The old master Ping Shang came in a carriage, his eyes fixed on the Xundu Academy floating in the sky in the distance. The stone tablets were shining brightly, and thousands of palaces and buildings were hidden in the power of incense projected from the sky.
There were sounds of reading, truths of the great principles, and debates between saints. Thousands of disciples of the academy walked among them like immortals, listening to the flowers blooming and falling, and enjoying the gentle breeze and clear clouds.
“So… it really exists!”
Ping Shang had only heard of this place through rumors. According to legend, the sages wrote books and made great contributions to the world, and they are immortal after death.
Feng Shengchi used the preaching jade slip to create a blessed place, fooling people into believing that the Xundu Academy's heritage would be immortal and last forever.
Only those with great merit in the academy and those who are saints and sages can enter this place.
The carriage stopped in front of the stone tablet under the light accompanied by ceremonial music. The power of incense flowed like the sun, shining on Ping Shang. Looking up, he could see Confucian temples, academies and colleges in the world of the living in the light.
In this light, one can see the scenes of the academy during its most prosperous period, the scene of educating the world.
"Am I... dead?" Ping Shang hunched over and got out of the car. Groups of ghosts and gods surrounded him and climbed up the passage that looked like a stairway to heaven.
"My disciple Ping Shang, your life span has not yet ended, this time the saint summoned you!"
Ping Shang's teacher looked at his student with satisfaction. He did not expect that this time his lineage would have a great opportunity and be chosen by Feng Sheng to be the teacher of the fifth saint of literature and Taoism. However, he could not say it directly at this time.
He could only look at Ping Shang solemnly: "There will be an important task in my Shangxian Academy. You must remember that the fate of literature and art will be entrusted to you this time!"
Climbing up, the stone steps stretch endlessly, as if leading to the sky.
Moving forward step by step with aspirations in mind, Pingshang is like a pilgrim walking towards the sky.
People on the road kept nodding to Ping Shang. Ping Shang felt that these people's faces were extremely familiar. Every time he saw someone, he immediately found the other person's shadow in the familiar portraits preserved in the academy.
Every one of them is a sage from our ancestors. It is these tens of thousands of people who have created the present era. For Ping Shang, if there were no academy, if there were no them, and the world was left to be governed by witches and monks, it would only remain in the ancient barbaric era.
Everyone was illiterate and ignorant of etiquette and morality, just like wild beasts and plants. It was because of their Xundu Academy that we have this prosperous and civilized era today.
When they reached the top, even the three beings in the heavenly palace on the top of the mountain cast their gazes on Ping Shang.
Ping Shang raised his head instantly and exclaimed: "Saint!"
As we walked along the road, we saw tall Sophora japonica flowers in full bloom on both sides. It is said that the former Xundu Academy was planted with these flowers. The fragrance of the Sophora japonica flowers in front of the Xundu Academy has become a scene praised by many poetry students.
Finally, in front of a towering moon-shaped locust tree, Ping Shang finally saw the saints who existed only in legends. There were not three but four saints wearing Confucian robes, with crystal light shining on their bodies. They stood under the towering moon-shaped locust tree.
Millions of branches hang down from the tall locust tree, and each branch is covered with layers of flowers in a riot of colour, accompanied by the light from the incense-filled sun in the sky.
The vines swayed and the flowers collided with each other, making a sound like the rustling of bells, clear and melodious, penetrating the heart.
This moment seemed like a dream to Ping Shang.
Yi Sheng, Yi Sheng, Zhuang Sheng, and the young master who was now standing with his back to him, admiring the moon-blooming locust flowers.
He was the legendary Feng Sheng, the sage who opened up the academy and literature, a figure from the beginning of ancient times. His records could only be found in the oldest historical records and historian myths.
Ping Shang's face gradually calmed down, and he once again became the old teacher who had insisted on studying and teaching for decades.
They walked step by step on the white jade slabs, prostrated themselves before the saint, clasped their sleeves together, and saluted respectfully.
The whole ceremony seemed to be filled with a solemn atmosphere, and Ping Shang's eyes at this moment were as heavy as the sound of chimes and tripods.
"Ping Shang, the 23rd generation master of Shangxian Academy, pays homage to the Saint!"
The saint, who had been admiring the flowers the entire time, finally came back to his senses from the beauty of the sea of flowers. He stepped forward, and the tens of thousands of drooping vines and flowers swayed with him.
The other three saints also followed behind him, and together they looked at Ping Shang who was kneeling on the ground.
The four saints were looking at him, and Ping Shang felt as if four huge mountains were pressing down on him, but he also knew that this was probably the most glorious moment of his life. He seemed to feel what kind of mission he had been chosen to carry out.
As if he had pondered for a long time, the leading Feng Sheng finally spoke, and his rumbling voice poured into Ping Shang's ears like the sound of the Tao: "The hundred-year period is approaching, and the fifth saint of the Tao has appeared, and he will become your disciple!"
Even though Ping Shang had guessed it before, he was trembling with excitement at this moment, and he stood up with his hands clasped: "I will definitely live up to the trust of the Saint!"
Feng Sheng nodded: "There are three people who will become your disciples this time."
"Tang Li is the fifth saint of humanity that I have chosen. I will pass on the Jade Slips of Teaching to him. He will create an era of great spiritual power in literature and Taoism. From now on, the disciples of the academy will also be able to practice."
Fang Xiu stretched out his hand, and a volume of the preaching jade slips was handed to him by Zhuang Sheng Zhuang Li. Of course, the real preaching jade slips had long been integrated with the entire Xundu Academy, becoming a thing that carries the souls of sages and the academy's fortune and luck, and cannot be easily shaken.
This preaching jade slip has become a sacred artifact, and after reaching the fourth level, Fang Xiu imitated the system of gods and could peel off seeds of origin from this preaching jade slip and plant them into the human body.
It allows people to practice like believers, through this seed, and through this powerful incense artifact, to cultivate the great spirit.
The deeper the meaning of the scriptures they read, the deeper their connection with the preaching jade slips, and the stronger they become. They can even use the scriptures of sages to perform magic and draw on the power of ancient sages.
At this point, the academy truly entered an era of rise, becoming an important link in suppressing the destiny of humanity and the human race, and forming a balance with the increasingly powerful and willful monks.
Otherwise, if we allow these monks to do whatever they want day after day, I am afraid that in the end, the entire human race will be completely destroyed.
They rely on the power of the preaching jade slips to embark on a journey of cultivation, and after death, they will become a part of the preaching jade slips and transform into the spirits of saints in the Xundu Academy, just like a cycle.
Each of the academy's disciples will refine this magical weapon all the way to the level of a seventh-tier magical weapon, or maybe even directly to the eighth level.
At this point, it is no longer an ordinary magic weapon, but an existence similar to the legendary fairyland, paradise, and the kingdom of gods in another world.
"Gai Cang is the reincarnation of an ancient great man. He pursues longevity and cultivation. He will have his own destiny in the future. You are only responsible for guiding him and teaching him the method of cultivation."
"As for the thickness of the burden!"
Feng Sheng paused for a moment. This person was unexpected, and there was no arrangement for him at all: "Let him decide for himself."
Feng Sheng waved his sleeves, and the light of the scorching sun shone down from the top of the mountain and swept across the entire Xundu Academy.
In the world of the living, Master Ping Shang in the dilapidated academy finally slowly opened his eyes, holding in his hand a white jade scroll that emitted a moonlight-like brightness.