The next morning, Bai Qiushui (Xiao Wenqiang) and Yan Qinghuai returned to the "Tongling Academy" together. After witnessing the indignity of Tao Yaoyao, who could only survive by depending on others due to her lack of strength, Bai Qiushui became even more determined to cultivate diligently.
Upon returning to the "Beast Hall," she plunged herself back into the cultivation chamber, focusing on the final level of "Guiyuan," known as "Myriad Things Return to Origin." According to the secret manual, mastering this level would allow her to convert all worldly energies into the spiritual energy she needed.
However, for reasons unknown, Bai Qiushui (Xiao Wenqiang) spent a considerable amount of time on this final level without success. Four long years passed in this manner.
During these four years, Yan Qinghuai and several other students who had initially received red tokens had completed all their techniques and, after passing the elders' assessments, obtained blue tokens. Only Bai Qiushui (Xiao Wenqiang) remained stubbornly struggling within the red token tier.
"Bai Bai, don't be too anxious. Your cultivation speed is already much faster than that of ordinary students," Yan Qinghuai said as they ate at an eatery outside the academy. This was only their second time leaving the academy in four years.
"I don't know what the problem is. I've hit a bottleneck in my cultivation, and perhaps I need to stop and reflect," Bai Qiushui (Xiao Wenqiang) replied, nibbling on a carrot as a snack.
"We've been cultivating within the academy for these past few years. It might also be related to your lack of experience. How about you apply to your elder to go out and train?" Yan Qinghuai suggested.
"You make a good point. One cannot cultivate in isolation. I'll go talk to Elder Hu Wantong about it later," Bai Qiushui (Xiao Wenqiang) felt this was a sound plan.
Hu Wantong, in the past two years, had also transitioned from a senior student with a red token to an elder with a blue token. As for the original Elder Tong Rui, he had not returned since that mission. When students inquired, the academy merely stated he was handling a secret mission that had not yet concluded.
As they were leisurely chatting, their respective communication jade talismans vibrated urgently.
"There's an emergency at the academy. All students with red tokens or higher are required to gather at the central public square immediately," Bai Qiushui (Xiao Wenqiang) said after checking her message.
"I received the same notification. Let's hurry back!" Yan Qinghuai stood up first, saying this.
Standing in the central public square, Bai Qiushui (Xiao Wenqiang) saw for the first time the academy's only two powerful figures who wore black tokens. It was rumored they were both cultivators with one foot already stepping onto the soil of the "Starry Land." One was a human cultivator, and the other a demon cultivator. They were also very good friends, which led them to jointly found this "Tongling Academy."
"We've summoned all of you with red tokens and above today because we've detected a significant presence of demons in the Vast Land," announced the human cultivator, Elder Lyu Jianshan, delivering momentous news.
Bai Qiushui (Xiao Wenqiang) and Yan Qinghuai exchanged glances without speaking.
"Some students from the Beast Hall may know that Elder Tong Rui has been away on a mission for over four years. He has actually been leading a contingent there, guarding the border. At midnight today, Elder Tong Rui returned, gravely injured and with a broken body, to report this situation to us. The situation at the border is dire, and our stationed cultivators are close to their breaking point. Therefore, it is time for you to contribute to the academy. Students, are you willing to join us in driving the demons back to the Chaos Land?" Lyu Jianshan delivered a fiery, motivational speech.
"We are willing!"
"Of course, we are willing!"
"Kill all the demons!"
"Drive these vermin back to the Chaos Land!"
"We are willing to go through fire and water for the academy, no matter the cost!"
The students were roused, their spirits soaring as they loudly declared their vows.
However, there were also a few who were low-key and reserved, not easily swayed. These individuals remained inconspicuous within the crowd, and naturally, they included Bai Qiushui (Xiao Wenqiang), Yan Qinghuai, Bai Ruzhen, and Mao Peilan.
It turned out that the Huo Ling City, where "Tongling Academy" was located, was the junction of three realms. After the three lands were demarcated, the celestial beings of the Starry Land had established seals on both the Chaos Land and the Vast Land.
For the Chaos Land, inhabited by humans and demons, the Starry Land would open a passage to absorb any cultivator who reached a certain level of cultivation and successfully passed the heavenly tribulation.
As for the demon and nether races, they had long been sealed within the Chaos Land. With the passage of time, the power of the seals had gradually weakened. Furthermore, because the Vast Land possessed more spiritual energy than their own realms, some powerful demons would emerge from weakened seal points, secretly hiding in the Vast Land to absorb spiritual energy.
The weakening of the seals was naturally known to the cultivators of the Vast Land, hence the establishment of a specialized force to reinforce the seals and guard the border. The cultivators within "Tongling Academy" were the main force for reinforcing these seals.
Over four years ago, two seal points on the border weakened, and Tong Rui led his men to reinforce them. However, starting last month, several more weak seal points had appeared. Now, with a large-scale attack on the border by demons and nether beings, "Tongling Academy" was mobilizing capable students to defend the Vast Land.
Lyu Jianshan was pleased with the students' burning passion, stroking his long beard and nodding frequently. He then turned to the other powerful figure, the demon cultivator Niu Yong, and asked, "Daoist Niu, would you like to say a few words?"
Niu Yong, a rhinoceros demon with a hundred thousand years of cultivation, appeared honest and impetuous, but he was quite thoughtful. Upon hearing Lyu Jianshan, he addressed the students below, saying, "I won't say much, only this: everyone, pay close attention to protecting yourselves. For every student who goes, that many students must return."
"Daoist Niu, aren't you somewhat dampening their morale with those words?" Lyu Jianshan asked quietly.
"Daoist Lyu, I'm not telling them not to go, merely advising them to cherish their lives. There's no conflict there!" Niu Yong's voice boomed, showing no intention of speaking softly.
Seeing this, Lyu Jianshan no longer interfered. He bolstered the students' morale further before he and Niu Yong led this group of students with red tokens or higher, in a mighty procession towards the border.
The border between the Chaos Land and the Vast Land was located in a place called "Bone Erosion Forest." Due to its proximity to the Chaos Land, it was perpetually shrouded in dense miasma. This miasma was highly poisonous, and ordinary humans and small animals who approached it would be corroded, leaving only bare white bones scattered across the ground.