I Need To Find A Way To Make Her Love Me Again - Chapter 14

After the few of them subdued the Enraged Ear Monkey, they explained the recent strange phenomena to the villagers, assuring them that things would return to normal, and then bid farewell. They still needed to continue their journey to Qingding Mountain.

The mist and fog outside the mountain were thick and perennial, shielding them from the summer heat. Yan Xingyu looked up at the seemingly endless, winding stone steps carved into the green forest. Turning to Liu Ruoni, she asked, “Why did you bring us here?”

“Qingding Mountain is divided into the Outer and Inner Sects. The Outer Sect’s Taoist Hall is where ordinary disciples cultivate and live, and where they receive common folk. The Inner Sect’s Taoist Hall is where we direct disciples, masters, and elders cultivate.”

They had flown all the way, and Liu Ruoni had led them past the Outer Sect directly to the path leading to the Inner Sect. Looking at the steps before them, she explained, “Our founding ancestor here established a rule: Inner Sect disciples returning to the Hall cannot use spiritual power. They must personally climb the ten thousand Heavenly Stairs to reach the summit.”

Yan Xingyu’s eyes widened upon hearing this and seeing the dense steps. After a long moment, she said, “Is your founding ancestor serious?”

Liu Ruoni took a step forward and said, “Of course he is. Don’t waste time, let’s go, or we won’t get back in time.”

Guan Fei, deep in thought, quietly tried to use her spiritual power to move forward, but an unknown force suddenly appeared and bounced her out of the stairwell.

She was thrown back three feet, but thankfully, the person and the fox were agile and quickly regained their balance.

Yan Xingyu was surprised by this and asked, “Guan Fei, are you alright?”

Liu Ruoni looked back and smiled, “Miss Guan, our founding ancestor is a stickler for rules. You can’t disobey him here.”

Jiaoyu looked up at Guan Fei, whose complexion seemed a bit off. He jumped back into her arms and asked, “What’s wrong?”

Guan Fei replied, “Nothing.”

Yan Xingyu thought that if Guan Fei couldn’t use spiritual power, she was truly blind. This rule set by the Qingding Mountain ancestor seemed specifically designed to target her.

Considering Guan Fei’s inconvenience, Yan Xingyu looked at the tall trees around them, spotted a good-looking branch, flew up to cut it down, trimmed it a bit, tested it, and only then handed it to Guan Fei.

Guan Fei accepted the wooden staff. Without needing any explanation, she understood the other party’s intention, and her lips curled into a smile. “Xingyu, thank you.”

“It’s nothing. Guan Fei, walk slowly and be careful not to fall.”

Guan Fei said, “Alright. If you walk fast, you go ahead. I’ll catch up later.”

Yan Xingyu agreed.

However, climbing the ten thousand steps without spiritual power was truly exhausting. Initially, Yan Xingyu could keep up with Liu Ruoni, but she gradually lost strength. Turning to see Guan Fei far behind them, she gasped and complained, “Isn’t your founding ancestor simply tormenting people?”

Liu Ruoni had been climbing for a long time, but still looked composed. She said, “It’s alright, you get used to it after climbing for a while.” She then pulled out a small ceramic bottle and smiled, “Want a Power Pill? I’ll sell you one cheaply.”

“Go away, go away, I don’t have money,” Yan Xingyu snapped in frustration.

Liu Ruoni chuckled, “I don’t mind if you buy on credit.”

“I do mind. No, don’t, and stop trying to sell me these weird talismans and elixirs in the future.”

“Okay, fine.”

Seeing the look of disappointment on Liu Ruoni’s face, Yan Xingyu bent over and lowered her head, not wanting to look. Just as she was thinking of resting for a moment before continuing, a rumbling sound suddenly echoed through the forest.

She looked around in confusion, searching for the source of the strange noise.

Liu Ruoni’s face changed upon hearing the sound. She quickly pulled out a short iron rod and handed it to Yan Xingyu, taking one for herself, and looked cautiously ahead.

Yan Xingyu took the iron rod, wondering what it was for, when she looked up and saw a strange beast appear: it had a fish head, flapping ears, was one inch long, had four feet, and bright, colorful scales.

“Damn it, why is this thing here?”

Liu Ruoni said, “This is a Hoo Beast that our founding ancestor used to keep. You can’t actually hurt it, or it will attract thunder tribulation.”

Yan Xingyu was truly speechless upon hearing this. She cursed, “Is your founding ancestor out of his mind? Why keep this thing?”

Liu Ruoni didn’t have time to answer before the Hoo Beast swung its body and quickly lunged at them. She could only flip over to dodge it.

Yan Xingyu also quickly dodged, noticing that the Hoo Beast was charging toward Guan Fei. Her heart sank, and she yelled, “Guan Fei, a demon beast is coming! Be careful!” Saying this, she rushed toward Guan Fei.

Sensing the rumbling sound approaching, Guan Fei frowned. She put the little fellow in her arms down. Jiaoyu looked up and saw her take out a jade token, shaped like a seashell, and place it in front of her. As the Hoo Beast slammed into her, it was somehow blocked about a meter away and could not move forward.

“Yuyu, go to Xingyu’s side.”

Jiaoyu heard her but did not move, looking at the white silk fluttering in the wind, a hint of complexity flashing in its eyes.

Yan Xingyu found that she could not summon Little Silver, mentally cursing the Qingding Mountain ancestor for being sick. Not letting people use spiritual power was one thing, but keeping a demon beast on the mountain? Was he randomly feeding his disciples to it?

Seeing that Guan Fei had blocked the Hoo Beast with something, creating a moment of respite, Yan Xingyu flew over and began fighting it.

However, the Hoo Beast’s scales were tough. Without the enhancement of spiritual power, Yan Xingyu’s strikes were ineffective. It lashed its tail, throwing her off, and continued to ram its head forward, trying to break the barrier in front of it.

Seeing that hitting it was useless, Yan Xingyu shouted, “Liu Ruoni, find me a sturdy rope!”

“What are you going to do?” Liu Ruoni was also puzzled, seeing that the Hoo Beast was only charging at Guan Fei.

“This guy is too tough to hit. Get a rope and tie it up!”

Liu Ruoni said, “It’s not that easy to tie up,” but she still pulled out a short rope that looked like a vine and threw it to Yan Xingyu.

“Grip it tightly with five fingers, and it will lengthen.”

Yan Xingyu heard her, gripped the short rope tightly, and it indeed lengthened. When she released her grip, it stopped lengthening. Mastering the method, she flew and climbed onto the Hoo Beast’s body. But at that moment, the barrier in front of Guan Fei showed signs of cracking.

Sensing this, Yan Xingyu was startled. She took two steps in quick succession, bit down on the short rope, and crawled forward. One hand grasped the Hoo Beast’s body, and the other wielded the iron rod, striking at its gills.

With another fierce slam, a cracking sound echoed in the air, along with the painful, shrill cry of the Hoo Beast. Enraged, it bared its teeth and sprayed a large blast of cold mist from its mouth towards Guan Fei.

Yan Xingyu’s hand was also touched by some of the cold mist, and it instantly froze. Seeing the cloud of mist ahead and knowing Guan Fei was in it, her heart instantly seized up.

Was Guan Fei about to be frozen by this Hoo Beast?!

“Guan Fei! Are you alright!” she shouted. As the mist cleared, a fiery red long tail stood before her. Guan Fei was wrapped inside it, and the now-giant little fox’s eyes had turned fierce.

The Hoo Beast became excited when it saw a demon beast as large as itself. It lifted its long tail high and continued to charge forward.

Jiaoyu looked at the charging Hoo Beast, released Guan Fei, and exposed its sharp claws, engaging in a fight with the Hoo Beast. Yan Xingyu managed to wedge the iron rod into the Hoo Beast’s scales so she wasn’t thrown off during their struggle.

Seeing the little fellow attack viciously, tearing one of the Hoo Beast’s flapping ears, Liu Ruoni’s heart sank. She looked up and saw that the sky was indeed beginning to turn dark.