After everyone left the secret realm, Chu Hongluan cast a cleansing spell on Liu Jinghong, laid him flat on her lap, grabbed his cheek with one hand to force him to open his mouth, and then poured the entire bottle of Energy Powder into his mouth.
Why sleep so much before death? You'll have plenty of time to sleep after you die.
She tore off Liu Jinghong's jade pendant and stacked it with her own: "How about... I take you to do something more exciting?"
After saying this, he silently recited the incantation in his mind while using his fingertips to shatter the two jade tablets at the same time.
In an instant, the two disappeared from the spot.
...
The border area between the two northwestern regions.
At the foot of the Kunlun Mountains lies a vast, desolate land, its true nature obscured by a thick fog. Man-eating monsters roam freely within the mist, occasionally emitting eerie "heh-heh" laughs.
This place is a forbidden zone for mortals and a graveyard for low-level cultivators. If you rashly enter without the ability to protect yourself, you will be torn to pieces by monsters in an instant.
Just moments ago, thousands of cultivators have passed through the mist. They are disheveled, their clothes tattered, their hair disheveled, and they have long lost the bearing of cultivators.
His face and body were covered in scratches.
Some were even worse off, with their arms and legs torn off while they were still alive, leaving only a piece of skin and flesh stuck to the broken part, which they swung around.
Even so, they must continue on their journey.
Today is the day when Kunlun Qingxu Palace, once every five hundred years, preaches its doctrines to the outside world. According to the rules, whoever is the first to climb to the summit of Kunlun Mountain can take away a share of the inheritance from the palace.
Legend has it that the Qingxu Palace is inhabited by naturally born immortals who can move mountains and overturn seas without cultivation, turn stones into gold, and imbue stubborn rocks with spirit.
It is also said that Qingxu Palace contains the most complete lineage of Buddhist teachings in the world, and if one obtains even one of them, one can have a bright future.
However, due to the long intervals between each sermon, it was gradually forgotten by the world. After all, in the mortal world, there are far too many cultivators who never achieve the Golden Core stage in their entire lives, with a lifespan of only a little over a hundred years.
As time has passed, the rumors about Qingxu Palace have faded into obscurity. Those who remember to arrive on time, undeterred by the mist before the mountain, are almost all old folks, several hundred years old, nearing the end of their lifespans, and unable to break through to the next realm.
After passing through the fog, it's time to climb the mountain.
Looking up, nine layers of cliffs overlap, and the mountaintop pierces the clouds, like a giant pillar supporting the sky.
The group struggled to climb, and the higher they went, the more difficult it became. The cold wind howled, and the chill seeped into their bones. They not only had to use their spiritual energy to keep warm, but also had to stay on high alert at all times.
The protruding rocks above that seem like a good hold may just be cold, hard snow; with a little force, they will crumble.
With each step, one slips and falls. If one uses spiritual energy to leap upwards, and fails to choose a good climbing or landing point, one might leap three zhang (approximately 10 meters) and land five chi (approximately 1.5 meters).
In addition, you must guard against attacks from competitors. Perhaps the person above you will kick you, or perhaps the person below you will drag you down.
Just as the mountain climbing competition was in full swing, a red figure descended from the summit of Kunlun Mountain. As soon as she steadied herself, she looked up at the sky, and the next second, a black figure appeared out of thin air and landed precisely in her arms in a princess carry.
After a moment of weightlessness, Liu Jinghong was suddenly surrounded by an unbearably cold environment, and her consciousness returned instantly.
Upon opening his eyes, he was met with Chu Hongluan's phoenix eyes, which seemed to be both smiling and not smiling.
“If you wake up, stand up on your own. How much longer do you want to lie in my arms?”
Liu Jinghong blinked, her face instantly turning bright red, and she almost jumped up.
I'm sorry.
He could still feel the lingering warmth of Chu Hongluan's abdomen and thighs from her side profile and the back of her neck. This realization made Liu Jinghong even more embarrassed, her earlobes turning so red they seemed to bleed.
"Didn't you say you wanted to see the scenery in the distance?" Chu Hongluan's brightly colored dress fluttered in the wind. "This is the border between the Western Regions and the Northern Regions, and also what you call... the summit of Kunlun."
Liu Jinghong's breath hitched, and she turned around abruptly. In just one glance, her pupils trembled violently.
A strong wind blows, the snow stretches to the horizon, the mountains rise and meet the sky, mist swirls around, and the clouds seem within reach.
Liu Jinghong swallowed hard, barely able to speak.
The knife on Chu Hongluan's back also clanged.
Liu Jinghong came to her senses: "What's wrong with it?"
"It has never seen the outside world before, so maybe... it's excited too." Chu Hongluan's voice was unusually gentle.
Liu Jinghong's beautiful peach blossom eyes were filled with laughter as she finally remembered to ask, "This place is probably at least 108,000 miles away from the Southern Region. How did we...?"
"That's not important. What's important is... keep reading."
Liu Jinghong followed the instructions and walked to the edge of the cliff. Looking down, she met a pair of extremely excited eyes.
The cultivator who was only a step away from the summit was dumbfounded: "Impossible! I was clearly the first one!"
"What nonsense are you talking about? We are clearly number one." Chu Hongluan said with a smile, and then raised her chin at Liu Jinghong: "Kick him off."
Liu Jinghong blinked, and before she could even think, her leg had already kicked the climber down!
"No--"
A mournful wail faded into the distance, followed by gasps of alarm from below.
"Holy crap, who fell down?"
"Is it the one who climbed to first place?"
"Never mind that, just keep climbing! If we're lucky, we might get some guidance from Palace Master Qingxu in our cultivation."
So the group of cultivators continued to climb upwards, huffing and puffing.
Liu Jinghong finally understood a bit about the current situation: "Have we accidentally wandered into some other competition arena?"
"Pretty much. Today is the day when Kunlun Qingxu Palace spreads its teachings to the outside world, which happens once every five hundred years. Whoever is the first to reach the summit of Kunlun Mountain will be able to take away a share of its legacy."
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