The Scripture Pavilion, Three Thousand Six Hundred Immortal Aperture Marvelous Method

Morning.

Ye Ping opened his eyes.

After a simple wash, Ye Ping walked out of his room.

There was a faint mist in the mountain forest, looking like a fairyland on earth.

A faint bell chime rang out, refreshing his mind and spirit.

Ye Ping stretched his waist and couldn't help but murmur to himself.

"Morning enters ancient temple, first sun shines on high forest."

"Winding path leads to secluded spot, Zen room hidden deep with flowers and trees."

"Mountain light pleases bird's nature, pond's reflection empties human heart."

"All sounds are silent here, only bell and chime are heard."

This was the poem 'Written on the Back Wall of the Broken Mountain Temple' by the poet Chang Jian.

The poem wasn't entirely fitting, as this was a Daoist temple, not an ancient temple, but with no one around, Ye Ping was simply moved to speak his mind, and there was no need for it to be fitting.

After finishing his stretch, Ye Ping walked directly towards the Qingyun Dao Sect.

He planned to go to the Scripture Repository to cram some cultivation knowledge.

All night yesterday, Ye Ping had been studying the Creation Alchemy Technique, the secret manual that Senior Brother Luo Chen had given him.

However, as he read towards the end, Ye Ping suddenly understood that he couldn't refine pills yet.

The Creation Alchemy Technique in the manual required spiritual energy within the body to refine pills.

"To guide spirit with Qi, transform spirit with spiritual energy, and condense pills with spirit, thus creating a pure spiritual pill."

In other words, one still needed to use their own spiritual energy to guide the spiritual energy of heaven and earth, then condense the pill with willpower and spirit, only then could a pure spiritual pill, meaning a non-toxic pill, be refined.

Ye Ping knew the method, but he just didn't have any spiritual energy, so Ye Ping could only put this matter aside for now.

The most important thing now was to cram some cultivation knowledge properly.

Qingyun Dao Sect.

The several grand halls were spotlessly clean and extremely simple and tidy, completely different from the bustling Daoist temples outside.

Perhaps this was the demeanor of a hidden Daoist sect.

With sleeves clean and pure, transcendent and above.

Ye Ping greatly admired this mindset, being at peace with the world, understanding destiny, and embodying principles.

Everything seemed ordinary, but the great Dao is simple; the simpler things are, the more profound principles they contain.

For example, the incense burner outside the sect's main hall, why was there always one stick of incense in it?

Could it be that the Qingyun Dao Sect couldn't afford incense?

This was clearly impossible.

It is said that sincerity brings efficacy; if one is sincere, one stick of incense is enough. If one is not sincere, even incense from the entire mountain cannot bring blessings of fortune.

Ye Ping gazed at the stick of incense in the burner, his heart filled with emotion.

A small stick of incense contained so many principles.

A hidden sect, one word.

"Awesome."

He withdrew his thoughts.

Ye Ping walked into the Scripture Repository.

The Qingyun Dao Sect's Scripture Repository was not very large; there were four bookshelves in total, and each bookshelf was filled with many secret manuals.

Ye Ping was very well-behaved, not flipping through them randomly, and even his steps were light.

But as Ye Ping stepped into the Scripture Repository and looked at the secret manuals on the bookshelves, he was completely stunned.

[Ten Dragons Ten Elephants Primordial Spirit Art]

[Method to Open Immortal Dao Twin Pupils]

[Perfect Development of Supreme Phenomenon]

[True Dragon Supreme Divine Ability]

[Heavenly Emperor Sword Technique]

[Three Thousand Six Hundred Immortal Aperture Marvelous Method]

[Thirty-Six Heavenly Dipper Divine Abilities]

[Seventy-Two Earthly Fiend Dao Methods]

In the Scripture Repository.

Ye Ping was completely stunned.

He knew the Qingyun Dao Sect was a hidden sect, but he hadn't expected them to be so terrifying.

Ye Ping could feel how powerful these secret manuals were without even looking at them.

But what shocked Ye Ping even more was that such secret manuals were casually placed on the bookshelf.

There were no protective formations around them, nor any other security measures.

Was this what a hidden sect was like?

He loved it, he loved it.

Ye Ping was excited.

He was truly excited.

If anyone dared to say this wasn't a hidden sect, he would definitely cleave them with a sword.

Twin Pupils! Primordial Spirit Art! True Dragon Supreme Divine Ability! Heavenly Emperor Sword Technique! Thirty-Six Heavenly Dipper Divine Abilities?

Ye Ping trembled with excitement.

This was simply an unexpected surprise, a complete surprise.

But after a while, Ye Ping took a deep breath, trying hard to calm himself down.

"Ye Ping, don't get too excited. Although every book here is a peerless secret manual, it doesn't mean you can learn them all. Stay calm, calm down."

Ye Ping took several deep breaths, and his emotions finally gradually subsided.

He understood that even though there was a pile of secret manuals here, the problem might be that he couldn't learn them.

It wasn't as if he could learn any secret manual given to him.

And what if something went wrong from practicing secret manuals randomly? What would happen if his Sect Leader Master and senior brothers blamed him?

Thinking of this, Ye Ping calmed down even more.

He couldn't get lost.

Yes, he couldn't get lost.

Ye Ping kept telling himself not to get excited, to maintain a normal mindset, but his heart was still in a state of excitement.

After all, who could remain calm upon seeing such secret manuals?

The secret manuals in the Scripture Repository had made Ye Ping unconditionally believe that the Qingyun Dao Sect was a hidden sect.

However, Ye Ping did not actually examine these secret manuals.

Instead, he flipped through some other books, information about the cultivation world, such as the [Qingzhou Chronicle] and the [Jin State Oddities Record].

These books were incredibly thick.

Ye Ping had great patience and spent from daytime to night in the Scripture Repository alone.

He spent a full seven hours reading.

Ye Ping read books for seven hours and finished forty-five volumes of oddity records in the Scripture Repository.

He gained a general understanding of Qingzhou, Jin State, and the Ten Nations' Immortal Sects, including their powers, court systems, and some strange things.

"I didn't expect that in this world, the power of the Imperial Dynasty is not at all weaker than the Immortal Sects."

Ye Ping muttered to himself.

According to the records in the books, the Imperial Dynasty governed the mortal world, and although the immortal Dao sects were transcendent and not under the jurisdiction of the court, the immortal sects were not as powerful as the court. Moreover, in some matters, they had to cooperate with the court.

It was equivalent to a cooperative relationship, but the Imperial Dynasty held more initiative.

But it made sense. In a cultivation world, an Imperial Dynasty couldn't possibly have no cultivators. With such a vast population, there would always be strong individuals born. Moreover, once the state machinery started running, it became an invincible force.

While immortal Dao sects also had peerless immortals, the problem was that the immortal Dao sects kept their secrets from each other, hoarding their ultimate skills and inheritances. Unless one became a true disciple, they wouldn't be taught the methods. The court, however, was different. As long as you worked hard and contributed to the court, you would be given resources and ultimate skills.

Furthermore, the most important point was.

Fame and fortune!

The world bustles for profit, the world rushes for gain.

Who wouldn't want to become a king or an ancestor? Who wouldn't want to command the world? Who wouldn't want people to clear the way for them on the street?

Of course, there were people who didn't care about fame and fortune, but how many such people were there?

It was like an old man of seventy or eighty advising you not to be infatuated with beauty.

Of course, he would say that, he was already old and frail, and had been "fixing cars" all his youth. When he got old, he would advise others not to be infatuated with beauty.

Beauty might indeed hold no temptation for cultivators who had practiced for hundreds or even thousands of years.

But what about power?

The power to command a million troops with a single word?

Even the imperial throne, held by tens of thousands of people?

Therefore, the power of the court surpassed that of the sects.

Thinking of this, Ye Ping suddenly froze.

He suddenly felt a bit uncomfortable.

If he had known this would happen, why would he have participated in the Ascension Convention more than fifty times?

If he had just gone through the imperial examinations and taken the top spot, wouldn't he be able to cultivate immortality after entering the imperial court?

It was all the fault of those online novels, which portrayed the imperial court as something else entirely. They were truly harmful.

However, Ye Ping soon felt something was wrong again.

"If I had known this earlier, wouldn't I have missed out on the hidden sects?"

That's right!

Ye Ping suddenly realized a fundamental problem.

If he hadn't been ignorant, how could he have possibly joined the Qingyun Dao Sect?

Thinking of this, Ye Ping's mood suddenly brightened again.

After a while.

Ye Ping stretched his waist again.

Then his gaze fell on a secret manual.

[Three Thousand Six Hundred Immortal Aperture Marvelous Method]

Just then.

Suddenly, a clear voice rang out.

"Junior Brother, what are you doing here?"

It was a female voice.