"Are we returning back to the city, or…" Momo failed to hide her enthusiasm for what she wanted to do next. It was clear that she wanted to climb the tall mountain, to see the world from high above the mists. Alex rembered the first ti he had climbed a mountain so tall. It was in the Ebony Mountain range in the south of the Eastern Continent, on a place known as the Celestial Peak.
The world he had seen from that place above had been one to rember for the days to co. Every ti he looked at so place from high above, he would still rember that day as being the beginning of all of this.
"Yes, we can go up the mountain," Alex said, causing Momo to jump in joy.
They got out of the garden, and before they could go up the mountain, Alex went to talk with a local. The middle-aged man he approached had the robes of the Falling Rose guild and was undoubtedly a mber of said guild. Whether he was an alchemist or not, Alex couldn't figure out from just the way he was dressed.
"Greetings, senior. I was hoping to learn if those mountains are off-limits by any chance," Alex said. "My disciple wishes to see the world from up there, and I'm not sure if that is allowed or not."
The man looked at Alex. "It is allowed," he said. "But I wouldn't suggest trying to climb it."
"Oh… is it dangerous?" Alex asked.
"Danger… is not exactly the word I would use," the man said. "Just fruitless."
"I'm not sure I understand, senior," Alex said. "You see the mist?" the man asked, pointing to the lower side of the five tall mountains. Alex nodded.
"They are disorienting. You can never reach the top on your own even as a Divine realm cultivator. You can go to the other mountains, but not those five."
Alex looked at the 5 mountains. The Mistspawn Mountains weren't the tallest mountains there were, but the five could be considered very tall at over 10 kiloters tall. They were the people mountains to take his disciples to.
"Is there any danger with the disorientation?" Alex asked.
"None as far as I know," the man said. "You'll just be lost there for a few days before coming out. If you think you'll be the one to break past the disorientation, you can try."
Alex thanked the man and turned to look at his group.
"We're trying it right?" Pearl asked. "There's no way we're not going to try."
"Master, it's just a few days, we can afford to lose it. If it doesn't work out, we can go to the other smaller mountains."
"Why are you worried?" Whisker asked. "I am the perfect person here to traverse such a place. You can say I was born for this."
Alex smiled. "Alright, let's head on over."
They flew past the Whole Rose Garden, with Alex making a ntal note of having to co back here in a few days. It was close to afternoon, so the sun still shined above them, unhindered by any fog, mist, or the mountain.
They had a few hours before they would be put into darkness when the mists would begin to beco thicker. Maybe if they were faster than that, they could get to the top without having to be stuck in the mists.
Alex saw a spread of vegetation that spanned far before they even reached the Hand of the God. They slowed down as the mist got thicker and at so point, they landed in the forest at the base of the tallest mountain in the middle.
They walked the rest of the way, feeling the slight incline as they made their way up.
Alex's eyes saw the colors in the mist, all too incoherent for him to make any sense of it. He ignored the colors as he got no information from them and used his eyes to see the Ti and Space aura in the mist.
There was nothing there once again either. Everything was normal.
"Are you guys feeling anything?" he asked, wondering when the disorientation was going to start. His spiritual sense, while forced to be a little constrained wasn't really pushed back against. He could still see dozens of kiloters ahead of him without any issue.
He saw no reason for the man from earlier to have lied, so then… were they just not at a place where they would beco disoriented?
"Pearl, carry Momo and Whisker," Alex said. "We can't afford to get separated here."
"Alright," Pearl said, quickly carrying Momo on his shoulders, who was already carrying Whisker on her shoulders.
Alex walked next to him, holding the other side of his shoulder as he continued along. He looked through the forest, surprised at the lack of alchemy ingredients growing in this place. The further in he went, the worse the ingredients got. 'The Qi is getting sowhat weak as well,' Alex realized. He wondered what was going on. Was there no Spirit Vein underneath the mountain? If not, then how was this place so hard to navigate?
The further Alex walked, the more he felt like he was being lied to. Was a prank pulled on him?
He was already at the base, the steep incline sothing he was beginning to climb.
"How can anything be disorienting when the only way to go is up?" Alex asked with a confused look.
"No," Pearl said with a grunt to the side. "There is definitely sothing here, brother. I can feel it. I've nearly walked the other way twice by now."
"Hmm?" Alex turned to look at Pearl. "Really?"
Pearl nodded. "If not for your arm on my shoulders keeping on the path, I would've been lost," he said, frowning.
"I've been feeling sothing similar too, Master," Momo said. "I get dizzy when you guys don't walk in the direction I think you should be walking."
Whisker nodded. "Sa here." Pearl took a deep breath. "Soone sinister must be keeping us away."
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