101. Lanky and Sinister?

At the foot of the Forsaken Mountain. To be precise, several hundred zhang away.

Chen Huangpi stood on the shadowed earth, frowning as he gazed at the Forsaken Mountain looming nearby.

Jinjiao’s heart was pounding wildly, as if about to explode, forcing Chen Huangpi to confine it within the Soul-Reeling Tome.

Inside the tome lay the Yellow Springs realm.

Once inside, Jinjiao immediately ceased to feel the pulse of demonic energy.

Though the Soul-Reeling Tome can only hold one soul-reaping ghost, it can contain the dead. Jinjiao was, in fact, dead—the dog-commanding scripture merely made it appear alive.

Otherwise, upon entering the tome, it would be like the cultivators and deities Chen Huangpi had slain—void of consciousness and intelligence.

With just a thought, it could become a soul-reaper’s feast.

“Both the shadow soil and Yellow Springs have become malevolent spirits; since the Forsaken Mountain stands upon the shadow soil, could it have become an evil spirit as well?”

“Most certainly.”

Though confined in the Soul-Reeling Tome, the soul-reaper could perceive the outside world and thus declared, “Jinjiao and I have been tainted by Yellow Springs water. When night falls, malevolent spirits emerge from the Yellow Springs to hunt us.”

“Though this Forsaken Mountain isn’t a malevolent spirit from the Yellow Springs, it reacts naturally when we approach.”

“Perhaps after dark, it will strike at us.”

Chen Huangpi said, “Huang Er will be back soon; maybe he can discern what’s going on.”

Only Jinjiao and the soul-reaper were affected.

Chen Huangpi and the bronze oil lamp remained unaffected.

The latter had never touched Yellow Springs water and hadn’t even touched the ground the entire time.

As for the former…

Perhaps it was because the Ferryman called him a malevolent spirit.

Malevolent spirits recognize one another as kin.

At that moment, a shaft of golden light suddenly landed before Chen Huangpi.

“Huang Er, is the Forsaken Mountain a malevolent spirit?”

The bronze oil lamp’s voice was strange. “I can’t say. It seems so, yet not. It’s somewhat alien, very strange, very strange.”

“Besides, I circled the mountain’s base and couldn’t find a path.”

“The key problem is, it won’t let us fly.”

“Can’t fly?”

Chen Huangpi glanced at the black smoke around him.

That smoke was spawned by the slender evil smoke entity.

He could stand on the smoke and fly through the air.

“If flying is impossible, then I’ll have to climb. But no path exists on this Forsaken Mountain; am I really supposed to climb up?”

His tone grew anxious.

Though he had patrolled mountains for years, traversing even the most rugged trails,

Less than seven and a half hours remained until nightfall.

Night came late in the shadow soil and Yellow Springs.

But that little time was hardly enough to climb a mountain nearly as tall as the sky.

“Jinjiao, are there other Forsaken Mountains nearby?”

“There are, but they’re too far—probably two hours away.”

“This one is already considered short.”

Hearing this, Chen Huangpi sighed deeply.

The shadow soil stretched boundlessly; though many Forsaken Mountains existed, they were far apart.

Jinjiao, the child of discernment, ran swiftly across the shadow soil, even faster than the Divine Light of Flight.

That it needed two hours spoke volumes about the distance.

Most crucially, the mountain before him was already among the shortest.

If he wasted two hours finding another Forsaken Mountain—and leaving aside whether it was also alive—if it were taller than this one, it would be utterly hopeless.

After dark, it would be death for both Jinjiao and the soul-reaper.

Even if Chen Huangpi intended to ascend the Forsaken Mountain to retrieve the Soul-Returning Jade, he couldn’t disregard their fate.

The best course would be to retreat and find the way back to the mortal realm.

Yet he couldn’t abandon his master.

---

The bronze oil lamp sensed Chen Huangpi’s inner turmoil.

It had been a long time since it last witnessed such hesitation.

To be precise, since the Headmaster’s demise, Chen Huangpi had grown up overnight, acting decisively and steadily advancing toward the shadow soil and Yellow Springs.

But this sudden upheaval plunged him back into doubt.

“Master…”

The bronze oil lamp said, “Why don’t we return? Even if the Third Headmaster emerged from the old realm, they are still the Headmaster, your master.”

“Even though my clone has suppressed the old realm for so many years, the Third Headmaster would only kill me, not you.”

“Or, we could leave the Hundred-Thousand Mountains and explore the outside world.”

“The Third Headmaster won’t appear so soon.”

Chen Huangpi’s tone was resolute. “I still have time, though little, but I know what to do.”

“I’m going up the Forsaken Mountain!”

“Two hours. I only need two hours.”

“I want to see if I can make it to the top in two hours.”

He turned to the soul-reaper and Jinjiao: “Ah Gui, Jinjiao, I care about you as much as I care about Huang Er, my master, and the Great Eye Deity.”

“When time’s up, success or failure, I will descend and bring you back to the mortal realm.”

“Master, you…”

“Father Huangpi, you’re better to me than my real father. No, my real father likely died with the Shadow Sovereign. From now on, you’re my true father.”

Jinjiao’s words left the soul-reaper speechless.

It had much to say, but Jinjiao’s words had shut it up.

Chen Huangpi said, “Time waits for no one. I want to see just how difficult this Forsaken Mountain is.”

He looked at the bronze oil lamp.

Without a word, it activated the Divine Light of Flight.

Golden light enveloped Chen Huangpi.

In an instant, he was at the mountain’s base.

Looking up, he saw the mountain’s pitch-black, jagged rocks.

Sharp, tooth-like stones protruded, nearly vertical.

“Everywhere else is steep; this is the easiest place to climb.”

“Good.”

Chen Huangpi nodded and prepared to ride the swirling black smoke upward.

Though flying was impossible, he refused not to try.

But as soon as his feet left the ground,

A strange force pressed him down as if he carried a mountain on his back.

“So heavy, so heavy…”

His face flushed red, and he immediately fell back to the earth.

The strange force vanished.

The bronze oil lamp said, “You can only climb, not fly. This Forsaken Mountain is very strange—perhaps even more dangerous at the summit.”

“I’m not afraid.”

Chen Huangpi said as his hands grasped exposed stones on the mountain face.

With a slight exertion,

He climbed up easily, unhampered by the strange force.

Seeing this, the bronze oil lamp stretched out its slender arm, grabbed Chen Huangpi’s clothes, and hung onto his waist.

“Focus on climbing. If anything’s wrong, I will warn you.”

Chen Huangpi said nothing, his eyes fixed solely on the mountain.

He climbed steadily and swiftly.

When he couldn’t cultivate, he relied on his legs to patrol mountains and gather herbs—faster than most cultivators.

Now, stronger and grown, he was naturally quicker.

---

Half an hour later.

On the Forsaken Mountain.

Chen Huangpi stood on a rock protruding from the mountain, face pale as he glanced downward.

No landmarks lay below.

But looking afar, he spotted the Yellow Springs tributary where he came from.

The tributary was vast, like an endless sea.

“Huang Er, I climb often. I thought I wasn’t afraid of heights, but perhaps it’s just that this mountain wasn’t high enough.”

Chen Huangpi’s voice was weak.

He felt an urge to leap.

The bronze oil lamp said, “Don’t look down. Hurry and climb. If you jump, you’ll probably die from the fall.”

When he first began climbing, about ten meters up,

Chen Huangpi had a sudden impulse to test what would happen if he jumped—would leaving the mountain’s surface feel like flying, or would the strange gravity still weigh him down?

Fortunately, the bronze oil lamp was quick and grabbed his arm.

Otherwise, he might have died from the fall.

“I’m strong now. If I die from falling, it’ll be a disgrace.”

He dared not look down again and continued climbing.

At that moment, the bronze oil lamp suddenly spoke in his mind:

“Master, you can fool Ah Gui, you can fool Jinjiao, but you can’t fool me.”

Chen Huangpi replied mentally:

“I knew you’d say that. Good thing I shielded Jinjiao and Ah Gui; they can’t hear, or else they’d cause a fuss.”

“I knew you’d do that.”

The bronze oil lamp sighed: “Damn. You’re not really planning never to return to the mortal realm, are you?”

“No.”

Chen Huangpi said, “I’ll send Jinjiao and Ah Gui back first, then return myself. I can’t rest without the Soul-Returning Jade.”

“And me?”

“You…”

Chen Huangpi hesitated. “Huang Er, I don’t want to lie to you. You’d better return to the mortal realm. Unlike me, your body was split into thousands of pieces by my master. You’re stronger than before but still limited.”

“If something happens, I might not protect you.”

“All right. Then I’ll wait for you in the mortal realm.”

Though the bronze oil lamp said this, its heart ached deeply.

“Chen Huangpi, you underestimate me. Though I’m no great treasure of the Pure Immortal Sect, I bear humiliation and serve all who surpass me, pouring tea and bowing low; each has taught me some skill.”

“If I weren’t split into so many pieces, I wouldn’t be so weak!”

“I’m your companion, but I’m also the Nine Nether Divine Lamp…”

Chen Huangpi was unaware of the lamp’s thoughts.

Suddenly, he noticed a very familiar figure on the mountain.

The figure wore a black robe and a bamboo hat with green ribbons dangling.

Tall and slender, about over three meters high, it walked upward rather than climbing like Chen Huangpi.

“Huang Er, am I seeing things? It looks like the slender evil entity—or no, it’s the corpse of Yi Qingzhou.”

Chen Huangpi touched his own bamboo hat.

He had an identical one, given by the slender evil entity.

Hearing this, the bronze oil lamp looked sharply and paled.

“I see it too.”

“No, wait. I see many slender evil entities.”

“Could it be the corpses of the Pure Immortal Sect’s cultivators? But there are more than three thousand—at least ten thousand! What the hell is this?”

(End of chapter)