Chapter 7 Cultivation (Part 3) How could such a book be in the Scripture Pavilion? ...
Qingxing always goes to bed at midnight and gets up at dawn without fail. Last night, due to the sudden attack by the demons, she went to bed a little later, but this morning she got up as usual to wash up, and even got up an hour earlier.
As dawn broke, sunlight streamed in through the window and fell on her face. Qingxing sat on the bed in a daze for a while, and only after her mind was fully clear did she get out of bed and pick up the clothes by the bedside.
To encourage disciples to focus on cultivation, Jiu Chaoying designed special disciple uniforms after assuming the position of sect leader.
Anyone who joins Taihua Mountain as an inner disciple must wear the uniform blue and white cross-collar shirt and lantern pants.
Of course, the sect leader treated everyone equally, and there was not much difference between the male and female disciples' uniforms. For the sake of aesthetics, the women's lantern pants had several layers of light gauze at the waist; and the men's shirts had two more embroidered flowers.
As one of the top sects in the world, Mount Taihua is incredibly wealthy. The materials used to make the disciples' robes are all of the highest quality, combining both aesthetics and comfort. Even though Qingxing has worn them for three lifetimes, she still likes them very much.
She tied the last ribbon, meticulously bound her hair, then picked up the blank book from the bedside table and walked towards the door.
The book was rather heavy, and carrying it around like that seemed a bit cumbersome. Qingxing lowered her eyes and thought for a moment, then ran to a corner of the room and rummaged through drawers and cabinets, finally finding a yellowed old cloth bag under the wardrobe.
She casually stuffed the cryptic book into her bag and went out.
Yesterday's sparring match with Su Lin caused too much of a commotion; if she went to the dining hall, she would surely be surrounded by her fellow disciples. Qingxing turned a corner and headed straight for the Scripture Pavilion, picking a few apples along the way, intending to eat them to appease her hunger when she got tired of studying.
Mount Taihua has several scripture repositories, but the one with the largest collection and widest range of books is the one at the top of the main peak, Qiyun Mountain.
After becoming an inner disciple, without a master to guide her, Qingxing spent her days in the Sutra Repository, no matter how obscure the knowledge in the books was, she could spend an entire day engrossed in them.
But today, her goal is clear—the high-end scroll bookstore.
Studying various techniques is one of Qingxing's few hobbies. Thinking that she could learn something new today, she couldn't help but clench the jade pendant in her hand and quicken her pace.
The library was built very tall, and the study was located in the top attic.
Qingxing arrived early, and there were few people in the pavilion. She easily climbed the winding stairs and reached the door.
The high-level scrolls contain countless powerful spells, and no cultivator would be unwilling to explore them. However, since many disciples are not yet in control of their spiritual power, in order to prevent them from going astray due to cultivation beyond their level, Jiu Chaoying sealed off this place and imposed layers of restrictions. Only the elders have the key to the library.
Because no one had visited for so long, the door was covered in dust. Qingxing wiped it with a handkerchief, and a dent gradually appeared.
The indentation is in the shape of a five-petaled flower, which perfectly matches the jade pendant that Jiu Quchen gave her.
Qingxing raised her hand and placed the jade pendant on it.
The next instant, the wooden door emitted a dazzling red light, accompanied by a "click" sound, shaking off all the dust on top, forcing her to take a few steps back. The complex magic array on the door rotated a few times, gradually opening to the side to reveal the scene inside.
Qingxing had initially assumed that the attic, being small, would contain a limited number of high-level scrolls, but upon entering, she discovered that the study was essentially a small, isolated space. There were no bookshelves; all the scrolls were neatly categorized and piled directly on the floor, some forming several mountains of books.
She walked forward step by step, her eyes glancing at the wooden sign floating beside her.
Sword, sound, body, puppet...
A mountain of books gleaming with golden light caught Qingxing's attention. She looked up and indeed saw the large, flashing characters on the wooden sign—"Array."
A smile unconsciously curved her lips as Qingxing sat cross-legged and casually picked up a scroll with the words "Demon-Subduing Formation" printed on it.
Subduing magic arrays are a rather special type of array. As a major sect, Taihua Mountain makes low-level subduing magic arrays a compulsory course for inner disciples, so the Scripture Pavilion does not include related books.
However, because Qingxing skipped the "inner disciple" step and became a closed disciple directly, she missed all the required courses and knew nothing about the magic array.
Yesterday, Guda wanted her to try it, but Jiuquchen, who rushed over, interrupted her.
She'd never seen low-level magic arrays before, so learning high-level ones directly seemed... not a bad idea?
With that thought in mind, Qingxing slowly unfurled the scroll in her hand.
High-level scrolls often contain hidden secrets, and the one in her hand was no exception. As if for easy carrying, the scroll was not long, and the author only listed a few key points, with the rest being drawings of magic arrays.
The beginning was filled with introductory remarks, which Qingxing read through one by one. Her gaze then moved down to the first magic circle.
"Demon-Subduing Formation - First Form: Demon Refining"
Qingxing:?
The scroll must have been infused with special spiritual power, as every word was glowing. These nine large characters suddenly entered Qingxing's mind, briefly disrupting her ability to think.
Qingxing blinked, making sure she wasn't seeing things.
She frowned, thinking: Could it be some kind of formation that negates the magic power of demons?
Surely it's not like some cultivator is so audacious as to want to artificially create demonic creatures, is it?
To find out for herself, she gritted her teeth and continued reading.
"There are countless ways to do things. Humans have their way, immortals have their way, and ghosts have their way. Today, I will talk about a way that is not tolerated by the world: refining the spirit into a demon—the demonic way."
Snap—
Qingxing, expressionless, slammed the scroll shut.
It turns out there really are people who are incredibly bold enough to openly associate with evil.
Now that she had joined the righteous Taihua Mountain, she naturally wouldn't touch such forbidden techniques. She tossed the scroll back to its original spot, filled with doubt: Why was a scroll with this kind of content in a high-level bookstore?
Shouldn't this be classified as a "banned book"? Or did the sect leader accidentally put the book in the wrong place?
Qingxing shook her head, feeling it was somewhat unlikely. Jiu Chaoying was such a meticulous person; this was far too careless!
The matter was too strange, and it was not safe to leave the book here. In order to prevent future disciples from going astray, she picked up the scroll again, stuffed it into the old cloth bag, and placed it close to her body with the blank book, intending to show it to her master later.
This little incident didn't affect Qingxing's mood too much. She calmed herself down and started looking for other array scrolls.
Once you get serious about something, there's never enough time. By the time Qingxing finished reading the entire "Record of Strange and Wonderful Formations," three hours had already passed.
Her stomach rumbled, but she was so engrossed in reading that she didn't even have time to eat the apple she had picked along the way.
Qingxing rubbed her numb thighs before standing up and walking towards the door.
She took the jade plaque from the wooden door of the bookstore, wondering when Guda would wake up, when the cloth bag on her shoulder suddenly trembled and began to speak: "Qingxing! What did you put next to me?!"
"reel."
As Qingxing spoke, she took off the cloth bag and released the struggling Guda inside.
"Of course I know it's a scroll!" Gudako shook her head, seemingly quite annoyed. "Where did you get such a malevolent book?"
As a book spirit, it could naturally sense the different spells contained in different books. The book "Subduing Demon Formation" was filled with demonic energy from the inside out. As soon as Guda woke up, it was surrounded by purple demonic energy and almost couldn't breathe.
Qingxing pointed to the wooden door behind her: "I took it from inside. I was afraid someone would misuse it, so I put it away."
"Inside?" Gudako frowned. "Shouldn't these be forbidden books? How could they be kept inside?"
Qingxing: "I don't know."
"No, this is too strange." Gu Da clasped his hands together, his whole body turning into a streak of blue light, and he darted back into the cloth bag. "I'll go inside the scroll and take a look. It might take some time. Keep the wordless book close to your body, and don't let it leave your side!"
The heavy cloth bag on her shoulder felt heavy for a moment. Qingxing glanced at her fellow disciples by the bookshelves and realized she couldn't wait there. She figured it was almost time to meet her master, so she stepped out of the scripture pavilion.
There was no time to go to the kitchen for a meal, so she hurriedly ate a bite of apple and headed straight for Biyueyunju.
Half an incense stick later—
Qingxing stared at the tightly locked gate of Biyueyunju, remained silent for a moment, and then chose to sit down at the entrance.
One egret after another flew across the sky, and bamboo leaves fell one after another in the forest. After watching the tenth ant carrying its load pass by her, Qingxing put down the old cloth bag. Thinking that she had nothing to do and wondered how long it would take for her master to get up, she simply began to meditate and regulate her breathing, following the method she had figured out herself.
After an unknown amount of time, the wooden door creaked open from the inside, and Jiu Qu Chen, dressed in white, walked out, holding a communication talisman in his hand.
"My disciple, I left home this morning and forgot to inform you. You don't need to worry about me today..."
He suddenly met the gaze of the stunned green apricot on the ground, and his voice abruptly stopped.
Dust from Jiuqu: ...
He swiftly tossed the talisman behind him, then stiffly greeted Qingxing: "Haha, it's Xing'er! Good morning!"
Qingxing stood up and bowed expressionlessly: "Good afternoon, Master."
Jiu Quchen coughed twice to cover up his embarrassment. He hadn't expected that he, who usually had good sleep quality, would have insomnia yesterday.
He had just gotten up this morning, and upon seeing the position of the sun, he immediately thought, "Oh no!" It was almost noon, and he hadn't even gotten ready, let alone prepared how to teach Qingxing. After thinking it over, he decided to send her a talisman, telling her to come back tomorrow.
But Jiu Quchen never expected that Qingxing would be so diligent. It was only early morning, yet she was already at the door, looking as if she had been waiting for a long time.
"Come in."
Since she was already there, Jiu Quchen couldn't very well send her back, so he had to step aside and make way for Qingxing.
Qingxing walked silently into the courtyard, placed the old cloth bag on the stone table, and then reached out and took out the wooden god bead.
"What is this?" Jiu Qu Chen walked over, picked up a corner of the cloth bag, and looked at Qing Xing incredulously. "Disciple, if you are short of spirit stones, you can just ask your master for some. There's no need..." He frowned and glanced at the cloth bag, which was yellow and wrinkled, like pickled vegetables that had been sitting for hundreds of years. "There's no need to be so frugal."
Jiuquchen usually gives her enough, but since Qingxing doesn't often travel far and doesn't need a cloth bag, he didn't buy one.
"Thank you, Master. I will change my bag."
"That's good. It was my fault for not noticing these things." Jiu Qu Chen picked up the wooden god bead next to him, somewhat surprised. "You can use this? You used this to draw the teleportation array yesterday?"
He had considered that Qingxing might have some talent for array cultivation, but he never expected that she would learn to use the Spirit Locking Pearl on her own. He couldn't help but ask, "Where did you learn it?"
Qingxing nodded upon hearing this: "Yes. I read about it before in 'A Few Things About the Great Powers and Romantic Affairs of the World'."
Jiuquchen was speechless. He had read this book before to pass the time. As its title suggested, the book was full of romantic escapades of the great Buddhist masters throughout history. The occasional descriptions of cultivation were also unbearable and not fit for polite society.
"...There's no need to read books like this again in the future."
He hadn't expected Qingxing to have such a wide range of reading experiences, and to be able to talk about it so openly. He was momentarily speechless, unsure whether to marvel at her obliviousness to matters of the heart or be amazed by her ability to extract knowledge.
A note from the author:
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Are there any readers following this post? I see a new click every time I post it [droopy-eared rabbit head].
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