Chapter 2: Liwei Mountain

“Xin,” Liz said.

“Yes, master?” Xin asked.

“Why did you lie to him? You know full well that I won’t train somebody if they don’t have potential.” Liz asked.

“Master. Potential or not, we both know that he doesn’t belong in our world.” Xin sighed.

“I’m not sure about that,” Liz said.

Xin raised an eyebrow.

“Master?” Xin asked.

“Did you not see the fire in the boy's eyes?” Liz said.

“That’s...” Xin mumbled.

“Yin looks up to you, Xin. You’re a noble martial artist in his eyes. He seemed lonely while you were gone.” Liz said.

“Apologies, master. I….” Xin said.

“You were busy. Don’t apologize for something you can’t help.” Liz said.

“But….maybe I should have taken Yin with me.” Xin said.

Liz shook her head.

“He isn’t strong enough, besides...That boy doesn’t know a single thing about the world outside of this mountain.” Liz replied.

“You’ve been training him, haven't you? And he doesn’t know anything about the world because he never gets to leave the mountain. It would be a good idea for him to learn, wouldn’t it? I’m going back soon, so may I bring him with me this time?” Xin asked.

“.....Fine. Go ahead. You have to make sure that he doesn’t get into any trouble, though. By the way, how was your trip this time?” Liz replied.

“It was the same as usual for the most part. I did run into a strange young man trying to eat poisonous plants in the plains on my way back up the mountain, though.” Xin sighed.

Seth’s Travel Notes: Liwei Peak / Liwei Mountain.

Liwei peak is a large mountain. Its peak is flat like a plateau, around the size of a small town. The mountain has layers, however. Every layer down, there is another plateau. A top-down view of the mountain would look like a circle inside of a circle inside of a circle and so on.

Every circle is many times the previous one in size.

The smallest circle is Liwei peak proper. It is referred to as the first circle.

The second circle is Liwei Peak Jungle. In it dwells evil beasts, ghostly creatures, sealed gods, and undead.

The third circle is Liwei forest. Liwei forest is known to be the most dangerous place in the entire world. It is where the hero Zane sealed the Holy Sword. Humans and non-humans alike wander the forest in search of its power.

The fourth circle is Liwei Mountain Plains. It’s a massive circle of grasslands. While still very dangerous, the beasts that live in the plains are weak compared to the rest of the mountain above and below it. It’s often used as a training ground for cultivators to hone their skills in combat.

You can also find some pretty rare and delicious food here. The boar is incredible, and there are a surprising amount of edible plants. A lot are poisonous, apparently. I met a strange girl while I was looking around. She helped me out a lot with the plants and gave me very useful information.

In the plains, you can find the Liwei Mountain Mirror Garden. It’s how people usually come and go from Liwei mountain without having to cross the Liwei Marshlands or Port ocean.

Mirror Gardens can be found throughout the world occasionally. Every mirror in a Mirror Garden connects to another mirror in another garden somehow. Unfortunately, most of them are inconvenient to be used in conventional travel, and some mirrors lead to dangerous lands. Such as Liwei mountain, actually. Mirrors are also very unreliable if you don’t have a good amount of experience in using them.

The fifth circle east is Liwei Boneyard. It was once the largest graveyard in Liwei. The Boneyard was built to hold the sheer amount of corpses that were left behind in the old war. It was abandoned after the first corruption, however. Now it’s a paradise for the undead.

The fifth circle west is the temple of the old gods. It’s incredibly dangerous and not much is known about it. The only ones who seem to have any interest in it are historians. That’s why historians are not to be looked down upon. It is one of the most dangerous professions in Liwei.

The fifth circle north and fifth circle south are Liwei Fog. The northern and southern sides of the fifth circle connect to each other through a cave system in the mountain, but it’s like a massive labyrinth. They face the northern lake, Lor, and the southern ocean, Port.

The southern ocean, Port, is the only other way people can access Liwei Peak without going through the marshlands. However, not many people choose to go this way, and there are barely any ships that would be willing to take this path due to the danger and the difficulty of navigating in the fog.

I don’t know too much about Lake Lor, but I’ve seen some books written on the subject of the lake.

Also, the land that the fog covers is massive, and there are a ton of stories people like telling about it.

Some of the most common ones I hear mention some sort of castle, and there are a few others about a weird creature. Then again, the mountain is full of weird creatures. They also say that in the caves there’s a portal to another world. But the caves are also filled with a thick fog. A few of the creatures in there seem capable of creating hallucinations as well.

Liwei is pretty mysterious. Liwei mountain is no exception. It's been an interesting journey so far.

I think I’m going to go and check out the peak tomorrow. If I can get through the forest safely, at least.