ninety thousand miles

Chapter 723 Main Peak
Li Chuan knew what he had to do.

He has simulated it 93 times, or 94 times if you include the first time he entered the Temple of the Divine Warriors.

Borrowing the power of Zhongshan, and then using the Butterfly Spirit to control it, after raising the main peak, repair it little by little in the sound of the pot until the last structure is filled.

He was convinced that it worked.

He put away the alchemy furnace and iron pot, and slowly stood up. A feeling of fullness filled his stomach. People really do need to eat something hot, real food.

He moved slowly and deliberately down the broken wall, where there was a relatively stable and flat area, which should have been the bottom of a former cirque lake. He had discovered this when he came up yesterday; it wasn't in the illusion.

He went down. The sun had fully risen.

Is the sun here the same as the sun on Earth?
Never mind, he has to get the mountain peak up before noon. It's too close to the sky here, the sun will make it hard to see. Once it's up, it'll be easier to find shady spots and slowly patch the cracks.

He had reached the platform below. He looked up and saw the base of the fractured main peak suspended above, traversing the valley.

Clouds gathered.

At the edge of the cliff, there was a bright spot. He initially ignored it, subconsciously or intentionally. Just as he was about to place his hand on the cliff face, his heart skipped a beat, he lowered his hand, closed his eyes, and took a few deep breaths.

In the illusion, he could start over countless times, but here, on this real Zhongshan Mountain that no one has set foot on for tens of thousands of years, he only has one chance. He is eager to complete the goal of repairing Zhongshan Mountain. He is anxious, and the urgency and harsh wind and snow make him escape into his inner plans instead of the reality of the outside world.

My judgment is declining.

Li Chuan turned his head and looked towards the edge of the cliff, then walked over. Another component, one he hadn't found before. Curved surface, with sharp edges. Red liquid from his palm stained the translucent component. It was his blood. The component had cut his skin. He belatedly realized this. After putting the component into the jade box, he began to examine the wound on his hand. A very small wound, not deep, yet he wondered why it had bled so much.

It seemed to have healed, but Li Chuan was still worried, so he applied a layer of ointment.

Half the sky was overcast; it might rain. He needed to get to work quickly. Li Chuan pressed his hand against the mountainside again, his body and heartbeat gradually merging with the mountain, and then… then he lowered his hand once more. He felt uneasy. He looked around at himself again, took a few steps back, coughed a few times, spitting out pink saliva, and then stared blankly for a while.

He took out the Butterfly Spirit and then rubbed the pot to make a sound.

Amidst the clattering of the kettle, he calmed down and withdrew from the state. He had originally planned to enter this state again in a more critical moment, a state in which he was omniscient and omnipotent. But once he withdrew, he would become weak and vulnerable.

But at this point, he must make the right judgment.

Maybe.

In his indifference, his consciousness followed the layers of the sound of the pot, observing the entire Zhongshan Mountain. The ripples of the sound enveloped the main peak and the surrounding area. He saw the scattered parts. The sound of the pot brought them to his side.

The force that had been hindering him vanished.

Instead of seeking external assistance, he commanded the butterfly spirit to unleash the full moon. The moonlight enveloped him, carrying him upwards until he reached the base of the main peak. He crouched down and pressed his palms onto the ice. The moonlight surged across the entire base. Another parasitic act, and life again.

He took root in the grasshopper mountain and grew upwards.

A deep pulsation came from the depths of the earth, and fine crystal patterns appeared on the ice.

The rocks are stacked upwards in an interlocking pattern, gradually outlining a skeleton.

Stalagmites pierce through the glacier, expand rapidly, and climb upwards.

Around them, clusters of tiny crystal cones emerge from the cracks, forming a tight array and spiraling upwards.

The outline of a new peak gradually came into view.

At this moment, the dark clouds finally obscured the sun, and the sky suddenly darkened.

Standing atop the mountain peak, Li Chuan, bathed in the full moon, seemed to be shrouded in a shadow.

It is going to rain.

He realized that half of his body had lost sensation. A strange force was within him, hindering him, just as it had previously prevented him from repairing the mountains.

It's temporarily impossible to deal with; we can only mitigate the impact... No, he can control that power.

Is it because it is the power left behind by the White Walkers?
Li Chuan continued to tap the kettle. The rain began to fall.

Raindrops hit the mountain and instantly freeze into a thick ice shell.

The surfaces of the stalagmites and crystals were quickly covered by ice, halting their upward and merging.

The rain grew heavier and heavier until it poured down.

It was pitch black all around.

The rapidly falling raindrops bombarded the newly formed stalagmites, and the parts that were not yet fully solidified were worn down and cracked by the impact of the rain.

More rainwater converged into torrents on the surrounding ice ridges, cascading down and attempting to wash away the emerging peaks.

There is another way.

With the help of that power.

The gentle, melodious sound of the teapot emanated from the sounds of wind and rain.

The scattered parts, along with the ones he had kept in the jade box, all floated up and surrounded the full moon.

His palms started bleeding again.

The bloodline guided the parts to assemble, eventually forming a fist-sized magical artifact composed of twelve sections and hinges.

The magical artifact rotated within the full moon.

The dots and lines connect rapidly, and wisps of eerie mist rise from the surface of the stalagmite.

A strange force seeped in, condensed, and gradually formed a circulation.

In the shimmering light of the full moon, the circulation tore through the storm, creating a brief, tranquil circular area isolated from the wind and rain.

The deafening wind and rain roared around the wall.

Li Chuan borrowed the power of the mountain.

A cold, heavy force surged from the mountain, drawing upwards under the influence of the sound of the kettle.

The main peak has begun to grow again.

Li Chuan decisively threw out the Bodhi beads.

Guided by the twelve beads, the rocks are precisely stacked, arranged, interlocked, and grown.

As the last stone was put back in place, the immense power within the earth's veins and the mountain pushed the newly formed main peak, stubbornly piercing the clouds.

Become!

Before he could even glance at it, the full moon closed, and Li Chuan tumbled down the mountain peak, falling all the way to the bottom. Rainwater splashed onto him, freezing into layers of murky ice.

Night after night passed.

When Li Chuan opened his eyes again, the sun was directly overhead, burning intensely.

It's good to be alive.

He gradually became aware of his hands, feet, and torso. This cloak was really reliable; it hadn't caused him to lose body temperature. But the other half of his body was still numb.

He tried to sit up, several times, then moved to a shady spot, leaned against the mountain wall, and cleaned the ice, snow, gravel, and mud off his body.

(End of this chapter)