the ribbon, slowly moving upward.

On Ye Qin's side, there is no hiking trail; it belongs to an undeveloped area, and with the high elevation, not even a person, let alone a ghost, can be seen.

Occasionally a bird flies past, its cry echoing, making the place seem even more remote and vast.

「The spiritual energy here is actually more abundant than elsewhere. 」

Having just exerted that sword's power, and after searching for so long, Ye Qin is still a bit fatigued; meditating here for a while before continuing the search is not too late.

The golden core within his body slowly rotates, and a hazy mist emanates from Ye Qin, almost merging with the surrounding clouds and mist.

The invisible qi of heaven and earth also seeps out, merging with this terrain; the mountain breeze blows, carrying this wisp of extraordinary aura toward every part of Mount Tai.

The gas imperceptible to the human eye is slowly flowing.

The mountain terrain is vast and undulating, clouds rolling and mist surging; sensing the presence of this wisp of spiritual energy, the air transmits faint undulations, as if some kind of response.

Time looked back, the long river of history again stirred up ripples, raising wave after wave; Ye Qin suddenly opened his eyes, 'This wisp of aura is——'

As the saying goes, 'Intentional planting yields no blooms, careless insertion brings shade'; he never expected to sense the aura of time's fluctuations this time, suggesting his current position must be close to a Time Fragment.

Ye Qin carefully sensed and found that the aura grew stronger toward the south; as he searched, he saw two pine trees standing tall here, their posture upright and beautiful.

Beside them stands a stone archway inscribed with the characters 'Five Doctor Pine'.

The pine trees are twisted and ancient, vigorous and lush, giving a sense of history; needle-sized green leaves sway in the wind, pine waves ripple, and an ancient aura rushes forth.

The Five Doctor Pine is the only plant on Mount Tai to have received an imperial ennoblement; according to the Records of the Grand Historian, when Qin Shi Huang performed the Mountain Closure sacrifice on Mount Tai, he encountered rain midway and took shelter under the tree; because the tree protected his procession, he bestowed upon it the title of 'Five Doctor'.

Later generations mistakenly thought it referred to five pine trees; the original tree was later destroyed by a thunderstorm. During the Yongzheng reign of the Qing dynasty, imperial envoy Ding Zao, ordered to restore Mount Tai, replanted five saplings; today two remain, twisted and ancient, vigorous and lush, acclaimed as 'Qin Pine Standing Graceful,' one of the eight scenic views of Tai Prefecture.

Ye Qin was slightly surprised: 「I never expected that a time-worn fragment would be hidden in these two pine trees; indeed, the world is full of wonders. 」

He carefully sensed again, confirmed the aura was correct, found a secluded spot nearby, quickly entered meditative absorption, and his mental power successfully linked to the time-worn fragment.

Amidst the spinning heavens and earth, Ye Qin felt his soul being pulled with crystal clarity, immersed in the long river of history, constantly rising and falling with the surging waves.

Ye Qin was like a spectator, glancing at passing scenes; countless historical fragments flashed before his eyes, leaving only faint traces.

A wave over half a person's height came rushing toward him, instantly enveloping him; soon he too became part of it.

The mountainside is lush green, like a huge jade gemstone reflected beneath the blue sky and white clouds.

An archaic structure rose from the ground, appearing out of thin air, enveloped in a faint white mist; one can sense its ancient power, like endless sea waves.

At first the building was somewhat blurry, its outline vague, giving an unreal feeling; gradually it solidified, revealing dark tiles and exquisite flying eaves, unmistakably the model of a Daoist temple.

The Daoist temple stands silently in the mountains, surrounded by shade-giving green trees, a floral canopy like a roof, feeling out of place among the scenery, filled with an ineffable mystery.

At the moment it fully coalesced, the mountain breeze blew, leaves swayed, countless birds circled overhead, and the mountain beasts seemed to sense something as well,

there they felt an unprecedented powerful aura, their instincts making them extremely fearful.

If someone were to come here now, they would find all the animals frozen in place, holding the same posture, all looking southeast, truly bizarre to the extreme.

This state did not last long; soon all the animals began to move, the previously silent mountains suddenly erupted, as if something had suddenly descended, breaking the original harmony.

……

Meanwhile, on another side, the winding mountain road saw several columns of soldiers marching, some on warhorses, some on foot, clad in armor with orderly steps, clearly well-trained troops.

The leading commander had a stern expression, his tiger-like eyes bright and piercing, making one dare not meet his gaze; the beard on his jaw resembled a lion's short whiskers, silently exuding an iron-blooded aura.

「How much longer until we reach Tai County? 」

Upon hearing his question, a junior officer stepped forward and said: 「Reporting to General Meng, after crossing this mountain we can reach Tai County; according to our intel, many fangshi gather in Tai County. 」

A cold glint flashed in the commander's eyes; his tiger eyes like deep pools transmitted a chilling aura: 「Excellent, this time we must eradicate these fangshi in one sweep, removing these harmful pests from our Great Qin. 」

After unifying the realm, Qin Shi Huang sought the elixir of immortality, began to inquire about the Dao and immortals; the fangshi became renowned and widespread among the populace, with some using the name of fangshi to muddy the waters and amass wealth.

Later, after the incidents of Lu Sheng and Hou Sheng fleeing in fear of punishment, Qin Shi Huang realized he had been deceived, began to arrest fangshi everywhere; in a short time, the emperor's wrath left corpses numbering a million and blood staining a thousand li.

The troops advanced in orderly fashion; Meng Tian surveyed the surroundings, towering ancient trees blocking the sky, occasional sunlight filtering through leaf gaps left specks of light on the ground.

His gaze swept over, a hint of doubt: 「Is this place a bit strange? 」

The commander beside him asked, puzzled: 「What's strange about it? 」

Aside from the sound of our marching footsteps, not even a single insect chirp or bird call could be heard.

(End of chapter)