Thus, the human and ape factions gathered, proceeding towards the mountain in a grand procession.
With Qi Dongqiang, a local, as their guide, he led Yan Shouyi and the others along peculiar, hidden paths. Though winding, these trails were genuine shortcuts, saving them considerable time.
Such paths would be difficult for ordinary people, but none of them were ordinary. Only Zhuge Ji had weaker stamina, and Ye Tianyuan had mobility issues.
Initially, Yan Shouyi had planned for himself and Long Feicheng to each carry one of them. However, to fulfill his host duties, Qi Dongqiang directly ordered Huanhuan and Lele to carry them.
Huanhuan was fine; she had no conflicts with anyone. She picked up Ye Tianyuan and ran.
Lele looked at the remaining Zhuge Ji, clearly reluctant.
This monkey was supposed to carry its enemy?!
Impossible! Absolutely impossible!
Seeing Lele's displeasure, Qi Dongqiang produced a banana to tempt it.
Lele's eyes lit up at the sight of the banana, but it then forcefully suppressed its desire and held up two fingers to Qi Dongqiang.
This creature could actually bargain!
Qi Dongqiang agreed. Lele, holding the banana, happily embraced Zhuge Ji.
Held in Lele's princess carry, Zhuge Ji was extremely embarrassed, daring not to meet Lele's gaze, fearing that if the monkey became displeased, it might just throw him off a cliff.
Fortunately, Qi Dongqiang still held dominant status among the monkeys. Despite Lele's dislike for Zhuge Ji, it didn't cause trouble and protected him all the way.
Climbing the mountain was monotonous, and they engaged in desultory conversation.
After about an hour of climbing, Long Feicheng began to tire and requested a stop to rest.
Everyone took out water and dry rations to replenish their energy. Lele stared enviously at the potato chips in Tian Jueer's hand. Tian Jueer, being beautiful and kind-hearted, shared some with Lele.
This made Lele incredibly happy. It held one chip in its mouth and one in each hand, then ran three laps around the monkey pack as if to show off.
However, it encountered Huanhuan, who had just returned from being released to roam. Huanhuan snatched all three potato chips, enraging Lele, who ran to complain to Qi Dongqiang.
"Huanhuan! Don't snatch Lele's snacks!" Qi Dongqiang admonished from afar, though it was clearly ineffective, as Huanhuan immediately stuffed the chips into its mouth.
Qi Dongqiang sat beside Yan Shouyi helplessly. He suddenly remembered something and said,
"A few days ago, my monkeys mentioned a strange scent in Mount Emei."
"A strange scent?"
"Yes... it smelled like delicious fruit, and it was about to ripen," Qi Dongqiang frowned. "The monkeys went crazy upon smelling that scent, even disobeying my commands and guarding the spot all day. Only when the scent disappeared did they reluctantly return. Huanhuan told me that they had never smelled anything like it before, that it was incredibly, incredibly fragrant, and the fruit must be delicious."
Tian Jueer, listening to this, was already salivating, and her stomach inconveniently rumbled.
She couldn't help but ask, "What kind of fruit is it then?"
Qi Dongqiang swallowed. "I want to know too, but the source of the scent is within the Emei Sect. I can't get in, and the monkeys can't either."
This piece of information was very useful.
A fruit that could drive monkeys to such frenzy was surely no ordinary thing; it was likely some kind of "spirit fruit" with special abilities.
For animals to cultivate into demons, striving to live longer and then transforming into demons was one path. Another path was discovering some spirit fruit or spiritual herb in the deep mountains and old forests, guarding it until it ripened, and eating it to awaken their spiritual intelligence, thus evolving directly into demons.
The mysterious fruit likely attracted the monkeys for this very reason.
Judging by the timeline Qi Dongqiang provided, the ripening of the fruit seemed to coincide with the incident at the Emei Sect.
Could there be a connection between them?
There was still half an hour until they reached the summit. In half an hour, all the mysteries would be revealed.
...
After a ten-minute rest, their strength replenished, they resumed their climb.
Thirty minutes later, the narrow winding path had disappeared, and a dense primeval forest blocked their way.
The primeval forest had thick vegetation, and the ground was covered with a thick layer of fallen leaves, concealing hidden pits or poisonous snakes.
Even more troublesome, a white mist began to appear around them, reducing visibility to within five meters in just a few minutes.
Beyond five meters, it was a vast expanse of white, and nothing could be seen.
Long Feicheng couldn't help but say, "Dongqiang, are you sure you're taking us the right way? I feel like we're getting lost!"
Qi Dongqiang replied, "We're already near the Emei Sect. Every time we approach it, the mountain gets foggy, making us lose our direction. We end up going down the mountain. I've been in these mountains for so long, and sometimes I tried to sneak into the Emei Sect to see Caiyun, but I've never succeeded."
Everyone heard this and became somewhat at a loss. With the mist blocking their way, how would they find the Emei Sect?
The people from Qingcheng Mountain and Dianyi Sect should have a way, but no one regretted not joining them earlier.
All eyes fell on Yan Shouyi.
Yan Shouyi appeared confident, completely unconcerned by the white mist.
His grandmother, Wen Yuxian, was within the Yin Wood on his person. If he released her, she would surely find the way into the Emei Sect.
However, Yan Shouyi did not wish to disturb his grandmother's rest; he had other means.
He pulled out a token from his satchel, inscribed with the words "Tai'e Ling."
This was given to him by Master Guan Yun through Ling Xiaoxiao. It was said that with the Tai'e Ling, one could move unimpeded on Mount Emei.
In other words, with the Tai'e Ling in hand, they were sure to find the way into the Emei Sect!
As expected, as soon as the Tai'e Ling appeared, a golden light flashed around it. Then, the dense mist before them suddenly parted, revealing a small path.
Even more miraculously, they hadn't seen any path before, but the one that appeared now was paved with bluestone slabs, as if it had always been there, but they just hadn't seen it.
The monkeys were all astonished. Lele couldn't help but scratch its head, but realizing it was now bald in the middle, it drooped its head in dejection.
"Mount Emei truly is a sect with a thousand years of heritage!" Zhuge Ji exclaimed.
Qi Dongqiang was extremely excited. "I definitely followed the right person! With this, we can enter the Emei Sect!"
He had known Caiyun for so long, yet he had never glimpsed the Emei Sect. This had almost become his obsession.
And now, he could finally see what Caiyun's usual living and studying environment was like.
Holding the Tai'e Ling, Yan Shouyi began to climb the path.
"Without further ado, let's ascend the mountain quickly."