Chapter 139: The Four Academy Chief Disciples at the Mountain

Nantian Yijian tugged at Wind Dragon's mane and shouted, "Boss, we've arrived at the teleportation chamber that leads to the Scripture Hall. Since you brought us here, does that mean we're going in together?"

"That's right. Little Jian, you'll need to come with me. There might be a manual inside that can teach you the way to cultivate Wish Power," Lu Chen instructed Wind Dragon to touch down, then looked at Jun Laoye. "As for you, Little Jun. I didn't ask if you wanted to come earlier. I've just dragged you along."

"I should go in. After the stunt I pulled off earlier, Second Uncle forbade me from using our clan's techniques," Jun Laoye said, rubbing his head with some frustration. "I'll need to find some spells to make do with. Otherwise, the next time I meet an enemy, all I can do is take the beating."

"Alright, then let's go in together."

Lu Chen pushed open the door to the teleportation chamber. Dust billowed instantly, and swarms of rats, ants, insects, and snakes scattered in every direction.

Nantian Yijian spread his sleeves wide, waving them about. "

Cough, cough...

When was the last time anyone came in here? Why is there so much dust? Don't people from the Serene Void Academy ever come to the Scripture Hall?"

"I don't think it's that they don't want to," Jun Laoye said, pointing to the teleportation formation at the center of the chamber, "but that they don't qualify. That's a top-tier Spirit Gathering Formation. The spirit qi it gathers could rival that in the Heavenly Pool Lake. It's enough to sustain an entire small sect.[1]

"Even among the seven great clans of the continent, few can inscribe a teleportation formation like this. For an ordinary cultivator to activate it, they'd need to be at least at the Qi Condensation Realm."

Jun Laoye slowly walked to the center of the formation and sat down, feeling the lingering spirit qi. "No wonder the Serene Void Academy looks so dilapidated from above. This formation has already gone out."

Perched above Lu Chen's head, Wind Dragon scoffed, "Top-tier Spirit Gathering Formation? Don't flatter it. It's nothing but a failed product. It didn't even achieve self-sustaining spirit qi circulation. Without that, how can it be called a Spirit Gathering Formation? If this truly were top-tier... No, let's not even call it top-tier. If it were just a Human Tier or Earth Tier Spirit Gathering Formation, the spirit qi it produced would be enough for the entire Heavenly Mandate Hall, and it would run for at least ten thousand years without going dark."

"So what now? Is there any way to restore it?" Lu Chen released Nantian Wan'er's hand and pressed both palms onto the extinguished formation, sensing its state. "

Hmm?

The formation still reacts."

He moved through the formation, channeling his vast spirit qi into it. "It's starting to glow again. But we can't rely on pouring in spirit qi every time just to activate it."

The formation gradually glowed once more.

"If the Scripture Hall can't be accessed and they only rely on the manuals within the Serene Void Academy, over time the disciples' techniques will inevitably grow weaker."

Wind Dragon leapt down from Lu Chen's head, landing on the formation and altering the engravings. "There's a temporary solution, but for a complete one, you'll have to find Lord Eighth. No one understands formations better than her. But Lord Eighth has been missing for many years. Her mastery of formations is strong enough to conceal the heavenly secrets themselves. If she doesn't wish to be found, not even Lord Green Emperor could locate her."

"Then is there no other way around this?" Lu Chen stood to the side, watching Wind Dragon continue modifying the lines of the formation. "Something realistic will do."

"There is. The most practical way is for you to master both talismans and formations up to the Heaven Tier. Then you could repair this formation, or even inscribe a new one, yourself."

Lu Chen sighed. "In that case, I might as well search the continent for the Eighth Ancestral Avatar. But by the time I succeed, this formation may already be irrelevant."

"Not necessarily. There's another way. Seek out the green-robed Daoist."

Finishing the last stroke, Wind Dragon looked at Lu Chen with a mischievous grin. "He granted you the Innate Bagua Diagram divine ability. Without mastery of talismans and formations, it can't be fully comprehended. Seek him out; he'll surely be able to solve this."

"Seek him out? Forget it." Lu Chen walked over to Jun Laoye and placed the chief disciple identity token onto the formation. "Every time I see him, I feel uneasy. Ever since I formed the three avatars, that feeling has only grown stronger."

The Spirit Gathering Formation absorbed the chief disciple identity token as soon as it sensed the energy radiating from it.

Three seconds later, a surge of powerful spirit qi erupted from the formation. More than thirty beams of light shot outward, spreading into the extinguished teleportation bases at both sides.

"They lit up! We did it!" Nantian Yijian exclaimed excitedly at the glowing teleportation formation. "Does this mean we can go in now?"

"Wait. The formation is still expanding," Lu Chen raised his hand to stop him. The moment the energy burst forth, he used the chief disciple identity token to merge his consciousness with all of the Serene Void Academy.

The rays of light from the formation became his eyes. Within the teleportation chamber, Lu Chen could see the entire academy as if it were part of himself.

Beneath the ground, countless formation engravings lit up, and flowers, birds, fish, and insects all stirred with renewed vitality. The withering academy slowly began to recover.

While the lines of the great formation continued to spread, Lu Chen shifted his focus. In an instant, his vision extended beyond Serene Void itself, where Song Ping and Song Xiao'er were standing within the defensive barrier, hurling insults at the people outside.

***

"Song Ping, you're a cultivator in the Qi Condensation Realm. How could you be beaten by someone still in the Qi Regulation Realm?" Zhou Fan slammed on the gate of Serene Void Academy, shouting angrily, "Tell me, is the Serene Void Academy truly this weak, or did Lu Chen bribe you with something?"

Song Ping gripped his heavy spear in one hand and held the roasted beast's leg that Song Xiao'er had given him in the other. His voice dripped with mockery as he said, "

Hmph

, the matters of the Serene Void Academy hardly concern you, chief of the Wind Lightning Academy. The Serene Void Academy is no longer what it used to be. If you try to bully us now, be prepared to face revenge."

"Good, Song Ping, looks like you've forgotten what it feels like to be repeatedly plundered by us."

𝑓𝑟𝑒𝘦𝓌𝑒𝑏𝑛𝑜𝘷𝑒𝘭.𝒸𝘰𝑚

Zhou Fan slashed his Wind Lightning Twin Blades at the Serene Void Academy's gate, but they didn't leave a single mark. He sneered, "And you, Song Xiao'er, Jun Wudi did nothing more than give you some benefits, and here you are, shamelessly wagging your tail to join him. You're nothing but a treacherous little ingrate, betraying your master and ancestors."

"How dare you say that to me? I've never forgotten how you people bullied me back at the Wind Lightning Academy," Song Xiao'er glared straight at Zhou Chang and spat a thick wad of phlegm at him. "Now it's clear that leaving the Wind Lightning Academy was the right choice. One day, you'll regret it."

The defensive barrier only blocked outsiders, so the spit, mixed with meat scraps, slid through and landed squarely on Zhou Fan's face.

"Song Xiao'er!" Zhou Fan wiped the filth off his face, his rage boiling over. He slashed furiously at the gate. "Come out right now! I'll kill you!"

Song Xiao'er taunted as he hurled his roasted beast's leg through the barrier. "What? From the look of it, you're enjoying the sweet nectar I spat."

Zhou Fan roared, "Song Xiao'er, just wait. The moment you step out, you'll never set foot back inside."

He dodged the flying beast's leg, only to step right into the second wad of spit hurled at him.

Zhou Fan lost all reason. "

Argh...

Song Xiao'er! I'll kill you for this!"

Maddened by the taunts, he unleashed his most powerful techniques, ignoring the rebound force of the defensive barrier.

Song Xiao'er jeered, "So this is all you've got? And you call yourself a chief disciple? You can't even control your own state of mind."

He spat once more beyond the gate.

Zhou Fan howled, "

Argh... ahhh...

"

He watched the spit land casually on the ground, and his last shred of reason snapped. He let the barrier's backlash crash into his body.

Wen Ziming slowly drew his Gentleman Sword. "Brother Wunian, don't you feel something's off? It seems the two of them are provoking us on purpose, trying to distract us. I suspect something has happened to the Serene Void Academy's chief disciple."

"Interesting... very interesting," Feng Wunian murmured, his gaze shifting toward the two inside the barrier. "Things are getting more and more amusing. I wonder how far it will go... I look forward to it."

Wen Ziming turned to him sharply. "Interesting? Did you not hear what I just said? What exactly have you figured out?"

Feng Wunian shook his head. "I can't say it. From now on, our paths diverge."

Without another word, he leapt off the cliff, transforming mid-fall into a wooden puppet bird. After circling once in a wide arc, he flew away from the Serene Void Academy's gate.

The disciples of the Tranquil Mind Academy followed suit, jumping from the cliff and transforming into puppet birds as they flew into the distance.

Wen Ziming shouted, "Feng Wunian... What are you doing? Are you planning to break away from us?"

No reply came.

Yun Ping's eyes narrowed, a flicker of dread crossing his face as he watched Feng Wunian depart. "Let them go. I think I understand what he meant. Zhou Fan, enough. Stop wasting your strength on the barrier."

Zhou Fan ignored him, hammering at the defensive barrier with a roar.

Song Xiao'er's taunting only grew bolder. "

Hahaha

, and you still deny being useless? You can't even break through a barrier. If you've got any guts, come at us together!"

Song Ping quickly stopped him through voice transmission, "Xiao'er, stop it!"

He glanced at the barrier. "The defense is about to fail. Don't provoke them too much."

Seeing Song Ping's unusual behaviour, Yun Ping's expression hardened as he grasped the implication instantly. "So that's it... Wen Ziming, I don't care how much strength you've been holding back. Use it all now!"

"My lord was right. The Spirit Gathering Formation of Serene Void has failed," Yun Ping said.

He drew his soft sword, his aura flaring as he surged toward the academy's gate. "Everyone! Attack together! Let's break through the gates!"

1. The teleportation formation draws in spirit qi to power itself, enabling it to transport disciples into the Scripture Hall. That’s why it’s a Spirit Gathering Formation. ☜