Chapter 658 - 657: No More Road
Chen Tianlong finally opened his eyes, stretched lazily, and suddenly noticed Jiang Yufan already dressed and sitting by the bed. He greeted her, saying, "Yufan, you’re up early."
"Oh, I’m not used to sleeping without clothes, so I woke up early." As she said this, Jiang Yufan’s cheeks unknowingly turned red.
"Oh, I see." Chen Tianlong didn’t think much of it and got out of bed, went to the balcony to get his clothes, and dressed.
After quickly washing up, they prepared to set off for Cloud-Piercing Peak.
Their time was very tight; the poison in Chen Tianlong’s body had been there for three days, leaving only three or four days before the Gu Poison would take effect. If they hadn’t gathered the medicine by then, it would be too late.
The trip would take two days even if everything went smoothly. If any unforeseen circumstances arose, time could be delayed, which would be very troublesome. After all, Cloud-Piercing Peak was a four-thousand-meter summit, and it would take a lot of time to go up and down unless there was an exception.
From this town to Cloud-Piercing Peak was about ten kilometers. Chen Tianlong had no money on him, so he could only walk with Jiang Yufan. Fortunately, ten kilometers wasn’t too far, taking about one or two hours on foot, which wasn’t too difficult.
"Yufan, are you tired?" Chen Tianlong noticed Jiang Yufan’s pace slowing down as they walked, clearly showing fatigue. However, time was pressing, and Jiang Yufan didn’t want to hold Chen Tianlong back, so she forced herself to continue walking.
"Oh, not tired, hehe." Jiang Yufan deliberately said.
However, Chen Tianlong could see through it, so he quickly moved in front of her, bent down, and said, "Hop on."
Jiang Yufan was initially hesitant but seeing Chen Tianlong turn back and pat his own back, she said, "I am a cultivator."
"Alright then." Jiang Yufan, hearing Chen Tianlong’s words, felt reassured.
She had heard that Ancient Martial Cultivators, they would carry hundreds of jin worth of goods while running to train. Now, with her being just over ninety jin, it should be no problem.
Thus, she took a few steps forward and climbed onto Chen Tianlong’s broad and strong back. Chen Tianlong slowly stood up and said, "Hold on tight."
"Mm." Jiang Yufan nodded in response.
To save time, Chen Tianlong began using his strength, and with the sparsely populated area, they sped up. After all, these were mountain paths, and the peaks were high, with only a few people seen occasionally along the way.
On Chen Tianlong’s back, Jiang Yufan felt a sense of happiness. She had done almost everything she wanted to do with Chen Tianlong in this life. At this moment, she just wanted to take a good nap on his back, which, though it wouldn’t be long, would be enough for her to reminisce.
After about half an hour, Chen Tianlong stopped, took a deep breath, and was surprised to see the towering mountain peak ahead.
At this time, Jiang Yufan also noticed that Chen Tianlong had stopped. She slowly opened her eyes and realized they had already reached Cloud-Piercing Peak.
There weren’t many people at the foot of the mountain, but there were some groups climbing in threes and fives, with about five or six groups. Jiang Yufan requested to get off Chen Tianlong’s back, and he sensibly crouched down a bit.
After Jiang Yufan got down, the two stood shoulder to shoulder, looking at the majestic mountain ahead, feeling somewhat astonished.
Though they had known the mountain was over four thousand meters high, witnessing it in reality was still surprising, and suddenly the task felt significantly more daunting.
"Whew... let’s go." Chen Tianlong exhaled deeply, adjusted his breath, and said.
"Mm, okay." Jiang Yufan had been resting all this time, so setting out now had no effect on her, and since Chen Tianlong was a cultivator, he could move normally again after adjusting his breath.
They continued up the mountain hand in hand, not because Chen Tianlong liked it, but because he felt holding Jiang Yufan’s hand could make it easier for her, with no other meaning.
The peak was high and steep, with several people climbing for leisure. Tour groups took a few people, narrating as they went along.
Chen Tianlong and Jiang Yufan weren’t there for sightseeing, so they continued ascending the steps, resting under the shade when tired for a few minutes before continuing.
In this manner, after about three hours of stop-and-go walking,
they looked back and realized the people had thinned out, except for a few sporadic climbers; tourists were almost nowhere to be seen. Chen Tianlong assessed their situation, realizing they were far from the ground, conservatively estimating two thousand meters high.
It’s no wonder those tourists had disappeared. They probably considered the time needed to get down after ascending, and they would be hungry, tired, and unable to descend once they reached the peak.
So, tourists usually didn’t continue after reaching two thousand meters.
Chen Tianlong gave a wry smile as he looked at the stairs seemingly ending not far ahead and wondered why they finished so quickly.
"Huh? Chen Tianlong, it seems the path is almost gone ahead. Could we be at the summit of Cloud-Piercing Peak?" Jiang Yufan also noticed this and asked in surprise.
"Well... I don’t think so; this is at most two thousand meters up. If Cloud-Piercing Peak is what they say, it should be over a thousand meters higher. The remaining distance shouldn’t be just two hundred meters. Do you think that’s possible?" Chen Tianlong shared his thoughts.
"Oh, Cloud-Piercing Peak is indeed over four thousand meters. There was a dedicated report and measurement before, which is undoubtedly true." Jiang Yufan said confidently.
This she was sure about.
"Well... that’s a bit miraculous." Chen Tianlong pondered for a moment, then slowly stood up, saying, "Well, instead of guessing here, we might as well go and see. The truth will naturally come to light."
Jiang Yufan nodded, and they began to walk forward. To be honest, the stairs here were evidently made with shortcuts, as the quality had deteriorated considerably. The previous stone stairs seemed sturdy, but the higher they climbed, the rougher it became, and at the end, there wasn’t even any concrete used.
At this moment, they stood at the end of the stairs, but it wasn’t the end of the peak, just the end of the stairs. Replacing them was a paved concrete area of about fifty square meters, presumably for those who climbed here to rest.
Chen Tianlong stood on the ground, continuing to observe the surroundings, and noticed a winding mountain path in the upper right corner of the area. Yet, there were no stone steps, just a regular mountain stony path, with many shrubs blocking the way.
"Chen Tianlong, it seems there’s no path ahead. What should we do?" Jiang Yufan was a bit discouraged, having worked hard to climb so high only to find no way forward.
"Oh, there won’t be a road, just like Qilin Mountain. We need to make our own way." Chen Tianlong gave a wry smile, feeling like a road worker, spending two consecutive days mountain climbing, feeling really exhausted.
"Ah? We have to make our way again." Jiang Yufan was taken aback, somewhat helpless.