http://symbolism.wikia.com/wiki/MountainMountain can be symbolize as obstacle, climbing over one or passing through a range; indicates overcoming obstacles or making progress, or climbing up a mountain or other height often indicates spiritual or mental "rising" or improvement
Mountains can also be used to create a secluded, isolated or hard to reach place. Such a place could symbolize loneliness or difficult to achieve mental, spiritual or emotional states.
Throughout history, mountains have symbolized constancy, eternity, firmness and stillness.
Mountain tops, notes J.C. Cooper, "are associated with sun, rain and thunder gods and, in early traditions of the feminine godhead, the mountain was the earth and female, with the sky, clouds, thunder and lightning as the fecundating male."
On the spiritual level, observes Cooper, "mountain tops represent the state of full consciousness." Cooper notes that pilgrimmages up sacred mountains symbolize aspiration and renunciation of worldly desires.
The profoundest symbolism of the mountain, Cirlot notes, is one that imparts a sacred character by uniting the concept of mass, as an expression of being, with the idea of verticality.
http://www.symbolism.org/writing/books/sp/2/page6.html
Can MOUNTAIN be a holy place where one can find solution, which attract the good and bad seekers. Can it be the knowledge or the consciousness that we are seeking is hidden there?
the tall trees, water-lake, 2 patches of white clouds - growth and the unknown,
Excellent research again. Mountains since ancient times has been the abodes of "gods" Mt Olympus, Mt Sinai, Wudang Mountain, Himalayas, etc. It is the meeting point between "heaven" and "earth". Mountains create valley the epitome of the "female" element. Quote from Lao Tze
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This is called the dark female.
The gateway of the dark female--
This is called the root of the world.
Wispy and delicate, it only seems to be there,
Yet its productivity is bottomless."
- Dao De Jing, #6
"The Tao Te Ching can be seen as advocating mostly "female" (or Yin) values, emphasising "water" fluidity and softness (instead of the solid and stable "mountain"), choosing the obscure and mysterious aspect of things in order to be able to rule-without-ruling them. In this respect, this book can be understood as challenging "male" (or Yang) values such as clarity, stability, positive action, and domination of nature, values often also referred to as Confucian."
I wonder within the wider imagery of the story, the setting that contains the potential "energy seeds" - dragon - is in the water - lake not in the mountains. If the protagonist is a female (feminine) in the first card, she is looking towards the valley - water/lake (feminine) and not upwards towards the mountain.So the task that is being communicated by the unconscious if it is spiritual, the answer may lies in the water.