Reversing the Milky Way

The old fisherman chuckled upon hearing Bai Cheng's words.

"Hehehe... The White House Academy only recruits students during the recruitment conference. Everyone in White Maple City knows this; it's not a secret."

After listening, Bai Cheng was also speechless. He didn't know when, but his actions and words had been deeply influenced by this world.

'Fine, fine, looks like I've been reading too many novels.'

Then, Bai Cheng focused his gaze on the spirit beast beside the old man again. Noticing Bai Cheng's gaze, the old man spoke again, "This beast is called the White Jade Spirit Dragon, and it is currently only a mid-level demon beast."

Bai Cheng was taken aback when he heard this.

"A mid-level demonic beast?! But why haven't I seen it in the demonic beast encyclopedia?"

The old man smiled slightly upon hearing this.

"Hehe, my white jade spirit dragon is currently only in its cub form. Its adult strength can reach the level of a third-level demon general."

Hearing this, Bai Cheng was slightly startled. He knew that according to human cultivation standards, this level corresponded to the late stage of the Meridian Opening Realm.

But sir, wouldn't it be very dangerous to keep this monster around? And is it possible that such a monster could be tamed?

Upon hearing this, the old fisherman slightly raised his right hand, and then the white jade spirit dragon beside him lowered its head and came closer, letting the old man stroke it.

"Hehe, all living beings in this world have their own thoughts. Even the most ferocious and evil demon beasts will be at your beck and call if you treat them with sincerity. Of course, the prerequisite is that your cultivation level cannot be too low. On the contrary, even the kindest and purest spirit beasts will rebel under extreme oppression."

After saying that, the old man withdrew his right hand.

Upon hearing this, Bai Cheng raised another question.

"Sir, there is still something I don't understand."

"Hehe, since you have questions, young friend, I will be your teacher today. Tell me, what are your questions?"

Seeing the old man's generous manner, Bai Cheng voiced his questions.

"Sir, I still don't understand the specific difference between spirit beasts and demon beasts. Could you explain it to me in detail? Also, are all demon beasts evil?"

Upon hearing this question, the old man stroked his white beard.

"Hmm, your question is indeed difficult for some people who don't know much about it. The main difference between spirit beasts and demon beasts lies in the fact that spirit beasts are divided into innate spirit beasts and acquired spirit beasts. Innate spirit beasts are extremely rare, born of heaven and earth, and formed from all things. They basically only exist in legends or books. From birth, they can feed on the spiritual energy of heaven and earth for cultivation and can completely abstain from mortal food. Acquired spirit beasts can also absorb the spiritual energy of heaven and earth for cultivation, but they still need spiritual plants and trees as a supplement. On the contrary, demon beasts can only absorb spiritual energy through food. Therefore, most of them feed on spirit beasts and spiritual plants, and some even feed on humans, up to the level of Dust Demon. So, if you're asking about the biggest difference between spirit beasts and demon beasts, that's probably it. As for the sayings in the world that spirit beasts are good and demon beasts are evil, that's just a one-sided understanding of people."

Upon hearing this, Bai Cheng seemed to remember something. He glanced at the bell that was always tied to his wrist and continued to ask, "Then, after the demonic beasts you mentioned reach the Dust Demon realm, are they also called the demon race?"

The old man sighed softly after hearing this.

"All things in the world have a spirit, and demon beasts are no exception. Once they reach the level of a Dust Demon, they will begin to develop a human-like physique. At this point, they will be like acquired spirit beasts, absorbing and exhaling spiritual energy. They no longer need to rely solely on food to absorb spiritual energy. In a sense, this stage is also the beginning of a dangerous phase for demon beasts. They think and live like humans until they reach the realm of Demon King and undergo the Transformation Tribulation. After that, their bodies will be no different from those of humans, and they can even switch back and forth between their original form and human body."

Upon hearing this, Bai Cheng couldn't help but ponder. When he looked at the old man's face, he noticed that the old man seemed to be deep in thought. Then, he saw the old man's expression suddenly clear up.

"Don't worry, young friend. Reaching the level of a Dust Demon is something that ordinary demonic beasts simply cannot do. Even if there were demonic beasts of this level, they would not appear on this continent according to the treaty from three thousand years ago."

Upon hearing this, for some reason, Bai Cheng couldn't help but picture Yue Ling's pure and charming smile. Then, Bai Cheng looked up at the starry sky and sighed to himself.

"Is this why you're leaving?"

Immediately afterwards, Bai Chengran thought of another question.

"By the way, senior, what's the deal with the demons?"

After speaking, Bai Cheng lowered his head to look at the old man beside him, only to find that the old man had disappeared at some point.

"Huh?! Senior?! Where is he?"

Bai Cheng looked around but found no trace of the old man. At that moment, the old man's voice suddenly rang in his ears again.

"Young friend, you have asked too many questions. There are some things I cannot answer for you. You will need to find the answers for yourself in the future..."

As the sound faded into the distance, Bai Cheng helplessly complained to himself.

'Sigh, I really can't stand these mysterious cultivators. It's so difficult to even have a word. It's rare to find an old man who can answer my questions, but he's not very reliable either,' Bai Cheng thought to himself, scratching his head.

Meanwhile, a thousand meters away in the sky, the old man who had been fishing earlier was now floating in the air, while the white jade spirit dragon spread its wings and circled around him.

"Hehe, I didn't expect it to be a lightning attribute cultivation physique. How rare! It seems I'll have to make an exception again."

As soon as he finished speaking, the old man leaped and flew eastward, with the white jade spirit dragon following closely behind.

Bai Cheng pondered after hearing the old man's words.

There are still more than ten days until the beginning of next month, so it seems I need to find a place to rent right now.

Thinking of this, Bai Cheng took out his map again and looked at it. Then, he stepped onto Minglan Bridge.

The bridge, a hundred meters wide, was bustling with activity. The people walking back and forth reminded Bai Cheng of the crowds during rush hour. Street stalls were everywhere on the bridge, selling not only food but also small toys and other similar items.

Below the places where the pavilions were built on the bridge, there was a house like a street shop. Although the house was spacious on the left and right, it was very narrow in the front and back. After entering, there was only a reception hall, and on the left and right sides were staircases leading upstairs. After going up, one could enjoy the moonlit scenery.

As Bai Cheng slowly walked across the Minglan Bridge, a rather wide area appeared before him. Since the area beyond the bridge was the territory of the White Palace Academy, the shops here were mainly for cultivators, and Bai Cheng could sense some spiritual energy fluctuations in nearly 30% of the people on the street.

Afterwards, Bai Cheng entered an inn. His idea was that if the inn's accommodation fee was relatively cheap, then he wouldn't need to find another place to stay. However, if the accommodation fee was still very expensive, then Bai Cheng would have to find a cheaper place for the next few days.

After inquiring with the innkeeper, Bai Cheng learned that this inn was the cheapest in the area, still costing three silver coins a day. However, the environment was far inferior to the inns Bai Cheng had stayed in before. Fortunately, the spiritual energy here was very abundant. Although there was a Youlan River in between, Bai Cheng could clearly feel that the spiritual energy seemed to be more abundant than on the other side of the river, with a spiritual energy concentration five times that of ordinary areas.

In this environment, circulating the Qi Condensation Technique once is equivalent to five times, and there are quite a few cultivators in this area. According to the innkeeper, most of his rooms are rented by cultivators, and each rental is for at least several months. Since the spiritual energy concentration is the same throughout the area, most cultivators prefer to stay in inns rather than rent out their houses.

However, the largest industry here is the rental of residences. Among these residences, those above the ninth level are specially built for cultivators. Each residence not only has living rooms, but also fish ponds, spiritual fields, and even pavilions for entertaining guests. Each residence is over a thousand square meters in size, and the price for renting these residences for a day is quite astonishing, requiring eight to ten silver coins per day.

However, living in a courtyard also has its advantages. You can cultivate without being disturbed by others, refine the herbs grown in the spiritual fields into pills, and most importantly, these courtyards are spacious. If you have a spirit beast pet, you can keep it at home, and you can even set up a spirit gathering array.

On the contrary, the inn is too small. Not only is there no place for the spirit pets to live, but the surrounding environment is also very noisy. It is only suitable for some cultivators who do not have any external assets. Moreover, although the laws in White Maple City are strict, murder and robbery of resources often occur in this area. After all, even the patrol guards of White Maple City have times when they cannot patrol.

After learning about these things, Bai Cheng stayed at the inn for one night. Just as the innkeeper had said, Bai Cheng could only cultivate quietly in his room late at night. During the day, it was noisy with people, and the sounds of fighting could be heard from time to time.

The next morning, Bai Cheng left the inn and continued on his way, because he found that although he had arrived at the territory of the White Palace Academy, the academy's gate was still a hundred miles to the west.

After these days of cultivation, he has almost reached 30% of the way to officially entering the Qi Condensation Realm. Moreover, this is based on the two months that Bai Cheng cultivated in the mysterious cave before reaching this level. However, even so, he still cannot release spiritual power for long-range attacks. Thinking of this, Bai Cheng sighed again.

"Sigh, it seems that cultivation really does have to be done step by step."

Finally, after walking another fifty miles, Bai Cheng arrived at another bustling neighborhood. After inquiring, Bai Cheng learned that this neighborhood was the closest to the White House Academy, and that the Tianyang River flowed to the southwest of this neighborhood, leading directly to Sunset Lake to the southeast of the White House Academy.

Bai Cheng had seen this place on the map before; the middle of Sunset Lake was an area deliberately hidden by a black dot. Fortunately, through Bai Cheng's persistent inquiries, he learned from the locals that the black dot on the map was an island in the center of Sunset Lake. The entire island was covered by a mid-level Xuan-rank protective array, and the Earth Spirit Tower was located on the island.

Not only that, the area around Sunset Lake is also the most densely patrolled area by the city guards. Any cultivator or boat that tries to approach Sunset Lake will be stopped and may even be sent to the Heavenly Prison in White Maple City for imprisonment.

As evening fell, Bai Cheng arrived at the entrance of the White House Academy, still wanting to see it for himself. Looking around, he saw two very long staircases in front of the academy. The first staircase had three hundred steps, and on the platform connecting to the second staircase stood a tall, human-shaped stone statue.

The statue is 100 meters tall. Its left hand is raised at a 30-degree angle and points forward, while its right hand is open, holding a huge sphere horizontally in front of its right side.

After passing the platform, the second set of steps has six hundred steps. After reaching the top, there is the majestic gate of the White House Academy. However, just as the old fisherman had said, the gate of the White House Academy was closed at this time. There was a building to the right of the gate.

Just then, Bai Cheng suddenly saw two cultivators flying in from the sky on their swords and entering the White Palace Academy. Judging from their clothes, the two were students of the White Palace Academy.

Just as Bai Cheng turned to leave, one of the two men suddenly landed in front of him.

Who are you? Why are you here?

Bai Cheng looked at the person before him and saw that he had an extraordinary demeanor, so he cupped his hands and said, "Friend, I am a new student here to enroll at the White House Academy." Upon hearing this, the man frowned slightly, then rested his chin on his hand and said thoughtfully, "New student? I remember that the new class of students will not be recruited until the beginning of next month. You should come back next month. It's no use for you to come now."

After saying that, the man took off again on his sword and flew into the gates of the White House Academy.

Seeing this, Bai Cheng had no choice but to return. It was already dark when a student flew out of a nearby house on a sword.

He flew straight to the sphere in the palm of the stone statue. Under Bai Cheng's gaze, he saw the man hold one side of the sphere with both hands and then lift it up forcefully.

Immediately afterward, a blinding light flashed before Bai Cheng's eyes, and he realized that the sphere in the palm of the stone statue was actually a huge metallic spirit-storing bead. This enormous spirit-storing bead was exceptionally dazzling in the darkness, its light even illuminating the bustling streets thousands of meters away, as if it were daytime.

Pedestrians on the road were already used to this, but only those who had never seen it before stopped to watch this strange sight.

After that, Bai Cheng saw the student put the Spirit Storage Pearl in his hand into his storage bag and then fly back to the house at the entrance of the academy.

"This! What's going on?"

Bai Cheng stared in surprise at the stone statue in front of him. At this moment, the huge spirit-storing pearl in the statue's hand was like a lighthouse, attracting many merchants to gather on the street not far from the gate of the White House Academy.