Chapter 87 - Puny Mount Tai, This Empress Can Handle It with Ease

After a night's rest, at the foot of Mount Tai.

“Is that the summit of Mount Tai over there?”

Long Yue's eyes narrowed slightly as she gazed from afar at the distant, tiny peak of Mount Tai.

“That's right, that's the summit. Its total elevation is 1545 meters.”

Lin Fan walked to her side, also gazing at the peak, and gave a simple introduction.

“Eh? It's only 1545 meters high? I could get there in two steps.”

Hearing the height was only 1545 meters, Long Yue looked disappointed.

On the Immortal-Demon Continent, there was no shortage of vast mountain ranges. A random small peak would be over a thousand meters high, and there were even immortal mountains over ten thousand meters tall that stood among the clouds.

This tiny Mount Tai, among all the peaks she had climbed in her life, couldn't even rank at the very bottom.

Looking at it from here, she felt as if she could reach it with just a light little hop. There was really no difficulty at all.

“Sister-in-law, don't underestimate Mount Tai. A lot of people online look down on it and end up learning their lesson the hard way.”

“Look, those people over there just came down from a night climb. Look how tired they are.”

Zhou Yan stepped forward and pointed to the people trickling out of the trail entrance, leaning on walking sticks.

“This tiny little peak can make people that tired?”

“It seems the constitution of mortals in this world is really too weak~”

Long Yue shook her head in disappointment at the people coming out. She made a pinching gesture with two fingers in front of her eyes and recited the famous words that almost every confident person who comes to Mount Tai says:

“Puny Mount Tai, This Empress can handle it with ease~!”

With that, she eagerly strode forward, taking the lead towards the entrance of the mountain trail.

The mountain is a bit short, but maybe I can find a trace of spiritual energy on its peak!

“Young lady, you don't seem to have a walking stick. Want to buy one?”

At the trail entrance, an elderly man asked enthusiastically, holding out some walking sticks.

“Thank you, old sir, but you might be recommending it to the wrong person.”

“A walking stick like this is something an old gentleman like yourself would need. A young woman like me has no need for such a thing.”

Long Yue confidently declined the old man's kind offer, held her head high, and strode forward with confident steps.

Lin Fan followed close behind, also choosing not to buy a walking stick.

His long experience of fleeing and surviving in the wilds of the Immortal-Demon Continent had long since forged him a body with excellent stamina.

Even without relying on spiritual energy at all, just climbing this mountain with his physical body would be no difficulty for him.

When it was Zhou Yan's and Lu Zhai's turn, they stopped and, with serious expressions, held up two fingers to the old man.

“Two of them, please. Thank you!”

……

On the mountain path, Long Yue was like someone on a leisurely outing, climbing the steps while looking around curiously, occasionally trying to sense if there was any aura of spiritual energy. The atmosphere was completely relaxed and cheerful.

Lin Fan followed behind her at an unhurried pace, while Zhou Yan and Lu Zhai lagged behind, leaning on their walking sticks.

“Huff… huff…”

Zhou Yan walked on, panting in small gasps.

They had only just begun, and he was already starting to feel tired…

Could it be that he's even weaker than sister-in-law, who's a woman?!

Besides the recent trip to the gym, the last time he had exercised outside could be traced back to his physical fitness test in university.

Since graduating, he basically drove everywhere he went. The furthest he ever walked was downstairs to take out the trash.

To think that not only had his strength declined, but his stamina was also becoming more and more pathetic.

Fortunately, he wasn't the one with the most pathetic stamina…

Zhou Yan turned his head to look at Lu Zhai, who was lagging a dozen or so meters behind him, and smiled with relief.

As expected, bringing this guy along was the right choice…

“Huff! Huff! Huff…”

Lu Zhai was panting heavily, his forehead already covered in sweat.

For an otaku like him who almost never left the house, suddenly being made to climb a mountain was truly a difficult task.

For some reason, that guy Zhou Yan always had to drag him along for things like this, saying some nonsense about how the bros had to hang out together now that they were finally reunited.

He had no choice, he couldn't win the argument, so he had to come along.

Now, with the climb having just begun, he was already starting to regret it.

On a day like this, he should be lying at home with the AC blasting, tissues in hand, having a sweet date with his 'wife'...

“Huff, Demon Sovereign, how long have we been walking?”

After walking for a while longer, Long Yue also began to pant, sweat trickling down her forehead. She couldn't help but stop and turn to ask Lin Fan behind her.

Lin Fan opened his phone and checked the time.

“We've been walking for almost an hour.”

“Almost an hour?!”

Long Yue was shocked. She incredulously turned her head back to look at the distant summit of Mount Tai.

I've clearly been walking for so long, why does it feel like Mount Tai is still just as far away as before…

So far that it's still a distance I can pinch between two fingers…

“What's wrong, Empress? Can't hold on any longer?”

Seeing Long Yue panting for breath, Lin Fan couldn't help but ask with a smile.

“Hmph, how could a tiny little peak like this possibly make This Empress feel tired!”

Long Yue was naturally unwilling to admit defeat in front of him. After a light snort, she once again set foot on the mountain path without looking back.

After about another hour, just as she was almost about to collapse from exhaustion, she finally reached a landing.

On the landing, there were not only small stalls on both sides selling various drinks and snacks, but also quite a few other climbers.

“Hahaha, I told you a puny mountain like this couldn't possibly pose a challenge for This Empress!”

“The peak of Mount Tai is nothing special after all~!”

Long Yue stood at the edge of the landing with her hands on her hips, triumphantly turning to face Lin Fan and the others below the steps.

“Empress, this isn't the summit of Mount Tai.”

Lin Fan's single sentence was like a basin of cold water poured over her.

“Eh…?”

Long Yue looked astonished and repeatedly glanced back at the small stalls and the crowd before her.

“Isn't this the summit of Mount Tai?”

“Look carefully, Empress. This is the Midway Gate to Heaven, just a temporary resting spot on Mount Tai.”

“From here to the summit, there's still at least half the journey left.”

Lin Fan stood beside Long Yue and pointed to the stone archway in front of them, which was inscribed with the three large, bright red characters for "Zhongtianmen".

“Still half the journey left…”

Long Yue stood frozen on the spot, repeating the words in disbelief.

Just when she had spent nearly two hours and was feeling the joy of reaching the summit, they were telling her she had only gone halfway?!

“Didn't you say the elevation was only 1545 meters? How can it be so far…”

“Empress, the elevation is just the height. The trail from the foot of the mountain to the top is nearly 10 kilometers long, and the second half of the path is even steeper and more difficult.”

“…Even more difficult?!”

Hearing this, Long Yue turned her head to look at the long flight of stairs before her, her eyes filled with despair.

She had walked even longer stairs to immortality and had never felt tired, but the flight of stairs before her now felt as if it had no end.

Before she could find any trace of spiritual energy, she wondered if she would first perish on these very steps of Mount Tai…

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