Chapter 118 - 77: The Celestial Pillar at the Confluence of 100 Mountains

Chapter 118: Chapter 77: The Celestial Pillar at the Confluence of 100 Mountains

The white ape swung through the forest, carefully avoiding the territories of large beasts. Along the way, it was nearly bitten by a green snake hiding on a branch, and by the time night fell, it had only just reached the foot of the mountain.

With the sun gone, the white ape felt surprisingly comfortable. It could faintly make out a path by the moonlight and knew it wasn’t safe to rest in an unfamiliar forest at night, so it resolutely headed into the mountain.

"Hey, little monkey, what are you doing heading into the mountain?"

A large macaque, hanging by its tail from a branch, suddenly dropped down and asked the question.

The white ape was startled but was surprised to find that it could understand the macaque’s strange language. It hooted and chuffed, but couldn’t form a coherent response.

The large macaque rubbed its chin. "So you’re a little monkey who hasn’t become a spirit yet," it said. "You’d better head back quickly. It’s not safe in this mountain."

The white ape shook its head and ran past the macaque, deeper into the mountain. The macaque shouted, "Hey! There’s a spirit tiger in there! Are you trying to be its next meal?"

The white ape paid it no mind and continued its mad dash into the mountain. The terrain grew steeper, and the ape climbed over rocks and swung through trees, heading ever higher. Before long, it heard a deafening roar.

The white ape froze in terror. ’There really is a tiger in this mountain?’

It hung from a tree, thinking for a moment. ’That tiger probably can’t climb trees.’ So, it began leaping between the highest branches it could find. The deeper it went, the closer the roars became, and an eerie wind began to blow. As the white ape leaped from one treetop, the wind nearly blew it to the ground, but it managed to grab a branch at the last second.

In that moment, the white ape suddenly understood what "becoming a spirit" meant. In its own troop, there was an ancient monkey who could summon a cool, refreshing breeze and brew delicious wine... But this tiger’s demonic wind was certainly nothing like the comfortable breeze the old monkey could create.

The white ape’s heart began to pound. ’A spirit tiger... it might actually be able to climb trees. And then there’s this demonic wind...’ It was blowing so hard the ape could barely keep its eyes open.

The ape began to think of retreating, but then it looked up. It saw the mountain peak wreathed in a white mist that, in the darkness of the night, shone as brightly as the moon. Gritting its teeth, the white ape leaped forward once more.

This time, it didn’t dare leap recklessly between branches. It chose its path with caution, moving forward slowly as the wind howled ever louder. The tiger’s low growls rumbled constantly in its ears. Suddenly, the white ape saw the bushes ahead stir, as if something was stalking through them.

Its heart seized with terror, and the white ape scrambled forward, leaping and bounding to put some distance between itself and the noise. But then its eyes widened in horror at what lay ahead.

Without realizing it, the ape had reached the end of the forest. A stone staircase appeared abruptly before it, incredibly steep. It stretched upward, leading to a sheer cliff face before taking a sharp turn, spiraling up around the mountain’s core. On one side was the cliff wall, and on the other, a precipice. The sight alone was terrifyingly perilous.

RUSTLE RUSTLE... The sound came from the forest behind it; the creature was closing in fast through the undergrowth. The white ape swallowed hard, steeled its nerves, and leaped onto the stone steps. The instant it landed, a deafening roar erupted from behind.

The white ape didn’t dare look back. It scrambled up the steps on all fours, fleeing for its life. With its mind utterly focused on escape, it climbed higher and higher with surprising speed, and the commotion behind it gradually died down.

Just as the white ape was about to look back, it jolted with the realization that it was now climbing unprotected steps on the side of a sheer cliff. Its pace slowed instantly. It glanced back cautiously, and its blood ran cold.

It wasn’t a vicious tiger chasing it from behind, but the steps themselves, which were vanishing one by one. In a flash, the crumbling had reached its very feet. The white ape cried out and began scrambling upward again in a desperate flight. It took a single misstep and nearly plunged off the cliff, but it managed to regain its footing.

At the critical moment, the white ape’s intelligence—that small sliver that set it apart from a mere beast—allowed it to calm its frantic heart. Anxious but careful of its footing, it began to climb again, quickly but steadily.

The night deepened. A profound silence fell, leaving the white ape with only the stars and moon for company—and the steps behind it, vanishing as if to hurry it to its doom.

It had been on the move for nearly a day and a night. Thirsty and exhausted, its limbs trembled ceaselessly, but it dared not stop. Numb but steady, it continued its ascent.

An unknown amount of time passed. The eastern horizon began to pale with the coming dawn. The white ape’s eyes suddenly lit up—the stairs ahead came to an end. Its legs gave out, but it managed to support itself with its hands on the top step. Summoning the last ounce of its strength, it pulled itself onto the summit.

There, in the far east, a great sun was cresting the horizon, sending vast waves of purple qi rolling across the sky. An Immortal-like Daoist sat cross-legged on the stone peak, swallowing the rosy clouds and exhaling mist. At his side, fiery lightning gathered, and thirty-two rainbow lights swirled and danced around him.

Perhaps it was a moment of profound insight, but the white ape dared not move recklessly for fear of disturbing the Immortal. It stood stock-still, but its legs began to ache and buckle, so it knelt and prostrated itself on the ground, remaining motionless for a long time.

An hour passed. The vast purple qi dissipated, and the sun climbed higher into the sky. The Daoist slowly concluded his meditative practice. The lightning and fire beside him vanished, and the rainbow lights merged into one before flying back into his body. Without opening his eyes, he asked faintly, "White ape, you have endured untold hardships to climb to this place. What is it that you seek?"

Prostrate on the ground, the white ape was stunned. It didn’t know what it sought. After a long silence, it sat up and scratched its head, its eyes filled only with confusion.

"You have a glimmer of awareness, but your intellect is not yet awakened, nor do you understand your own desire." The Daoist had appeared before the white ape at some unknown point. He seemed to smile as a large hand gently patted the ape’s head three times. "Since that is the case," he said softly, "I will grant you wisdom this time. When you have figured out what it is you seek, you may return to this peak."