Chapter 1643: Strange Symptoms
A vast expanse of snow.
Outside the barrier, they saw a deep, dark mountain range, but when they actually stepped through, they saw a vast stretch of white.
A blizzard intense enough to cover the entire mountain whirled about, and the howling winds were sharp as knives. Those present had no choice but to waste precious energy maintaining barriers around themselves to ensure their safety.
âIt seemed the people who left earlier arenât in the same place.â Yang Jian glanced at the towering blizzard and muttered. The wind and snow was just too much; it was so intense that not even imperial lords could fly here.
They couldnât see anyone elseâs footprints on the path, which was why Yang Jian made that judgment.
âNot necessarily.â Ye Zichen gently shook his head. âThereâs so much snow that even if they left footprints, new snow would bury them quickly. If you donât believe me, turn around and look behind us. Can you see our footprints?â
When Yang Jian heard that, he looked behind him. Theyâd already been walking for over an hour.
Although walking was slower than flying, their current pace wasnât slow. They were already halfway up the first mountain. But Ye Zichen was right; the footprints theyâd left on their way here had long since disappeared into the snow.
If anything happened and they needed to turn back, they wouldnât be able to find their route.
âIsnât this snow falling a bit
too
heavily?â Even the Hermit Emperor, a veritable fossil of the god race, couldnât help but sigh. When such a turbulent blizzard fell, even the likes of them would be buried alive in but a hundred breaths of time unless they used divine power to defend themselves.
The only fortunate thing was that they hadnât bumped into a single beast guarding treasure on their way here.
But of course, that also meant that they hadnât run into any treasure.
âHavenât you noticed that youâre burning through your divine power rather quickly?â Pu Jingwan suddenly turned around. She seemed flushed, as if she were ill. Despite the piercing cold winds, there wear beads of sweat on her face.
Her bright eyes flashed with hints of exhaustion, and her lips were visibly moving, as if just breathing were difficult.
âEveryone, stop for a moment!â When he saw her condition, Ye Zichen hurriedly called his group to a stop.
Pu Jingwan was now like a fish gasping for breath on the beach. Her mouth was wide open as she struggled to breathe. When Ye Zichen walked over to her, she was already so weak, she couldnât speak. Her face was a mask of agony.
âSenior Hermit Emperor!â Ye Zichen cried out, but the Hermit Emperor had already rushed to Pu Jingwanâs side. He stretched out his hand to take her pulse.
The others circled around her, then placed a barrier around Pu Jingwan.
âEveryone, out of the way. She needs fresh air.â When he saw the group gather around, the Hermit Emperor quickly sent them away. When Yang Jian and the others heard that, they didnât delay. They made space right away.
The Hermit Emperor tightly furrowed his brows as he took Pu Jingwanâs pulse. Suddenly, the group saw a streak of deep green light shine on his palm. The light entered her body in sync with her pulse. Then, the Hermit Emperor took out a pill and placed it in her mouth.
âHow is she?â said Ye Zichen in concern.
The frowning Hermit Emperor withdrew his hand. After receiving treatment, Pu Jingwanâs conditioned seemed to have eased somewhat, and her agonized expression mellowed a little.
âIt seems like itâs altitude sickness, but her spiritual power is depleting extremely quickly. When I checked just now, her divine core was practically empty,â said the Hermit Emperor.
Altitude sickness?
How was that possible?
They were no ordinary people. Climbing high above seal level shouldnât have affected their breathing. After all, most of them were imperial lord experts. They flew at higher altitudes than this mountain range on a daily basis, but they never showed any signs of altitude sickness.
The key point was actually what the Hermit Emperor said earlier: Pu Jingwanâs energy was flowing away quickly.
It had only been two hours since they entered the mountains, but although theyâd been using their spiritual power to ward of the winds and frost, their expenditure couldnât possibly have been this enormous.
Even Ye Zichen felt full of energy. An imperial lord like Pu Jingwan ought to have expended even less.
âShould we go back?â asked Yang Jian.
Regardless of whether this was really altitude sickness or not, Pu Jingwan had only wound up like this after entering the mountains. Perhaps flying and hiking were different, and climbing on foot really had led to altitude sickness.
Even here, Pu Jingwanâs cultivation couldnât be considered low. Ye Zichen, Gu Li, and An Lu were all weaker in that regard, but none of them had any symptoms. Yet, the Hermit Emperorâs answer was altitude sickness.
âDonâtâŠâ After taking her medicine, Pu Jingwan raised her hand and shook her head. Her face was still flushed, and her presence was extremely faint.
The struggled to her fate, a hint of a smile on her face. âIâm already better. You donât have to worry about me. Iâll walk in the back and take my time,â said Pu Jingwan. No matter what they said, she couldnât leave. She was well aware that, should she request to go back down the mountain, Ye Zichen wouldnât leave her on her own. Theyâd already come this far, but so many people had gone in before them. They had already entered late. If they took the time to send her back, theyâd fall far too far behind.
She couldnât let Ye Zichen miss out on his rightful good fortune just because of her.
âIâll take care of Big Sister Jingwan,â volunteered An Lu.
Of those present, her cultivation was the weakest. She was just barely a diviner. Who knew how Gu Li had managed to bring her this far? The level of the mausoleum was quite clear; you needed to be at least a ruler.
An Luâs cultivation was weak, so her companions had protected her all this time. She wasnât willing to constantly create trouble for other people.
Now, sheâd finally found a way she could help out, so she immediately volunteered. Gu Li glanced at her. He knew what she was thinking, so he nodded his approval.
âHere are some divine-grade spiritual recovery medicines. When your spiritual power runs low, take one.â Ye Zichen still couldnât quite relax about Pu Jingwanâs condition, so he pulled out a dozen or so pill bottles.
Divine-grade recovery medicines were worth cities. Even the third layer of the Yao-Sealing Pagoda had less than a hundred bottles in stock. But this was no time to fuss about the cost. It didnât matter how valuable the medicines were; they were nothing compared to Pu Jingwanâs life.
âAlright.â Pu Jingwan smiled as Ye Zichen pressed the bottled into her hands.
Ye Zichen then turned to An Lu and patted her on the head. âTake good care of Big Sister Jingwan, alright?â
âI will!â An Lu nodded firmly, then carefully helped Pu Jingwan away, like a dwarf carrying a giant.
âDo you think the God Emperorâs remnant soul might have tricked us? Weâve been walking for so long, but weâve yet to see any trace of âferocious beasts.ââ Yang Jian arched his brow.
âIsnât that a good thing? If we really ran into vicious beasts, would you want to fight them?â
âIâll do it!â The Great Sage pounded his chest. It seemed that the Great Sage, always hungry for a fight, was starting to run out of patience.
Ye Zichen shook his head and chuckled helplessly, but he really wasnât worried about running into vicious beasts. Every last great emperor could hold their own. Even if they encountered guardians beasts, they didnât need to worry about getting wiped out.
âAn Lu! An Lu!â
At that moment, Pu Jingwan suddenly cried out weakly.
The group turned to look, then saw a figure streak ahead of them at top speed. âOut of the way!â
The first to rush over was naturally Gu Li. He shoved Pu Jingwan onto the ground, then looked at An Lu, whoâd collapsed into the snow.
An Luâs current state was similar to Pu Jingwanâs a few minutes ago. Her face was flushed, and she looked exhausted, like an ocean fish gasping for breath in shallow water.
âGu Li, what are you doing?â Ye Zichen helped Pu Jingwan up, then roared at him.
âWhat do you think Iâm doing? Canât you see An Luâs condition?â Gu Liâs eyes were bloodshot. An Lu was his life! When he saw her in this state, of course he was frantic!
âJingwan, what happened to An Lu?â asked Ye Zichen.
âShe said she was tired and wanted to rest a moment, so I suggested that we both take a quick break. I was just about to call out and let you know when this happened. Did I⊠Did I infect her with my disease?â asked Pu Jingwan in concern.
âWhat do you think?â Gu Li roared, as if he wanted to eat her alive.
The Hermit Emperor had been taking her pulse. He removed his hand. âIndeed, she has the same symptoms.â
âPu Jingwan!â
A black orb shot at Pu Jingwan. Ye Zichen pulled out the Xuan-Yuan Sword and blocked it, diverting it to the mountainside. When it landed, it leveled that patch of mountain.
âGu Li!â
âGu Li.â
As Ye Zichen roared, An Lu limply tugged at Gu Liâs sleeves. âThis had nothing to do with Big Sister Jingwan. Youâre not allowed to hurt her.â
âAn Lu, how do you feel?â asked Gu Li.
âIâm fine, itâs just, I was really tired for a moment there. I already feel much better,â said An Lu with a warm smile.
Gu Liâs eyes filled with pain. He couldnât bear to go on, so he prepared to carry her back down the mountain.
âGu Li, what are you doing? Iâm already better!â
âWeâre going back. I donât care about transcendence!â
âDonât throw a temper tantrum,â said An Lu, as if she were talking to a child. She scrunched up her brow. âWeâve come all the way here. How can you go back just like that?â
âI agree that we should go back,â said Ye Zichen.
Heâd wanted to take Pu Jingwan back earlier. To his surprise, when Ye ZIchen said that, someone in their group snickered. âHow pathetic. Both of the Third Eraâs Masters of the Stars are soft-hearted sissies.â
When the group turned, they saw that the speaker was Venerate Spirit Treasure, whoâd been silent all this time. He wore a sneer on his face as he looked at Ye Zichen and Gu Li, both of whom wanted to leave out of concern for the sick women. His eyes were full of disdain. âWhat do you think weâre here for? Playing house? Do you think you can just climb and descend the mountain when you feel like it? Donât forget what youâre carrying on your shoulders. Going down at a time like this? Why didnât you think of this earlier? The Transcendent Mausoleum carries transcendent fortune, so danger naturally lurks at every corner. If you didnât want your women to get hurt, you shouldnât have brought them here!â
âOne look at their symptoms and you want to go back down, just like that. Fine, go right aheadâŠ.â Venerate Spirit Treasure pointed down at the clouds surrounding the base of the mountain, his eyes glinting coldly. âThat is, if you want them both to die!â
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