Chapter 287 – Climbing the Mountain in Search of the Dao (1/2)

The birds flew over the great lake. The setting sun dyed the rippling waves of the Lake of Dragons and Snakes a reddish-yellow.

On Contention island, the tests had already begun despite the setting sun.

Qi Practitioners did not have to eat or sleep at fixed times like regular people. Going an entire night without sleep was nothing. The lunch at noon was akin to an additional benefit provided by the academy to them so that they could taste the delicious food on par with spiritual medicines for free.

Everyone boarded the ship once more, sailing to a small island in the east. The island was nowhere near as large as Contention island, but it was much larger than the other islands.

Within the rising, evening mist, a solemn daoist temple stood high on the mountain on the island. It did not give off an aura of peace and tranquility. Instead, it seemed to look down upon the various other schools.

It was rumored that most ancient cultivators were daoist priests, and they served as the origin for all techniques and cultivation methods. Most of the cultivation methods practised within the hundred schools originated from the school of Daoism.

In the present day, the school of Daoism was no longer the only option for all cultivators, but there was a saying, “Daoism stands to be the greatest among the hundred schools”. That only demonstrated how influential the school was.

The tests of the academy occurred consecutively, so all the Qi Practitioners would move about with each test. They could use this opportunity to familiarise themselves with the locations of the islands and the scenery they offered.

Regardless of the school they ended up with, they all had to visit these islands. The spirit of the academy was about the hundred schools resonating together and embracing all. Every single disciple of the academy could learn from other schools.

Of course, if they wanted to learn the very core teachings of a school, it would take them some effort and spiritual stones, but it was not impossible. It was unlike those cultivation sects, which would threaten them with death or permanently crippling their cultivation.

This was also the aspect that Li Qingshan admired the most. There was a reason why the Great Xia empire could keep all the cultivation sects in the world at bay with the Academy of the Hundred Schools.

The Qi Practitioners all disembarked and crossed through a forest along a small pathway, arriving before the mountain.

An instructor said, “Those who have enrolled for the school of Daoism, climb up the mountain with me. Those who haven’t, wait below the mountain. Don’t wander too far away.”

Li Qingshan discovered that the majority of the Qi Practitioners, almost a thousand of them, climbed up the mountain.

As a result, almost everyone filled in “Daoism” within their five spots, even treating it as their main target. Li Qingshan was no different. His primary targets were either the school of Daoism or the school of the Military, but the school of Daoism did suit him more.

Everyone climbed up the mountain, and the moment they reached half way, mist rose up in the surroundings.

Li Qingshan sensed that everyone had vanished. Only he remained on the mountain path. He knew he had entered a formation.

“The test begins,” a voice boomed.

Li Qingshan gathered his mind and took a step forward. As soon as he took that step, his body immediately became several times heavier, while his true qi had been completely suppressed by the invisible formation too. It was not even possible to open his hundred treasures pouch, let alone use any techniques.

At that moment, all of the Qi Practitioners climbing the mountain had been reduced to regular people. The protective formation of the school of Daoism began to demonstrate its startling power.

Li Qingshan was unfazed. He took another step forward, and the wide, stone steps suddenly became a narrow, meandering footpath. The two sides were sheer cliffs that seemed bottomless. He could imagine that if he fell down, he would not actually die, but he would lose his right to join the school of Daoism.

At this exact moment, wild winds rose up without any fixed directions, blowing him around.