Since Chen Yun's carriage was not moving very fast, seven or eight groups of pedestrians and caravans had already passed him on this official road.

However, Chen Yun did not speed up because of this, but continued to move forward at his own pace.

At this moment, he was feeling the cool sensation brought by the gradual dissipation of the medicinal power in his dantian, and his heart was filled with peace.

But suddenly, his brows furrowed slightly because there were bursts of violent horse hoof sounds coming from behind the car.

Chen Yun's expression remained calm, but he opened his eyes.

He gently pulled the reins in his hand, and the old horse immediately obediently made way to the side, allowing the car to lean against the side of the official road.

At this time, Chen Yun looked back lazily.

I saw a yellow dragon rolling down the official road behind me, with flags fluttering, as if thousands of troops were rushing here. Chen Yun showed a look of surprise on his face.

Soon, the yellow dragon approached Chen Yun. A team of knights wearing silver helmets and armor, carrying swords and bows, appeared and disappeared in the dust and fog, and gradually became clearer.

On a vast plain, a group of knights galloped past, led by a middle-aged man.

He rode a black horse, wore a brocade robe, had a long sword on his waist, and on the flag behind him was a huge "King" written on it.

There were also several jade carriages in the team, pulled by horses, galloping along. These vehicles were flashing with a faint light, and even when traveling at high speed, there was no shaking, as if they were not affected by gravity.

Chen Yun noticed these vehicles and a hint of surprise flashed in his eyes.

He scanned with his spiritual sense and found that most of the cars seemed to be loaded with dead objects, but there was a car that revealed a faint aura of a monk.

This surprised him, as ordinary cultivators usually did not hang out with such soldiers.

Chen Yun pulled the reins and stopped his vehicle on the side of the road to let the riders go first.

This group of knights consisted of about three to four hundred people. When they passed by, it was like a hurricane, with great momentum.

Chen Yun's eyes flickered as he realized that these knights all carried a strong murderous aura. They were obviously battle-hardened warriors rather than ordinary soldiers defending the city.

They are more like border guards who participate in bloody battles on the border all year round.

He heard that although the Great Jin Dynasty had a vast territory, its southeastern and northwestern borders were adjacent to wild areas and border wars were frequent.

Only in such troubled times can an iron-blooded army be forged.

While Chen Yun was deep in thought, a jade car drove past. A gaze came through the gap in the car window and happened to fall on Chen Yun. Then a light exclamation was heard from inside the car.

Chen Yun seemed to sense something and looked up involuntarily, only to see a pair of familiar bright eyes flash past the car window.

I was startled for a moment, but before I could remember who they were, the team of knights had already gone away.

Staring at the receding queue, Chen Yun pondered for a moment, and finally shook his head, giving up the idea of ​​using his spiritual sense to explore deep into the car.

It was not because he was too lazy to do so, but because some simple isolation restrictions were imposed on those jade cars.

If you want to find out the truth, you will inevitably be noticed by the people in the car.

The people in the car were only at the Qi Refining stage, and Chen Yun did not want to cause unnecessary trouble because of some low-level cultivators.

Only after the team of knights disappeared from sight did Chen Yun drive forward again.

After traveling only ten miles, a complex three-way intersection appeared ahead, where several official roads converged.

There is a lush forest beside the road, and several simple tea shops are built next to each other on the edge of the forest.

Many carriages and horses stopped here, and travelers went into these teahouses to drink water and eat.

After all, this is one of the few resting places on the way to Jinjing, and most passers-by will take a rest here.

Chen Yun glanced casually and noticed that the silver-armored knights dismounted and rested beside the tree.

However, several jade carriages were parked nearby, one of which had its door half-open and looked empty. The middle-aged man in brocade robes was not among the knights.

Chen Yun frowned slightly, glanced at the tea shops, then calmly drove his horse forward, preparing to pass this intersection and continue on his way.

Just then, a knight suddenly strode over and blocked his way.

"Is this young man's surname Chen?" The knight bowed to Chen Yun and asked in a neither humble nor arrogant manner.

"Yes, I am Chen. What can I do for you?"

Chen Yun's expression changed slightly, and he answered slowly.

"Since it is confirmed to be Mr. Chen, then I did not find the wrong person. My lady respectfully invites you to have a seat in the teahouse."

Chen Yun hesitated for a moment, recalling the pair of clear eyes he had seen in the carriage just now, and finally nodded: "Your young lady? Okay, I'll go over there."

After saying this, he jumped lightly off the carriage.

"Please follow me. My young lady has booked the small teahouse over there. You can just follow me."

The soldier said in a deep voice, and motioned another companion at the edge of the forest to come and look after the horses.

Soon, Chen Yun walked into an elegantly decorated tea shop.

Inside the teahouse, two young ladies and a middle-aged man in his forties, dressed in a brocade robe, were waiting.

The man had a long beard and narrow eyes, and looked intimidating without even being angry; the two women were both cultivators, one of them had reached the seventh level of the Qi Refining Stage, and the other had reached the fifth level of the Qi Refining Stage.

"Brother Chen, I haven't seen you for several years. I never thought we would meet again here. I will always remember your kindness in guiding me back then."

When Chen Yun entered the room, two women immediately stood up to greet him. One of the women with a lower level of cultivation showed a look of joy on her face and said softly.

"Miss Cao, what a coincidence. I left in a hurry that year, I hope you don't mind."

Chen Yun smiled slightly and responded politely.

This woman turned out to be Cao Mengrong, the daughter of a county lieutenant whom he met in Dajin many years ago.

Cao Mengrong explained:

"Brother Chen must have had something urgent to deal with at the time. How could I feel resentful?"

"Please allow me to introduce you. This is my senior sister Wang. We are as close as sisters. The one next to her is her uncle, General Zhunan of Southern Xinjiang. He has been ordered to return to the court to report on his duties."

"General Zhunan! It turns out that you are one of the eight famous generals of the Great Jin Dynasty. I am really disrespectful to you."

Upon hearing that the beautiful woman was Senior Sister Cao Mengrong, Chen Yun just nodded politely.

But when he heard the identity of the imposing man beside him, he couldn't help but feel a touch of emotion on his face.

Although he knew very little about the Jin court, he still knew a thing or two about some of the most famous high-ranking officials in the Jin court. The eight generals represented almost half of the military power that the Jin court could control.

Each of them commanded an army of millions of strong troops and guarded some important border cities.

However, Chen Yun knew that the name of these "Eight Generals" was not about caring about the affairs of the mortal world.

But it is said that among these eight generals, only two or three of them are close confidants of the royal family.

The rest of the people all have some relationship with the major forces in the world of immortal cultivation, and some of them were even supported by these forces themselves.

Even the Jin imperial family couldn't easily touch them. And since this General Zhunan was not from the imperial family, he must have been related to a certain force.

"I heard from Meng Rong that you are also a cultivator. How dare I, a mere mortal, act so arrogantly in front of you?" The middle-aged man laughed, bowed to Chen Yun, and said calmly.

Chen Yun knew very well that what the other party said was just a polite remark.

With his status, although it is difficult for him to reach the Nascent Soul stage cultivators, it is not difficult to recruit the Core Forming stage cultivators.

Previously, the cultivation level he showed to Cao Mengrong was only the Qi Refining Stage, but this person was so polite to him, a "little cultivator", which was obviously extraordinary.

What puzzled Chen Yun even more was that this man led a team to Beijing without any high-level cultivators accompanying him. His courage was truly rare.

Although he had this thought in his mind, Chen Yun still responded modestly:
"I dare not. General Wang, you are overpraising me. The general's reputation is far-reaching, and even we casual cultivators have heard of it."

Miss Wang smiled slightly, and her words revealed a deep meaning:
"Fellow Daoist Chen, I heard that you once guided Junior Sister Cao in her cultivation, allowing her to advance two levels in just a few years."

"After my master found out, he praised Junior Sister Cao for her extraordinary luck and speculated that Brother Chen might have hidden his true abilities."

"It is impossible for a cultivator of the same level to achieve this. Now I see that there is no spiritual energy fluctuation on Fellow Daoist Chen, which shows that he is an expert in the art of concealing his breath. It seems that what my master said is true."

The reunion of Chen Yun and Cao Mengrong seemed to have unveiled a veil of mystery.

After a brief surprise, Cao Mengrong keenly noticed that the fluctuation of Chen Yun's magic power was unusually weak, which made her look surprised.

Facing Cao Mengrong's puzzled look, Chen Yun responded with his usual calmness:
"I encountered an accident that day and was seriously injured. My cultivation has been greatly damaged and has only recovered now. I did not intend to hide the fact of my cultivation."

The implication is that his cultivation is far more than what it appears to be.

After observing carefully from the side, Miss Wang also failed to sense any fluctuation of magical power from Chen Yun, and could not help but be secretly surprised.

However, she quickly hid her inner turmoil with a smile:

"So, Fellow Daoist Chen is actually a senior master? I was your equal in the past, so I hope you will forgive me."

Chen Yun seemed quite indifferent to this:
"What senior or not, I am just a casual cultivator in the Great Jin Land. These false titles are like floating clouds to me."

"If it weren't for Daoyou Cao's help back then, I might not be alive today. Therefore, we can still treat each other as equals."

Upon hearing this, Cao Mengrong's uncertain expression finally relaxed, a shy blush appeared on her cheeks, and she agreed with Chen Yun's statement.

This conversation not only shows Chen Yun's humility and reservedness, but also reveals his cherishment of friendship and his indifference to past experiences.

Mr. Chen is obviously an elder with profound Taoist knowledge. Although I, Wang, am just an ordinary person, I am also happy to make friends with people with Taoist qualities.

Mr. Guan seems to be planning to go to the capital. Would you like to go with me? After talking with his daughter, the middle-aged man extended a sincere invitation to Chen Yun.

After a little thought, Chen Yun readily agreed.

He was looking for someone who was familiar with the auctions in Beijing so that he could gain a deeper understanding.

Considering the other party's prominent background, even if he is not a cultivator, he must have a lot of key information.

Afterwards, Chen Yun had a brief exchange with the two ladies and learned that Cao Mengrong's father had had a smooth career in recent years.

He had been promoted from a county lieutenant to a military officer in the capital. Although his official rank had not been greatly increased, being transferred from the local area to the capital was already a considerable leap.

However, Cao Mengrong was unable to go to the capital with her father because she was in seclusion for cultivation. This time, Senior Sister Wang and her father happened to pass by, so they went to the capital together.

Chen Yun did not mention his reclusive life in recent years, only casually mentioning that he was recuperating somewhere and had just recently come out of seclusion.

Cao Mengrong and the other woman did not delve into the matter further. They knew that Chen Yun was badly injured when he woke up from the ice, and it would take him several years to recover.

At this time, the waiter of the tea shop brought a pot of the best tea, and after a brief exchange, the three of them began to leisurely drink the tea.

During the tea time, the middle-aged man took the initiative to mention the fragments of ancient books collected in the mansion. His speech and behavior were elegant, making it difficult to associate him with the identity of an iron-blooded warrior.

General Zhunan always maintained a gentle and elegant attitude, talked with a smile, and showed his extraordinary temperament.

This greatly changed Chen Yun's impression of him and made him feel somewhat favorable towards him.

Although Chen Yun was not interested in poetry, he had read extensively in ancient documents in order to search for ancient elixir recipes and cultivation secrets, and thus mastered many unknown secrets.

General Zhunan was amazed by just a few examples mentioned casually. He showed great interest and asked for details repeatedly.

After a brief conversation, the dialogue between Chen Yun and the middle-aged man seemed more speculative, while the two ladies were relatively left aside.

Seeing this, Miss Wang turned to Cao Mengrong and smiled bitterly, feeling a little depressed inside.

Her father was very interested in collecting ancient books and antiques, and had a special liking for the secret stories and anecdotes of the barbaric ancient times.

This "Senior Chen" seemed to be quite knowledgeable about this, and it was like meeting a close friend when we talked about related topics.

Cao Mengrong did not show much emotion, but just sat quietly and listened to their conversation.

Occasionally, her eyes swept across Chen Yun's face, but she quickly retracted them, as if she was avoiding something.

Miss Wang noticed this scene and a smile flashed in her eyes.

Through the in-depth communication with Cao Mengrong during this period, she gradually realized that the feelings in the little junior sister's heart were firmly tied to the person in front of her.

Whenever Cao Mengrong mentioned this person, her cheeks would always blush and she could not forget him.

This made Miss Wang curious about who on earth could make her usually cold junior sister so attracted to him.

However, after seeing Chen Yun in person today, she felt a little surprised and disappointed.

When examining the monk in front of him named Chen Yun, it was not difficult to find that there was nothing outstanding about his appearance, and he was far from being handsome and elegant.

This person has average aptitude, but seems to have reached the foundation-building stage. Compared with the young junior sister who has a bumpy foundation-building path and a bleak future, the difference in their cultivation is obvious.

From a long-term perspective, Chen Yun is obviously not the ideal partner choice for the junior sister.

Miss Wang secretly weighed the pros and cons in her mind, considering whether it was necessary to intervene in this relationship, even though it might bring unnecessary disputes.

As the daughter of General Zhunan, she has a certain social status and influence. If she really wants Chen Yun to retreat on his own, it is not impossible to do so with her family power and personal charm. (End of this chapter)