Chapter 265 : It Was Taught at the Academy
Chapter 265: It Was Taught at the Academy
"What the hell kind of place is this?!"
Looking at the cultivators in the city who possessed no Spiritual Roots, along with the auras emanating from them, Zhang Qingrou was completely bewildered.
Even the Celestial Spirit inside her jade pendant had never witnessed such a scene before.
It completely overturned everything the two of them knew about the cultivation world.
"This Northern Spirit Domain is far too strange."
Zhang Qingrou muttered to herself before glancing at a child squatting by the roadside.
"Third Layer of Qi Refinement."
"No Spiritual Root."
"He looks like an ordinary mortal child... Why don't I ask him?"
Faced with all these strange occurrences, Zhang Qingrou had encountered no danger during her escape, and her curiosity could no longer be suppressed.
"Kid, what kind of evil creature are you?"
Walking up to the child, Zhang Qingrou asked directly.
The child, who had been squatting on the ground, looked up at the beautiful older sister before him with a puzzled expression.
"What is an evil creature?"
"My name isn't Evil Creature."
"My name is Zhang Ergou."
Hearing both the child's words and his name, the Celestial Spirit inside the jade pendant could not help but think of Zhang Qingrou.
For some inexplicable reason, it felt that the name "Zhang Ergou" fit Zhang Qingrou surprisingly well.
She was certainly enough of a rascal.
Thinking of that, the Celestial Spirit almost—
"Pfft..."
Burst out laughing.
Naturally, Zhang Qingrou had no idea what the Celestial Spirit was thinking and immediately continued asking.
"Alright, alright. I know your name is Zhang Ergou."
"Can you tell big sister how you became a cultivator?"
Zhang Ergou looked at her with an even stranger expression.
There was even a trace of pity in his eyes, as though he had encountered a fool.
"Of course I learned it at the academy."
"Nowadays everyone can cultivate."
"You don't even know something like that?"
"You're so silly!"
Feeling that this beautiful older sister was rather pitiful, Zhang Ergou answered honestly.
"What?"
"Everyone can cultivate?"
"What's going on?"
After hearing that, Zhang Qingrou's expression became even more peculiar as she hurriedly continued questioning him.
"The academy even teaches cultivation?"
"You don't even have a Spiritual Root."
"So how did you cultivate?"
"Naturally through the Path of Cultivation."
"The academy teacher said that we must understand our True Self and break through the delusions of reality."
"As long as you're human, using perception as your guide, Spiritual Energy can coexist with you."
"Once you comprehend it, you'll have it."
Zhang Ergou explained while imitating the academy teacher, shaking his head as he recited the words.
"What is this?"
"The Path of Cultivation?"
"Does something like that even exist?"
Seeing Zhang Ergou speak as though all this were perfectly natural, Zhang Qingrou's curiosity only grew stronger.
"Do you want it?"
"This is the cultivation manual our academy teacher gave us."
"Everyone gets a copy."
Zhang Ergou immediately took the book from his clothes and handed it over.
Without the slightest hesitation, Zhang Qingrou accepted it and immediately began reading.
The Celestial Spirit inside the jade pendant did not even have time to stop her.
After merely one glance,
Zhang Qingrou became completely absorbed.
"The Great Dao..."
"A true method that leads directly to the Great Dao."
After turning only a few pages and reading several passages,
Zhang Qingrou instantly understood the answers behind every strange phenomenon in the Northern Spirit Domain.
Including how people without Spiritual Roots had become cultivators.
She simply could not imagine that someone would willingly pass down, without reservation, the Great Dao they had personally comprehended.
No...
It would be more accurate to say that the person who created this cultivation method would undoubtedly teach everything to others for the sake of that truth.
The Great Dao of Truth.
The path toward comprehending one's True Self.
At that moment,
Zhang Qingrou finally understood why every city possessed Spirit Ships and teleportation formations.
"The Method of Investigating Things..."
"This Northern Spirit Domain has already walked onto an entirely different road within the Great Dao of cultivation."
Zhang Qingrou sighed with emotion.
Then she looked at Zhang Ergou once more and continued asking,
"Can you tell me who spread this book?"
"And what exactly happened before all of you started cultivating?"
Seeing how serious Zhang Qingrou looked,
Zhang Ergou answered honestly.
"Nothing much happened."
"One day, the local lord from the city came to our village and drove everyone out."
"He told us to move into the big city."
"He said it was an order from the Immortal Masters."
"After that day..."
"...we never had to go hungry again."
"Those lords kept saying it was the Immortal Masters' orders."
"They also made us learn to read."
"They said we'd need it to cultivate later."
"Then they opened the academy."
"Before long, lots of people became immortals."
"But for some reason..."
"Those lords suddenly went crazy."
"They started driving us away."
"They even beat us."
"Back then, Uncle Daniu from our village fought back against them."
"Then everyone kept fighting..."
"Fighting..."
"Fighting..."
"For a long time."
"In the end, I think we won."
"They said there wouldn't be any more lords."
"And that we wouldn't have to hand things over to them anymore."
"Then everything became like it is now."
"We don't have to worry about starving."
"We don't have to worry about freezing."
"We just have to cultivate."
"Sigh."
Zhang Ergou's childish words flowed out one after another.
Meanwhile, Zhang Qingrou listened with complete seriousness.
Those simple words alone were enough for her to understand what had happened in the Northern Spirit Domain.
"He completely overturned the existing order."
After hearing all this, the Celestial Spirit inside the jade pendant also fell completely silent.
It could not help recalling the Nascent Soul cultivator they had encountered upon entering the Northern Spirit Domain.
Could all of this...
have something to do with him?
"Everyone cultivates..."
"But how could there possibly be enough resources?"
"How overwhelmingly powerful would someone have to be to suppress the opposition of an entire Spirit Domain?"
"Could it be that everyone who opposed him was simply beaten into submission?"
That was the only explanation the Celestial Spirit could think of.
"Now that you mention it..."
"Don't you think something else is even stranger?"
"They fought to the death before."
"Such an enormous conflict should have become perfect nourishment for the Evil Demons and Evil Slaves."
"But up until now, I haven't encountered a single Evil Demon or evil creature."
"I haven't even seen any sign related to them."
Just as the Celestial Spirit was still deep in thought, Zhang Qingrou noticed another astonishing fact hidden beneath everything.
——
Meanwhile, Li Tianwei, having captured those Evil Demons that had entered the Northern Spirit Domain, looked at the Evil Demons imprisoned within the palm of his hand.
"They reacted rather quickly."
"They severed the connection immediately."
"I was even planning to barge straight through it."
When Li Tianwei captured those Evil Demons, he had intended to repeat the same approach he used before.
He wanted to directly clash with the strange consciousness shared by the Evil Demons.
Unexpectedly, the very instant he captured them, the power linking those Evil Demons together was immediately cut off.
Clearly, the stronger Evil Demons had discovered his existence and become cautious.
"But none of you are getting away."
"Perfect."
"I'll use this opportunity to test something."
Since the connection could no longer be traced, Li Tianwei had no intention of letting those Evil Demons go.
He immediately summoned the Sun–Moon Banner.
That's right.
Li Tianwei currently had only one idea.
He wanted to find out whether Evil Demons, like human souls, could also enter the banner...
...and experience the Eighteenth Level of Hell.