Xingchen Academy
Time and space flowed, and the glittering passage carried Qi Diao Yanfei and Tashi Pingcuo to a completely new realm. When the light faded, they found themselves standing beneath a vast starry sky, their feet on a platform suspended in the void, surrounded by slowly rotating nebulae and galaxies.
"We... are in space?" Qi Diao Yanfei looked at the scene in surprise, but did not feel any discomfort. She breathed freely as if she was on the ground.
Tashi Phuntsok sensed his surroundings. "It's not exactly space. Is this an academy... built in a multidimensional space?"
As their eyes adjusted to the light, the outline of a magnificent building gradually became clear. It was a complex of buildings connected by countless luminous corridors, shaped like an unrolling scroll or a blooming lotus, quietly suspended in the starry sky. Star-like points of light streamed across the building's surface, forming a variety of strange characters and symbols.
"Welcome to Xingchen Academy," a gentle voice echoed. An elderly man in a robe embroidered with star patterns stepped out from the shadows, holding a staff inlaid with various gemstones. "I am Xing Yan, the academy's dean. I sensed you two have traveled through time and space, and have come to greet you."
Qi Diao Yanfei and Tashi Phuntsok exchanged a glance, each seeing the surprise in the other's eyes. They had never heard the language used by the dean before, but they understood its meaning directly.
Dean Xingyan smiled and said, "The 'Ten Thousand Language Crystal' in the academy automatically translates language into a form that the listener can understand. Please follow me. The instructors have been waiting for a long time."
Following Xing Yan, they crossed a series of glowing bridges and saw amazing sights along the way: in some classrooms, students were manipulating stardust to form complex geometric shapes; in some laboratories, instructors were demonstrating how to extract energy from a vacuum; and in some courtyards, scholars were establishing connections with distant galaxies through meditation.
"Xingchen Academy is the oldest temple of knowledge in the multiverse," Xing Yan explained as they walked. "We collect, study, and impart wisdom from all time and space. The students of the academy come from different worlds, different eras, and even universes with different physical laws."
Tashi Phuntsok pondered, "Won't there be conflicts when so much knowledge is gathered in one place?"
"That's a good question." Xing Yan nodded approvingly. "This is precisely the eternal challenge facing the academy. The collision between different knowledge systems can both generate new wisdom and lead to cognitive collapse."
They arrived at a circular hall where seven instructors, dressed in robes of various colors, sat around a round table shimmering with starlight. Qi Diao Yanfei noticed that the form of one of the instructors was constantly shifting, sometimes like light and shadow, sometimes like fluid. He was clearly not human.
"The seven instructors of the academy," Xing Yan introduced, "represent seven basic areas of knowledge: matter, energy, life, consciousness, time and space, cause and effect, and chaos."
The transformed mentor uttered a pleasant voice, "I am Morph of the Seat of Chaos. I sense the aura of the Chaos Mystery Realm emanating from you two. It's quite inviting."
Qi Diao Yanfei was surprised by the other party's keen perception and took out the crystal stone given by the Daughter of Chaos: "We have indeed just come from a chaotic secret realm."
The mentors exchanged meaningful glances.
Dean Xing Yan's expression turned serious. "To be honest, the academy is facing a crisis recently, and it may be related to you two."
He waved his hand, summoning a holographic image that revealed a secret chamber deep within the academy. A massive tome hovered in the center, its pages woven from starlight, its cover inlaid with seven gemstones of varying colors. But at this moment, the light on the tome's surface flickered erratically, and the words on its pages faded in and out.
"This is the 'Origin of All Laws,'" Xing Yan explained. "It's the core of the academy, recording the fundamental laws from countless universes. But recently, the source code has begun to show anomalies, and the content of certain chapters is... disappearing."
The instructor at the Seat of Life, a kindly old woman, added, "It wasn't simply erased, but fundamentally denied. It's as if that knowledge never existed."
Tashi Phuntsok approached the holographic image and carefully sensed it. "Some force is tampering with the very nature of knowledge. This method...is similar to the interference we have encountered in other time and space."
"We suspect the work of the Void Devourers," said the instructor of the Seat of Energy, a being composed entirely of light. "They are enemies of knowledge, seeking power by denying the reality of existence."
Qi Diao Yanfei seemed to be lost in thought. "So, the dean thinks that since we've fought this force so many times, we might know how to deal with it?"
Xing Yan nodded. "More importantly, the chapter on 'Time Travelers' in the Source Codex has recently revealed new content, describing you two. Clearly, your arrival is part of the prophecy."
Led by their mentors, they arrived at the secret room where the "Origin of All Laws" was kept. Feeling the energy of the source code up close, Qi Diao Yanfei felt that all the knowledge he had mastered resonated with it.
"Can I...touch it?" she asked.
With the instructors' permission, Qi Diao Yanfei gently placed her hand on the Source Code. Instantly, countless knowledge flooded into her consciousness: the rise and fall of civilizations, the mysteries of different physical laws, the infinite possibilities of life forms...
At the same time, the "Poetry Biography of Tsangyang Gyatso" and "Records of Observations in the Three Realms" that she carried with her automatically flew out, resonating with the source text. The three books danced around each other, and the text was transmitted and reorganized between them like flowing water.
"This is..." Dean Xing Yan looked at this scene in shock, "The fusion and sublimation of knowledge!"
In the torrent of knowledge, Qi Diao Yanfei saw a disturbing scene: a pure nothingness was devouring the knowledge nodes of various time and space. Every time a node was devoured, all the knowledge related to it would disappear from all time and space.
"I see," she opened her eyes. "The Void Devourers are attacking the very foundation of knowledge. Their next target is the Star Academy."
Tashi Phuntsok also sensed the crisis: "They are already here."
The entire academy suddenly shook violently, and the starry sky began to distort. In the distance, absolute darkness spread, extinguishing stars and dissipating knowledge wherever it passed.
"The protective barrier is collapsing!" exclaimed the instructor of the Seat of Time and Space.
Dean Xingyan's face was solemn: "Activate the 'Magic Guardian Formation'! All instructors, take your positions!"
Seven mentors stood in seven different directions, each displaying the ultimate knowledge in their field, constructing a colorful knowledge barrier. However, the spread of darkness did not stop, and the barrier was gradually retreating under the erosion of nothingness.
Qi Diao Yanfei looked at the "Poetry Biography of Tsangyang Gyatso" in her hand, and suddenly an idea flashed: "Knowledge needs a carrier, and the best carrier is not words, but the mind."
She turned to Tashi Phuntsok. “Remember what we learned about balance? Knowledge and ignorance, existence and nothingness—these are interdependent dualities. We can’t simply resist nothingness; we must find a balance between it and existence.”
Tashi Phuntsok understood what she meant. "Like the balance of chaos and order?"
While the mentors struggled to maintain the barrier, Qi Diao Yanfei and Tashi Phuntsok embarked on an unprecedented experiment. With the "Origin of All Laws" as their core, they combined Qi Diao Yanfei's understanding of life and death as a soul ferryman and Tashi Phuntsok's understanding of existence as a space-time guardian with the wisdom of balance they had learned from various time and space.
Qi Diao Yanfei recites Tsangyang Gyatso's poems, and the words turn into golden light; Tashi Pingcuo mobilizes the energy of time and space, weaving the warp and weft of existence; the seeds of the tree of wisdom sprout, connecting order and chaos; the fairy water of Yaochi turns into sweet rain, nourishing the seedlings of knowledge; the chaos crystal stabilizes the fluctuations of energy.
Under the coordination of the "Origin of All Laws", various forces have formed a brand-new knowledge structure - not simply resisting nothingness, but embracing nothingness and achieving a balance with it.
Something astonishing happened: the spread of darkness began to slow, eventually stopping just outside the academy, creating a strange equilibrium. Darkness and light, nothingness and existence, intertwined and interdependent like the yin and yang fish.
"Impossible!" a voice called from the darkness. "How can knowledge embrace ignorance? How can existence embrace nothingness?"
Qi Diao Yanfei walks towards the edge of darkness: "Because true wisdom knows its own limitations, and true knowledge understands the necessity of ignorance. Without darkness, light loses its meaning; without nothingness, existence loses its value."
A vague figure emerged from the darkness. "We are messengers of the Void, ordered to erase all knowledge and return everything to the tranquility of primordial times."
“Tranquility is not the same as nothingness,” Tashi Phuntsok said, “just as silence is not the same as ignorance. The tranquility you seek can be achieved through balance, not destruction.”
The figure was silent for a long time, and finally asked: "How... to balance?"
Over the next seven days, Xingchen Academy launched an unprecedented academic exchange, with instructors and messengers of nothingness discussing the true meaning of existence and nothingness.
Qi Diao Yanfei and Tashi Phuntsok share the wisdom of balance they have learned from various time and space: the middle way of the future Buddhist kingdom, the balance of chaos and order in the secret realms of mountains and seas, the coexistence of time and space in the Three Realms Inn...
Gradually, the messengers of nothingness began to change. They realized that complete nothingness, like complete existence, was an extreme. True harmony came from a balance between the two.
When the communication ended, the darkness was no longer pure nothingness, but had turned into a translucent gray with star-like points of light flickering in it - those were tiny beings that were contained.
Dean Xing Yan was filled with emotion: "This is the first time in the billions of years since the founding of the academy that we have reached a reconciliation with nothingness. You two have made immortal contributions to the inheritance of knowledge in the multiverse."
As a token of their gratitude, the academy’s instructors gave them a copy of the “Origin of All Laws”—not a physical book, but a crystal containing the essence of all knowledge.
"Continue your journey with this wisdom," said Dean Xingyan, "and let the seeds of balance blossom and bear fruit in more time and space."
Before leaving Xingchen Academy, Qi Diao Yanfei wrote down his new insights in the Records of Three Realms:
“That day, we stepped into the Star Academy and witnessed the vastness of knowledge;
That month, we faced the devouring nothingness and realized the value of ignorance;
That year, we reconciled existence and nothingness, creating an unprecedented balance;
In that life, we passed on the spark of wisdom and illuminated the darkness of the multiverse."
Tashi Phuntsok held her hand and said, “Every journey gives us a deeper understanding of balance.”
Qi Diao Yanfei nodded, gazing at the academy receding beneath the starry sky. "The meaning of knowledge lies not in accumulation but in understanding; not in resisting ignorance but in peacefully coexisting with it."
The space-time passage opened again, taking them to their new destination. The knowledge crystal in Qi Diao Yan Fei's hand emitted a soft light, resonating with her soul.
They don't know what challenges the time and space ahead will bring. But they know that as long as they uphold the wisdom of balance, they can find harmony in any situation.
In the infinite multiverse, their journey will continue, and the wisdom of balance will guide them forward like the eternal stars.
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