Chapter 518 — The First Primordial Spirit Council
The Herdsman of the Wasteland · Page 4 of 5
A few days after that the younger generation of the other Four Great Academies arrived too: the scholars of the Heavenly Sacred Academy led by Si Yunxiang, the scholars of the Jiangling Academy following Shen Feiyue, who was a disciple of the Imperial Preceptor of Jingping, the Imperial Preceptor being the Director of the Jiangling Academy. Yuyuan Chuyu brought the scholars of the Yong River Academy; as for the Grand Libationer of the Lan River Academy, it was Bashan, for the Lan River was the farthest, and a man of great talent and virtue was needed to build the academy up, so the Emperor had appointed Bashan Grand Libationer.
With the young masters of the Four Great Academies gathered at the Grand Academy, the clamor only grew; and then, some days later, Wang Muran, Mu Qingdai and Long Yu of the Little Jade Capital arrived as well. Before Wang Muran and the others could take their seats, a voice was heard laughing: "I heard the Sect Master had come to the Grand Academy and hurried over, yet still I am late!
" Shen Mu hastily rose to greet him, laughing, "Brother Xu, well met since we parted at the Little Leiyin Temple? " Xu Shenghua came with Jing Yan and said, "I have had no word of you for a long while, Sect Master; only when I saw that you were well did my heart rest easy.
" When the company had seated themselves, the Grand Academy was a scene of uncommon clamor: adepts of every school discoursed on the Dharma, on the Way, on cultivation, on the primordial spirit, with wondrous ideas of every kind, until even Emperor Yanfeng and the officials of the court were stirred and came to listen.
Shen Mu, Ling Yuxiu, Si Yunxiang, Daoist Master Lin Xuan, Zhankong the Dark Ape Demon, Chenghuai, Xu Shenghua, Wang Muran and the others were invited onto the platform, each to expound his own divine arts of the Way, and the clash of differing minds and notions left those who heard them spellbound.
Each of them had his own attainments in the primordial spirit, and blending the wondrous ideas of all, they sparked no small number of new notions besides. "I have an idea!
" Shen Mu said suddenly, laughing. "Jingping grows ever larger, spread from the south of the sky to the north, and folk find it hard to keep in touch; but the primordial spirit is swift, and in a moment can travel ten thousand li. If our primordial spirits could be linked, would we not save all the time spent on the road?
" His proposal won the approval of many of the young at once; each brought his wits to bear, seeking to link the primordial spirits of different people, and offering ideas of every kind.
Emperor Yanfeng and the Duke of Wei exchanged glances.
The Duke of Wei said, "A moment ago they spoke sensibly; now they have begun to talk nonsense. The primordial spirit travels too fast; in the blink of an eye it has gone ten thousand li, and it would be hard indeed to gather them together, and the primordial spirit is hard to control besides, so a man does not know where he has gone.
How are such difficulties to be solved? " Emperor Yanfeng laughed.
"Let us watch a while. " After a moment the Duke of Wei and the others were staring wide-eyed, dumbstruck. Before the Grand Academy Hall, what the company now discussed was precisely how to resolve the matter of the primordial spirit being unable to be drawn along; methods and techniques were improvised by them on the spot, astonishing even the older generation, the Duke of Wei and Emperor Yanfeng among them.
Shen Mu, for his part, was sorting through all their ideas, and after a long while at last created a new cultivation method built upon the Primordial Spirit Guide.
He passed the method to the company; they took it up eagerly, and straightway set about remodeling the Grand Academy Hall, inscribing talismans and seals throughout it. "My friends, go you each a thousand li to east, south, west and north; let us hold a Primordial Spirit Council! " Shen Mu said, elated.