After passing once more through Luoyi's deep city-gate passage and setting foot on the Dragon Roaming Plain outside the city, an indescribable sense of relief rose in Ye Zhen's heart.
Although Luoyi was incomparably prosperous, and its concentration of Worldly Essence was more than ten times that of the Dragon Roaming Plain, an oppressive feeling seemed to lurk everywhere, as though even breathing were restrained.
He sped across the Dragon Roaming Plain, where even the air carried a delicate fragrance, searching for a suitable place to conceal himself.
Suddenly, a Daoist in a robe appeared on the road ahead, his broad sleeves fluttering as he ran barefoot. In an instant, he drew Ye Zhen's attention.
Thunder seemed to rumble beneath the Daoist's feet as he moved. Every step carried the faint sound of wind and thunder, and he traveled at astonishing speed. Yet he kept nodding greetings to the descendants of the ancient survivors working in the fields on either side of the road, prompting the old farmers to return his salutations.
"An extraordinary man!"
That was Ye Zhen's first reaction upon seeing this Daoist. Moreover, in Ye Zhen's perception, this was not merely an extraordinary man, but a formidable expert.
Ye Zhen could not sense the Daoist's cultivation aura at all.
Startled, Ye Zhen took the initiative to step aside and yield the road to the Daoist.
But to Ye Zhen's surprise, when the Daoist passed beside him, he stopped and gave Ye Zhen a richly poised cupped-fist salute.
"May I ask if you are General An Yi, Ye Zhen?" The Daoist's voice was hard and forceful. Every word seemed like a bolt of thunder crashing into Ye Zhen's Spirit Mansion, leaving him dizzy and disoriented.
The Daoist had called out Ye Zhen's name at once, immediately putting Ye