The Wonderful Utility of the Heavenly Pivot

In the Talent Academy, two cave dwellings were carved into each of the four cardinal directions of the back mountain.

Small hills, dozens of feet high, rose and fell in succession. Ancient tree crowns that blotted out the sky swayed in the breeze, and a clear, spiritual wind circled the surrounding world.

Although the resources of each of the Dragon Ridge Hundred Academies varied, the spiritual grounds where disciples practiced were largely similar. Without a seal-holder to provide special treatment, most disciples practiced in a routine, step-by-step manner.

With so many disciples, it was incredibly difficult to stand out. The competition was fierce; only by taking the top spot in various monthly examinations and Dharma Assemblies could one perhaps attract the attention of the Dao Academy.

Xu Yan pondered this in his heart.

These cave dwellings were all empty. The Talent Academy had been established for less than a century and had only taken in a dozen or so disciples, each with their own strengths, all following the path of the Mystic Gate. Wang Heng and the others resided in the palace at the summit, handling daily affairs both large and small.

Though the number of disciples was small, the benefit was that they did not have to worry about being driven off the mountain.

In the Upper Three Academies, there were not only monthly exams but also seasonal ones. If one's cultivation was a notch weaker than others, they would likely be relegated to other Dao Academies.

Activating the Edict Script, Xu Yan sensed his surroundings slightly.

After observing the feng shui and the lie of the land, the cave dwelling facing north toward the south was undoubtedly the best. Xu Yan stepped on his Mystic Qi and flew away.

He landed steadily at the entrance of the cave.

This dwelling was carved into a fifteen-foot-tall hill. In front of the door was a small courtyard where flowers and grass overflowed with spiritual light, and a trickling stream flowed at the foot of the mountain, making it quite tranquil and pleasant.

"Tairan..."

A foot above the door of the dwelling, two characters were carved in Edict Script, implying "to remain calm and composed."

Xu Yan thought to himself that he had come to the right academy; even the names of the disciples' dwellings here were engraved with Edict Script. That Seal-holder Gongsun must have profound attainments in this path.

Xu Yan took out his token and probed it with his divine sense.

In an instant, the Spirit Protection Array covering the entire dwelling manifested slightly. As the array patterns flowed in mid-air, Xu Yan was already granted entry.

The Spirit Protection Array, including the Spirit-Devouring Grand Array engraved within the Heavenly Pivot Treasure Vase, were "spirit" arrays passed down from ancient times. Although they were the most basic of arrays, they had been tested by generations of array masters and were the most versatile of their kind.

The interior of the cave was quite spacious.

It was about five feet high and twenty feet wide, containing a main hall and two inner chambers.

Every facility was provided.

Xu Yan tidied up a little, then took out many ancient objects from his Qiankun Bag.

"Candle Breath Cauldron; this item can be used for alchemy in the future."

Boom!

With a flick of his finger, the three-legged alchemy cauldron brought out from the Immortal Treasury Ancient Temple was placed by Xu Yan in the center of the main hall. The Manifest Sage Method and the Taiyi Alchemy Book were also taken out and placed to the side.

The most important item was the Heavenly Pivot Treasure Vase.

Xu Yan sat cross-legged on a cushion in the inner chamber and took the treasure vase out from his sleeve.

The item was still wrapped in the Miaoyuan Edict, light as a feather.

Giving it a shake, Xu Yan took out the flawless Embryonic Pill from within and stored it in a separate green bottle. He then frowned slightly, holding the vase in his hand to examine it carefully.

"The Spirit-Devouring Grand Array—the power of this array is far beyond that of the Foundation Establishment Path."

Xu Yan's divine sense probed slightly into it.

The interior was like a small world, with dense, interlocking array patterns seemingly communicating with the Mystic Gate of heaven and earth.

The power of an array laid down by cultivators of different realms differed vastly; an array set up by an ordinary Pulse Opening cultivator could not be mentioned in the same breath as one set up by a Purple Mansion Daoist.

Take this Spirit-Devouring Grand Array, for instance; upon observation, Xu Yan discovered that this array had nine array eyes!

An ordinary Spirit-Devouring Grand Array had only one; even those set up by Purple Mansion Daoists mostly had only a single eye.

"This is no ordinary Spirit-Devouring Array; it secretly conforms to the numbers of the I Ching of heaven and earth, making it extremely complex."

After studying it for a while, Xu Yan found that it could swallow the energy of heaven and earth on its own, but it was very slow. If he used a wisp of Mystic Qi to stimulate an array eye, the speed of absorption became extremely fast.

Taking a deep breath, Xu Yan gently placed the Heavenly Pivot Treasure Vase on the ground.

Then, with a thought, the Miaoyuan Edict instantly returned to his palm and hid itself.

In an instant, Xu Yan felt the ground beneath his feet tremble slightly. The treasure vase was simply too heavy; if it were to fall from mid-air, it might well smash through the cave dwelling.

The flawless Embryonic Pill inside had already been removed. The mouth of the bottle rippled with silver light, like a galaxy, and it began to swallow the energy of heaven and earth on its own, though very slowly.

Bit by bit, it was drawn into the Tianshu Bottle.

Xu Yan, lost in thought, carefully pointed a finger at it, using his Mystic Qi to stimulate one of the array eyes.

In an instant, the power of absorption surged!

Rumble—

A great wind blew inside the cave. Xu Yan's Daoist robe was whipped into a frenzy, and the energy of the entire cave rolled toward the vase, even suppressing the Spirit Gathering Array laid out beneath the dwelling!

Beneath this cave, there was originally a Spirit Gathering Array personally set up by the Talent Academy's seal-holder. That Seal-holder Gongsun was a [Purple Mansion Path] cultivator, yet the array he had set up was instantly suppressed by the Heavenly Pivot Treasure Vase with just one eye stimulated.

Xu Yan's expression was one of slight shock.

"To what heaven-defying level has the cultivation of the Daoist who laid down this Spirit-Devouring Grand Array reached..."

Back in the Heaven and Earth Furnace, Xu Yan had stimulated one array eye.

The power of absorption at this moment was exactly the same as it had been then.

Xu Yan thought this, feeling his own Dao body being pulled. Seeing this, he immediately probed it with his divine sense and, after several attempts, managed to withdraw his Primordial Mystic Qi from the array eye.

"The commotion is too great; it is better to let it operate on its own."

Xu Yan thought to himself.

This was only stimulating one array eye; if all nine were stimulated, wouldn't the Dragon Ridge Hundred Academies, spanning thousands of miles, be filled with rolling heavenly thunder as all the spiritual energy was seized away?

He closed the door.

Xu Yan sat on the cushion to rest for a moment, then took out the Dragon Ridge Hundred Academies Dao Rules and read through it carefully.

He would be staying here for a long time. After all, this was not the outside world; there were many rules, and he could not afford to commit any taboos.

After reading for a while, Xu Yan's brow furrowed even tighter.

The level of competition among the disciples of the Dragon Ridge Hundred Academies was far more intense than he had imagined.

First were the Upper Three Academies, excluding the first year after admission.

Starting from the second year, the Upper Three Academies would hold small examinations every month, every season, and at the end of every year.

Although Xu Yan was in the Talent Academy, these matters were closely related to the disciples of other Dao Academies. The Upper Three Academies did this to select the best from the best, choosing the prodigies to participate in the [Spirit Seizing Dharma Assembly].

The Spirit Seizing Dharma Assembly was an important path for disciples to go to the Divine Land for practice. If one could shine brilliantly in this assembly and successfully take the lead, becoming a true disciple of the Taiyuan Divine Sect would be a certainty.

In addition to this, there were also quotas for true disciples in various other Dharma Assemblies.

For instance, the [Dragon Whale Dharma Assembly] held every five years at Canghai Cliff was an assembly for evaluating the Dao fetus and pulse patterns of disciples.

Then there was the [Demon Covenant Dharma Assembly].

The Dragon Spine Mountain Range stretched for over a hundred thousand miles, while the Hundred Academies occupied only a few thousand miles. Within this ancient mountain range, there were many dangerous forbidden lands where demons and monsters lurked.

Not only that, but the eastern part of Cang Province also had many demons and monsters causing chaos in various regions, inciting public resentment. The Taiyuan Divine Sect was the hegemon of the east, with ten thousand sects bowing their heads and countless noble families submitting; they would not ignore these matters.

These three Dharma Assemblies were designated by the Taiyuan Divine Sect as the three paths to becoming a true disciple, and every Dao Academy was required to send disciples to participate.

Furthermore, this was closely related to the resources granted to the Dao Academy and whether it could continue to open its doors to accept disciples.

Precisely because of this, a disciple with Xu Yan's talent would become a hot commodity.

"No wonder those Daoist masters would lower their status to fight over disciples."

Xu Yan understood.