Journey to Western Kunlun

Zhang Xuezhou believes that everything has its own laws of operation, and once something deviates from these normal laws, there must be some ingenious reasons involved.

Under normal circumstances, he should not have held the position of Grand Master of the Palace.

But strangely enough, the deal was done.

Zhang Xuezhou could only attribute it to luck.

His clash with the new emperor's Fortune Technique would cause discomfort for both of them, but if their interests aligned, Zhang Xuezhou would bring benefits to the new emperor, and the new emperor would also ensure Zhang Xuezhou's smooth progress.

Of course, Zhang Xuezhou was well aware of the hidden trouble that the Taijie Six Symbols posed to the new emperor, so he was also aware that, given the same return, there were certain problems with his position as Grand Master of the Palace.

Having assumed his new post, Zhang Xuezhou did not intend to rely on the Grand Master of the Palace for anything.

His first thought was that he needed to get rid of this official position as soon as possible.

He wouldn't bother taking on any important positions unless the title of "Supervisor" was revoked.

"The first way to quickly get rid of an official position is to shirk your duties!"

Zhang Xuezhou muttered to himself.

After eating and communicating with Lady Yourong and others, Zhang Xuezhou had already left Chang'an City.

Having taken office, Zhang Xuezhou didn't even report back to the palace, nor did he visit the Empress Dowager at Palace of Peace and Happiness, nor did he meet with his many court colleagues before fleeing. He felt that he was doomed to lose his official position.

He lay in bed for twelve days, then woke up and left immediately. He returned to Chang'an City a month or two later. Zhang Xuezhou didn't believe that he wouldn't be impeached for this official position.

With arms outstretched against the wind in the desolate mountains Chang'an City, Zhang Xuezhou quickly took to the air, following the direction of the wind.

His best way of flying is undoubtedly through the Technique Within the Clouds.

Zhang Xuezhou's Demon Power barely developed, but Ao Li stuffed a dragon ball into his mouth, causing Zhang Xuezhou's Demon Power to surge to the limit of his cultivation at that time, and even giving birth to the golden wings of the Technique Within the Clouds.

At this time, the Demon Power had not yet reached sainthood, but the resulting advantage in flight was extremely strong, far exceeding the speed and distance of the Cloud Soaring Technique.

"The distance between Western Kunlun and Chang'an City is thirty to forty thousand miles. If I fly five thousand miles a day, I should be able to complete the flight in six to eight days. However, my Demon Power needs time to recover, so traveling five thousand miles a day is quite difficult. I hope to reach Western Kunlun in about ten days!"

Zhang Xuezhou's prolonged absence from Western Kunlun was not intentional, but rather a matter of insufficient ability. Otherwise, given his tendency to curry favor with powerful figures, Zhang Xuezhou would have already made a direct visit.

The dignity of a cultivator at the Divine Ability Realm was meaningless to him.

Let alone the Divine Ability Realm, even if he one day reaches the Sole Self Realm or the True Self Realm, Zhang Xuezhou's face will remain unchanged when facing the Emperor and others.

"The dough is nonexistent and can't be eaten or drunk, but the Nine Treasures Wine is truly edible, drinkable, and can even nourish the brain!"

As he thought about it, mountains and rivers rushed past him.

"It seems the imperial court has dispatched troops on an expedition?"

Zhang Xuezhou kept referring to Cai Ma's map as he flew, constantly estimating his speed and distance, and comparing it with various points on the ground.

Of course, as a skilled errand runner, the possibility of Zhang Xuezhou getting lost when leaving Yanmen Pass is very low.

He kept comparing the map below to the one below, just to check the Cai Ma map and try to fully adapt to the Cai Ma map style when he left the territory of the Great Han Dynasty.

When the dense crowd below lined up like ants, Zhang Xuezhou realized that a major change had occurred in the imperial court.

"The Empress Dowager is unwell and unable to do so, and is currently searching for an antidote. His Majesty has not fully assumed power, and there was absolutely no prior indication of this military expedition. How could it be decided in just over ten days? Who will lead the troops? Who will they attack?"

Zhang Xuezhou estimated that there were at least tens of thousands of people below.

The losses from mobilizing such a large army over long distances are enormous, so the imperial court rarely launches long-distance expeditions, preferring instead to guard the borders.

Zhang Xuezhou did not immediately understand the situation of the imperial court.

"Whatever, I've already run away!"

He couldn't figure it out, so he simply chose not to think about it, since he had too little information to guess the situation.

Rather than speculating about the reasons for the court's moves, Zhang Xuezhou preferred to verify the landscape below and constantly confirm Cai Ma's map.

With this confirmation, his heart grew increasingly cold.

Without an aerial view, the error rate of drawing maps by walking on foot would be ridiculously high, and Cai Ma's map clearly did not deviate from this rule.

He could refer to some of the landmarks on the Cai Ma map, but he couldn't rely on the directional markings on the Cai Ma map.

Let alone flying to Western Kunlun using Cai Ma's map, Zhang Xuezhou felt that even flying to Yanmen Pass using the map would be a problem.

"Things still need to be done; after all, I've already set off!"

Thinking about his brain trauma in reality, and the fact that Zuo Quan and others would mess with his body, Zhang Xuezhou couldn't help but muster up his courage.

Now that he's already here, there's no way he can turn back to Chang'an City.

Like a drawn bowstring, Zhang Xuezhou felt he couldn't retract it.

"Wrong, wrong, all these paths are wrong. Cai Ma found Chang'an City by following my directions. I went here and there, so she could only follow the directions randomly. There was no normal route at all!"

If we were to look for reasons, one would be Cai Ma's poor drawing skills, and another reason would involve Zhang Xuezhou.

If Zhang Xuezhou had been in Chang'an City during those years, Cai Ma's map might have been more accurate.

This is similar to how Dong Zhongshu and others tracked down Zou Bugui. There were countless roads and rivers along the way, but only one destination, which is why they were able to track him down quickly and accurately.

If Zou Bugui on the move, even venturing long distances by sea, Zhang Xuezhou felt that Dong Zhongshu would have been completely baffled by his investigation.

Zhang Xuezhou gave up his desire to use the map to trace the origins of the Western Kunlun, and could only fly sullenly toward Yanmen Pass.

The downside is that Cai Ma's map is unreliable, but the upside is that Zhang Xuezhou was able to discover the error early by verifying the regions within the Great Han Dynasty.

"One of you will be the Daoist priest, and the other will be the Daoist novice. You two can both take those roles!"

Thinking of Li Shaojun and Cai Ma in Chang'an City at this moment, Zhang Xuezhou felt a surge of satisfaction.

Without his visit to Li Shaojun's Daoist temple, the two of them would probably have behaved themselves and dared not cause any trouble.

Zhang Xuezhou found the thought of this stifling life quite amusing.

His journey was long, and Zhang Xuezhou couldn't do much else, so he could only think of things that could comfort him.

Later, he kept thinking about what he had learned, and then he pondered how to combine the Wind Avoidance Instruction, the Heavenly Robe with the Technique Within the Clouds and the Cloud Soaring Technique to make them even more effective.

"There's no reference point!"

If there were still winding mountains, rivers, and cities within the territory of the Great Han Dynasty as fixed references, this situation would no longer exist after leaving Yanmen Pass to the west.

Looking down from the air, one sees vast grasslands overgrown with weeds, and rocky hills of various shapes and sizes. The nomadic people living outside Yanmen Pass move from place to place, lacking fixed settlements for reference.

If you continue your journey, you will discover vast stretches of Gobi Desert, where sandstorms rage and heatwaves rage.

Large swaths of snow and ice, which never melt, have piled up in the rocky mountains, and the howling wind is biting.

This is a flight zone disliked by those skilled in flying and leaping, so Zhang Xuezhou could only rely on the Wind Avoidance Instruction to reduce the impact and move around.

Only when his Law Power was exhausted and his Demon Power was weak did he find a place in the Xiong State tribes' tent area to settle down.