The Star River Era! The Dimensional Freedom Demon

The third day of March.

Ji Chen led his army around Jiujiang and officially entered the Central Plains.

When the two apostles, Ji Qingyun and Ji Yuanxu, come together, the combined spiritual imagery they unleash is so powerful that any army facing their overwhelming momentum will only suffer defeat.

It's like a myth.

Such power forced Lin Chaosheng, the leader of the Heavenly Principle Sect, to focus his attention elsewhere and confront him head-on.

Aside from spirituality and insight, Lin Chaosheng had no obvious advantage over the grandmasters. When he went to the eastern battlefield led by Master Wang and Zhang Jichang, his advantage would only be greatly reduced.

The western battlefield is far from the core area, making it difficult to attend to both sides. Even if an advantage is gained, it is ultimately meaningless.

Therefore, the only option is for the central army to engage in battle.

Ji Chen's 50,000-strong army was stationed on the plains near Yicheng, facing Lin Chaosheng on the other side of Yicheng.

Southwest of Yicheng, King Wu's army set up a huge camp. The camp was scattered but not chaotic, with each camp and army clearly divided.

The large flags above the camp fluttered in the wind, and the word "Martial" written in black characters covered a vast area.

Ji Chen looked towards Lin Chaosheng, his expression somewhat grim.

As he expected, Lin Chaosheng did not come alone; he was accompanied by other top experts in the world.

"I originally thought it would be Master Zhang from Wudang Mountain. After all, my methods are ruthless, so it's understandable that he would oppose me."

Ji Chen looked at the lama who looked like an ordinary monk and felt a sudden toothache.

"The great lamas of the Tantric region are even more wicked than I am. Their ritual implements are made entirely from the organs and bones of their disciples and believers. A sect whose monks don't deserve to be called a guru if they don't have at least ten lives on their hands, why are they opposing me?"

Qi Daoist of the Shenxiao Sect stepped forward and said thoughtfully:

"The followers of the Great Snow Mountain sect in the Secret Realm are spread throughout the Northwest, and their sphere of influence is comparable to that of our Nine Provinces. Perhaps... ...the supreme sect of King Wu in one province might still be a weakening force for them?"

Ji Chen wanted to say something, but before he could open his mouth, he seemed to sense something and suddenly turned his head to look west.

Lin Chaosheng and the Great Snow Mountain Lord also did the same thing.

Thousands of miles away, a five-colored beam of light suddenly shot into the sky, illuminating the heavens and dyeing the hundred-mile sea of ​​clouds with auspicious colors.

As the rosy clouds shimmered, countless wondrous phenomena seemed to unfold from the sea of ​​clouds, dazzling and mesmerizing.

"That's Wudang Mountain!"

"This strange phenomenon... could it be that Master Zhang is about to ascend to immortality?!"

"Ascension!"

All the martial arts masters present changed color, their faces showing uncontrollable envy and longing. Even the solemn atmosphere of the army before battle was dispelled by this astonishing phenomenon.

Unable to restrain himself any longer, Ji Chen moved swiftly, rushing out like lightning and heading straight towards Wudang Mountain.

His gaze swept across Yicheng, where he saw that the Great Snow Mountain Lord and Lin Chaosheng had also set off at the same time, clearly having made the same choice as him.

For people of their caliber, witnessing an ascension is far more valuable than a great victory.

Especially for Lin Chaosheng, although his goal is to break through the void, if he can witness someone ascend to immortality and learn from their experience, the gains will far exceed his imagination.

As soon as they moved, the other martial arts masters followed suit.

Dozens of figures instantly emerged from King Wu's command and the Heavenly Principles Sect's formation, their momentum like tigers released from their cages, their speed surpassing even that of a cheetah in flight.

This war, which should have been fierce and grand, was brought to a standstill as if it were a child's play because of this sudden ascension.

However, how can the movement skills of ordinary martial artists be compared with those of the world's best?

The crowd could still barely catch glimpses of the afterimages of those experts as they moved, but the four figures at the very front—

King Wu, the Lord of the Great Snow Mountain, the leader of the Heavenly Principle Sect, and True Man Yuanxu left behind only continuous sonic booms and airbursts; their traces had long since vanished without a trace.

No, it wasn't entirely without a trace.

As the four ran with all their might, their qi and blood surged through the air, and their qi lines broke through the wind resistance, creating four long-lasting white waves of qi as they traversed mountains and valleys.

These white lines, like marks left by celestial swords slicing through the sky, could only be vaguely seen by the Qi and Blood Transformation experts following behind.

The towering, multicolored pillar of light was initially dazzling, but it gradually dimmed in just a short while.

Fortunately, Ji Chen and the others possessed extraordinary agility, speeding along a straight line without stopping. Finally, just as the pillar of light was about to dissipate, they caught up with the very end of this ascension phenomenon.

As soon as Ji Chen regained his footing, he smelled a delicate fragrance. Unlike the innate Daoist fragrance on Ji Yuanxu's body, this fragrance was fainter, yet it seemed to emanate from the very source of heaven and earth, refreshing the soul.

At this moment, the beam of light gradually subsided, and a vast expanse of white mist suddenly surged down from the top of Wudang Mountain, like a celestial river pouring down, instantly obscuring all vision.

Ji Chen stared intently, and through the thick fog, he saw only a pure white spot at the center of the pillar of light, clear as glass.

Within that white light, there seemed to be a faint human figure, calmly bowing towards his direction and the other side.

Ji Chen's mind raced, and he immediately understood that it was the manifestation of the soul light left behind in the world when Master Zhang ascended to immortality!

He immediately composed himself and returned the greeting respectfully.

Zhang Zhenren, standing in the clouds, seemed to be smiling but not smiling, and weeping but not weeping, while behind him, the void rippled like a stone thrown into still water.

Suddenly, a gentle rain fell from the sky, and the raindrops turned into sparkling pearls as they hit the ground, filling the air with a wonderful fragrance.

Ji Chen reached out and caught a drop. Even he felt his mind clear for a moment, his thoughts became more active, and his body felt as if it had been baptized. The fatigue from the long journey was instantly relieved.

He looked around and saw that the iron trees around him had suddenly blossomed, their petals as white as snow, and their fragrance enveloped the entire summit of Yuntai Mountain.

Even more strange fruits appeared on the trees in an instant, their light shimmering and attracting birds to peck at them.

Suddenly, all the strange phenomena disappeared, and Zhang Zhenren on the cloud vanished without a trace.

Ji Chen looked lost and dejected.

"Is this... ascension?"

For some reason, he had a gut feeling about this world where the timeline had already been set.

In the future, he will meet Zhang Zhenren again.

Turning around, he happened to run into the Great Snow Mountain Lord and Lin Chaosheng, who were not far away.

Lin Chaosheng seemed to have just been crying; Ji Chen even saw tear stains on his face.

"Old Zhang has chosen a good time."

Lin Chaosheng, completely unconcerned by Ji Chen's strange gaze, remarked:

"Under normal circumstances, we would be constantly monitoring each other, and we would probably have known about his ascension as soon as it began... ...What a pity."

He shook his head, looking quite regretful.

The Great Snow Mountain Lord also felt some regret. When he saw the afterimage of Zhang Zhenren's ascension, he actually had the delusion of taking him in as a guardian deity.

The benefits of a guardian deity who is a half-immortal or a ghost immortal are self-evident.

Ji Chen immediately understood. If Lin Chaosheng had not been confronting him here today, he would have taken advantage of Zhang Zhenren's initial disintegration and his greatest weakness to forcibly explore the secrets of ascension in order to verify his own path and fulfill his ambition of shattering the void.

The same applies to the Lord of the Great Snow Mountain.

Don't be fooled by this lama's kind face; this esoteric Buddhist leader, with his barbaric and bloodthirsty nature, is a pure white lotus rising from the mud, untainted by its filth and undisturbed by its purity. That would be naive.

If it weren't for the mutual restraint between them today, and the interference of these two, or perhaps more than just these two, Zhang Zhenren's path to ascension would have been jeopardized...

I'm afraid we'll be ruined at this final step.

Ascension is already fraught with peril, let alone when someone tries to sabotage it.

Ascending to immortality requires the right timing, location, and people; none of these can be lacking.

Lin Chaosheng quickly concealed his regret.

"In this world, eight or nine out of ten things don't go as planned. Besides... there may always be ways to remedy the situation."

His tone suddenly shifted, and he abruptly looked at "Ji Yuanxu," his eyes burning with fervor:

"With a figure like you, Fellow Daoist, here, what is there to worry about in achieving the Great Dao? Hahaha!"

"Fortunately, there's no large army to hinder us here—fellow Daoist, please enlighten me!"

The Great Snow Mountain Lord, radiating boundless light, also smiled and clasped his hands in prayer towards "Ji Yuanxu":

"I see that you, my faithful friend, possess deep-rooted wisdom and perfect Buddha-nature. Why not take refuge in my school and together contemplate the supreme truth?"

The two of them almost simultaneously set their sights on Ji Yuanxu, who possessed the Great Dao Body.