Seeking Truth with a Sword-Chapter 586 - 528: Climbing

Sleeping at the cold and windy bottom of the valley wasn’t easy, even with the tent as a shield. By late night, the wind had grown stronger, causing the Flying Sand and Stone to hit the tent surface, producing a RATTLING sound. Vaguely, other strange noises could be heard. It was unclear whether they were from the winds sweeping through the canyon or from demons howling.

Li Ang and Lu Yunan took turns keeping watch and finally made it through the "night." After the wind ceased, they took down the tent.

Li Ang’s eyes still showed no signs of improvement, and Lu Yunan’s leg injury remained severe. Uncertain whether the Academic Palace would send a rescue team or if such a rescue would be effective, they could only imagine the worst-case scenario.

After some discussion, the two reached a consensus. Lu Yunan’s dry rations could last for about three days, or four if they rationed carefully. They needed to find a way out within four days, or find enough food and water to sustain them for a longer period.

Li Ang carried Lu Yunan on his back. He used parachute fabric to make a harness to help secure her injured leg, reducing its movement as much as possible during their journey. Meanwhile, Lu Yunan guided Li Ang, reporting the terrain ahead.

The feeling of losing one’s sight was terrible. Li Ang, using his Triangular Spear for support, fell several times before slowly adapting and picking up his pace. Stopping intermittently to leave messages carved on the walls (for any possible incoming reinforcements), they continued for seven or eight hours, but the scenery ahead remained monotonously despairing.

After walking for several more hours, they finally saw a stream ahead. Its water source was from cracks in the mountain wall. They gathered many dried lichens and moss from the wall, ignited them with Flint, and added talisman paper to fuel a small fire.

Then, Li Ang took out the Spirit Summoning Paper, folded it into a dish shape, poured the stream water into it, and placed it on the fire to heat it. (The material of the Spirit Summoning Paper was special and wouldn’t burn.)

After the water cooled, Lu Yunan took a small sip first to ensure it was safe before letting Li Ang drink. Since he was a doctor, if the stream water was contaminated with any substance from the Li Yuan Fog and caused sickness, at least Li Ang could attempt emergency treatment.

After drinking the water, the two listened to the wind and strange noises, resting in the valley overnight. They continued moving forward the next day.

The journey on this second day was equally monotonous, with the same unchanging ravine and scenery. The atmosphere became much more oppressive. Li Ang and Lu Yunan stopped chatting to conserve energy and, just as they had the previous night, set up the tent to spend the night.

「The next morning.」

Lu Yunan woke from her sleep to the sound of CLANG! CLANG! CLANG! outside the tent. Rubbing her sleepy eyes, she pulled open the tent flap and saw Li Ang standing before a cliff, striking the rock wall with his Triangular Spear.

"What are you doing?"

"Chiseling the wall." 𝚏𝐫𝚎𝗲𝕨𝐞𝐛𝕟𝚘𝐯𝚎𝗹.𝕔𝐨𝗺

Li Ang was brief, gripping the Triangular Spear and striking the rock wall forcefully until his arm was hit by a rebounding stone. Only then did he lower the spear shaft and feel the wall with his hand. There was only an egg-sized indentation on the cliff. It’s hard enough.

He turned around and said, "We’re running out of rations. If we stay in this valley, we’ll have nothing left in two days. Soon after, we’ll starve to death. The only way out is to climb up."

Upward...

Lu Yunan followed Li Ang’s gesture and looked up. Above, there was only thick, dense fog and the gloomy, deep-gray cliffs.

She took a deep breath. "Is it possible?"

"I’ll try."

Li Ang slipped the Triangular Spear back into his pocket, placed his palm on the cliff, and hooked his fingertips into the crevices between the rocks. Relying on memory, he positioned his toes into the egg-sized indentation and slowly shifted his body weight.

He began to slowly climb the cliff, ascending upward. However, before he had climbed more than a few meters, he grabbed onto an unstable section of the rock face.

CRASH!

The rock peeled away. His grip loosened, and he fell heavily to the ground.

Leaning on the wall, Lu Yunan came over to Li Ang and helped him up.

Li Ang stood. The fall hadn’t been high enough to injure his spine. He remained silent for a moment, then, as if venting his anger, punched the cliff.

Blinded vision, a sealed Qi Sea, an uncertain fate. The feelings of powerlessness, frustration, anxiety, fear, and anger that had accumulated over the days all exploded in that instant.

Li Ang punched the cliff repeatedly until his knuckles were raw and bleeding. Lu Yunan, standing beside him, gently grasped his arm.

"Let me help you."

Lu Yunan said softly, "We’ll climb out together."

Li Ang looked up at her. His blurry vision could only make out her long, pure white hair.

"Back on the surface, the Thunder Strike Spell I used to smash the Ghost Shovel’s head actually exceeded the scope of the Cloud Patrol Realm. It had almost seventy percent of the power of a Candle Cloud Realm’s Thunder Cloud Skill."

Lu Yunan continued, "I have an ability: to observe, calculate, and foresee.

"Seeing cloud formations allows me to predict the weather for the next few days.

"Seeing changes in Spiritual Energy allows me to predict the effects of Magic.

"Sometimes, this ability is almost like precognition; uncontrollably, I can suddenly ’see’ changes hours, or even days, ahead.

"In the Northern Territory, I foresaw that you might die at the hands of a Ghost Shovel, so I sent Galuo through the Nearby Worm to have Galuo assist you."

Li Ang was slightly astonished. So it’s a prophetic ability!

Too bad this world has neither lotteries nor stock markets.

Lu Yunan, supporting Li Ang’s shoulder, took half a step back. She looked up at the steep cliff and pointed to several rocks. "These places can’t support a person’s weight; they’ll peel off and fall. These few spots can. Want to try?"

"Okay."

Li Ang carried Lu Yunan on his back and tried to climb again. Lu Yunan continuously reported the direction and distance to reliable rocks, while Li Ang carefully felt the rock face, gripping protruding stones suitable for climbing.

The two coordinated seamlessly. Soon, they had climbed to about the height of a seven or eight-story building from the ground, reaching the floating, dense fog. They waited quietly in the fog for a while. Experiencing no signs of respiratory poisoning or encountering any demons, they continued climbing further upward.

After confirming this method was feasible, they returned the way they had come and began to pack their belongings.

To travel light, they discarded all unnecessary items, including the talisman plate and Body Armor, to reduce weight as much as possible.

The Radiant Crossbow...

Li Ang hesitated, weighing the rather heavy Crossbow in his hands, pondering whether to add it to the pile of discarded items.

"Keep it."

Lu Yunan said, "On the climb, we’re quite likely to encounter demons nesting in the ravine’s crevices. Even if the Crossbow’s special abilities can’t be utilized, it can still shoot if we add a bowstring."

She’s right.

Li Ang detached a strand from the Ink Silk Umbrella Rope and tied it to both sides of the Radiant Crossbow’s arms to serve as a string. Then, using his Triangular Spear, he dismantled the talisman plate and smashed it. From the wreckage, he salvaged several steel nails to use as makeshift Crossbow Arrows.

He tied the Radiant Crossbow to his leg, carried Lu Yunan on his back, and began to climb out of Li Yuan.