Chapter 334 332: The Secret of the Ancient Portal

"I'll have to take a look myself." Li Qiye rubbed his chin and finally said, "There might be a solution."

"Heh, that would be for the best." Elder Daoist Peng said with a wide grin. "But don't you dare charge us an exorbitant fee. We're old customers, after all. If you keep charging us so much, our Celestial Dao Academy will go bankrupt."

"How about I do it for free this time?" Li Qiye shot back with an irritated glance.

Elder Daoist Peng immediately perked up. He rubbed his hands together and beamed, "Nothing could be better! Nothing could be better! There's nothing in this world more tempting than a free lunch."

"Let's go take a look." No longer bothering with Elder Daoist Peng, Li Qiye stood up and walked out.

"It's coming! It's coming! It's coming!" Before Li Qiye even reached the door, Xiao Niqiu burst in and shouted excitedly.

"What's coming?" Li Qiye narrowed his eyes. "Is it the portal?"

"That's right! The portal is about to open, just outside the Celestial Dao Academy's five great academies! Hurry, hurry, let's get ready to leave at once! We'll charge right in! Heh, heh, heh, maybe we'll be the first to snatch the Void Gate!" Xiao Niqiu exclaimed, his excitement palpable.

Li Qiye narrowed his eyes and said with grim focus, "So it's finally here." At the mention of the Void Gate, even he, a man who had weathered innumerable storms, could not remain calm.

The Void Gate. One of the Nine Great Heavenly Treasures. An artifact coveted by even Immortal Emperors since the dawn of time! The world might believe the Void Gate to be a mere myth, but he knew with absolute certainty that it was real. And he knew more of its secrets than anyone.

Most people in the world had never seen anything like the Void Gate. Throughout the ages, those who had seen any of the Nine Great Heavenly Treasures—even just a single one—were exceedingly rare. Anyone who had truly laid eyes on the Nine Great Heavenly Treasures would surely go mad for them!

"Look, about our business..." Elder Daoist Peng's expression flickered when he heard this. The existence of the Void Gate had always been a controversial topic, but for the Celestial Dao Academy, the Domain God was far more important at the moment.

"I'll go take a look at the Domain God," Li Qiye finally said in a heavy tone. He then gave an order to Xiao Niqiu, "Go tell Sikong Toutian and the others to prepare. We leave the moment I return. I won't wait for anyone."

"You got it!" Xiao Niqiu responded and left immediately. He was also incredibly excited. The Void Gate... it was very likely his birthplace! How could he not be thrilled at the chance to go back and see it?

The Celestial Dao Academy occupied an immense territory. In fact, even its core region was still vast. Deep within the academy, Ancient Halls stood in great numbers, accompanied by countless Divine Towers. Many of these Ancient Divine Halls even floated in the Void.

Never mind the students of the five great academies, not even the academy's own disciples were permitted to enter these areas. Only powerhouses at the level of Elder Guardian could set foot here.

Having stood for so long, the Celestial Dao Academy was now steeped in countless secrets. This was especially true for its deepest reaches, which held the key to the academy's great subterranean vein.

As soon as one stepped into this region, the Heaven and Earth Essence Qi was so dense it felt impossible to disperse. Standing here, even someone with the poorest aptitude could feel the tangible essence qi and the miraculous sensation of heaven and earth in communion, of the Great Dao itself being near and approachable.

"You've occupied this Ancestral Vein for too long." Standing upon this land, Li Qiye took in its wonders. The Heaven and Earth Essence Qi was so dense it was almost palpable. 'Essence Qi this abundant...' he thought. 'There can't be many places like this left in the world.'

By staying here, even a fool's cultivation would progress faster than an ordinary disciple's outside.

Li Qiye unceremoniously took a long, deep breath, gulping down the surrounding Heaven and Earth Essence Qi like a whale. He then said, "With an Ancestral Vein like this, one that your Celestial Dao Academy has monopolized for so long, it would be a miracle if others weren't drooling with envy."

Elder Daoist Peng gave a dry chuckle, then said with a grin, "You can't blame us for holding onto it for so long. Our ancestors had the foresight to establish our Dao Foundation here. As their descendants, how could we just hand such a treasured land over to others? That would be a great dishonor to our forefathers!"

"That's true enough. The founders of the Celestial Dao Academy and the War God Hall were truly wise, with few equals throughout history." Li Qiye had to nod and admit it. To build a legacy that could last for ages required not only the diligent efforts of their successors but also the incredible foresight of their founders.

Over millions of years, countless lineages had been reduced to ashes. Even many an Emperor Immortal Gate eventually vanished into the long river of Time. And yet, the Celestial Dao Academy and the War God Hall endured. A great deal of that had to do with the sites their founders had chosen.

Stepping deeper into this land, one could hear the long cries of Flood Dragons, see Holy Simurghs soaring through the sky, and watch Treasure Carp play in the waters. Countless precious and worldly-rare Immortal Elixirs and Auspicious Beasts could be seen everywhere.

This alone was a testament to the Celestial Dao Academy's astonishing resources. Having stood since time immemorial, the academy had accumulated far too deep of a foundation.

"Perhaps it's because your ancestors accumulated such a massive foundation that the Celestial Dao Academy has been content to just live off its fortune. All these years have passed, and you're not much different from the War God Hall. You still haven't managed to foster an Immortal Emperor of your very own!" Gazing at this land of treasures, Li Qiye couldn't help but voice this thought.

"Perhaps that is the reason," Elder Daoist Peng had to admit with a sigh, though the words were harsh to hear.

In truth, having endured since the Desolate Era, the foundations of the Celestial Dao Academy and the War God Hall were second to none. It was true that the academy—counting both its core disciples and its students—had produced many great personages, even some existences on par with legendary titans!

But, strangely enough, they never produced another Immortal Emperor. While it's true that Hao Hai Immortal Emperor and Ta Kong Immortal Emperor emerged from the Celestial Dao Academy, strictly speaking, they were not considered true successors of its lineage.

"To destroy is to create. That might be a good option for your Celestial Dao Academy," Li Qiye said. "Institutions like yours and the War God Hall have two fatal flaws. First, a bunch of old men who are too hidebound and conservative. You lack the resolve to start over from scratch, the will to fight until the heavens break and begin again from nothing! You've always chosen to form your own little world, trapping yourselves within it. And while you've remained standing, you've lost the sharp, domineering aura of the Desolate Era—that drive to pierce the heavens and sunder the ages..."

"Second, you have too many resources. To put it bluntly, those who live in a land of plenty lack the ferocity to tear the sky down for a single bowl of rice! That goes for you and your successors—you simply possess too much. In other words, if all the treasures of the world were laid before you, would you be willing to make an enemy of the world to seize them by force? Take this portal, for example. You chose to back down and open it up, all to preserve yourselves. That approach might not seem wrong, but you've never forced yourselves into a desperate situation. More accurately, you lack the resolve to face desperation..."

"...In truth, both fatal flaws are one and the same: you have too much. You've been this way since you were young, and now that your generation has become Elder Ancestors, you're even more inclined to back down when faced with challenges, because you don't lack for anything. Without desperation, without a path of bloody conquest, without the will to make an enemy of the world, how can one possibly ascend to the apex, shoulder the Celestial Mandate, and become an Immortal Emperor? Throughout history, how many Immortal Emperors fought bloody battles with every step, paving their road to emperorship with countless skeletons? There is so much contention in this world, so much slaughter. In those struggles, you can always see the shadows of lineages like the Qingxuan Ancient Country and the Yao Guang Ancient Country. Even if their members aren't physically present, their influence is there! But you rarely see a trace of the Celestial Dao Academy or the War God Hall."

Li Qiye spoke slowly, his words directed not just at Elder Daoist Peng, but also a reflection of his own sentiments.

"Perhaps the Celestial Dao Academy, and the War God Hall, are simply peace-loving lineages," Elder Daoist Peng couldn't help but retort. "Since the beginning of time, we have been stalwart guardians of the Human Race."

"You're right about that," Li Qiye agreed. "The Human Race would not be where it is today without the undeniable contributions of the Celestial Dao Academy and the War God Hall. Perhaps this is both your greatest strength and your greatest weakness."

Walking with Elder Daoist Peng through the deepest part of the Celestial Dao Academy, they entered its most mysterious region—a territory hundreds of thousands of li wide, filled with magnificent mountains and rivers.

Although the great cataclysm had shattered countless mountains and toppled numerous Ancient Divine Halls, that destruction was largely confined to the outer regions. The areas that crumbled were mostly those where the Celestial Dao Academy's Emperor Foundation was weak. Here, in the deepest sanctum, the Emperor Foundation was at its strongest. A foundation had been laid deep underground that was nearly impossible to erode, even by time itself, so the impact here had been minimal.

Here, the roars of Flood Dragons and the cries of phoenixes still echoed, and one could see fish leaping and simurghs soaring. The landscape remained breathtakingly magnificent. Anyone who laid eyes on such scenery would marvel at its beauty; anyone who witnessed it would feel their heart skip a beat.

Given that the Celestial Dao Academy occupied an entire Ancestral Vein, it would be strange if the world's other powers didn't covet it.

As they walked through the deepest part of the Celestial Dao Academy's Ancestral Land, Li Qiye suddenly stopped, his gaze fixed on a particular spot.

He was looking at a graceful peak with an enchanting aura of Spiritual Qi. The peak pierced the clouds, and from its heights, a waterfall cascaded down from the Nine Heavens like a river of silver. Before the falls stood a few ancient pines, so old they looked like gnarled dragons reaching for the sky. Their bark, ancient as Dragon Scales, was filled with a sense of profound age, bearing the weight of countless years.

Before the waterfall, nestled between the ancient pines, an Ancient Pavilion was suspended in mid-air. The pavilion was old and simple, yet it exuded an imposing, primordial aura. It hung there as if it were one with the heavens and earth, eternal and everlasting. It seemed that nothing in this world could ever hope to shake this ancient, rustic pavilion.