Immortal Cultivation and Life-Saving Guide

Chapter 300 Hanging Coffin
"This……"

"This request isn't a spur-of-the-moment one," Wei Xi said solemnly, bowing devoutly in the direction of Jiuai Mountain. "After all, I'm going into the mountains, and I'm a little nervous. Let me burn some incense in front of the Jiushen statue and pray for peace of mind!"

"The Dove God will bless the warriors who lend a helping hand to the tribe," Uncle Nian thought for a moment and replied, "Since you insist, then wait a moment. I will personally take you there later."

"Thank you, uncle!"

"It would be better if we just went straight to find the Longevity Wood," Lian Gou asked in confusion, "Why are you still worshipping the gods? Are you being fooled?"

"Something's wrong," Wei Xi said, his smile gone, signaling the two to calm down. "Can the bugs in Nanjiang write?"

Qin Feng also joined the whispering group, "The things in the mountains are evil. Perhaps the big insect has gained intelligence; or perhaps it has seen someone before and learned this..."

"This is the language of Northern Frontier," Wei Xi patted Qin Feng on the shoulder. "Why would this bug go so far as to learn the runes of Southern River and Northern Frontier instead of learning the runes of Southern River?"

Qin Fengsheng was worried, and all he saw was insect flesh. His surprise was beyond words. Lian Gouqie, on the other hand, accepted it well and scratched his temples. "Could it be that our whereabouts yesterday were discovered?"

Wei Xi remained silent, but she knew in her heart that the insect meat was probably prepared specifically for outsiders like them. So she suggested going to see the statue, thus escaping her uncle's guidance.

"Be careful," Wei Xi said, determined to stay in this forest for the sake of the immortal wood. "Don't believe everything these people say. Be careful not to get tricked!"

"I'm not afraid of that. Whoever comes here will have to consider his own weight! The necks of jackals, tigers and leopards are all soft!" Qin Feng patted Gao Han's scabbard, his brows full of eagerness to try.

"Please don't let anything happen to us," Lian Gouyu was still frightened. "It's strange, why do we always have nasty people trying to harm us when we go out?"

While they were talking, they saw their uncle coming with a skinny young man. Wei Xi and the other two quickly shut up and pretended to appreciate the exotic scenery.

"My fellow Daoists, this is Hamiya. He will help you up later!"

"Go up?" Lian Gouqie laughed dryly, "The statue can't be in the sky, right?"

"Fellow Daoist, you're joking." Before Wei Xi realized what was wrong with his words, he heard his uncle continue, "We are extremely cautious in building the statue. Come with me!"

The three confused people had underestimated the local customs and practices of Nanjiang. Looking up, they saw a cliff that stretched thousands of feet high, and even the brave Wei Xi felt his knees weaken.

"What do you mean, uncle?"

"The statue wants to communicate with the Jiu God, so it chose this place. If the three fellow Taoists are not used to it, it is a sincere offering here!"

Wei Xi took a deep breath, stepped forward, and said, "During the sect competition, Sect Master Tuoba of the Heaven and Earth Sect read the horoscopes of two of my fellow disciples and said they were too weak and could easily offend the spirits. In my haste, I actually forgot!"

"If I really offend the gods, I'm afraid it will be difficult for me to serve them even if I go up the mountain. I will go up alone and worship the gods devoutly, which is considered my best effort!"

"In that case, let Hamiya take you up!" Uncle Nian turned to the young man with the thick rope across his shoulder and said, "Be careful, and be steady when going up and down!"

Hamiya nodded, walked swiftly to the cliff, tied one end of the thick rope around his waist, then passed the rope through an iron ring and handed the other end to Wei Xi.

Wei Xi was frightened: on the cliff in front of her hung an iron rod engraved with a rough formation, with iron hooks distributed on it at equal distances, and an iron chain connected to the bottom. The long chain was piled beside it like a napping python.

Having vaguely guessed how to climb the cliff, Wei Xi, looking at the bottomless precipice, gritted his teeth, wrapped the thick rope around his waist twice, and tied the knot tightly. Wei Xi secretly swore that if this person dared to cut the rope, he would chop off his head.

Hamiya didn't react much. He fastened the iron ring to the end of the chain, then took out a thick rope like a magic trick, wrapped the two ends around his hands, and hung it on an iron spike that was sticking out.

With a move, Hamiya hooked the thick rope in his hand onto the iron hook on the next level. Wei Xi also felt the pulling force and moved closer to the cliff.

After climbing a cliff of nearly 100 meters, Hamiya vividly demonstrated that great strength can create miracles, and he managed to get the two people to an inconspicuous cliff cave.

During this time, the shaking sounds of the iron chains and the friction sounds of the ropes mixed together. Wei Xi, who felt like she was being cut in half, felt in a trance that she would never forget this nightmarish sound for the rest of her life.

Hamiya reached out to help Wei Xi, but unexpectedly Wei Xi climbed up and stood on the edge of the cliff cave looking inside.

Wei Xi's pupils shrank slightly, and he said in shock: "Is this... a hanging coffin?"

Documents related to Nanjiang are often vague about hanging coffins. A last-minute crammer like Wei Xi could only find the following: hanging coffins are a popular burial practice in Nanjiang. After a person dies, relatives place the body in a coffin, which is then suspended from stakes driven into the cliff face. The coffins are also placed in cliff caves, cracks, or partially suspended from the cliff.

The cliffs were often steep and dangerous, with deep streams below, making them impossible to climb. The higher the coffin was hung, the more respect it showed for the deceased.

The cave on the cliff face held a hidden world, housing no fewer than twenty wooden coffins. Wei Xi, feeling as if he were playing at home, felt strangely relieved, dispelling his intense unease.

In the middle of the cliff cave, there was a fallen stone statue. Hamiya walked straight forward and kowtowed to the statue.

Wei Xi blinked his eyes: It turns out there really is a statue of a god.

Looking closer, the god turned out to be in the form of a turtledove, dressed in Nanjiang-style clothing, with a ferocious human head under its claws. He looked extremely powerful, and had the domineering aura of a defender.

“May the great Dove God bless His devout people, and may the voice of His praise resound from Jiuai Mountain to Nanjiang River forever and ever!”

"May the great Dove God grant his pious people: courage, sacrifice..."

Hamiya knelt on the ground, making requests and praises one after another, but she didn't know whether this magical dove could handle it.

Wei Xi, who was pretending to be pious, was not so pious. He kept muttering about protection, but his eyes carefully surveyed the cliff cave.

This cliff cave is quite spacious, with clear signs of artificial excavation visible around it. It was obviously developed by the indigenous people of the Taobin tribe.

As for the coffins, Master Wei, with his experience of examining countless coffins, identified that these coffins were made of ordinary fir, which were found all over Jiuai Mountain.

Wei Xi saw crooked symbols on these coffins, which were very different from the characters in the northern border.

It seems that the origin of those insect meat spellings is indeed suspicious.

However, Wei Xi also had an unexpected gain on this trip: expanding the cliff cave, moving the coffin, and placing the statue. Can the project's demand for manpower and material resources really be met by relying solely on the "sacred artifact"?

　Wei Xi: Yes, I would be scared too.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)