"W-why are you here?" Sofie said in an equally confused voice.

"I'm on a mission inside the moon garden as well of course!" Yue Wan said in a voice that was anything but convincing.

"Well, it dosen't really matter… The more people we are. The easier it should be for us to get out of here. By the way, what cultivation realm are you at?" Yang Meng asked Yue Wan with a serious countenance.

"Hm...? Currently I'm at the third stage of the qi condensation realm, why do you ask?" Yue Wan said. Not knowing what the oversized dumpling besides Sofie wanted.

"Ah, the moonlight mountain changes difficulty depending on the cultivation realm of the people entering it. According to what I know, people at the qi condensation and qi gathering realm are counted as the same level. Senior Yue Wan not having reached meridian opening yet, it would not get harder for us to reach the top of the mountain. Only easier!" Yang Meng said with s.h.i.+ning eyes. Clearly liking the idea of having one more person to help them out on their journey to the top.

"Indeed, indeed!" Yue Wan said as she happily nodded her head upon hearing what Yang Meng said about her, being called a senior also helped as Yue Wan found the little boy less of an eyesore compared to other males.

That was… Only a little and Yue Wan had quickly placed herself in-between Sofie and Yang Meng, separating them from each other the moment Yang Meng stopped talking.

"Should we get going then? I want to make it back before I get hungry… We have no food with us after all!" Yang Meng suggested in a concerned voice.

"Yes! Let's go immediately!" Sofie said the moment she heard the mention of no food and going hungry. Those were things she absolutely could not allow.

"Yay~, then let us get going! No need to worry about any demon beast around here Sofie, I will protect you!" Yue Wan said as she looked more excited than worried about the prospect of being stuck at the moonlight mountain.

Sofie really could not understand that weird head of hers but seeing that Yang Meng also looked greedily at the towering mountain while letting out a creepy laugh, Sofie concluded something might be wrong with the moonlight mountain.

Maybe something is influencing their state of mind? I heard from my big sister that some cultivators proficient in formations could set up illusion and bewilderment formations to confuse and entrance everyone within… But why am I not affected then?

Trying to come up with different reasons in her mind, Sofie could only guess that there was some sort of formation confusing people. Targeting only specific people.

"Yue Wan go first. Me and Sofie will follow behind." Yang Meng said and looked towards Sofie, who quickly nodded her head agreeing with him.

"WAIT! WHY AM I THE ONE GOING FIRST?! Can't I be the one staying in the back with Sofie?" Yue Wan yelled loudly upon hearing that she would not get to walk together with Sofie and now, that fatty called Yang Meng took her place besides her!

The little like Yue Wan had towards Yang Meng earlier, instantly died down and was replaced by hate. Resulting in her looking at Yang Meng like confronting her greatest enemy ever.

"You are the one with the highest cultivation among us and also the older one, so isn't it obvious that you should lead the way." Yang Meng said in a sweet tone, trying to pacify the raging Yue Wan.

"d.a.m.n fatty! B-but you are right… I am the oldest and strongest, but… My plan, my quality time with Sofie!" Looking like she was struggling to decide on what to do, Yue Wan had a pained expression on her face as she looked towards Sofie.

Sofie did not understand what was happening and got slightly scared when she saw the twisted face of Yue Wan and instinctively grabbed hold of Yang Meng besides her.

"T-that's it! I-if I'm not at the highest cultivation realm, then it should be okay!" Saying so, Yue Wan channelled water qi into her left hand and was about to punch herself in the stomach when Yang Meng suddenly interrupted her.

"S-stop! What do you think you are doing?!"

"Destroying my permanent qi vessel of course! That way, I would not have the highest cultivation and would be able to spend more time together with Sofie~" Yue Wan answered with a beautiful smile on her lips.

"Doing that, would not help us in the slightest and even if you did that, you wouldn't be able to go below stage 6 of the qi gathering realm. Even if you destroyed your dantian!" Yang Meng said in a slightly angry voice. Clearly frustrated over the idiot in front of him.

"… And even if you destroyed your permanent qi vessel and reverted back to stage 6 of the qi gathering realm, you would still be the one going first… Seeing as you are the oldest on among us." Yang Meng finished of with a mocking smile faintly forming at the edge of his lips.

"d.a.m.n fatty…" Yue Wan stopped her hand and could not think of anything other than curse at him, he was clearly ruining her time together with Sofie!

"Umm… C-can we start walking up the mountain yet?" Sofie asked in a small voice. Not understanding much of what Yang Meng and Yue Wan were talking about.

Both Yang Meng and Yue Wan looked at each other for a moment, before turning around and looking at Sofie. Seemingly having come to an agreement. "Sure~ I will lead the way~" "We will follow behind."

With that, Yang Meng, Sofie and Yue Wan began their journey up the moonlight mountain.

…

Walking up the mountain proved more exhausting than Sofie thought it would be and after only a few minutes, Sofie was completely exhausted. Walking up was more exhausting than walking normally on even ground…

"Hah… C-can we take… hah… a break!" Sofie said in an extremely exhausted voice.

"It has only been ten minutes since we started making our way up the mountain…" Yang Meng said in a slightly speechless voice, even he could hardly feel any exhaustion yet…

"Then why don't I carry her!?" Yue Wan said with a somewhat disturbing smile all over her face.

"Hah… If this really goes on, we won't reach the top of the moonlight mountain in this life time… Fine, you can carry her, just be sure to watch out for any demon beasts." Yang Meng said while letting out a somewhat helpless sigh.

"Yay~ Come here Sofie, I will carry you~" Yue Wan said as she slowly made her way towards the exhausted Sofie.

"N-no need, I'm fine! I can still go on!" Feeling a chill go down her spine, Sofie felt a sudden rush of energy fill her as she adamantly refused letting Yue Wan carry her under any circ.u.mstances.

"Don't be shy~" Yue Wan said as she grabbed towards Sofie, who quickly escaped and hid behind Yang Meng.

"It seems that she can still walk, so there is no need for you to carry her anymore." Saying so, Yang Meng stood in front of Sofie. s.h.i.+elding her from the dirty hands of Yue Wan.

"Tch… Fine, but we will only take a break after another hour or so of walking… If she gets exhausted before that… Hehe~" Putting on a smile that was not fit a girl her age, Yue Wan stared perversely at Sofie. Causing both Yang Meng and Sofie to s.h.i.+ver.

Having the sudden boost in energy earlier, Sofie managed to walk the rest of the way until they reached the point to take a break without stopping at any point, to Yue Wan's disappointment.

…

At the same time, somewhere in the underground forest, a crystal spider was angrily thras.h.i.+ng around killing all the poor demon beast that came its way.

As it was busy stabbing its long legs into a half dead wolf demon beast, a sudden spatial disturbance appeared around the oblivious crystal spider.

A few seconds pa.s.sed and the crystal spider looked confusedly around itself. Only to find a giant mountain in front of it stretching into the sky, what looked like a small forest covering the base of the mountain.

Not thinking much about the sudden teleportation. The crystal spider picked up a scent that was also present when it discovered its crystal flower had been stolen.

Enraged and happy. The crystal spider entered the forest at the base of the mountain heading towards the scent.