After resting for a while, he slowly stood up and began to scan the area. He noticed the fog rolling in, growing with each passing moment as night approached. He could hear beasts' roars in the surroundings, but there wasn't a single one near the mountain.
He took in a breath of relief. Only then did he raise his head to look at the huge mountain behind him, its peak covered by a veil of clouds. "Shit! Is this Cloudy mountain?" He cursed under his breath, realizing how deep he had ventured into the forest. Cloudy Mountain was at the border between the inner regions and the core region of Cloudy Forest.
He once again cursed the Green Python for making him run so deep.
"How am I going to return now?" he began to think of ways to return as he sat down again and took out food from his storage bag. He felt very hungry from the whole day's marathon. He passed some to Red and Silver.
Yuan didn't know why but a strange unease rose in his heart. He carefully looked around once again, but sighed and shook his head for being oversensitive. Nonchalantly, he turned toward his pets.
Only now did he realize both of his pets were behaving strangely. They hadn't even touched their food, and Red was looking around vigilantly, while Silver was constantly shivering in fear as his eyes cautiously scanned around.
His heart sank.
He was already tired because of running for almost a whole day and now with his pets' reaction and unease in his heart, he knew he was in trouble. Yuan immediately came to his senses. He scooped Silver up in his lap and began to calm it down.
After calming Silver, he stood up and decided to climb the cloudy mountain. Red, however, grew even more agitated. Just as Yuan took 2 steps, Red jumped in front of him and bared his teeth at him, warning him not to climb the mountain.
Animal sense of danger is always stronger than humans.
Yuan looked at his companion. "What's wrong, Red? You sense something?"
Red nodded heavily. Yuan frowned, considering his options. After a moment, he gently said, "But it is more dangerous outside than climbing the mountain, isn't it? Besides, we are already here at Cloudy Mountain. Although accidentally, still, I have a feeling that this is my opportunity."
With a final glance at Red, he began to climb the mountain, with Silver perched on his shoulder. Red lowered his head and began to only follow him. Although he couldn't completely understand what Yuan meant, he could feel Yuan's surging emotions through the contract between them.
Yuan began climbing. After what felt like hours, he looked back and was shocked to see how little progress he had made. He was only a dozen or so meters above the ground. Yuan confusion grew. Something wasn't right.
After a few more attempts, Yuan realized the hard truth: the mountain wasn't ordinary. After thinking deeply, the only conclusion he came up with was that the mountain was surrounded by some kind of formation.
A few days ago, when he was learning from his mother, she told him that there are as many kinds of formation in the world as he could imagine or maybe even more. He had no prior knowledge of formations at all. Suddenly, he understood why no one had ever been able to climb the Cloudy Mountain.
With a frustrated sigh, Yuan decided to climb down. He knew there was no way to climb it now. Although he had a hunch that this was his opportunity, what should he do? His body was exhausted, and his options were running out. He fell into a dilemma.
With a bitter smile on his face, he reluctantly began to descend, but just then, Silver tugged at him, pointing with his paw in a different direction. He felt Yuan's emotional roller coaster and reluctance through the contract. He nodded his head and urged Yuan to go in that direction.
Yuan hesitated but decided to follow Silver's instinct. "Let's see where this takes us."
Hours later, after climbing and wandering in that unfamiliar direction, Yuan found himself standing in front of a small hill of around 20 meters—more like a mound.
Yuan wasn't sure at the beginning, so he checked many times whether they were going up or not. But later on, he completely trusted Silver. Silver sometimes even pointed downward, however in the end, they climbed the mountain and arrived here.
But before he could take another step, Red jumped in front of him, growling fiercely. Silver began trembling heavily in his arms, and Yuan's heart raced.
Suddenly, the hill moved. A massive head with a big pair of golden eyes appeared. He froze, his blood running cold. He was scared shitless. He thought of running but couldn't move his feet as if they were nailed to the ground.
Soon, Silver fell unconscious as the whole hill appeared before him. Only Red stood before him bravely, but the tremor in his stance betrayed him. Still, he was amazed by Red's bravery, but they both were too weak to even move a muscle.
Yuan already knew in his mind that they were done for. He even slightly regretted not listening to Red's advice earlier.
Yuan's eyes remained fixed on the hill. When the fog completely disappeared and a big beast appeared before him. Yuan exclaimed loudly, "The legendary Golden Mountain Bear King."
Yuan's voice trembled as he stared at the massive figure before him. He had seen many beasts in his life, but none like this. The Golden Mountain Bear King, a creature of myth and legend in Clear Cloud City stood before him like a force of nature. He had been hearing about this bear in the Clear Cloud City since he was a young child.
Suddenly a voice echoed in his mind, smooth and deep. "Someone can still recognize me after so many years. You are very knowledgeable, young man."
Yuan blinked in shock. "He spoke… He can speak?" His heart skipped a beat. This was his first time encountering a spiritual beast that communicated through telepathy.
Swallowing his surprise, he carefully stepped forward and saluted, his voice filled with respect. "Junior Yuan pays his respects to Senior. I apologize for disturbing you and entering this place without your permission."