Qingzhou lay in the heart of the Central Plains, flanked by the river and close to the sea, adjoining Jinling and Kuaiji to the east, Jingchu and Heluo to the west, Yu Zhang to the south, and Qilu to the north.
This splendid land held the Daoist Qiyun Mountain, the Chan Sect's Jiuhua Mountain, the Sword Sect's Langya Mountain, and Tianzhu Mountain, a haven for secluded cultivation. Yet the most famous of all was Yellow Mountain, known as the ancestral home of Rogue Cultivators.
Perhaps precisely because there were so many secluded cultivators and Rogue Cultivators here, and no ancestral seat of any great sect, its cultivation world was the most free and easy, with little conflict. Far from both the northern and southern demonic sects, it had enjoyed peace for a long time, drawing still more Rogue Cultivators and secluded cultivators.
The problem, however, was that with no great religious order presiding over the region, no one had noticed that spring thunder had grown scarce here. Instead, Yingyuan Prefecture on Three Pure Ones Mountain in Yu Zhang had been the first to discover it.
Daoist Jianxian and Cheng Xinzhan headed north along the border between Yu Zhang and Kuaiji, entering Qingzhou. Before them stood Yellow Mountain, the so-called ancestral home of Rogue Cultivators.
Yellow Mountain had earned its name because the Yellow Emperor had refined elixirs here. Stretching over a hundred li from north to south and covering five million mu, its rolling heights extended beyond sight, with lofty peaks touching the heavens. A poem bore witness:
"Yellow Mountain rises four thousand fathoms, with thirty-two lotus peaks. Crimson cliffs flank stone pillars, bearing golden lotus blooms."
Yellow Mountain's graceful, precipitous beauty had won praise throughout the dynasties,
"A painting wrought by heaven."
"The foremost wondrous mountain beneath heaven."
"After