Shen Jingqi and Lin Yue traveled through wind and dew, living a truly difficult life.
During the day, they journeyed under the scorching sun, with sweat soaking their clothes, each step feeling like dragging a heavy burden. At night, they found a place barely shielding them from wind and rain to sleep with their clothes on. Sometimes it would be beside a large rock in the wild, where Shen Jingqi would use branches and dead leaves to set up a makeshift shelter, while Lin Yue gathered some dry grass to spread on the ground.
Lin Yue accidentally stepped onto what seemed like an ordinary patch of grass, but suddenly fell into a bottomless pit. Shen Jingqi and Lin Yue were plummeting rapidly in the cave, the wind whistling past their ears. When they hit the ground heavily, they felt as if all their bones were about to shatter. The cave was filled with a foul stench, the walls were extremely slippery, and some unknown slime dripped down.
They began to fumble around searching for a way out, each step taken with extreme caution to avoid triggering some more dangerous mechanism. As Shen Jingqi's hand groped along the wall, suddenly, he felt a protruding stone, his heart tensed up, thinking, "Could this be a mechanism?" He hesitated for a moment, but then gently pressed it. With a "click" sound, a stone next to it slowly moved aside, revealing a narrow passage. Shen Jingqi and Lin Yue exchanged glances, a hint of delight flashing in their eyes, and cautiously walked into the passage.
Unfortunately, they were surrounded by a group of Cultivators in the valley, the opposing forces were overwhelming, and the shouts of killing shook the sky. Shen Jingqi and Lin Yue gradually found it hard to fend them off, also getting slightly injured in the process. While fending off the attacks with his sword, Shen Jingqi observed the surrounding terrain. Suddenly, he noticed a narrow passage beside the valley, with some vines obscuring the entrance, making it hard to notice. He shouted loudly, "Follow me!" Then, cleverly using the terrain of the valley, he set a trap to lure the Cultivators in, finally managing to escape.
They rested in a piece of forest, when suddenly, the surrounding trees began to shake violently, as if controlled by an invisible force. Shen Jingqi and Lin Yue immediately became vigilant, Shen Jingqi gripped his long sword, Lin Yue took out her Magical Treasure. They saw a shadow flashing past in the forest, moving too fast to be captured. Shen Jingqi shouted, "Be careful!" Then chased after the shadow. But the shadow seemed aware of their intentions, always skillfully evading their attacks, and would disappear just as they were about to catch up.
"What on earth is this thing? Why is it so elusive?" Shen Jingqi was filled with anger and helplessness.
Finally, they arrived at the foot of Spirit Mountain. Spirit Mountain soared into the clouds, surrounded by mist. The towering peaks were intimidating yet full of endless allure. Shen Jingqi gazed at Spirit Mountain, feeling a complex emotion rise within him. He took a deep breath, "We've arrived, but the road ahead will only get harder. We must be careful."
They began climbing up the winding path of the mountain. With each step, they could feel the air getting colder, the mist thickening. Suddenly, a strange sound came from the top of the mountain, like someone whispering or a beast roaring. Shen Jingqi stopped, listened intently, but the sound suddenly vanished. He tensed up inside, thinking, "What could this sound be? Could it be related to that mysterious force?"
As they continued forward, they encountered a peculiar forest. The trees were strangely shaped, with glowing fruits hanging from the branches. Lin Yue, curious, reached out to pick a fruit, only to be stopped by Shen Jingqi. "Don't touch it, the fruit might be dangerous," Shen Jingqi warned cautiously. Just then, the fruits suddenly emitted a dazzling light and exploded, the powerful impact sending them flying backward. ɴᴇᴡ ɴᴏᴠᴇʟ ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀs ᴀʀᴇ ᴘᴜʙʟɪsʜᴇᴅ ᴏɴ 𝙣𝙤𝙫𝙚𝙡~𝙛𝙞𝙧𝙚~𝙣𝙚𝙩
When they got up from the ground, they found everything around them had changed. The original forest was gone, replaced by a desolate desert. The sun hung high in the sky, scorching the earth, with waves of heat rolling in. Shen Jingqi looked at this sudden change, filled with doubt, "What's going on? Have we entered another dimension?"
They trudged through the desert with difficulty, the water running low, and their strength gradually waning. Suddenly, an ancient castle appeared ahead, its gates shut tight, emitting a mysterious aura. Shen Jingqi and Lin Yue exchanged a glance, deciding to explore the castle. As they approached the castle, the gates slowly opened, a strong suction force drawing them inside.
They continued searching for clues within the castle, discovering a mysterious room where an ancient book was placed. Li Wen picked up the book, and upon turning the pages, found records about the secrets of Spirit Mountain's peak, as well as the source of that mysterious power. It turned out, the mysterious power was from Guardians of the peak of Spirit Mountain, who didn't want ill-intentioned people reaching the peak, hence secretly monitoring Shen Jingqi and his group.
Just as they were about to leave the castle, the shadow appeared once again, this time uttering a clear voice: "You've passed the test, but the road ahead is still long, and the real challenge is just beginning." After speaking, the shadow disappeared into the darkness again.
As they continued climbing, the mist became denser, almost concealing the path ahead. Suddenly, a gust of wind hit them, knocking them off balance. Shen Jingqi tightly held onto Lin Yue's hand, shouting loudly, "Hold tight, don't get blown away!" After the wind ceased, they found themselves at the edge of a huge cliff, below lay a bottomless gorge, with clouds swirling within, seemingly hiding countless dangers.
As they carefully searched for a way out, a giant bird burst from the clouds, its eyes gleaming with ferocity, claws as sharp as knives. The bird swooped towards them, Shen Jingqi swung his long sword, engaging in a fierce battle with the bird. The bird's wings stirred up a fierce wind, making it hard for them to stand steady. Lin Yue sought an opportunity to attack the bird with her Magical Treasure. After a bitter struggle, they finally repelled the bird, both gasping for breath in exhaustion.
They continued along the cliff's edge, discovering a narrow stone bridge. The stone bridge swayed precariously, as if about to break at any moment. Shen Jingqi cautiously stepped onto the bridge, feeling it tremble with each step. He turned his head and said to Lin Yue, "Follow me closely, be very careful." Lin Yue followed closely behind, each step taken with anxious trepidation.
As they reached the middle of the bridge, suddenly, the bridge emitted a series of "creak creak" sounds and began to shake violently. Shen Jingqi shouted, "No, the bridge is breaking, run quickly!" They dashed madly towards the other side, reaching it just as the bridge collapsed.
However, what awaited them was not respite, but an even more mysterious cave. The cave was filled with a pungent odor, with bizarre lights flickering on the walls. Shen Jingqi and Lin Yue cautiously entered the cave, suddenly hearing a strange song, melodious yet carrying an eerie tone. Following the direction of the song, they discovered a mysterious woman. She was dressed in white, with flowing long hair, yet her expression revealed a hint of indifference.