141: Chapter 141: I have a bad memory, please tell me again.

Chen You instantly understood the key point.

That voice was equivalent to a signpost!

And this NPC laboriously climbing the sheer cliff must be the mission's 'guide'!

According to normal game design, he should have found this NPC somewhere at the foot of the mountain.

Then, he would escort him or follow him, climbing step by step up to this mountain peak altar.

During this process, various dialogues might be triggered, unlocking background stories about the Ancient Gods.

Finally, upon reaching the summit, the prerequisite conditions would be met, activating the emblem.

But now...

Chen You looked down at himself, then at the tiny speck of light on the cliff face below.

He had already arrived at the destination in one fell swoop.

"My navigation is above you, big brother."

Chen You couldn't help but give a thumbs-up to the struggling NPC.

Then, without hesitation, with a thought, radiance flashed beneath his feet.

The ascension dao sword appeared.

He stepped onto the sword body, and his entire being transformed into a stream of light, diving straight toward the beacon on the cliff face.

The sound of the wind whistled past his ears, and the pitch-black cliff rapidly magnified in his vision.

The so-called 'path' was narrow to an infuriating degree.

Many sections were merely barely passable rock protrusions, covered with slippery ice layers.

Any rock climbing expert would likely meet their demise right there.

In just a few breaths, Chen You hovered steadily beside the lantern-bearing person.

The biting cold wind made the linen robe on the man's body flap loudly, yet the body beneath the robe was as stable as bedrock, showing no sign of shaking.

The ancient lantern in his hand held only a bean-sized flame, yet it emitted a strange, warm light capable of calming the mind, dispelling the darkness and snow within three feet around him.

This was a man whose face could not be seen clearly; his hood was pulled very low, hiding his entire face in deep shadow.

"Big brother, what are you doing?"

Chen You stood on his flying sword, arms crossed, speaking in a relaxed tone as if haggling at a market.

The lantern-bearer's action of clinging to the rock face paused slightly.

He seemed to turn his head stiffly and slowly, the shadow of his hood turning toward Chen You's direction.

Silence.

A dead silence.

Only the wind whimpered.

Just as Chen You thought the other party was mute or startled by him, a hoarse, low voice came from under the hood.

"Keep up with me, and don't speak."

With that, he paid no more attention to Chen You, turned back, and continued his slow yet determined climb.

One step, one pause; every movement was filled with a sense of sacred ritual.

Chen You: "..."

Good heavens, he really was a guide.

Keep up with him?

Chen You glanced at the speed at which he was climbing, then estimated the vertical distance to the summit.

"At your speed, you might not even reach it by morning."

"If I follow you, won't I have to endure a whole night of cold wind on the cliff?"

He complained wildly in his heart.

Since he had confirmed the other party's identity and triggered the 'plot,'

Then, according to game logic, he, who was already standing at the finish line, just needed to wait for him to complete the process.

Chen You stopped bothering to seek trouble, shrugged toward that receding back.

With another thought, the ascension dao sword let out a clear sword cry, carrying him soaring into the sky, instantly returning to that vast, white mountaintop platform.

"Since I'm free, I can't waste time,"

Chen You muttered, then sat down cross-legged, eyes slightly closed, and directly entered the state of cultivation.

The Nine Revolutions Primordial Chaos Art circulated slowly within his body, and the thin yet pure spiritual energy in the surrounding air began to converge toward him bit by bit.

At this towering peak, beneath the river of stars, he actually treated the time waiting for the plot NPC as a precious moment for secluded cultivation.

Time flowed by, second by second.

The brilliant river of stars slowly rotated in the firmament; the gale sometimes howled, sometimes murmured.

It was unclear how much time passed—perhaps an hour, perhaps two.

When Chen You slowly awoke from his cultivation state, the sky was still the same deep black.

But at the edge of the platform, a figure finally appeared.

The lantern-bearer had finally completed his long and solitary pilgrimage.

He stood at the edge of the platform, holding the ancient lamp whose light had already dimmed somewhat in one hand.

The other hand rested on his knee, his body slightly rising and falling, seemingly gasping heavily.

But he didn't immediately walk over, just stood there, motionless.

Like a statue merged into the night.

Chen You stood up, patted the non-existent snowflakes off his moyuan star river robe, and walked over leisurely.

When the distance between the two shortened to less than five meters.

The lantern-bearer finally made a move. He slowly straightened up, and his hoarse voice sounded again.

Carrying a hint of relief, mixed with an indescribable confusion.

"It seems... we've arrived at the wrong time."

"What did you see?"

Chen You's heart stirred upon hearing this.

Here it is! The plot dialogue!

But... what did he mean by 'wrong time'?

He subconsciously reached into his backpack and pulled out the [shadow contract emblem]. The icy touch confirmed that the emblem was still unresponsive.

See something? What did he need to see?

Chen You desperately wanted to say: 'No idea, I just got here.'

He skipped the process, what could he possibly say?

Chen You's mind raced.

He had to act! Act as if he had followed the process too, but a small deviation occurred midway.

He displayed an appropriate look of apologetic bewilderment, scratching his head.

"Uh... brother, look at my brain; climbing the mountain made me a bit short of oxygen, and my memory isn't very good."

Chen You spoke nonsense with a serious expression.

"Could you... tell me again why we came here?"

"Also, what did you mean just now by 'wrong time'?"

He tried to use this excuse of 'amnesia' to trick out the plot segment he had skipped.

The air seemed to solidify in that instant.

The howling gale even seemed to pause for a moment.

The lantern-bearer, the NPC codenamed [Shadow Apostle], suddenly lifted his head!

Although his face was still hidden in the shadow of the hood, Chen You could clearly feel it.

The gaze was no longer the indifference and sanctity from before.

Instead, it was shock, astonishment, and a sense of... absurd disbelief, as if asking, 'Are you kidding me?'

"You..."

The Shadow Apostle's hoarse voice fluctuated violently for the first time, even carrying a trace of trembling.

He extended a finger, pointing directly at Chen You, his fingertip turning slightly pale from the force.

"You... did not walk upon the 'Stairway of Suffering,' did not measure the distance to the Divine Seat with your own feet, did not listen to the repentance of the souls in the abyss..."

"Your soul... lacks the... fatigue and dust befitting a pilgrim!"

His voice grew increasingly agitated, as if Chen You's very existence was a blasphemy and subversion of the sacred ritual!

"Who exactly are you?!"

"Why are you here!!!"

A roar, like a clap of thunder, exploded on the silent mountaintop!