Underfoot are dark stones, most of which are very fine. Very few are larger than a palm, and the smallest ones have been broken into sand. They are dark gray in color and do not reflect light. From a distance, the mountains look black.
The stones that make up the snow-capped mountains generally have the same texture.
There is no snow yet in this location, but the air is also full of biting cold. The plants have become sparse and low, and most of them are the same kind of shrubs. There are a few plants that resemble pine trees growing, but they are also much taller than elsewhere.
Low, some branches are bent and creeping. It seems that in front of this deep mountain, the strong pine trees have also bent down. At the same time, the trees are covered with a kind of green floc, and the existence of this parasitic plant seems to be
It shows that the local air is humid and foggy.
The swallow next to him was standing on the top of a pine tree that was less than a person tall, looking up at the snow-capped mountains. The cat was stepping on the gravel, but it was looking up at him.
It was empty all around, and there was no sound of birds chirping, only the sound of their voices.
"Swallow, did you get sand in your legs?"
"Legs, how come there is sand in your legs?"
"It's just a lot of little dots."
"What...what..."
"Are your legs numb?"
"Go back to Sanhua Empress, my legs are not numb."
"oh……"
Mao'er paused for a moment and then said: "Then when you feel numb, remember to tell Empress Sanhua, Empress Sanhua has a good idea!"
"Birds rarely have numb legs."
"Then you become a human being."
"I know, I know..."
Song You ignored their words and only looked at the snow-capped mountains for a while before taking steps.
The gravel and gravel underneath creak when stepped on, similar to those on the Gobi Desert.
"Ms. Sanhua, hurry up and talk less. If you think the rocks will hurt your feet, you can let the horses carry you first. The horses can probably take us to a place with snow. After that, it will be too steep, so we can only
Sanhua Empress and I will climb up on our own."
"Miss Sanhua can leave by herself!"
"Whatever, Miss Sanhua." Song You raised his head and glanced, "Anyway, this mountain is not easy to climb."
"Miss Sanhua is amazing!"
"Having confidence is a good thing, but you shouldn't underestimate the enemy."
“Is it harder to climb than Yunding Mountain?”
"It is higher and steeper than Yunding Mountain. It has snow all year round and thin air. It takes more courage to challenge it. There are far fewer people who can climb this mountain than Yunding Mountain." Song You kept walking forward, "And
There is something even more magical here that is not found in Yunding Mountain.”
"What meow?"
"I heard that a local warlock once came to climb this mountain. The warlock was very confident, thinking that with his own skills, everyone had climbed this mountain before, and he would be able to climb it easily. Unexpectedly, the process of climbing the mountain was not only
It did not become easier because of his skills, but became more difficult, and those warlocks almost died on the mountain."
"Really meow?"
"I didn't know whether it was true or false before I came here. After I came, I saw the mysterious aura in the mountains and it seemed that it was probably true."
"Well……"
Cat stared at him seriously, lost in thought.
"In short, this is a sacred mountain. Not to mention how many gods it has. It has been standing here for countless thousands of years. It is our predecessor. Empress Sanhua should respect it." Song You said, "If it is not absolutely necessary, Empress Sanhua
It's best not to use spiritual power or spells here, otherwise the aura in the mountain will be affected, which may make it more difficult for us to climb the mountain."
"Do you think we're rude?"
"You can also say that."
As he spoke, the Taoist turned slightly sideways and lowered his head, just in time to look at Mao'er: "Sanhua Empress has always been a cat god who understands etiquette and propriety, right?"
"Yes!"
"very good……"
The Taoist withdrew his gaze and continued upward.
Normally when climbing mountains, he hardly uses any magic or spiritual power, and he certainly didn't use it today.
But he still felt tired quickly.
The mountain became steeper, the walking became more strenuous, and the air became thinner, which made it difficult for him to breathe. He couldn't help but pant, and his physical strength also dropped significantly. His muscles weakened faster and his recovery slowed down. It seemed like he was really on this mountain.
He became like an ordinary person without cultivation. Apparently because his physique and physical strength were far beyond ordinary people, the spirit of this sacred mountain that he met for the first time still gave him some care.
Song You did not resist this process.
He looked back at the cat. The cat was almost as tired as he was.
At the same time, because she is a mobile phone and does not wear shoes, the gravel on the ground is both sharp and harsh for her feet, and it is also loose and loose. She often steps on a stone, and the stone will suddenly run away, and her
Her feet can't help but crack. Even if she can adjust immediately, the process still makes her walking more troublesome.
The swallow sat on a small branch nearby.
This small tree is already less than half a person tall.
Every once in a while, he would flap his wings and fly up to the front of the Taoist group. He would stop and wait for them. When they caught up and passed him, he would continue to fly further ahead and wait.
We walked for probably half a day, and I don’t know how long the journey was.
The sacred mountain has become closer. When you look up at it, it almost occupies the entire field of view. At this time, most of the bodies of the sacred mountain are covered with snow-white coats. The black parts seen at the Tianshan Pass have already been seen.
They are almost gone.
There are almost no plants around. The ground is all dark gray and almost ink-colored gravel. Only a few large stones can grow a pitifully small but tenacious plant.
Snow accumulates in some shades.
Swallows walk hard on the ground.
"call……"
The calico cat was so tired that he stuck out his tongue and panted like a dog. When he turned around, he noticed the abnormality of the swallow. He couldn't help but was stunned. The fatigue on his face suddenly disappeared, leaving only doubts and novelty:
"Why don't you fly?"
"Can't fly anymore."
"Why meow? Are you tired too?"
"It's too high and can't fly."
"Aren't you a sparrow?"
"Miss Sanhua doesn't know something." The swallow stopped on a stone. He was obviously very tired, but he answered patiently. His tone was very much like that of Song You, "A bird can't fly as high as it wants. It's different.
Birds have different abilities in this regard."
"Well……"
The cat opened his eyes wide, as if he just knew this.
The Taoist next to him also stopped, leaning on his staff to rest and breathe, his breath turned white, and asked: "How high can a swallow usually fly?"
"Ordinary swallows hunt for food, and most of them only fly within a hundred feet from the ground when playing. If necessary, they can fly up to a thousand feet high." The swallow stuttered this time not because of nervousness, but simply because he was a little out of breath.
"I can usually fly up to several thousand feet high, but it seems different here."
"That's it..."
Song You nodded, leaning on his stick and thinking.
Swallows have already had difficulty flying a long time ago. They can no longer fly some distance behind them and can only jump. In addition, there is gradually no grass growing around them, and not even moss can be seen. You can probably judge where you are now.
The absolute height of the location.
Using Dayan's scale, the distance from the sea level should be between 1,500 feet and 2,000 feet. Using calculations from previous lives, it's probably about 5,000 meters above sea level.
The snow-capped mountains in front of us are still majestic.
There is still a long way and a long way to reach the top in one day.
"Then in this case——"
The clear voice of the calico cat came from the side, obviously a little weak: "Then the calico cat can catch you as soon as she pounces on you? You can't fly, you can't run fast, you can't run at all."
"..."
Yanzi felt nervous and numb.
"Miss Sanhua, don't scare the swallows." Song You glanced at the swallows and knew that the swallows' legs are very weak and they are not good at walking and jumping. "If you are tired, just go on the back of a horse. You can walk and climb mountains by yourself.
Not a bird’s specialty.”
"Yan An can still walk."
"Empress Sanhua lied to him." Sanhua Cat sighed, "Empress Sanhua is also exhausted."
"Miss Sanhua is very powerful."
"But don't underestimate the enemy!"
"Sanhua Empress, please hold on." Song You stopped trying to persuade her now, "Everyone can reach the top. Sanhua Empress was once the cat god and was extremely talented. How could she give up so easily?"
"right!"
Cat's expression suddenly condensed.
"Let's go."
The Taoist has rested enough and continues to move forward.
My breath was filled with white mist, and I became more and more tired as I walked.
The air is obviously very cold, but the physical exertion is huge, and the body can't help sweating. When I sweat, my clothes are wet. When the wind blows, it immediately seems to be frozen, and the ice is cold, taking away the body temperature.
Take a break every time you walk.
"Shenhu Glacier..."
Taoists often raise their heads and look into the distance.
Since the ice aura is in the sacred mountain, it can never be on the top of the mountain. The top of the mountain is so sharp that only a few people can stand on it. How can there be an ice lake?
It must be somewhere at the foot of the mountain.
It's just that the mountain is too big.
The merchants in the carriage and horse shop said that "it takes two to three hundred miles to go around the mountain" may be a bit exaggerated, but the exaggeration is definitely not much. Even if Song You has climbed to this position, if he wants to go around the mountain, he may not say much.
We have to walk dozens of miles, but we don’t know where the Shenhu Glacier is.
The Taoist is not in a hurry——
Since it is a search, it depends on fate.
It's good to meet nature on the road. Even if you can't, you will definitely climb this mountain.
After reaching the top of the mountain, even if there are clouds blocking the view of the scene below, you are already at the top of the sacred mountain where the aura gathers. You can naturally know where the aura of the sacred lake and ice is.
Before I knew it, the ground was already covered with snow.
The snow was getting thicker and thicker, and the world in front of them turned into a world of snow, making walking more and more difficult for the group.
The Taoist was panting, but his expression was calm.
Cats and swallows followed him.
A series of footprints were left on the snow.
This is just the beginning.
There are unpredictable weather conditions, and the weather in the mountains can change at any time.
I don't know when, the wind started blowing between the sky and the earth. In an instant, the originally good weather became turbid. Dark clouds rolled up overhead. Occasionally, thunder and lightning flashed, so close that it seemed to explode in my ears. The world was as low and depressing as...
It's the end of the world, and the wind is blowing so hard that people can't stand still.
"Boom..."
A bolt of lightning struck overhead.
The sky began to flutter, and fog began to form again, which compressed the line of sight again and made the world darker and turbid.
In such a world, on the back of the snow-capped mountains at the foot of the sacred mountain, a Taoist bent down with a stick and walked against the wind and snow, but his footsteps remained firm. Behind him was a bay-red horse carrying a heavy load, and a calico cat was almost buried in the snow.
Snow covered most of his body, his hair was blown by the wind, and his eyebrows were narrowed. There was also a swallow that was almost blown away by the wind, and it followed him against the wind and snow.
"It's already autumn..."
Song You looked up at the dark clouds and thunder in the sky and murmured to himself.
The cold wind quickly took away the moisture and temperature from his body, causing his face to turn red and his lips to become chapped. In addition to his thick robe, he was wrapped in several layers of clothes and a paper fur coat.
Snow fell heavily on my head and shoulders.
"Is it cold, Sanhua Empress?"
"Sanhua Empress is cold."
"Want me to hug you?"
"Sanhua Empress can walk on her own." Cat said as she was stuck in the snow. Her voice was very thin, but most of it disappeared when the wind blew it. Fortunately, she was close enough that she could barely hear her clearly.
"Maybe this snow mountain attaches great importance to us and treats us as distinguished guests. It welcomes us too much." Song You turned around and looked at the wind and snow around him, his expression naturally not flinching at all, "We can't live up to its hospitality.
It’s only with good intentions.”
"Well……"
"Have you seen a stone wall in front of you before, Lady Sanhua? There seems to be a cave there. We will rest there today. After we have rested enough, we will climb to the top of the mountain in one breath."
"Boom..."
Thunder and lightning exploded in the distance.
It feels like a snowstorm.
Ahead is the resting place chosen by the Taoist before. When the weather was good before, I saw a stone wall there. Because of the special angle, it is not easily affected by avalanches. There is also a faint hole in the stone wall. I don’t know whether it was formed naturally or by some senior expert.
Song You planned to take a look at what was left behind.
Calculating it should be less than a mile away.
But at this time, facing the strong wind, walking through the snow, and the air was getting thinner and thinner, it took nearly half an hour to stop and go.
It seems that the saying "you will become stupid when you are on a very high mountain" has taken effect again, and it seems to be too tired. Apart from following the Taoist, the calico cat will walk when the Taoist goes and stop when the Taoist stops. She has almost stopped talking.
, whenever he stops, he will definitely stand still with a stunned expression.
Swallows are even more difficult.
Until an almost black gable stone wall appeared faintly between the dark and turbid sky and earth. The Taoist walked over in one breath, walked along the stone wall, and finally found the cave he had seen before.
It is indeed a cave.
The irregular cave entrance is more than half a foot in diameter and two to three feet deep. It is somewhat curved and irregular inside. There are traces of many people living inside. It looks like there was a cave originally and it was later carved by humans.
It was developed and became a resting place for climbers.
"Sanhua Empress."
Song You looked back at Mao'er who was in a daze, lowered his head slightly, and walked in.
The cat also reacted and quickly followed.
"call……"
The Taoist finally breathed a sigh of relief.
It's not necessarily warmer in the cave than outside, but the cold wind is far less arrogant and arrogant. The slightest sound of the wind gives people a sense of calm. When the body temperature rises, you will naturally feel warm.
"call……"
The cat also imitated him and heaved a sigh of relief, tilted his body, and fell to the ground on his side. His expression was dull, his eyes were dull, but he didn't speak.