Once he was past the inner gates, what was reflected in his eyes was a mountain stream and a waterfall cascading down like a heavenly ribbon from the sky. All the colors of the rainbows sparkled within it as the sunlight fell on it.

The spray of water reflected the green surroundings. There was a stone path winding through this beautiful scenery. This was a world beyond the clamor of the mundane world.

The beauty of this scenery couldn’t compare to the Spirit World, but it was still amazing and refreshing. Long Chen’s anger started to naturally fade upon seeing this sight.

Just by soaking in the scenery, he felt his heart open and his mind grow clearer. This was a mystical energy, and it was no wonder the Skywood Divine Palace’s disciples looked to be so relaxed without any anger.

Living in such a place for a long time would naturally influence them. The calm of the mountain, the life of no greed, they naturally made them feel at peace.

“It really is a good place,” praised Long Chen.

The disciple leading him sighed with relief upon seeing Long Chen’s irritated expression fade away. She smiled and said, “Follow the stone path forward. Not only can you enjoy the scenery, but there are also all kinds of wild fruit you can taste. Feel free to pick them as you please, as long as you don’t damage the tree. You’ll also see other young cultivators just like you, and you can share your cultivation experiences and understanding. That way, everyone can get stronger together. However, do your best to control your temper. The Skywood Divine Palace doesn’t like fighting and killing.”

“Yes, I just won’t talk with them. Where is Chu Yao?” asked Long Chen.

“Fairy Chu Yao has long since been waiting for you. However, it’s not convenient to open a back door for you, so you must follow through with the regular process.”

“Alright, I understand. Thank you. I’ll just stroll around.” Long Chen cupped his fists in thanks.

Once the disciple left, Long Chen continued on the stone path. An ancient mountain appeared before him on the winding path next. With each turn of the path, he saw a different scene.

This was a sea of greenery. Ancient trees and winding vines grew everywhere. The grass was like a carpet. The air was refreshing and made him feel like his troubles were being washed away.

This was a feeling Long Chen had only ever felt in the Spirit World. The Spirit race loved life. They were so kind that it was almost a bit foolish.

The Skywood Divine Palace possessed a similarly relaxing air. Even if a person was infuriated, they would feel embarrassed to release it in front of the Skywood Divine Palace’s disciples.

As Long Chen continued forward, he quickly saw quite a few people. They were in small groups, privately whispering or loudly discussing the Dao. Some people were even singing or reciting poetry.

In truth, the reason these people were here was because too many people had come to attend the Jade Lake Pageant this time. They hadn’t expected such numbers, so they had people wait here to stall for time.

The people in the crowd who were still registering would end up waiting here as well. However, waiting here wasn’t boring. There were plenty of heavenly geniuses, as well as beautiful women.

When those people saw Long Chen, they all looked at him curiously. That was because his hood covered half his face.

“Tch, he’s just trying to act mysterious. His face is definitely ugly, so he only dares to expose part of it,” sneered someone.

Although Long Chen only exposed the lower half of his face, he was well built. Just by walking, he possessed a cadence that others couldn’t describe, but it was a pleasing sight. Many women looked at him curiously, which resulted in quite a few jealous glares from men landing on him.

“It would be best if you didn’t provoke me. It wasn’t easy to get myself in a good mood again. If it’s ruined again, it won’t be as simple as eating a few stones. If you ruin my mood, then you can count yourself tough if I don’t manage to beat the crap out of you. But when I do beat the crap out of you, I’ll make you eat it,” snorted Long Chen.

Long Chen couldn’t help being speechless. Did his appearance really draw so much ire? Wherever he went, countless people would view him unfavorably.

Long Chen continued forward, and more and more people were appearing. Eventually, he reached an empty space and happened to see a mustached man who appeared to be in his early thirties. He was loudly discussing something.

“Heavens, senior apprentice-brother Wang Shan is expounding the Dao!” A startled cry rang out from behind Long Chen.

“Then we have to go listen! Wang Shan has managed to become Di Xin’s loyal follower. His meteoric rise is just around the corner.”

“Senior apprentice-brother was originally one of the Southern Xuan Region’s top experts. With a seventh Heavenstage of Soul Transformation cultivation base and his manifestation that has started to awaken, we can’t miss this chance to hear him discuss the Dao!”

Quite a few people immediately rushed over to that man. Long Chen looked around and saw at least seventy to eighty people. There were quite a few women looking at that man worshipfully.

“The Heavenly Daos are ephemeral, like ice hidden within the sea, like stars hidden in the sky. If you want to comprehend the Dao, you must have a heart like water, a mind like the void. You must use the view of a spectator to observe the world…” This Wang Shan was sitting on a rock as he spoke.

Long Chen was a bit surprised. This person seemed to really have some skill.

“That’s why, if you want to become a supreme expert, you must be able to view things from multiple angles. That will allow you to see the truth clearer, instead of just seeing a corner of the iceberg. When you look at others, you should look at yourself first. Only once you see yourself clearly can you see other things clearly. Otherwise, a mountain could be before you, but a single leaf over your eyes can make you blind to it. Tranquility leads to reflection, reflection leads to intelligence. Only then can you be free of your seven emotions and six desires. Only then can you see things clearly. Only then will the gate to comprehension open for you. That is the best time to comprehend the Heavenly Daos,” continued Wang Shan, his voice solemn. The disciples around him were all paying close attention.

Long Chen’s lips curled into a slight smile. Shaking his head ever so slightly, he turned to leave. At first, he had felt that this person had some skill. But as he said more, Long Chen realized that this wasn’t the result of his comprehension but simply him reciting a portion of a scripture.

Such a thing might sound correct and mysterious, and Long Chen had also read through quite a few fragments of scriptures that had been passed down from ancient times. Some of those scriptures were truly written by amazing experts. Their wisdom was something even Long Chen admired.

Their scriptures were truly profound. Sometimes, a single sentence might have dozens of different interpretations. No matter how you tried to comprehend it, it would still make sense. It would still corroborate your Dao.

Such a thing was truly the epitome. Those experts had been able to summarize the countless Daos into just a few lines. However, those scriptures were also too profound for people to understand.

The inheritance and understanding of those scriptures had long since been severed. It was like the difference between an adult scholar and a child. There was no way for a child to understand a scholar’s essay on the Dao. All a child could do was recite what the scholar had said.

Due to the battle of the immortal era and successive dark eras, the Martial Heaven Continent’s cultivation culture had been fractured, resulting in many texts being lost. Any texts that managed to be preserved were damaged and incomplete. There was no way to fully understand them.

During this era, a few people had added annotations to those texts based on their own viewpoints and comprehensions. However, Long Chen had read so many of those that he found that most of them were nonsense. They seemed right but were wrong. Some had even completely twisted the original meaning of the ancient text.

At first, Long Chen had thought that Wang Shan was expounding the Dao and sharing his own comprehension with others, so that they could all corroborate their Daos. Only later did Long Chen realize that Wang Shan was reciting what he had read in some ancient scripture. Listening to this kind of thing was a pure waste of time.

“Brother, please wait a moment.”

Long Chen had just taken two steps away when Wang Shan suddenly stopped talking of the Dao and called out to Long Chen.

Long Chen paused. Everyone was startled, and they turned to look at Long Chen. Long Chen looked around himself and saw that there was no one else near him. Wang Shan was clearly talking to him.

“Do you need something?” Long Chen frowned.

“I was simply wondering if you were doubting my comprehension of the Dao?” Wang Shan looked at Long Chen politely. However, his tone possessed an arrogant tune.

In truth, Wang Shan had been looking around as he had been expounding on the Dao. He saw everyone else run over as if they were afraid of missing a single word.

However, Long Chen was the opposite, wanting to leave as soon as he said a few words. That had irritated him.

“No, I have no doubts.” Long Chen shook his head. He couldn’t be bothered to participate in such a classless discussion of the Dao.

“Wait a moment. Just now, you were shaking your head and muttering something disdainfully while I was speaking. You should have some issues with my understanding of the Dao. Please, tell me. What is your name? Where do you come from? If you dislike my Dao, can you share your own?” asked Wang Shan.

Long Chen’s fury immediately soared. When had he shaken his head? Furthermore, with his face covered, how was Wang Shan supposed to have seen a disdainful expression? He was clearly intentionally trying to find trouble with him. Was he really so dislikable that everyone he met would immediately try to find trouble for him?

However, just at that moment, Long Chen saw a certain fellow standing by Wang Shan’s side. Long Chen immediately understood because that fellow was one of the idiots who had been forced to eat stones just before.

Alright then, they wanted to play. Long Chen’s lips curled into a sinister smile. Today, he would properly play with them.