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Chapter 88: Peach Blossom Peak, Saint Peach Blossom

Although Miss Vilyric had no registered identity or property, it wasn’t difficult for Ling Feng to showcase great abilities to create one temporarily.

After all, it was the Yin-Yang Division, probably just like those imperial spies of the past; crafting a fake identity record would be a piece of cake, right?

At one point, someone even produced what seemed to be a large seal specifically used for imitation identity documents and stamped it onto the finished product, making it almost indistinguishable from the real thing.

With the forged identity of a young lady from the capital of the Spirit Kingdom, Vilyric, Ling Feng, Bai’er, Murong Yun, and a little mole that was brought along just in case, quickly passed through the inspection and entered the interior of Peach Blossom Peak.

Stepping onto the mountain path, a sudden clarity greeted them, followed by the vast expanse of peach blossom trees and the fragrant aroma that flooded everyone’s senses.

At this moment, the Ancient Spirit Realm was at the end of winter, the coldest time of the year, yet here on Peach Blossom Peak, which was one of the Twelve Peaks of Cangyun, peach blossoms that should only bloom in warm spring disregarded the season and continued to bloom splendidly.

Tourists walked along, gazing around or stopping to admire the sight, and even Miss Vilyric spotted a few painters setting up to capture this rare and beautiful scenery.

Of course, what Miss Vilyric was concerned about was not this.

“By the way… there aren’t as many monsters and spirit beasts here as I imagined. Isn’t Cangyun Mountain supposed to be the source of all demons and spirits, boasting countless remarkable creatures?”

As they climbed up the mountain path, the black-haired girl scanned her surroundings, but aside from the occasional small spirit beasts peeking out from behind trees or rocks with curious, bright eyes, she didn’t see too many sights worthy of the title of the world’s first marvelous peak.

The eternally blooming peach blossoms were indeed magical but only in a sense; the true value of Cangyun Mountain wasn’t based on its tourist spots.

“It’s too early for that… Miss Vilyric, the area below two thousand meters is essentially the active zone for visitors on Peach Blossom Peak. Unless some particularly proactive spirit beasts show up to interact with outsiders, most of the real beings from Cangyun Mountain live higher up. If we’re lucky, we’ll see some if we keep going up.”

Listening to Mr. Murong Yun’s patient explanation like a tour guide, the Priestess could only nod slightly, feeling a bit regretful.

“Well, that does make sense.”

Seeing the black-haired girl looking around like an inexperienced child with no sense of caution, Ling Feng couldn’t help but remind her.

“Vilyric, you should be more careful; we’re not here for fun. The thieves from the Demon-Suppressing Sect may have already entered Peach Blossom Peak, and don’t forget there could be a Pharmacist among them.”

“Don’t worry, I’ve got this~”

Saying this, the black-haired girl patted the shoulder of the little mole beside her.

“Little Mole, have you found anything?”

Being asked specifically, the girl quickly wiggled her pointy little nose, her round, furry ears flapping a bit, but soon she hung her head in embarrassment.

“I’m sorry, esteemed fairy. I haven’t detected the scent of the Digger King yet; he probably hasn’t been here for a while.”

“Why do you keep calling me esteemed fairy… I told you not to be so stiff, just relax a little.”

“Yes… I’m sorry, it’s just that I’m too useless…”

Seeing the little mole looking a bit downcast, Vilyric shook her head helplessly but didn’t say anything more.

In fact, while the little mole was indeed a mole spirit, she couldn’t possibly track someone or something from several dozen or even hundreds of miles away using just her sense of smell like some Little Dragon Daughter could, nor could she distinguish valuable scents from among thousands.

Vilyric had simply asked out of habit, not expecting the little spirit to take it seriously; it seemed the earlier battle had left quite a strong impression on her.

Actually, not finding anything wasn’t a big deal.

After all, there was only one path up Peach Blossom Peak, and no matter what the Demon-Suppressing Sect planned to do, based on the intel they had gathered, it was only a matter of time before they crossed paths with Saint Peach Blossom, so heading up was definitely the right decision.

Two thousand meters—neither too low nor too high; with everyone powering ahead, they quickly passed through the most densely populated area of tourists and officially entered the midsection of Peach Blossom Peak.

As they continued to climb, the altitude increased, and the temperature around began to drop gradually. Perhaps it was due to the local environment or the type of peach trees, the fragrant blooms across their field of vision remained unchanged, but this change genuinely reduced the number of visitors around; now only a tenth remained.

The cold and pressure of winter in the mountains was indeed something ordinary people couldn’t endure for long. Even the little mole, with her relatively shallow cultivation, had to recently don a warm fuzzy coat just to withstand the dropping temperatures.

However, strangely, the number of spirit beasts that Mr. Murong Yun had mentioned increasing earlier was now visibly decreasing. Looking around, aside from a few tourists and the abundant peach trees, nearly no living beings could be seen moving.

This puzzled everyone; while they could roughly explain it with “winter is too cold, and spirit beasts don’t want to come out,” they were already aware that something was off.

Whatever the reason, there’s always something abnormal when things get weird.

Soon, they arrived at the semi-peak area above four thousand meters.

The environment took a sharp turn; strong winds and snow swirled around, and the blasts of cold air hit them like blades, as if they had instantly stepped into a frozen wasteland.

At this point, the tourists had nearly vanished, and the few silhouettes they occasionally saw were bundled in heavy coats, carrying strange gear that Vilyric didn’t quite understand but was probably used for safety. Instead of casual tourists, they looked more like professional climbers seeking adventure and challenges in the mountains.

Here, the temperature likely fell below minus thirty or forty degrees Celsius, a terrifying chill where water would freeze quickly upon contact with the ground.

Even strong beings like Murong Yun and Bai’er, who sought the fairy realm, were provided with protective spiritual charms by Ling Feng to maintain their thin clothing, and the little mole was directly shivering from the cold.

“Ah, I see…”

Only Vilyric seemed to be unbothered by the chill, deep in thought.

The amplitude of this temperature change was clearly beyond the normal altitude variations; it was evident that not all of it was due to natural factors, but rather some external force was interfering and influencing this place.

It seemed that even though they publicly allowed outsiders to enter and play, the true areas of Peach Blossom Peak open to the public were only in the lower section.

This cold felt like an invisible barrier, separating the upper and lower parts of Peach Blossom Peak, leaving one to wonder what the purpose was.

Once again, the girl cast her silver-blue gaze toward the surrounding peach trees, which showed no signs of being affected by the cold winds and snow, not even accumulating a thin layer of snow, pensive.

“Radiant Protection.”

She raised her hand, and a golden barrier rose from the ground, enveloping a total of five people, blocking the congealing winds and chill from the mountain, causing the surrounding temperature to immediately rise again.

“Vilyric?”

This action naturally drew the attention and surprise of the others. Ling Feng paused, turning to look at the Priestess with confusion, while Bai’er couldn’t help but ask.

“What’s wrong? Are there enemies?”

“Nothing, I just thought it unnecessary to waste too much energy against these environmental factors.”

The Priestess deflected the question.

“By the way, Murong Yun, remember you mentioned that a few years ago, when you and Saint Peach Blossom were fighting the Taotie, you entered the secret realm through Peach Blossom Peak, right? Did you also trek against the cold winds all the way to the mountaintop back then?”

“No, we actually didn’t reach the peak of Peach Blossom Peak.”

The White-clad Middle-aged Man shook his head slightly.

“I remember that back then, the Saint and several peak masters joined forces to set a trial; as long as we could reach the endpoint six thousand meters high, we would be deemed qualified. The temperature up there was even lower than now, and there were plenty of additional obstacles. Even being well-prepared, we nearly didn’t make it…”

“Back then, there were over a thousand mighty figures summoned, but only about a hundred could cross multiple risks and take part in the campaign. Even so, we didn’t see any peak masters; we only witnessed the earth-shattering scene of the Saint battling the awakening Taotie from a distance.”

Standing inside the Radiant Protection barrier, Vilyric glanced outside, noncommittal.

“Normal; those who sound impressive but lack the strength are just asking to die. But you mean to say that you didn’t actually reach the mountaintop or closely encounter Saint Peach Blossom? How did she lead you into the secret realm then?”

“Well… it’s hard to describe.”

Murong Yun pondered.

“From my perspective, after Saint Peach Blossom delegated our tasks with divine abilities, silver light fell from the sky, and everything around turned upside down. By the time we stabilized our feet again, we had already arrived at the secret realm.”

“If I had to say, it feels quite similar to when the Qilin senior first appeared out of the Tidal Canyon and sent me out.”

“Hmm?”

The Priestess slightly raised an eyebrow.

“… Spatial abilities?”