Perfect World

Chapter 744: Chapter 744: Supreme Dao Ground
 

Is Celestial Immortal Academy really that renowned?

The Academy is indeed formidable, with Human Immortal Relics; but to say it looks down on the Three Thousand States and is called the highest Dao in the higher realms, Shi Hao is very skeptical, feeling it’s a bit of an exaggeration.

With hundreds of schools vying for supremacy, and various teachings competing for dominance, who dares to claim they are absolutely the first, the highest in the world?

“Willing to join our teaching and fight for it?” The elder asked in a majestic tone, his head drizzling with chaotic mist as his True Body seemed to burst the cosmos, resembling the lord of all deities looking down upon all beings.

Shi Hao hesitated, and bracing himself, he said, “Willing.”

For the sake of the Tribulation God Lotus, he momentarily set aside everything else, like principles, to get through the situation, thinking if he left, he could always make up for it and report back to the Celestial Immortal Academy.

The elder nodded, his presence solemn and possessing an aura of unrivaled supremacy, speaking, “Remember, you are a disciple of my Dao Ground. If one day you fail to become revered in the world, I shall expel you from our gates.”

Shi Hao muttered under his breath, feeling that the demand was too high. Could the Celestial Immortal Academy be so confident? It’s impossible that all the disciples that it has produced could dominate the world.

At the same time, he was somewhat suspicious, why not mention the Celestial Immortal Academy and only talk about the Dao Ground?

“Senior, is this the core area of the Celestial Immortal Academy?” he couldn’t help but ask.

“This is not the core of the Celestial Immortal Academy, but it stands even above it,” the elder replied seriously and solemnly.

Shi Hao was stunned. Was there a place even more important than the central area? The elder’s identity must be extraordinary to make such a claim. He isn’t the Dean, then he must be the Protector or the Guardian spirit of the Celestial Immortal Academy!

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“Alright, we’re about to step through this gateway. Once inside, you will never be able to change your mind. I give you one last chance to think clearly?”

Although he was calm and authoritative, Shi Hao felt apprehensive, finding the elder’s gaze empty, wondering if this could be some cunning old fox.

“Ready to make your decision?” the elder asked flatly.

“Senior, when can I go pick the Tribulation God Lotus?” Shi Hao whispered. His main goal in entering the Celestial Immortal Academy was just that, and he couldn’t be fooled; he was here to negotiate.

“What’s so great about the Tribulation God Lotus? In comparison, that thing is like fodder for pigs; don’t take it too seriously,” the elder said.

“What?” Shi Hao widened his eyes. The elder had gone too far in his remarks, making outrageous claims. One must know that all Celestial Gods sought after it, ready to die for it, to crack open skulls.

“Cough, I’ve digressed.” The elder coughed and said, “You should know, in the past my teaching had the Number-One Spiritual Root, and that should be enough.”

Shi Hao was flabbergasted. The Celestial Immortal Academy once had possession of the Number-One Spiritual Root? His thoughts quickly turned to a Divine Medicine he had once seen in the outside valleys of Medicine City in the Lower Realm, guarded by countless arrays.

Little Pagoda once sighed, declaring it to be the Number-One Sacred Medicine, suggesting that its peer would likely be deep within the vast, uninhabited forbidden zones.

Could it be that medicine? It is said that it was planted there by someone from the higher realms. When the great calamity struck, indeed, several powerful beings fought over it there.

“Lost it now, I guess?” Shi Hao mumbled, his intuition was telling him something from the elder’s word choice.

“It will be found sooner or later!” The elder’s eyes were profound, gazing toward the end of the heavens, emitting a chilling vibe.

“Let’s… still talk about the Tribulation God Lotus.” Shi Hao murmured at a volume barely audible, his heart trembling slightly with anxiety.

“So you’re just eager to bathe in that pond with a few young maidens? Look at your ambition!” The elder remarked in a tone mocking yet not, chiding him.

“Fair ladies are a gentleman’s proper pursuit!” Shi Hao argued stubbornly.

“I am beginning to have doubts. In my lifetime of honor, if I were to mentor a philanderer, wouldn’t it tarnish my reputation?” the elder pondered.

“Senior, please rest assured, I will certainly bring honor to us!” Shi Hao spoke with conviction, his voice ringing earnest and sincere.

In front of the grand mountain gate, the elder nodded, his golden robe fluttering and adding to his extraordinary demeanor, with specks of light rain sprinkling down like he was about to transform and ascend.

“The Tribulation God Lotus is also rather good. Don’t worry, when the time comes, you can often access that treasure pond. There should be no problem,” he urged Shi Hao to enter the gateway.

“Alright, if senior says so, I shall obey,” Shi Hao accompanied him, stepping through the majestic and towering doorway, walking inside.

“Let’s establish your oath here,” the elder said gravely.

An oath still had to be taken, but what binding power could it really hold? Shi Hao quietly sneered, not really caring.

“Take the oath with me, come on!” the elder stated.

After a brief yet absolutely stern script of the oath was recited, the elder had Shi Hao drip drops of divine blood onto the text, which was then ignited.

“What is this for?” Shi Hao was puzzled.

“It’s a curse. If you betray the teaching, you will suffer the punishment of heaven, fall perpetually into the land of calamities, and die amidst endless torment,” the elder said in an offhand manner.

“What? Have to be so malicious, so fierce?!” Shi Hao was astounded, feeling like he’d stepped onto a bandit ship, unexpectedly under a spell now laid upon him for binding.

“Why, you’re thinking of betraying the faith already?” The elder asked smilingly, reminding him, “The curse is quite severe.”

Shi Hao gaped at him, growing increasingly aware that he had been hasty. The elder appeared kind and virtuous, yet things didn’t seem quite right.

“Well, now that you are part of our faith, you should abide by the oath,” the elder declared.

“Senior, how may I address you?” Shi Hao asked.

“Qi Daolin.” The old man smiled and then looking at him, said, “Have you heard this name before?”

Shi Hao felt awkward; he hadn’t been in the higher realms for long and could not possibly know every major figure, but still he disingenuously said, “I have long admired your great name, as thunderous as it is.”

The old man revealed a peculiar expression, saying, “Is that so?”

Obviously, he felt Shi Hao did not recognize him and had never heard the name before.

For some reason, Shi Hao felt that the old man seemed somewhat relieved. Was this an illusion? Did the Dean or Guardian Spirit of the Celestial Immortal Academy have something to hide?

Standing inside the majestic gate, looking ahead, what lay before him was not a cluster of palaces but an endless range of mountains, as well as the misty clouds, grand and natural.

“Is this the Dao ground of the academy, and how vast is it?” Shi Hao asked.

Qi Daolin smiled and said, “As big as the heart is, so is the world, and so is our Dao ground.”

“I aspire to swallow mountains and rivers!” Shi Hao declared.

“Is that so? In that case, this Dao ground is boundless. Let me take you to see it,” Qi Daolin said as he floated, his sleeves billowing, carrying Shi Hao across the air.

Below their feet, the mountains rolled backward, the lakes shone like pearls, the long rivers like thin ribbons, swiftly fading into the distance, crossing countless miles in an instant.

Even someone as strong as Shi Hao felt a roaring in his ears and a stinging in his eyes; the wind slashed his face like knives, and his robes were nearly ignited by the speed.

“Senior, where are we now? I feel that something is off. Even if you magnify the Celestial Immortal Academy by ten thousand times, it can’t contain all this land, right?” Shi Hao expressed his doubt.

Then, his eyes widened in astonishment, because he saw some cities and other creatures’ habitats and such, clearly not within any Dao ground’s boundaries.

He questioned, raising his concerns—was the old man fooling him?!

“I already told you, as large as the heart, so is our Dao ground. Have you not grasped my meaning?” Qi Daolin said with a kind smile, unhurriedly responding.

Shi Hao had a face full of confusion, saying, “So the Dao ground is just a gate, right?”

“Correct,” the old man nodded, “Beyond this gate is the entire world you face; this is our Dao ground. If you acted like others, drawing lines in the sand, such a tiny place could never match our path. Don’t forget its name—Supreme Dao Ground. If you have the ability, the Three Thousand States of the higher realms are all our backyard.”

Shi Hao was dumbstruck. Is that even possible?

Yet Qi Daolin looked serious, exuded an air of ambition that could swallow the ninth level of heaven, and earnestly admonished him to look beyond earth and heaven, past and future.

“Then senior, let’s find a place to settle down. Since the Dao ground is so vast, and looking out over the Three Thousand States all as our backyard, shall we sit a while at the Immortal Hall, or retreat at some Imperial Clan residence?” Shi Hao asked.

“Immortal Hall, that dilapidated place can only serve as a latrine in the future,” Qi Daolin remarked, his eyes gleaming with a flourishing radiance, showing emotion for the first time.

With a swoosh, he led Shi Hao into the blurry void, returning shortly to the mountain gate they had left, where with a point of his hand, a peak shone, and a giant palace appeared, akin to the Heavenly Palace.

“Is this still someplace within the Celestial Immortal Academy, or is it not at all?” Shi Hao asked quietly.

“From now on, don’t mention the Celestial Immortal Academy. Consider yourself a successor of the Supreme Dao Ground,” Qi Daolin laughed.

“Why?” Shi Hao didn’t understand. Were there Deans and Guardian Spirits who didn’t prefer to acknowledge their own lineage?

“Joining the Supreme Dao Ground transcends the Celestial Immortal Academy; remember this is the root, regardless of anything else!” Qi Daolin cautioned sternly, “That is to say, consider yourself a disciple of the Supreme Dao Ground, and you may forget all else.”

Shi Hao was stunned, his face scribbled with doubt. Why did this feel so strange?

“Is it just us two here?” he inquired.

“What do you think the Supreme Dao Ground is, a place anyone can come to? Each generation only has one disciple. In principle, until you are expelled, it’s impossible to have a second successor!” Qi Daolin explained.

Shi Hao became even more suspicious, thinking to himself, he hadn’t been sold, had he?!

The realization made him almost spit blood. He was usually the one conning others, but today, was he the one conned?

The Dao ground that had only one heir seemed somehow like the Supreme Hall…

“If you have any doubts about cultivation, feel free to ask me. Of course, not the specifics, but the bigger picture. The actual Invincible Path can only be passed on to you in a couple of days,” Qi Daolin said.

“The Invincible Path?” Shi Hao’s heart felt ablaze with excitement; he really wanted to ask, was it the Detachment Chapter from the Primal True Solution?

“A Peerless Skill that can sweep across the Three Thousand States deservedly earns its name invincible,” replied Qi Daolin with pride, and of course, he would not pass it on at this moment.

Shi Hao pondered deeply, recalling the Nine Dragon Bones and the Ancient Bronze Coffin, and asked, “Senior, are there reincarnated beings in this world?”

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