Li Ang's eyes snapped open. "demon?"
"An Alien resembling life forms."
Cheng Juxiu explained, "Take the giant vine barnacles, for example—composed of individuals half a fathom long, connected end-to-end to form a massive colony. They drift submerged twenty fathoms below the sea all year round, resembling underwater islands. Once a ship or massive creatures like whales swim above them, they rapidly ascend and devour everything. Be it wood, ceramics, rice, steel, cloth, or even... humans.
"Seventy years ago, our Academic Palace first officially captured a sample of the giant vine barnacle. Based on its possible drifting direction from the Endless Sea, we drew a new sea chart. This was distributed to all the merchant ships sailing the East Sea, significantly reducing the frequency of unexplained disappearances.
"And the giant vine barnacle is just an insignificant demon in the vast Endless Sea.
"The aim of the Academic Palace is 'to achieve knowledge through investigating phenomena; only through investigating phenomena can one truly achieve knowledge.' We too explore the Endless Sea, like the Former Sui Emperor, but not for personal gain—rather, to explore the unknown. You will understand this once you join the Academic Palace. Every year, the Academic Palace organizes senior students to explore various regions in Yu Country and abroad for practical experience."
"In fact, this is why the Academic Palace insists on only admitting Disciples with Spiritual Vein Talent," Pu Liuxuan, standing beside him, added. "In this world, demons truly exist.
"It is the Academic Palace, the garrison, the Ministry of War, and the Haotian Taoist Sect that isolate the existence of demons from ordinary people.
"Besides demons, there are also three other types of Alien: Demons, Alien (the specific category), and Bizzare Species.
"demons, as the tales in storybooks say, are a type of Alien that resemble living beings. For example, the large-tusked wild boar, as tall as a man, that the Yizhou Garrison Commander captured in the mountains ten years ago—it's a demon.
"But aside from its massive size, it was useless.
"And it falls far short of the ones I have seen before.
"Demons are a type of Alien that resemble humans.
"The Alien type refers to Alien that are non-living in form—like self-moving items with bizarre manifestations such as horsetail whisks, swords, crossbows, armor, and so on.
"As for the Bizzare Species... they are the most unpredictable and dangerous among these four classifications of Alien.
"A Bizzare Species could be a sentence, a dance, or even... a phenomenon.
"The original purpose of founding the Academic Palace was to explore the unknown and collect information on demons, Demons, Alien, and Bizzare Species. We aimed to find ways to exterminate, or suppress and contain them. Furthermore, our goal was to protect ordinary people under the vast shadow cast by Alien and Bizzare Species."
After Pu Liuxuan finished speaking, he quietly watched Li Ang, expecting to see a look of shock on Li Ang's face. However, Li Ang pondered for a moment and immediately countered, "demons, Demons, Alien, Bizzare Species. So that's how it is. No wonder all the storybooks, dramas, and supernatural tales only mention them briefly without detailed descriptions. Does the Academic Palace intentionally conceal or downplay the existence of these Alien to protect ordinary people as well?"
"Exactly." Pu Liuxuan nodded. "For ordinary people, the less they know, the safer they are. While demons and Demons are manageable, some Alien and Bizzare Species, merely knowing about them can bring about fatal misfortune. Furthermore, some Bizzare Species grow stronger the more people know about them."
Pu Liuxuan paused and slowly added, "And the daily bells at Chenzheng and Xu Zheng from the countries that believe in the Haotian Taoist Sect also serve to expel Evil. The bell sound, imbued with the Telekinesis of billions of people, can directly extinguish the dying embers of common Evil and deprive them of their means of survival. Thus, the more peaceful the world is, the less Evil there is. The more rampant war and death are in the world, and the weaker the Daoist lineage becomes, the more prevalent demons and Evil will be."
"Then, during the tumult of the Late Sui—"
"When bones littered the wilds, and people resorted to exchanging their children to eat them, the Human World resembled the Demon Realm. demons ran rampant, and darkness covered the sky. Our Academic Palace's existence is to prevent such tragedies from recurring in Yu Country."
Pu Liuxuan slowly continued, "Risheng, have you thought this through? Being admitted to the Academic Palace doesn't mean a boundless future or a smooth career path, or wielding power and authority in office. The Academic Palace is built and maintained with the full support of the entire Yu Country; Academic Palace Disciples have responsibilities and obligations, along with immense potential risks. Humans cannot fully understand demons, Demons, Alien, and Bizzare Species—not even the most powerful Cultivator. Sometimes, living obliviously as a wealthy man throughout one's life isn't a bad thing."
"...Teacher, I have decided." Li Ang took a deep breath. "If I were to back out at the last moment, then wouldn't the days I spent reading the 'Shangqing Linggan Chapter' be wasted?"
"Heh, speaking of the 'Shangqing Linggan Chapter'," Pu Liuxuan said, smiling, "Risheng, during this time, have you felt anything from your readings?"
"This..." Li Ang's expression turned awkward. If Pu Liuxuan had asked for his thoughts, it would have been fine—he had written plenty of reflective essays based on memories from the Otherworld. But feelings... Does a frustrating feeling count?
"Then it's a no?" Pu Liuxuan shook his head. "Well, it's alright. After all, prodigious talents are rare; just barely passing is fine. Ju Xiu, please bring out the Compass."
"Okay."
Cheng Juxiu picked up a heavy iron box from the floor and placed it on the table. The box was square, with no rivets or lines on the sides and bottom, only featuring a raised spherical protrusion on the top, inscribed with patterns like planetary rings. Cheng Juxiu lightly flicked the sphere, like turning a safe's combination lock, and easily opened the iron box.
Li Ang glanced inside; the box was filled with various items. There were five or six small porcelain vessels, four dull iron balls, three silver ingots, three gold ingots, three copper ingots, two bound books, a square Compass, and a gray candle.
Cheng Juxiu took out the Compass and the candle from the iron box and placed them on the table.
The Compass was an antique, mysterious black and yellow, with a central black and white Tai Chi symbol. It was surrounded by dozens of concentric circles, each divided into segments labeled with characters, such as A, B, C, D, Wu, Ji, Geng and Xin... observe and compare, Bo Kun, Qian... And in some segments, bizarre and grotesque designs were engraved: from the Sun and Moon, to Dragon and Phoenix, Qilin, and even some ferocious Exotic Beasts that couldn't be named.