Chapter 363: The Journey Ends

Today is the last day of the winter vacation trip.

Several of them got up before dawn, set off from the De County hotel, and drove back around to the abandoned viewing platform on the mountain.

This viewing platform is called the White Tower Viewing Platform.

The reason it was abandoned is, first, geographical: its altitude is too high and it is too far from the town, lacking the capacity for supporting tourism services. Second, the Cultivators from the ethnic minorities here have very short tempers; some people fought here before and broke the road. Although it was repaired later, very few people come here anymore. Everyone gradually got used to the viewing platform in the town ahead.

It is unknown if those two ethnic minority Cultivators who broke the road have been released yet; I heard they were arrested within a few days.

It took the group twenty minutes to drive over.

It was still dark when they arrived. Three camper vans were parked in the open space of the viewing platform. Two dark-skinned ethnic minority loafers were blocking the entrance, charging everyone a ten-yuan trash cleanup fee. In reality, they were just trying to make some pocket money; whether tourists encounter them is entirely up to luck, and there are no receipts.

Zhang Suannai persuaded them.

Light gradually began to brighten the horizon behind them.

People also climbed down from the three camper vans; some were holding bowls to eat, while others were holding long-barreled cameras.

At an altitude of over four thousand meters, the early morning is bone-chillingly cold. A normal person's fingers would become stiff and painful if left exposed for less than half a minute, so one can roughly tell their level of cultivation from the thickness of the clothes they are wearing.

There should be no Intermediate Cultivators.

As for Chen Shu's group, except for Taozi, even Xiaoxiao, who has the lowest cultivation, has already advanced to the Intermediate Stage, so they only need to wear normal clothing in this environment.

"Woof~"

Taozi felt the ground was so icy that every step felt like stepping on ice, but it had no shoes to wear. It had to run to its master's side, stand up, and place its two little paws on its master's legs, looking up with eager eyes for a hug.

Ning Qing picked it up very gently.

"I'm afraid this sun will take another five minutes to come out," said a person from the nearby camper van, their voice drifting over.

So Chen Shu asked Qingqing beside him:

"How much longer?"

"One minute."

"Alright!"

Chen Shu took out his Mobile Phone, preparing to take pictures.

Today is a very clear day. There are no clouds in the east, and the scattering of light is very limited, so the sky will remain dark until sunrise. Only vaguely can one see more than a dozen snow-capped mountains with altitudes of six or seven thousand meters lined up in front of them, revealing a distinct white in the dim world.

This is a good thing.

Before long, the first ray of sunlight crossed the small mountain behind them and hit the towering, majestic snow-capped mountains in front, plating them with a layer of rouge-like blush.

The sun had come out.

Chen Shu took two photos and turned to look behind him.

The winter morning sun is always more charming than the summer one. It looks as if it has just been fished out of the water, wet and glistening. Its color is like traditional rouge, rippling in waves under the heavy morning mist on the horizon. After only a moment, it dispelled the blockade of the morning mist.

At this time, the light turned into a bright red and gradually shifted toward fiery red and golden red.

The continuous snow-capped mountains before their eyes suddenly seemed to ignite, burned bright red, and gradually revealed the essence of real gold in the intense sun.

Sun-drenched Golden Mountain.

A rare Sun-drenched Golden Mountain that can produce results without post-processing.

Except for Ning Qing and Xiaoxiao, everyone else was extremely excited, holding their Mobile Phones and taking pictures repeatedly. Even Taozi opened its eyes wide in its master's arms.

The people on the camper vans were even more excited than them and were much more professional in taking pictures. The worst among them had a DSLR camera or a Drone, and some even had lenses like cannons aimed at the snow-capped mountains in front, refusing to let even a second go by despite the bone-chilling cold.

The sound of shutters rang out in a chorus.

This place is further away than the viewing platform in the small town ahead. It doesn't look as majestic as it does from the town, but the field of vision is wider, and one can see more than a dozen snow-capped mountains connected together. In terms of photographing and viewing the Sun-drenched Golden Mountain, it is clearly much more spectacular.

"Hoo..."

The exhaled breath condensed into white mist.

Chen Shu put away his Mobile Phone after taking a few photos and turned to look at the two sisters. He saw Qingqing holding Taozi with a quiet expression, while Xiaoxiao was expressionless, standing with her sister with her hands in her pockets.

Xiaoxiao was looking at the snow-capped mountains.

Qingqing was looking at him.

"Hehe..."

Chen Shu grinned, walked back to their side, pinched Taozi's face, then pinched Xiaoxiao's face, and stood with them, quietly watching this moment.

"So beautiful."

"So beautiful," Ning Qing repeated his words, her eyes rippling, "Are you not taking any more?"

"I'm using my brain to record it."

"Your brain isn't that good."

"I'll record as much as I can."

Chen Shu looked at the snow-capped mountains in front that were gradually turning bright gold, and the sky was also gradually brightening. Chen Banxia was still holding her Mobile Phone and shouting, and Zhang Suannai had used her Sword Control Technique to fly above the canyon in front, calling for Chen Banxia to help her take pictures. He felt that perhaps his memory would indeed blur in the future—that would be many years later—and he might not be able to recall the specific scene of this very moment, but there is one thing he will definitely remember—

This moment was very beautiful.

"You have a good mindset."

Ning Qing seemed to know what he was thinking.

"Are you not taking any?"

"Not anymore."

"Brother-in-law, Qingqing just took some," the little girl said, still with her hands in her pockets and a straight face, turning her head to say to her brother-in-law, "She took pictures of you."

"Stay calm, stay calm..."

At this time, Chen Banxia's voice came from the front:

"Come for a group photo!"

Chen Shu then pulled Qingqing's arm, pushed Xiaoxiao's shoulder, and led them over.

This time, it was no longer Zhang Suannai's Sword Control Technique taking the photo; Chen Banxia asked a middle-aged man from a camper van to take it for them, thinking it might turn out better. Then, the group stood side by side at the edge of the viewing platform, with their backs to the Sun-drenched Golden Mountain, freezing the scene in time.

"It's a bit bright now, but the effect is still there. If you turn it down a bit when you go back, it'll be great." The middle-aged man said with a gentle expression, returning the Mobile Phone to them.

"Thank you."

Several people gathered around the Mobile Phone, examining it carefully.

Chen Shu still occupied the center position, smiling brightly. Qingqing stood on his left, her expression elegant, her hand tightly clasped with his. Chen Banxia was behind him, bracing herself on his shoulders to jump up, while Xiaoxiao was on his right, with Taozi sitting properly at their feet. Zhang Suannai was flying on her Sword Flight beside Qingqing.

Once the sun rose higher, it quickly faded.

The daylight turned white, the world brightened, and the snow-capped mountains returned to their original colors. The morning mist dispersed, and the world became clear and bright.

The several recreational vehicles all had license plates from different provinces. In their good moods, they didn't care about where everyone was from and gathered together to bounce their legs and chat. Chen Shu and the others took pots, stoves, and ingredients out of their Storage Artifact and cooked breakfast right there on the spot.

Those two loafers who collected trash cleaning fees watched from afar, but because of the overwhelming amount of Daoist logic Zhang Suannai had spouted earlier, they dared not harbor any bad intentions.

Zhang Suannai was still very useful.

A powerful guarantee for a smooth trip.

Chen Shu decided that in the future, whenever he went out to play, he would ask if Zhang Suannai was going.

After finishing breakfast here, the group headed back.

Chen Shu was still driving, Qingqing sat in the passenger seat, and Chen Banxia was in the back chatting with her little friend.

"Suannai, how are you going back to Jianzhou?"

"I'll fly with my Sword Flight for a distance first, and when my Spirit Power is exhausted, I'll ride my motorcycle."

"How far can you fly with your Sword Flight now?"

"Slowly flying, maybe five or six hundred kilometers."

"That far?"

"Sword Flight is the most energy-efficient. The better the Spirit Sword, the more energy-efficient it is. When I first entered the Sixth Stage, I could already fly nearly two hundred kilometers." Zhang Suannai said, unable to help but glance at Chen Shu, who was driving. "Cultivators of other systems, even if they are geniuses, probably can only fly a few dozen kilometers when they first enter the Sixth Stage."

Chen Shu drove seriously and didn't speak.

Sword Flight was indeed an extremely excellent method of flight, using hardware advantages to defeat all Spirit Repulsion Techniques. It had energy efficiency when needed and speed when needed. It might be more energy-efficient than the Cloud Sky Technique when conserving energy, and faster than the 'Rising with the Wind' when bursting with speed; plus, the Divine Sword Zhang Suannai used provided a huge bonus.

Chen Shu, with the advantage of his Spirit Sea, could only barely compare to her.

Now that he was at the Sixth Stage Peak, if he used the Cloud Sky Technique at the most energy-efficient speed range, he could probably also fly about five hundred kilometers.

This distance was more than enough to satisfy daily travel. In his past life, many electric cars only had a range of five hundred kilometers, and they were running on roads, not in a straight line. The straight-line distance from Bai City to here was only about five hundred kilometers; he, Zhang Suannai, and even Qingqing could completely fly back, but they couldn't carry anyone. And if one wanted to roam freely between heaven and earth using flight, without range anxiety on long trips, one still had to reach the High-Tier.

Only after the High-Tier could the Spirit Repulsion Technique be considered to be operating normally.

The current Spirit Repulsion Technique could be considered forced operation.

"What are you doing back in Jianzhou?"

"Going back for the New Year, of course!" Zhang Suannai didn't understand why her little friend would ask such a question. "Going back to play mahjong, fight, and after the New Year, eat Dumplings and tangyuan. Oh, and that chicken... braised chicken... Chen Shu, can you make Yuer Chicken tonight? I want to eat a meal of Yuer Chicken before I leave so I can eliminate the shadow of eating braised chicken for over ten days in a row."

"Sure. Chen Banxia, tell your mom to go to the vegetable market to buy some taro. Just say it's for making Yuer Chicken, and she'll know what kind to buy."

"Got it."

"Wuwuwu, so touching..."

Zhang Suannai hugged her little friend's shoulders, buried her face in the crook of her neck, and pretended to cry for a moment, then suddenly raised her head with a determined expression: "By the way, after I go back, I must work hard on my cultivation and start charging toward the Seventh Stage! I want to be the first person of our generation to reach the High-Tier!"

She had expected to reap her little friend's envy and Chen Shu's sense of nervousness, but she only received a puzzled look from her little friend, and Chen Shu was even yawning.

Instead, the little roommate who had been watching the scenery turned her head and gave her an envious look.

The further they went back, the warmer the weather became.

By the afternoon, they had already returned to Yuanzhou.