At the foot of Buzhou Mountain, there is a dragon lock formation.

It was created by the first dean of Buzhou Academy back then and was used to imprison a giant dragon.

However, creatures like dragons have not appeared in the world for a long time.

Since the arrival of the wilderness source, many of the original holy beasts in this world have been hunted by the source beasts and are hard to see again.

After the arrival of the wild source, many saints gathered in the Dragon Locking Formation and transformed the formation.

The true purpose is not verified. The most credible statement at present is to select outstanding talents.

There is also a low credibility saying that this array is waiting for someone.

Students who sign up for the Buzhou Academy, whose cultivation is lower than the Lingjian Realm or whose age is older than twenty years old cannot enter this formation.

After entering the formation, everyone will encounter thirteen stone tablets, which are thirteen formation gates. When they enter the gate, they will be in an illusion.

Based on the students' performance in the fantasy, Buzhou College will evaluate the students' qualifications.

However, the illusions that everyone sees are not the same. Most illusions are gentle and just make some choices that need to be considered.

And a very small number of people with outstanding qualifications will see more intense and dangerous illusions.

When Qin Que arrived, he thought there would be complicated procedures, but there was only one rock puppet to receive it.

This is the last three days of enrollment. Qin Que has discovered along the way... he is the only one.

In the eyes of most students, entering Buzhou Academy is of course a sacred thing, and the sooner you prepare, the better.

No one would come to Buzhou Mountain at such a late time for no reason.

Qin Que was happy to be quiet.

The rock puppets were explaining the precautions along the way. Qin Que was not surprised that Rock could speak, and Buzhou Academy mastered the top skills of the Da Shang Dynasty.

The content of the matter is simply summarized in a few words. Stay as long as possible in the illusion of the Dragon Locking Formation. After waking up from the illusion, someone will naturally respond to him.

After sending Qin Que to the entrance of the huge dragon lock array, the blue light in the eyes of the rock puppet disappeared and turned into an ordinary rock.

Qin Que looked at the huge hexagram-shaped array in front of him, stretching hundreds of feet long, feeling respectful.

Even his predecessor, when he passed by this formation, he felt that the extremely majestic spiritual energy was locked in it.

Without hesitation, Qin Que stepped into the Dragon Locking Formation.

His predecessor was dull and unable to start first, so he could only achieve great success late.

But now he is absolutely sure to become the best student in Buzhou Academy.

...

...

The first peak of Mount Buzhou is called Daizong.

In the past, Du Fu once looked at the first peak and wrote famous quotes that shocked the literary world.

Later, after becoming the dean of Buzhou College, Du Fu rarely left Daizong.

There is one more person in the chess square on Daizong today than Du Fu.

The saint of Daozong, the number one master in Taiyi Mountain, Tang Wangnian.

The wine on the chess floor has been warmed twice. The two of them have obviously been talking for a long time. Looking at the layers of clouds not far away, they are drinking and talking to their old friends. It is so pleasant.

However, the expressions of these two people were not comfortable.

Tang Wangnian traveled thousands of miles and came to Buzhou Mountain. Naturally, there were extremely important things, and any urgent matters would probably not be a good thing.

"Qin Jian is dead."

When the first glass of wine hit his throat, Du Fu heard such a news.

He is not familiar with Qin bamboo slips.

But as one of the Three Saints, he, Tang Wangnian and Yan Pingle both recognized the Qin Slips and was the fourth fellow traveler.

The road to cultivation is so lonely, and suddenly one person is missing. Du Fu couldn't help but sigh:

"Who can you cross the world? I only know that the soul tomb has no friends."

Tang Wangnian didn't have so much thought, and his emotions were still the same as before:

"The news comes from the Buddha Sect. Buddha's son Xiaoye."

"I heard that they are close friends, and the little monk never lies. It seems that there is no falsehood. But who else can kill him except you and me in the world?"

Du Fu was puzzled. Tang Wangnian shook his head, but still expressed his guess:

"Source Beast."

"Yes, it is rumored that this person has magical powers that we don't have. He can drink blood from the source beast without dying. I think he will fight more fiercely with the source beast."

"The kung fu he created seems to be able to convert spiritual power and source power, called "Transforming the Spirit and Returning to the Source."

Although Tang Wangnian's tone was indifferent, his eyes were still full of admiration.

He also thought, if the source beast could easily hunt spirit beasts, does it mean that the source power is essentially stronger than the spiritual power?

Is it possible for a person to cultivate source power and give up spiritual power?

But he couldn't do it, Du Fu couldn't do it, and Yan Pingle couldn't do it.

Ranked fourth, the Qin Slips, which had never entered the realm of Tianxing, did it.

But now... that person is dead.

"This person has accumulated a lot of strength and has achieved great success late, but suddenly died. It's a pity. The three of us went to Guangyuan Temple and saw a calligraphy and painting. Do you still remember it?" Du Fu asked.

"Naturally, I remember that it was painted by the Buddha, with cicadas, mantis, and orioles in the painting.

But what is bizarre is that mantis, cicadas, and even the oriole are extremely huge. During this period, cicadas are the most important."

Tang Wangnian still remembers that the many details in that painting, the world is so small, outlined in just a few strokes.

The mantis, cicadas and orioles are like huge creatures in the universe.

There are three huge creatures living on the Coptis chinensis tree, which makes everything seem absurd.

"At that time, the old abbot pointed at the painting and asked us to understand each other, saying that if we had to choose an identity, how should we choose? Of course you never forgot the answer, right?"

Du Fu seemed to be smiling.

Tang Wangnian nodded expressionlessly and said:

"I chose the mantis. I think we should not regard ourselves as an oriole in the world. That's too arrogant. In fact, when we hunt all things in the world, maybe this world might also be hunting us. So I chose the mantis to reflect on myself."

Du Fu nodded and said:

"I chose the cicada. I have been close to ordinary people throughout my life, and I know that in order to show magnificence, I need to have a foundation.

The people of the Great Shang Kingdom, these lives that we see as small as dust, are the foundation.

They are at the bottom of the world, but they are also the pioneers of the entire world.”

Du Fu paused and said:

"That is why the Buddha drew the cicada so huge."

Tang Wangnian did not argue with Du Fu, because this painting was intended to make people have a different understanding.

Tang Wangnian said:

"Yan Pingle chose the oriole, which has nothing to do with predation and hunting. He just wanted to fly higher and simply yearn for freedom. He wanted to see the scene outside the sky."

The sky has been blocked by Yan Suiyun, and no one knows what is inside the sky.

Du Fu nodded, and the three saints made different choices, which represented the three of them having different minds.

But he changed his mind and asked:

"A year later, I will go to Guangyuan Temple again. The old abbot told me that Qin Jian... made a choice different from us."

"Qin bamboo slips? What did he choose?"

Du Fu nodded, looked at the clouds and said:

“He chose the tree.”

"Tree?"

Tang Wangnian was a little confused at first, then relieved, and then... he looked solemn.

"The tree carrying the oriole, mantis, and cicadas...so that's what it is, it's a pity."

Du Fu nodded and sighed:

"Everyone in the world says that the Qin bamboo slips are late and have dull qualifications, but maybe... their Taoist veins are blocked, but the Taoist heart is clear."

Tang Wangnian nodded, understanding why Du Fu felt so regretful.

However, the waves have passed, so I can only look forward to the future.

“Can you recruit interesting students this year?”
To be continued...