Cultivating immortality in the seas, I created an immortal island of eternal life.

After climbing for an hour, it was completely dark, with only a waning moon hanging high in the sky.

Gao Yao looked up, but still couldn't see the end.

The dark rock face loomed like a wall in the night, making it hard to breathe. The wind rushed down from above, carrying the chill of the mountaintop, making it impossible to open one's eyes.

The reef was made of some unknown material; Gao Yao's hands were already raw and bleeding, stuck to the rocks, making him wince in pain.

Gao Yao really didn't expect that even though he had reached the sixth level of Qi Refining, he was still so frustrated.

How high is this mountain?

I don't know, all I know is that after climbing for so long, it seems we haven't even reached the halfway point.

"Let's take a break." Gao Yao took a breath and found a protruding rock to sit on.

Ye Zi stopped not far below him. She climbed more nimbly than him, and her breathing was even, unlike his disheveled state.

Is it the difference between the seventh and sixth levels of Qi Refining?

"Brother Gao, how high have we climbed?"

"I don't know." Gao Yao looked down and saw that the firelight on the mudflats had turned into a small, blurry halo. He was too far away to hear anything below.

"But it's much faster than those that arrived later."

He was confident about this. The fishermen were fighting and looting on the mudflats. By the time they realized what was happening and started climbing up the mountain, he and Ye Zi had already been climbing for more than half an hour.

The gap is only going to widen.

Gao Yao leaned against the rock, closed his eyes for a while, but his mind couldn't calm down; it kept churning.

He was still thinking about Zhou Cheng, that Foundation Establishment cultivator.

Just one glance, across hundreds of feet, and it lingered in my memory for a long time.

To be honest, Gao Yao still gets chills when he thinks about it now.

Zhou Cheng raised his hand, and with a flash of sword light, several fishermen fell into pools of blood.

Foundation Establishment cultivators and Qi Refining cultivators are no different from ants in their eyes. If the other party wants to kill them, it's as easy as lifting a finger. They don't even need to find a reason, and they don't even have a chance to react.

This is foundation building; this is the difference in strength.

Gao clenched his fists.

In the eyes of these sect disciples, what is the sixth level of Qi Refining? Not even an ant.

What were those fishermen fighting over? It was nothing more than a ticket to get in through the gate.

So what if you get into the outer gate? You're still just someone's dog.

To survive and escape, one must build a foundation.

Beneath the foundation, all are but ants.

But how easy is it to build a foundation?

Resources, techniques, and opportunities are all indispensable.

Whether he can even pass the autumn examination is still unknown.

Gao Yao opened his eyes and looked at the narrow slit above his head.

He was thinking about the final hurdle.

The Whale King Festival.

The first two levels were already so difficult, so many people died in the shark-infested sea, and less than a third of the hundreds of fishermen made it to shore alive.

What about the third level?

Logically speaking, climbing mountains for sacrificial rites doesn't seem difficult, but Gao Yao always felt something was off.

If it's just about climbing a mountain, why make it the last challenge?

Why is the time so tight? If you don't reach the summit before midnight, you're eliminated.

There's definitely something fishy going on here.

He couldn't figure it out, and he didn't have time to think about it further.

"Let's go." Gao Yao stood up. "Let's hurry and get to the top of the mountain first."

Ye Zi nodded and followed behind him.

The two continued climbing.

After climbing for another half an hour, the terrain suddenly changed.

It is no longer all steep slopes, but rather some plateaus and gentle slopes have appeared.

Grass grew in the cracks of the rocks, and there were a few crooked trees that were blown to one side by the sea breeze.

Gao Yao climbed onto a platform, just wanting to catch his breath.

Suddenly, my feet trembled.

It wasn't an illusion; the entire mountain was shaking.

The sensation traveled up from the soles of his feet, shooting up his bones, making his teeth ache.

"What happened?"

Immediately afterwards, a sound rang out.

hum!

The sound was deep and resonant, like someone striking a large bell with a hammer; the sound didn't travel outwards, but rather came from inside the bell.

Gao Yao's mind went blank; he couldn't think of anything, couldn't hear anything, only the whale's cry echoing in his head.

Then, the entire island began to sink.

No, it's not sinking.

Something opened its mouth down there.

Gao Yao lay on the platform, gripping a protruding rock beside him tightly, his fingernails digging into the cracks, yet he felt no pain.

Ye Zi was also lying down, her face as white as paper, her lips trembling, saying something unintelligible.

The wind blew up from below, carrying a strong smell of sulfur that made people want to vomit.

Gao Yao glanced down.

I saw it, a mouth.

A mouth so large it seemed to have no end opened from the bottom of the island, swallowing the entire Whale Watch Reef along with the people on it.

It was completely dark; you couldn't see your hand in front of your face.

Gao Yao lay on the rock, panting heavily.

I could feel the wind passing by my ears, and I could feel the stones pressing against my chest, but I couldn't see anything.

He didn't know if he was still alive.

He didn't know if he was still on the island.

Suddenly, he felt a void beneath him; the platform had vanished, the stones had vanished, and nothing remained.

Gao Yao was falling downwards, the wind rushing in through his ears, making a whooshing sound.

He reached out to grab something, but couldn't grab anything.

Then, things became clear.

Gao Yao saw himself sitting in his rented room, his phone screen lit up, takeout boxes piled on the table, and the air conditioner humming.

He looked down at his hands.

No calluses, no wounds, clean and tidy.

It's yourself from a past life.

Why say it's a past life?

Gao Yao was stunned. Was he dreaming?

No, it's time travel.

No, it was the autumn examination.

It felt like hundreds of people were talking in my head, their voices overlapping each other, and I couldn't tell which were real and which were fake.

Stepping out of the rented room, the sunlight was blinding, and people were coming and going on the street.

Someone greeted him, but he couldn't remember who it was. He nodded instinctively.

He saw himself walk into the company, sit at his workstation, his computer screen lit up, and he was halfway through editing a document.

He saw himself leaving get off work, squeezing onto the subway, going home, and opening the door.

Is someone inside?

Ye Zi.

She sat on the sofa, dressed in her pajamas, holding a glass of water, and glanced up at him.

"You're back?"

What's Ye Zi doing here?

He stared at her for a long time, trying to find some flaw in her face.

But that face looked too real.

His expression, his eyes, and his tone of voice all seemed genuine.

fake!

all fake!

Because Gao Yao remembered that there was no Ye Zi before he transmigrated.

He only met this person after he traveled through time.

Gao Yao closed his eyes and took a deep breath.

Open your eyes again.

The scene was still there; he saw himself walk into the kitchen, open the refrigerator, take out ingredients, and start cooking. Ye Zi followed him in, hugged him, and then stood beside him, helping him wash and chop the vegetables.

The two chatted casually, about work, the weather, and what to eat for dinner.

Like a couple living their lives together.

Gao Yao felt a pang of sadness as he watched this scene.

It wasn't that I was moved, it was that something came to mind.

He remembered before he transmigrated, he lived alone, ate alone, and came home alone from get off work to an empty house.

No one waited for him, no one spoke to him, and no one helped him wash and chop vegetables.

He lived like that for many years.

Now, the hallucination has given him a home.

A home where someone is waiting for him.

Gao Yao's Adam's apple bobbed, and he suddenly laughed.

He began to lose track of which world's memories belonged to which one, and it seemed like living like this wasn't so bad.

However, this predictable life is not what I want.

Gao Yao suddenly picked up a knife and stabbed it into his own neck.

He smiled as he looked at the panicked Ye Zi in front of him.

The rented room in front of them disappeared, Ye Zi disappeared, everything disappeared.

Gao Yao was still lying on the rocks of Wangjing Reef, his fingernails embedded in the cracks of the rocks, causing him excruciating pain.

The sky was still dark, the wind was still in my ears, but I couldn't see anything.

But Gao should know that he has already emerged from the illusion.

He gasped for breath, like a drowning person finally surfacing, and then remembered something.

He reached out to touch what was beside him.

empty.

The Iron Wire Silver Shark has disappeared.

He clearly dragged the shark ashore, but now it's gone?

Did he fall because he was affected by hallucinations, or was he carried away by something?

Gao Yao gritted his teeth. He didn't have time to think about these things now; he needed to get to the top of the mountain first.

He groped his way to Ye Zi, who was still lying on the rock with her eyes closed, breathing rapidly, and her face growing paler.

"Miss Ye!" Gao Yao patted her face.

no response.

I tapped it a few more times, but there was still no response.

Gao Yao panicked and helped her up from the rock, letting her lean against him.

Her body was ice-cold, like a stone.

What should I do?

He didn't know how to wake her up.

Gao Yao took a deep breath. He had no choice but to carry her on his back.

He crouched down, put Ye Zi's arm on his shoulder, and lifted her up on his back.

Ye Zi was lighter than Gao Yao had expected; her lightness was abnormal.

But he didn't think much of it and continued climbing up with her on his back.

Without light, you can't see anything.

He could only feel his way up step by step, touching the cracks in the rocks and the protruding edges.

The person on my back was quiet, breathing very lightly, as if asleep.

Gao climbed very slowly, much slower than before, but he dared not stop.

He was afraid that if he stopped, he would never be able to move again.

I don't know how long I climbed.

Maybe one hour, maybe two hours.

Can not remember.

All he remembered was that his hands and knees were scraped raw, and his whole body was covered in blood and stuck to the stone, making it very slippery.

I almost fell several times, but I gritted my teeth and held on.

Finally, light appeared overhead.

The sunlight shone through the mountains, painting the horizon a vibrant orange-red.

Gao Yao, panting heavily, quickened his pace.

The last few steps were almost entirely done by using both hands and feet to climb up.

At the top of the mountain was a small, bare plateau, devoid of any vegetation.

A stone tablet stood there, like a road sign pointing the way, or a totem for worship.

The pillars are carved with patterns that look like a big fish from a distance, but resemble densely packed birds up close.

Gao put Ye Zi down and leaned her against a stone pillar.

Then, he collapsed to the ground, panting heavily.

Its daybreak.

As the morning light rises from the sea, it dyes the clouds a pale gold.

In the distance, a flock of birds flew out from the bottom of the island, darkening the sky.

They fly very high and very far.

As Gao Yao watched the birds fly away, he suddenly understood why the island was called Whale-Watching Reef and where the whale roar came from.

From a distance, the dark flock of birds looks just like a giant whale with its mouth wide open.

Its head faces north, its tail faces south, its back arched, hidden in the clouds.

Gao Yao stood there, stunned, for a long while before turning his gaze back to the platform.

There were a few people standing sparsely on the platform. He counted them and found that, including himself and Ye Zi, there were less than twenty people.

Old Ma was still alive; he lay on the ground, his face ashen.

Ye Ran was also there, standing on the other side of the platform. Her hair was a little messy, but her eyes were still sharp.

However, all those who once stood behind her have vanished without a trace.

What about the others?

Missed.

Gao Yao didn't know whether they had died in a hallucination or had been carried away by birds.

All he knew was that of the three hundred or so boats that went out to sea, only a handful of people made it to the mountaintop alive.

......