Chapter 673
On the frost fall of the 3728th year of the cultivation world, Fu Shaoping stood in front of the broken monument at the foot of Mount Qixia, his fingertips stroking the weathered words "Mingde". The sword wound left by the battle in the Black Mist Canyon three years ago was still aching, but what was more painful was the letters of help sent by various sects after the war - a whole generation of young cultivators was almost wiped out.
"Let's do it here." Nangong Wan's voice came from behind. She wore a bun today, a rouge-red skirt with a plain white gauze dress, and seven copper coins on her wrist jingled with her steps.
When Fu Shaoping turned around, he saw her pressing a yellowed map against the broken screen wall. The sunlight penetrated the silk cloth, revealing the dense cinnabar marks between the mountains and rivers. The three brightest red dots formed an equilateral triangle, and they were standing in the center.
"A fragment of the "Map of Mountains, Rivers and States"?" Fu Shaoping raised his eyebrows. This treasure was a secret of the Nangong family. Her uncle Nangong Li blew himself up to protect this map when he was besieged by the Blood Demon Sect.
Nangong Wan condensed a ray of green light on her fingertips and moved along the veins on the map: "The ruins of the old academy are right at the intersection of three spiritual veins. Although the surface buildings are destroyed, the underground 'qi-nourishing' pattern is still there." She suddenly pressed a certain point on the map, and the green light suddenly turned into a flowing flame, "Look here--"
Fu Shaoping's heavy sword "Zhenyue" suddenly came out of its sheath three inches by itself. Where the sword pointed, the ground cracked open and seven different colored clouds and mists emerged. The clouds and mists entangled in the air to form the shape of the Big Dipper, and the sound of reading books could be heard faintly from underground.
"What a strong lingering cultural heritage!" Fu Shaoping knelt on one knee, his palm touching the ground. The scene detected by his spiritual sense made his breathing stagnate slightly - one foot underground, there were 360 green jade bricks neatly stacked, and golden small characters were floating on each brick. It was the lost complete version of "Cultivation Enlightenment".
Nangong Wan's red skirt suddenly moved without wind. She took off the string of copper coins from her waist and threw them into the air. Seven copper coins formed a spoon shape in the air, causing the smoke to slowly rotate. "I'm afraid this was not an ordinary academy back then," she said in a tense voice, "It was the 'Gewuyuan' jointly built by Mohism and Confucianism!"
On the seventh day after the site was chosen, problems arose one after another.
The first thing that broke out was the blockage of spiritual energy. When the craftsmen dug the foundation, the spiritual energy that should have been evenly distributed was stagnant in the southeast corner like jelly, while the northwest corner was dry like a desert. Master Lu, who was in charge of surveying, frowned - in this environment, let alone cultivation, ordinary people would feel dizzy if they stayed for a long time.
"It seems that someone has tampered with the ground veins." Fu Shaoping squatted at the edge of the pit, rubbing his fingertips with some blue soil. The touch of those mechanical toads in the Black Mist Canyon three years ago suddenly emerged in his memory, and he stood up suddenly: "Wan Wan, test the metal content in the soil!"
Nangong Wan was wrapping the compass with the gold thread of her rouge skirt, and upon hearing this, she immediately pulled out her silver hairpin and cut her index finger. The moment the blood drop fell into the center of the compass, the needle began to spin wildly, and finally pointed to the direction of the thatched cottage where they stayed last night.
"Interesting." She suddenly smiled, her red lips curled up in a dangerous arc, "Someone buried the 'Dragon Breaking Nail' under our bed."
At midnight, the two sneaked back to the thatched cottage. Nangong Wan's soul-chasing sand showed that three bronze nails with reverse patterns were nailed into the foundation in a triangular shape, and a miniature mechanical toad was carved on the top of each nail. Fu Shaoping was about to chop down with his heavy sword, but was stopped by Nangong Wan.
"Wait," she took out a phoenix hairpin from her hair, "this nail is both an obstacle and an opportunity." The phoenix's mouth suddenly spurted out green flames, burning the three toads red. Amid the teeth-grinding sound of metal twisting, the nail slowly rose up, bringing out a large amount of sticky spiritual energy.
Fu Shaoping suddenly realized: "They transformed the spirit vein into a 'waterwheel'!" The heavy sword immediately inserted into the ground, and the lightning pattern was guided into the soil along the sword. The accumulated spiritual energy immediately found an outlet and rushed to the arid northwest corner like a spring stream breaking through the ice.
Three days later, a strange sight appeared on the academy's territory: the pond dug in the southeast corner automatically formed the shape of a Tai Chi Yin fish, while the rockery piled up in the northwest corner formed a Yang fish. Master Lu planted ginkgo and red maple trees in the eyes of the Yin-Yang fish, and the two saplings sprouted branches and leaves at a speed visible to the naked eye.
The debate lasted for seven full days while the formation was being arranged.
The formation masters led by Tiangongfang insisted on using the "Nine Stars in a Row" defense formation, believing that the safety of students must be prioritized; while the alchemy practitioners represented by Yaowang Valley advocated the "Hundred Flowers Gathering Spirits" formation, emphasizing the importance of the training environment. The two sides argued in the makeshift straw shed and almost came to blows.
"Shut up, everyone." Fu Shaoping suddenly slammed the table. The buzzing sound of the heavy sword made the straw hut quiet instantly, and everyone realized that Nangong Wan had disappeared without a trace.
Half a quarter of an hour later, she came back with a wet cloth bag and dumped out dozens of bricks engraved with runes. "Look at this." She wiped the sweat from her forehead, "I found it in the lower level of the ruins of the old academy."
Fu Shaoping picked up a brick and his pupils shrank suddenly. The brick was engraved with a modified version of the "Xuan Ji Formation", but the pattern was different from all existing records - the defense nodes and the spirit gathering veins were perfectly integrated, and some structures even adopted the linkage principle of mechanical techniques.
"A relic of the Mohist School of Non-Attack." Nangong Wan used a copper coin to draw a battle formation on the sand table. "Back then, they taught students how to balance defense and attack, stillness and movement."
The final plan shocked everyone: the entire academy was built into a living battle formation teaching material. The main body adopts the "Nine Stars in a Row" defense framework, but each node is equipped with an adjustable spiritual stone slot; Nangong Wan's restored "Xuan Ji" blue bricks are buried under the corridor floor tiles, and students can directly feel the flow of spiritual power when walking; the most amazing thing is the central square, where Fu Shaoping carved a rotatable battle formation disk with a heavy sword, which can simulate 18 classic battle formation changes.
On the eve of the opening, Nangong Wan tested the formation alone until dawn. When she activated the last mechanism, the entire academy was suddenly shrouded in a colorful halo. The carvings on the columns began to rotate slowly, decomposing the moonlight into a pure spiritual drizzle; the maple trees on the rockery moved without wind, and the rustling sound of the leaves formed the rhythm of the "Purifying Heart Mantra".
The day when the teachers were collectively poisoned was the day when the first batch of students were taking their exams.
In the morning, when the cook came to report in panic, the skin of the three lecturers had turned a strange bronze color, and the finger joints of the one with the most serious condition began to make a clicking sound. Nangong Wan recognized at a glance that this was a symptom of puppetization in the late stage of the "Golden Toad Rebellion", and immediately held the wrists of the three people with her rouge skirt.
"The spiritual spring has been polluted." She crushed the tea leaves she found in the lecturer's sleeve, and a golden bug that was almost invisible to the naked eye crawled out of the crumbs. "Someone has poisoned the source."
Fu Shaoping immediately shut off all water sources in the academy. When the heavy sword split the well platform, the well wall was covered with honeycomb-like holes, and in each hole there was a dormant Gu worm curled up. What was even more terrifying was that these worm corpses were put together to form a broken Mohist Juzi Ling pattern.
"It's a warning." Nangong Wan's voice was cold. She suddenly opened her collar, revealing an old sword wound on her collarbone - the old scar from the machine gun in the Black Mist Canyon was now glowing blue.
There was no time to investigate the truth. Three hundred students had gathered in the square, and the most important spiritual power test was about to begin. Fu Shaoping was about to announce the postponement, but he saw Nangong Wan walking to the platform. She took off the copper coin string and threw it into the air. Seven copper coins floated in a circle, and each of them projected the shadows of the lecturers.
"Mirror Flower Water Moon Technique?" Fu Shaoping was stunned. She had only used this forbidden technique that consumed her lifespan twice, at life-threatening moments.
Blood seeped from Nangong Wan's lips, but her voice was as steady as a rock: "The test will proceed as usual." Countless talismans flew out of her sleeves and formed test questions in the air, "Let the students touch the copper coins in order." The test that day created a miracle. Not only did all the processes go smoothly, but the shadow lecturers were not restricted by the flesh and were able to show more exquisite skills. When the last student completed the test, the copper coins suddenly shattered. When Nangong Wan staggered back, she was caught steadily by Fu Shao.
"We found the source." He whispered in her ear and put half of the bronze mechanism fragment into her palm, "It's the remnant of the Golden Toad Chamber of Commerce that escaped the net that year."
Seven days later, the "Chengxin Spring" in the southwest corner of the academy began to gushed out clear water again. Nangong Wan carved the improved "Purification and Turbidity Formation" on the stone wall of the spring, while Fu Shaoping placed the heavy sword at the bottom of the spring forever - the lightning pattern on the sword echoed the formation diagram, forming a natural purification barrier.
The problem of cold enrollment continued until the beginning of summer.
Although the academy prepared generous scholarships, the surviving cultivation families would rather send their children to the sect to do chores than try the new school. In the first three days of the opening, there were less than 20 applicants, most of whom were poor children with mediocre qualifications.
"They are scared." Nangong Wan sat alone in the corridor late at night, turning the silver hairpin that had broken the "Three Corpses Locking Spirit Formation" in his hand, "All the sects claimed to be orthodox in the past, but in the end..."
Fu Shaoping silently spread out the Qingyun Town household register. The post-war statistics were shocking: the survival rate of monks under the age of fifteen was less than 20%, and most of them were still suffering from spiritual trauma. His fingertips stopped at one of the pages - it recorded the names of twelve war orphans, the oldest of whom was only fourteen years old.
At dawn the next day, a three-meter-high arena was set up in front of the academy's gate. Fu Shaoping took off his heavy sword and fought with the monks from all walks of life using only the scabbard. From sunrise to dusk, he defeated 49 challengers in succession, and each time he won with the same "Returning Wind and Brushing Willows" at the tenth move.
"Those who can survive ten moves under Fu Zhenshou's sword," Nangong Wan appeared at the right time, her voice spreading throughout the venue, "the academy provides food and accommodation, and also gives away the first volume of "Thunder Pattern Body Forging Technique." She suddenly lifted the red cloth beside the arena, revealing a giant formation plate that was made overnight, "Those who sign up now can experience the Xuanji Martial Arts Formation."
The crowd was agitated. The formation on the disk was an ancient formation that had been lost for a long time. Even the scripture storages of the major sects only had fragmentary records of it. A thin figure suddenly squeezed out of the crowd. He was one of the orphans recorded in the household register.
"I want to learn this!" The child pointed at the changing sword shadows in the formation, "If I learn it, I can protect the rest of the people, right?"
Nangong Wan half-knelt down to look him in the eye and stuffed the copper coin into his palm: "Yes, and we must teach more people to protect more people." The copper coin suddenly glowed and projected a miniature defense formation in the air - this child actually has a rare affinity for formations.
By the evening of that day, the registration book was filled with seven pages. Fu Shaoping designed a separate course for the twelve orphans under the newly added "special education" item. Nangong Wan took off the three-foot gold thread on her rouge skirt and braided it into twelve hairbands - a simplified version of the "soul-binding rope" that could stabilize the soul.
On the opening day of Qixia Academy, three hundred paper cranes flew in the morning mist.
These gifts from the various sects formed the four characters "正心明德" (right heart, enlightened virtue) in the sky above the square. The most ingenious one was the one from Medicine King Valley - it unfolded into a living spiritual seedling, and took root in the center of the podium as soon as it landed. Just as Fu Shaoping was about to give a speech, the sky suddenly became overcast.
"It looks like a distinguished guest has arrived." Nangong Wan held the copper coin on her waist. She had specially changed into the moon-white Taoist robe she wore back then, but the lining still retained a hint of rouge red.
As the rain poured down, the crowd exclaimed in surprise - the raindrops automatically split three feet above the ground, forming a transparent shield. The students soon discovered that the strength of the shield varied in different areas, which corresponded to the "Nine Palaces Spiritual Energy Distribution" discussed in class yesterday.
"The test phase of the mountain protection formation." Fu Shaoping explained to the guests, while glancing around. When a gray shadow tried to sneak into the warehouse, the heavy sword suddenly flew out and nailed the man to the door panel - it was the fish that escaped the poisonous incident.
Nangong Wan's way of handling the situation was eye-popping. She fed the captive a pill, and then announced in public: "From today on, you will be responsible for the toxicology testing of the medicine testing hall." The puppet symptoms on the man disappeared at a speed visible to the naked eye, and soon his original pretty face was revealed. It turned out to be the daughter of the accountant who defected from the Golden Toad Chamber of Commerce.
At noon, amid the sound of 300 students reciting "Cultivation Enlightenment", Fu Shaoping and Nangong Wan jointly unveiled the plaque of the academy. On the specially made qingtan wood plaque, the word "Qixia" was printed by Nangong Wan in the ancient way from the ruins of the old academy, and the thunder pattern carved by Fu Shaoping with his sword instead of a pen at the end of the signature would automatically practice basic sword moves on a moonlit night.
After the celebration banquet that night, the two climbed up to the highest observatory in the academy. The lights below the mountain were reflected like a starry river, and seven special lanterns were arranged according to the direction of the Big Dipper - they were made by the twelve orphans using the magic they learned during the day.
"Today is just the beginning." Fu Shaoping's hand covered the back of Nangong Wan's hand. Spread out in front of them was the first batch of teaching plans, with Nangong Wan's beautiful small calligraphy written on the first page: "To practice swordsmanship, you must first practice your mind; to break an array, you must know benevolence."
Nangong Wan suddenly chuckled: "Remember our bet? You said that within ten years, a Nascent Soul cultivator would be born here."
"Change your mind now?"
"No," she pointed to the orphans who were practicing swordplay in the square, "I'll bet on five years."
The night wind blew across the observatory, and I turned to the next page of the lesson plan. There was a strange blueprint there - it was both a plan for the expansion of the academy and a structural diagram of some large-scale magic weapon. There were two lines of words on the edge of the blueprint:
"Forge the world into a scabbard
"Cultivate positive energy and make it sharp"
Qixia Academy has been open for three months and is gradually getting on track.
The first batch of students totaled more than 300 people, divided into four colleges: Tian, Di, Xuan, and Huang. Each college had different teaching methods. Tian College focused on swordsmanship, taught by Fu Shaoping; Di College studied formations, supervised by Nangong Wan; Xuan College was proficient in elixirs and talismans, and hired Xu Yun, a retired elder from Yaowang Valley; Huang College specialized in mechanical devices, and was led by Liu Qingshuang, the daughter of the accountant of the Jinchan Chamber of Commerce who was "recruited".
At first, many cultivation families were still on the sidelines, but as the first batch of students made rapid progress, the doubts gradually disappeared. In particular, the twelve war orphans were extremely talented and had successfully established their foundation in just three months, far surpassing their peers. Among them, the little girl named "Aning" could even activate the Xuanji formation with her bare hands, attracting many major sects to come and watch.
However, beneath the calm, undercurrents surge. (End of this chapter)