Chapter Ten: Probing

After tidying up the small wooden cabin on the Sect Leader’s Peak, Zhou Xuanhong descended the mountain and arrived at the Library Pavilion—a timeworn wooden structure. Even before reaching it, he could already sense the fresh, earthy fragrance of books, a scent that seemed to beckon him to push open the doors and immerse himself in the sea of knowledge within.

There were no guards at the entrance, only an elderly mountain gibbon, less than a meter tall—the very sort of creature that, in the mundane world, was whispered about as a mountain spirit, with a ghostly monkey’s appearance. Its elongated face, red nose, and pale cheeks would indeed frighten a traveler who encountered it in the forest at night.

This old mountain gibbon was ancient; the white beard beneath its chin nearly swept the ground. In its hands, it held a book, reading with great relish, and did not even look up as Zhou Xuanhong approached.

“Zhou Xuanhong, newly initiated disciple, personal disciple of the Sect Leader—go on in. With your status, you have access at all hours. But mind you, don’t try hiding anything away. I’m always watching!” The old gibbon actually spoke in human tongue, but Zhou Xuanhong was not surprised; he could sense that this creature was no ordinary beast, but a demon beast of considerable cultivation, far beyond the Foundation Establishment stage.

Zhou Xuanhong offered it a respectful cupped-fist salute, asking nothing further.

The old gibbon grumbled, “You’re a blockhead. Don’t come running to me for answers when you run into trouble later.”

The reasons for his silence were simple: he didn’t know the creature’s true identity and it would be presumptuous to pry; besides, this was no human elder—manners befitting a beast would suffice. Moreover, Zhou had noticed that other disciples passing by the Library rarely showed the old gibbon much respect; clearly, there was a reason for this, though what it was hardly mattered. There was no need to waste time on a demon beast.

He strode directly into the Library Pavilion. Inside, the space was vast. Row upon row of neatly arranged shelves were laden with all manner of books—mostly paper volumes, but some were jade slips.

The paper books were not cultivation techniques or sword arts, but treatises on culture, geography, biographies from the cultivation world, or foundational theories. The jade slips, on the other hand, contained precious cultivation methods, spells, and sword techniques from the world of cultivators.

Books could be taken freely, provided one registered them. The jade slips, however, required a deposit of spirit stones before they could be borrowed.

There were quite a few people on the first floor, including several new disciples, but Zhou Xuanhong’s goal lay elsewhere.

He headed straight for a circular formation platform. A ring of light scanned up from below, detecting the personal disciple’s token at Zhou’s waist. As a flash of spiritual light flared, Zhou Xuanhong vanished from the first floor of the Library.

On the second floor, he stepped down from the platform. Here was the true heart of the Sect’s collection; many volumes on the first floor could even be found in mundane bookstores, but the second floor held the true treasures.

What Zhou Xuanhong needed now was a proper cultivation method—something that would determine the course of his future path to immortality, a matter of critical importance.

Up to now, he had practiced nothing but the Sect’s basic incantation for drawing spiritual energy into the body. Even among secular cultivators, he had never chosen any technique—not for lack of opportunity, but because the available ones were all worthless. Only the truly desperate would choose such methods, for they would doom one’s cultivation prospects forever.

Obtaining a real cultivation method was one of the chief reasons he had joined the Sect. A good method could open the door to an entirely new world.

He recalled what Xu Yuannian had recited from the Sect’s rules: “The Shaping Art is passed down only to disciples of the appropriate standing. It is not taught to the disloyal or unfilial, to the unkind or unrighteous, to those who betray their masters or ancestors, to those of base character, sinister heart, weak constitution, or lacking in ambition, nor to those who do not apply themselves diligently.” Clearly, the Sect’s foundational art was of immense importance—the very cornerstone of its establishment.

“Why, isn’t this the personal disciple of the revered Sect Leader?” came a mocking voice behind him.

Zhou Xuanhong turned to see a handsome inner disciple in the late Foundation Establishment stage, whose bearing somewhat resembled that of Yi Xiaoji.

Smiling, Zhou greeted him, “Greetings, brother.”

The youth clapped him on the shoulder. “No need to stand on ceremony. From today, we’re brothers-in-arms. My name is Wei Yuli. You’re here to look for a cultivation method, right? You’re not even at the late Qi Refining stage yet, but most of the techniques on this floor require Foundation Establishment cultivation.”

“Thank you for the reminder, Brother Wei. I’m just here to broaden my horizons. If I find something suitable, all the better.”

Zhou Xuanhong knew this fellow harbored ulterior motives, but he was unconcerned. As the Sect Leader’s personal disciple, there were those in the Sect who could bully him, but certainly not this one.

Sure enough, Wei Yuli soon bared his fangs, his smile all spring breezes. “Glad you understand. By the way, since you’re only in mid–Qi Refining, there’s no rush for a full cultivation method. How about this: I’ll help you pick out a few powerful sword techniques or spells, and you lend me your personal disciple token for a few days? I’d like to spend more time here on the second floor studying a particular method.”

Inwardly, Zhou Xuanhong sneered. This man, for all his slyness, was rather witless; after just a few sentences, he’d already revealed his desire for Zhou’s token, as if Zhou were a naive newcomer.

Outwardly, Zhou put on a troubled face. “I’m afraid that won’t do. My master said that the token represents my status. If I lend it out indiscriminately, I’d be in serious trouble.”

Wei Yuli scratched his head. “I suppose that was presumptuous of me. Then how about this: I’ll leave you a lower-grade spirit artifact as collateral. Surely that would be acceptable?”

He produced a shield radiating a powerful spiritual aura—a genuine spiritual artifact.

Zhou Xuanhong pondered for a moment and quickly realized Wei’s true intention. This man’s interest wasn’t in the token itself, but in the lineage behind Zhou—the Sect Leader’s own.

Before Zhou could answer, a burly young man with thick eyebrows and a greatsword on his back strode over from the far side of the Library and pulled Zhou behind him.

“Wei, what are you plotting against my little junior?”

Wei Yuli smiled, tucking the shield away. “I’ve done nothing. This is the Library Pavilion—do you think I’d dare cause trouble here? I was simply proposing a little trade with our junior.”

The newcomer snorted. “With that broken shield whose core formation I shattered?”

A cold glint flashed in Wei Yuli’s eyes, but it vanished as quickly as it came. He shrugged. “Forget it. If junior isn’t interested, I’ll be on my way. No need for misunderstandings.”

After Wei left, the young man turned to Zhou. “Don’t listen to him, little junior. I’m Luo Tuan, Elder Xu Yuan’s chief disciple. I’ve heard all about you—congratulations! By seniority, I’d actually be your junior.”

Zhou Xuanhong quickly waved his hands. “Please, Brother Luo, there’s no need for that. Let’s just go by the Sect’s rankings.”

Luo laughed. “So, are you here at the Library to gain some insight?”

Zhou nodded, then shook his head. “To be honest, I’ve hit a bottleneck in my cultivation and hoped to find a powerful technique to study. Do you have any recommendations?”

Luo suggested, “If you’re stuck, go out and temper yourself in the real world. That’s how I made my breakthroughs—cultivating through life-and-death battles, so my progress has always been swift.”

Zhou Xuanhong shook his head. “That’s necessary, of course, but now is clearly not the time.”

Luo nodded. “True—after all, you just joined yesterday. Let me think… I do remember a few techniques suitable for the Qi Refining stage.”

“Thank you, Brother.”

Luo led him to the section of basic jade slips. Zhou was disappointed; these were all trash, some even inferior to the crude methods of rogue cultivators.

“If you’re not satisfied with any of these, I have no other recommendations,” Luo admitted. “I practice the ‘Dominant Body Technique’—it suits my temperament, combining body and technique cultivation, making breakthroughs in battle and at the edge of life and death. You should think about what best fits your own nature.”

Zhou considered this, somewhat helpless. “I honestly don’t know. My aptitude is only yellow grade. If I tried your ‘Dominant Body Technique,’ I’d probably be the one getting killed out there.”

Then, curiosity getting the better of him, he asked, “Brother Luo, what’s the main technique of the Sect? Why does it seem everyone practices different things?”

Luo scratched his head. “The main art is called the ‘Shaping Formula,’ created by our founder, Xu Yuqi. It has no grade. My ‘Dominant Body Technique’ is fourth grade in the Celestial Lineage, sufficient up to the Nascent Soul stage, but for higher realms, I’d either have to explore new ground or switch to a related technique. The ‘Shaping Formula’ is more like a catalog—you’ll reach as high a grade as your own abilities allow.”

“I wouldn’t recommend you try it, though. It’s extremely difficult to master; it requires both soul and technique cultivation. If it were just soul cultivation, you could combine it with others, but this mixes attributes, which narrows your future options. The entry barrier is steep—brutes like me, who are good at fighting but not thinking, don’t even try.”

Zhou Xuanhong’s interest was piqued, and together with Luo he approached the innermost shelf, where the ‘Shaping Formula’ was kept—a golden jade slip.

Beside the slip was an introduction: this was a dual cultivation method for soul and technique, ungraded and requiring the cultivator to discover the entry method on their own. It cautioned that the technique was dangerous, demanding strict requirements of one’s soul; reckless cultivation could bring irreparable damage to the spirit.

In short, this was a technique for the highly intelligent. The slow-witted need not apply.

The introduction also extolled the technique’s power: those who mastered it would have soul force far surpassing their peers, with heightened five senses—though it said little about its effectiveness in spellcasting.

“How do I take the ‘Shaping Formula’ out of here?” Zhou Xuanhong asked.

Seeing his seriousness, Luo did not dissuade him. “As a personal disciple, you have half a day’s access to the second floor every day, and can select any number of techniques or books within a month. The ‘Shaping Formula’ cannot leave the Library, but you can imprint it on your brow and thus copy it into your mind for later study.”

Zhou Xuanhong nodded. Such were the privileges of status. While other new disciples still reveled in being allowed ten days on the first floor, he was already free to come and go from the second.

But the price for this was not one he would have chosen; it was Xiaona’s departure that had brought him to this position.

Nor was this new status without its drawbacks. Wei Yuli’s approach was proof enough—troubles like this would only multiply. This was merely the first test.