The White Jade Mountain stood amidst the ruins, its pristine surface gleaming with crystalline brilliance. Millions of ancient characters shimmered like stars, radiating dazzling light.
Shi Hao and the others had already ascended to the summit, drawn by the allure of the 108 ancient characters. They had learned that these symbols possessed unfathomable divine power, and all coveted them.
Unfortunately, as the Fourth Elder had mentioned, the mountaintop was missing a section—its surface unnaturally smooth, as if cleaved off by a peerless weapon.
This was an event from the Immortal Ancient Era, beyond the reach of memory. No one could trace how it had been lost, leaving them with nothing but sighs of regret.
“You need not despair too much,” the Fourth Elder said. “The Nine Heavens and Ten Earths still hide unopened immortal abodes. Perhaps one day, when you grow strong enough and cultivate a purer immortal aura, you may explore them and uncover the ultimate immortal scriptures.”
Hope kindled in their hearts. After all, these were merely characters—surely more than one jade mountain legacy remained. There must be others.
They dared not underestimate these symbols. At the pinnacle of cultivation, each character could become a weapon, a divine ability—especially the final 108, which contained the essence of the Immortal Ancient Era, a crystallization of an entire civilization’s legacy.
“Enough. Do not aim too high too soon. Begin with the most basic characters. Ponder and meditate on them, and only ask me when you truly cannot comprehend,” the Fourth Elder advised.
He also revealed that the White Jade Mountain had been refined by him and the other elders, infused with their spiritual imprints. These imprints could be triggered to aid their understanding.
Elated, the group nodded and began their study.
At first, they assumed it would be easy—after all, they were all at the Heavenly God level, their divine senses sharp enough to nearly memorize anything at a glance. But as time passed, they frowned. These were not mere characters but fragments of the Great Dao, containing profound truths.
What could be more complex than the “Dao”? Indescribable, formless, beyond words.
These characters were vessels of the Dao, tangible traces of the primordial Great Dao, a relatively precise depiction of its essence.
Mastering them meant grasping the fundamental truths of heaven and earth, bringing immense benefits to one’s cultivation.
“These are treasures—we must master them!” Shi Hao declared.
The Great Dao could be expressed through bone texts and recorded with these characters. Cross-referencing the two would yield incalculable rewards.
**Boom!**
Amid their contemplation, a violent tremor shook the mountain. A young cultivator who had refined immortal qi coughed up blood, sent flying from the White Jade Mountain.
The crowd gasped. As he studied the ancient characters, a monstrous creature wreathed in flames had emerged, its horns piercing the heavens. The shockwave had injured him.
A mere cluster of ancient characters, misunderstood during study, had caused such devastation—truly alarming.
Of course, it was also because he had failed to comprehend them and recklessly triggered the elders’ spiritual imprints, unleashing the characters’ full power and repelling him.
The onlookers marveled. A single character, wielded correctly, held such might. What terrifying power would a million such characters unleash when combined and deployed skillfully?
They also realized that while the White Jade Mountain contained the elders’ imprints to aid comprehension, it also harbored dangers—likely left intentionally as a test.
Days passed, and each made progress.
**Boom!**
Another deafening explosion erupted. Before Lü Tuo, thousands of ancient characters swirled, glowing around him before transforming into ten heavenly dragons that coiled around him, threatening to tear him apart.
“Impressive. He’s already learned to wield them flexibly—though at the risk of endangering himself,” the Fourth Elder remarked.
Lü Tuo had deciphered thousands of characters in such a short time—a remarkable feat.
By inscribing and arranging the characters, he had activated the elders’ imprints, summoning the ten dragon-shaped manifestations.
**Boom!**
In the end, the dragons shattered, torn apart by Lü Tuo’s body. Blood stained the void before dissolving back into light, reforming into characters.
Lü Tuo swayed, his face flushed, but soon steadied himself.
Many sighed. A supreme being with three strands of immortal qi was truly peerless, his strength beyond reason.
“This is nothing—just the most basic characters. Only by mastering a million symbols and further refining their arrangements can their true power be unleashed,” Lü Tuo murmured.
Some had no retort. For an Heavenly God, his performance was nothing short of extraordinary.
**Boom!**
Near Wang Xi, golden plants materialized, each gleaming like forged gold, their roots anchored in the void. Thousands of tendrils cascaded toward her, solidifying into chains of order, seeking to bind and crush her.
Clearly, these too were manifestations of thousands of ancient characters, now a lethal threat.
Wang Xi, her beauty ethereal, swayed as her waist-length hair fluttered. Under immense pressure, three strands of immortal qi erupted from her crown, igniting the golden ancient trees and restoring calm.
Each person studying the characters faced unique trials.
Most strikingly, near the Banished Immortal, stars appeared, followed by an ancient cosmos that descended upon him, shrouding him beneath its weight.
The scene was mystical, wreathed in chaotic energy as a nascent universe took shape, ebbing and flowing.
“This youth is extraordinary. Could he be the disciple of that senior—the one who perished hundreds of millennia ago?” The Fourth Elder’s eyes blazed with astonishment.
“Has the pressure of thousands of characters forced his immortal seed to manifest?” he mused aloud.
Others were equally stunned. The space around the cosmos cracked apart.
It wasn’t until the Ten Crown King, wielding a sapling that exuded wisps of chaotic energy, unleashed thousands of radiant beams—having deciphered countless characters—that the crowd snapped back to reality.
“A World Tree sapling!” The Fourth Elder’s heart raced. Though he had known, seeing it still stirred awe.
The Ten Crown King could not conceal it. Upon entering the academy, the elders had discerned the sapling within him—a supreme immortal treasure impossible to hide.
Thus, he made no effort to mask it now. Speed and precision in comprehension were all that mattered.
Silently, in another direction, a stunning woman in white, ethereal as the Moon Goddess descended, stood out. As she meditated, a blue moon materialized above her head.
Where its light touched, all ancient characters glowed, flying toward Qing Yi and merging into her body, granting her enlightenment.
The crowd gaped in disbelief. What was this?
No one had expected Qing Yi to decipher the most characters—surpassing even Shi Hao and Mo Dao. She had already grasped over ten thousand.
“What is the origin of that blue moon?” they wondered. It seemed to recognize every character, its light plucking them effortlessly from the jade surface.
“A fire seed left behind by a fallen True Immortal—what mortals call an ancient supreme flame. Why has it remained by her side, never leaving?” Even the Fourth Elder was baffled.
Then he glanced back at the Ten Crown King’s sapling.
“Since you’ve seen it, I might as well explain,” the Fourth Elder sighed, his expression grave. He transmitted his voice to all: “By choosing the path of Immortal Ancient cultivation, there are fundamental truths you must understand.”
The crowd listened intently.
“To cultivate the Immortal Ancient method, one must select an immortal seed—a companion for evolution. The more extraordinary the seed, the greater the achievement upon merging with the Dao!”
**Whoosh!**
All eyes turned to the Ten Crown King’s sapling, wreathed in immortal qi. They were not ignorant of immortal seeds; rumors of using a World Tree as one were legendary.
That was undoubtedly a supreme immortal seed!
At the same time, they marveled at Qing Yi’s Blue Moon Flame. Could a True Immortal of antiquity truly return to life?
“The finest seeds are naturally the World Tree, nascent universes, and the like. But such treasures are met by chance, not pursuit. Even eternal beings may fail to secure them for their descendants,” the Fourth Elder lamented.
For a moment, envy and jealousy toward the Ten Crown King burned fiercely.
“Soon, I will lead you to seek your own immortal seeds,” the Fourth Elder announced.
“Are there World Trees or cosmic seeds there?” someone asked.
“The universe teems with wonders, many beyond our knowledge. It’s not impossible to find things rivaling the World Tree or nascent universes,” he replied, offering hope.
“Where can they be found?” Skepticism lingered, but hope prevailed.
“The Realm Tomb!” the Fourth Elder declared.
The name sent shivers through the crowd, sparking wild imaginings.
“You must grow stronger, strive to surpass, and not fall behind the other two academies,” the Fourth Elder urged.
“Other academies?” They were stunned.
“Indeed—the Sacred Academy and the Immortal Academy,” he confirmed.
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