bookrandom Chapter 231 White grass stretches to the sky, a ladder to heaven connects to the clouds
Chapter 231 White grass stretches to the sky, a ladder to heaven connects to the clouds
The closer you get to Wushan, the colder it gets, as if you've stepped from early summer into the dead of winter.
Halfway there, Chu Lengyu stopped and looked back.
Behind her were lush green mountains and countless forests, while in front of her was a vast expanse of white snow and endless white grass.
The creation of heaven and earth is truly wondrous.
Chu Lengyu sighed, somewhat disappointed, when she saw that no one was following her and there wasn't even anyone keeping watch.
Yi Xiaoqi turned around to look after her, thinking something was wrong, but there was nothing there.
She roughly understood and scoffed, "What are you waiting for, senior? How many people in the world are so risky and precarious?"
Moreover, this is Wushan, and this senior is a grandmaster.
Even if someone had the intention to steal, they wouldn't have the guts.
Chu Lengyu shook her head and said regretfully, "Coming to the market but not engaging in any robbery or killing feels incomplete."
"Senior...you've been reading too many storybooks, haven't you?" Yi Xiaoqi muttered under her breath, beginning to suspect that the spirit stone was something she had deliberately used to "fish" for money.
The two then continued on their journey without speaking again.
Yi Xiaoqi tugged at her thin clothes, occasionally half-hiding behind her to avoid the sweeping, cold north wind.
If she had known she was coming here, she would have made different preparations for today's departure. Although she was a little disheveled, she was not angry, but instead appeared poised and graceful.
As the hillside gradually became steeper, Yi Xiaoqi said as he walked, "The Lianyun Plank Road ahead is the only passage to ascend Misty Mountain. There are no checkpoints here, and everyone can challenge themselves to climb it and prove their cultivation."
"Legend has it that it has three thousand steps, and a grandmaster set the rules hundreds of years ago—"
"Upon reaching the five hundred steps, one can receive guidance from a grandmaster once, and have the opportunity to be accepted as a disciple."
"Climb the thousand steps to challenge the gatekeeper and receive an invitation to the Mist Mountain Tea Party."
As Yi Xiaoqi spoke, an endless longing arose in her heart.
She was extremely curious about what the masters on Misty Mountain would look like, and what the legendary Misty Mountain Tea Party, a gathering of elites, would be like.
Upon hearing this, Chu Lengyu casually asked, "What if we climb all three thousand steps?"
"Finish it?" Yi Xiaoqi paused, then hesitated. "I think I've heard that if you climb three thousand steps, you'll reach a very powerful place."
But no one paid any attention to this vague rumor.
Throughout history, countless challengers have attempted to climb the five hundred steps, but only a select few have managed to do so. Climbing the thousand steps requires exceptional talent, so who would even dare to dream of what the view would be like above the three thousand steps?
"Is that so?" Chu Lengyu smiled and looked up at the mountain peak.
There seemed to be something on the mountaintop that sparked her interest.
……
After climbing the steepest slope, you will find yourself on a relatively open platform.
This place is surrounded by mountains on three sides, which acts as a natural barrier, blocking out the biting cold winds, thus attracting many people.
People built huts and lit bonfires, adding warmth to this cold place.
Yi Xiaoqi shook off the snowflakes from her clothes and was about to speak when someone recognized her and exclaimed in surprise, "Xiaoqi, what brings you here?"
The visitors were a man and a woman, who acted familiarly and were clearly old acquaintances of Yi Xiaoqi.
Yi Xiaoqi frowned for a moment, then quickly relaxed and said to Chu Lengyu, "Senior can go and challenge them on his own. I've run into two acquaintances here, so I'll go and deal with them first."
Although she appeared to be unaffected, the subtle disgust and resistance she revealed could not be hidden from Chu Lengyu.
Ah, just like a little hedgehog, but its quills haven't hardened yet.
Chu Lengyu reached out and pulled Yi Xiaoqi to her side, leading her toward the majestic mountain peak: "Since we're already here, let me take you up to see it."
"Huh?" Yi Xiaoqi was stunned for a moment before she realized what she meant. She actually wanted to take her to climb the towering Lianyun Mountain.
Miss Chu is a Xiantian (innate) cultivator, so climbing a thousand steps shouldn't be difficult for her. However, if she's burdened by this, she probably won't even be able to climb five hundred steps.
Thinking of this, she quickly waved her hand and refused, saying, "Senior, thank you for your kindness, but climbing the ladder is really, really difficult."
"How will you know if you don't try?" Chu Lengyu turned around and smiled at her, a smile that was particularly moving against the backdrop of the snow and ice.
Yi Xiaoqi stood there dumbfounded for a moment until Chu Lengyu gently tossed the peerless sword to her. Only then did she snap out of her daze and hurriedly reach out her hands to catch the sword steadily.
The moment the silver-white sword touched my hand, a chilling sensation pierced my very soul, like ice penetrating straight to my heart.
She looked down at the scabbard and hilt, their smooth, exquisite lines like autumn water or stars descended to earth.
In a daze, she felt that this sword was the most beautiful weapon she had ever seen in her life.
—It must be extremely, extremely, extremely valuable!
She quickly clutched the sword tightly to her chest, as if afraid that it would be snatched away if she let go.
In an instant, she felt that everyone around her was eyeing the sword covetously and could potentially become a thief.
So she held the sword even tighter, glancing around warily, afraid that something might happen.
Lianyunzhan, as its name suggests, connects to the sky and clouds.
It is unknown who first carved out such a steep and dangerous plank road on this misty mountain.
Later generations continued to expand and extend this structure over countless years, eventually forming these three thousand cold stone steps that lead straight to the clouds.
However, its name remains Lianyunzhan.
At this moment, a large crowd had gathered in front of the mountain steps. Some were standing, some were sitting, and all their eyes were on the challengers. They occasionally made noises of discussion.
When Chu Lengyu stepped out of the crowd, she naturally attracted their attention.
An unfamiliar face, and a woman with outstanding looks and an ethereal air, immediately piqued everyone's interest.
Undisturbed by the outside world, she walked straight to the cold stone steps.
Looking around, one can see that the first three hundred steps of this staircase are extremely wide, with each step several meters long, enough to accommodate many people climbing at the same time, which shows how popular Wushan used to be.
The higher steps are hidden in the clouds and mist on the mountainside, indistinct and unclear.
Chu Lengyu released her divine sense, climbing up the steps in front of her, trying to get a full view of it.
As her divine sense continued to ascend, she discovered that the staircase gradually narrowed. By the time she reached the thousandth step, it had become a narrow staircase that could only accommodate one person at a time, and its steepness and danger had increased considerably.
At the thousandth step, there is also a slightly open platform with a white jade gate standing there, and a guard is lingering beside the gate.
Withdrawing her divine sense, she stepped onto the stairs.
First step, second step, third step... She walked quickly without stopping, and in the blink of an eye, she had walked dozens of steps.
Yi Xiaoqi stood at the bottom of the steps, holding his sword, watching Chu Lengyu's departing figure, feeling a little hesitant.
However, she gritted her teeth and made up her mind to follow in Chu Lengyu's footsteps and step onto this challenging cold stone staircase for the first time.
At first, Yi Xiaoqi walked the first few steps without any pressure, and even felt quite relaxed.
However, when she reached the twentieth step, she suddenly realized that the chill here seemed even stronger than when she came up. She couldn't help but wrap her clothes tighter, trying to resist the sudden cold.
As she continued climbing, by the time she reached the fiftieth step, the chill had become exceptionally pronounced, as if she were in the dead of winter.
The biting cold wind kept assaulting her body.
At the eightieth step, Yi Xiaoqi took a deep breath, feeling as if she had swallowed a block of ice, so cold that she could hardly breathe.
However, she did not stop there.
Yi Xiaoqi gritted her teeth, her eyes flashing with a defiant light; she could still walk!
She took a deep breath and took another step. Although each step was extremely difficult, she never gave up.
At the hundredth step, she looked up and found that Chu Lengyu's figure had reached the end of the three hundredth step, where clouds and mist began to obscure it, making it appear hazy and indistinct, as if it might disappear at any moment.
"Miss Chu, wait for me!" Yi Xiaoqi couldn't help but call out.
Her voice trembled slightly in the cold wind.