The Real World!

Great Bamboo Peak.

The next morning.

The back mountain of Great Bamboo Peak, the Black Bamboo forest.

Morning mist permeated the air, carrying a unique fragrance of bamboo leaves.

"Snap!"

A crisp sound broke the tranquility of the bamboo forest.

Ye Xuan held the rather oversized cleaver for a ten-year-old child in his hand.

Black Bamboo, a specialty of Great Bamboo Peak.

Its texture was as hard as iron, difficult for ordinary swords and blades to damage.

Newly admitted disciples often had to chop for an entire day, their palms blistering, before they could barely cut down a single stalk.

This was a unique cultivation method of Great Bamboo Peak, training both strength and mind.

But at this moment.

The incredibly hard Black Bamboo fell with a smooth, mirror-like cut.

Ye Xuan hadn't even broken a sweat.

"Too weak."

He weighed the cleaver in his hand and shook his head.

The strength bonus from this Innate Dao Body was practically cheating.

Combined with his cultivation at the peak of the second layer of Tai Chi Xuan Qing Dao, this so-called chore didn't even count as a warm-up.

Normally, someone else would be chopping bamboo here.

But today was exceptionally quiet.

Tian Ling'er, that tag-along, had gone to Small Bamboo Peak with the Mistress.

Ye Xuan was the only one left in the entire back mountain.

"One stalk... done."

Ye Xuan casually tossed aside the Black Bamboo he had cut and clapped his hands.

Today's task was complete.

What should he do next?

Go back to sleep?

Too much of a waste of time.

Since he had promised Old Tian he would reach the fourth layer, he needed to take some concrete action.

Meditating and practicing Qi alone was too inefficient.

Ye Xuan stroked his chin, his gaze falling on an ancient building nestled in the distant mist.

Behind Shou Jing Hall.

The Scripture Depository.

It housed the ancient texts of the Great Bamboo Peak lineage of the Qingyun Sect.

While not as rich in collection as Heaven-Piercing Peak.

For Ye Xuan now, it was undoubtedly a vast treasure trove.

"Since I can't go out, I'll look for the golden house within the books."

Ye Xuan shouldered his cleaver and strode towards the Scripture Depository.

In the original story, Zhang Xiaofan, that blockhead, only focused on Tai Chi Xuan Qing Dao and cooking.

What a waste of resources!

He didn't know how to utilize the resources of such a large cultivation sect.

He, Ye Xuan, was different.

He would squeeze every last drop of value out of Great Bamboo Peak!

He pushed open the heavy wooden door of the Scripture Depository.

A scent of aged scrolls wafted towards him.

Sunlight streamed through the window lattices, illuminating dancing dust motes in shafts of light.

There was no one guarding it.

Because Great Bamboo Peak had few inhabitants, and most of the texts stored here were basic, there wasn't much worth stealing.

The truly secret cultivation methods were held by the Peak Master.

Ye Xuan didn't stand on ceremony and walked directly to the first row of bookshelves.

This row of bookshelves was filled with ancient thread-bound books.

He casually pulled one out.

Complete Qingyun Sect Rules.

He tossed it aside.

He pulled out another.

Great Bamboo Peak Spiritual Plant Cultivation Manual.

Useless, tossed aside.

Ye Xuan was somewhat disappointed.

Were all the books here just miscellaneous writings?

He refused to give up and continued walking deeper inside.

It wasn't until he reached the third row of bookshelves that his gaze was finally drawn to a yellowed booklet.

Qingyun Sword Technique: Basic Chapter.

Ye Xuan's eyebrows shot up.

Qingyun Sword Technique?

This wasn't one of the Four Great Sword Arts?

He searched his memories of Zhu Xian.

The book mentioned the Divine Sword Thunder Control True Art and Slay Ghosts and Gods.

Those were ultimate moves, finishing blows.

But what was this "Basic Chapter"?

He opened the booklet and read it page by page.

The more he read, the brighter Ye Xuan's eyes became.

So that's how it is!

This Qingyun Sword Technique focused on sword stances, power application techniques, and how to imbue Spiritual Energy into the sword's edge.

Even without a Magic Treasure, using ordinary iron, one could slice through metal like mud and multiply their power if they mastered this Sword Technique!

This was the foundation!

It was the brick upon which a ten-thousand-foot tower was built from flat ground!

The reason it wasn't mentioned much in the original work.

Was because the protagonists and supporting characters were all old monsters who had cultivated for decades, even centuries?

These fundamental things had long been integrated into their instincts, requiring no special effort to show off.

But for Ye Xuan now.

This was a treasure!

He was like an explorer who had discovered a new continent, greedily weaving through the bookshelves.

Introduction to Five Elements Sorcery.

Detailed Explanation of Wind Riding Technique.

Construction and Application of Spiritual Energy Shield.

Human Meridian Acupoint Matrix Diagram (Refined Edition).

Looking at these secret manuals, which had never appeared in the novel but were actually right in front of him.

Ye Xuan understood.

Novels were, after all, just novels.

The author, for the sake of a tight plot and satisfying moments, had omitted too many tedious cultivation details.

But this was a real world!

How could a great cultivation sect that had been passed down for thousands of years only have one or two world-ending ultimate moves?

Throughout these long years.

Countless seniors and sages, during their long cultivation journeys, had created innumerable small techniques, minor spells, and auxiliary methods.

They might not have been astonishingly powerful, or particularly flashy.

But they formed the cornerstone of Qingyun Sect's vast cultivation system!

Ye Xuan held the Introduction to Five Elements Sorcery, his fingertips trembling slightly.

The book detailed how to use specific hand seals and incantations to mobilize the Tai Chi Vital Energy within the body, transforming it into low-tier spells of the five elements: metal, wood, water, fire, and earth.

For example, the Fireball Technique, the Entangling Technique, and the Quicksand Technique.

These spells weren't powerful, nor did they consume much.

They could even be cast before reaching the fourth layer, the Object Moving Realm!

As long as one had Spiritual Energy in their body and knew the method to convert it, they could use them!

"Holy crap..."

"This is what cultivation is all about!"

Ye Xuan couldn't help but curse.

He had always thought that before the fourth layer, he could only be an ordinary person with a stronger physique.

He could only wield a wood-cutting knife to attack people.

But now it seemed...

He was sitting on a treasure mountain without even realizing it!

With these spells and martial skills, even without reaching the Object Moving Realm, his combat power could increase exponentially!

Just imagine.

If he encountered an enemy.

He'd first cast the Quicksand Technique to trap the opponent's ankles.

Then use the Entangling Technique to bind the opponent's hands.

Finally, he'd charge forward, combining his monstrous physical abilities with the Azure Cloud Sword Technique, and smash the opponent's head with a wood-cutting knife...

That scene.

Was simply too beautiful!

Ye Xuan closed the book, shut his eyes, and took a deep breath of the book-scented air.

A meaningful smile reappeared on his lips.

Old Tian, oh Old Tian.

You thought locking me up on the mountain meant I couldn't cause trouble?

You thought I could only be a good boy before the fourth layer?

Wrong!

Dead wrong!

You've opened a door to a new world for me!

Since I can't leave.

I'll thoroughly master all these "fundamentals" right here on Great Bamboo Peak!

When the day comes for me to leave the mountain...

I'll let everyone know.

What it means to have terrifyingly solid fundamentals!

What it means to be the overlord of the novice village at max level!

Ye Xuan vowed in his heart.

Although he couldn't complete the Sign-in missions for now.

His God-tier Comprehension wasn't just for show.

He opened his eyes, and a sharp glint seemed to flash within them.

"Then I'll start with this Introduction to Five Elements Sorcery!"

That day.

Inside the Great Bamboo Peak's Scripture Depository, the sound of flipping pages could be heard continuously until late into the night.

And in Shou Jing Hall.

Tian Buyi was holding his teacup, gazing at the moon outside, and inexplicably felt a sense of unease.

"Strange..."

"Why does the corner of my right eye keep twitching?"

"Did that kid run off again?"

"That shouldn't be possible, I've already set up restrictions at the entrance..."