Literary Gold Flying Shuttle

A few breaths later, a sharp glint suddenly flashed in Xu Yan's eyes, clear as glazed glass.

He immediately withdrew his gaze from the Myriad-Character Stele. Without further hesitation, he lifted his brush and began to write. Each stroke of golden seal script was sharp as a blade!

"Hmm?"

Seeing Xu Yan begin writing after merely glancing at the Myriad-Character Stele a few times, everyone was momentarily stunned.

"What is he scribbling?" Jiang Qingshu said.

"The evolving and edict scripts on the Myriad-Character Stele are profound and intricate. What could he possibly discern with just one look?"

The senior disciples and masters from Pursuing Sun Academy frowned deeply as they watched Xu Yan and discussed it in low voices.

Yet the longer they watched, the more they sensed something was wrong.

The spiritual energy of heaven and earth within the training ground was drawn toward the archaic script Xu Yan wrote like a raging flood. It circled his body in the form of celestial phenomena, and from that moment onward, not the slightest trace fell upon Nie Ying.

When one's writing seized the flow of vital energy, such a phenomenon had already decided victory and defeat.

Seeing this, Yan Qing could not help but laugh. "It seems this humble Daoist overestimated her. This Three-Eyed Manifestation is nothing more than that..."

Master Yuan's face darkened. He rose without a word, flicked his sleeve, and left.

Nie Ying's gaze dimmed. Somewhat uneasily, she curled and uncurled her fingers as the manifestation patterns on her forehead faded away.

Before the sun had even set, the Confucian students of Pursuing Sun Academy departed with grim expressions.

Three days later, at the foot of Plum Mountain, Xu Yan's ink-black Confucian robes fluttered in the breeze. Alone, he left Shangyin Academy and headed toward a plum grove somewhere at the mountain's base.

In this New Confucian Debate, Pursuing Sun had lost again.

On the first day, even the exceptionally gifted Nie Ying had lost in deciphering the Myriad-Character Stele. How could the Pursuing Sun Academy students possibly defeat Shangyin Academy's Confucian students in the following days' eight strange arts and debates on the Dao of sages?

Though Pursuing Sun was an academy, at its core, it was a Dao palace that cultivated both literary and martial paths.

Over the past century, it had strayed ever further from the proper path, turning the world upside down until it even produced a martial top scholar of the Dragon Gate.

Now, Great Yin's immortal Dao was flourishing, and martial strength was revered above all else. It was an age for expanding territory and winning glory through great deeds.

Many scholars had abandoned their brushes for martial cultivation, seeking the Dao and cultivating themselves.

Within a secluded plum grove at the foot of the mountain, crimson plum blossoms fell in flurries like rain, carpeting the damp earth.

Deep within stood a grave mound, engraved with the words: "Grave of Luo Yujing, Confucian Student of Shangyin."

Yan Qing held a wine gourd as he stared at it solemnly, then abruptly took several fierce gulps.

He stood dazed for a long while before shaking his head, spreading his hands, and muttering to himself, "Third Senior Brother, this junior brother truly cannot understand it. Why did you have to swallow a poisonous insect? Such a peculiar hobby is rare under heaven. Master says I'm mud that cannot be plastered onto a wall, but I've always thought that you, Senior Brother, were the real lump of mud."

No one had ever seen someone pay respects at a grave while needling the dead.

This Fourth Uncle Yan truly had no taboos whatsoever.

"Junior Brother Yan, stop standing there. Come pay respects to your Third Senior Brother." Yan Qing spoke to himself as he sprinkled wine before the grave.

Behind him, Xu Yan slowly approached and cupped his hands in salute. "Greetings, Senior Brother."

"Why all these cumbersome formalities?" Yan Qing waved him off repeatedly.

Xu Yan smiled, then stepped forward and lit a stick of incense before his Third Senior Brother's grave.

Luo Yujing was Master Xun's third disciple, as well as the disciple Master Xun had cherished most. Brilliantly gifted and skilled in both literary and martial arts, he had unfortunately died deep within Mang Mountain not long after reaching adulthood.

When Master Xun found his corpse, a nine-colored centipede was crawling out from his guts.

He had been dead for nearly forty years, yet Master still mentioned him from time to time. It was clear how deeply he regretted losing this disciple.

The two walked side by side toward the edge of the plum grove, chatting idly as they went.

"Deep within Mang Mountain, demons, devils, ghosts, and specters run rampant, setting up camps and strongholds. Remember this well: before your cultivation is sufficient, do not venture in recklessly," Yan Qing said.

"I understand, Senior Brother." Xu Yan nodded.

"Once your spirit aperture opens, I'll give you a treasure. I guarantee you won't be able to put it down." Yan Qing stroked his beard and narrowed his eyes.

"What treasure?" Xu Yan asked.

With that, Yan Qing curled his fingers in a beckoning gesture.

A crisp hum rang out. A golden flying shuttle the size of a palm suddenly flew from his storage pouch and hovered above Yan Qing's palm.

The golden shuttle was diamond-shaped, its surface traced with fully formed evolving patterns, exceedingly sharp.

"This is the Literary Gold Shuttle, your Third Senior Brother's natal artifact," Yan Qing said calmly, his expression unchanged.

When Dao seekers entered the Profound Treasury realm, they could forge a natal artifact within their bodies.

Xu Yan was slightly surprised as he fixed his gaze upon the flying shuttle.

"Your Third Senior Brother possessed the rare innate Gang Gold Spirit Aperture. The artifact he forged was likewise refined from Gang Gold spiritual energy. It is incomparably sharp, cutting iron as though it were mud. It would be a pity to let it lie unused. I expect that, within Shangyin Academy, you alone will be able to wield it fully in the future," Yan Qing said.

A Gang Gold Spirit Aperture was indeed exceedingly rare. It was a spirit aperture formed from the fusion of innate gang energy and the metal energy of the Five Elements.

Xu Yan possessed the Formless Aperture. Few within the academy knew of this, and Uncle Yan was one of them.

Earlier, Master Xun and Master Yuan had made a wager. If Shangyin won the debate, Xu Yan would be allowed to cultivate for half a month within the Ancient Yang Spirit Vein of Pursuing Sun Academy.

This descent from the mountain was for him to travel with Yan Qing to Dongyang Commandery.

Afterward, when Master Yuan learned that Xu Yan possessed the Formless Aperture, he was so furious that his beard twisted crooked.

For a Formless one to open even a single aperture, he would likely have to exhaust the spiritual energy the Ancient Yang Spirit Vein had accumulated over the past several years.

Yet the agreement had already been made. How could a great Confucian of Master Yuan's standing go back on his word? He could only swallow this bitter loss. After cursing, "Old bastard," he stormed away in fury.

As for the Literary Gold Shuttle, not only had it been forged from Gang Gold energy, it had also been imbued with evolving patterns by that Third Senior Brother.

Thus, other than someone who, like him, was proficient in evolving script and possessed a Gang Gold Spirit Aperture, no one could fully unleash the flying shuttle's divine might.

But Xu Yan was an exception.

"Formless means all forms. Apart from you, no one in the academy can wield it," Yan Qing said gravely.

"Who knows how far I'll be able to go in the future," Xu Yan sighed.

"As long as you wish to walk, the great Dao lies beneath your feet!" Yan Qing declared with stern righteousness. "There have been Formless cultivators who attained the Dao throughout history. If you succeed, a single Formless aperture will rival the nine apertures of an ordinary cultivator. With all nine apertures opened, the depth of your Dharma power will shine in rivalry with the sun and moon!"

He had always felt that this Fourteenth Junior Brother of his seemed devoid of desire or ambition, most likely influenced by his Formless innate constitution.

This was also one of the greatest hurdles for Formless ones. Most Formless ones were born wanting nothing and seeking nothing.

Xu Yan's gaze darkened slightly as though he were deep in thought.

With his current innate constitution, as long as he could open the Baihui aperture, he would be able to begin opening his channels.

Then he could advance into the five realms of the human world and take his first step upon the path of cultivation. At the very least, he would not have achieved nothing.

But if he wished to stand at the pinnacle in this age, he would need to open all nine Formless apertures. It was as difficult as ascending to heaven!

As the two walked, a whistling cry like a startled rainbow suddenly rang out from the distant horizon. Tyrannical, terrifying Dharma power shook the surrounding lands, sweeping the sky there until it was washed a clear blue.

The sound of divine abilities boomed like thunder, startling flocks of birds from the mountains into flight.

High in the heavens, an old monk in a kasaya seemed to be riding clouds and mist as he rushed toward the depths of Mang Mountain.

"A monk?" Xu Yan looked into the distance.

"That is the abbot of Heavenly Treasure Temple." Yan Qing narrowed his eyes and stroked his chin.

"One of the Imperial City's Seven Absolute Grandmasters?" Xu Yan seemed thoughtful. "Senior Brother, what has happened deep within Mang Mountain? In just a few days, two Grandmaster-level figures have arrived."

Jiang Qingcheng from several days ago and the abbot of Heavenly Treasure Temple today were both renowned Grandmasters within Great Yin.