Chang'an Academy lay hidden at the foot of the towering Zhongnan Mountain. Compared with bustling, lively Chang'an City, it seemed like another distant, mysterious world, though the journey was neither particularly long nor short-just over twenty kilometers along a winding road.
In this era, horse-drawn carriages were the main means of transportation. They rode in a luxurious carriage drawn by four carefully selected fine horses, traveling steadily along the official road.
Yet even with such an excellent carriage, traveling between Chang'an City and Chang'an Academy took more than an hour.
By now, the carriage had been speeding along on the return journey for over half an hour, its wheels rolling over the hard paving stones of the official road with a rhythmic rumble.
Accompanied by the steady clop of hooves, the scenery outside the windows kept changing, from the lofty Chang'an Academy to peaceful fields, then to the deep gorge around them now.
The carriage gradually entered a secluded gorge. Mountains rose into the clouds on either side, lush green trees grew in layer upon layer, and the slanting light of dusk filtered through gaps in the leaves, scattering hazy patterns of light and shadow.
The air in the gorge was exceptionally fresh, carrying the fragrance of vegetation and the damp scent of earth, refreshing the heart and lifting the spirits.
The carriage traveled through the gorge, climbing uphill one moment and descending the next. Every rise and fall brought home the grandeur and vastness of nature.
Inside the carriage, Chen Xiaojun slowly brought his cultivation to a close in relief, as though a mountain had shed its heavy burden.
He exhaled a breath of stale air, and the internal energy surging within him gradually settled.
Meanwhile, Xiao Yi gently wound the Immortal Evergreen Vine in her hands back around