That afternoon, Xue Wugui finally received word that Qing Chen had left Jade Capital Mountain.
All he received was an exceedingly brief secret message-Central Army Grand Commander Wu Zhanxian was escorting him personally.
Beside the Spirit Pool in the rear garden, the yellow-faced household guard stood holding a long pole for clearing the channels for a full dozen breaths before exhaling.
Xiao Canglan asked him why he did not give chase.
After reading the message, Xue Wugui sent back only one sentence.
"If you can draw Wu Zhanxian away, I'll give chase right now."
After that, the Jade Talisman never lit up again.
The skiff left the Divine Capital, crossed the Capital Region, and sped through the sky along the Immortal Dynasty's southbound Cloud Road.
The mountains and rivers of the Central Southern Circuit were the first to unfold beneath it.
Great rivers stretched like silk ribbons, a thousand peaks floated in azure, and prosperous provincial seats dotted the spirit veins, looking from afar like bright pearls embedded among the mountains and rivers.
The million-mile mountain roads that took merchant caravans months to traverse were merely fine lines that flashed past beneath the skiff. Spirit fields and city walls had barely come into view before disappearing into the clouds behind them.
Farther south, the mountains grew steadily more precipitous, forests spread in a vast wilderness, and hot, humid spiritual mist lingered among the peaks all year round.
They had reached the Lingnan Circuit.
Qing Chen stood at the side of the boat, looking at several undulating mountain ranges in the distance, his gaze lingering a little longer than before.
Qiongzhou.
There were mountain contours he had not seen for many years, yet even looking through the clouds now, he could still recognize them at a glance.
Back then,