Chapter 8: Tianmen Mountain

Xu Yuan felt rather foolish, truly.

He had somehow hoped that a fool who could freeze a hostage to death would be able to navigate through the wilderness.

After a silence of two seconds, Xu Yuan gently patted Ran Qingmo's shoulder to offer comfort, folded up the map, stood up, and whispered:

"Take me to the highest point around us first. Maybe I can then get a general sense of where we are."

Ran Qingmo's eyes flickered, showing a hint of doubt.

Xu Yuan knew exactly what she was questioning, and said softly:

"Over the years, though I've lived a life of idleness, I've still learned a few things."

"Hm."

Xu Yuan walked to the entrance of the cave, gazing at the misty, dense forest beyond, and glanced back at the black-robed woman packing her belongings, whispering:

"It's still raining outside."

Ran Qingmo glanced at him, then at the water pouch at his waist.

Xu Yuan sighed softly, looking at the damp black robe he wore:

"I know about the Yanling liquid. With that, illnesses like wind-cold aren't a concern anymore. But don't you find it uncomfortable to wear wet clothes?"

Ran Qingmo blinked his eyes, carefully sensing the chill, then nodded in agreement.

Xu Yuan paused for a moment, glancing sideways at the ice spear still piercing through the body of the Yanling serpent, visible beneath the rain.

............

A minute later,

A man and a woman stood in midair, dozens of meters above the ground.

The man wore a rich silk robe, holding a parchment scroll in his hand. The woman covered her face with a thin veil, her figure graceful, holding a rain umbrella made of ice beside him.

The rain was about to cease, the wind still blowing, turning the torrential downpour in the mountains into a soft, lingering drizzle.

Standing on the transparent platform formed by Ran Qingmo’s “Qi,” beneath which stretched a vast forest of colossal trees spanning dozens of meters, the view stretched endlessly into the horizon.

The Wanxing Mountain Range stretched across the southwest frontier of the Great Inland Dynasty, stretching for countless miles.

White mist heavily obscured Xu Yuan’s line of sight, yet upon reaching this elevated plateau, he realized he had no need to determine direction at all.

From afar, at the edge of the forest sea, a massive mountain silhouette loomed, dark and immense.

Though separated by unknown leagues, even through the hazy rain and mist, its colossal presence was clearly visible—like a titanic beast spanning the heavens, so vast that even the world’s highest peaks from a previous life seemed but infants in its shadow.

When the game’s simple map became real, the awe was overwhelming.

Xu Yuan narrowed his eyes, fixating on that immense shadow:

“There… is it Tianmen Mountain?”

Ran Qingmo held the umbrella, his robe gently swaying in the breeze:

“Yes.”

"Can you climb up there?"

"Is the cave dwelling you mentioned up on that peak?"

"Yes."

That particular cave dwelling on Heaven's Gate Mountain was a hidden map within the hot-blooded shounen storyline of *Cang Yuan*.

The conditions to trigger it were quite cliché.

Being pursued, fleeing into the Wanxing Mountain Range, scaling Heaven's Gate Mountain, being forced off the cliff—if one's luck stat exceeded eighty, falling from the cliff would grant entry into that hidden sanctuary.

And if one's luck was below eighty? Then they could simply look forward to the embrace of terminal velocity.

As these thoughts flashed by, Xu Yuan gently shook his head.

According to the game's official guidebook, he recalled that his original self, this third young master, possessed a luck stat of a mere three. He could leap off that sky-hanging cliff a hundred times and still never gain entry; it was as though he had exhausted a lifetime of fortune just by reincarnating.

Now, however, Xu Yuan had Ran Qingmo, a grand expert, by his side. Once they reached the sky-hanging cliff, she could simply carry him down, flying through the air to search for it at their own leisure.

Ran Qingmo stared silently at the colossal Tianmen Mountain for two seconds, then said:

"Very well."

As the words fell, she instantly dissolved the platform formed by qi beneath the two of them.

"........." Xu Yuan.

......

The sensation of free fall was unpleasant, but fortunately, this foolish woman still knew that if he—a commoner—fell from such a height, he would shatter into a paste upon impact.

Just before landing, a subtle, precise force gently enveloped Xu Yuan's body, and the two of them landed safely into the forest in a princess-hug position.

Looking at each other, Ran Qingmo supported herself with one hand, gently placed Xu Yuan on the ground, and spoke calmly:

"Let's go."

Xu Yuan steadied himself, brushing his robe to hide his embarrassment. But upon hearing this, his brow furrowed:

"Go?"

"Hmm." Ran Qingmo nodded.

Xu Yuan quickly estimated in his mind the distance between Tianmen Mountain and their current location, repeating:

"Your meaning is that we walk there?"

Ran Qingmo tilted his head slightly. "Otherwise what?"

"You can fly, can't you?" Xu Yuan said with a strange look. "Walking, we'd need at least a full ten days."

Ran Qingmo remained silent for two seconds, staring intently at Xu Yuan, speaking seriously: "I cannot fly."

"But just now..." Xu Yuan pointed toward the sky.

Ran Qingmo followed his finger to the sky, explaining:

"That is the 'Ice Cloud Stage' from my cultivation technique."

"Ice Cloud Stage?" Xu Yuan had no knowledge of cultivation techniques in this world, instinctively asking.

Ran Qingmo said nothing in response, merely gazing at him.

Xu Yuan realized that questions about cultivation techniques might be considered private, and shifted the topic:

"Can't you fly on a sword?"

Ran Qingmo paused for two seconds, then spoke softly:

"My technique has no sword-flying. Only the Ice Cloud Stage. Sword-flying is part of the 'Suspension Sky Technique.'"

Upon hearing the name 'Suspension Sky Technique,' Xu Yuan's mind instantly flashed back to the description in the cultivation manual he had read in the game. Yet he could not recall any mention of sword-flying. Perhaps the world had automatically filled in that information.

But after Ranzhengmo’s words, Xu Yuan finally grasped the meaning behind them.

In this world, there were methods of flying through the air, yet the means of flight varied depending on the cultivation technique.

Pausing for a moment, Xu Yuan asked:

"Then why not simply use your Ice Cloud Stage to carry me there?"

Ranzhengmo did not answer immediately. He studied Xu Yuan’s frame carefully before shaking his head.

"You're too frail—you'll die."

"But just now I felt perfectly fine," Xu Yuan frowned. Moments earlier, Ranzhengmo had lifted him into the air to determine their position, and he had felt no discomfort at all.

"The speed back then was extremely slow."

"... "Xu Yuan fell silent.

He realized he had been too certain, too presumptuous—having overlooked a crucial question entirely.

Ran Qingmo lacked the superhuman physical prowess seen in films from another life, and the human body can only endure so much acceleration.

Ran Qingmo’s method of flight clearly involved condensing qi into stable platforms that he could step upon, leaping continuously through the air.

For this young man, whose body had been drained by wine and indulgence, even unprotected exposure to 4 to 5 Gs of acceleration might send him straight to his end.

Yet, given the speed he had previously demonstrated—invisible to the naked eye—his accelerations must have begun at a minimum of 30 Gs.

At this thought, Xu Yuan glanced deeply at the woman veiled in black before him.

Though she occasionally appeared vacant and dazed, she was remarkably reliable in certain crucial aspects.

Had she not anticipated this, he might have died instantly upon first acceleration.

Then, Xu Yuan briefly considered having Ran Qingmo regulate his speed.

But the moment the idea formed, he dismissed it immediately.

Ran Qingmo could control speed, but doing so would extend their time suspended in the air.

The Wanxing Mountain Range was teeming with demonic beasts. Even the Flame Spirit Python he had casually captured just moments ago belonged to that mysterious faction. Remaining airborne for too long would inevitably draw the attention of the beasts lurking in the shadows.

Moreover, such monstrous creatures were by no means confined to the earth below.

The vision of certain avian beasts in the sky was far superior to that of any human.

Traveling on foot afforded them the concealment of the thickets, and with a master like Ran Qingmo sensing their surroundings, detection was not entirely impossible, but it at least guaranteed that no witnesses would be left alive.

With these thoughts in mind,

Xu Yuan let out a soft sigh, casting his gaze across the boundless, bewildering sea of trees that stretched out to the horizon.

On foot it would be, then. He might as well look at it as his very first journey through this alien world.