Chapter 163: Going Solo
Translator: AstralGhost Editor: Kurisu
As the train chugged steadily forward, Bei Feng could feel a trace of discomfort in his chest. He knew that this was an effect of altitude sickness. The further up they traveled from the sea level, the thinner the air became.
Many people would display strong symptoms of altitude sickness if they were not used to it. Instead of enjoying themselves, these people would end up spending their entire holiday lying in bed.
Now that Bei Feng had sealed his blood and Qi, he would naturally experience the pressure of the high altitude like any other person, causing him a variety of discomforts.
The train slowly pulled into Changdu station after a long journey. Bei Feng alighted with a light sigh and looked about with interest. He gazed at the excited tourists rushing off to the various attractions, but did not follow suit.
Instead, he set off by himself and bought a backpack. After that, he loaded the backpack with large amounts of food and dry rations. Then, he stuffed a tent into it and walked towards the wilderness.
There, one could find the canopy of untouched forests of eastern Tibet, the deep riverbed and canyons of southern Tibet, the vast deserted no-man's-land of western Tibet, and the endless prairies of northern Tibet.
Bei Feng adjusted his humongous backpack and set out for the untouched forests of eastern Tibet.
Normally, when people came to Tibet for the first time, they would have to spend some time getting used to the difference in altitude. Generally, it is not advised to set out and explore on the first day.
The distance from here to the forests was still very big, but Bei Feng was not in a hurry. He did not call for a taxi. Instead, he set out on foot along the low traffic road.
Along the way, there were several kind-hearted drivers who stopped and asked Bei Feng if he needed a ride. But Bei Feng would only smile lightly and shake his head, refusing any help.
The distance from Changdu to Lingzhi was about 700 kilometers. Both sides of the road were bordered by the peaks of tall mountains. Bei Feng did not follow a common path. Instead, he directly plunged into the wild woods with the intention to cut through the mountain peak directly!
Although it was not very cold here yet at this time of the year, the temperature would still dip dramatically as soon as the sun sets!
Bei Feng walked into the forest like he was on a picnic. When he felt hungry, he would eat, and when thirsty, he would take a sip from his bottle. The constant walking and physical exertion caused him to feel somewhat giddy. In the end, he had to stop to rest for a while before continuing.
As night fell, the temperature on the mountain also plummeted! Bei Feng was holed up inside his tent trying to sleep while the chilly cold swept over him again and again. When he could not take it anymore, he emerged from the tent and started a small fire.
"Aowuuu!"
A lone howl suddenly echoed through the still forest, instantly triggering a chorus of even more howls. Those dreadful howls in the wild and abandoned forest sounded extremely chilling to the soul!
There was still more than two months' time left on the seal on Bei Feng's body. That meant that in this period of time, he was just a regular person!
The reason he set the seal like that was to cut off his own path. Otherwise, if he could undo the seal at any moment, he would always have a feeling of security deep in his heart. There was no way the training would be effective if he could remove the seal on his body whenever he faced a dangerous situation!
"Only now, after losing my strength, do I know that I can still feel fear and dread after all..."
Bei Feng mumbled to himself. He was just a regular person now; any random wolf could easily take his life! As he listened to the howls echoing in the distance, Bei Feng's proud heart finally quietened down.
Humans were actually social animals. If two other people were in the same situation as him now, they might not be feeling so frightened. But being alone in a wild forest in the middle of nowhere was, truthfully, quite scary for Bei Feng.
He was so used to possessing a great amount of strength. Now that it was gone, he felt strangely empty. It was a really strong contrasting feeling.
For instance, a 3-meter-wide creek would normally not trouble him at all. With just a light skip, he could cross it easily. But now, Bei Feng had to take a long route around it just to get to the opposite side!
Such a stark difference was enough to make most people break down in despair. As for Bei Feng, he had entertained the thought of giving up and returning to the villa to spend the remaining two months plus of time in comfort many times. As long as he retreated, he would soon regain that intoxicating power in the blink of an eye.
Despite that, Bei Feng still gritted his teeth and forcefully suppressed those thoughts. His true desire was to control great power, not to become a slave to it!
That night, Bei Feng did not sleep well. He would awaken from time to time in shock, afraid that if he truly fell deep asleep, he would never wake up again.
When the sun finally rose, he crawled out of tent and rubbed his eyes lethargically. Then, he began his morning cultivation of Minor Illumination Breathing Technique.
Having practiced it so many time, the breathing technique had already become muscle memory for Bei Feng. Although his blood and Qi had been sealed, it did not affect his practice at all.
A sizable purplish ray fell down from the clouds as usual, entering through Bei Feng's nose. The dense purple Qi painted his entire body a bright violet!
'The aching sensation is even stronger than the previous time!'
Bei Feng bit his lips and endured the deep sensation in his bones. When the first wave of the unbearable ache finally passed, Bei Feng could feel his entire body radiating a gentle warmth. It was like a mini-furnace was burning within him, and was extremely comfortable. At the same time, the aching feeling started to grow even stronger.
His head which was originally still muddled because of altitude sickness had completely cleared up. Even the lethargy from his lack of sleep had been wiped away.
Feeling much fresher, Bei Feng took out the rations in his backpack and chewed with relish. After covering the remains of the fire with some mud and keeping his tent, he continued on his journey.
His speed in the forest had improved slightly this time. Even the number of breaks he took in between had decreased. From the way it looked, Bei Feng was probably the only human in the entire wild forest. The crisp sound of the dried leaves crunching under his feet as he walked was the only sound in the area.
For some unknown reason, the forest did not seem to have many animals. After walking for so long, Bei Feng had only seen a few small animals.
At night, he arrived before a large, withered old tree. The intertwining roots of the tree formed a natural barrier against the elements. Bei Feng first gathered some twigs, then set them aflame and threw them into the mouth of the hole under the roots. Without much effort, a large number of unknown bugs was sent scurrying out with great haste.
Satisfied, Bei Feng put down his backpack and began scavenging a large amount of dried grass, which he threw into the hole after the fire had burned out. When the bedding was more or less settled, he crawled in and sat down. Unexpectedly, the area under the roots was really quite spacious. Faint claw marks which seemed to have been left here long ago could be seen along some of the roots. This place should have been the hideout of a bear in the past.
After some careful observation, he found that there was no foul smell in the 'cave'. There was also no animals' fur or marks at the entrance. Finally, Bei Feng was able to relax and breathe freely.
He could not afford to be careless in this forest at all. If he went to sleep and woke up with a bear lying beside him, that would not be a funny joke.
This cave made of intertwining roots was slightly elevated and was away from the ground level. At the same time, it was linked to the body of the tree itself. Thus, he did not have to worry about being drenched if it rained in the middle of the night.
Because of the lingering heat within the trunk of the tree, he did not venture in immediately. He ate a simple dinner first and after estimating that the temperature should be just right, he picked up his backpack and headed deeper into the tree hole.
All of a sudden, something extremely cold fell onto Bei Feng's neck, causing him to jump with shock. He immediately sent a swift palm backwards, smacking the area on his neck on reflex!
"It's snowing?" Bei Feng stared at the blotch of water on his fingers and mumbled.
He lifted up his head and gazed at the sky. It was filled with dark, heavy clouds, and countless flakes of snow fluttered down gently.
Bei Feng grabbed his things and returned to the mouth of the root cave. As the snow fell, he sat silently, admiring the mesmerizing screen of white.
When the sun rose on the next day, the snow was still falling steadily. Bei Feng awoke naturally from a deep, dream-filled sleep and crawled out of the cave. This was a scene which could not be seen in the South.
The snowy mountains, deep gorges, and forests all joined together to form a unique, natural scenery. As the morning sun shone upon the white caps of the mountains in the distance, an aurora of silver lights was reflected under the vast blue sky!
Not far from the canyons, there was an unbroken chain of peaks, some tall and some short, criss-crossing for as far as the eye could see. The ocean of lush green pine forest had all been draped with a layer of white!
'Looks like this snow will not be relenting in a short moment.'
An extra layer of worry was added onto Bei Feng's weary heart. This journey which was already difficult to begin with had just became much harder!