Once Cheng Mingyue returned to normal, the three of them headed towards the academy, which appeared somewhat dilapidated.

This place had only one tightly closed gate with no one guarding it, making it seem abandoned.

Guan Gui asked, "Shall we scout?"

It seemed he intended to use a spirit to scout ahead.

Li Rui shook his head and said, "Better not. What if they just don’t like cleaning? If someone is inside and catches your spirit, even with Master Bo Yuan’s token, it wouldn’t be easy to explain."

He stepped forward and knocked on the door knocker.

Thud, thud, thud.

A lengthy silence followed.

After a while, just as Li Rui was about to knock again, a sound came from the gate about as tall as a person; a bolt was drawn, and the door opened a crack.

A young man’s face appeared, glancing suspiciously at the three of them without saying a word.

Thud.

The door closed again.

"Hey!"

Cheng Mingyue wanted to step forward to argue, "That was so rude!"

"Wait."

Li Rui stopped Cheng Mingyue, who wanted to knock again, "Something’s not right, look."

When he reached for the academy’s door knocker again, he couldn’t lift it but passed through it like a ghost.

"Eh?!"

Amid Cheng Mingyue’s shock, Li Rui walked towards the door, not pushing it but going through it directly, disappearing from sight.

A few seconds later, his figure reappeared.

"What kind of ability is that?"

Li Rui shook his head, "It’s not an ability; we don’t seem to have physical bodies. We were just transported here and not fully integrated, so we could knock on the door."

He grabbed Cheng Mingyue’s hand and pulled, both passing through the academy’s doors and arriving inside, the young scholar’s back receding in the distance.

At this time, Guan Gui also followed.

"I’ve recalled something."

"Jingyang Academy is supposed to have a Demon Suppression Tower, but it’s not here."

After he said this, Li Rui and Cheng Mingyue were both stunned.

They had studied the information on Jingyang Academy before. According to the Superpower Division’s map, there was a twenty-eight-story tower in the center of the academy, holding evil spirits captured from Ghost Cry Ridge.

This tower was the academy’s landmark, rumored to suppress the evil demon, so even from dozens of miles away, one could see its righteous aura piercing the sky, without a cloud in the sky above.

"Could this place not be Jingyang Academy? No, that strange high wall and gate are just right, plus Ghost Cry Ridge is nearby."

Indeed, while other things could be faked, the eight hundred miles of Ghost Cry Ridge couldn’t be. No matter how powerful, even Master Bo Yuan couldn’t create such a ghostly mountain out of thin air.

"Forget it. Let’s go inside and see. Blind guessing won’t get us anywhere."

Li Rui called out, and the three of them hurried in the direction of the young man who opened the door.

So far, it seemed the other party bore no ill will, only that the three were experiencing some difficulty, lacking a physical form, and thus were unseen.

The other halls and pavilions in the academy also appeared dilapidated.

Accurately speaking, there weren’t many signs of decay, just a sense of infrequent cleaning, with few people moving about.

For such a prestigious force, though not as grand as Shenxiao Palace, it was unexpected to see such a state.

The trio assessed this quietly as they moved deeper in.

Finally, after several turns, there appeared human presence ahead.

"One, two, hey-ho!"

"One, two, hey-ho!"

Several burly men were working energetically, stripped to the waist.

They were surrounded by timber and stone, hammers and mallets, on what was clearly a construction site.

"What are they building?"

The three approached to see not only craftspeople working but also many scholars like the man who opened the door, wearing long robes and caps, laboring on the site.

However, they were primarily inscribing words on plaques and columns, reciting incantations to provide enhancement.

"Hey, do you think they might be building... the Demon Suppression Tower?"

Upon hearing this, Guan Gui immediately said, "The location matches. If we add a section of the missing buildings, this is the place."

Cheng Mingyue said, "Let me check it out."

She pattered her way up the steps to a higher point, turned back, and saw that the dilapidated academy did indeed match the Superpower Division’s depiction closely, though lacking many outer buildings.

At this time, Li Rui and the others followed her up and saw the same view.

Behind them came the sound of a conversation between two men, one of whom was the young man who had opened the door, while another, similar in age, with thick eyebrows and large eyes, a square face, appeared more composed.

"Perhaps you misheard. Since you saw nothing when you opened the door, it can’t be someone fooling us poor scholars, right?"

"It’s not impossible, just that it felt a bit uneasy at the time, I don’t know why."

"Instead of pondering that, why not check how the library sorting is going."

"Got it, got it, Mr. Cen, I’ll do it."

The doorkeeper departed, and the trio’s gaze was drawn to the thick-browed, square-faced man.

"What did they call him?"

"Mr. Cen?"

"Hmm."

The trio fell silent.

There was indeed a Mr. Cen at Jingyang Academy, the academy’s most learned person who oversaw the sacrifices, but Chongxu said he had been killed.

"Ah... I figured it out!"

Cheng Mingyue excitedly said, "This is the real Jingyang Academy, but Master Bo Yuan’s spell went wrong, only showing us an illusion of the past!"

As she voiced this thought, a senior voice came from behind her.

"Young lady, you’re correct, but not entirely."

"This is indeed Jingyang Academy before its revival, and what you see is indeed an old illusion. However, it wasn’t Master Bo Yuan’s spell that malfunctioned, but I who drew you in."

The three turned to see an elder with long beard and hair standing behind them, wearing an academy-style robe without a belt or jade ornament, looking like a scruffy scholar.

Li Rui stepped forward and cupped his fist, "Greetings, Mr. Cen."

Cheng Mingyue’s eyes darted between the two faces: Eh?

The elder smiled, "Young man, how did you know I am Cen Lanjing?"

"A guess."

"Hahaha."

Mr. Cen’s smile turned into laughter, "Good, good, good." 𝒻𝘳ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝒷𝘯ℴ𝓋ℯ𝘭.𝑐ℴ𝑚

He contained his laughter, smoothed back his hair, then also cupped his hands formally, "There’s no need for such courtesy—my apologies for pulling you into this illusion without notice."

"Not at all," the three returned the courtesy.

Li Rui straightened and said, "Mr. Cen, please forgive the impertinence, but rumors said you... met with disaster; now what is this situation?"