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Chapter 221 Pantheon

In sight, a group of alchemists stepped onto the carriage.

Another 60% of the disciples of the Head of the Academy escorted them away to the Holy Land, while the carriages of the Heavenly Academy continued their journey after they left, and soon arrived at Zhongxing County.

At this moment, the sky-blue carriage curtains fluttered in the north wind, and the carriages carrying countless cultivators rolled over the dry yellow earth, leaving winding tracks on the plain.

Before long, the outline of Zhongxing County came into view.

The horizon was scorched white by the midday sun, and the vast plains were like an ancient scroll of black and yellow unfolded, with every grain of sand seemingly carrying the breath of antiquity.

Looking into the distance, a huge circular temple stands in the center of the loess land, like a giant beast lying down. The blue stone walls, eroded by thousands of years of rain, are covered with the marks of time, revealing an ancient and solemn atmosphere.

Surrounding the human race's training ground, countless palaces were situated in succession on all sides, with the training ground at its center.

The glazed tile roof appears and disappears among the clouds, and the gilded chimeras on the eaves seem ready to take flight.

Whenever the clouds drift by, the millions of glazed tiles shimmer with light, appearing even more majestic than the capital city of Shengjing.

This is the place where the human race has been revitalized, and the name Zhongxing County originated from this place. However, apart from that huge Taoist temple, the other palaces are all newly built.

At this moment, countless noble families had already rushed to the plains, their horses galloping and neighing, creating endless waves of dust as they roared towards the city.

In this small city of Zhongzhou, the streets and alleys are filled with cultivators exuding a vast aura, some with long swords at their waists, others wielding iron knives.

Meanwhile, in teahouses and taverns, the sounds of string and wind instruments filled the air, songs and dances were performed continuously, and the aroma of fine wine wafted through the air.

Ji You was riding in the carriage of the Heavenly Academy into the city. Looking around, he couldn't help but frown slightly.

He had never seen so many cultivators before, and this was the group that the common people of the world supported day after day, year after year, toiling in the fields.

As they pondered, the carriage entered the white marble road.

As they marched along, countless people peered out from the surrounding pavilions and towers, pointing at the Tian Shu Academy's flag and discussing it animatedly.

"People from the Heavenly Academy have arrived."

"In the past, the Heavenly Academy always ranked third in the Heavenly Dao Assembly. I wonder where it will get this year."

"I estimate that this year will not be as good as in previous years, and I'm afraid we'll fall to fourth or fifth place."

"Why?"

"After the incident at Qiling, the Heavenly Academy sent disciples to seek guidance, but they lost both matches. It is said that one of them was even crippled. That disciple was a direct disciple of the Hall Master. This shows that the Heavenly Academy has long been doomed and is now just an empty name of a Holy Sect."

Up in the teahouse, a cultivator recounted the events of the previous year, which drew frequent nods of agreement from the crowd upstairs.

Upon hearing this, the faces of everyone in the carriage turned ashen.

Only Ji You found it somewhat amusing.

These people, like Cao Jingsong, were spectators at this Heavenly Dao Gathering, not participants. The place they, the participants, were going to was not in the city, but along the white marble road.

At 3:45 AM, the carriage began to slow down until it came to a complete stop.

Ji You lifted the carriage curtain and jumped down. He saw the others also getting off one by one and then looking up ahead.

As far as the eye can see, there is a huge gate, with three layers of gilded eaves soaring in front, and nine rows of coiled dragon caisson doors neatly arranged on the vermilion-lacquered and bronze-clad giant gate.

In the very center of the gate hangs a plaque with the three large characters "Xianxian Garden" written on it, the gold paint gleaming under the sun.

Looking forward from the main gate, the screen wall is carved from a single piece of jade, depicting a flying immortal in the daytime. It is magnificent and seems to contain hidden mysteries, giving people a sense of vastness.

But in reality, no sages ever lived in this garden; it was a fabrication by later generations of humans.

When the human race and the demon race decided to rebel against the remnant race, the human race's territory was basically empty. Even the seven sages lived in thatched huts, without any blue bricks, glazed tiles, or magnificent palaces.

At this moment, Steward Qin also got off the carriage and looked back at everyone.

"The Sage Garden will be your residence from now on. This garden is divided into eight smaller gardens, namely Chengqi, Huaiyuan, Lianxing, Rusheng, Taiping, Yongqing, Yucheng, and Jiusheng."

"We are staying at Rusheng Garden, and we are also staying with disciples from Lingjian Mountain."

"How could it be Spirit Sword Mountain?"

After hearing the discussion, Manager Qin waved his hand and said, "There's no need to be so surprised. Rusheng Garden is quite large. Although we live in the same garden, our two sects will live in the east and west courtyards respectively. It's hard to run into each other unless we deliberately try."

Upon hearing this, Ji You's expression suddenly became somewhat subtle.

He didn't know how the garden was allocated, and he felt that there was a chance of coincidence, but upon closer thought, he felt that it was not really a coincidence.

Of the seven major immortal sects, about three are on good terms with Lingjian Mountain, while Tianshu Academy is clearly not among them.

Hmm, that's a bit strange. Could there be some kind of secret marriage relationship?
Ji You felt really annoyed.

Afterwards, everyone followed the steward into the main gate of the Sage Garden, and then they understood what Steward Qin meant by "vast and boundless".

Looking ahead, there was a vast pond with gentle ripples. Countless jade bridges stretched across its surface, and at its center was a circular island of trees, where countless ancient trees, some thousands of years old, grew, stretching as far as the eye could see.

As you walk along the long white marble road, you'll see towering artificial hills, the tallest of which has nearly ten thousand stacked stones, surrounded by countless pavilions and towers.

Before entering the city, they had seen countless palaces standing on all four sides of the human race's sacred grounds, which were actually part of this garden.

At this moment, the garden was bustling with people coming and going.

They were either wearing long robes embroidered with the crests of noble families, or draped in the robes of some immortal sect. Most of them were relatively young cultivators, scattered among the mountains, lakes, and palaces in groups of two or three or four or five.

They were probably somewhat surprised by the vastness of the Pantheon, wandering around aimlessly, sometimes looking up, sometimes looking down to observe closely.

Besides these people, in the tranquil ancient forest, wisteria garden, and bamboo mountain, there are cultivators sitting on futons, meditating on the Dao, attracting the surrounding spiritual energy to converge here.

Ji You's gaze swept over these figures, then looked at his fellow disciples from the Heavenly Academy who had come with him, and found that they all showed a hint of contempt.

Showing off, why didn't you do this earlier if you're so enthusiastic about fixing things here?

Blocking the road to practice Buddhism—isn't that just openly showing off to others?

The group continued on their way, and then they saw a dozen or so cultivators dressed in the attire of the Chen Clan coming towards them. Upon seeing the group from the Heavenly Academy, they slightly raised their hands and bowed.

"Manager Qin."

"Elder Five Elements, it's been a long time! May I ask where you have been?"

"I am going to Taiping Garden to pay my respects to several fellow Daoists from prominent families."

All disciples of the Chen Clan Immortal Clan are surnamed Chen. Even if they are not originally surnamed Chen, they must change their surname upon entering the sect. Therefore, when people address cultivators of the Chen Clan Immortal Clan, they usually call them by their given names.

The elder before them was a Boundless Realm cultivator from the inner clan, named Chen Wuxing.

Ji You found it quite interesting; if Elder Chen was the only one, wouldn't Brother Chen be able to tour the entire Chen clan?

On the way to Rusheng Garden, such encounters were not isolated incidents.

They encountered the Xu family of Qingzhou and the Du family of Liangzhou in succession.

Ji You had never heard of the Xu family, but it was said to be a prominent clan. This family was mostly affiliated with the Mountain and Sea Pavilion, so there weren't many people with the surname Xu in the Heavenly Book Academy. Naturally, Ji You, a private cultivator from the countryside, would have no idea about them.

However, he knew the Du family of Liangzhou, and the Du family of Liangzhou also knew him.

During the autumn battles that year, everyone was focused on Ji You and Chu He, but few people mentioned Du Zhu, who came from the Du family.

Because the Du family had witnessed the autumn battle at Tian Shu Academy, they naturally knew a lot about Ji You.

The problem is that even though it was Chu He who killed Du Zhu with a single sword strike, the Du family still harbored some resentment towards Ji You. When they were saying goodbye, they didn't forget to give Ji You a cold snort.

He Lingxiu, Xiao Hanyan, and the others frowned slightly and turned to look at Ji You, only to find that Ji You was smiling very cheerfully, and their expressions were somewhat puzzled.

"What are you laughing at, junior brother?"

"It's alright, the Du family seems...to be quite kind and approachable."

"?"

As Ji You watched the Du family leave, he thought to himself that his earlier prediction was indeed correct; he would definitely meet many clients at the Heavenly Path Association.

So you should always go out and travel more when you have free time; the journey to wealth and prosperity is never-ending.

Suddenly, everyone heard a whooshing sound overhead, and then a figure flew through the air, passing over the mountains, lakes, and pavilions, heading towards the outside of the courtyard. His white hair and beard danced in the wind.

This person is impatient and not in the mood for sightseeing, so they skipped directly through the garden.

The group from Tianshu Academy walked through gardens along the way, then turned south and walked for several miles, passing many strange and unusual landscapes with craggy rocks, before finally arriving at Rusheng Garden.

Upon entering, one is greeted by a three-zhang-tall spindle-shaped bluestone with the four large characters "如日东升" (like the rising sun) inscribed on it, its vermilion lacquer gleaming brightly.

Ji You gazed at it for a long time, thinking to himself that such an aura was truly unmatched by ordinary places. Even the Great Xia Imperial Palace paled in comparison to this immortal academy, appearing merely as a side hall. The only places that could rival it, besides the dojos of the seven great immortal sects, were the Demon Emperor City in the Snow Region.

But immortals have never engaged in production; they sit in the mountains and forests cultivating immortality. So, there is no doubt about where every brick and tile in this garden came from.

After passing the spindle-shaped bluestone, the path splits into two, one on the left and one on the right.

Ji You now understands why Steward Qin said earlier, "Even if you live in the same garden, it is difficult to meet unless you deliberately try," because most of Rusheng Garden is just scenery.

Further ahead is a lush forest of bamboo, deep in green, followed by a mirror-like lake, surrounded by several pavilions, pine forests, and artificial hills, while the buildings consist of only two groups.

One section is located on the east side, and the other on the west side. They are not close to each other, and the scenery between them is dense and well-arranged.

The Heavenly Academy was located in the East Courtyard, while Spirit Sword Mountain must be in the West Courtyard.

Ji You stood at the fork in the road between the east and west courtyards for a long time, gazing at the west courtyard. After watching for a while, he found no one moving around, which meant that the disciples of Lingjian Mountain had not yet arrived.

"Junior Brother Ji, it's time to go."

"coming."

Ji You snapped out of her daze and followed He Lingxiu's voice, only to be led to the east courtyard.

Twenty houses with upturned eaves and corners are situated here. They are made of black bricks, black tiles, and black pillars, and are pure black in their entirety. They contrast with the green bamboo around them and have a unique elegance.

However, these twenty-odd houses share a courtyard with several dark stone pools, where water lilies bloom and koi swim, as well as a stone platform and a pavilion.

The courtyard was not empty, as there were dozens of maids and hundreds of servants waiting in the hall.

As the group entered, a maidservant stepped forward and gave a slight bow.

Ji You couldn't get used to this, so she dodged it and walked towards one of the houses. She pushed open the door and saw rows of mahogany carved cabinets, incense tables, tea tables, and writing desks.

There was a large bed in the middle to back position, the beaded curtain had been lifted, and the bed was covered with silk satin mattresses.

Wen Siyuan, the disciple in charge of the affairs department, followed in. He had also come by car and was in charge of Ji You's participation in the competition.

Seeing Ji You sit down in the chair, Wen Siyuan took a step forward and asked, "Junior Brother Ji, are you satisfied with this?"

Ji You glanced at him: "The emperor probably used a golden hoe when he hoeed the ground."

"What does this mean?"

"It has exceeded my expectations as a rural hermit."

Ji Yousi paced back and forth in the room, touching this and that, thinking to himself that everything he saw was something that poor people like him couldn't afford.

Wen Siyuan chuckled softly after hearing this: "If you need anything else, junior brother, please feel free to ask me. During the Heavenly Dao Gathering, I will take care of all your affairs."

Ji You, who had her back to him at the time, spoke softly after hearing his words: "Who came up with such a brilliant idea as Lingjian Mountain and Tianshu Academy sharing a courtyard?"

"I heard it's an agreement between the sect leaders."

"I see……"

Ji You nodded after hearing this, thinking to himself that this might not be a coincidence.

Little Yan Shuyi, you're so playful! You didn't sneak out; you came to the meeting as a junior appraiser, yet you still want to secretly stay in the same courtyard.

"Um, if anything in this garden gets damaged, do I need to pay for it?"

Wen Siyuan watched Ji You's retreating figure and said, "This... will probably require compensation."

Ji You remained silent for a long while: "How much compensation?"

"Probably... it'll be compensation at the original price."

Ji You frowned deeply as he looked at the box-shaped magical artifact that had been broken in half in his hand, his face clouded with worry.

In places with abundant water and vegetation, there are usually many mosquitoes, so this magical artifact is probably specifically designed to repel flying mosquitoes.

He had seen this thing before at Qionghua Pavilion, but he didn't know its price, how to use it, or that it could be broken with a gentle snap.

This is terrible; we're losing money before we've even found any clients.
Ji You pondered for a long time, not even noticing Wen Siyuan's farewell and departure. Then, he took the magic furnace and went out the door, looked around, and walked towards another house on the southwest side.

This house belongs to Shi Junhao. He had just sat down in the room and brewed a pot of tea.

Before the aroma of tea could even waft out, he saw Ji You enter his room, his eyes filled with a hint of doubt: "What are you doing here?"

"Senior Brother, are you confident in dealing with someone at the Fusion Realm?"

"Since you're here, you must be confident, but what does that have to do with you?"

Ji You looked at him and said, "After all, I am also a member of the Heavenly Academy. I was displeased when I heard them insulting our sect on the street. Naturally, I hope that everyone in our academy can win."

Shi Junhao remained silent for a while before replying, "That's true."

"Has Senior Brother found a Daoist partner?"

"No, cultivators are single-mindedly seeking immortality and yearning for the Great Dao. I don't have that plan for the time being."

"I see. How many people are in your family, senior brother?"

"?"

Shi Junhao felt confused and uncomfortable. He thought to himself that even if they were just chatting, he should have gone to He Lingxiu, not him.

Ji You then wandered around the room for two weeks, asking all sorts of random questions, before bidding it farewell and returning to her own house, where she placed the mosquito stove on the table.

The Heavenly Academy is not far from here, and apart from the aristocratic families who had rushed over earlier, they were among the first to arrive.

At this moment, Ji You had nothing to do, so he began to sit cross-legged on the bed to refine his body, igniting spiritual fire to temper his physical body.

When I opened my eyes again, it was already dusk.

Ji You got up from the bed and heard a series of noisy sounds coming from behind the doors and windows.

So he walked to the window and looked out into the courtyard, where he found a group of cultivators had arrived, instantly turning the once quiet and elegant courtyard into a bustling place.

Sitting on the south side is the He family from Zhongzhou, the same family to which He Lingxiu belongs.

Following them were the Shi family, where Shi Junhao belonged; the Xiao family, where Xiao Hanyan belonged; the Chai family, where Chai Ze belonged; and the Wang, Yu, and Gu families. Everyone gathered here, their faces glowing with happiness as they chatted and laughed.

Besides these families, there were also several other aristocratic families behind the elders, all of whom were ethereal and otherworldly, exuding an air of superiority.

Upon hearing the news, Steward Qin from the Courtyard also came to the courtyard and greeted the heads of these aristocratic families and elders with clasped hands.

They weren't meeting for the first time; judging from their expressions and conversation, they were clearly very familiar with each other.

He even heard people from different families address each other as relatives, such as brother-in-law, cousin, or aunt and uncle.

This is the intricate web of family relationships within Qingyun Tianxia, ​​where everyone is interconnected, like a vast net woven over thousands of years, from which no one can escape.

Ji You listened for a while and then got a little bored, so she pushed open the door and went out to see if there were any potential clients.

Upon seeing him appear in the courtyard, the people who were chatting couldn't help but turn their heads to look.

Ji You was quite famous in Qingyun Tianxia, ​​but not many people had seen his face before, and everyone's eyes were filled with doubt.

However, no one was particularly curious about someone at the Tongxuan Realm, so after watching him leave Rusheng Garden, they returned to their previous topic.

Holding an iron sword, he strolled around the streets with eyes like a tiger.

He would seize any cultivator he caught and make eye contact with them, his gaze filled with intense aggression, causing all the passing cultivators to furrow their brows.

However, no one tried to take action against him or turn him into a client.

No matter how hostile the gazes or how intense the killing intent, no one actually drew their swords or offered silver along the way.

Ji You strolled from Rusheng Garden to Taiping Garden and back again, but didn't encounter a single customer.

Upon closer reflection, Ji You could probably understand this phenomenon of having no customers.

The people in the Sage Garden are mostly geniuses from major families and immortal sects. If you pick one of them, you can probably pull out a whole family behind him.

Therefore, even the most arrogant cultivators have to be more vigilant here than usual.

He can't go around shouting that he's a rural private healer with no powerful backers, and that people should come and beat him up. That wouldn't attract customers; instead, people would think he's crazy.

Ji You stood at the edge of the mountain lake, leaning on his iron sword, gazing at the white jade path.

(End of this chapter)