Immortal Dao is dead, I am the mastermind behind it all.

Gaosheng Square, 1-3 PM.

Shen Moyan, dressed in a blue robe, with long, flowing hair and a handsome face, attracted the attention of all the students in the academy.

Most of the students in the academy were at the second or third level of Qi gathering, and the occasional one at the eighth or ninth level was just a pretense of their cultivation.

But Shen Moyan saw through it all with his Azure Eye Technique, without any detail.

"It seems my true aptitude isn't that great." Looking around, Shen Moyan suddenly had this thought.

To others, he had already reached the Transcendent Realm before he was even twenty.

But Shen Moyan knew that this was the result of his accumulated knowledge and experience from his previous three lifetimes.

He had just noticed several students at the fourth or fifth level of Qi Gathering, equivalent to the level of a top-tier expert in the Great Qi Realm. But they were all very young, around sixteen, seventeen, or eighteen years old.

At the same age, Shen Moyan might not necessarily be able to reach the cultivation level of these students.

Shen Moyan shrugged and quickly accepted the reality.

There are people outside people, and there are days outside the sky.

Shen Moyan was certainly not as narrow-minded and arrogant as the Chiyan tribe in "The Records of Mountains and Seas".

He should be like Afan, calmly accepting his own ignorance, but not accepting his own unknowability.

As his thoughts wandered, Zhou Zhanpeng arrived late.

"Everyone's here, let's go."

Zhou Zhanpeng addressed the group from the academy and nodded to Shen Moyan, signaling him to follow.

Everyone arrived at the platform in the square, and with a click from the stone steps beneath their feet, the steps lifted them into the air.

In an instant, the speed at which the steps ascended suddenly increased, and everyone's clothes billowed and fluttered as they mobilized their spiritual power to protect themselves.

Shen Moyan looked down and saw that the main urban area where Gaoshengtian Tower was located had shrunk to a neat outline.

The green tiles are like scales, and the moat outside the city is like a silver ribbon. The towering buildings of the past are now only the size of grains of rice.

Gradually, the steps disappeared into the clouds, and white mist surged in like a tide.

The clouds were pure white and slightly cool to the touch.

Suddenly, one of the students exclaimed and pointed to the sea of ​​clouds in the distance.

Sunlight pierces through the clouds, refracting into a seven-colored halo in the mist. Tiny specks of spiritual energy float and sink within the halo, and when inhaled, they bring a warm surge to the dantian.

Shen Moyan reached out and touched the sea of ​​clouds. Where his fingertips brushed, the white mist parted like flowing water and then quickly closed again, leaving a fleeting trace.

"This is the scenery that 'Avan' wanted to see."

Shen Moyan sighed, looking up to see the stone rubbing of the Preaching Stele.

It is called a stone rubbing, but it is actually a copy of the contents of the original Origin Preaching Stele, which is then etched onto another stone stele.

This stone tablet stands above the sea of ​​clouds, over a thousand feet high and more than a hundred feet wide.

It is dark gold in color and is made of some kind of precious material. However, the material that can bear the original content of the preaching stele must be extraordinary.

Shen Moyan stared intently. The stone tablet was covered with ancient runes and totems, with a faint golden light flowing over it, exuding a majestic and ancient aura.

The stone tablet was suspended atop the sea of ​​clouds without any support beneath it, surrounded by a visible vortex of spiritual energy.

At the foot of the stone tablet, a heavily armored figure sat cross-legged amidst the clouds, his eyes closed. His face was covered in scars, and his heavy armor was rusted, exuding a wild and ancient aura.

As the group from the academy approached, he suddenly opened his eyes.

The entire sea of ​​clouds suddenly froze, its swirling motion halted by his glare.

Danger! Extreme danger!

The students all lowered their heads, not daring to meet the gaze of the heavily armored man.

Everyone could feel the killing intent emanating from him; if they made any rash move, they would face certain death!

Shen Moyan's whole body tensed up.

Even Gao Sheng and Zheng Quan Mieshi did not exert such strong pressure on him.

But the murderous aura was quickly withdrawn by the heavily armored man, and what enveloped everyone was a gentle gaze.

"Feel sorry."

His weathered and hoarse voice resonated in everyone's hearts, bringing them to their senses.

After sensing the academy's certificate in Zhou Zhanpeng's hand, the heavily armored man closed his eyes again and ignored it.

"Children, don't be afraid, he is the guardian of the monument," Zhou Zhanpeng said to the people at the academy.

"Unlike the original 'Origin Preaching Monument', the guardians of the stone rubbings in each state are the remnants of ancient warriors from the past."

They once fought alongside the Xuanhuang Emperor in the battles of the mountains and seas. After their deaths, their lingering spirits were collected by the Holy Court and scattered throughout the three thousand states of the mountains and seas.

The lingering regrets transformed into the guardians of the monument, protecting the stone rubbings of the Origin and Preaching Monument, ensuring the continuation of the path of cultivation throughout the world.

If a state is invaded by demons or immortal lineages and its defenses collapse, they will be the last insurance to protect the peace of each state.

The students of the academy felt relieved and their faces lit up with joy. They whispered among themselves, their words and actions brimming with youthful energy.

Shen Moyan's gaze was quite different, suppressing his wariness.

If one were to embark on the path of the Heavenly Demon in the future, one would have to confront such beings.

Shen Moyan followed the crowd down the Gaosheng Platform and onto the Pilgrimage Steps. Looking up at the stone tablet, he felt as insignificant as an ant.

The totems engraved on the stone tablet are almost identical to those in the "Records of Mountains and Seas".

On the pilgrimage steps, Shen Moyan slowly ascended, his gaze fixed straight ahead. The more he walked, the more he felt his mind being drawn in, and even his breathing involuntarily slowed down.

…………

The origin of the preaching stele is recorded in Chapter 2, Section 2 of the "Records of Mountains and Seas".

In ancient times, the myriad strange creatures of the mountains and seas were classified into five types: Ying, Lin, Mao, Yu, and Jie.

After Afan successfully converted his spiritual power into magical power, he lost his feathers and became a Ying insect, which is human.

Amidst the mocking laughter of the divine birds in the sky, he fell unwillingly from the heavens.

The wind whistled in my ears, and my once feathered back was now just bare skin. My wings, which could once stir up clouds, had degenerated into a pair of arms that were still fairly muscular.

Like a kite with a broken string, Afan drifted down to the Kongsang Sea beneath the blue clouds.

This continent, this mortal realm where Ying insects gather, is home to humans without wings who measure the land on their feet, moving among the blue bricks and gray tiles.

When he woke up, he was lying in a woodshed, covered with coarse old clothes.

The salty, damp smell of the sea breeze wafted in from outside the window. He had been rescued by "people" after being washed ashore.

"You've fallen badly, so stay here and rest for now." The person who saved him was an old woman who had lost her husband years ago and whose children were not around. She had gone to another place to go fishing at the beach long ago.

Afan touched his arm, his fingertips brushing against warm flesh instead of the familiar feather root, and a tightness settled in his chest.

He tried circulating his spiritual power, but he had no demon core, only the magical power stored in his dantian, flowing through his meridians.

He succeeded in transforming himself, yet he also failed.

He succeeded, and gained magical power comparable to that of a demon.

He failed; he couldn't use the magic anymore, and he ended up as a half-human, half-bird creature, without wings.

"Feathers, I need to grow my feathers back." Afan thought to himself, making a silent resolution.

How can a cricket grow feathers?

"You want to go outside?"

When the old woman brought in the porridge, she saw Afan staring blankly at the sky outside the window, and shook her head with a smile:

"You must be down-to-earth. You are still young. If you really want to travel far away, wait until you are fully recovered, go to school, pass the imperial examinations, and travel all over the country by horse-drawn carriage. That will be faster than flying."

Upon hearing the word "fly," Afan's eyes gradually became serious.

He leaned against the window, expanding his spiritual awareness, and the vast world of humanity came into view.

(P.S.: The protagonist's behavior and thoughts are strange and illogical in the early stages. His pursuit of the Heavenly Demon cultivation is due to being unintentionally influenced by certain beings, which will be explained later. Please be gentle with your criticism; I'm easily hurt.)