Although we are underground in the Kunlun Mountains, the light in this huge space is not dim, as if there is a bright moon hanging above our heads.
Ying Zheng took the little Nian beast to the edge of the cliff and looked down. It was about thirty feet away from the river. The height was a bit dizzying.
The little Nian beast lightly jumped onto the first stone slab, and the iron rope didn't even sway at all!
Is this still a building that has been built for tens of thousands of years?
In Ying Zheng's impression, everything here should fall apart at the first touch.
The little Nian beast continued to move forward. Ying Zheng saw that everything was fine, so he gently stepped onto the stone steps.
The stone steps were not only strong, but also not dusty. He put his hand on a steel cable and touched it. The steel cable was still strong and strong.
He tentatively stamped his feet again, but the stone steps seemed to treat him as if he didn't exist, without any reaction.
As he walked forward, Ying Zheng carefully observed the structure of the ladder and the fixed structures at both ends of the mountain stream. He saw something like a roulette embedded in the rock on both sides, but he didn't know what it was for.
Not long after he reached the other end of the ladder, Ying Zheng calculated. There were eighteen stone steps in total. Could it be that they symbolized the number of Jiuyou and Jiuxiao combined?
After getting off the ladder, I saw a stone pavilion in front of me. It looked like it was also made of dense stone.
Behind the pavilion is an open space with an octagonal stone table and small stone benches placed in each of the eight directions.
Ying Zheng walked closer and took a closer look, and couldn't help but feel shocked.
I saw a diagram of Bagua clearly engraved on the stone table, but the surface was covered with a layer of floating dust, which seemed to have been dusty for a long time.
Ying Zheng wiped the Bagua table with the towel he used to wipe the body of the little Nian beast, and finally restored it to its original appearance.
I saw that the Bagua diagram was different from the ones popular among the people, but more complicated, with many symbols whose meanings I didn't know, and a lot of oracle bone inscriptions.
After wiping away the floating dust, Ying Zheng discovered that there was a yin and yang fish under the Bagua diagram, and the eyes of the yang fish were obviously too big.
After looking carefully, he couldn't help but laugh. The position of the fish eye was clearly a hole, and the style was very similar to the keyhole of the black iron snail.
Taking out the black iron snail and transforming it into the key form, Ying Zheng measured the size again and then inserted the black iron snail into it.
With a slight exertion, the hole at the fish eye turned with the black iron snail.
Ying Zheng used the method of opening King Wu's Mausoleum to turn twice, and then turned once again. Then he heard the sound of a machine starting up from under the Bagua table.
Interestingly, the gossip table actually started to rotate clockwise.
After stopping, the positions of each hexagram had changed, and the mechanical voice also disappeared.
Looking at the mountain, the gravel outside fell one after another, revealing a stone door.
The stone door is dark and smooth in appearance, not stained by any dust.
"Master, look." Little Nian Beast said, "This table is different."
Ying Zheng then moved his eyes away from the stone door and looked at the Bagua table again. Yinyu's eyes were obviously bigger again.
After checking it carefully, Ying Zheng said: "It seems that this is the second lock."
Put the black iron snail into the Yin Fish's eye again, and slowly turn it. Then, the stone door that had just revealed its body trembled slightly, and then slowly separated to both sides.
"This must be the Xiwang Pavilion." Ying Zheng's eyes focused on the stone door again.
After a while, the stone door stopped and stopped moving. The gap in the middle was completely cracked. It was dark inside and nothing could be seen clearly.
"Let's go and take a look." Ying Zheng led the little Nian beast towards the stone gate.
After taking a few steps, the little Nian beast stopped: "Master, wait a minute."
"What?" Ying Zheng asked.
"There is a sound inside." Little Nian Beast put on a defensive posture and stared at the dark entrance.
Ying Zheng also became nervous instantly and drew the Xuanyuan Sword from his waist.
Sure enough, there were a few light footsteps coming from the entrance, and the next moment, a round head poked out from inside.
I saw two small black ears on its round white head. The eye circles were also black, as if it had been punched twice after staying up late. The mouth was slightly pointed and the nose was also black.
Not to mention, this look is really cute.
However, Ying Zheng did not relax his vigilance and leaned closer to the little Nian beast.
The monster let out waves of threats from its throat, and then walked out of the shadows completely.
I saw that its body was fat and round, very similar to the shape of a brown bear. Its belly and back were white, but its limbs were black.
What kind of strange beast is this? How come there is no relevant record in the Classic of Mountains and Seas?
"Iron-eating beast?" Little Nian Beast seemed unsure and said tentatively.
The iron-eating beast was stunned, blinked and said, "You can also speak? Do you still recognize me?"
This sentence is considered acquiescence.
Little Nian Beast said: "In my ancient memory, I have heard descriptions about you. Why do you appear here?"
The iron-eating beast said: "This is my home. Where could I be if I wasn't here? You haven't answered me yet. Who are you and why are you here?"
Ying Zheng smiled and said, "Senior, please don't panic. I am the heir of the Heavenly Inheritance and a descendant of the ancestors of Fuxi and Nuwa. I came here through the red vein with the help of Zhu Jiuyou."
The iron-eating beast was stunned and murmured in disbelief: "You...can actually understand what I said?"
Ying Zheng held up the Xuanyuan Sword in his hands with both hands: "Senior, please see, this is the Xuanyuan Sword inherited from the Tiancheng lineage."
"Xuanyuan Sword?" the iron-eating beast said, "I don't know."
Ying Zheng slapped his forehead and said he was confused.
This place is a remnant of Nuwa's period of mending the sky. At that time, even Emperor Xuanyuan's grandfather had not yet been born. How could this iron-eating beast know the existence of Xuanyuan Sword?
After briefly sorting out his thoughts, Ying Zheng asked: "Senior, is it the ancestor Nuwa who ordered you to guard this place?"
The iron-eating beast shook his head: "Those you are talking about are my ancestors. They were no longer alive when I was born."
It seems that this communication is a bit difficult.
Ying Zheng lost his temper and asked again: "Then, are your ancestors the guardians placed here by Empress Nuwa?"
"You are finally right," said the iron-eating beast, "but you still cannot prove that you are a descendant of the empress."
Ying Zheng scratched his head unconsciously. The Xuanyuan Sword that he always used to prove his identity didn't work. How should he prove himself? He couldn't go back to get the Tianmu. If this iron-eating beast had never seen the Nuwa Stone, then it wouldn't be All in vain?
While he was thinking about it, his eyes fell on the black iron snail placed on the Bagua table.
Pointing at the black iron snail with his finger, Ying Zheng said, "Senior, do you recognize this object?"
"Xuantiesnail?" The iron-eating beast said in surprise, "No wonder you can open the stone door. It turns out that you are really the descendant of the empress!"
Seeing that it finally lowered its guard, Ying Zheng breathed a sigh of relief and then said: "Well, how can ordinary people enter this place? The only ones who can come here are the heirs of our Tianhe. I am repairing it now." Dragon Vein, so I came here to see if there is anything I can use that can help me.”
"So that's it." The Iron-eating Beast pointed at the Little Nian Beast, "Then, who is it?"
Ying Zheng said: "This is the guard of the second divine beast Yazhen who protects the dragon's veins. This time he came here to protect me."
The iron-eating beast nodded: "In that case, let's go into the pavilion and talk."
"Then excuse me." Ying Zheng waved his hand, signaling the little Nian beast to go ahead. He turned around and put the black iron snail away before following him.
After entering the stone gate, it was still dark. Just as Ying Zheng was about to light the torch, he heard the iron-eating beast say: "This is the back door of the Xiwang Pavilion. It's a little darker. Just go into the cabinet."
Ying Zheng responded, put away the unlit torch, and followed the iron-eating beast into another stone door.
After entering this stone door, it turned out to be a rather spacious stone house, and the light was much brighter.
Ying Zheng understood that this was a craft that allowed secret stones to shine. Most of the secret chambers in King Wu's Mausoleum used this craft to provide light.
The iron-eating beast walked to a stone platform and sat down halfway, and then said: "This is the former residence of the King of the West. No one has been here for thousands of years. You can sit wherever you like."
Ying Zheng found a stone chair and sat down, while Little Nian Beast also sat half-sitting beside him.
"When we were at the Source of Five Elements just now, we found out that this place is called Xiwang Pavilion." He said, "May I ask who this Xiwang is the ancestor of Nuwa?"
"You don't know about the King of the West?" The iron-eating beast said with some confusion, "Don't you have any records about the King of the West?"
Ying Zheng shook his head with a slightly regretful expression.
"This King of the West is the youngest son of Empress Nuwa." The iron-eating beast said, "He was ordered by Lord Fuxi and Empress Nuwa to guard this place."
What?
The youngest son of Fuxi and Nuwa?
Ying Zheng was really surprised, because there was no mention of this figure in the ancient records of China and the classics passed down by the Tiancheng lineage.
Looking at his astonished expression, the iron-eating beast said: "It seems that you really don't know what happened in Kunlun Mountain back then. If you haven't heard of the King of the West, you must have heard of the Queen Mother of the West."
"Of course I know the Queen Mother of the West," Ying Zheng said, "She is the legendary saint who exists in Kunlun Mountain."
The iron-eating beast seemed to be smiling bitterly: "You are a descendant of Empress Nuwa, but you don't know that she has another name. The mother of King Xi is the Queen Mother of the West, so the Queen Mother of the West is your ancestor of Nuwa."
Ying Zheng slapped his forehead and realized this in his heart.
It turns out that the legendary Queen Mother of the West is actually Nuwa!
It's true when you think about it. Nuwa patched up the sky in Kunlun Mountain, and there was no news after that. Although the Queen Mother of the West only exists in the legends of some believers, she does live in Kunlun Mountain.
Mysteries suddenly entangled in Ying Zheng's mind, so he handed over his hands and said: "Senior, please tell me a story that happened in Kunlun Mountain. I would be very grateful."
"Well, since you are destined to be here, you should know." The iron-eating beast said, "But what I said was passed down from my ancestors, not my personal experience."
Ying Zheng smiled and said, "What I know is all from what I heard. Senior, it doesn't hurt to tell you."
The iron-eating beast nodded and began his story: "According to legend, natural disasters suddenly struck, breaking mountains and rivers, and shaking the earth. My ancestors were foraging for food on a mountaintop that day, but they found that after a violent shaking of the earth, there were people in all directions. Several volcanoes erupted at the same time.”
Ying Zheng frowned, knowing that it was talking about the scene he faced on the day when the disaster of annihilation occurred.
"My ancestor was so frightened that he was looking for a place to take shelter when he saw several children running up the mountain from the bottom of the mountain. They seemed to be trying to avoid the rolling lava at the bottom of the mountain."
"My ancestors knew that they were running for their lives, and thought it would be best to take care of each other, so they took the children and fled to a safe place."
"Later, the gods came, and they took the children back in the ark. Those children were grateful to my ancestors for rescuing them, so they begged the leader of the gods to bring my two ancestors into the ark."
"Although the leader of the gods was hesitant that day, he still agreed to their request, so my ancestor was able to survive. After that, he obeyed the orders of those children."
Ying Zheng recalled what Ji Fa had told him about the past, and combined it with what the iron-eating beast had described, so he asked: "Is the leader of the god that day called Kuafu?"
"That's right," said the iron-eating beast, "that's Kuafu, people call him the savior."
"Among those children, is Fuxi among them?" Ying Zheng continued to ask.
"That's right." The iron-eating beast said, "Not only Fuxi, but Nuwa is also in it."
