In the "Cangyuan Chronicles," to enter the cave dwelling, one simply needed to jump off Tianmen Mountain cliff, the screen would go black for a moment and then light up, and the person would already be inside the cave dwelling.
Yet, when all of this turned into a real-life experience, the sensation of falling through the air seemed endless.
The whistling of the wind past his ears, an inexplicable drowsiness slowly crept over Xu Yuan's mind, quickly turning into profound fatigue that spread to his limbs and bones.
Time seemed to lose all meaning in this descent, and eventually, Xu Yuan slowly closed his eyes, as consciousness was little by little extracted from his body.
Among the clouds and mist with no end in sight, only the two figures embraced....
...
Atop Tianmen Mountain cliff, the cold wind blew desolate and harsh.
Merely a quarter of an hour after Xu Yuan took the plunge off the cliff, four or five figures had successively arrived on the vast expanse at the top.
A moment of silence passed,
Then, with a swish of slicing air, a man and a woman landed one after another on the mountain peak.
The stubbled man with a sword on his back glanced around and almost immediately a smile appeared on his face, he cheerfully waved to the few people around him and greeted,
"Arrived quite early, where's the Third Young Master?"
"...."
A silence prevailed on the mountaintop, no one responded to him.
The stubbled man didn't feel awkward; working with these people for so long had gotten him used to it.
This bunch of rotten people all liked to maintain silence and play the role of experts.
At that moment,
By the side of Tianmen Mountain, a slender man with crossed arms, leaning against a tree trunk, suddenly glanced at the stubbled man with a hint of a smile in his eyes; yet his voice remained cool and detached,
"Zhou Chen, the Third Young Master has been taken away by a woman. The mist below Tianmen Mountain can shield the probing of the Will-spirit."
The stubbled man, upon hearing this, looked towards the slender man as his eyes narrowed.
The next moment,
The stubbled man appeared instantly beside his old friend, laughing merrily as he said,
"Wow, Sizi Yu, your technique of concealing your presence is getting more and more refined. If you hadn't spoken, I wouldn't have even noticed you."
As he spoke, the stubbled man affectionately attempted to put his arm around the slender man's shoulders,
"Long time no see, eh? Weren't you accompanying the Crown Prince on the mission to the Northern Barbarians? When did you get back? After this is done, I'll treat you to a drink at Zuixian Pavilion when we're back in Jingjiang City...."
But before he could finish speaking....
"Hummm—"
A faint vibration of air spread out from around Sizi Yu, directly repelling Zhou Chen's outstretched hand, as he coldly warned,
"The Eldest Young Master has already descended into Tianmen Mountain, restrain yourself a bit."
Zhou Chen felt a numbness in his palm as he lightly shook it off, no longer trying to get chummy with the other,
"Fine, we can talk about the drink in private later."
After saying that,
Zhou Chen also became serious, turning his gaze toward the giant python head at the mountain's summit.
The pair of snake eyes on the python head were still wide open, and after an entire half a day's settling, the deathly aura emanating from it had almost enveloped the entire mountain summit.
If a great demon died and was left untreated, it would corrupt the land and birth sinister entities, but clearly, this mild deathly aura posed no threat whatsoever to those present.
After a long gaze, Zhou Chen's eyes showed a trace of pity.
Just two days ago, he had tracked down this giant python through the remnants of a battle; now, it had been reduced to nothing but a head.
A great demon with hundred years of cultivation, dead just like that.
In his contemplation, Zhou Chen suddenly turned to Sizi Yu beside him and casually asked,
"Sizi Yu, who got here first?"
Sizi Yu silently glanced towards the distance without a word.
Zhou Chen then looked in the same direction.
Dozens of meters away by a large stone, a compassionate, bald-headed man was seated, resting with his eyes closed.
Seemly sensing their gazes, the bald man opened his eyes and nodded towards them in acknowledgment.
Sizi Yu knew what Zhou Chen wanted to ask and said softly,
"Juexing and I rushed over together; once Ran Qingmo's Will-spirit locked on him, we voluntarily sent her a message."
Zhou Chen's pupils tightened as he swept his gaze towards the other side of Tianmen Mountain,
"What? Juexing monk sent a message, and Ran Qingmo still eloped with the Third Young Master?"
Sizi Yu slowly nodded, adding,
"Yes, you know what this means, don't you? Zhou Chen, the State Preceptor and the Prime Minister...."
"Stop, Sizi Yu, just shut your mouth,"
Zhou Chen hurriedly waved his hand to cut Sizi Yu off, "I don't know what that means at all, I know nothing. I'll invite you for a drink another time, I'm leaving now."
As he spoke, Zhou Chen directly raised his hand and patted Sizi Yu on the shoulder, then turned and walked away without giving Sizi Yu a chance to speak.
"...."
Sizi Yu glanced at his colleague helplessly, but said nothing more and continued to rest against the trunk of the tree.
Zhou Chen walked back to the side of the woman with the tight ponytail, his expression slightly gloomy.
He knew what Sizi Yu wanted to say.
If Ran Qingmo didn't know their identities it would still be feasible, but now that she had fled even though she clearly knew the newcomers were from the Prime Minister's Mansion, it could directly confirm her identity as the kidnapper of the Third Young Master.
If the culprit had been someone else, it wouldn't be anything worth mentioning, but Ran Qingmo was backed by Sword Sect, the current State Preceptor!
Could such an incident indicate that there was some unknown rift between the Prime Minister and the State Preceptor?
Everyone knows the Emperor's health isn't great these days, and if these two start to clash.....
Zhou Chen hastily stopped his train of thought. This sort of matter wasn't for him to consider, a Guest Elder waiting for his salary. It was best to simply wait for the orders of the eldest son.
Even the talkative Zhou Chen fell into silence, and for a moment, the summit was dead quiet.
The seven people present were all silently waiting for the arrival of that eldest son.
Time trickled by,
Suddenly, a gust of wind swept through, and a figure in green quietly leaped up from beneath the hanging cliff and landed on the edge of the precipice.
The newcomer had sword-like eyebrows and starry eyes, his appearance handsome and majestic. He wore a dark narrow-sleeved python robe with gold-threaded auspicious clouds embroidered at the cuffs, and a red-and-white jade belt around his waist. His clothing and ink-black tied hair fluttered softly in the mountain breeze.
Accompanying him in his ascent was a slender woman dressed as a Shadow Guard.
The woman wore a black veil that concealed her face, revealing only a pair of chilling eyes. Her tight-fitting black clothing outlined the curves of her body and exposed her fair arms, while on her bare forearms, a pair of sleeve sword armors glinted with a sinister cold light in the sunshine.
With the man's arrival, the seven people atop the summit stood up one after the other.
Xu Changge in his green clothes did not pay attention to the people behind him but stared quietly at the sea of fog below.
After a long while,
Xu Changge appeared resigned as he gently shook his head, whispering to himself:
"Di Yuan Illusion Fog Formation... huh, it really was premeditated, Ran Qingmo actually knew about such a maze here."
As he spoke, Xu Changge slowly turned around to look at the few people behind him, gracing them with a slight smile.
His gentle voice, reinforced by Origin Qi, accurately reached the ears of everyone present:
"This formation was built alongside Tianmen Mountain and cannot be forcibly broken. However, after a month when the Origin Qi is exhausted, the fog will naturally dissipate. During this time, I'm afraid I must trouble the gentlemen to continue their vigil here."
Having said this, Xu Changge bowed to everyone present.
Zhou Chen and the others did not speak but silently returned the bow.
After all this,
Xu Changge glanced at the woman behind him and said softly:
"By the way, Ying'er, you don't need to follow me for now, just wait here."
The woman dressed as a Shadow Guard paused slightly, her voice somewhat hoarse:
"Where are you going, eldest son?"
Xu Changge glanced at the seven-headed python corpse without saying a word.
Ying'er seemed to realize something but before she could speak,
A whirlwind had already lifted Xu Changge into the air.
And rising into the air with him,
Was the huge python head, tens of meters in size atop the mountain!
Xu Changge stood in the air, his long hair fluttering behind him, his black eyes looking down below, his voice very light:
"Gentlemen, I need to leave for the Ancient Abyss for a while. The journey is long, and I may not be able to return within a month. Leave Ran Qingmo to you. Do not hold back, and should you find her, kill her on sight. As for Changtian..."
At this point, Xu Changge suddenly changed his tone, his gentle gaze turning cold and piercing as he slowly swept over everyone present, speaking deliberately and softly:
"Although Changtian is rather foolish and undoubtedly a failure, no matter how much of a failure he may be, it's not the place of outsiders to discipline him."
"I earnestly request that the gentlemen ensure Changtian's safety."
"Chang'an already passed away three years ago, if something were to happen to Changtian now, I, as his son, wouldn't be able to stop my father from what he would do."
"......."
Silence.
The air atop the hanging cliff seemed to freeze with the words of the man in green.
When the second son died, many people had perished in the Imperial Capital.
After a long silence,
Xu Changge's handsome face once again regained its usual warm and gentle smile, and he cheerfully said aloud:
"Please take good care of Changtian for me. Your hard work, gentlemen, will be faithfully reported to my father after the matter is concluded."
As his voice fell, Xu Changge bowed again toward the people below and then, with the giant python head, became a streak of light shooting towards the west, disappearing into the sky.....