Chapter 320: Longing in July

The old gentleman Ouyuan Gong has aged quite a bit more; his face is covered in wrinkles, and age spots have even begun to appear.

The Wooden Staff is no longer just a decoration for him; every day he comes slowly and leisurely, finishes his lecture, and then leaves just as slowly and leisurely. Approaching the limits of his life, what remains unchanged from before is that sense of composure. Time and Spirit Decay seem to have only eroded his body, which is a completely different state of mind from those young people who crave immortality at a tender age, or the emperors who fear death when they reach their twilight years.

This semester, the old gentleman used a loudspeaker for the first time.

It is a microphone worn on the ear, with a square little speaker placed on the podium, which other teachers also often use in large lectures.

"The Twin Universe theory is quite marvelous. It is different from the parallel universe conjecture; parallel universes exist only in 'conjecture,' while the Twin Universe theory is the result proposed by Mr. Ling Boxin through observation, calculation, and combining conjectures. If you have all read the book I recommended to you in your freshman year, you might have some understanding of the Twin Universe and Mr. Ling Boxin's observational perspective and methods..."

"Thinking about it, everyone is already a senior now; time passes so quickly..."

"Ahem, let me briefly mention—"

"The so-called Twin Universe is a conjecture proposed by Mr. Ling Boxin after observing the contradictions between the influence he calls 'Spiritual Power' and the details of the operation and development of worldly things that he calls the 'Collection of Corrections': our universe is naturally divided into two parts. Perhaps they are the left and right sides, so every Plane will be divided into a Zuoweimian and a Youweimian, with the left and right planes developing independently, and when differences arise, they tend to synchronize under the influence of 'Spiritual Power.' Perhaps they are the front and rear sides, so every Plane will be divided into a Qianweimian and a Rear Plane, with the two planes having a certain time difference, one in front and one behind, with the Rear Plane always following the Qianweimian under the influence of Spiritual Power, until the Qianweimian encounters an irresistible setback, and then the Rear Plane comes to avoid it..."

"Mr. Ling Boxin proposed in his book, 'Conjectures on Twin Planes and Transmigration,' that perhaps there really are transmigrators in this world, and they are very likely to have come from another plane."

"For example, who?"

The old gentleman looked at the students in the classroom.

Watching everyone clamoring the name of Shengzu in a chaotic manner, only one young woman curled the corners of her mouth slightly; he also smiled along with everyone and continued to say:

"This conjecture is actually rarely accepted, but look, everyone, how broad Mr. Ling Boxin's vision and thinking are, and the process by which Mr. Ling Boxin proposed and verified this conjecture is also quite extraordinary, consuming his entire life. I hope that you all can also possess this spirit of careful observation, bold conjecture, and cautious verification that Mr. Ling Boxin had. Daring to devote energy to an idea, whether it is a research idea or an idea in life, is in itself a very remarkable thing."

This was the only class Ning Qing listened to seriously today; otherwise, in other classes, she could not help but let her mind wander.

"Ding-a-ling..."

The bell for the end of class rang.

This is the break time between two short sessions.

"..."

Ning Qing was silent, closed her book, and placed a fountain pen in the middle to mark the page number. She raised her right hand, propped up her chin, and turned her head to look out the window.

The leaves outside the window were beginning to turn yellow, and with them, the early autumn sunlight also became mottled.

If this year were the same as previous years, perhaps they would be sitting on the swing in the courtyard now, perhaps they would be strolling on campus, perhaps they would go outside the city to admire the autumn, or perhaps he would have made her angry again, and if the water was full, she would prank him once.

The sweet osmanthus in the school was about to bloom again.

It would be August soon. I heard that Ling'an Academy is going to hold a very lively party for the Mid-Autumn Festival this year; I wonder if he will come back.

He is a person who likes to join in the fun.

Ning Qing thought quietly, her expression gentle and serene. The sunlight spilled in through the window, shining on her face, which had the texture of white, exquisite jade carving.

Students who occasionally passed by her would catch an inadvertent glimpse and could not help but exclaim in admiration.

Not knowing what she thought of, Ning Qing suddenly took out her Mobile Phone, aimed it at the morning sunlight outside the window and the treetops that had just begun to turn yellow, pressed the shutter button a few times, then picked the one she felt looked the most pleasing, and sent it to Chen Shu.

Many messages had already been sent in the chat window.

It was now August.

The Divine Power within the Forbidden Land was becoming thinner day by day, and the level of danger had reached its peak.

Chen Shu and the Moonlit Nüxia had just finished a fight.

Relying on their gradually increasing cultivation and increasingly refined combat techniques, they could now almost guarantee a win when facing weaker Seven-Tier Cultivators. However, this Nüxia loved to challenge the limits of her combat power, so they walked on the edge of victory and defeat every time.

This match was won, but it was a pyrrhic victory.

The two of them, one took healing medicine and was recuperating, while the other closed their eyes and focused on cultivation.

Time passed bit by bit.

Chen Shu opened his eyes and ended his cultivation.

The Moonlit Nüxia opened her eyes along with him.

"Are you done?"

"Mm."

Chen Shu gave a hum, then calculated the time: "It's already August now, right? We've been in for more than sixty days. When do you plan to go out?"

"The time it takes for the Calamity-Facing Bodhisattva to pass the Forbidden Land's trials and fuse with the origin is about eighty to ninety days."

"So?"

"At least late August."

"Late August, huh..."

"What about you?"

"I need to get out a bit earlier."

"Why?"

"Ling'an Academy is going to hold a party for the Mid-Autumn Festival that is said to be unprecedented, and they are inviting many celebrities..."

"You follow celebrities?"

"Occasionally. Mostly I want to take my sisters to see it and spend the Mid-Autumn Festival together."

"Understood..."

The Moonlit Nüxia nodded. With a mask covering her face, her expression could not be seen: "Then you should go when you need to. It will be almost at the end by then anyway. I happen to want to challenge my own limits alone. With you here, although I can experience the feeling of fighting a Seventh Stage, it is always just a little bit off."

"You want to solo a Seventh Stage?"

"We'll see."

"Alright..."

Chen Shu stood up and entered a state of Spirit Power silence to avoid being discovered.

The Moonlit Nüxia also removed the isolation barrier.

The two of them quickly ran toward the edge of the Forbidden Land.

At the same time, in other parts of the Forbidden Land—

Zhang Suannai wore a set of black light armor that outlined the curves of her figure; holding a Long Sword in one hand, she relied on the sharpness of her Divine Sword and the sturdiness of her divine armor to face a Seventh Stage Resurrected One alone without falling behind... She was very satisfied with her progress over the past two months or so, and determined that once she got out, she would find Chen Shu for another fight.

Dharma Master Tongdeng hid underground, his entire person covered by an illusory golden bell, which allowed him to avoid being discovered.

Master Xuanzhen also relied on the supreme treasure of Yuan'an Temple to brush past the surrounding Resurrected Ones each time; although the method he used was different from Dharma Master Tongdeng's, the two were equally steady, hiding away to focus on cultivation.

A white tiger had already revealed its true form, lying quietly under the shade of a tree; it had been lying there for some time, its corpse mangled and devoid of all life.

Jiang Lai, Yan Keling, and the fox demon had already withdrawn from the Forbidden Land.

By this time, the Divine Power within the Forbidden Land was very thin, the gains had decreased, and the risks had risen sharply, so after discussion, they decided to withdraw from the Forbidden Land to operate in the relatively safe area outside, taking the opportunity to search for some rare heavenly treasures not commonly seen in the outside world.

Over these past few days, the harvest had been quite bountiful.

Even when split equally among the three parties, each could still receive a significant amount.

Yan Keling needed to use many heavenly treasures during her cultivation process, so every time there was a harvest, she picked first. Jiang Lai had the weakest strength, but if they encountered heavenly treasures helpful for a Martial Artist's body tempering, he also had priority. The fox demon was a descendant of the Fox God and did not lack these things; he was only interested in heavenly treasures that were already extinct or extremely rare in the outside world, and otherwise, he only took what the others left behind.

As time moved forward, even the danger level outside the Forbidden Land was rising sharply, and they had to be cautious, fearing they might overturn the cart if they were careless.

"I told you, we should have come out earlier."

The voice of the green-clad sword cultivator was still noisy in Jiang Lai's mind: "Look at you all, searching in the Forbidden Land for so long and taking so many beatings, yet you haven't found your companions or any suitable High-Tier exotic beasts. It would have been better to come out early to make some money; if you want to obtain the essence blood of a suitable High-Tier exotic beast, go work for the imperial court... Besides, isn't this little girl a disciple of the Imperial Sect? Does the Imperial Sect lack exotic beast essence blood?"

Jiang Lai remained silent, carrying a long spear and a Long Sword on his back, walking while staying alert to his surroundings.

"Ah..."

Yan Keling's voice came from ahead, kept very low: "Millennial Spirit Jade Knot Fragrance..."

Jiang Lai and the fox demon looked over at the same time.

Sure enough—

On the ground ahead grew a large patch of Spirit Jade Knot Fragrance, larger and with thicker stems than what Jiang Lai had seen during the Hunting Festival; the petals were like jade, the spiritual energy was dense, and perhaps it had truly been growing here for a thousand years.

"So beautiful..."

Yan Keling whispered in admiration.

"It's over!"

The voice of the green-clad sword cultivator rang out in Jiang Lai's mind: "Congratulations, you've fallen into the encirclement of the Resurrected Ones. I, Third Master, warned you long ago; although these Resurrected Ones have rusty brains and extreme ideologies, they still have brains. Oh, congratulations, the Three Origins Method has just reappeared, only to be lost again..."

"Shut up!"

The heavy-armored soldier rebuked.

Jiang Lai pulled his vigilance to the maximum, looking left and right, but discovered nothing.

However, the forest lord let out a low growl.

"!!"

Yan Keling did not hesitate:

"Danger! Run!"

The two people and one demon retreated instantly.

However, many figures had already appeared in the forest; some flickered among the trees, some flew at low altitudes, and they were gradually closing in on them.

"Whoosh..."

The figures of Yan Keling and the fox demon had already taken to the air.

Both the person and the demon flew quite high, fleeing in separate directions without using their full strength—

Due to the excellence of modern Flying Spells and the outstanding talent of the person and the demon, among the Sixth Stage Resurrected Ones who died here, except for a few Sixth Stage Peak ones or Traditional Sword Cultivators skilled in flight, very few were faster than them. Therefore, they had already agreed that if they encountered an encirclement they couldn't beat, Yan Keling and the fox demon would lead the surrounding Resurrected Ones away. At least they would lead away a portion to prevent Jiang Lai from being surrounded, and after they escaped, they would double back to help Jiang Lai out of the siege.

"Swish..."

In the blink of an eye, the two figures were gone.

Jiang Lai remained silent, concealing his figure.

The feeling of being a burden made Jiang Lai feel somewhat uncomfortable.

"Feeling bad?"

The green-clad sword cultivator's voice: "I sometimes wonder too, why is it that Martial Artists are inferior to Cultivators? Haha, well, they really are inferior..."

"Shut up!"

The heavy-armored soldier interrupted the green-clad sword cultivator again: "Be careful, hide well, there is still one Cultivator who hasn't left!"

"It's over."

The green-clad sword cultivator's tone remained flippant: "Looking at their flight speed just now, it's most likely? I, Third Master, have enjoyed everything there is to enjoy, of course, and I died long ago..."

"Shut up!"

The heavy-armored soldier rebuked again.

Jiang Lai did not say a word, putting down the long spear and Long Sword from his back, clenching his fists, and calmly loosening his muscles and bones.