The Daoist attendant led Li Su away without lingering near Jade Void Palace, riding a cloud toward one side of the mountain range.
Kunlun Mountain was boundless, filled with immortal peaks and countless cave abodes. Many Nominal Disciples, outer disciples, and even immortal birds and exotic beasts resided here.
After flying for a while, they arrived at a relatively secluded valley. Spiritual energy filled the valley, streams murmured gently, and strange flowers and rare herbs grew throughout the tranquil surroundings.
Deep within the valley, several cave abodes had been carved into the mountain wall. One of them had its stone door tightly shut, with no markings upon it.
"Senior Brother Mo Xing, this is the cave abode assigned to you, Listening Bamboo Abode."
The Daoist attendant took out a jade token and waved it before the stone door. The door silently slid open. "This jade token is the control key for the cave abode's restrictions. Please keep it safe.
"There are several other senior brothers and sisters cultivating in seclusion within the valley. They are all members of our Jade Purity lineage, so you may befriend them as you wish."
Li Su accepted the jade token and swept it with his divine sense, immediately understanding how to use it. "Thank you for your trouble, Junior Brother."
The Daoist attendant cupped his hands. "If Senior Brother has any questions, you may inquire at the Affairs Hall halfway up the mountain.
"This disciple must return to report. Farewell." With that, he rode away on a cloud.
Li Su entered the cave abode.
The interior was quite spacious, furnished with a stone bed, meditation cushions, a pill furnace, an herb garden, and all manner of facilities. Though simple, it carried the air of an immortal dwelling. Deep within the abode, it seemed to be connected to a spiritual spring of the earth vein, making the spiritual energy especially dense.
More importantly, he found the surroundings extremely comfortable.
"This place is excellent." Li Su nodded in satisfaction. He rearranged the cave abode's restrictions and added some of his own array techniques, greatly increasing its defenses and concealment.
After settling in, he did not begin cultivating immediately. Instead, he decided to visit the Scripture Repository first.
Yuanshi Tianzun had permitted him to read outer sect scriptures. This was an excellent opportunity to understand the Primordial World, broaden his knowledge, and seek ideas for integrating countless methods.
Following the map within the jade token, Li Su quickly found the Scripture Repository nestled among several immortal peaks.
It was a towering nine-story jade pagoda, its precious radiance soaring into the heavens. Disciples flowed in and out without end.
After displaying his Nominal Disciple jade token, he entered the first floor without issue. The interior was far more spacious than it appeared from outside, like a small world. Countless jade slips, books, and beast-hide scrolls floated in the air, sorted into categories and radiating lights of various colors.
Some disciples sat quietly reading, while others scanned texts with their divine sense. The place was exceptionally silent.
Li Su swept the area with his divine sense and found that the first floor mostly contained introductory texts: Primordial World geography and curiosities, catalogs of spiritual materials, basic pill refinement and artifact forging, common cultivation methods and divine abilities, with the highest reaching the Earth Immortal level.
His horizons were already quite broad, so these offered him limited help. He went directly to the second floor.
Starting from the second floor, the quality of the texts noticeably improved. There were many cultivation insights at the Heavenly Immortal level, divine abilities and spells, detailed explanations of arrays, and even simple discussions regarding the laws of the Great Dao.
Li Su found the foundational volume and several advanced sections of the Jade Purity Immortal Method here. Though they were not core teachings, their system was complete, upright, and balanced, greatly benefiting his understanding of the orthodox Dao of the Mystic Gate.
He immersed himself in them, absorbing knowledge with ravenous hunger.
[Read Jade Purity Immortal Method—Foundational Volume. Your understanding of Mystic Gate qi refinement has deepened, and spiritual power circulation efficiency has slightly increased.] [Read <A Brief Account of the Thirty-Six Heavenly Transformations>. You have gained some insight into the path of divine ability transformations.] [Read <Initial Explanation of the Seventy-Two Earthly Arrays Diagram>. Your array knowledge has been supplemented, and your proficiency in the Dao of Arrays has increased.]
The system notifications sounded from time to time.
Afterward, he went to the third floor, then the fourth... The higher he went, the fewer texts there were, and the more profound they became. There were even fragmented manuscripts and insights left behind by Golden Immortals and Great Luo Golden Immortals.
However, all of them required the corresponding authority or contribution points to read. With his current status as a Nominal Disciple, Li Su could only access up to the fifth floor.
Even so, his gains were immense. The orthodox Mystic Gate system, the principles behind various divine abilities and spells, knowledge of pill refinement and artifact forging, records of the myriad races of the Primordial World, fragments of ancient secrets...
He frantically absorbed, understood, and integrated the vast ocean of information into his own system of knowledge.
He paid particular attention to texts concerning "stars," "devouring," "arrays," "defense," and "sanctification through the physical body," cross-referencing them with his own learning.
In a corner of the fourth floor, he even found a damaged jade slip containing a few scattered references to Buzhou Mountain, calling it "Pangu's spine.
"The pillar of heaven and earth, containing the supreme laws of 'strength' and 'defense.' After its collapse, its laws scattered throughout the Primordial World." This gave him deeper suspicions regarding the origins of the Bedrock Rune.
In another jade slip introducing the Western Sect, he saw several descriptions of "protection," "compassion," and the "golden body," which faintly echoed the Dao aura of that damaged jade pendant.
He also found further records regarding the Witch Clan, the Demon Clan, the Dragon-Han Initial Tribulation, and the Witch-Demon War. Though most were vague and incomplete, they gave him a more three-dimensional understanding of Primordial World history.
Thus, Li Su remained in the Scripture Repository for several months. When hungry, he took medicinal pills; when tired, he meditated for a while.
His store of knowledge grew at an astonishing rate. Many doubts about cultivation suddenly became clear, and his thoughts regarding his own path became increasingly distinct.
One day, he was immersed in a jade slip containing a fragmented discussion of the Cosmos Stellar Array. Though it was merely an external discussion, it still benefited him immensely. Suddenly, he heard two nearby inner disciples speaking in low voices.
"Have you heard? The Myriad Manifestations Heavenly Stairway will open again in three months!"
"Really? I wonder who will claim first place this time and earn the qualification to enter the Chaos Secret Realm for enlightenment!"
"It'll be difficult! I heard several senior brothers and sisters at the True Immortal realm are all eager to compete! That's the Chaos Secret Realm we're talking about—supposedly, it contains an opportunity for sanctification!"
"Sigh, Heavenly Immortals like us probably have no hope. We'll be lucky if we can climb to the higher levels and earn a few rewards..."
The Myriad Manifestations Heavenly Stairway? The Chaos Secret Realm? An opportunity for sanctification?
Li Su's heart stirred, and he set down the jade slip in his hand.
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