Setting Up the Book Realm

Returning home, it was already past midnight. As soon as he entered the back courtyard, he saw the maid Xiao Huan hopping over. It turned out Chen Xuan hadn't slept at all, waiting for news of him.

Following Xiao Huan to Chen Xuan's boudoir, Chen Xuan had already changed into a thin silk undergarment. Chen Luo only then realized how superficial his earlier habit of only looking at faces had been. Even though the undergarments of this era had no fitted design and were straight-cut, a good figure could still make them look tailored...

Mm, snug and smooth!

Though he kept telling himself in his heart that this body was a younger brother, subjectively Chen Luo was still a Blue Star native who had transmigrated less than a day ago. Suddenly having a beautiful woman appear before him required some adjustment.

"Young Master, why are you staring at Miss? Did you not recognize her just because she's blind?"

Xiao Huan's Death Question rang in Chen Luo's ears.

Chen Luo glanced at Xiao Huan. This girl's face was passable, but below the neck...

Still a child!

"Xiao Luo, you're here? How did things go?" Chen Xuan was long used to Xiao Huan's bluntness and didn't mind. She grabbed the bed edge to stand up, but Chen Luo hurried forward to support her and help her sit back down.

Distracted by Xiao Huan's interruption, Chen Luo's thoughts cleared a bit. He stopped dwelling on irrelevant matters and briefly recounted everything. Learning the Tiger Demon had been killed, Chen Xuan sighed in relief, grabbed Chen Luo's hand, and said softly, "You worked hard..."

Chen Luo's face instantly reddened. He quickly and subtly pulled his hand back, saying, "Not hard at all. I... I'm going to sleep now. You rest early too... I'm off..."

With that, he turned and ran.

Running all the way back to the study, Chen Luo gulped down a large mouthful of cold water to calm his chaotic thoughts. For the first time, he carefully examined the study he was in.

Looking at the neatly arranged classics on the bookshelves, Chen Luo realized his deceased cheap father might not have been an ordinary person. After all, Elegant Script classics were considered the most precious treasures in this world. Chen Luo looked around carefully—here were not only Confucian scriptures but also Daoist collections, and even a few Buddhist sutras...

"What a waste of such good educational resources..." Chen Luo sighed. In this world, studying also required talent, a talent called "Comprehend." Only those who awakened the Comprehend talent could read classics and internalize them. Otherwise, it was like asking an elementary school child to study a college calculus textbook—they might recognize the words and letters, but couldn't understand what they meant when strung together. This talent wasn't rare, but it wasn't common either. Considering the human population of this world, one in a hundred could be considered a match.

And Chen Luo was among the ordinary ones who hadn't been chosen.

"After all, the soul has changed. Maybe I can do it now?" Chen Luo mused, casually taking a classic from the shelf and opening it. At first it was fine, but after just one line, he felt the Elegant Script on the page twist and distort, a dizzying sensation rushing into his mind.

Chen Luo quickly closed the book, steadied his nausea, gritted his teeth, and opened it again, trying hard to look. This time, he felt as if his Line of Sight was being drawn into a vortex, his eyelids growing heavy...

When he opened his eyes again, Chen Luo found himself standing in the Dream Flower Sea.

"I... fell asleep?" Chen Luo was stunned. "This thing is pretty good for hypnosis."

Chen Luo understood now. After changing souls, his reading talent hadn't awakened; it seemed even worse than the previous giant baby's!

"But is this the Dream Flower Sea?" Chen Luo Looked Around. Last time when he obtained the Brief Biography of Zhong Kui, he had been floating in mid-air, witnessing the wonder of Dream Pen Blooms from above, only seeing the top clusters of flowers. Now he was inside it, and those giant brushes were like towering trees. Calling it the Dream Flower Forest would be more fitting.

"Greetings, Lord..." Zhong Kui's voice came from behind. Chen Luo turned to see Zhong Kui, who had appeared in the flower forest at some point, bowing to him.

"Zhong Kui? You can enter this flower forest too?" Chen Luo was surprised.

Zhong Kui nodded. "I was born from this flower forest, so naturally I can enter it."

Chen Luo suddenly understood. Then he thought of something and asked, "Since you were born from this flower forest, do you know what cultivation benefits it has for me?"

Zhong Kui frowned, thought hard for a moment, and replied, "I am but an unremarkable piece of writing in this vast flower forest. If texts were ranked in nine grades, I would be in the lowest three! Fortunately, the Lord summoned me, and I received Heaven's recognition, allowing me to take form. Matters concerning the Lord's cultivation are beyond me. I believe the Lord must comprehend it himself."

"However, I do have some innate understanding of this flower forest. Perhaps I can offer the Lord some insight."

Chen Luo grew interested. "Go on."

Chen Luo walked with his Hands behind his back, while Zhong Kui followed closely behind, continuing, "First, this Book Sea Flower Forest is connected to the Lord's soul, naturally attuned to the Lord's will. For instance, when the Lord was troubled by the Tamed ghost earlier, he summoned me..."

"Second, books vary in depth, and Book Spirits vary in strength. Though I don't know how the Lord should cultivate, it's undeniable that only by cultivating to the corresponding level can the Lord bear the power of manifesting certain books in the real world."

Chen Luo frowned. "So you're saying that only at certain levels can I unlock corresponding books?"

Zhong Kui was taken aback, then nodded. "The Lord's phrasing is novel, but that is indeed the meaning."

Zhong Kui thought for a moment and said, "In my innate inheritance, the books in this Book Sea Flower Forest can be roughly divided into three manifestation levels."

"First level: joy, anger, sorrow, happiness; love, hate, enmity, passion. All human experiences and worldly phenomena are contained within the books and texts of this forest. For example, I myself, though a divine ghost, was once human, granted by Heaven the ability to devour ghosts. Thus, I belong to this level."

Chen Luo nodded. This was essentially a "low-martial world." Even supernatural beings like Zhong Kui didn't gain their abilities through cultivation but through Heaven's recognition and bestowed rules. He immediately thought of similar books like "The Butterfly Lovers" and its "turning into butterflies" scene.

"Second level: flying through the sky and escaping the earth; demons, monsters, and spirits. In books of this level, immortals descend to the mortal world, and demons and ghosts exist, quite similar to this world."

"Mm, so it's a Xianxia world..." Chen Luo thought. Books like Strange Tales from a Chinese Studio and Legend of the White Snake probably belonged to this level.

"Third level: carefree across the Three Realms; gods, Buddhas, and immortals stand side by side. Books of this level seem to exist above this world. Within them, the Dao Ancestor sits in the Thirty-Third Heaven, carefree immortals ascend to the heavens and descend to the earth, and the Buddha's light illuminates all realms. Lifespan equal to Heaven, imperishable through countless calamities."

"Got it, Journey to the West and Investiture of the Gods for sure..." Chen Luo chuckled wryly. But if he really unlocked this level, summoning the Three Pure Ones on one side and Tathagata on the other like he summoned Zhong Kui, what would happen if he visited the Daoist and Buddhist sects of this world...

Well, the future was bright—but the path hadn't been found yet!

"Three levels are too wordy. Let's call them 'Red Dust Realm,' 'Xianxia Realm,' and 'Carefree Realm'..." Chen Luo said casually. Unexpectedly, as soon as the words left his mouth, the entire flower forest shook violently. If not for Zhong Kui's support, Chen Luo would have fallen.

Before Chen Luo could ask Zhong Kui what was happening, a majestic voice Sounded from the horizon—

"Red Dust tempers the human heart!"

"Ascending to immortality requires chivalrous intent!"

"Who attains true carefreeness?"

"The cosmos scatters one breath!"

"Lord of Flower Forest Chen Luo has self-comprehended the path of cultivation. From now on, the myriad books of the flower forest shall stand divided by this path!"

Chen Luo was stunned: Self-comprehended the path of cultivation? What did I comprehend? I just came up with names! At most, a few books popped into my head as examples... Right, that voice—wasn't it the same as the one that recited the poem the first time?

Chen Luo quickly looked at Zhong Kui. "Old Zhong, who is that voice-over?"

Zhong Kui let out a bitter laugh and said, "The one who spoke is the Spirit of this Secret Realm. All the books from beyond the heavens that can reside within your lord's sea of consciousness and manifest in the world do so thanks to the protection of this Secret Realm's spirit!"

Oh, a system.

Chen Luo nodded. This was something he was familiar with. But he felt this system was a bit chuunibyou and sycophantic...

"Your lord, look..." Zhong Kui pointed toward the flower grove. Where the grove had once been a chaotic mess, three great paths now suddenly appeared. However, two of them were shrouded in mist, leaving only one path clearly visible, with flowering trees swaying gracefully on either side.

Chen Luo had a sudden epiphany. He understood that the books lining the clear path were all of the Red Dust Realm, while the paths blocked by mist held books of the Xianxia Realm and the Carefree Realm.

Just then, ten butterflies formed from flower petals flew out from the path and circled around Chen Luo.

Zhong Kui's face lit up with joy: "Your lord, Low-Tier Books are unremarkable, Mid-Tier Books emit wondrous fragrances, and High-Tier Books reveal their spiritual essence on their own. These are ten High-Tier Wondrous Texts. Because your lord established a Dao Realm for the myriad books, they have taken the initiative to come to you. However, given your current abilities, you can only choose one to manifest in the world!"

"Isn't this just getting an SSR at the start?" Chen Luo complained inwardly. "So I have to play through some story first before I can pull..."

He glanced again at Zhong Kui's fierce visage and thought, "And here I thought I'd already used up my free pull on you!"

Chen Luo looked at the ten petal butterflies fluttering around him. Although Zhong Kui said these Book Spirits were High-Tier, they were still only at the Red Dust Realm level. Books like Journey to the West and Investiture of the Gods weren't even in the Gacha Pool yet!

He took a deep breath and reached out toward one of them. The moment his finger touched the petal butterfly, it turned into a beam of light that shot into Chen Luo's mind.

A Wondrous Text unfurled in Chen Luo's thoughts. He sensed it briefly, and a smile spread across his face: So it's this book...

Collections are precious, and recommendations are dear. If monthly votes come near, I'll take all three without fear. A new book from a new author—begging for collections, begging for recommendations, begging for monthly votes!