Chapter 39: Heading to the Starfall Mountain Range
Shi Qingyun ignored Yu Tian, who was still standing there in a daze. Having learned his lesson last time, he had deliberately held back this time.
Sure enough, he found their treasures on their bodies. Unfortunately, there was nothing particularly valuable, though he had already expected as much.
He took out some Treasure Medicine that could help restore the body and tossed it to Yu Tian. Then, without waiting for him, he set off along his original route.
Shi Qingyun took a step forward, as though treading upon Yu Tian's already overturned worldview. It shattered with a series of cracks, and the scenery changed along with it.
Throughout this secret realm, towering mountains stood proudly between heaven and earth. The fragrance of flowers filled the air, and exquisite landscapes carved by the gods themselves lay everywhere.
The lofty peaks hid behind thick clouds, their dimly visible silhouettes resembling blades about to reveal their cold gleam.
Streams wound between the mountains like enormous dragons coiled around the peaks. The crashing water rising from the deep ravines was those dragons' furious roar.
The swirling clouds and mist only added to their mystery.
Two people were racing along a winding road. The one in front moved with leisurely steps, as though strolling through his own courtyard.
Yet his speed was astonishing. He flickered along the twisting path, traveling far into the distance in the blink of an eye.
Each step seemed to break him free of the surrounding space and time, taking him into another stretch of spacetime. Fast.
His speed, however, made life miserable for the person behind him. The pursuer had already opened his Cave Heaven, drawing in the essence of heaven and earth to keep up.
But every time he was about to catch the person ahead, the distance between them widened again in the blink of an eye.
These two racing along the road were none other than Shi Qingyun and Yu Tian, who had set out together.
There was a reason Shi Qingyun and Yu Tian were traveling together.
After rescuing Yu Tian, Shi Qingyun had asked what had happened. Why were people from the Primordial Divine Mountain hunting him?
Yu Tian hid nothing in response to Shi Qingyun's questions and explained the entire sequence of events.
As it turned out, shortly after entering the Qilin Secret Realm, he had located Shi Yi using a treasure given to him by the Rain King Mansion. At first, he had stayed by Shi Yi's side.
But when Shi Yi fought the people from the Primordial Divine Mountain, Yu Tian had become separated from him.
The people from the Primordial Divine Mountain had seen Shi Yi with Yu Tian and assumed Yu Tian was his follower. Thinking he might be useful to them, they wanted to capture him.
Moreover, a strange disturbance had emerged from the heart of the Starfall Mountain Range a few days earlier, immediately drawing the attention of the people from the Primordial Divine Mountain.
Such unusual fluctuations had never appeared during their previous visits. The people from the Primordial Divine Mountain believed they heralded the emergence of a treasure, and judging by their reach, they would certainly attract the attention of everyone in the secret realm.
They believed Shi Yi would also be drawn there by the disturbance.
They planned to ambush Shi Yi in the Starfall Mountain Range. That way, they could search for treasures while also killing him to avenge their earlier defeat.
Capturing Yu Tian was merely a way to improve their chances against Shi Yi.
After learning what had happened, Shi Qingyun was a little surprised. The disturbance had come from the very place he intended to visit. Could there really be some treasure hidden there?
Yet alongside his surprise, he sensed something odd. The Starfall Mountain Range was the final forbidden ground he intended to visit, and it was no benign place.
The people from the Primordial Divine Mountain should have known how dangerous it was. Why were they still heading inside? Could there be some other secret hidden there?
He clearly remembered the blood-red words emblazoned on the map:
"Certain death, no chance of survival. Do not enter! Do not enter!"
Now that strange disturbances had appeared there, Shi Qingyun had no idea what was happening and hesitated over whether he should still go.
But then Shi Qingyun reconsidered. With so many people gathering there, perhaps he could fish in troubled waters.
At worst, escaping should not be a problem with his current speed.
Yu Tian also wanted to find Shi Yi, so the two of them set out for the Starfall Mountain Range together.
Along the way, Shi Qingyun had tried persuading Yu Tian to wait outside rather than accompany him.
Mostly, Shi Qingyun did not want to drag along a dead weight. But Yu Tian had stuck to him like a stubborn medicinal plaster. Shi Qingyun had considered simply using the Reverse Eight Directions Step to leave him behind.
Still, the journey was rather long, and having someone around would help relieve the boredom, so they had set off together.
Drawing his wandering thoughts back, Shi Qingyun stopped beneath a sheer cliff. A moment later, Yu Tian collapsed onto his backside beside him, panting heavily.
Seeing Yu Tian looking half-dead, Shi Qingyun did not know what to say. Why was he so stubborn? If he had said something, wouldn't Shi Qingyun have stopped?
Instead, he had insisted on chasing him without letting up. Admittedly, Shi Qingyun had become rather absorbed in it himself, but if Yu Tian had spoken up, he probably would have stopped. Probably?
A cool breeze climbed over the sheer cliff and swept across Yu Tian, instantly refreshing his entire body. He withdrew the Cave Heaven behind him, which had still been drawing in the essence of heaven and earth.
Yu Tian felt alive again. He kept feeling that Shi Qingyun had been exercising him like some divine beast or exotic creature, though he had no proof.
But he stopped dwelling on it. He could not beat Shi Qingyun anyway, so he might as well accept it!
Looking up, he saw countless towering mountains scattered densely across the plain ahead, like stars fallen from the heavens. Their summits pierced through the clouds and mist, sharp and imposing.
The peaks resembled game pieces scattered across a board, strewn as densely as stars, seemingly without any pattern. Yet from where Shi Qingyun and Yu Tian stood, there appeared to be some faint connection between them.
The sight captured Yu Tian's attention, and he marveled inwardly, How beautiful! Crossing all those mountains was worth it.
Shi Qingyun, who stood like an immortal aloof from the mortal world, was also astonished. The landscape before him resembled countless mountains placed inside an enormous bowl.
The surrounding mountain ranges enclosed the Starfall Mountain Range. He wondered whether this had formed naturally or been created by someone.
If someone had created it, just how powerful would they have to be? Forcing an entire mountain range into existence was a realm the current Shi Qingyun could only gaze up at.
He channeled divine power into his eyes, which immediately blazed with golden light. His gaze pierced the mist and fell upon the mountains. Through Shi Qingyun's eyes, the enormous mountain range resembled a formation.
Though it seemed chaotic and disordered, Shi Qingyun could see fine threads of connection running through it.
Please send some votes my way.
Chapter 40: Entering the Formation
Shi Qingyun slowly withdrew his gaze. The clouds and mist before him looked beautiful, but who knew how many dangers lurked beneath them?
Still, since he had already come this far, there was no reason to retreat. He spoke to Yu Tian beside him:
"Let's go! We should get down there quickly."
Yu Tian nodded at his words. Then he looked at Shi Qingyun and the dizzyingly high cliff ahead. As though suddenly realizing something, he froze as if struck by lightning, swallowed, and asked cautiously:
"When you say go, you don't mean jumping down from here, do you?"
Shi Qingyun was somewhat speechless. He glanced at Yu Tian before asking, "Do you have a flying Treasure Artifact?"
Yu Tian shook his head blankly, indicating that he had no such thing. Shi Qingyun asked again, "Do you have a flying mount?"
Yu Tian shook his head again. Shi Qingyun spread his hands. "If you have nothing, what else can we do besides fly down ourselves? And aren't you a genius of the Rain Clan? How come you have nothing?"
"Is your Rain Clan really that poor now?"
Yu Tian was immediately at a loss for words. Was he supposed to tell Shi Qingyun that he was merely a member of a branch family, so it was perfectly normal not to have so many treasures?
Did he not have his pride? Yu Tian chose to shut his mouth, thinking, This cliff looks high, but the fall shouldn't kill anyone, right? That should be the case, right?!
If there had been another route, Shi Qingyun would not have wanted to jump down either. But who knew where all the Ferocious Beasts in this secret realm had gone?
He had not even had a chance to find a mount, and sheer cliffs surrounded the Starfall Mountain Range, leaving no other way down.
Just then, a stone fell from beside Shi Qingyun's foot. Yu Tian waited for a long while without hearing it land, his eyes nearly popping out of his head.
Ignoring the panic and terror in Yu Tian's eyes, Shi Qingyun grabbed his clothes with his right hand, lifted him, and leaped down.
Before Yu Tian could react, the sudden sensation of weightlessness hit him, frightening him into a frantic series of screams.
His wretched cries echoed between the cliffs. Shi Qingyun, who was concentrating on controlling their direction, grew irritated by the sudden screaming.
Divine power surged within him. A string of runes emerged from the hand holding Yu Tian, slowly crawling onto him and sealing his mouth shut.
Yu Tian's screams stopped. With nothing but the howling wind left in his ears, Shi Qingyun finally felt some peace and quiet.
Holding Yu Tian in one hand and keeping the other behind his back, Shi Qingyun repeatedly tapped his feet against protrusions in the cliff.
His body shifted nimbly from side to side along the cliff face as he descended at tremendous speed.
They passed through the thick clouds, and the Starfall Mountain Range beneath the mist slowly came into view, revealing dense forests and towering mountains everywhere.
Shi Qingyun touched his right foot to a tree growing out of the cliff and stood upon its branch as lightly as a feather.
At that moment, Shi Qingyun resembled an immortal descending into the mortal world. With one hand behind his back and his robes fluttering and snapping in the wind, he looked utterly graceful and carefree.
Shi Qingyun glanced toward his destination. The next instant, his figure seemed to transform into a Heavenly Roc swooping from the sky toward its prey as he plunged straight down.
His figure flickered repeatedly along the cliff, and before long, he reached its base.
With a casual motion, he withdrew the runes sealing Yu Tian's mouth, surveyed their surroundings, and started walking.
As though he had just been dragged back from the brink of death, Yu Tian stood rooted in place, his blank eyes filled with terror, seemingly having forgotten how to walk.
Watching Shi Qingyun's figure recede, countless thoughts flashed through his mind. Back on the cliff, he had thought he was going to die.
He felt that death had been so close to him then.
But before he could recover, he saw that Shi Qingyun had not waited for him. His figure was about to disappear from sight, and he showed no intention of stopping.
Panic immediately gripped Yu Tian. Abandoning his recollection of what had just happened, he hurried after him. He did not want to become separated from Shi Qingyun here.
He had been lucky enough to encounter Shi Qingyun last time. If they separated again, there might be no one to save him, and death would be all that awaited him.
Striding ahead, Shi Qingyun examined the fallen trees and the dense assortment of marks left on the jagged rocks before him.
Shi Qingyun kept pondering. Judging by these traces, a large number of Ferocious Beasts must have passed through here.
He did not know why. For now, all he could do was remain vigilant.
These Ferocious Beasts must have been quite large, and there had been no shortage of them. Thinking back over everything he had seen since entering the secret realm, he realized that he had hardly encountered any Ferocious Beasts along the way.
Logically, a secret realm with such abundant essence of heaven and earth should have been teeming with Ferocious Beasts and exotic creatures. Yet he had seen so few after all this time, which was genuinely suspicious.
But looking at the traces ahead, perhaps all those Ferocious Beasts were here in the Starfall Mountain Range. There might even be some connection between them and the various disturbances coming from the mountains.
A spark of excitement immediately flared in Shi Qingyun's heart. Just what treasure could have made so many Ferocious Beasts abandon their territories and gather here?
If he obtained it, wouldn't his strength soar once again? At that thought, Shi Qingyun hurriedly calmed his racing heart.
At the same time, he warned himself to hold fast to his true heart and not let something he did not yet understand throw him into confusion.
All he needed to do now was find the source of the disturbance, and everything would become clear. Perhaps that source was precisely the treasure Shi Qingyun had been longing for.
Rather than continuing to examine the signs of destruction, Shi Qingyun began following the trail they had left.
Since he suspected those Ferocious Beasts had come to seize a treasure, following their tracks should lead him to the heart of the mountain range.
Before you continue