Jiang Yan walked in front while Zhou Wen followed behind. They moved up step by step. After passing the Immortal Chance Stone, it was another long and boring mountain-climbing journey.
The two of them only occasionally drank some water and ate. They basically didn't stop. Even so, it was already four days later when they reached the mountainside.
In just four days, the two of them had lost a lot of weight. Their eyes and cheeks had sunk in, making them look like skin and bones.
Both of them were quite handsome, but now they looked like little old men with their backs hunched.
They couldn't be blamed. Every step they took required all their strength. The drain on their bodies was just too great, and they couldn't stop to rest or sleep. It was already because of their extraordinary physiques that they could last this long. If it were an ordinary Epic expert, they probably wouldn't have been able to last this long even if they didn't die of exhaustion on the Immortal-Seeking Path.
Looking up, there was still no end to the mountain and stone steps. Looking down, there were clouds lingering, and they couldn't see anything. In this godforsaken place where they couldn't see the sky or the ground, the reason why they knew that they were halfway up the mountain was because of the huge rock beside them that had the words "Half Cliff" engraved on it.
"After Half Cliff, there's still half the way up, but it's more difficult than the road ahead. Can you still hold on? If you can't, you can rest on Half Cliff's platform for a day before turning around and descending the mountain. That way, you won't be affected by the Immortal Seeking Mountain's taboos. However, once you reach Half Cliff's platform, you can't continue climbing, "Jiang Yan said.
"Since we're already here, we have to go up and take a look. We can't give up halfway. I can still persevere. Let's continue," Zhou Wen said.
"After Half Cliff, continue walking forward and you will see something. When the time comes, no matter what you see, don't speak or make a sound. Just keep your mouth shut and walk forward. Otherwise, something bad will happen," Jiang Yan added.
"Don't speak. I'll remember that." Zhou Wen nodded slightly, but he was somewhat puzzled.
The taboos on Immortal Seeking Mountain weren't written anywhere. For Jiang Yan to know these taboos, someone must have tried it before. Otherwise, if it was really as Jiang Yan had said — death by taking a step back — Zhou Wen didn't believe that Jiang Yan hadn't taken a step back without knowing.
However, since Jiang Yan didn't say anything, Zhou Wen didn't ask. He continued walking behind Jiang Yan.
The stone steps at the foot of the mountain were very narrow, but after passing Half Cliff, the stone steps became much wider. It was more than enough for two or three people to walk side by side.
But now, the two of them couldn't speak. If they walked side by side, it would be even worse if they accidentally said something. So, the two of them walked one after the other. Neither of them said a word, as if they were two mutes.
Zhou Wen felt his legs tremble with every step he took. No matter how powerful a Primordial Energy Art or Primordial Energy Skill was, it was useless in this godforsaken place. Using external forces to strengthen his physique and Strength would also raise the strange power. It would still push his body to its limits.
As he walked, Zhou Wen's gaze inadvertently swept across the stone steps in front of him. His pupils constricted as he nearly shouted.
If Jiang Yan hadn't warned him in advance, he definitely would've cried out. This was because there was a corpse lying on the stone path above. And the corpse's clothes and appearance were identical to Zhou Wen's.
Zhou Wen was puzzled, but he couldn't say a word. All he could do was continue walking forward. As he walked, he sized up the corpse by the side of the road. No matter how he looked at it, it was identical to him. However, the corpse that had collapsed on the stone steps was no longer breathing.
It must be the same as before. It's still an illusion. Zhou Wen stopped looking at the corpse and continued walking.
After tiring himself to death, he walked for a while and made a turn around a ridge. Then, he saw another corpse on the stone steps in front of him.
This time, he could see it even more clearly. It was a corpse that looked like Zhou Wen. What Zhou Wen couldn't stand was that the corpse that looked like him wasn't covered by any clothes. Its limbs were wide open and it was nailed to the mountain wall by nails. It looked like it had died an extremely tragic death.
Everything is an illusion … Everything is nothingness … I'll bear with it … Zhou Wen secretly calmed himself down. Although he knew that it was only an illusion, it was still infuriating. The key point was that the person resembled him too much. Even the marks and scars on his body were identical.
As he walked up, Zhou Wen saw all sorts of ways of dying. Some were hung to death, while others were cleaved into two by a knife. All sorts of deaths were extremely tragic.
However, he didn't feel much about such things after seeing so many of them. Along the way, he had seen at least hundreds and thousands of ways of dying. He was already used to it.
After walking for another seven or eight days, when the sun rose again, the two of them finally saw the top of the mountain. There were no buildings there, only a crooked tree of an unknown species growing at the top of the mountain. Its branches extended all the way to the edge of the cliff.
On one of the main branches of the crooked tree hung a huge green cocoon. On careful look, the cocoon didn't touch the branch but was floating there.
Under the crooked tree beside it lay a white beast. It was snow-white in color and had two horns on its head. There was a vertical eye on its forehead, but the vertical eye was closed. It was likely the Bai Ze that Jiang Yan had guessed.
Zhou Wen and Jiang Yan walked to the top of the mountain. Bai Ze had definitely discovered them, but it ignored them completely. It continued lying there resting, not caring about them at all. It didn't even look at them.
Zhou Wen had heard from Jiang Yan that the white beast wouldn't take the initiative to attack them. This was also one of the main reasons why he determined that the white beast was Bai Ze.
Bai Ze was an auspicious and kind auspicious beast. It was well-versed in astronomy, geography, the past, and the future. It could speak and distinguish between ghosts and gods. Legend had it that it had once been entrusted by the Yellow Emperor to draw pictures of tens of thousands of ghosts and gods, allowing humans to distinguish ghosts and gods and avoid calamity. It was one of the ancient divine beasts that exorcised evil.
"Did you see those strange corpses previously?" Jiang Yan asked Zhou Wen.
"I saw them. All the corpses looked the same as me," Zhou Wen answered.
"How many were there in total?" Jiang Yan asked again.
"I don't remember. There were so many that I didn't count carefully. There should be more than a thousand." Zhou Wen paused and asked Jiang Yan, "Why are you asking this? Aren't those illusions? "
Jiang Yan looked at Zhou Wen with a strange smile. "More than a thousand? You sure are impressive."
"What do you mean?" Zhou Wen didn't understand what Jiang Yan meant.
Jiang Yan said with a smile, "Legend has it that it's the path from mortality to immortality. It's also the process of shedding mortality. Every corpse illusion you see is a sin you have committed. Only by removing the sins you have committed can you not be erased by the Heavenly Tribulation when you become an immortal. You saw more than a thousand corpses, which means that you have committed more than a thousand capital crimes. "
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