"Haven't we arrived yet?"
This was the nth time Chen Yun had asked the middle-aged Taoist priest. Since we started climbing the mountain, we had been walking. We ate something in between, then continued to climb. Now the sun was high in the sky, but we still hadn't reached the summit.
Chen Yun had lost her previous elegance. Her hair, matted with sweat, clung to her face in strands. Her slightly full chest rose and fell with her breathing, but no one was looking at the beautiful scenery.
I was also exhausted. My chest felt like it was on fire, and I was gasping for air. Now I finally understood what Chen Yun meant by "I'm afraid it's not the same place."
Although we hadn't walked fast, judging by the time and our exhaustion, we should have reached the top of a hundred-story building. Yet, the steps leading up the mountain were still shrouded in mist. The area below the mountain was also covered in mist. Even though the sun warmed us, the mist showed no signs of dissipating.
The middle-aged Taoist priest, who had been climbing for the same amount of time, looked exactly as he did when we first saw him. Not a wrinkle on his clothes, not a drop of sweat on his face. He shook his head and looked at us, saying, "With your abilities, how dare you challenge the Hu family? Aren't you tired of living?" With that, he continued up the mountain, leaving behind a mysterious silhouette.
The young Taoist priest sneered, looked at me without speaking, and then his lips moved slightly. He followed the middle-aged Taoist priest up the mountain into the mist. I wanted to get up and chase them, but I was too weak to do so.
Chen Yun gritted her teeth, her face filled with anger. She glared at the retreating back of the young Taoist priest, wishing she could bite him a few times.
Seeing this, I looked at her confusedly and asked, "What's wrong? He didn't do anything to you. Why are you suddenly so angry?"
Chen Yun rolled her eyes at me, her anger undiminished, and said, "If someone called you a stupid pig to your face, how would you react?"
"What reaction? I'd kill him. Wait, did that young Taoist priest just call us stupid?"
"What else?" Chen Yun tapped her sore and numb legs, quietly cursing the young Taoist priest's shamelessness.
I looked at the steps leading up the mountain again, which seemed to be in the clouds. I slapped my forehead. It wasn't that we were stupid; we were incredibly stupid. Forget him calling me a stupid pig; I was probably worse than a pig.
*Slap—*
Seeing me slap my own forehead, Chen Yun chuckled. "Don't take your anger out on yourself! They probably haven't gone far. Hurry up and chase them and beat up that young Taoist priest. That would be a way to vent my anger. I'm counting on you."
"No wonder they say big breasts mean no brains. How come you, who don't have big breasts, also have no brains? No wonder they call you a stupid pig; you deserve it!" I retorted.
In fact, I should have realized earlier that this was an illusion, but it was several times more sophisticated than the illusions Chen Yun usually set up. If we continued to follow them up the mountain, the only outcome would be exhaustion, with no other way to die.
"What did you say? Kid, you dare to mock me for not having breasts? Are you blind?" Chen Yun, somehow finding the strength, suddenly stood up. Ignoring the pain in her legs, she lunged to grab my ear, but I easily dodged her.
"Stop messing around. You're a master of illusions. Don't you realize we've been tricked and are trapped in someone else's illusion?"
"Huh? Impossible?" Chen Yun, as an expert in illusions, was naturally not someone like me, a reckless youth. After carefully sensing her surroundings, her face turned slightly red, and then darkened.
As a self-proclaimed master of illusions, she had fallen into an illusion without realizing it, and had been foolishly exhausted. It could be said that she had lost all face this time.
It wasn't entirely her fault. In fact, I should have noticed something was wrong when those two Taoist priests appeared. Although "Fox Immortal Temple" has the word "temple" in its name, it's not a real Taoist temple; it's just a name. Since it's not a real temple, how could there be Taoist priests?
The lineage of wild immortals evolved from shamanism. Normally, their clothing should resemble the ancient shamanic attire used for rituals. Even if they didn't wear ancient ritualistic clothing, they should be dressed like modern people. The appearance of Taoist priests was the biggest flaw.
Also, the food we ate on the way up tasted like chewing wax, but because we were hungry, it tasted sweet. However, after climbing for several hours, I only felt tired, not hungry, which was even more abnormal.
Practitioners are also human, and their bodies have limits. Although they are generally stronger than ordinary people, their bodily functions are no different from ordinary people. Without eating, they would be so hungry that their vision would blur and their legs would go weak. As for the legendary辟谷 (bì gǔ - abstaining from grains, a form of fasting), it's complete nonsense.辟谷 doesn't mean not eating at all, but rather eating very little, consuming highly concentrated essence and energy as food. It's like the glucose used in hospitals today.
"What do we do now?"
"You ask me? Who should I ask? I don't know illusions. Aren't you a master of formations? Hurry up and find a way to break this damned formation..."
"What master of formations? You're still belittling me at this hour? The person who set up this formation is stronger than me. If they were weaker, I would have realized it was an illusion and wouldn't have suffered like this." Chen Yun explained to me indignantly, her two small canine teeth showing, as if ready to bite me to vent her anger at my taunts.
For a moment, we looked at each other, speechless. This wasn't like the small illusion Chen Yun set up in her own home, where the space was so small that her location could be pinpointed and the illusion broken. This illusion was set up in a vast area, and it was in the suburbs. This gave the manipulator much more room to operate, making it much more difficult to break.
Unless we could find the location of the person who set up the formation within the formation itself, which is the "eye of the formation," but looking at the surrounding white mist and the steps that could only be seen going up or down the mountain, it would be difficult to determine the location of the eye of the formation.
After resting for an hour, I stood up and prepared to walk up the mountain, hoping to find a flaw. Since we were trapped in a loop, there must be some clue.
"You're still going to climb? Aren't you afraid of getting exhausted?" Chen Yun asked weakly as I stood up.
"Waiting here is also death. It's better to try walking up the mountain. Maybe there's still some hope?"
"Then you go. I can't walk anymore. I'll wait for you here."
I wanted to persuade her to come with me, but I remembered that this was a strange loop, and she was injured. Waiting for me here was fine. I hadn't found any danger after climbing for so long, so she should be safe here.
"Then wait for me here. I'll come back to find you after I've climbed a distance."
Chen Yun didn't say anything this time. She leaned against the steps, drowsy, seemingly having given up and ready to lie down.
I was also very tired, and I wanted to lie down, but the burden on my shoulders wouldn't allow it. My master's teachings also wouldn't let me give up. I could only grit my teeth and continue walking up the mountain.
This time, I walked very slowly, carefully observing the steps, the flowers, and the trees, trying to find a flaw. But there was only silence and the whistling mountain wind, nothing special.
The mist remained, and as before, I could only see about ten steps ahead. When I stepped onto the ninetieth step, my pupils contracted sharply.