The next day, early in the morning, Xiang Qi led Wang Qi up Xin Mountain.
Xiang Qi looked at the youth beside her, her expression odd. "Hey, Wang Qi, why are you smiling so... creepily today?"
Wang Qi was taken aback. "Am I?"
"Your gaze is vacant, your steps are unsteady, but you're smiling... smiling so lewdly." Xiang Qi's face had an indescribable expression. "Did you not sleep last night?"
"I always feel like your words have an underlying ssage..."
Xiang Qi gave him a suspicious glance for a while, then shook her head. "I suppose it's only natural for you to beco odd after spending too much ti with those Wanfa Sect folks."
Are you roasting yourself...
Wang Qi suppressed his urge to retort and instead turned his gaze toward the peak of Xin Mountain.
The manuscript of Daoist of Uncertainty was all about turning profound theories into exquisite law gates, and for soone like Wang Qi, who had been a scientific researcher in his past life, the thoughts and experiences in this manuscript were simply invaluable. Now, as long as he acquired the cultivation techniques of the Modern thod, he could gradually master the intricacies of the technique. With that, he wouldn't find it difficult to make further progress based on the foundation left by Daoist of Uncertainty, that Carefree Practitioner!
And as for the cultivation technique... hehe...
Wang Qi's gaze towards the peak of Xin Mountain resembled that of a miser gazing at his treasure.
Xiang Qi helplessly grabbed his head and twisted it to the other side. "Look this way!"
"Ow, ow, ow! What are you doing?"
"The peak is ho to the Immortal Alliance Golden Hall. I understand your desire to study divine skills and marvelous techniques, but your place of practice is mid-mountain."
Located at the waist of Xin Mountain, Xinyue Immortal Institute was a top-tier institution of the Immortal Alliance, from which thirty percent of the five absolute true inheritors were selected.
Wang Qi followed his senior sister all the way up the mountain. As the altitude gradually increased, the crowd also thinned out. The place lacked the bustle of just entering the Inner City, but it had a certain ethereal quality instead. The Southern Slope of Xin Mountain was gentle, but the soil layer was thin, with even exposed bedrock, which could not sustain towering trees. However, with the Immortals' marvelous thods adjusting the climate, the area could still be considered lush with vegetation, with short pine trees scattered among the rocks, creating a unique charm.
Yet Wang Qi's gaze couldn't help but drift towards the three great statues situated at mid-mountain. The three statues appeared to be crafted from local boulders carved directly from the place where they stood. Each statue, one seated and two standing, was a hundred ters tall and depicted three Daoists, each holding a long sword with an imposing aura.
Noticing her disciple's curiosity, Xiang Qi explained, "Those three are Immortal Alliance's esteed seniors. The one on the left is one of the four who captured Daoist of Uncertainty, Vice Palace Master of Heavenly Sword Palace 'Silent Quintessence' Qian Xueshen. The one on the right, another Vice Palace Master, 'Triumphant Sword Saint' Qian Bingqiong. And the one in the center is Heavenly Sword Palace Master, 'Sky-Splitting Sword' Deng Jiaxuan."
Wang Qi asked, puzzled, "Why are statues of these three erected here alone?"
Xiang Qi asked, "Do you know the purpose of Heavenly Sword Palace?"
Wang Qi shook his head to indicate he didn't know. Xiang Qi replied, "To protect the world in secret, to safeguard the multitude."
Although the Modern thod has now surpassed the Ancient thod in nurturing Heaven and Earth, and there's not a single person in Shenzhou Land who extirpates Heaven and Earth to nurture themselves, the overseas islands still harbor remnants of Ancient Cultivators."
"The four seas are teeming with myriad Sea Demons, far outnumbering the Human Clan. The Dragon Clan is innately combatant, with even ordinary Carefree Practitioners unable to easily defeat the Dragon King! And Sea Demons are untaable, unlike the Land Demon Clan that has long been educated and disrupts the mariti boundaries of Shenzhou daily."
"Even within Shenzhou itself, there's no shortage of unrest due to the temptations of human hearts."
Pausing here, Xiang Qi smiled wryly, "And as for the Modern Immortal Path which you've just begun to understand, you should realize that to reach great achievents, one must tirelessly seek and wholeheartedly comprehend. Now, aside from a few Carefree Practitioners, the top minds of Modern Immortal Path have all retired from the world to seek the Great Dao. Hundreds of Carefree individuals, all with uncertain whereabouts."
Wang Qi seed thoughtful. "I've never heard of these things... Is it because of these three seniors?"
Xiang Qi sighed, "There are always so who forgo the joy of seeking to dedicate themselves to the world. These three are such people. Hundreds of years ago, Daoist of Uncertainty's split from Mysterious Palace caused great chaos in the Immortal Dao, almost affecting the entire Human Clan. Ancient Cultivators pushed back, the Dragon King left seclusion. In tis of crisis, Heavenly Sword Palace used unprecedented power to suppress internal strife, rectify the chaos, exterminate Ancient Cultivators, and repel Sea Demons three thousand li away, forcing the Dragon King to pledge never to co within three thousand li of the coastal areas of the nine states. Afterward, countless Carefree Great Cultivators sighed that their existence had disrupted the peace of the Human Clan, and thus many retreated from the world. Only a group of Cultivators stayed with Heavenly Sword Palace, shouldering the responsibility of protecting Shenzhou."
"The Heavenly Communication Hall at the peak is dedicated to those who have revolutionized the Modern thod, the genius and pinnacle Cultivators. Although Heavenly Sword Palace Master is highly skilled in combat, if we talk purely in terms of Daoist practice, he is still inferior to those Great Grandmasters commorated in Heavenly Communication Hall; but if we discuss rit, the Heavenly Sword Cultivators are by no ans inferior to those predecessors who revolutionized the Modern thod."
Having said this, Xiang Qi bowed slightly to the three great statues midway up the mountain, paying her respects.
Copying the gesture, Wang Qi also perford a bow. In this new life in Shenzhou, he too had been under the protection of these Great Powers.
Xiang Qi continued, "Furthermore, Senior Deng is also the head of Xinyue Immortal Institute. He sustained internal injuries while practicing Heavenly Sword Skill in his early years, seldom moves about, and has been staying in Xin Mountain. Rember this well, don't forget the proper etiquette!"
Since they had left the crowded area, Xiang Qi simply activated her movent technique with Wang Qi, hurrying towards their destination—though flying escape was forbidden in the Inner City, swift travel was not.
Before long, they arrived at their destination. Xinyue Immortal Institute was unassuming in appearance, not particularly large, comprising only about a dozen pavilions. Even with the relatively spacious martial arts arena included, it didn't cover the area of an average university, thus it was not very conspicuous from the foot of the mountain. The institute didn't have surrounding walls, just a gate with a placard, inscribed with the four large characters "Xinyue Immortal Institute."
Xiang Qi put down her junior brother and walked up with him.
Wang Qi said, "Senior sister, this is far enough. As the saying goes, 'even after accompanying soone for a thousand miles, a parting is inevitable.'"
Xiang Qi was essentially the only friend he had left on the Immortal Path, and she had taken good care of him these past few days, even bringing him here. As far as he knew, becoming a Security Guardian was part of her Core Formation training, after which she expected to return to Burning Gold Valley to prepare for her Core Formation. Ti is irrelevant in cultivation, and the thought of not seeing her for years made Wang Qi's heart heavy.
—Especially since Xiang Qi was quite attractive.
Xiang Qi shook her head: "I didn't co here just to see you off."
Ah?
Wang Qi looked at his senior sister, puzzled. Xiang Qi explained, "My senior from the sect heard about what I've been through and thought it wasn't suitable for to go into seclusion with such an agitated state of mind. They suggested I take a year to stabilize my ntal state. So I took the opportunity to apply for a teaching assistant position at the Immortal Institute—actually, I was supposed to bring you here last night, but my transfer order didn't arrive until today... hey, Wang Qi? What's wrong?"
Wang Qi was on the verge of tears: "Give back my moved feelings!"
Don't you know I'm in a hurry? I thought you were being incredibly attentive to , but it turns out you've just delayed for half a day!
With mixed emotions, the two headed towards the mountain gate, or rather, the school gate that looked like a mountain gate.
From a distance, Wang Qi saw soone already standing at the gate. As they approached, the person at the gate stepped forward to greet them. As soon as Wang Qi recognized the person's face, he was shocked: "Brother Su?"
It was Su Junyu from the Wanfa Sect, the cultivator he had played cards with the day before!
Su Junyu greeted them warmly and without any hint of surprise: "Yo, we et again, Wang Qi. And, after a long ti apart, you're looking well too, 'Violent Girl'?"
Xiang Qi retorted angrily, "I told Wang Qi yesterday that you sounded familiar, and it turns out it is you, you filthy rich goner!"
Wang Qi was dumbfounded: "You two know each other?"
Su Junyu laughed, "We were classmates at the sa Immortal Institute. Of course, I'm not very familiar with this 'female tiger' here."
Xiang Qi gave a slight smile: "It's been a few years since we saw each other; your thick skin must have only gotten worse, right, filthy rich goner? Do you need to help you change it?"
Su Junyu's body shuddered almost imperceptibly, then smiled, "I am here to welco you, as my task from above is to help guide new teaching assistants and new disciples integrate into the Immortal Institute. So you can't hit , okay?"
Xiang Qi sneered: "There's no rush to beat you, lead the way!"
Su Junyu made a guiding gesture, saying "Please," and turned to walk toward the gate. Just as Xiang and Wang were about to follow, sothing strange happened.
A black-clad cultivator suddenly passed by them. Cultivators' perception greatly exceeds that of mortals, and among the three, Su Junyu and Xiang Qi were not ordinary cultivators, yet none of them noticed this black-clad person approaching. Wang Qi heard very clearly that the mont the black-clad person appeared, Zhen Chan uttered a "huh" within his spiritual sense. This black-clad person had actually evaded the perception of a Mahayana Cultivator!
The black-clad person's each and every action was not quite coherent, as if they were disjointed, without a proper pattern. However, his steps were steady and seamless, all actions seeming as if they were calculated with precision, exceptionally accurate. Each of his movents was a carbon copy of the previous one, with not even the slightest variation in posture.
Is this... a master?
Wang Qi was uncertain and then his heart instantly heated up.
This movent technique, the ability to evade a Mahayana Cultivator's spiritual sense, was undoubtedly the skill of a master! Not to ntion the contemplative deanor he maintained. Walking with such a deanor that sparkled with wisdom, even bumping into a pillar was done with such ease...
Eh? Bumping into a pillar?
Just as Wang Qi fancied the other's "Grandmaster's deanor," the black-clad person ran headfirst into one of the gate's pillars.
Moreover, because the black-clad person had unfolded his movent technique, he hadn't slowed down before the impact, and the pillar of unknown material actually cracked from the collision! Caught off guard, the black-clad person toppled over on the spot.
Since the entrance of the Immortal Institute was on a slope, the black-clad person was almost upside down. Only then did Wang Qi get a clear view of the person's face.
This person had an ordinary appearance with a simple and honest look between his brows, and his slightly thick lips were mumbling sothing unintelligible.
Xiang Qi and Su Junyu were shocked and imdiately paid their respects: "Disciple greets Master Chen, the Sect Leader!"
Zhen Chan quietly explained to Wang Qi: "Although this man's appearance is unremarkable, his cultivation has reached the Transformation Realm. If he wishes, he can ascend to the Carefree level anyti, anywhere!"
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