I fabricated myths to guide the revival of spiritual energy.

Sweat dripped from Li Guozhong's graying temples, hitting the moss-covered stone steps and shattering instantly.

For these fully armed special forces soldiers, whose physical abilities are at the peak of human potential, a thousand steps would be nothing more than a warm-up for ordinary mountain climbing. Even carrying a 30-kilogram load, they could walk on flat ground as if it were nothing.

But now, everyone is panting, as if they are sprinting a hundred meters on a high plateau with low oxygen levels.

"Gravity... has increased by at least two times."

Zhao Feng followed behind Li Guozhong, his face pale. Every time he lifted a foot, he had to mobilize all the muscle fibers in his body.

What's even more terrifying isn't gravity.

It's more like noise in your mind.

From the moment he stepped onto the three hundredth step, Zhao Feng was surrounded by a cacophony of sounds. There were the mocking laughter of childhood bullies, the screams of his teammates before their deaths during his first mission, and the cowardly voice in his heart that wanted to run away when facing the unknown.

"Go back... You are mortal, you will die..."

"This is just a hallucination, a neurological disorder caused by radiation..."

"You don't deserve to be here..."

Zhao Feng bit his tongue, using the sharp pain to forcefully dispel the hallucinations. He glanced back.

Of the original two hundred people in the group, only half are still standing.

Of the remaining half, some knelt on the steps and wept bitterly, some stood motionless as if they had lost their souls, and some even turned around and ran wildly down the mountain like madmen, then fell into the mist.

"Don't look back."

Li Guozhong, who was walking at the front, had a hoarse voice, but his back was still ramrod straight.

"Clear your mind. If you're climbing for yourself, the fear here will engulf you. Think about the country behind you, think about that damn extermination report."

Li Guozhong's every step was incredibly heavy, but the light in his eyes grew brighter and brighter.

He is a veteran.

A veteran's faith can sometimes be stronger than a cultivator's resolve.

Because their way is called "protection".

……

【Kunlun Mountain - Summit】

Gu Qing sat on the seemingly majestic "throne" in the Taiqing Hall, which was actually made of air. On the surface, he appeared calm and collected, but inside he was panicking.

"System! That old man Li Guozhong is climbing way too fast!"

Gu Qing looked at the red dot representing Li Guozhong on the holographic map. It had already broken through three thousand steps and entered the final sprint stage above the clouds.

"Confidence level! What's your current confidence level?"

Current confidence level: 850,000 points.

[Growth Trend: Exponential Explosion (Although the global live stream doesn't show the actual footage, people's imaginations about "what happened in the fog" are providing a massive amount of information.)]

"Eight hundred and fifty thousand... still not enough to buy the complete Taiqing Hall!"

Gu Qing gritted her teeth; she had to make a choice.

Currently, apart from the jade plaza at the foot of the mountain, which is real, all the other palaces on the mountaintop are special effects created with light and shadow. Once Li Guozhong reaches up and touches a pillar, his hand will pass right through it, and the whole charade will be exposed, causing humanity's faith to crumble instantly.

"System, perform 'partial entity creation' for me!"

Gu Qing's fingers flew across the air like an e-sports player performing extreme micro-management.

"First, lay the flooring in the main hall! It has to be real! Every square meter has to be able to bear weight!"

[Consumption: 50,000 Faith Points.]

The ground surface of the Taiqing Hall has been solidified.

"Pillars! Only the eight dragon-carved pillars in the front hall are real! The ones behind them are shrouded in mist!"

[Consumption: 80,000 Faith Points.]

The pillars of the front hall have been solidified.

"The roof! The roof doesn't need to be completely realistic, as long as it looks real from this angle! Let's save some money!"

[Consumption: 30,000 Faith Points.]

"And this throne..."

Gu Qing felt a chill under her buttocks.

"Exchange this for me the [Eternal Mystic Ice Jade Marrow Seat (Low-Spec Version)]! It needs to look impressive, have great special effects, and automatically emit chilling air when you sit on it!"

[Consumption: 100,000 Faith Points.]

As huge sums of money were poured in, the once ethereal hall began to emit a dull rumbling sound.

Photons in the air are forcibly compressed and recombined.

The once transparent pillars became thick and cold, and the once illusory ground became as hard as iron.

Just as Gu Qing turned the chair beneath her into a physical object.

Snapped.

A hand covered in blood and dirt rested on the white jade railing at the edge of the square.

……

【Kunlun Mountain · Taiqing Square】

[Time: 10:30 AM]

Li Guozhong felt that he was already dead.

On the last thousand steps, he experienced frost, fire, and countless hallucinations of watching his loved ones die.

But he still climbed up.

As he climbed the last step and peeked out from the thick sea of ​​clouds, the blinding sunlight made him instinctively squint.

The wind stopped.

Instead of the fierce winds and bitter cold that one would expect at that altitude, there was a faint, refreshing fragrance, like that of a forest after the rain.

With each breath, my lungs, which had long been exhausted, felt as if they were being nourished by sweet spring water. The intense pain quickly subsided, replaced by an unprecedented feeling of lightness.

"This is... spiritual energy."

Li Guozhong leaned on the railing and staggered to his feet.

Before his eyes, it was no longer a blurry illusion.

Instead, it was a real, magnificent palace that took his breath away.

The towering vermilion gate, hundreds of meters high, was wide open, and eight dragon-carved pillars, each requiring ten people to encircle, supported the sky-like roof.

Those dragons... their scales were clearly visible, as if they were rising and falling slightly with their breath.

And at the deepest part of the main hall, atop the high steps.

A figure dressed in a black robe with long hair draped over his shoulders was lounging lazily on a jade throne that exuded a chilling aura.

The man didn't look at him.

The man was toying with a crystal that emitted a purple glow (actually a scrap given to him by the system earlier), seemingly contemplating the birth and death of the universe.

Li Guozhong straightened his tattered military uniform and wiped the blood from his face.

He did not kneel down.

As a soldier, he only kneels before the country and the people.

But he bent down, clasped his hands together, and performed a standard gesture of respect that only exists in ancient books.

"Li Guozhong, a mortal, on behalf of China, pays respects to the immortal."

……

[The Grand Hall of Supreme Purity - On the Jade Throne]

Gu Qing's heart was actually beating very fast.

Because just a second before Li Guozhong spoke, he had finished "pasting" the decorations on both sides of the main hall.

That was close.

He slowly turned his head, his gaze piercing through the deliberately created hazy light and landing on Li Guozhong.

The system immediately provided feedback:

[Subject scanned: Li Guozhong.]

[Status: Physically exhausted, but mental and physical willpower has exceeded its limits.]

[Qualification Assessment: Average physical constitution, S-level willpower.]

Conclusion: Potential for development.

Gu Qing did not speak.

He gently raised his hand.

The sea of ​​clouds over the entire Kunlun Mountains surged and churned with his movements.

A soft cyan light flew from his fingertips, traversed a hundred meters, and entered Li Guozhong's brow.

That's not some peerless skill; it's just a pure [Rejuvenation Talisman (gifted by the system)], plus a little bit of basic concept about the "Qi Refining Stage".

Li Guozhong was shocked.

He felt a warm current instantly coursing through his body. The old wounds, rheumatism, and muscle tears caused by years of fighting, which had been sustained during the mountain climb, were healing at a speed visible to the naked eye.

More importantly, a mysterious and obscure mantra appeared in his mind.

Gu Qing finally spoke.

Her voice remained ethereal, carrying a detached indifference untouched by worldly concerns.

"The lifespan of mortals is no more than a hundred years, and the mortal body cannot withstand the void."

"Li Guozhong, although you have no immortal roots, you possess immortal bones."

"I'm handing you the first key to Kunlunxu."

With a casual wave of his hand, Gu Qing sent a jade token (a [Outer Disciple Token] that he had just exchanged for 500 Faith Points) flying lightly to Li Guozhong's front.

"Let's go back."

"To tell the world, I have paved the way."

Whether they can come up or not is up to them.

After saying that, Gu Qing waved his sleeve.

A sudden gust of wind rose from the ground, carrying Li Guozhong (and Zhao Feng, who had just climbed up and was still in a daze) away from the main hall, gently but firmly sending them into the clouds descending the mountain.

Watching the two figures disappear, Gu Qing instantly slumped onto the jade throne and let out a long sigh.

"Acting is too tiring."

"but……"

He glanced at the confidence level on the system panel, which had surged again due to the "first formal contact".

Current confidence level: 1,200,000 points.

Gu Qing's lips curled up in a wild smile.

"One million two hundred thousand."

"Now, not only can we finish decorating the main hall, but we can even prepare the first 'teaching material' for Earthlings."