Chapter 88 - The Empress Despairs

Mount Tai, Jade Emperor Peak.

“Huff… Th-This Empress… f-finally… almost there!”

Long Yue clutched the handrail of the steps with both hands, arduously making her way toward the summit of Mount Tai, the Jade Emperor Peak.

At this moment, she was panting non-stop from exhaustion, dizzy, and her vision was blurry. Her legs were so sore and weak they didn't even feel like her own. The confidence and composure she had at the foot of the mountain was completely gone.

Keep going! You are the Empress, revered by thousands! You can do it, Long Yue!

Once I reach the summit, I'll be able to find a way to restore my spiritual energy! And climbing a mountain also helps with weight loss! You have to hold on!

With this constant self-encouragement, she successfully pulled herself up onto the Jade Emperor Peak, her pretty face filled with pride and joy.

This was probably the first time in her life that she had climbed to the peak of a mountain entirely with her own two feet, without using spiritual energy.

Even without spiritual energy, as the Empress, she was still amazing!

“Pretty impressive, Empress.”

Lin Fan, who was already standing on the Jade Emperor Peak, reached out a hand to Long Yue.

Her performance had exceeded his expectations. He had thought the entire climb would take a bit longer, but in the end, it only took about four hours, which was quite a bit faster than he had anticipated.

Considering her current frail physique, it was truly commendable.

At least she's stronger than the other two guys…

Looking far down, he could see Zhou Yan and Lu Zhai, one hand on the rail, the other leaning on a walking stick, arduously moving one step at a time.

By the time they reached the summit, the two of them were so tired they collapsed onto the railing like salted fish, completely motionless.

“I'm seriously dead tired…”

“I feel like my legs have gone numb…”

“Climbing such a high mountain… do you know how cruel that is to an otaku…”

Zhou Yan and Lu Zhai complained back and forth.

“Here, rest a bit, have some water.”

Lin Fan bought a few bottles of sparkling water and handed them to Zhou Yan and Lu Zhai.

The two of them took the water, glaring at him irritably, their eyes full of resentment.

“I say, couldn't you two have walked a little slower up front…”

Because Lin Fan was leading the way, they had to grit their teeth and follow closely behind so as not to be left behind.

Who knew that the two of them wouldn't stop to rest for a single moment, forcing them to just bite the bullet and keep going.

They could have taken their time and walked from morning till evening, but instead, they actually made it to the top in just four hours!

This was all his fault!

From the foot of the mountain to the summit, a total of four hours, not only did he not stop to rest, but he wasn't even flushed or out of breath the entire time, acting as if nothing had happened!

He now had more and more reason to believe that this guy Lin Fan was a genetically modified super-soldier!

How can anyone climb the entirety of Mount Tai without even getting flushed or out of breath!

“Sorry, I'll pay more attention next time,” Lin Fan said with an apologetic smile.

He had actually already slowed down quite a bit on purpose. Otherwise, he probably would have reached the summit in less than three hours.

He had just accidentally forgotten that one was a rich kid and the other was an otaku, and that their physical fitness was probably a bit worse than the average climber, so he hadn't paid them much mind.

“Next time, you're not allowed to walk in front!”

Zhou Yan and Lu Zhai said almost in unison.

If they ever had the chance to go mountain climbing again, they would absolutely not let Lin Fan walk in front of them.

The moment he was in the lead, a leisurely hike would turn into a competitive speed climb…

Faced with Zhou Yan and Lu Zhai's complaints, Lin Fan smiled sheepishly, with nothing to say in his defense.

Just then, the three of them realized that Long Yue was no longer beside them. A slight commotion was coming from the crowd behind them.

“Quick, look, what's that girl doing?”

“What a strange posture…”

“Is she posing for a souvenir photo?”

Hearing the commotion from behind, Lin Fan and Zhou Yan turned their heads to look.

They saw Long Yue sitting cross-legged, her eyes tightly shut, her hands raised high toward the sky in a posture as if she were holding up the heavens.

“Lin Fan, what is sister-in-law doing…?” Zhou Yan asked curiously.

“Uh… maybe she's praying for rain…”

Lin Fan casually made up an excuse.

In reality, Long Yue was just trying to sense if there were any fluctuations in the aura of heaven and earth's spiritual energy, but of course, he couldn't say that.

“Speaking of which, the weather forecast did say it might rain on Mount Tai in the next couple of days.”

“But for no good reason, why would sister-in-law be praying for rain…”

Zhou Yan and Lu Zhai looked up at the sky, their expressions growing even more puzzled.

After a long while, seeing that Long Yue was still motionless, Lin Fan couldn't help but walk worriedly to her side and ask in a quiet voice:

“Empress, how is it? Do you feel any aura of heaven and earth's spiritual energy?”

“No… This Empress can't feel anything at all…”

Long Yue lowered her raised arms, her head drooping in dejection.

Before ascending to the Jade Emperor Peak, she had been full of hope, hoping to feel the aura of spiritual energy at the summit.

Even if it was just a tiny little bit, there would still be hope of returning!

But reality had mercilessly trampled on this one last hope in her heart.

Even here, using the posture most able to sense the aura of spiritual energy—the 'heaven and earth communing' posture—she still couldn't feel a single trace of spiritual energy!

“Demon Sovereign, can you feel any spiritual energy?”

Long Yue looked at Lin Fan, her eyes full of hope.

Maybe it's because her cultivation and spiritual energy are completely gone, so she can't even sense the spiritual energy of heaven and earth?

However, this was just her own wishful thinking.

Lin Fan closed his eyes and briefly sensed his surroundings, then slowly shook his head.

“I can't feel anything either.”

“Is that so…”

Hearing this, Long Yue's expression suddenly darkened, a look of confusion and despair on her face.

Even the Demon Sovereign couldn't feel any spiritual energy. That could only mean that no spiritual energy existed here either. Her final remaining hope was shattered once again.

The greater the hope in one's heart, the greater the disappointment.

In order to return, she had tried every method she could think of, but her hopes had been dashed one by one...

“It seems we came here for nothing today…”

“How could it be for nothing? Look, isn't this sunset beautiful?”

Lin Fan turned and walked to the edge of the railing at the peak, gazing out at the boundless sea of clouds.

Half of the setting sun was submerged deep beneath the sea of clouds, while the other half illuminated the horizon with its afterglow, dyeing half the clouds in its light. The magnificent scene filled their view.

Long Yue walked up beside him. Looking at the sunset over the sea of clouds, her heart only grew more melancholy.

As the Empress of the Immortal Realm, at this moment she should have been roaming freely between heaven and earth, standing tall above the sunset and the sea of clouds, not just standing here looking out at them.

On the way back down the mountain, Long Yue didn't say a word, her melancholy written all over her face, completely devoid of the joy and anticipation she had on the way up.

“Lin Fan, what's wrong with sister-in-law? She doesn't seem very happy.”

Zhou Yan walked up to Lin Fan's side and asked with confusion.

Sister-in-law's mood before the climb was the complete opposite of her mood on the way down, which made one a little worried.

Lin Fan didn't answer, his gaze fixed blankly on Long Yue's lonely retreating figure as he thought about how to comfort her.

In truth, even before climbing the mountain, he had anticipated this, knowing that there was a high probability they would find nothing.

He just didn't have the heart to say it, not wanting her hopes to be shattered and see her disappointed.

But in the end, it seems to have made her even more disappointed...

RUMBLE!

Just then, a muffled clap of thunder sounded from the sky, and large, dark clouds gathered above Mount Tai.

Zhou Yan and Lu Zhai looked up at the sky, their faces worried.

“Fuck, it's not really going to rain, is it!”

The moment his words fell, a torrential downpour began to fall in sheets.

“Quick! Let's find a place to take shelter!”

Zhou Yan and Lu Zhai quickly ran towards the nearest rest stop, but Long Yue stopped in her tracks and stood tall in the heavy rain, lifting her head to gaze at the sky, letting the raindrops beat down on her…

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