Chapter 282: Kunlun Mountains Ice-Free Spring, The Secret Inside the Mountain

"The Kunlun beyond the Nine Heavens definitely doesn't exist, but there must be a reason why the Kunlun Heavenly Ladder is recorded in books," Ning Fei said to the netizens in his live stream.

He gazed into the distance, planning to drive over and take a look.

Just behind the Budong Spring Protection Station lay the source of a Budong Spring.

Ning Fei first made his way to the spring's source.

Iron railings surrounded the area for protection. In the center sat a polygonal well platform built from rock, holding the spring's eye. Crystal-clear water continuously bubbled up from below, blossoming outward in the shape of a lotus flower.

This Budong Spring truly looked magical.

The water was pristine and inexhaustible, as if a perpetual motion machine drove it from below, pushing the spring water to the surface without a moment's pause.

It was also the first time the netizens had seen such a wondrous spring.

Man-made fountains were common nowadays, but there was a vast difference between an artificial spout and a natural spring.

The flow and shape of a natural spring were much more casual, entirely free of rigid rules, and the bubbling water was incredibly beautiful. Just looking at it filled a person with a sense of deep satisfaction.

The staff at the Protection Station had mentioned that the water here was completely free, and tourists could gather as much as they liked.

Ning Fei filled his Spirit Treasure Gourd to the brim.

"Temple Master Ning, where are you heading next?"

A young man standing nearby asked him.

Ning Fei had seen this young man at the entrance earlier; he had arrived alone on a bicycle.

These days, many people used the guise of "hiking to Xizang" or "cycling to Xizang" to livestream and scam people out of money. Yet, there were still many who genuinely pedaled their way there, inch by inch.

Everyone had different pursuits.

Take Ning Fei, for example. He loved nature, too, but he preferred to be fully prepared so he could enjoy its beauty comfortably and at ease.

He had no desire to brave the freezing winds on a bicycle right as winter was setting in.

This young man was Lin Che, a recent college graduate. His dream had always been to cycle to Xizang once after graduation, and only then return to the city for a steady job.

It was fair to say his choices differed from most.

"I plan to go into the mountains nearby to take a look," Ning Fei answered politely.

"Into the mountains? I'm planning to head there too, and I'm going on foot," Lin Che replied with a smile, his expression purely innocent.

"Be careful. Further in is a no-man's-land. If the wind picks up, hiking alone will be very dangerous," Ning Fei advised.

Ning Fei had witnessed the terror and fury of nature firsthand.

His heart always held a deep reverence for it.

Lin Che was still too young; he might not yet grasp just how terrifying the wilderness could be.

"It's fine, I'm just going to take a look. I'll be back in a day or two." Lin Che's gaze was firm.

Ning Fei didn't press the matter. After all, everyone made their own choices.

An important hallmark of adulthood was bearing the consequences of those choices.

Soon after, Ning Fei left the Budong Spring Protection Station.

"There isn't just one Budong Spring here; there are many," Ning Fei said to his viewers from the car.

"The spring at the Protection Station is just there to meet the needs of tourists."

"You can see many Water Pools around us. They are formed by spring water welling up from underground."

On both sides of the highway, despite it being winter and the temperatures being quite low, there were still several Water Pools near the road. They looked slightly muddy and showed no signs of freezing over whatsoever.

A few scattered Water Pools might not seem like much, but considering the freezing weather, the water within them was truly miraculous.

"Alternatively, you could understand it like this: beneath the surface, there is an unknown quantity of groundwater stored away. This water maintains a constant temperature, and when it is squeezed upward to the surface, it forms these unfrozen springs," Ning Fei explained.

The netizens increasingly felt just how magical this sight was.

In such a vast and boundless highland desert, right in front of a massive expanse of snow-capped, ice-bound mountains, there was unfrozen water surging right beneath their feet.

They could only marvel at nature's uncanny workmanship; it held infinite possibilities.

Ning Fei kept driving, heading straight for the snowy mountains deep in the distance.

He was surrounded by vast stretches of frozen wasteland. The ground was hard, and as he ventured further in, he spotted several more muddy Water Pools where water continuously seeped to the surface.

"We've now entered the no-man's-land."

"Xu Zheng and Huang Bo's movie 'No Man's Land' was referring to the area on the northern side of the Kunlun Mountains. That highway isn't far from here."

"Aside from the occasional adventurer coming to this place, you almost never see another soul here."

Ning Fei continued forward. The car was very warm, and the little guys in the back felt extremely comfortable as they all rested.

At this moment, Ning Fei activated the system skill, Treasure Seeking Technique. He wanted to see where the good items were hidden in this area, to locate a blessed spot.

Shortly after, his mobile phone vibrated. Ning Fei took it out and glanced at the screen.

The map displayed a Water Pool icon, located right at the entrance to the mountains.

'A Water Pool? It should be a wild Budong Spring,' Ning Fei thought to himself.

It seemed this place was truly desolate, lacking any precious plants, animals, or treasures like fossils and amber.

However, Ning Fei was quite interested in this Budong Spring.

Without further hesitation, he drove straight in that direction.

It wasn't long before Ning Fei reached his destination.

This Budong Spring was located at the foot of the first snow peak in the Kunlun Mountains range.

It was hidden within an enclosed Canyon. The Canyon was surrounded by mountains on three sides, with a massive Water Pool in the center. However, the Budong Spring marked on the map was positioned off to the side.

"It's hidden very well," Ning Fei said, parking his car at the edge and looking toward the small Budong Spring.

The Water Pool in the middle—or rather, the lake—was likely formed by seeping groundwater. But it was visibly shallow; at the edges, the water would barely cover a person's ankles.

Judging by the slope of the lakebed, the center of the lake wouldn't be very deep either.

There were quite a few large Water Pools like this in the vicinity. Some were formed by melting snow, while others were created by seeping groundwater.

If an adventurer made it here, they would easily notice this large Water Pool, but they would almost certainly overlook the small Budong Spring quietly bubbling up bit by bit at the foot of the adjacent mountain.

Ning Fei got out of the car and walked over.

"Look here, everyone. There's a Budong Spring here," Ning Fei said, pointing at the spring water at the base of the mountain.

The viewers also noticed the sight, feeling quite pleasantly surprised.

"There are Budong Springs in the wild too. That's amazing."

"Didn't we just see several Water Pools? Aren't those all Budong Springs?"

"It's different. A Water Pool is formed by seeping groundwater; it doesn't necessarily make it a spring. Only when there is enough pressure for the water to gurgle up to the surface can it be called a Budong Spring."

The viewers chatted among themselves.

Ning Fei, however, found it a bit strange. Why would the Treasure Seeking Technique specifically mark this Budong Spring? Could there be something special about it?

Ning Fei squatted down and cleared the area around the spring a little.

"The area around the spring isn't permafrost, it's solid rock!"

He could see it clearly: the spring water was bubbling out of a hole in the stone.

"The water is coming straight out of the mountain itself."

"Generally speaking, solid rock is sealed tight. Water shouldn't be bubbling out of it. Either the continuous flow of water battered against it year after year until it bored a tunnel through the stone, or human excavation disrupted the structure beneath the mountain."

Ning Fei looked at the mountain in front of him, growing more surprised the longer he stared.

He realized something was wrong.

"There's something weird about this Budong Spring."

"Or rather, there's something weird about this mountain."

"Historical records state that King Mu of Zhou traveled to the immortal mountain of Kunlun via the Heavenly Ladder."

"The historians who recorded this must have found some trace of evidence to write such a story."

"Some have theorized that the true Kunlun lies beyond the Nine Heavens."

"But what if the true Kunlun is underground, or inside the mountain itself?"