Chapter 658: Extra Chapter 1: Sever the Dragon

In the gloom, everything seemed predestined.

Dragon Back Mountain actually lay at the junction of River City and Huicheng's northern areas; its elevation was modest, the highest point of Dragon Back reaching only a thousand meters.

Dragon Back Mountain was surrounded by water on three sides, its Dragon Head facing east out to sea, imposing and mighty.

We arrived at the foot of Dragon Back Mountain at noon, the car parked beside the Dragon Head; Jin Wuya and I walked a great distance along that stretch before I confirmed the best ascent route.

As we climbed, I kept telling Jin Wuya, "We should go up from the landward side; there must be traces of people having climbed there."

Jin Wuya disagreed with my view: "The Dragon Head facing east out to sea is the main feature of Dragon Back Mountain's feng shui layout; approaching from this side lets us grasp the whole feng shui arrangement."

By then we were already halfway up the mountain.

Jin Wuya had me turn around to look toward the eastern sea level.

This sight made me exclaim involuntarily, "What a beautiful sea view! At sunrise in the morning or sunset in the evening it would be even more evocative."

"I'd rather call it spiritual qi," Jin Wuya said. "From this side of the Dragon Head, the spiritual qi of Dragon Back Mountain is indeed rich and overwhelming."

He paused, then said, "If my analysis isn't wrong, the scenery on the back side shouldn't be this good. Shi Rou, want to make a bet?"

I said, "Sure, I'll bet that the spiritual qi on the mountain's back side is just as vigorous."

Because of this bet, Jin Wuya and I quickened our ascent.

Fortunately we came prepared, hacking through brambles along the way; plus we each had a bit of cultivation foundation, which let us endure.

Ordinary people would have to give up before reaching halfway up the mountain.

Only upon reaching the summit did I finally exhale deeply, constantly moving my two gradually stiffening calves.

Jin Wuya, however, stood with his hands behind his back, gazing at the mountain's back side.

I followed his gaze.

Upon looking, I froze.

The trees on the mountain's back weren't few, but their overall growth paled in comparison to the front side.

Of course, this might be due to that side facing water and receiving ample sunlight, making its slightly better growth understandable.

But when I looked farther out, within a hundred meters of the mountain's base, not a blade of grass grew.

It was as if a cleared isolation strip had been made there.

My heart sank: "The Dragon Tail has been severed, and likely for many years."

Jin Wuya said, "Exactly—the feng shui pattern of a flood dragon emerging to the sea was forcibly cut off its Dragon Tail; this flood dragon has been trapped here for years, giving rise to resentful qi. Even if it didn't turn into an evil dragon, the whole mountain should be mired in foul miasma, yet I sense none of that."

"Exactly, there's none at all," I said. "Even just now on the mountain's other side, I felt a strong spiritual qi."

Jin Wuya asked, "Then where do you think the resentful qi that ought to have accumulated in the mountain has gone?"

I frowned, "You mean… the earth fetus?"

Jin Wuya didn't directly answer my question; he said, "Let's go—first find Shi Yin, and we should soon get the most accurate answer."

Dragon Back Mountain is named so because its ridge is the highest and also very long.

We followed the Dragon Spine line forward.

If Shi Yin were on Dragon Back Mountain, after all this time he would have noticed us right away.

He wouldn't hide from us or deliberately avoid meeting.

After walking like that for five or six minutes, we finally saw Shi Yin in a mountain hollow on the back side of the ridge.

Where Shi Yin stood, the vegetation wasn't lush; thorns were everywhere.

We approached, and he merely nodded at me, saying, "Miss, you've finally come."

I said, "As the sole heir of the Shi Family's main line, I naturally had to come."

Shi Yin then looked at Jin Wuya and nodded at him as well.

Then he turned and led us forward a few dozen steps; unknown what mechanism was triggered, a large tree ahead began to rotate.

The tree was alive, with lush foliage and a well-developed root system; yet for some reason it rotated like that without suffering the slightest damage.

Immediately afterward, a large opening appeared beneath its roots.

Judging by the method of the opening, this was the work of our Red Armor Army.

Jin Wuya and I jumped into the opening one after another, with Shi Yin closely following.

This robber's cave was a bit deep, narrow at the top and wide below, able to hold five or six people facing west; sure enough, it was a bronze tomb door.

Looking at the carvings on the tomb door, Jin Wuya immediately exclaimed, "Again?!"

I asked Shi Yin, "Can you open this tomb door?"

"I can't," Shi Yin replied. "My ancestors only mentioned that this tomb door exists; they never passed on the method to open it."

I continued, "If we dig a shaft elsewhere and make a robber's cave, couldn't we go down?"

"Our forebears tried," Shi Yin replied. "Apparently it damaged Dragon Back Mountain's overall feng shui layout and nearly caused a disaster."

At that moment I understood my grandfather's painstaking intentions.

Why did he set a trap to test Jin Wuya?

Why must he emerge from the Shi Family ancestral tomb on his own before acknowledging his abilities and identity?

It's not just about letting Jin Wuya earn recognition for the whole Shi Family and the entire Mountain‑Removing Strongman Red Armor Army lineage; there's a deeper reason here.

Beneath the Shi Family ancestral tomb, the bronze door of the underground tomb is the very mechanism that Patriarch Xuan set up when he replicated Dragon Back Mountain's ancient tomb.

Jin Wuya said he could extrapolate from this.

If he can open the underground tomb's door, there's a strong chance he can open this tomb door before us.

Jin Wuya stepped forward, staring intently at the tomb door, probing it bit by bit.

I and Shi Yin stood behind him, watching his careful, deliberate motions—sometimes lowering his head in thought, sometimes tracing symbols in his palm, sometimes stroking his chin while staring at the tomb door…

After about an hour like that, I saw Jin Wuya's eyebrow lift; my heart leapt—it seemed we had a clue.

But immediately afterward, his face darkened severely.

He turned to look at Shi Yin and asked, "If the half‑month deadline has arrived and we haven't come looking for you, what will you do next?"

That question came out of the blue.

After entering Dragonback Mountain, I focused entirely on finding Shi Yin and the ancient tomb, completely forgetting this question.

Yeah, if we don't come, and Shi Yin can't open the tomb door, how is he supposed to stop that small coffin and whatever's inside from continuing to wreak havoc?

The tomb door still hasn't opened; Shi Yin is tight‑lipped and won't reveal his ultimate mission to us at this point.

Jin Wuya didn't press Shi Yin either, because he already had an answer in mind: "Let me guess—the feng shui pattern of the flood dragon emerging to sea had its Lóngwěi cut off long ago; the purpose of this ancient tomb is to absorb the Resentful Qi of the trapped dragon, arduously maintaining the overall feng shui pattern. If we want to completely end all this, the most helpless solution is to cut off the dragon's head, destroy its heart, and perish together."