Outside the Mountain Gate of Hidden Edge Mountain.
Clouds and mist swirled, and waves of wind rustled through the pines.
If not for the tightly shut Mountain Gate and the two mountain-guarding disciples crouched outside with despair in their eyes, the scene would have been a perfect picture of an immortal sanctuary.
When Si Chen and his companions landed before the Mountain Gate, both disciples shuddered at once.
For some reason, Si Chen felt their reactions seemed a little like a trauma response.
Only after making out who had arrived did the two breathe sighs of relief.
Before them stood a group of five.
A young man in black stood at the front, his bearing extraordinary.
Behind him followed a burly man in scholarly robes, a long-haired young man, and two women, one aloof and the other quiet.
"May I ask who you are...?"
"Fellow cultivators, I am Si Chen." The young man in black cupped his hands and gave his name.
"We have come to your sect to find Song Chi. Sorry for the trouble, but please announce our arrival."
The gatekeeper froze, then jolted all over. "Si... Si Chen?!"
The Si Chen who had ascended? The Si Chen who had returned from the Immortal Realm?!
The other disciple had already turned and run inside, shouting as he went, "Sect Leader! Senior Si Chen is here-!"
His voice echoed within the Mountain Gate, startling a flock of birds into flight.
A moment later, the gates of Hidden Edge Mountain, which had been tightly shut for days, thundered open.
Sect Leader Zhao Wuji personally came out to welcome them, followed by a grand procession of elders, stewards, and protectors. The reception was so imposing that they seemed to be welcoming an entire sect rather than a single person.
Zhao Wuji