The alley was cramped, hemmed in by high walls on both sides, with barely enough room to turn around. Carrying the hide sack in his mouth, he wandered onto a broad street and immediately summoned his Spirit Power to build a passage. Going from the Mortal Realm to the Spirit Realm required building upward; going from the Spirit Realm to the Mortal Realm meant laying it level or slanting it downward.
Spiritual light swirled in the air. He could already see the green mountains and clear waters of the Mortal Realm on the other side, and picked out a clear stream.
He leaped high and plunged headfirst toward the image.
Unexpectedly, his body passed straight through it. The green stone paving of the street was still beneath him, and his long snout nearly plowed into the ground. His four feet stumbled several steps before he steadied himself. He blinked blankly, staring at the passage and puzzling over it without finding an answer.
Unwilling to give up, he tried twice more, only to pass through the translucent image and land on the ground each time.
Only then did he remember Daoist Pang's instructions: he could only return to the Mortal Realm once he reached the foot of the mountain. Apparently, some sort of formation barrier had been laid over Pillowstar Mountain to prevent anyone from passing between realms at will.
He stopped wasting his strength and immediately floated just above the ground, swimming swiftly toward the Mountain Gate.
He swam up to the Mountain Gate, a tall, ancient stone archway.
Stopping there, he let his Primordial Spirit leave his body and take the form of a little boy, then hopped over to the noticeboard.
The wooden noticeboard was rather old, its grain split with cracks of varying depths.
A little rooflike