Chapter 837

Traveling west from Jiangyang City to the Jade Temple required passing through the Emerald Bamboo Forest, the Great Grass Sea, the Hundred Thousand Mountains (fictional), the Quicksand Desert, and the Peach Blossom Grove before finally reaching Mount Song.

Looking north from Mount Song, one could see those towering peaks: five cylindrical mountains like colossal pillars holding up the sky, shooting straight into the clouds. At a glance, one could only see mist swirling around the waists of the stone pillars; the summits were completely invisible. Even Mount Song, famed for being "as steep as the heavens," seemed exceptionally small before them.

That was Five Finger Mountain!

The five towering stone pillars stood side by side like five fingers, hence the name. Unlike the original Journey to the West, Five Finger Mountain in this world had not been created when Tathagata Buddha struck down with the Mahavairocana Sutra. Its true origins were never explained in detail. But anyone who had seen the movie knew the legend: Five Finger Mountain connected Heaven and Earth. The Jade Emperor and Queen Mother held their banquets here, inviting immortals to "drink" and party. It was also the location of the Gate of No Gate. The Jade Warlord's temple stood here as well.

For ordinary people—even Jason's group—the journey to the Jade Temple was a vast and arduous one. They suffered countless hardships along the way, and Lu Yan had nearly died from severe injuries before they finally reached Mount Song. But for academy students like Victor and Yin Kuang, even circling the globe several times was no problem. This distance hardly counted as distance at all.

In the latter half of that night, Yin Kuang stood atop a sturdy pine at the foot of Mount Song. Thunder and lightning raged overhead, while fierce winds howled.