Chapter Eighty-six: Light Source

  The further forward she went, the more shocked Xiao Yao was in her heart. It was hard to imagine what kind of thing could emit such a brilliant light that it could make the lower half of Feng Lei Ya appear bright as day in the dark night, and yet it was quite warm and gentle, not making people feel dazzled at all.

  Although the lone goose was also extremely surprised by this abnormal feeling, when he saw Zuo Xiao's expression becoming increasingly solemn as if facing a great enemy, he still felt quite puzzled. "Miss Xiao, do you already know what that light source is?"

  The quiet cliff bottom only echoed with the footsteps of two people. Listening to him suddenly speaking out, Zuo Xiao Yao paused for a moment before smiling wryly and saying "How is that possible? I don't have the ability to predict the future. It's just because the road ahead is uncertain, so I feel like things might be even more severe. For us, it's unclear whether it's good or bad luck!"

  "It's like this now, worrying is also unnecessary, why don't we take a rest here for a while and then continue on our way?"

  The lone goose's eyes sparkled with complex emotions as he gazed at Xue Yaoyao, his voice low and husky. Even when he had grasped her hand on the cliff wall, he was almost on the verge of losing consciousness, but a surge of adrenaline drove him to make one last attempt to fulfill his wish. Yet, despite his precarious state, he was acutely aware that the delicate, soft hand in his did not belong to a man - even if it was a slender youth. The realization that she was a woman sent an even greater shockwave through him.

  Since childhood, he had been in contact with countless women and never thought that one day he would meet a woman who was stronger than most men, calmer and more rational than ordinary people, and had a firm heart. However, he was rescued by her three times, and after going through hardships to reach the bottom of the cliff, they walked for a considerable distance on a somewhat monotonous road. He already felt quite tired, but she seemed as leisurely as if she were strolling in her own backyard, lost in thought. The gap between them made Yan Nan feel powerless, losing all his pride. Only some innate arrogance allowed him to maintain his usual demeanor when facing Zuo Xiao Yao.

  It can almost be certain that it was already the next day, but as the two walked on the cliff bottom, which seemed like daylight but couldn't see the sky outside the cliff top, they couldn't tell the real time. They could only judge based on the nearly thirty miles of road they had traveled and the hunger pangs he felt again, roughly confirming that a considerable amount of time had passed, while Gu Yan was still recovering from his illness.

  It wasn't until now that Zuo Xiao Yao felt a bit apologetic and smiled as she nodded, "I didn't think this through. We don't need to rush like this at all. Let's take a rest here for a while first. Come to think of it, neither of us got any sleep last night!"

  After finishing, she handed a few packages of wild mountain vegetable pancakes to Gu Yan Nan again. Zuo Xiao Yao also found a stable large stone in the limited space between the two stone walls and sat down. She took out a pancake and started eating. Previously, she was thinking about the possibility of appearing at the bottom of the cliff, and didn't notice the time. Now that her train of thought had been interrupted, she felt that she was both tired and hungry. After all, in order to land safely earlier, she had already used up a lot of energy, and without resting, she walked for such a long distance. Without spiritual nourishment to nurture her body, she also found it difficult to eat.

  The pancake is still quite fresh. In Fengyun country, there isn't a way to make this kind of food, but they know its taste is very good. Gu Yan took the pancake and sat down on a rock at the side, saying "Thank you, as Miss Xiao said, I don't know what this thing is called? The taste is great, in my past life I have never seen it before."

  "There is vegetable stuffing inside the bun, so it's called vegetable stuffing bun. It's a common food for mountain people."

  This was the pancake she made the night before meeting that monster, a moment of dedication, and it turned out to be a bit too much. At this time, eating it at the bottom of the cliff where not even grass grew was convenient, although there wasn't even an opportunity to light a fire to heat it up, which would have tasted better. If she had encountered such an environment earlier, Zuo Xiaoyao firmly believed that she would have stored some dry firewood in her storage bag, after all, she had prepared a lot of living materials in the past three months, and many of them had been consumed, leaving out a considerable amount of space.

  Money can't buy early knowledge, these impractical things, she just thought about it casually. At this time, Zuo Xiaoyao was most concerned about one thing: "Does the lonely young master know how wide the Wind and Thunder Cliff is?"

  The hand holding the pancake hesitated for a moment, and the solitary goose shook its head calmly. "I don't know, according to records, it's said that someone once heard the sound of wind howling and thunder rumbling from the top of a cliff, so this place was called Wind Thunder Cliff. No one has ever known what's at the bottom of the cliff, only hearing that some places on the cliff are just a slit, while others stretch for four or five miles. To get past it, you have to take a detour. However, since ancient times, there have been very few people who can pass through Wind Thunder Cliff and return alive. Therefore, the records related to Wind Thunder Cliff that have been passed down through the ages are not many."

  This wind and thunder cliff is called a cliff, but it can also be called a canyon. Because the road they walked along was relatively straight, and the length of the bottom of the cliff was also relatively uniform, basically between 10 to 15 meters. Zuo Xiao Yao couldn't imagine what would be different on top of the cliff compared to below.

  Without knowing the length of the cliff, after a short rest, the two set off again. The remaining flatbread was not much, so Zuo Xiao Yao simply wrapped them in cloth and handed them all to Gu Yan Nan. Men consumed more food than women, she could understand that even if he felt hungry or didn't eat enough, he would be too embarrassed to ask her for food, so it's better to let him take it himself for convenience.

  Although Zuo Xiao Yao's rare 'thoughtful' move caught him off guard, Gu Yan didn't decline. After all, food is heaven for the common people, and he would remind the other person when it was time to 'rest'. It was inevitable that he felt a bit uneasy, feeling like he had lost some momentum, but the woman in front of him was clearly different from those who only cared about his physical well-being and hobbies. She didn't know what gentle consideration meant; her eyes were fixed solely on her goal.

  After walking nearly three miles further, both of them clearly felt that when they went forward again, they would be enveloped in an increasingly bright holy light, and a sudden urge to surrender and worship from the heart appeared, as well as a feeling of being pressed by a heavy object that made their pace slower.

  What exactly lies ahead? Discovering that her spiritual consciousness was being suppressed by those rays of light, Zuo Xiaoyao's heart grew increasingly perplexed!

  As she strained every muscle to push forward, her steps became increasingly difficult to take. Her gaze remained fixed on the horizon as her legs, weighed down by an invisible force, moved with a life of their own. Suddenly, her usually calm dantian was disrupted, like something had intruded from outside, and a massive wave surged up. Countless rays of light shot into her body, and the spiritual energy within her dantian, which she couldn't see, began to resist on its own accord.

  In the calm dantian, a sudden war broke out. As the carrier of this war, Zuo Xiaoyao only felt an intense pain that seemed to tear her body apart, and she fell to the ground involuntarily. She suddenly tasted sweetness in her mouth, and a mouthful of fresh blood was spat out. Meanwhile, in a place she couldn't see, a battle between two strange powers continued on its own.

  With great effort, she took out a purple liquid spirit fruit and swallowed it. Although the intense pain still existed throughout her body, her suddenly weakened body regained some strength. Xue Xiao turned her head to look at Gu Yan who was standing three steps away from her, his face filled with shock as he stared at her. "Gu Gongzi, please don't go any further, the situation here is a bit complicated, you should retreat, I have some connection with it, and I must go forward!"

  Recovering from this sudden scene, the lone goose's subconscious wanted to lift its foot and move forward again, even though it clearly sensed that the oppressive feeling around it had grown stronger. "Xiao Niangniang, you..."

  "No one can help me with this matter, no matter how hard you try to rush forward, it's useless. Back off and from now on, no matter what happens, as long as you don't disturb me, guard the surroundings and don't let anything else disturb me. If this matter succeeds, I'll owe Young Master a favor and will help him fulfill a wish that doesn't go against my conscience."

  It was evident that Zuo Xiao Yao's words were spoken with sincerity and determination, despite her pale complexion and the obvious pain she was enduring, which had caused her to break out in a cold sweat. She looked somewhat disheveled, yet unexpectedly, her instructions were not to be ignored. With a mind full of questions and doubts, Gu Yan South could only subconsciously nod his head and respond in a low voice, "Alright!"

  As soon as she got his promise, Zuo Xiao Yao had already turned around and struggled to get up again, after trying twice, she finally managed to stand upright and continued to move forward under the pressure that had increased several times.

  Following Zuo Xiao's instructions, he no longer tried to go forward and stood still on the spot, watching as Zuo Xiao fell down again and again, struggling to get back up, spitting out blood from time to time. It was imaginable what kind of pain she was enduring, but due to their prior agreement, he only had the qualification to clench his fists and watch.

  The further in, the more white light entered Li Xiao Yao's body, the more intense the battle in her dantian became, and the greater the pain she endured. This was a vicious cycle.

  Xiao Yao, however, had no intention of giving up. To her, this was hope, a long-awaited hope, so no matter how much physical pain she felt, she managed to maintain a clear consciousness, filled with joy and longing, striving to move forward.

  No matter how hard she tried, Zuo Xiaoyao couldn't stand up straight again under the heavy pressure, so she had to crawl forward with her bare hands. In order to regain her vitality, no matter how small a glimmer of hope it was, she had to make an effort to grasp it, no matter what hardships and difficulties she would have to endure. This was her conviction.

  Ling Xi was unable to move, and in the end, she could only slowly inch her body forward at a snail's pace. Left Xiao Yao couldn't see what was ahead or the small platform protruding from the left stone wall twenty-five meters away, five meters above the ground, where a fist-sized sphere quietly rested, emitting all the bright light around it.

  PS: Thanks for the support from book friends 17083598, still king pearl, and confused girl. The second update will be slightly late, striving to arrive before 9 o'clock!