The three paintings represented three different stages of the Scholarly Sage’s life.

In the first painting, there were auspicious clouds that came from the east and covered the entire sky. In addition to that was violent lightning, with two dragons flying together. This was likely a phenomenon that occurred when the Scholarly Sage had been born.

In the second painting, the countless books should be a scene from the Scholarly Sage’s childhood. When he was five years old, the Scholarly Sage had read many books and learned all about the world.

In the third painting, there was the rear view of the blue-haired woman that had guided the Scholarly Sage onto the path of cultivation. She was probably related to Xuan Nu Sect’s Skylark of the Nine Provinces Number One Group. When Song Shuhang was in the reversed Myriad Books Mountain, he had seen that the appearance of this blue-haired female cultivator was very similar to that of Senior Skylark.

Song Shuhang said, “It really does have something to do with the scholarly faction.”

Also… it’s possible that this foggy dream is directly related to the ‘Scholarly Sage’.

Su Clan’s Sixteen asked, “These pictures are related to the scholarly faction?”

Song Shuhang nodded, and replied, “These three paintings describe three different periods of the Scholarly Sage’s life. They state that he was extraordinary at birth, when he was young, and when he was practicing. With the help of a guide, the Scholarly Sage began to establish his foundation and advanced at incredible speed. Within half a month, he had opened the major apertures and jumped over the dragon gate, ascending to the Second Stage.”

“It does sound quite amazing.” Soft Feather nodded. Being able to rush to the Second Stage within half a month was indeed ‘extraordinary’.

Su Clan’s Sixteen said, “I also know some things about this matter. Later, the Scholarly Sage practiced faster and faster, and was unstoppable. In only one year, he ascended to the Third Stage Realm, reaching the realm which other cultivators would take dozens of years to reach.”

Su Clan’s Sixteen had also participated in the ‘Myriad Books Mountain, Still Pond of Wisdom’ matter.

Soft Feather sighed, and said, “Three Stages in a single year. Amazing, as expected of the Scholarly Sage.”

“Yiyaya~ Hehe~” Fairy Creation smiled widely.

Soft Feather continued, “However, Senior Song is even more amazing as it only took him four months to reach the Fourth Stage Realm. He was over half a year faster than the Scholarly Sage.”

Song Shuhang smiled wryly. “I can’t be compared to the Scholarly Sage. He cultivated step by step on his own. As for me, I was just lucky and had several fortuitous encounters… With that, I somehow reached the Fourth Stage Realm without even knowing it.”

When he looked back, he felt that his cultivation path made no sense.

He had been an ordinary mortal not too long ago. Then, without him even knowing it, he’d already reached the Fourth Stage.

In the previous semester, when he had just entered the path of cultivation, he would have never expected that he would be able to progress this fast!

Seriously, even among mortals, he was the most ordinary of them all.

Soft Feather said, “Since this dream is related to the Scholarly Sage, let’s open the gates and enter!”

Su Clan’s Sixteen glanced at Fairy Creation. After seeing that she didn’t stop either her or Soft Feather, she took a step towards the gate, and pressed her hand against the door.

The heavy gates opened. There was also fog within, but this fog was golden.

Soft Feather laughed, and said, “Is this smog? It’s golden, so could it be that there’s a lot of gold particles in the fog?”

Su Clan’s Sixteen looked at Fairy Creation. “Senior Fairy Creation, can you sing a song to dispel the fog?”

Fairy Creation smiled.

She stepped forward and placed her hand on the door frame.

In the next moment, her figure became transparent.

Soft Feather frowned, and said, “Fairy Creation, there seems to be something wrong with your current state.”

Fairy Creation softly said, “I’m unwilling, but I do not have the means to make you stay. I see you, but I cannot meet you. In this life, I only want to meet you again.”

This was the first time that complete statements came out of her mouth; it was no longer the gibberish that she’d been spouting before.

“It would be great if there was another life, a life in a new era, in a new city, with a new identity, and the opportunity to meet you.” Fairy Creation’s figure gradually faded, and she nearly completely disappeared.

Afterward, she began to sing.

There weren’t any lyrics; it was a song composed purely of random vowels.

The singing was long, gentle, and very sad.

The golden mist rose and turned into a golden liquid. Then, this golden liquid descended as golden raindrops.

Before they knew it, Su Clan’s Sixteen and Soft Feather had tears streaming down their cheeks.

The song was like tear gas, and the people who heard it wouldn’t be able to stop crying.

Fortunately, Ye Si was not here… If she was, her tears might form a small lake.

“What’s the name of this song?” Soft Feather said with tears streaming down her face.

Fairy Creation shook her head.

After that, her figure completely disappeared.

“Fairy Creation… Who is she?” Su Clan’s Sixteen asked while sniffling.

Song Shuhang said, “Perhaps she’s a powerful senior of the scholarly faction? She seems to be waiting for someone, wishing to be by their side.”

The gate opened, and the golden fog that had turned into golden raindrops descended and revealed a world inside the door.

It was a desert, and the golden raindrops fell and merged into small streams in the desert.

At the very center of the desert was a dilapidated pavilion.

There was nothing else.

Soft Feather said, “Let’s go in and take a look.”

She grabbed Su Clan’s Sixteen’s little hand, and the two entered the desert together.

Song Shuhang shouted, “Wait!”

He also wanted to enter the desert world with the others, but he was still blocked by the ‘transparent wall’ and could not get through.

Su Clan’s Sixteen looked back, and said, “Shuhang, you can wait for us here. We’ll go and have a look at the pavilion. Perhaps there’s something there that can trigger a change.”

Song Shuhang said, “Be careful.”

Soft Feather waved, and said, “Don’t worry, Senior Song. This is a dream, there won’t be any problems.”

While holding hands, the two women quickly approached the pavilion.

Song Shuhang waited beside the ‘transparent wall’ and stared at Su Clan’s Sixteen and Soft Feather. If there was a change in the desert, he could alert them at a moment’s notice.

Soft Feather and Su Clan’s Sixteen soon arrived at the pavilion.

It looked like a very ordinary bamboo pavilion. It was somewhat shabby, and the roof of the pavilion was a bit leaky, with the golden water drops falling unceasingly.

The two women squatted in the bamboo pavilion, and began to inspect it inch by inch in an attempt to find any abnormalities.

It was unknown how long had passed when…

At the edge of the gate, a figure gradually emerged.

It was Fairy Creation, who had disappeared a while back. She’d regained her form.

Song Shuhang: “…”

He thought that Fairy Creation had completely disappeared, and he had been a little saddened by this. Who could have expected that she would resurrect right where she had left them?

After Fairy Creation reappeared, she looked at Song Shuhang and asked, “❮Scholarly Indestructible Body of the Buddha❯?”

After recovering this time, her expression was different from before. If she’d been a scholarly beauty before, now she appeared like a sharp sword that was out of its sheath.

Song Shuhang nodded, “Yes.

Fairy Creation asked, “Where did you learn your ‘Scholarly Indestructible Body of the Buddha’?”

Song Shuhang replied, “At the summit of the Myriad Books Mountain. In the Still Pond of Wisdom.”

“No wonder. Your ❮Scholarly Indestructible Body of the Buddha❯ is different. It carries Teacher’s style.” Fairy Creation nodded. “This foggy realm was activated because of you. I thought that Teacher had resurrected, but it appears I saw wrong.”

Song Shuhang: “…”

Could the ‘teacher’ that Fairy Creation is talking about be the Scholarly Sage? Does this mean that she’s one of the Tribulation Transcenders disciples of the Sage?

Fairy Creation said, “Since you aren’t Teacher’s resurrected self, you won’t be able to find anything in this foggy dream. Follow the path that you came from, and you will be able to leave this dream.”

Song Shuhang nodded, and said, “We’ll leave as soon as Sixteen and Soft Feather come out.”

Fairy Creation said, “Alright.”

In the bamboo pavilion in the desert, the two women were still checking the place pavilion little by little.

Song Shuhang and Fairy Creation stood facing each other across the transparent wall.

“By the way, Fairy, before you disappeared, was the person you were singing about the Scholarly Sage?” Song Shuhang asked in boredom.

Everyone had a tendency to gossip.

“No.” Fairy Creation shook her head. “Previously, the other ‘me’ was singing the prelude to a song. Those words belonged to my teacher, and the person he was waiting for is her.”

Fairy Creation then pointed at the painting with the ‘blue-haired woman’ on the gate.

Fairy Creation said, “No one knows the identity of that blue-haired woman, but she was the one who led Teacher on the path of cultivation. After Teacher stepped onto his own scholarly path, he would often mention her. I feel that with his strength, it shouldn’t have been difficult for him to find her. However, he seems to have never actively searched for her. Yet, he looked forward to meeting her again.”

Song Shuhang said, “It seems it was unrequited love!”

Fairy Creation nodded. “But keep those words in your heart and don’t say them aloud. Leave my teacher some face. We, his disciples, secretly searched for this blue-haired woman all over the universe, yet we were unable to find her. Perhaps she had died already.”

Song Shuhang said, “I might have seen her before.”

“Huh?” Fairy Creation’s eyes widened.

Song Shuhang said, “That ‘Senior Creation’ you’re possessing has also met her. Xuan Nu Sect’s Skylark, who’s an administrator of the Nine Provinces Number One Group, looks exactly like the woman in the picture.”

Fairy Creation frowned, and fell deep in thought.

After a while, she asked, “Where is this Skylark right now?”

“She was taken by a powerful person from the Netherworld. I also entrusted a senior to acquire some information about her, but I haven’t gotten any news as of yet,” Song Shuhang said.

Just after Song Shuhang’s words fell, the small pavilion in the desert suddenly exploded.

“Aaah!” Soft Feather could be heard shouting loudly. She jumped up high and quickly rolled on the ground.

As for Su Clan’s Sixteen, she tiptoed to avoid the explosion.

After the explosion, a bamboo coffin rushed into the sky from under the pavilion.

The bamboo coffin opened slowly, revealing an eye.

The eye looked very ordinary. There weren’t any magic runes on it, nor were there any eye technique patterns on it.

However, when a person’s eye met this eye, they would feel that this eye contained ‘extreme wisdom and profound knowledge’.

It was an eye that had gone through extensive reading, and had grasped inestimable knowledge.

Fairy Creation explained, “This is an eye of my teacher.”