Chapter 192: Resonance of the Divine Mountain
Chapter 192: Resonance of the Divine Mountain
The temperature had dropped to more than twenty degrees below zero.
The overcast sky showed no sign of clearing. A bone-chilling wind, carrying frost and snow, swept across the plateau, leaving the vast land covered in white.
The Kunlun Mountain area has an average altitude of 5,500 to 6,000 meters. It contains large uninhabited zones, including the famously lethal Death Valley.
In winter, even the hardiest herders stay far from these mountains.
But Gao Jing pushed forward steadfastly through the blizzard!
He flew over the deep snow, his speed no slower than an off-road vehicle. Frost and snowflakes rushing at him were stopped and melted by an unseen barrier before they could even touch him.
This was the power of the Battle Armor.
Gao Jing only needed to maintain a minimal level of protection to ward off the harshest wind and snow.
This was also why he dared to visit Kunlun in winter.
With no people within hundreds of miles, Gao Jing could freely show his extraordinary abilities.
No storm, however fierce, could stop his running steps.
Majestic Kunlun lay ahead!
Appearing on the distant horizon was a long, rolling mountain range.
Snow-capped peaks pierced the clouds. Wreathed in snow mist whipped up by fierce winds, they resembled heavenly palaces.
Magnificent and mysterious!
Gao Jing increased his speed again.
After more than three hours of travel, he reached the foot of the Kunlun Mountains before dark.
Gao Jing gazed at the great snowy mountain ahead with an almost greedy look.
He had seen documentaries about Kunlun before and used them to visualize a divine mountain within his mind sea.
But now, witnessing this mountain’s majesty and beauty firsthand, he felt an inexpressible shock.
Just that one look caused the visualized mountain in his mind sea to instantly solidify a bit more!
Gao Jing did not enter the mountain immediately. Instead, he found a nearby cave he could shelter in.
He planned to spend the night there and climb the mountain tomorrow.
Growl~
Unexpectedly, the cave already had an owner.
As soon as he stepped into the entrance, a low, threatening snarl came from inside, filled with warning.
Gao Jing’s eyesight was incredibly sharp. He saw it immediately—a large cat only ten meters ahead!
Its body was over a meter long, covered in grayish-white fur dotted with black spots. It crouched on a rock, body coiled in an aggressive, threatening posture aimed at this uninvited guest.
Bared teeth showed clearly. It was definitely a snow leopard!
Damn it!
Gao Jing felt his luck was truly something—randomly picking a cave, and it turned out to be this big shot’s den.
This big cat before him was a Class I Protected Animal in the country. It was rated as Critically Endangered on the species red list.
Also known as: Poacher’s Bane!
Yip~
At this moment, two smaller snow leopard cubs poked their heads out from behind the big cat, looking at Gao Jing with alert, watchful eyes.
It was a whole family!
Both the big cat and the little cubs looked thin and weak.
Clearly, food was scarce during the harsh winter, making life very hard for them.
Grrrowl!
The cubs emerging made the big cat even more anxious and unsettled.
It was extremely wary of towering Gao Jing and dared not attack rashly.
But its instinct to defend its den and offspring prevented it from backing down. It could only hope Gao Jing would leave on his own.
Gao Jing actually wanted to leave.
But outside, the sky was quickly darkening, and the snowstorm was intensifying.
Though he had extraordinary powers, he didn’t want to camp overnight in the freezing wilderness.
And he probably wouldn’t find another shelter nearby easily.
After thinking for a moment, Gao Jing spoke to the big cat ahead: “I’ll just stay for one night. I’ll leave tomorrow morning.”
Of course, the snow leopard couldn’t understand his words.
But as he spoke, Gao Jing projected feelings of goodwill towards the big cat.
When mental power reaches a certain level, it can influence the external world, manifesting various abilities.
Gao Jing hadn’t practiced the Shan Yue Refining Spirit Art for very long and hadn’t reached that stage.
But making the snow leopard sense his intentions wasn’t a problem.
The big cat indeed became less aggressive. It stared at Gao Jing with suspicion, showing signs of hesitation.
Animal instinct made it unable to tolerate Gao Jing being in its den—a huge threat not just to itself, but to its cubs.
Yet its limited rational awareness told it that starting a conflict with Gao Jing was an unwise choice.
The big cat’s intelligence was limited.
Caught between instinct and reason, it felt unsure what to do.
Sensing its conflicted feelings, Gao Jing smiled slightly.
He pulled out a large chunk of Savage Ox meat from his Storage Space.
He tossed it onto the ground in front of the animal.
The big cat jumped, startled by Gao Jing’s sudden movement, almost leaping off its rock.
Yip! Yip!
But the adorable cubs smelled the meat and began whining hungrily.
They were only about six or seven months old. Though weaned, they still needed their mother’s care for a long time. Not having eaten for days left them starving.
This piece of meat was like manna from heaven!
The big cat smelled the meat too.
It didn’t trust Gao Jing, and certainly didn’t believe in heavenly gifts.
But its cubs’ desperate cries frayed its nerves, and the primal need for food was impossible to resist.
After a clear internal struggle, the big cat ultimately accepted this “offered food,” lowering its head to tear into the meat.
It fed bits of shredded meat to its cubs first, letting them eat their fill before starting its own meal.
While it ate, Gao Jing quickly cleared away some loose stones in the cave and set up a tent in the space he cleared.
The big cat ate meat while keeping an eye on Gao Jing’s movements.
It didn’t warn or threaten him again, almost like a silent approval.
The cave’s smell wasn’t great, but compared to the raging blizzard outside, it felt like heaven.
Gao Jing set up his tent, laid out his sleeping mat, and crawled straight inside.
A young snow leopard, full after eating, seemed curious about Gao Jing and tried to inch closer.
Its mother instantly swatted it back with a paw.
Gao Jing smiled faintly, pulled the tent flap shut, and closed his eyes.
Ever since arriving at the mountain’s base, he felt a subtle, profound connection to it.
It was as if this was his true hometown, and he was its long-lost son.
Now, the son had come home!
Using the method in the Shan Yue Refining Spirit Art, he visualized the sacred mountain, blending it with what he’d seen earlier. Gao Jing grew deeply focused, utterly forgetting his surroundings and the passage of time.
The next morning, when he finished his mental training and returned to awareness,
it was bright outside. The blizzard had stopped.
He quickly left the tent, stuffing everything into his Storage Space.
The big cat was sprawled on a rock nearby again,
its eyes lacking most of their earlier hostility.
“Thanks.”
Gao Jing grinned and tossed it a large chunk of Savage Ox meat. “Rent payment.”
He hoped the meat would help the family of three survive the harsh winter.
Leaving the cave, Gao Jing headed toward the snowy peak.
He didn’t know his final destination, yet clearly, it wasn’t time to return.
Without any climbing tools, Gao Jing ascended for nearly an hour.
He wasn’t here to conquer Mount Kunlun, nor did he need to reach its summit.
He was seeking spiritual resonance.
Eventually, he lay back on a steep slope, staring up at the clear sky.
He closed his eyes and visualized the sacred mountain once more.
This time, the cultivation felt different. Soon, he felt embraced by the mountain. His heartbeat synced with the pulse of its ranges. The semi-transparent sacred mountain became more solid, more clear.
Boom!
After an unknown length of time, an earthquake seemed to explode in Gao Jing’s mind. Roars echoed as snow mountains collapsed.
Sacred Mountain Resonance!
The towering Kunlun stood firm within his sea of consciousness.
Utterly real!
Gao Jing knew he had broken through to the first realm of the Shan Yue Refining Spirit Art.
The sacred mountain had manifested from emptiness into substance.
His mental power instantly doubled!
Gao Jing leaped up from the snow, threw his arms wide, and shouted with pure joy: “Ah—”
Ah—
The snow mountains echoed his cry.
It took a long while for Gao Jing’s excitement to fully calm.
Instead of leaving immediately, he climbed a few hundred meters to his right.
He stopped near a jutting rock.
During his resonance with the mountain, he had sensed something unusual here.
Driven by curiosity, Gao Jing pulled out an entrenching tool. He dug through the thick snow and solid ice.
Something lay beneath the snow layer!