Chapter 577: The Divine Glacial Lake

This truly was a landscape far removed from the mortal world.

Beneath his feet was a mountain peak sharp as a halberd, covered in thick snow. The sky above was an expanse of deep blue, and aside from the solitary white sun, no other color could be seen. Looking down, all that was visible was a sea of clouds, rolling like waves or pouring like waterfalls.

Within that vast ocean of clouds, only a few distant peaks barely managed to peek through—those rare mountains qualified to meet the gaze of this sacred summit.

There was no trace of the mundane world, nor a speck of dust from mortal life. Only immortals, perhaps, could linger long in such a place.

At this moment, what the Daoist felt most was exhaustion and weakness. A deep, bone-deep fatigue.

It was as if all strength in his body had been drained away, every muscle and bone filled with weariness, leaving him unable to summon even the slightest energy.

At the same time, his willpower had been mostly spent in the final push—when he’d picked up the two little spirit beasts and climbed to the peak without pause. The thin air at the summit further dulled his mind, filling him with a strange laziness, a desire to do nothing, to think of nothing. His thoughts emptied out, until he found himself blank and adrift.

Only then did he start to feel the bone-piercing cold.

Song You was already wearing the thickest clothing he had, but it was still no match for the frigid altitude here—his body quickly turned cold.

Fortunately, he hadn’t been sniffling—if he had, even his snot might have frozen.

As for how high this place truly was?

Song You had no idea.

In any case, even among the local mountain people—skilled climbers accustomed to high altitudes—very,

very

few had ever managed to reach this summit. So much so that, over time, anyone who had made it to the top and returned to prove it was hailed as a hero and remembered in tales passed down through the generations.

Having reached this place, even someone like Song You could feel his breath hitching, his mind dulled, his thoughts stiffening.

There wasn’t a single bird in sight—none could fly this high.

Or perhaps some could, but none had come today.

It hadn’t been easy for Song You to make this ascent, either.

Throughout the entire journey, he hadn’t used a single spell for convenience, nor had he relied on spiritual energy to preserve his stamina. Though his long cultivation had given him a body far stronger than most, the mystical nature of the sacred mountain’s spiritual resonance had also offered him some measure of care. Even so, to reach this place—though he had advantages beyond the ordinary—it still came down to sheer willpower.

He couldn’t help but wonder: among those voices he had heard the night before, how many had succeeded, and how many had failed?

How many left the mountain in regret? How many remained here forever?

“...”

Song You sat motionless, taking in the view before him.

He had earned this moment.

The cat rested for quite a while before she finally began crawling beside him, slowly making her way to the edge of the summit. Her amber-like eyes opened wide as she gazed off into the distance.

The swallow lay nestled in the snow beside him, its beady black eyes also fixed on the far horizon, yet it didn’t even have the strength to respond when Lady Calico crawled right past it.

“Congratulations, Lady Calico. Congratulations, Yan An. You’ve both successfully climbed this sacred mountain.”

The Daoist spoke, his breath turning white in the air.

The cat merely glanced back at him, said nothing, and turned her head away again, continuing to gaze at the scenery before her.

The swallow opened its beak slightly, but made no sound.

One man and two little demons sat in silence, savoring the moment.

From afar, this halberd-like summit appeared incredibly sharp—but in truth, it was so massive and blanketed in such thick snow that, once actually reached, the tip was somewhat flatter than expected. That said, “flat” was still a relative term. In reality, standing here meant being surrounded by sheer, deadly cliffs on all sides. Below was nothing but cloud sea—no trace of earth or trail. Even the path they had taken to ascend, should one slip, offered no chance of recovery.

Once again, they could only be thankful there was no wind today.

Had there been any, even just standing here would have been perilous.

It wasn’t until a long time had passed that the Daoist finally closed his eyes.

Whoosh...

In an instant, the world around him shifted.

Though his eyes were shut, it felt as if he could see this realm more clearly than ever—the vast expanse of sky and earth, the staggering height beneath his feet, and the sacred mountain itself, transcendent and unworldly, inviolable in its divine presence. The ancient spiritual resonance nurtured within it over countless millennia—he could sense it all before him.

Nothing was murky or vague—everything was crystal clear.

It was as though, the moment he reached the summit, the sacred mountain had opened its heart to him, acknowledged his will, and held nothing back.

The treacherous path to the summit and the breathtaking view upon arrival had become part of the Daoist’s cultivation journey. And now, the unique spiritual energy of the mountain had become a part of his practice as well.

As for the divine glacial lake and the glacial spiritual resonance—where was it?

To the one who dares to ask, the sacred mountain shall answer.

“...”

The Daoist opened his eyes.

The cat, too, seemed to have had her fill of the view. The thin air at this altitude had long dulled her wits—she seemed to have lost the ability to speak, or perhaps she had simply forgotten it. But what she hadn’t forgotten was her closeness with the Daoist. Instead, she crawled over to him, climbed onto his leg, and began clambering up his robes.

“What is it that you wish to do?”

“...”

The cat didn’t say a word, as if she hadn’t heard him, and simply kept climbing with determination.

The Daoist had no choice but to pull her down.

But Lady Calico was persistent by nature and didn’t get discouraged in the slightest. After resting only a short while, she acted as if her strength and energy had fully recovered. The moment she landed on the ground, she looked around briefly, then pounced at the Daoist again. Her four little paws hooked firmly into the Daoist’s robe, allowing her to "scale walls and leap across eaves." She immediately began bouncing and scrambling upward along the folds of his robe—who knew what she was trying to do?

“I’ve had this robe for many years now, I’m quite attached to it. And I don’t own many. Lady Calico, please don’t tear it up.”

This time, the cat seemed to hear him. She turned her head and glanced at him, but still she didn’t reply.

She just kept climbing.

Song You was tickled by her movements and, with no other choice, pulled her down again.

“...”

Once more dropped into the snow, the cat looked genuinely puzzled. She stared at him with her amber-like eyes for a long while before finally looking away. Turning around, she sat properly and started licking her paw, playing idly.

“The summit is freezing, and the sun is harsh—it’s not wise to linger here too long,” the Daoist said as he stood, picked up his bamboo staff, and brushed the snow from his robes. “I’ve already found the glacial spiritual resonance. It looks like you’ve both rested enough—let’s head down.”

The cat turned her head toward him and quickly followed.

After a few steps, she looked back at the swallow. Only after confirming that it was following too did she turn her gaze forward again and trot after the Daoist, stepping into his footprints.

While on the summit, Song You had spotted a path that looked a bit more gently sloped—perfect for descending at a more relaxed pace. If necessary, he could even make use of spells or spiritual energy without much concern; worst case, it would simply let them descend more quickly. So, he decisively chose a new path.

No going back the way they came.

And only after stepping onto it did he realize: this was likely the route most of the earlier climbers had used to reach the summit—

𝗳𝐫𝚎𝗲𝚠𝚎𝗯𝕟𝐨𝘃𝚎𝗹.𝗰𝗼𝗺

Not because there were visible paths, chains, or wooden posts—no such thing would be found this high up in these times—but because the mountain had preserved the remains of those who came before.

Once again, their clothing varied. Their postures, their expressions—each was different. Most had removed their garments and cast them aside, leaving themselves in minimal clothing, frozen in the snow and ice. Future generations who saw them might well call them the oldest mountain climbers.

Song You didn’t know whether it was better to leave them here, on the sacred mountain they had longed for, or to carry them down. But if he did take them down, not knowing where they came from, burying them in a foreign land might not be any more meaningful. Between resting eternally on the sacred mountain or being buried in unfamiliar soil, perhaps only they themselves could say which was right.

And so, he simply passed by them, glancing at each face—frozen in time from years past—without slowing his steps.

Climbing up was hard; climbing down was dangerous. More than once, he nearly slipped off a cliff.

But descending was undeniably much faster.

After they passed the steepest and most dangerous part of the descent, the slope gradually eased. At times, Lady Calico simply curled herself into a ball and rolled straight down the snowy incline.

As they descended in altitude, her energy steadily returned.

They gradually drew closer to the sea of clouds. What had once looked like dense cotton or crashing waves from above slowly became wisps of mist, light and ethereal. As the group approached the fog, the cat often stretched her neck to peer down into the distance, her expression filled with confusion—as if this wasn’t quite what she had imagined clouds to be.

The mist was thick, and visibility was poor.

But once they passed through that veil of cloud and the world became clear again, they could no longer see the pristine, flawless blue sky above. Now, all that could be seen was the gray-white fog of the mountains, and further down, a heavy layer of clouds—just like the kind seen from below the mountains. The thoughtful look in Lady Calico's eyes returned, slowly turning into one of surprise.

And after another half-day...

The group finally reached the place the big-bellied monk had spoken of: the divine glacial lake.

This was a sunken basin on the other side of the sacred mountain, where years of accumulated snow and ice had turned into a glacier of unknown thickness. Deep within the basin, freezing cold air had pooled, and it moved through the hollow like water. Even from a distance, looking down from above, without approaching, Song You could already feel that soul-piercing cold—it was a chill that seemed capable of freezing one's very spirit.

“So cold...” Lady Calico finally spoke her first words.

“Lady Calico, you’ve recovered your speech,” Song You turned and glanced at her, then looked down at the claw marks she'd left on his robe during her climb. He said mildly, “Congratulations on regaining your wits and becoming a clever cat again.”

The cat also looked down at his Daoist robe. Was it hers? Did she make it? It looked familiar, but also... not quite. She wasn’t sure what to say.

So she just put on a very serious face and stared at him in silence.

“It’s fine, still wearable.”

“I’ll make you a new one!”

“No need, it’s still good.”

“I have money!”

“I’m used to this one.”

“Hmm...” The cat stared at him silently again.

“Up ahead is the divine glacial lake,” Song You said, holding his bamboo staff. His voice was steadier and more fluent than it had been at the summit. “It contains the glacial spiritual resonance formed over billions of years. The cold there is so intense that if you or Yan An come into contact with it, you’ll be turned into ice sculptures. So you don’t need to follow me any further—just wait here.”

“Okay.”

“Understood.”

And so, the Daoist walked alone toward the glacier and its swirling chill.

The cold surged like water, rolling and shifting.

Though the big-bellied monk had been greedy to the core and had lied through his teeth in his attempt to steal the treasure—at the very end, he hadn’t deceived Song You.