The crowd in front suddenly stopped, and Zhang Dongji quickly pulled Shi Lan, signaling her to come back to her senses.
Shi Lan snapped out of her thoughts and looked up to see the towering pagoda a few feet away.
This is... a "library"?
Shi Lan read the inscription on the plaque in a low voice.
Zhang Dongji had been keeping a close eye on the Buddhist sect. Seeing someone step forward first, he quickly said, "Look, someone's going in."
Shi Lan then lowered her gaze, and sure enough, a monk had already pushed open the door.
Seeing that the monk had already stepped inside, Zhang Dongji became quite anxious.
Shi Lan glanced at him sideways and said, "What's the rush? Let's go in after the monks have all gone in."
Zhang Dongji nodded, but before he could say anything, the library's doors suddenly slammed shut, and the tall tower shimmered with spiritual light. In less than half a breath, the monk was pushed out, still holding a broken jade piece in his hand. When he tried to go back inside, the library revealed a thin layer of light, which bounced the monk away by half a zhang.
Jingkong seemed to have not expected this scene and quickly stepped forward to inquire.
The monk whispered a few words, and Jingkong's expression suddenly turned extremely ugly.
Shi Lan glanced at their mouths and asked, "What are they saying?"
Zhang Dongji seems to have a great deal of knowledge about these miscellaneous and nonsensical subjects.
He squinted at it for a while, then said haltingly, "Just one was taken... and then forcibly sent out... the barrier above is strange."
Shi Lan watched the two return to the group, then tilted her head and asked Zhang Dongji, "A barrier? There's another barrier inside?"
Zhang Dongji shook his head and said, "It should refer to the halo just now."
Shi Lan nodded. Seeing Jing Kong lead all the Buddhist disciples into the building, Shi Lan raised her eyebrows and pulled Zhang Dongji to follow.
The first floor of the library was not large. Rows of jade pieces shrouded in spiritual light were neatly arranged on the shelves. Shi Lan had already learned of the rule that only one could be taken, so she just looked at them cautiously and did not reach out to take any.
As everyone around her disappeared one by one, Shi Lan carefully observed the jade pieces on the shelf and unknowingly walked to the edge of a particularly secluded staircase.
Standing at the entrance of the old, narrow staircase, Shi Lan looked up at the steep stairs, took a breath, and reached out to hold onto a long, protruding stone, preparing to climb with its help.
Unbeknownst to her, as she lightly touched the stone, a glimmer of light slid from her head to her feet at a speed she could not perceive, disappearing in an instant.
Suddenly, the scene before my eyes changed. The tall steps turned into a puddle of water, with gentle ripples on the surface and water plants swaying. A small, dark golden fish was faintly visible beneath the surface.
Shi Lan paused, her fingers gripping the stone tightly, and staggered back to regain her balance.
Staring blankly at the suddenly changed scene, Shi Lan whispered, "What's going on? Is it an illusion?"
Shi Lan took out a spirit stone from her storage bag and gently tossed it into the water.
Like a shark spotting its prey, the little fish pounced on it. In a short while, the spirit stone went from crystal clear to dull and lifeless, and finally turned into a pile of powder that sank to the bottom.
Shi Lan's heart sank. It seemed that the ability to absorb spiritual energy was not an illusion.
Shi Lan licked her lips, took out the storage bag she had robbed before, and prepared to fish.
This was the first living thing she had seen since she entered, and it was even in a library that only stored cultivation techniques and other such items. Shi Lan felt like she had struck gold.
He channeled his true essence into spiritual power into the storage bag, causing the bag's opening to widen. Shi Lan used a three-inch-long spiritual weapon to hold the opening and slowly approached the small fish that occasionally surfaced to blow bubbles.
The little fish swam hesitantly around the storage bag, reluctant to approach. Shi Lan glanced at the spirit stone placed at the bag's opening, held her breath, and waited for it to bite the hook.
The little fish cautiously swayed left and right, and then, probably sensing no danger, swam closer in circles.
Shi Lan half-bent over, not moving at all. The little fish peeked out of the water and blew a bubble, then ran directly to the bottom of the storage bag, close to the surface of the water, and opened its mouth to suck.
Shi Lan felt a sudden weight in her hand, and the magical artifact she was holding lost its spiritual light. The storage bag, which was half-submerged in the water, turned into two tattered pieces of cloth and slowly sank to the bottom.
Shi Lan was stunned, unable to believe her eyes.
The little fish popped out of the water, its tiny eyes revealing a sly glint.
Shi Lan bit her lip, glaring angrily at it, unable to believe that she had been tricked by a fish.
The little fish opened its mouth and blew two bubbles, then suddenly sank to the bottom of the water.
A moment later, Shi Lan felt a sway under her feet.
Shi Lan hurriedly grabbed the stone embedded in the wall, but missed.
Shi Lan looked around in surprise and discovered that a small piece of land had emerged in the center of the puddle, and a stone bridge about two fingers wide stretched from her feet all the way to that piece of land.
Shi Lan tentatively stepped forward, wondering if this was the stone she had just grabbed.
The little fish surfaced again, watching the cautious Shi Lan.
Shi Lan glanced at the little fish, who came to the stone bridge and wagged its tail.
Shi Lan asked tentatively, "You want me to go onto the bridge?"
The little fish poked its head out of the water and surprisingly nodded in a very human-like manner.
Shi Lan was horrified.
In this world, spirit beasts are divided into top-tier levels. First and second tiers are equivalent to the Qi Refining stage, third and fourth tiers can rival Foundation Establishment, and Core Formation can deal with fifth and sixth tiers. As for seventh and eighth tiers, they are equivalent to Nascent Soul cultivators. Only at this level can spirit beasts understand human nature and speech.
The tiny fish in front of her, no bigger than her palm, was actually a spirit beast of at least the seventh rank?
Shi Lan found it unbelievable.
Seeing that she was standing there dumbfounded and motionless, the little fish anxiously flicked its tail and blew a bubble at Shi Lan.
A transparent bubble floated up to Shi Lan's eyes, and Shi Lan subconsciously made a hand seal to block it.
The bubble popped with a 'pop,' spraying water droplets all over her head and face.
Shi Lan quickly dodged, and Xiao Yu looked at her like she was an idiot before turning away.
Shi Lan awkwardly wiped her face and hurriedly crossed the half-zhang-long stone bridge.
Stepping onto the ground, the stone bridge vanished in a flash. Shi Lan turned her head to look at the wall and, sure enough, found the stone that had just disappeared.
Standing on this patch of ground, only a few feet wide, Shi Lan looked around and noticed a tiny light shield rising from the ground.
Curious, Shi Lan bent down and gently touched the light shield.
The light shield was very soft; it passed right through with just a touch.
Shi Lan tentatively inserted her finger and carefully removed the jade piece placed inside.
The little fish poked half its head out of the water, looked around for a while, and then withdrew.
Shi Lan held the jade piece and stood tall.
After waiting a while, she opened her eyes and found herself still in the same place.
At the water's edge, a small fish propped itself up with its fins, its two eyes silently watching her.
Shi Lan blushed and quickly pretended to read the contents of the jade tablet.
To her surprise, what she saw startled her and made her break out in a cold sweat.
There weren't many words on the jade piece, only a hundred or so, but those hundred or so words made Shi Lan's heart tremble.
The 'Return to Origin Chaos Technique,' the first cultivation method she learned upon entering this space, had actually appeared within this sect where all its disciples had been wiped out, and was even guarded by a spirit beast equivalent to a Nascent Soul cultivator. (To be continued.)
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