A man from the Big Dipper, starting his charlatanship at Mount Tai.

"Mount Tai?"

"That's it! The reason I was able to see the character 'mountain' must be because of Mount Tai! Otherwise, there should only be the character 'blood'."

"According to what the system just said, refining mountains can upgrade the level of the Mountain-Character Ancient Rune, which means..."

The next second, Lin Xiu had a thought, and Mount Tai flew out from his sleeve, transforming into the size of a fist and hovering in front of the ancient mountain-shaped talisman.

hum~

The moment the two came close, a wonderful resonance was created.

The fine lines engraved on Mount Tai seem to come alive, echoing the ancient Chinese character for "mountain".

Before long, Mount Tai in Lin Xiu's hand underwent a complete transformation. Its original simple and unadorned texture gradually faded away, replaced by a unique and spiritual quality.

【ding~】

[Mount Tai (Mortal) has advanced to Mount Tai (Spirit), its spirituality has increased, its power has increased, and its suppressive force has been strengthened.]

【ding~】

[The level of the ancient mountain-shaped talisman has been increased.]

[Congratulations, host, you have obtained the ancient talisman with the character "Mountain" (Triple Heaven). Your Daoist comprehension related to "Mountain" within the Four Extremes range has been raised to its highest level.]

.......

Lin Xiu could sense that the ancient mountain symbol had become more mysterious, and his understanding of the various Daos related to mountains had also deepened.

"So that's how the original ancient characters were used?"

The system's reward may not seem like much at first glance, but it's actually quite terrifying when you think about it.

The Primordial Ancient Symbol allows one to move freely on a certain type of Great Dao, making it absolutely powerful!

As long as the relevant resources are accumulated, the original ancient characters will be upgraded.

As long as the primordial ancient characters are upgraded, Lin Xiu's comprehension of the relevant Dao principles will also be upgraded.

If he only cultivates the Great Dao related to the Primordial Ancient Characters, such as the "Great Dao of Blood" and the "Great Dao of Mountains," then whatever level the Primordial Ancient Characters reach, Lin Xiu can also reach that level!

"Although this is an extreme form of 'passive laziness,' if I truly lack the aptitude to become an immortal, it is also a supreme method to directly achieve immortality by accumulating resources!"

Lin Xiu felt that he had grasped the future.

Chapter 5 Ye Fan's Year of Birth: The Numbers of Bright and Dark Nines

Just as Lin Xiu was signing in, Ye Fan and his group had finished counting.

"Twenty, twenty-one..."

"Thirty, thirty-one... why is there thirty-one people?"

"Besides Master Lin, there should only be thirty people, right?"

"One more?"

As we all know, it's not scary to lose one person while walking; what's scary is to gain one person while walking!

"Who, who is it?! Is it a person or a ghost?!"

The questioning echoed inside the Kowloon Coffin, fueling further panic.

"Cough...cough cough...ghost..."

Suddenly, a rough cough rang out.

Instantly, an invisible chill enveloped everyone's neck!

"ah!!!"

The screams of several female students echoed through the bronze coffin, and many male students also showed fear on their faces.

"A ghost...place..."

"This is a fucking horrible place. Did we get sucked into a coffin?"

The hoarse voice rang out again.

Then, a dark figure emerged from the darkness and walked towards Lin Xiu in the center.

At this moment, Lin Xiu was surrounded by divine light. Ye Fan stood beside Lin Xiu, and with the best lighting in the coffin, he finally saw the face of the dark figure clearly.

This man was tall with thick eyebrows and big eyes, and had a rugged appearance. He was none other than his best friend from college, Pang Bo!

"You are... Pang Bo?"

"Ye Zi, can't you even recognize my voice?" Pang Bo looked at Ye Fan with a hint of resentment, as if she were a little wife who had been abandoned by him.

Before Ye Fan could reply, questions came from the other students behind him.

"Impossible! Pang Bo didn't even come to the gathering! You... what are you?!"

Lin Bansian was right! There really was one more person!

A "person" who shouldn't exist was standing there, and everyone felt their scalp tingle.

"What am I? I'm Pang Bo, of course! Is there any water? I'm dying of thirst." Pang Bo continued forward, his voice still as rough as before.

"Stop! Don't come any closer to Lin Xiu! And don't come any closer to us! Just stand still!" Lin Jia mustered her courage and said the toughest thing she had said since the gathering began.

Lin Jia trusted Lin Xiu, who had just saved the tourists, more than Pang Bo, who couldn't prove his identity. If Pang Bo was truly a ghost, and had used Lin Xiu's enlightenment as an opportunity to kill him, they would be powerless to resist!

......

"Okay, okay, I'll stop, alright?"

Pang Bo stopped and helplessly spread his hands.

Next, in an attempt to prove himself, he began to recount his university days, revealing some of the things that only Pang Bo himself knew.

"My name is Pang Bo, my college entrance examination score is xxx, I live in dormitory xxx, and my student ID number is xxxxx."

"Yezi's nickname is Barbarian. We used to be on the football team."

"Ye Zi usually enjoys reading books related to cultivation. Oh, right, Ye Zi also mentioned that besides her birth year, the 'ninth' in both the 'open' and 'hidden' years are also considered unlucky according to the Chinese zodiac. So, for the first two years of university, Ye Zi wore..."

"......"

"Enough! I believe in Pang Bo!"

Before Pang Bo could finish speaking, Ye Fan strode forward, ignoring the surprised and uncertain gazes around him, and hugged the tall figure tightly.

However, perhaps because they hadn't seen each other for a long time, Ye Fan slammed his hammer into the ground with great force, creating a series of dull echoes in the silent coffin.

Pang Bo was not to be outdone, and punched Ye Fan hard in the back, looking like he wouldn't be a good brother if he didn't beat the other guy to death.

However, the Ancient Sacred Body possessed unparalleled physical strength, enough to make him stand out from ordinary people even before he began cultivating. Therefore, in the end, Pang Bo was the first to beg for mercy:

"Cough cough! Cough cough! Okay, stop hitting me, Ye Zi. I'm still a patient, I can't take this kind of hitting."

Pang Bo was indeed ill; he had caught a cold not long ago and hadn't fully recovered yet. That's why his voice sounded so rough.

"Haha, I just wanted to help you clear your phlegm." Ye Fan laughed happily, almost as if he wanted to go up and give him a few more punches.

"By the way, Pang Bo, what are you doing on Mount Tai?"

“I had some things to take care of at home, so I was delayed. Later, when I heard you were coming to Mount Tai, I came immediately after finishing up at home,” Pang Bo explained.

.......

As Ye Fan and Pang Bo were exchanging blows, Lin Xiu finally ended his previous state, his divine aura receding as he looked at Ye Fan and Pang Bo with amusement.

Seeing that Lin Xiu had regained consciousness, Lin Jia hurriedly moved closer to him.

"Lin Xiu, do you know what Ming Jiu and An Jiu are?" Perhaps because they both have the surname Lin and were from the same family hundreds of years ago, Lin Jia trusted Lin Xiu a lot.

Lin Xiu smiled calmly and explained:

"The Book of Changes says that nine is the number of old yang, which represents fullness followed by deficiency, implying the law of decline after the peak. Folk customs believe that when a person reaches the age of nine, their fortune is at a cyclical turning point, and they need to be careful."

"The so-called 'Ming Jiu' refers to the year in which the age contains the number nine, such as 9 years old, 19 years old, and 29 years old."

"Dark Nine" refers to years when the age is a multiple of nine, such as 18, 27, or 36.

Lin Jia suddenly realized: "Ah~ I see. So, Ye Fan's age during his first two years of university was..."

"Master Lin!"

Suddenly, Ye Fan asked Lin Xiu loudly, sounding very concerned: "Are you alright? Did you find something in the coffin just now?"

"Yes, I have indeed made some discoveries." Lin Xiu nodded, without intending to continue exposing Ye Fan's shortcomings.

"Master Lin is a compassionate person. Could you share your discovery with everyone?" Ye Fan continued to ask.

"Wait! Ye Fan, don't change the subject! We need to confirm Pang Bo's identity first!"

"Master Lin, what do you think?"

A male student named Li Changqing stood up.

Everyone witnessed the brilliance Lin Xiu displayed during his enlightenment and fusion with Mount Tai. With this irrefutable evidence, everyone finally believed in Lin Xiu's status as a highly accomplished Daoist.

Therefore, as soon as Li Changqing said this, everyone turned their attention to Lin Xiu, hoping that Lin Xiu, the only true prophet in the entire room, could give his opinion.

"Don't worry, Pang Bo isn't a ghost." Lin Xiu gave Pang Bo some golden water, which put everyone at ease.

"That's good, that's good. I'm sorry, Pang Bo, I misunderstood you."

"Pang Bo, long time no see! You've gotten even darker! Hahahaha!"

"Exactly, I knew you couldn't possibly be a ghost! With your outstanding goofy and simple-minded demeanor, could a ghost possibly pull it off?"

"Pang Bo! Good lad! I knew you hadn't forgotten us. Even though you had things to do at home, you still made time to come and meet us! Enough said, let's have some water instead of wine!"

.......

“Although Pang Bo is not a ghost, he can’t be considered a human either,” Lin Xiu added.

"........."

The laughter and greetings from the crowd came to an abrupt halt, and even Ye Fan silently moved to Lin Xiu's vicinity, protecting Lin Xiu in front of him.

Ye Fan, of course, believed Pang Bo.

Just now, when he hit Pang Bo, he not only confirmed that Pang Bo had a physical form, but also confirmed that the feel of hitting Pang Bo was exactly the same as it was back in college.

But what if?