I proved immortality through the imperial examination.

Chapter 81 Lord of Mingde Cave
"Of course it's not bad. The famous technique of the Vajra Elder, when ordinary people draw spiritual energy into their bodies, only requires the power to be exerted through thirteen hidden acupoints."

Cultivating the Nebula Overlord Body Technique opens up the acupoints like a nebula, allowing all seventy-two hidden acupoints to simultaneously draw spiritual energy into the body.

This method draws spiritual energy to temper the body and also has the miraculous effect of strengthening the physical body, hence the name, the Overlord Body Technique.

However, it is extremely difficult to master.

You yourself said earlier that you don't care about the difficulty, only the effect.

"Long live Senior Brother!"

He did say that he didn't care about the difficulty, as long as the technique was good.

He has already set his sights on the scroll of portraits of sages in the Faculty of Arts.

Even the most difficult cultivation technique can be mastered by simply using the Spirit Realm Rejuvenation Technique.
………………

After leaving Jiufen Mountain, he returned directly to Suiyang Town and immediately sought out Xun Sizhou to convert the west wing into a refining room.

The protective shield was bought by him from a stall at the Suiyang ferry crossing; it was somewhat damaged.

However, the stall owner tested it on the spot and found that the protective array was reasonably effective. Within the range of the array, at least swords and knives could not damage the walls, doors, or windows.

With the blessing of a simple protective array, his home-based, beggar's-version refining room was completed.

Having just obtained the Nebula Overlord Body Technique, Xue Xiang was burning with excitement. He told Liu Mei not to disturb them if anyone came looking for them, and to go to Wang Anshi for everything.

After retreating into the refining room, Xue Xiang sat cross-legged and read through the Nebula Overlord Body Technique twice, thus gaining a basic understanding of its principles.

He began practicing according to the method, but the trial ended when he lost control of his spiritual energy at the very beginning.

As Xie Haiya said, such divine skills are extremely difficult to cultivate.

Xue Xiang was greatly discouraged when he failed to traverse the first two acupoints, and immediately gave up on cultivation, only able to rely on the portrait of a sage in the Academy of Literature.

Xue Xiang accepted the jade pendant and began to guide the spirit into his body.

After tempering the body with literary energy, the efficiency of attracting spirits has improved, but it is still not as good as when one has a blessed spiritual realm.

Unexpectedly, as soon as the Spirit Guiding Technique was activated, the spirit stones in the Nebula Box visibly vaporized, and all the spiritual power poured into the Literary Palace.

Xue Xiang was shocked. As soon as his mind entered the literary palace, he saw the literary energy ball transform into a white light and envelop him in it in an instant.

In an instant, a chaotic burst of light filled the sky, accompanied by thunderous explosions, as if to crush his will.

Unaware of the situation, Xue Xiang hurriedly recited the "Xue Er" chapter of the Analects.

This is the experience he has gained from dealing with literary talent.

It is unclear whether his recitation had an effect, or whether the anomaly was simply meant to end there.

After he was enveloped in a white light, his mind gradually calmed down.

At the same time as the literary atmosphere in Xue Xiangwen Palace underwent a dramatic change, the Star River Bell in the Star River Temple of Canglan Academy rang intensely.

Ni Quanwen, the Palace and Temple Commissioner; He Changqing, the Palace and Temple Deputy Commissioner; Deng Fangzong, the Education Commissioner; Kong Yourong, the Scripture Commissioner; Wei Fan, the Elder of Hongwen; Pei Wei, the Abbot of Xinghe Temple; and the six academy masters of the Six Arts Academy all appeared almost simultaneously.

The last time this group of people gathered together was when the city's civil service exams ended.

It hasn't been long since then, and the academy leaders, who used to only see each other a few times a year, are meeting again.

The crowd exchanged bewildered glances, all turning to look at Pei Wei, the abbot of Xinghe Temple.

Pei Weiguang's sleeves fluttered, his expression excited. With a wave of his sleeve, a jade pendant was inserted into the array eye of the altar. Suddenly, the ceiling of the entire stargazing room transformed into a map of a vast starry river.

The Milky Way shines brightly, its surface shimmering like water.

Pei Wei waved his hand rapidly, and the Star River Map quickly enlarged, a streak of light shining in the southwest.

Pei Wei quickly calculated the coordinates with his fingers, "Zhongzhou, Bohai County, Wenxu has appeared."

Upon hearing this, everyone's expression instantly changed.

Wenxu was formed when the sage, through his literary lineage, aligned with the Way of Heaven. At that time, the southeastern sky tilted, and the sage plucked stars to use as stones to mend it.

The 108 stones left behind to mend the sky transformed into the Blessed Land of Literature and Ruins, a legend passed down through the ages.

Countless ordinary people have, by chance, achieved fame and renown throughout the long course of history.

However, Heaven is merciless, and most of the 108 blessed lands of literature and art were destroyed.

But the Wenxu Blessed Land, which has been passed down through generations, has produced countless legendary figures.

"Wenxu, is it really Wenxu? When was the last time Wenxu appeared? It was sixty years ago, wasn't it? This time, Wenxu has reappeared, and our Canglan Academy cannot sit idly by."

"Yes, not to mention that the Wenxu Platform in the Wenxu Blessed Land is an unparalleled treasure, its ability to evade the three calamities and avoid the six calamities alone is enough to make any power envious."

“The sage is supremely sagacious and ruthless, regarding all things under heaven as straw dogs. Before the literary tradition aligned with the Way of Heaven, which Qi cultivator did not have a long lifespan?”

Even after a sage unites with the Heavenly Dao, those who reach the Foundation Establishment stage live no more than a hundred years, those who reach the Core Formation stage no more than two hundred, and those who reach the Nascent Soul stage rarely live past three hundred. The higher one ascends, the more turbulent the heavenly tribulations become; the path is arduous, truly arduous.

"I think this is what it means for a sage to have compassion. We, on the other hand, have presumptuously stolen the secrets of heaven and yearned for immortality. To put it bluntly, it's nothing more than greed—a greed for life. If every great cultivator had an endless lifespan, this world would probably have been devoured by us long ago."

"Old Wei is making a big deal out of this again. So, should we keep our eyes on Wenxu or not?"

"Of course I'll keep an eye on it. When I say that the sage has feelings, I don't mean that I should die early. If I could obtain the Wenxu, I might even achieve the Nascent Soul stage and live for another hundred years. I haven't had enough of the dog meat at Dongxinglou and the beauties at Lü'e Pavilion yet."

"Stop nagging, Lao Pei. Can you hurry up? If the Star River Road is any slower, it'll be too late."

"Don't rush us. The Literary Dao Stele is already so badly damaged. It's good enough that we can open the Star River Road and take a shortcut." After a series of actions by Pei Wei, the abbot of the Star River Temple, the star map on the ceiling suddenly emitted a dazzling white light.

In a flash, everyone disappeared.

The next instant, the group from Canglan Academy appeared on a boundless sea, with azure waters, blue skies, and surging waves.

Before everyone had even landed, the sea suddenly split in two, and a terrifying curtain of water roared in like a sharp sword.

Ni Quanwen lightly waved his sleeve, and an invisible wall of energy blocked the water vapor. The sky-covering water curtain roared and surged against a hundred-foot cliff, causing the cliff to crack and boulders to fly everywhere.

No one spoke. The group flew through the air until they reached the place where the water vapor was whistling. There they saw hundreds of people standing near a cliff a thousand feet high.

The cliff face resembles a seated Buddha, towering majestically, with a strange light emanating from the Buddha's left eye.

One person rode a hundred-foot-long azure dragon, separating hundreds of people from the cliff face.

"Zhongli Mei! Wasn't it rumored that he had perished?"

"Even this Nascent Soul stage monster has come. I should have invited Elder Zhang over instead of letting Old Monster Zhong enjoy the glory all to himself."

"Distant water cannot quench immediate thirst; who can rival it?"

"........."

The students of Canglan Academy immediately lost their enthusiasm.

Then Zhongli Mei cupped his hands toward the place where the strange light was flashing and said loudly, "I am Zhongli Mei, and I come to ask Wenxu for guidance. I would like to ask you to show yourself and give me some pointers."

"What is Old Monster Zhong doing? Challenging the Lord of Wenxu?"

Pan Weijie, the academy's headmaster, is just over forty years old and is a true young talent among the students of Canglan Academy.

He really didn't know much about these ancient legends.

Elder Hongwen Wei Fandao said, "When the Wenxu appears in the world, there are usually two situations."

One version is that the original owner had been gone for too long, and Wenxu was discovered through a fortuitous encounter.

Another possibility is that the original owner hid in Wenxu to avoid natural disasters, but became weak and dying, making it difficult to move, and was eventually discovered.

The second scenario is more common, and this presents an excellent opportunity to seize the Wenxu Blessed Land.

"Since you do not answer, fellow Daoist, please do not blame me for being impolite."

After Zhongli Mei shouted loudly, he clasped his hands together, and a dazzling halo of light appeared, with spiritual energy soaring straight into the sky.

Suddenly, dark clouds rolled in, a strong wind arose, torrential rain poured down, and thunder flashed, as if a heavenly calamity had descended.

A wisp of green light flashed across Zhongli Mei's face. He gritted his teeth, swallowed with both hands, and a halo shot out, striking the left eye of the seated Buddha.

Suddenly, the sea surface sank violently, the thousand-foot cliff shook violently, and huge waves tens of feet high rose from the sea.

Suddenly, the area around the left eye of the seated Buddha collapsed, revealing a hole. Golden light burst forth, auspicious clouds swirled around, and beneath the green gourd vines at the entrance of the hole, the words "Mingde Dongxuan" were clearly written.

"It is the blessed land of Mingde Dongxuan. The previous owner, according to records, was the Elder Hangu."

"Could it be that after the passing of Elder Hangu, this Mingde Dongxuan Blessed Land has been without anyone to inherit the Dao?"

"........."

In an instant, a clamor of discussion arose.

"Something feels off to me. The ruins of Elder Hangu just collapsed, and this Ten Directions Golden Light Literary Ruins Blessed Land has already appeared. Could it be that the destruction of Elder Hangu's lingering will is the trigger for the appearance of this Ten Directions Golden Light Literary Ruins Blessed Land?"

Wei Fan slapped his thigh and said, "If I had known this would happen, I would have risked my life to extract a strand of the cultural lineage from the Han Valley Ruins."

"Why?"

Pan Weijie asked in a low voice.

Wei Fan said, "Wenxu is a blessed land, and it also emphasizes the inheritance of cultural heritage."

If the Elder of Hangu is indeed the former Master of Mingde Dongxuan, after his death, the Confucian scholars who had extracted literary energy in the Hangu ruins would be the most likely to gain recognition from the Mingde Dongxuan Literary Ruins.

After all, the literary cultivation that Elder Hangu had devoted his life to had already left a deep imprint on the blessed land of Mingde Cave Mystery Literary Ruins.

The literary energy extracted from the Hangu Ruins all originated from the literary energy left behind by the Elder Hangu, forming the literary vein of the Heavenly Heart.

Therefore, those Confucian scholars are the strong contenders to inherit the blessed land of Mingde Dongxuan Wenxu.

Pan Weijie nodded, "I understand. Presumably, they extracted literary energy from the Hangu Ruins. If someone said they extracted literary veins from the Hangu Ruins, that would be even more incredible."

The former is the godson, the latter is the biological son, and the latter is the natural heir.

"What a pity, we didn't bring the Confucian scholars who participated in the Hangu Ruins trial last time."

Ni Quanwen sighed, "What good is bringing them? Can they still compete with Old Monster Zhong?"
I think he's determined to win.

"Lord of the Bright Virtue Cave, appear at once!"

Zhongli Mei remained motionless, standing a hundred feet away from the cave entrance, and shouted loudly.

His shout was like a rolling thunderclap, making Xue Xiang's ears ring.

(End of this chapter)