Dragon Ridge Hundred Academies

Behind them, the sky had darkened and the sun vanished, while wild winds howled.

The Spirit-Born Artifact pursued them relentlessly, howling with unbridled arrogance and turning the faces of countless cultivators ashen.

A sinister wind swept past, tossing shattered stones and dust into the sky.

Before long, the white Great Banner caught up. Like a wolf charging into a flock of sheep, it mercilessly unleashed its divine abilities.

How could these Pulse Opening cultivators possibly withstand a Spirit-Born Artifact of such divine might?

"Where in the world did this artifact come from?!" a cultivator cried unwillingly, his eyes wide.

The gate stood so close, with only a few hundred li left to go. Yet who could have imagined that he would fall right at its threshold?

His fleshly body was instantly swallowed by the artifact, turning into a pool of bloody mist.

For a time, scenes of a living hell played out again and again along this mountain road.

The Great Banner had gone mad with slaughter. Driving its powers, it devoured anyone it encountered. Within only a few breaths, more than a dozen Pulse Opening cultivators were suppressed and slain, swallowed into the banner without leaving even bones behind.

In the end, less than a hundred li from the gate, only a little over five hundred people remained.

Xu Yan and the others barely dared to breathe as they finally fled to this place.

Beyond the gate, there seemed to be an aura of a divine ability domain.

Then, a dharma hand reached in from beyond the Heaven-Piercing Gate. However, the hand's power could not extend too far. Otherwise, why would it have waited until the Spirit-Born Artifact reached this place before acting?

Rumble—

For a moment, heaven and earth seemed ready to collapse.

The aged, wrinkled palm merely spread its five fingers, and heaven and earth changed color as wind and clouds churned. Rolling, domineering Mystic Qi whistled forth, and within a breath, the white Great Banner was taken into its grasp.

The dharma hand immediately withdrew without pausing in the slightest. If it dared venture any deeper, the heavenly might of the Dragon Ridge Immortal Treasury would erupt.

This Immortal Treasury had formed its own heaven and earth.

When the Patriarch controlled the Immortal Treasury in those days, he had set the rule that only Qi Exhalation and Pulse Opening cultivators could enter. This was a place for selecting disciples. No one dared overstep that rule, nor did anyone possess the ability to recreate the Immortal Treasury's heavenly might!

Rumble!

Thunderclouds surged across the heavens. Only after the dharma hand withdrew did the heavenly thunder cease.

"A Dao Academy master from the Hundred Academies acted."

Someone said with lingering fear, "I nearly died here!"

"I heard that artifact escaped from the Sky Boat. Who exactly broke the Sky Boat's restriction?!" someone shouted sharply.

"Who else could it have been but those prodigies?"

At the Immortal Treasury's exit, a group of cultivators discussed the matter with lingering fear.

Their bodies felt as though they were about to fall apart. Panting heavily, they sat cross-legged where they were and began meditating to recover.

As Xu Yan listened to their discussion, they looked so indignant, as if they intended to demand an explanation from the prodigies outside.

However, these Rogue Cultivators and disciples of lower sects were only talking tough. Once they truly entered the Hundred Academies and encountered those people, they would likely keep far away from them.

Who would have known that such a thing existed inside the Sky Boat?

Xu Yan thought to himself. In a manner of speaking, this artifact was a disaster he had inadvertently unleashed.

His expression sank slightly. Without resting, he and Yan Qihu headed straight for the gate.

With less than a hundred li remaining, they reached it after only the time it took to burn several sticks of incense.

The Heaven-Piercing Gate was right before them. Dazzling radiance streamed from the exit, ancient and mysterious formation patterns clinging to it.

"I never thought that I, Yan Qihu, would have a day like this!"

Yan Qihu drew a deep breath. Though his eyes were weary, they shone with brilliance. After cultivating at Evergreen Temple for so many years, he had finally gained this chance upon leaving the Immortal Treasury—to enter a Dao Academy and cultivate.

"Fellow Daoist Yan, do not relax just yet. This is only the beginning." Fang Che also sighed. "Brother Xu, Brother Yan, let's go!"

As the three spoke, they stepped forward, their Dao bodies wrapped in dazzling radiance.

Several breaths later, as the world spun around them, the three appeared atop an ancient Dao Field!

This Dao Field was enormous, roughly a thousand zhang across. Figures thronged everywhere. Many Dao Academy masters from the Hundred Academies, along with disciples who had just emerged from the Immortal Treasury, were gathered here, seemingly registering for academy entry.

This Dao Field lay between two towering peaks that pierced the heavens. In the distance stretched lush, endless verdant mountains, shrouded in mist and brimming with immortal air.

The instant Xu Yan and the other two stepped onto the Dao Field, they sensed an incomparably dense heavenly aura rushing toward them, nearly flawless and unsullied, as though their entire bodies had slipped into an ocean of Mystic Qi.

"This is... the heartland of the Dragon Spine Mountain Range?"

Yan Qihu's eyes widened.

He had spent so many years in the Dragon Spine Mountain Range, yet he had never imagined that its heartland would hold such an immortal scene. The heavenly aura here far surpassed that of the outer regions, making his entire body feel refreshed and at ease.

Xu Yan's expression did not change, but his heart trembled. He fixed his gaze toward the distance.

Between the mountains, seas of clouds rolled like ripples upon the ocean, while hundreds of peaks pierced the clouds like sharp swords.

From the foot of the mountains to their summits, magnificent palaces and pavilions stood row upon row. Their soaring eaves and ornate brackets glimmered with faint splendor in the spiritual light, exquisite beyond compare, like a treasure land of immortals.

That was the Dragon Ridge Hundred Academies!

Vaguely, they could see disciples of the Hundred Academies traversing the area on Mystic Qi, streaking across the land like meteors. The sight was like an immortal Heavenly Palace from a painting coming vividly to life before them.

"This place... is far grander than Evergreen Temple!" Yan Qihu declared loudly, his heart surging with excitement.

Quite a few people on the Dao Field heard him and immediately looked over. Most were disciples of aristocratic clans, and their gazes carried a trace of disdain.

There were many people here. At a glance, there were likely over a thousand.

Moreover, disciples continued to emerge from the gate behind them. The expressions of the Rogue Cultivators and lower-sect disciples were much like Yan Qihu's, as though country folk entering a city for the first time.

To them, the heartland of the Dragon Ridge Hundred Academies truly seemed like a Heavenly Palace, almost unreal.

Xu Yan looked around but did not see Qin Yiren or the other prodigies. They had left the treasury early and had presumably already been taken away by masters from the Upper Three Academies.

On the other side of the Dao Field, a Dao Academy master in green robes held a white Great Banner and examined it closely. Xu Yan focused his mind slightly. It seemed this was the Daoist who had acted earlier.

At that moment, a Dao Academy master with a goatee approached the three from not far away.

The goateed Dao Academy master glanced at the trio, his gaze settling on Xu Yan. He seemed to have seen through Xu Yan's natural endowments. Stroking his beard, he smiled and said, "You are Xu Yan?"

Back in Dragon Whisker Ravine, only twenty or thirty people had received guidance from the Dharma King, all of them blessed with exceptional talent and natural endowments. In the eyes of the Hundred Academies' masters, these people had long been marked out. Other than Xu Yan, nearly all of them had taken the top spots. Those who had not gone to the Upper Three Academies had already been taken away by other masters.

Xu Yan did not dare be negligent. He immediately clasped his hands and bowed. "That is correct. This disciple is Xu Yan. Greetings, Dao Academy Master."

"Good, good, good. Your natural endowments are not bad. Come cultivate at my Spirit Glow Dao Academy." The goateed Dao Academy master patted Xu Yan's shoulder, narrowed his eyes, and nodded.

Xu Yan frowned slightly, seeming lost in thought, just as he was about to say something.

Several more middle-aged Dao Academy masters hurried over from nearby, almost jogging.

"Wait!" A green-robed Dao Academy master cast a sidelong glance at the goateed master and snorted coldly. Then he looked at Xu Yan, his expression softening. "Xu Yan, why did you come out only now? This old man heard from Han Clan disciples that you were not with them. Are you a Primordial Spirit Vein?"

This Dao Academy master asked a string of questions. Xu Yan drew a deep breath and paused for several breaths before answering neither humbly nor arrogantly, "In reply to Dao Academy Master, I do indeed possess the appearance of a Primordial Spirit Vein. Earlier, I encountered a place within the Immortal Treasury where the heavenly aura was rich, so I stopped to cultivate for a time. That is why I delayed my departure from the treasury."

"I see." The green-robed Dao Academy master nodded, then said, "Xu Yan, come cultivate at Dark Mystery Academy with this old man. My Dark Mystery Dao Academy has a ten-thousand-year old spring that can help you cultivate your Spirit Meridian to perfection!"

In an instant, several Dao Academy masters who had come over surrounded Xu Yan completely, all speaking over one another.

"What is a ten-thousand-year spirit spring worth?" A red-robed Dao Academy master pushed forward and said loudly, "Xu Yan, come to my Dragon Tiger Academy. I will personally teach you the Dragon Tiger Body-Tempering Method. It would be a waste not to cultivate a body-tempering method with the power of vitality and blood you possess!"

Surrounded in the middle, Xu Yan became somewhat flustered, not knowing how to respond.

"This old man will give you a Spirit-Born Artifact. Come cultivate at my Mystic Grotto Academy!"

Originally, if Xu Yan had taken first place, he would have gone to cultivate at the Upper Three Academies. Now that he had lost his place, this scene had arisen instead. Nearly all the Dao Academy masters present had gathered around him, leaving Xu Yan unable to take even half a step.

"Everyone, follow the rules. Do not force the disciples."

In the distance, the Daoist holding the white banner frowned, shook his head, rose to his feet, and walked toward them.