Mountain Gate

A mountain breeze, carrying the pungent scent of grass and trees, blew past her ears. Yunxiu stared at the terrifying scene before her, her heart tightening as if by an invisible hand. Senior Brother Yuwei's attack, imbued with a chilling immortal power, was aimed directly at her, with a resolute determination to destroy both herself and the enemy.

Perhaps it was due to his old injuries, or perhaps he was already exhausted, the white light that was powerful enough to split mountains and rocks actually deviated a whole body length to the right!

Yunxiu dodged almost instinctively, her sleeve brushing against the rough tree trunk, stirring up a few fallen leaves. She watched helplessly as the thousand-year-old cypress tree beside her, so tall it took two people to hug, was ripped open by the sudden attack, its wood fibers exploding and a charred smell filling the air. The exposed growth rings at the tree's core seemed frozen in time, now shattered with a startling fracturing.

Yu Wei, who had unleashed this attack, was more like a trapped animal on the brink of extinction. He began to cough violently, each gasp causing the wound in his chest to ache. The fishy-sweet taste rising in his throat could no longer be suppressed. Dark red blood foam overflowed from the corners of his mouth, dripping onto the bluestone-paved mountain road, creating a hideous pattern.

He held onto the rock beside him, his knuckles turning white from the exertion, and his frail figure swayed in the mountain wind.

"Senior Brother Yu Wei!"

Yunxiu couldn't care less. She quickly ran over and firmly grasped his still struggling arm.

His skin was cold, as if he had just been pulled out of a cold pond, but the muscles beneath his touch were trembling constantly.

"Brother Yu Wei, it's me. Don't you recognize me?"

"Brother, you came down the mountain again, didn't you? Where are you injured? Let me take a look."

But Yuwei's gaze wasn't focused. His gaze was unfocused, as if he were staring at a disembodied shadow in the air, not even meeting Yunxiu's gaze. Those eyes, once as gentle as jade, were now covered with a thick cloud, a hollowness so agonizing that it made one's heart ache. Hearing Yunxiu's voice, his hand, still trembling, stretched out aimlessly, as if groping for something in the darkness, tentatively reaching forward.

Yunxiu did not dodge, but stood there quietly, allowing his slightly cool fingertips to touch the floral patterns on her hair tie.

It was embroidered for her by Senior Sister Jing Er, a disciple of her uncle. She used colorful silk threads unique to the mountains to embroider a lifelike forget-me-not flower unique to Yaoxi Mountain.

Senior Sister Jing Er was the lover of Senior Brother Yu Wei, and they were once the envy of the sect. Years ago, the uncle led his disciples down the mountain to help the people, claiming they were going to quell a plague at the foot of the mountain. But they disappeared without a trace, like a stone sinking into the sea. No word ever came back, and their life or death remained uncertain.

When Senior Brother Yu Wei learned the news, he insisted on going down the mountain to look for someone despite his master's objections.

Three months later, he collapsed outside the mountain gate, wounded and nearly dead, his body covered in wounds so deep he could see the bone, as if he had been in a brutal battle. The entire sect exerted all their strength, exhausting countless precious spiritual herbs, to barely save his life. Since then, he has remained unconscious, like a vegetative state, lying in a meditation room, relying on drugs to keep him alive.

Yunxiu really couldn't understand why he suddenly appeared here and became like this?

Yunxiu looked at Yuwei quietly, her doubts growing deeper. She stretched out her hand and gently waved it in front of his eyes.

But his eyelids didn't even move, and there was no reaction at all.

"Brother, what happened to your eyes?"

Yunxiu studied his eyes carefully. Yuwei seemed to be covered with a layer of gray mist.

As soon as Yu Wei's fingertips touched the familiar floral pattern, the aggressiveness in his body quickly subsided.

He stopped struggling, but his expression still contained disbelief, his lips trembling as if he wanted to say something but couldn't. He even took two steps back in shock, staggering and almost falling to the ground.

Yu Wei repeatedly dodged Yun Xiu's hand that was stretched out to help him, avoiding her touch. His voice was hoarse as if it had been rubbed by sandpaper, and he asked instead of answering:

"Xiao You, have you ever been down the mountain?"

Yunxiu frowned upon hearing this. She didn't understand why her senior brother suddenly asked this question, but she answered truthfully anyway.

She casually took off the jade pendant hanging from her waist. The jade pendant was carved from warm jade from the depths of Yaoxi Mountain. It was warm and translucent, and engraved with the totem of the mountain gate. She put the jade pendant into Yu Wei's hand and said:

"No. You'll know once you try it, brother."

The barrier surrounding Yaoxi Mountain is controlled jointly by the Venerable Master and Senior Brother Yan Xiu. It can transform and become invisible, serving as a crucial barrier at the mountain gate. Every person entering or leaving the mountain gate, regardless of their status, leaves a record in this jade pendant, like a clear and traceable document from the mortal world.

As soon as the jade pendant touched Yu Wei's hand, it immediately lit up with a faint glow. However, within the glow, there was a silent, blank space, with no record of anyone entering or leaving the mountain gate, as clean as a blank sheet of paper.

Yu Wei sensed this and tightened his grip on the jade pendant, rubbing the totem pattern with his fingertips, as if confirming something. He tilted his head slightly and looked in Yunxiu's direction. His breathing became noticeably faster, and his chest rose and fell even more violently.

Yunxiu noticed that the other party seemed to have something important to say, so he tried to support his arm to help him stand more steadily, and suggested:

"Brother, what happened? You are weak now. Can I accompany you to see Master? Master will definitely be able to help you."

Yu Wei's lifeless eyes lingered for a moment in Yunxiu's direction, as if he were trying to see something through her. Then, he suddenly broke free from Yunxiu's hand with such force that Yunxiu stumbled.

"Don't trust anyone, Xiaoyou." His voice was low and rapid.

As soon as he finished speaking, he suddenly threw the jade pendant in his hand back into Yunxiu's arms. The jade pendant drew an arc in the air, carrying with it a trace of his remaining body temperature. Then, he staggered and turned, running towards the dense mist in the mountains, leaving only a sentence behind, which drifted on the wind:

"Someone in this mountain wants to kill me. I don't know who, but he wants to kill all of us."

Yu Wei's figure quickly vanished into the dense, peeking mist. The mist, as if alive, completely obscured his trace. Yun Xiu was left standing there in a daze, clutching the jade pendant tightly in his hand, his senior brother's words echoing in his ears.

Yunxiu looked down at the jade pendant in her hand, which still held the faint glow from the moment she sensed it. The light that signified entry and exit permission never lit up, meaning she had indeed never been granted entry or exit.

The little spirit bird is quite depressed. It has been seventeen years since it turned into a human form, but it has not been able to go down the mountain to take a look.

Perhaps because she was still young and lacked spiritual power, her master had never allowed her to go down the mountain.

According to the descriptions of her senior brothers and sisters, the world below the mountain had bustling towns, lively markets, and all kinds of creatures she had never seen before.

But for her, these are just distant imaginations.

Since this morning, I don’t know what Master and the senior brothers and sisters are doing. Why are they saying things that Yunxiu can’t understand and doing things that she can’t see?

The mountains are full of creatures that were born and raised naturally and transformed into human form. They are less aggressive than a rabbit that is cornered. Who would kill people for no reason?

Unless, someone from the foot of the mountain sneaked up the mountain!

But that doesn't make sense.

The mountain was encircled by a barrier set up by Master and Senior Brother Yanxiu. It was incredibly strong, preventing anyone from entering, and those inside from leaving without permission. This barrier acted like a natural barrier, transforming Yaoxi Mountain into a safe and enclosed paradise.

Then there is only one possibility left - Senior Brother Yu Wei failed to find Senior Sister Jing Er again and suffered a huge blow.

Although he looks normal, can speak and move, he may actually be crazy.

Yunxiu barely managed to convince herself. She took a deep breath and prepared to go find Senior Brother Yanxiu.

But at this moment, the jade pendant in her hand lit up again.

This time, instead of the faint glow of induction like before, a small golden dot lit up, symbolizing permission to enter and exit. The dot glowed with a soft golden hue, like the brilliant sunset glow next to the summer sun.

Yunxiu was startled, but before she could react, the golden light suddenly grew larger, its radiance gradually becoming increasingly bright—until it was as blinding as the sun, forcing her to squint. The entire jade pendant was enveloped in this light, like a source of intense lightning.

Yunxiu immediately realized what had happened. She quickly pulled away, summoning all her immortal energy and flying towards the mountain gate. The wind whistled in her ears, and her skirt rustled in the breeze.

She knew clearly that if she was granted entry and exit, the golden light spot on the jade pendant would light up, indicating that a hole would be opened in the barrier, allowing passage. The smaller the light spot, the smaller the opening; the larger the light spot, the larger the opening.

At this moment, the entire jade pendant lit up, meaning that the barrier was broken.