Chapter 767: Imperial University

Chapter 767: Imperial University

Plumdark leaned up against the railing of the pill workshop in Ningyan’s mansion, looking off at the planet in the distance. “Ancient Emperor Dark Serenity’s original imperial palace is now the location where all human ancestral sacrifices are offered. I can sense that the lamp... is there. In the depths of Planet Ancient Emperor.”

It was evening, and the cloud cover on the planet was the golden color of dusk. There were golden dragons drifting through the clouds, inhaling and exhaling flows of energy that were both holy and mysterious.

“I tried calling out to it, but it didn’t work. The lamp is protected by a very powerful warding spell that keeps it very firmly in place.... If I want to get it, I’ll have to go to the planet itself.

“Based on what I could sense, the sealing marks covering the planet consist of some that always existed, and some that were added in later generations. If I try to force my way in, it will cause a big scene. If I want to get it without anyone realizing it, I need to find an opportunity to get onto the planet unnoticed.”

Plumdark frowned. Opportunities like that weren’t exactly common. But what was of greater significance was the question of... what was the lamp doing on Planet Ancient Emperor? Plumdark looked at Xu Qing and refrained from asking that most pertinent of questions. She didn’t want him distracted by it.

Xu Qing was also looking thoughtfully at Planet Ancient Emperor. Plumdark had found the lamp, only for it to be located somewhere that was virtually impossible to reach. It was a far too sensitive and important place, and it was kept under tight guard. He literally couldn’t go there.

Taking into consideration all humans, there was only one person who could go to Planet Ancient Emperor. And that was the emperor. Only he could open the seals.

The reality was that Xu Qing had already started thinking about the things that Plumdark had held back from saying out loud. Someone had taken that lamp and placed it on Planet Ancient Emperor. It was a strange affair. If you analyzed the situation from the very beginning, there were many possibilities regarding who might have taken the lamp. But in the end, there was only one type of person who could have put it on Planet Ancient Emperor, and that was an emperor. Had an emperor taken the lamp? Perhaps not. But... it was definitely an emperor who put it on the planet. And asking the reigning emperor for the lamp obviously wasn’t an option.

After some thought, Xu Qing said, “Actually, there’s another person who can go to Planet Ancient Emperor.”

Plumdark turned to look at him.

“On the way here,” he continued, “Princess Anhai mentioned that there’s someone besides the emperor who can participate in the ancestral sacrifices. The crown prince. Except that there’s no crown prince right now. If there was, and that crown prince was willing to help, then we might have that chance to get onto the planet.”

Xu Qing looked away from the ancient planet.

Plumdark smiled. Turning to look in the direction of the mansion’s shrine hall, she softly said, “There’s a way to get onto the planet without causing a stir, but I need to make some preparations. As for your idea, if you’re thinking of trying to help Ningyan become the crown prince, that seems difficult. He’s a good kid, but an effort like that is nothing to take lightly.”

As for Ningyan, he had just finished a session of cultivation and was seated cross-legged in front of his mother’s portrait in the shrine hall. After resting for a bit, his eyes gleamed with determination, and he started another cultivation session. For him, the experience of seeking enlightenment on Planet Ancient Emperor had been an unforgettable experience. All his brothers and sisters had all benefited in some way, albeit not all of them got heavenly marquis legacies. In contrast, he hadn’t acquired anything. Although it seemed on the surface that he didn’t care about that, the reality was that he wasn’t willing to settle for nothing.

Seven days passed.

The white towers were the different schools of thought that made up the Imperial University. The height of each individual tower corresponded to how many people were members of that specific school of thought. Some of the tallest towers had people streaming in and out constantly. There were other towers that most people walked past without even looking at.

In some cases, students would stand at the entrance of their own tower and try to get others to join them.

“Hey, you! Come check out our Spirit Forging School. The technique of spirit forging is all about the concept of the soul taking flight. Our fleshly bodies are mere vessels. Only by cultivating the soul to the highest level can we reach true transcendence and create heavenly daos.”

“Of all the schools of thought in the Imperial University, our Heavenly Person School is one of the most profound. There are three types of people: heavenly, earthly, and mortal. They correspond to three levels. If you come to the Heavenly Person School, you can transform from mortal to earthly, and then rise from earthly to heavenly. You can gain enlightenment of all living things and all types of plants and vegetation!"

“According to the old saying, there are a total of 3,000 daos, none of which are stronger or weaker than the others. Even though the dao of plants and vegetation is considered unorthodox, it can still be used to pluck stars. We welcome you to come learn about our Grand School of Plants and Vegetation!”

As Xu Qing walked along, he heard a cacophony of voices, and there were even some occasions in which people blocked his path to introduce their school of thought. There were some schools of thought who had philosophical differences with others, leading to spirited discussions.

At first, Xu Qing felt very out of place. He had never been anywhere like this. After a while, he decided to go into some of the towers. Though he didn’t officially join any of them, he was still able to study the information inside. They were like libraries, and the official members were also willing to answer any questions.

Xu Qing was immediately moved. Inside the Grand School of Plants and Vegetation, he saw information that he’d previously studied, but also some unique perspectives that were new to him. In the Spirit Forging School, he encountered some concepts about cultivation that he found very thought-provoking. There was one location called the Tamer School that was very unique. They focused on taming, not beasts, but rather, the destiny aura of nonhumans.

Xu Qing quickly came to realize that the Imperial University was a very interesting place deserving of a lot of respect. It was impossible to say whether the knowledge here would stand the test of time. But the sparks of information and inspiration were certainly driving innovation.

As he proceeded along and got familiar with the Imperial University, he eventually reached what was known as the biggest school of thought there. The God-Merging School. Roughly thirty percent of all students were members.

The school focused on transforming the body. The process involved taking flesh from godly entities and grafting it onto one’s own body. Then, after slowly getting used to the change, one could slowly learn to control the godliness. In the end, after all of one’s flesh was replaced with godly flesh, then mutagen... would no longer be harmful, and could be treated just like spirit energy.

The ultimate goal of this school was ‘god-merging.’ By merging with the flesh of gods, one could achieve godly ascension.

The schoolmaster was a very sophisticated middle-aged man who wore scholar robes that were different from the other students. Though his mask made it impossible to see his facial features, there was something very scholarly and refined about him.

By chance, when Xu Qing stopped in front of that school’s tower, the schoolmaster appeared.

Xu Qing stopped in place.

There was something about this person that reminded him of someone from Sea-Sealing County.