Entering the Divine Realm for the First Time

  This is a small mountain village under XL city. Due to its remote geographical location, the entire village's economic level is very backward, and people living here are struggling with poverty and hardship.

  This winter is colder than previous years, with strong winds howling and snowflakes fluttering about. The accumulated snow on the ground is knee-deep, making it impossible to see one's shoes when walking. Wang Dajie walks through the heavy snow, constantly complaining: "Why did Old Wang's child have to be born today? This kid is really troublesome!" However, she soon smiles and says: "This year, wheat sleeps in the snow; next year, we'll sleep on a pillow of steamed buns. It should be a good thing, with a good harvest next year." Finally, they arrive at an old brick house, where a man in his thirties is waiting at the door. Seeing Wang Dajie, he hurries to invite her inside: "Wang Dajie, you've finally arrived! The child's mother is about to give birth; please come in quickly!" As she enters the house, Wang Dajie says to the man: "Congratulations, Brother Wang! It's a good thing that the child was born today. The heavy snow indicates a good year ahead, and your son will surely have a good fate." Wang Bing listens with great joy: "Thank you, Wang Dajie, for your auspicious words!"

  The howling north wind blew even harder, a streak of light flashed across the sky, and the rumble of thunder began. As lightning flashed across the sky, it seemed as if it was about to shatter the windows of every household. A loud, clear cry of "Waa... waa..." accompanied the arrival of the thunder. Old Wang looked at his robust son and felt overjoyed in his heart. Liu had just given birth to the child and although she was very tired, she still smiled happily at Old Wang, feeling especially comfortable in her heart. Wang's wife said to Old Wang, "Old Wang, give the child a name, look how well he's developed." Old Wang thought for a moment, then said to his wife Liu and Wang's wife, "Let's call him Wang Long. I hope this child will grow up to be like a dragon, with great promise, and fly out of this small mountain village." Little Dragon seemed to understand his father's words and let out a happy giggle.

  Since Xiaolong's arrival, he has brought a lot of comfort to Old Wang and his wife. However, problems have also arisen. The rural economy is backward, and Old Wang did not receive much education, dropping out before graduating from elementary school. As the eldest of five siblings, Old Wang helped with farm work from a young age, leaving no time or money for schooling. From a young age, he helped his parents herd cattle, raise pigs, plant fields, and dig land. With great difficulty, he helped send several younger siblings to school. Now, although some siblings have achieved success - the second brother is the principal of the town's elementary school, the third brother is the director of the kindergarten, the fourth sister has moved to Shanghai where she started her own company and family, and the fifth sister is still in school - having wealthy siblings does not mean Old Wang himself is wealthy. Due to his lack of education, he remains at home, tending to a few old houses. Now, relying solely on farming to make ends meet, life is extremely difficult. With the addition of another mouth to feed, and with the child's future schooling expenses looming, a significant amount of money will be needed. Old Wang's wife, Liu Chun, also comes from a rural family that is even poorer than his own.

  Old Wang was happy but also worried. When the child was full moon, Old Wang's brothers and sisters all returned home, saw that Little Dragon was particularly lovely, each gave 200 yuan, and told Old Wang not to worry, if the child didn't have money to go to school, they would lend it. They must let Wang Long go to school, don't stay in the mountain village like Old Wang for a lifetime, the stone on Old Wang's heart finally fell.

  Rural children grow up early, Xiaolong was held by Old Wang since he was a child and went down to the ground. When Old Wang dug the earth, Xiaolong played with mud beside him.

  Spring goes and winter comes, Xiaolong is five years old now. Since he was young, he has been more lively and active than his peers. He loves to play with the village kids outside, just like a mischievous little monkey. The villagers have given him the nickname "Little Monkey".

  However, the little dragon is particularly clever and has been learning primary school texts and knowledge with Aunt Wang Feng all along. Now his Chinese level has basically reached junior high school level, and he can recite dozens of Tang poems out of 300.

  That day, the heat was crazy. As soon as the sun came out, the ground was like it was on fire. Some gray air that was neither cloud nor fog floated low in the sky, making people feel suffocated. There wasn't a single breeze. Old Wang looked at the gray-red sky, drank a ladle of cool water, and carried Dragon to the field on the mountain. No choice, rural life is like this, they have to seize the time to harvest the beans and bring them back, finish this task and then can rest for a while. Farm work isn't like city people's fixed working hours, only after finishing the tasks can they rest, otherwise if the harvest is not good, a year of hard work will be in vain.

  Here is the translation:

  Arriving at the foot of Wenming Mountain, in their own land, they put Little Dragon under a big tree. Old Wang went to cut beans under the scorching sun. Little Dragon helped his dad pick up the scattered beans on the ground while calling out "Dad" beside him. Wenming Mountain, where Old Wang lived, had a beautiful legend. It was said that in the ancient era of gods and demons, this mountain was formed by the great divine power and magical powers of the heavenly gods and heavenly demons during their battle. However, this was just a legend passed down from generation to generation, and no one knew whether it was true or not.

  Standing on the mountain and taking a look, it's really strange. The mountains have changed their appearance. Their shapes are quite different from those seen in the plains or half-way up the mountain. They become layered, chaotic, majestic and peculiar. Looking up, the mountain is the sky, and the sky is also the mountain. All around, front, back, left, and right, there are only mountains. It's as if your nose can touch the mountain at any time. These mountains are like some old men who have drunk too much wine, leaning against each other, sleeping for tens of thousands of years, never waking up from their dreams. No one dares to venture deep into their hearts, not even the most adventurous hunters, who only reach the foot of the mountains, chasing wild boars and birds that run down from the mountain, but never climbing to the summit.

  The little dragon felt that picking beans with Old Wang was boring, so he thought of going out to take a look around. He ran up the mountain along the small path between the hills. Old Wang was busy cutting the beans and forgot to keep an eye on Little Dragon for a while. After finishing one block of land, he found that Little Dragon was gone.

  This small path was opened by hunters going up the mountain. Mr. Lu Xun once said that there were no roads in this world, and as people walked, they became roads. However, few dare to go up the mountain because it is indeed too steep. Xiaolong continued to walk along the path opened by his predecessors, suddenly seeing a small white rabbit in front of a pile of withered branches. Xiaolong was particularly happy, slowly approaching the little rabbit, wanting to catch it as his playmate. The rabbit's ears were big and long, hearing a faint sound, "swish" stood up, agilely turning around, seeing Xiaolong walking towards it, the little rabbit quickly ran out of the withered branches, running up the mountain. Xiaolong followed the rabbit without stopping, but soon the rabbit disappeared. Xiaolong didn't give up and searched around the grass where the rabbit disappeared, gradually hearing the sound of water flowing and seeing a stream flowing down from between two mountains. Xiaolong ran to the water's edge and drank some water, the cool mountain spring made Xiaolong's fatigue disappear, feeling comfortable in his heart. Suddenly, Xiaolong saw a golden carp swimming in the water, waving its tail, diving or floating up. Xiaolong stretched out his hands, wanting to catch the golden carp, but accidentally fell into the water with a splash. The five-year-old Xiaolong couldn't swim and struggled in the water for a few times before being swept away by the rapid current towards the mountain cave. Wang Long thought: "Am I going to drown? How sad would my parents be? Dad..." and suddenly fainted.

  Wang Bing was extremely anxious when his son went missing, and he quickly searched around the house, shouting his son's name loudly. He saw Xiao Gao, a young boy who was grazing cattle nearby, and rushed over to ask: "Xiao Gao, have you seen Xiaolong?" Xiao Gao, who was about the same age as Xiaolong, replied: "Uncle Wang, I just arrived here and didn't see Xiaolong. I think he might have gone to play in the mountains. He's always talked about wanting to go there and asked me if I wanted to go with him, but I was afraid and didn't agree." Wang Bing felt very worried after hearing this, as the rumors about the mountain were not good, and even hunters rarely dared to venture up there. If his son had really gone up the mountain, it would be a big problem. Old Wang quickly followed the small path up the mountain to search for Xiaolong. After running several miles, he still didn't see any sign of Xiaolong. When he arrived at the water cave on the mountain stream, he saw a coarse cloth belt with dirt on it, hanging from a stone by the water's edge. This was the belt that Wang Long had dropped when he fell into the water. Old Wang picked up the belt and shook it violently, calling out: "Long'er, Long'er..." He fainted onto the stone before he could catch his breath.

  When the little dragon woke up, he found himself in a large cave. The rocks inside were jagged and emitted a chill that made his hair stand on end. About fifty meters away from him was a white crystal lamp emitting a faint red and white glow. The little dragon quickly got up from the shallow water beneath him and walked towards the lamp. As he approached, he noticed that the cave floor was covered with strange, diamond-shaped rocks, and the sound of dripping water echoed through the space. When he reached the lamp, he saw that it was placed on a large crystal stone, next to which lay an egg-sized pearl. Inside the pearl seemed to be a dragon swimming in the clouds. The little dragon wanted to grab the pearl, but just as his hand touched it, a strong force shot out from the pearl and sent him flying onto the ground. A sharp rock pierced his palm, causing blood to drip down his fingers, creating an eerie "drip, drip" sound that echoed through the cave. Undeterred, the little dragon got up again and reached for the pearl once more.

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