"Guests who wish to view ancient texts, please go up to the second floor!"
The shop assistant led Zhong Shenxiu and Jiang Kun up the stairs.
The moment he stepped onto the stairs, Zhong Shenxiu sensed a barrier. It was both defensive and protective.
"Heehee..."
"Hahaha..."
Faint, delicate sounds seemed to come from the shadows all around them.
In the darkness, it was as if countless eyes glimmered with all kinds of sinister colors, staring at the newcomers.
A stale, moldy smell spread beneath the noses of all three.
Bookshelves filled the surroundings. Scattered across them were tattered ancient texts: thread-bound books, parchment, black hardbound notebooks, and all kinds of loose sheets of paper, some covered in sparse, talisman-like scribbles.
Some of them merely required a glance at the brushstrokes to make one feel restless and disordered.
Jiang Kun subconsciously swept his eyes over the cover of a book. It bore ripples resembling drifting clouds and flowing water—somewhat like clouds, somewhat like waves, yet also like tangled tree roots. Together, they formed a Black Hole that drew in the viewer's gaze.
Within the details of those patterns, it seemed that the most fundamental mysteries of the Great Dao were hidden, containing the miracles of life...
"Honored guest!"
The shop assistant kept his eyes straight ahead, refusing to look at any ancient book. He warned, "Don't stare at these ancient texts for too long, or you'll be affected to some degree."
"Thank you!"
Jiang Kun wiped the cold sweat from his forehead and sincerely expressed his thanks.
"Old Li, these two want to buy ancient texts. I'll leave them to you."
The shop assistant handed Zhong Shenxiu over to a withered old man who was bent over a desk, immersed in study like a white-haired scholar who had exhausted himself over