The Heavens: From Film and Mythology to Conquering Myriad Realms

The early mornings in the sweltering summer are exceptionally cool.

After deciding to go to Tangwu Mountain yesterday, Yi Xiaochuan bid farewell to Liu Bang, and Liu Bang and his entourage set off early this morning.

Last night, Yi Xiaochuan and Gao Yao were in high spirits and drank quite a bit. They are resting at the inn.

In the spacious lobby of the inn, there was only Lu Yao and an old man drinking wine.

Sitting by the window, Lu Yao picked up a cup of morning tea, took a sip, and then put it down with a look of disgust.

Hmm, the taste is terrible, it has no aroma of tea leaves at all, he felt like this tea was brewed with weeds.

Lu Yao didn't come here so early because he was bored; he had discovered a very interesting person lying here yesterday.

Looking at the old man lying drunk in the corner, resembling a beggar, Lu Yao stroked his chin thoughtfully.

This old man is a very special character in the story – Cui Wenzi.

In the original novel, Cui Wenzi is a highly skilled physician who can cure plagues, concoct elixirs of immortality, and is a close friend of the mysterious Beiyan Mountain Man.

Although the elixir of immortality seemed to have some flaws, the impact was minor, and it remained extremely precious.

Furthermore, Cui Wenzi seemed to be paying attention to Yi Xiaochuan, as if she could foresee the future.

Lu Yao had seen two conjectures online.

The first guess is that Cui Wenzi was Beiyan Shanren.

Since Beiyan Shanren made a promise with Yi Xiaochuan and Gao Yao to meet again in sixty years, it can be inferred that he knew they would take the elixir of immortality, and that this elixir was made by Cui Wenzi.

Cui Wenzi loved to travel the world, and when Gao Yao and Xiao Chuan visited Tangwu Mountain, they were told by Bei Yan Shan Ren's disciple that their master had already traveled.

The second guess is that Beiyanshanren is the elderly Yi Xiaochuan.

Firstly, the Northern Rock Hermit could foresee many things that only Yi Xiaochuan knew.

Secondly, he knew about Yi Xiaochuan and Gao Yao's trip to Tangwu Mountain to visit Beiyan Mountain Man a month in advance and had made preparations accordingly.

Lu Yao cleared his mind of these thoughts and stopped thinking about them; these were just speculations on the internet.

Just then, Cui Wenzi stretched and woke up.

"Waiter, fill my glass with wine."

Cui Wenzi yawned, called over the waiter, and tossed him his wine gourd.

He reached into his pocket, intending to pay, but only managed to awkwardly pull out a few coins.

"Just fill a half-full gourd with wine."

Cui Wenzi handed the money to the waiter and chuckled.

"Waiter, fill this gentleman's cup to the brim, I'll pay for it."

Lu Yao smiled slightly and turned to the waiter.

Seeing this, Cui Wenzi smiled and did not refuse.

"Okay, sir, please wait a moment."

The waiter, carrying a gourd of wine, hurried toward the wine vat.

"May I have a seat and a chat, sir?"

Lu Yao cupped his hands in greeting and extended an invitation to Cui Wenzi.

Lu Yao planned to investigate the master who could refine the elixir of immortality.

Cui Wenzi didn't stand on ceremony and sat down with a quick movement.

"Young master has such a peculiar face, with no past and no future, tsk tsk tsk."

Cui Wenzi leaned closer, carefully examined Lu Yao, and muttered to himself.

"I only heard from Brother Gao that you have superb medical skills, but I never expected that you are also good at physiognomy."

Lu Yao is not a person of this world, so naturally there is no past or future here.

Gao Yao hadn't told him about Cui Wenzi, but Cui Wenzi had indeed been practicing medicine and treating several people at the inn recently, earning some money for drinks, so he didn't suspect anything.

"I understand a little bit."

Cui Wenzi chuckled.

"My name is Lu Yao, a native of Xianyang. I do not know your name, sir."

Lu Yao planned to befriend Cui Wenzi, hoping to use him as a connection to get in touch with Beiyan Mountain Man.

"I am Cui Wenzi, a man from the mountains and fields."

Touching his beard, Cui Wenzi smiled nonchalantly.

Lu Yao decided to test Cui Wenzi to see how much he knew about the treasure box.

"Brother Cui, you travel all over the world, do you know where this Tangwu Mountain is?"

Lu Yao feigned confusion and asked Cui Wenzi.

"Oh? You're going to Tangwu Mountain."

Cui Wenzi was taken aback and looked at Lu Yao strangely.

Tangwu Mountain was the secluded retreat of his friend Beiyan Mountain Man; why would these people want to go there?

"That's right, my friends and I need to go to Tangwu Mountain to find our way home."

Lu Yao said, half-jokingly.

Upon hearing this, Cui Wenzi immediately knew that it was related to his friend and told Lu Yao the route to Tangwu Mountain.

Just then, Yi Xiaochuan and Gao Yao came down from the room and happened to see Lu Yao and the other person.

"Brother Yao, your alcohol tolerance isn't bad."

Yi Xiaochuan and Gao Yao walked over and said with a smile.

“Xiao Chuan, Lao Gao, this is Cui Wenzi. He has clues about the route to Tangwu Mountain.”

Upon hearing Lu Yao's words, the two of them immediately perked up and quickly sat down around the table.

Cui Wenzi chuckled and, without saying a word, directly told the three of them the route.

"Thank you very much, Brother Cui. Otherwise, we don't know when we would have found Tangwu Mountain."

Yi Xiaochuan said happily to Cui Wenzi.

"You're welcome. This young man has already paid the reward, hahaha."

Cui Wenzi chuckled lightly, picked up the wine glass in front of him, and drank it all in one gulp.

Lu Yao smiled as he thought of the money for the half-gourd of wine.

After the waiter brought over the wine gourd, Cui Wenzi left gracefully.

Without further ado, the three of them set off for Tangwu Mountain according to Cui Wenzi's route map.

......

When the three arrived at Tangwu Mountain, it was already more than ten days later.

Looking at the towering mountain in front of them, the three of them exchanged bewildered glances.

"Seriously, this Tangwu Mountain is huge! We've been walking for an hour and haven't seen a single thing."

Gao Yao slumped to the ground, utterly speechless.

They walked for a long time in the mountains, but apart from a few houses at the bottom, they didn't encounter anyone else, and couldn't even find anyone to ask for directions.

Lu Yao looked around. The area was overgrown with weeds and lush with trees, clearly indicating that no one had been there for many years.

It's hard to imagine how the people of Beiyan Mountain survived in this environment.

"Searching blindly like this won't work. Let's keep walking and see if we can run into someone to ask."

Lu Yao picked up the longsword that he had been using as a cane and spoke to the two of them.

Soon the three of them finally encountered a woodcutter chopping wood on the mountain and quickly went up to ask him questions.

“I am just an illiterate farmer, but I know there is a hermit on this mountain, and he must know.”

The woodcutter scratched his head and said to the three men in a simple and honest manner.

Soon, the three of them arrived at a courtyard in the mountains, led by the woodcutter.

There were several thatched huts in the courtyard, and many exotic flowers and plants, which were quite beautiful.

Behind the courtyard are two steep stone walls, with a cold pool in the middle that constantly emits chilling air.

"Excuse me, is anyone there?"

Yi Xiaochuan shouted loudly towards the courtyard.

A short while later, a young man opened the door and came out of the house.

He was taken aback when he saw the three people, but still led them into the courtyard.

"Please have a seat, distinguished guests. My master knew that distinguished guests would be coming today, so I have prepared tea. Please wait a moment."

The boy bowed to the group and went inside to fetch the teapot.

Lu Yao and his companions looked around several times, quite curious about the owner of this place, Beiyan Shanren.

"The person who lives in such a picturesque place must be a master."

Gao Yao nodded affirmatively; this was clearly not a place for ordinary people to live.