Dust-laden Divine Skill

Chapter 19: Dust-Laden Divine Skill?

After setting down the "Purple Haze Skill," Lin Fan stopped blindly searching for a suitable technique and began to think again.

"That's it!"

"According to Qi Zixiao's recording, the Earth of today—at least where I am—has no trace of spiritual energy..."

"And how can one cultivate immortality without spiritual energy?"

"Any cultivation technique or spell requires spiritual energy to sustain it; without that support, cultivation is simply impossible."

"So..."

"Looking at this is useless after all!"

Lin Fan suddenly felt like his head was about to explode.

He had thought that, with the Saintess's identity, he could easily get his hands on some immortal arts to practice in the Scripture Pavilion. Even if not immortal arts, a top-tier cultivation technique would have been fine.

But now, it was clear that wasn't the case at all.

Simply put, the Earth of today couldn't support his cultivation!

"In other words, almost all cultivation techniques and spells are useless to me, even if I read and memorize them."

"So the question is, what exactly am I doing here in the Scripture Pavilion?"

What the hell!

Don't I have any dignity?!

After scheming against thin air for so long, preparing on all fronts, and finally deciding to "go for it," this is the result?

Lin Fan even felt like collapsing to the ground.

This was too frustrating!

But he couldn't show it. He had to act cold and composed, casually putting down the book in his hand and heading downward...

"Fine. Since I can't learn immortal arts or cultivation techniques, I'll look for history books or martial arts manuals."

"I wonder if this world even has 'martial arts.'"

Reading history books should help him understand this world, especially the Purple Mansion Holy Land.

As for martial arts manuals...

Cultivation requires spiritual energy, and I can't do that on Earth, but practicing martial arts should work, right?

But now he had to worry: would the Scripture Pavilion of a "cultivation holy land" even have such "low-end" martial arts manuals?

Lin Fan didn't know.

But he was certain that if such manuals existed, they would definitely be on the first floor.

He continued downward.

The sixth floor, like the seventh, was empty except for Lin Fan.

On the fifth floor, a few elderly cultivators sat cross-legged on the ground, fully absorbed in deducing something...

Not knowing their identities and not wanting to disturb them in their current state, Lin Fan quietly slipped past.

Starting from the fourth floor, it gradually became livelier.

Many people bowed to him, but Lin Fan remained calm and continued downward...

"Why did the Saintess stay for such a short time?"

"How could we mere mortals fathom the actions of a prodigy like her?"

"Huh? Why did she stop on the first floor? This..."

"Could it be!!!"

Suddenly, someone gasped, then covered their mouth and whispered, "Fellow disciples, have you ever heard of storytelling?"

"Storytelling? I know a bit about it. It's just entertainment for ordinary people, right?"

"Yes, stories! To be honest, fellow disciples, I joined through the mountain gate opening a few years ago. Before entering, I heard many storytelling tales."

"Many of those stories were about us cultivators, and quite a few were about the Scripture Pavilions of various sects..."

"Oh?!"

Hearing this, the people around all crowded in, curiosity piqued.

"What about the Scripture Pavilion?"

"Yes, junior brother, speak quickly."

"Don't rush, fellow disciples. Let me, Zhong Feiyu, tell it slowly~"

Zhong Feiyu waved his hand and said mysteriously, "Among those stories about Scripture Pavilions, many are about 'dust-laden divine skills.'"

"What are dust-laden divine skills?"

"So-called dust-laden divine skills refer to techniques and spells capable of destroying heaven and earth that have been carelessly abandoned in a corner, ignored by everyone."

"Until a lucky one stumbles upon it by chance, and from then on, soars to the heavens!"

"And these 'dust-laden' divine skills are mostly hidden in the most inconspicuous corners of the Scripture Pavilion, or among ordinary manuals..."

When Zhong Feiyu said this, everyone understood.

Someone also asked in confusion: "The Scripture Pavilion was founded by the Holy Land's ancestors back then, and all the manuals were already categorized and placed according to their value. If there really were divine skills, how could they..."

But at that point, the speaker trailed off, as if struck by a thought.

Not just him—every disciple present was lost in thought.

True, the Scripture Pavilion was indeed created by the ancestors of old, and the manuals within were gradually refined and sorted by them and later generations.

But who could guarantee that none of those people had 'eccentric temperaments'?

And if some were eccentric, what if they just liked to 'play around'?

For instance, hiding a divine skill in the most overlooked corner?

Over the years, aside from certain specific areas on the first floor that some Servant Disciples would browse, dust had settled thick everywhere else.

If that were the case...

Just then, one of them, whether inspired or not, muttered to himself: "If there really is a dust-laden divine skill, the person who knows about it must be of higher status than us. And the Saintess..."

Swish!

Everyone's eyes began to flicker.

Right!

The dust-laden divine skill might just be a story, but considering that no one had thoroughly searched the first floor in who knows how many years, it wasn't impossible.

And who was the Saintess? With her status, she could easily go to the seventh floor—why would she linger on the first?!

Originally, they had only been browsing ancient texts on the second floor, and when they saw the Saintess come down, they followed to the stairwell just to steal a few more glances.

But when they realized the Saintess wasn't leaving the first floor, and with Zhong Feiyu's 'story' fresh in their minds, everyone's thoughts began to stir.

Then...

One by one, they descended to the first floor and started searching.

They naturally didn't dare approach the area where the Saintess was, but the vast first floor had countless books, especially in those dust-covered spots...

Over a hundred disciples brought life back to the first floor of the Purple Mansion Holy Land's Scripture Pavilion, which had been cold and silent for tens of thousands of years.

When later disciples arrived and saw this scene, they were naturally bewildered, and then... inevitably asked questions.

After asking? They joined in, of course.

Even if the 'dust-laden divine skill' was just a guess, the Saintess herself was searching here—how terrifyingly high were the odds of that guess being true?!

Gradually.

The first floor gathered quite a crowd, and some fastidious female disciples even cast wind-type spells, sending gentle breezes to sweep away the thick dust.

Lin Fan watched all this unfold but made no comment.

Dust-laden divine skill?

He felt like snarking: You guys read too many novels, don't you?! Do you really think divine skills are all hidden in the most inconspicuous corners?

Even if they were, only the protagonist could get their hands on them, right?

Thanks to readers '北风飞' and '幻都情侠' for the tips. You two have any plans tomorrow?