A Dream Encounter with the Antarctic Immortal
After eating and drinking their fill in the mountains and taking a nap for a few hours, the group felt somewhat recovered.
Marquis of the West, however, could not eat and remained hungry, causing the others great concern.
Having regained their strength, they once again carried Xiqi away in a frenzy.
Mount Qi Pass is practically within reach; we absolutely cannot afford any unforeseen events.
Only when they reached Mount Qi Pass could they Zhenzhen say they had returned home.
The group continued their journey under the stars and moon.
Fortunately, these people were all accomplished Qi cultivators.
With considerable strength and stamina, they finally arrived at Mount Qi Pass after seven or eight days.
Mount Qi Pass was built on the Mount Qi mountain range, which stretches for 80,000 li. The entire mountain range is extremely high and has no gaps.
The only way to cross Mount Qi is through Mount Qi Pass.
Therefore, Mount Qi Pass can almost be described as an ancient and formidable pass.
It has stood here for countless years, and can almost be said to possess the courage of ten thousand men.
It is a very important pass in Xiqi.
There has been a saying since ancient times that if you can defend Mount Qi Pass, you can defend Xiqi.
When they arrived at Mount Qi Pass, it was already late at night.
Upon arriving here, the scholar's face finally lit up with joy.
They're back.
They rescued the Marquis.
They can finally go home.
This is a great achievement; the future looks promising.
Who is stationed here? Who are the guards? Show yourselves immediately!
Among these men, General Liang, who was in charge, stepped forward and shouted loudly to the soldiers on the city wall.
The Marquis was already old and naturally could not endure the hardship of such a long journey.
After more than ten days of continuous marching in the wilderness, enduring wind and rain, the Marquis ate very little, only drinking some water.
I am utterly exhausted and desperately need rest; I cannot afford to waste any more time.
It was already late at night, and the soldiers on Mount Qi Pass were all dozing off.
Hearing people shouting and cursing below, and even demanding to see the general, he was naturally furious.
"Who dares to be so rude? How dare they throw such a tantrum?"
"We can talk about going into town tomorrow; there's no reason to go into town at night."
The soldiers on the city wall were furious; they had just started to feel sleepy and were really annoyed to be disturbed.
I guess it's some lowly wretch causing trouble somewhere again?
Upon hearing this, Liang Fan, who was in charge, immediately showed a hint of anger.
"Are you all blind? Take a good look at who this general really is!"
"You don't even recognize me? Now that the Holy Lord Ji Chang is here, why don't you open the city gates immediately?"
"If you had arrived even a moment later, I would have taken your heads!"
The soldiers were immediately taken aback.
He rubbed his eyes and looked carefully down at the city walls, and sure enough, he saw some people below who looked familiar.
Before they could look again, they saw that the leading general had already become impatient and had flashed up to the top of the city wall.
"Are you all blind? Take a good look at who Laozi really am!"
The soldiers on the city wall took a closer look and were immediately taken aback.
"Is this... is it General Liang?"
"It really is General Liang?"
"General Liang is back?"
Upon seeing the renowned General Liang appear here, the soldiers immediately became flustered and disorganized.
"General Liang has arrived! It was General Liang who rescued the Marquis! Quickly, open the city gates! Quickly—"
They certainly dared not be negligent in the slightest.
In just a moment, the gates of Mount Qi Pass were flung open.
Then the group carried Marquis Ji Chang of the West, into the house one after another.
The commander-in-chief of Mount Qi Pass was General Shen Yuan.
They had already received the news and rushed over.
"This humble general, Shen Yuan, pays his respects to Your Excellency. I have failed to greet you in advance, and I deserve to die!"
Only then did Ji Chang, who was already somewhat drowsy, finally rouse himself and look at the general before him, a look of joy in his eyes.
"General, you must be tired from staying here. Please rise."
Looking at the scene before him, Ji Chang's eyes revealed endless emotion.
He had set off from here to Chaoge seven years ago, and now, returning to find this scene filled him with a myriad of emotions.
If he had known this would happen, he would never have gone to Chaoge to face that seven-year prison sentence.
He could never imagine the suffering and torment he had endured over the years.
Now that he was back on his own turf, his incredibly frustrated mood was finally relieved.
He has already endured seven years of imprisonment; now it's just a matter of time before Xiqi erupts.
An boundless sense of pride soared into the sky.
This is his territory now.
He is the sky here, he is the earth here, he is the sole ruler here.
Returning to Xiqi now is like being reborn.
The joyful Marquis Ji Chang of the West, drank several cups of fine wine here, but finally could not bear the exhaustion and soon fell asleep here.
After all, he was an elderly man, already very old and frail. It was already quite an achievement that he had endured so much suffering and managed to escape all the way here.
Marquis Ji Chang of the West, was asleep, and no one knew how long he had been asleep.
While unconscious, he suddenly opened his eyes and found the room filled with a radiant glow, as if some auspicious omen was about to be born. He could hardly open his eyes.
He raised his right hand to gently shield his eyes, then looked into the depths of the light, where he saw an old man.
The moment the old man appeared, all the light in the room vanished. Upon closer inspection, the old man was quite tall and somewhat thin, with a round and serene face, clearly an enlightened Daoist.
But what was strange was that the Daoist's forehead was incredibly large, like a giant peach, which was truly bizarre. The old man's hair on the top of his head was also sparse, as if he were naturally bald.
Those sparse hairs would soon fall out completely, but they complemented his enormous forehead perfectly.
The old man was holding a crooked peach wood cane with an old gourd hanging from it.
Seemingly possessing a strange charm, the old man was now looking at Marquis Ji Chang of the West, with a beaming smile.
Ji Chang was taken aback when he saw the old man; he had already recognized the immortal before him.
Isn't this person before me the Antarctic Immortal of the Chan Sect?
The Antarctic Immortal can be described as a transcendent being, a great being who exists beyond the mundane world. It is said that the Antarctic Immortal existed before the creation of heaven and earth.
Later, he listened to lectures under the tutelage of Dao Ancestor Hongjun three times and became one of the Three Thousand Guests of the Mortal World. His magical power was extremely profound and unfathomable. Even among the Quasi-Saint, he was a terrifying existence.
However, as the path to enlightenment and cultivation became increasingly difficult, the Antarctic Immortal finally became a disciple of the Yuanshi Tianzun of the Chan Sect.
He hoped to use the Great Dao of Yuanshi Tianzun to assist his cultivation, thus he was a rather special type within the Chan Sect.
Aside from the Daoist Randeng, he was the highest-ranking member of the Chan Sect.
Ji Chang realized what was happening and immediately stood up.
"So it is the immortal sage who has arrived. Ji Chang has failed to greet you properly. Please forgive me, immortal sage."
Seeing Ji Chang's expression, the kind-faced Antarctic Immortal couldn't help but chuckle, appearing quite amiable.
"Great Sage of Xiqi, there's no need for such formality. I've disturbed your rest; I hope you won't take offense."
The old man of the Antarctic Immortal spoke very softly, and his voice seemed to have a certain inexplicable charm.
Ji Chang naturally sensed something was amiss, but he simply bowed and didn't say anything else.
The Antarctic Immortal sighed slightly.
The way they looked at Ji Chang revealed something strange.
"Great Sage, you suffered greatly on your journey to Chaoge!"
Upon hearing this, Ji Chang was immediately taken aback, and a strange look appeared in his eyes as he looked at the Antarctic Immortal.
Could it be that the Antarctic Immortal looked down on them because of his corpse? The thought of this possibility made his face darken.
The Antarctic Immortal simply chuckled and then spoke again.
"Seven years ago, when you Chaoge, I was supposed to escort you all the way, but even I couldn't get close. That's why I waited for you outside Chaoge."