Chapter 452: Snow Mountain

“A peculiar person?” Meng Qi turned around abruptly, deliberately ignoring the word “madman.” “Where does he live?”

Shangguan Heng’s gaze was slightly provocative: “At the summit of Yuyuan Snow Mountain. Do you dare to go there?”

“Yuyuan Snow Mountain?” Meng Qi looked intently at Shangguan Heng, indicating his unfamiliarity with the northern Zhou terrain. He had no idea what was special about this snowy mountain, so the question of courage simply didn’t arise.

Shangguan Heng felt like his punch had landed in empty space, an indescribable sense of discomfort arising: “Yuyuan Snow Mountain lies north of Lulong. It towers ten thousand feet into the sky. From halfway up, it is perpetually covered in snow and ice. Many places have no paths, requiring climbers to scale icy walls. A single misstep means certain death.”

“What’s there to fear about that?” Meng Qi was nonchalant. To his current abilities, ice and rock climbing posed no real danger.

Shangguan Heng snorted: “There are often snow monsters and ice snakes on the mountain, some capable of triggering avalanches. Without being an External Scenery expert, how can one possibly contend with the immense power of nature? Moreover, Yuyuan Snow Mountain is renowned for producing snow lotuses of various ages. The higher you climb and the deeper you venture, the easier it becomes to find thousand-year-old specimens. Hence, martial artists frequently come here to gather medicinal herbs. The allure of rare treasures stirs hearts, inevitably leading to scheming and ruthless killings.”

“If you’re lucky and encounter no trouble along the way, you might smoothly reach the summit. But if misfortune follows you step by step, you might end up buried in snow. Do you dare to go?”

“Is he really contemplating the heavens and earth?” Meng Qi did not answer but instead asked a question.

Shangguan Heng had asked three questions in a row without receiving the expected reaction, feeling so frustrated he wanted to spit blood: “Of course. Two years ago, senior family members brought me there. Most of the time, he seems normal, occasionally staring blankly and muttering words like ‘heaven and earth’ or ‘truth.'”

Meng Qi nodded lightly, having already made his decision, but he still had a question: “If there are indeed thousand-year-old snow lotuses, why haven’t martial sects or noble families claimed Yuyuan Snow Mountain, allowing free access?”

As the legitimate heir of the Shangguan Clan of Juyuan, Shangguan Heng knew the details well. He sneered slightly: “Because no one can dominate it completely. Each faction has staked claims to certain areas with high-grade snow lotuses. Additionally, the mountain range is vast and continuous. Unless it becomes the foundation of a sect or family, there simply aren’t enough people to guard it thoroughly.”

“Then it’s settled.” Meng Qi’s face broke into a bright smile. “But first, let’s eat!”

…

A flash of blade light, and a tall monster covered in white fur collapsed lifelessly, its deep blue blood spilling onto the pristine snow.

Shangguan Heng stood quietly beside it, intently watching Meng Qi’s sword technique.

In his view, this snow monster wasn’t particularly formidable—he could have handled it effortlessly even when he had only unlocked six or seven apertures. However, Meng Qi’s strike was executed with impeccable precision in angle, force, and speed—neither excessive nor lacking, evoking a sense of awe akin to admiring a masterpiece of calligraphy or painting.

This sword strike wasn’t an extraordinary technique, but the more ordinary and unremarkable it seemed, the more it revealed a swordsman’s mastery of sword skills.

Meng Qi poked the snow monster with his blade, muttering to himself: “Is it considered a monster, a demon, or just a beast…?”

Shangguan Heng instinctively inhaled sharply, thinking to himself: Does Su Meng want to classify monster species in addition to contemplating the heavens and earth?

Before his thoughts could finish forming, he heard Meng Qi continue:

“Is it edible?”

His tone was filled with doubt, as if pondering an age-old mystery.

Shangguan Heng’s mouth twitched involuntarily. Muttering, “The meat is sour and coarse,” he turned to search for nearby dead branches or stone coal.

Seeing that this snow monster was weak and had no valuable materials, Meng Qi didn’t bother collecting it into his storage ring, as it would just take up space. He sheathed his blade and, puzzled, watched Shangguan Heng’s actions: “Do we really need to make a fire? At our level of having opened all nine apertures and being able to project true energy, the cold at the mountain peak shouldn’t be much of a problem, right?”

He had never been to Yuyuan Snow Mountain before, so he asked cautiously, perhaps the cold at the summit was uniquely intense due to some special reason?

“Better safe than sorry. Normally, it’s not a problem, but if you’re seriously injured, the cold up there will kill you.” Shangguan Heng felt a rare sense of satisfaction. “There’s nothing like plants or stone coal up there.”

Meng Qi let out a long “Oh,” and followed along, gathering a bag of stone coal. Then the two of them walked up the slippery mountain path, their feet crunching on the snow halfway up the mountain. Before them stretched vast expanses of white, with only a few spots of green and brown.

It was early autumn, but here it already felt like the depths of winter.

After walking for an unknown amount of time, the path ahead abruptly ended. The only way forward was to climb the icy wall.

The ice wall was a hundred zhang high, covered in snow, with a bottomless cliff below. If someone suffered from acrophobia, climbing would be impossible—just looking down would cause dizziness and weak legs.

Meng Qi tightened the long knife at his waist more securely, then extended his right hand, which had turned a dark golden color. With a “plop” sound, he pierced through the ice layer, which was as hard as stone and extremely slippery, grabbing the frozen rock beneath.

Alternating hands and feet, Meng Qi steadily climbed upward.

He did not choose to show off his lightness skills but opted for the most stable method.

Seeing this, Shangguan Heng also extended his hand like claws, breaking through the ice and rock as if they were dirt, steadily climbing upward.

Looking back, the fog and clouds below were dense, hiding the bottom from view, sending chills down their spines. Even though Meng Qi possessed the Eight-Nine Art and the Golden Bell Shield, he had no doubt that if he made a mistake and fell, he would be smashed to pieces, his body utterly destroyed.

This cautious yet graceful feeling accompanied them as they climbed one icy wall after another. Gradually, the sky darkened.

“At night, powerful monsters often appear. After climbing this ice wall, let’s find a place to rest until morning,” Shangguan Heng looked up at Meng Qi ahead and reminded him.

Meng Qi, never careless, replied: “Alright!”

His voice was not loud, but it cut through the howling northern wind, clearly reaching Shangguan Heng’s ears.

As Shangguan Heng was about to speak, his gaze suddenly froze. A head-sized cave appeared on the ice wall ahead, and from it emerged a snow-white python.

It was as thick as a bowl’s mouth, its eyes blood-red, its scales like icy plates. Its tongue flicked out, exuding a menacing aura, brimming with savagery.

A snow python over fifty years old! This thought instantly flashed through Shangguan Heng’s mind.

These pythons were naturally strong, possessing the ability to control snow and ice, making their transformation into human form extremely difficult.

Normally, a snow python of about fifty years would be no match for Shangguan Heng even with one hand tied behind his back. But now was different—there was no ground beneath them, no sky above them. Suspended mid-air, even the slightest mistake would mean irreversible disaster!

The python seemed to target Shangguan Heng, sliding down the ice wall, its red tongue dripping, exuding a stench of blood. Snowflakes began to swirl, condensing into needle-like shards of cold.

A savage gleam flashed in Shangguan Heng’s eyes. He fixed his feet in place and flicked his fingers rapidly. Gales of finger force, powerful enough to split gold and stone, shot toward the snow python.

Puff! Puff! Puff! The ice wall was pierced, but the python was extremely cunning. Using its advantage of terrain, it twisted and turned, dodging the gales, then suddenly lunged toward Shangguan Heng.

Shangguan Heng thrust one hand into the ice wall, released his feet, and spun halfway around, head over heels, grabbing toward the python.

The python abruptly halted, its tail lashing out like a whip wielded by a martial expert, producing a piercing sound as it moved. Moreover, it had condensed a long ice spike, gleaming with cold light.

Shangguan Heng wasn’t the least bit afraid. He thrust out a fist, his true energy condensing into a massive hammer. With a bang, he struck the python’s tail, causing scales to fall off, the flesh to become mangled and bloody.

Just as he was about to press his advantage, a chilling sound of collapse suddenly reached his ears. The middle part of the nearby ice wall, already cracked, collapsed directly due to the vibrations!

This caused Shangguan Heng to lose his foothold, leaving him dangling in mid-air, rapidly plummeting downward.

Just at this moment, a flash of blade light appeared before him, and a gentle force pushed him from behind. His body involuntarily lunged forward, getting closer to the inner rock wall again.

He steadied himself with both hands, then turned his head in shock. He saw the snow python split in two and plummet downward, while Su Meng stood with his right hand gripping the blade, its tip skewering a pale purple snake gallbladder.

But that wasn’t the main point. The key was that he was now suspended in mid-air, his hands and feet quite distant from the icy wall!

Did he risk his life to save me? For a moment, Shangguan Heng felt confused.

Suddenly, he saw Meng Qi elegantly twist his body. His blue robe fluttered like a celestial being, gracefully rebounding in a place where no force could be applied, then effortlessly clinging to the icy wall once more.

“What amazing lightness skills…” Shangguan Heng unconsciously praised.

“Thanks.” Meng Qi smiled unashamedly, storing the snake gallbladder away before climbing rapidly.

Not far above, a hundred-year-old snow lotus bloomed. Nearby, a man in his thirties was securing himself with iron nails and a long rope, preparing to harvest the lotus.

The earlier commotion had drawn his attention. Seeing Meng Qi’s inhuman performance, he was stunned, unable to believe that a human below the External Scenery level could achieve such feats!

As Meng Qi and Shangguan Heng drew closer, he became nervous, gripping his sword tightly, fearing they might compete with him for the snow lotus.

Meng Qi and Shangguan Han didn’t even glance sideways, directly passing by and climbing to a relatively gentle area above.

“Two madmen, not fighting over the snow lotus, just playing at climbing cliffs. They must be bored after a full stomach!” The man was instead astonished.

After reaching a more gentle area, Meng Qi and Shangguan Han quickly found a recess sheltered from the wind and lit a fire, sitting on either side.

“Thanks.” After a while, Shangguan Heng finally managed to squeeze out the two words.

“No need to be polite.” Meng Qi smiled cheerfully, eating dried food by the fire while leaning against the icy wall, captivated by the increasingly profound starry sky over the high mountains.

Shangguan Heng did not disturb him, beginning to reflect on his earlier mistakes.

As the night deepened, sudden hurried footsteps echoed nearby, as if multiple people were running toward them.

Shangguan Heng opened his eyes, coldly scanning the direction the footsteps came from.

Shortly after, a man with frozen bloodstains on his clothes approached. His hair was disheveled, slightly disarrayed. Sensing the firelight, he glanced over and saw the composed Shangguan Heng and the relaxed yet entranced Meng Qi.

A thought flashed through his mind, and suddenly he threw something toward Meng Qi.

It was a fragrant snow lotus, its petals clearly veined, its lotus seeds plump and seemingly alive. However, it was missing a few petals and some seeds, and from the broken parts, thick, transparent sap was flowing.

After throwing the snow lotus, the man quickened his pace, not looking back as he fled. The group chasing him roared in pursuit, just in time to see the snow lotus land in Meng Qi’s hands.