Chapter 126: An Encounter on Mount Everest

After reporting to the Pope, Yin Shiqi left the Sanctuary and headed east. He had inquired with other Saints, and learned that Jamir was located on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau. To be precise, it was a part of that plateau, the highest region located at the foot of the Himalayas, near Mount Everest. Those who had been there spoke of steep terrain where a single misstep could lead to a fatal fall from a cliff. Consequently, the area was desolate, devoid of any signs of human life.

However, for Saints who had ignited their Cosmo, such natural terrain posed almost no danger; only supernatural forces could threaten them. The road to Jamir was merely difficult to traverse. Soon, Yin Shiqi burned his Cosmo, unleashing superhuman speed to effortlessly cross the Middle Eastern deserts and reach the foot of the Himalayas.

"Looking closely, these Himalayas are truly tall!" Yin Shiqi sighed, gazing at the majestic, continuous snow-capped peaks. During his previous return to the East, he had passed this way twice, but because he was moving too fast, he had zipped by without truly appreciating the altitude. Now, standing quietly at the foot of the mountains and viewing them through the eyes of an ordinary person, they appeared to be an insurmountable barrier. It was incredible that those of them who possessed the power of Cosmo could cross such a chasm with ease.

Yet, even with his supernatural abilities, finding Mu, who lived in seclusion among these craggy peaks, would be like finding a needle in a haystack. He had to slow down and patiently search the foothills to locate the Aries Saint. If he moved too fast, he might easily overlook Mu's dwelling.

"I recall that Mount Everest should be on the southern side of the Himalayas, right?" Yin Shiqi pondered as he looked at the grand range, then leaped onto the nearest snowy peak. He had never been to Jamir, but he remembered the general location of Mount Everest. Once he found Everest, he could radiate outward from it to find Jamir and Mu. With a light tap of his foot, Yin Shiqi transformed into a silver streak of light, flying southeast along the Himalayan range.

Before long, an exceptionally steep and towering peak appeared in his view. "That must be Mount Everest, right?" Yin Shiqi stopped on a nearby smaller snowy peak, looking up at the summit with awe. The mountain was incredibly high, far taller than any he had seen on his journey, standing out as if it reached into the heavens. He estimated it was at least eight thousand meters above sea level. Moreover, several other peaks of similar height surrounded it. Based on his knowledge, only in the vicinity of Everest could one see so many such peaks in the entire Himalayan range.

The tallest one was undoubtedly Everest. Yin Shiqi flew to its base, intending to search toward the north. Other Saints had said Jamir was on the northern side of the Himalayas, so he would not waste time searching the south. Combined with his own memories and the descriptions from others, Yin Shiqi focused his search on the hollows of small hills at the foot of Everest. Mu’s place of seclusion was highly hidden, with narrow paths and surrounded by cliffs. Such terrain would not be on the snow-capped mountains or the plains below, but rather in the hollows of smaller hills.

He burned his Cosmo, using his extreme speed to search the various hollows at the base of the mountain. However, in a massive range like the Himalayas, the number of hollows was countless, and the workload was significant. Three hours later, Yin Shiqi stopped on a snowy peak, feeling somewhat exhausted. He had searched nearly 160 hollows to no avail, and that was only a small fraction of the area.

"That guy Mu really knows how to pick a spot! Hiding here makes him hard to find," he sat on the summit and sighed helplessly.

Suddenly, a black dot on the distant horizon, slowly approaching the base of the mountain, caught his attention. He immediately focused his Cosmo into his eyes to look, barely making out that it was a person. Because of the vast distance, even with the enhancement of his Cosmo, he could not distinguish the person's features, only identifying the figure.

"Someone coming to this godforsaken place?" Yin Shiqi stood up, surprised. The closer one got to the Himalayas, the higher the terrain, the lower the temperature, and the thinner the oxygen; for ordinary people, it was a dead zone. Without a special reason, they would not come here. He was curious about the person's identity and purpose.

Soon, his confusion was resolved. The newcomer moved with incredible speed, crossing tens of thousands of meters in less than a minute to reach the foot of the mountain. Such speed meant the person was not ordinary, but a fighter who had ignited their Cosmo. As the distance closed, Yin Shiqi saw two Cloth boxes strapped to the newcomer's back.

"Is it someone from the Sanctuary, coming to have Mu repair their Cloth? Or an enemy who has stolen Cloths from other Saints?" With this question in mind, Yin Shiqi leaped down from the summit. If it were a colleague, he would be on his way; if an enemy, he could not let them pass.

"Who are you?" Sensing a surge of Cosmo falling from the summit and approaching rapidly, the newcomer stopped abruptly, looking at the descending figure with wary eyes and shouting the question.

"Oh, it's you?" Landing and seeing the face of the person carrying the two Cloth boxes, Yin Shiqi dispersed the Cosmo energy gathered in his hands.

"You know me?" The box-bearer took a cautious step back, still on guard.

"Not only do I know you, I know your master, Cepheus Daidalos!" Yin Shiqi replied with a smile. Upon hearing the name 'Daidalos,' the wariness on the newcomer’s face faded significantly, though he did not fully let his guard down. He asked cautiously, "May I ask, who are you? And how do you know my master?"

Yin Shiqi smiled and replied, "I am Crateris Yin Shiqi. I happened to meet your master during the North American expedition half a year ago. Come to think of it, I saved his life back then!" During the North American campaign, if he hadn't used the Dew of the Moon to heal the wounds of Daidalos and the others, it was unlikely that Camus and his companions, even using a forbidden technique like the 'Athena Exclamation,' could have defeated Tezcatlipoca.