Through This Door Lies Another World

Time quickly passed into the end of June. This summer was rather sweltering, and the entire Azure Dragon Continent seemed to be roasted by fire, with little rain and constant droughts.

Because Dubian Town is located in a remote border town, there is no such thing as drought in the rice paddies. However, such places have always been short of water and have dry soil. Under such a strong sun, Dubian Town is like Flaming Mountain, which is unbearable.

Cultivators also dislike this kind of weather. After all, although they are all cultivators, they are still mortals. To ward off the cold and keep warm, they need to rely on activating their Spiritual Power or using special magical artifacts.

But can we always use our Spiritual Power to resolve natural phenomena like this? So this damned weather became a source of complaints from most cultivators.

Ma Feifei is one of them.

Because of the sweltering weather, Ma Feifei hasn't been in the backyard for several days, spending all her time hiding in the Bookstore copying Epic-grade- quality books.

He is now about to finish copying the Epic-grade book, the Tao Te Ching.

The inside of the Bookstore is different from the outside; it's a space unique to the system, with a mild climate year-round. The changing seasons outside have no effect on the interior of the Bookstore.

If it weren't so dark inside the Bookstore at night, Ma Feifei might have moved his Rest quarters to a private room, so he wouldn't have to wake up from the heat every night.

"I wonder if Qingyang has any tricks to cool you down." Ma Feifei thought to himself, bored as he lay on the table after finishing copying today's "Tao Te Ching".

Unlike Ma Feifei, Yun Qingyang was unaffected by summer. Anyone who got close to her would feel the temperature drop, clearly because her Frost Giant Dragon constitution allowed her to ignore such high temperatures.

Whenever Yun Qingyang is mentioned, Ma Feifei recalls that ever since Yun Qingyang drank his blood, Ma Feifei felt as if there was a strange connection between them; sometimes, even without her saying a word, Ma Feifei could instantly understand what Yun Qingyang meant, which was quite amazing.

Moreover, Yun Qingyang's entire demeanor was different from before. His cultivation level was completely unfathomable, as if he were an ordinary person. Even when he got angry, there were no special effects like freezing Norman or snow falling for thousands of miles, nor did he possess any powerful or terrifying aura. Yet, he managed to catch Ma Feifei, who was now a great figure at the Spirit Emperor Ninth Stage! He was just one step away from transcending the mortal realm and entering Transcendent to Saint, but he couldn't even withstand a single move from Yun Qingyang.

"Could it be that he has become an immortal?" Ma Feifei wondered.

"But it doesn't seem like it..." Ma Feifei thought, frowning.

According to the Records of the Grand Historian the Azure Dragon Continent, once a mortal steps into the Immortal Realm, a so-called heavenly tribulation will descend, and only those who overcome the heavenly tribulation can achieve the Immortal Realm.

The reason why no one has become an immortal in the Azure Dragon Continent for the past 30,000 years is because there has been no so-called Heavenly Tribulation.

If Yun Qingyang were to achieve the Immortal Realm, it would be impossible for him to escape this hurdle. This is the law of this world, just like the Heavenly Dao, and there is no way to avoid it.

Regardless of whether Yun Qingyang actually reached the Immortal Realm, apart from a slight change in her overall demeanor, she remained the same person, spending her days gazing at the sky in a daze and Rest; there was no difference between her and others.

Apart from Yun Qingyang, the Bookstore is operating normally.

The sweltering summer heat did not dampen people's enthusiasm for reading; Bookstore remained packed every day, although the number of cultivators watching outside had decreased considerably. This was not only due to the heat, but also because the Mysterious Bookstore was now quite familiar to everyone, losing its initial novelty. Furthermore, any news from the Bookstore would immediately reach the Wantong Trading Market across the street, and then spread to all the taverns in Dubian Town, so whether they gathered outside the Bookstore or not made little difference.

The most crucial point is that living in Dubian Town is too expensive. Not to mention going to the Bookstore to read, the cost of living in Dubian Town has also risen sharply, especially the products derived from the Mysterious Bookstore.

For example, Pokémon Advancement Pill, various Pokémon armors, Pokémon leveling-up services, and recently, the Wantong Trading Market has also released Pokémon skill books.

Even most cultivators who possess Pokémon find it hard to keep up, let alone when the Mysterious Bookstore opens up a 'One Book Multiple Travels' Pokémon world and they can't resist having to spend a high price to buy an admission ticket.

Over the course of more than half a year, the cultivators in Dubian Town have become increasingly powerful, but the Spirit Crystal in their spatial bags have become increasingly scarce, and their lives have become increasingly impoverished.

With Yun Qingyang's support of Spirit Crystal, Ma Feifei was able to maintain a sales volume of one thousand Advancement Pill at a time. Given his current title of Book Emperor, which grants him a 30% discount, and his 20% profit share, he only needed to spend 600 million to purchase one thousand Advancement Pill for every 1 billion cost. The remaining 400 million was pure profit, and of course, a portion of that would be shared with Yun Qingyang.

The two employees in the Bookstore were also very dedicated. Zhang Yunji would sit at the door every day with his copy of "The Legend of Flying Swallow" on a small stool, reading it. Luan Feng, on the other hand, would hide in a corner of the Bookstore reading the Epic-grade- quality book "Six Secret Teachings". On weekdays, one would stand outside collecting tickets and watching the door, while the other would clean the inside of the Bookstore when he had nothing to do. Their division of labor was quite clear.

Everything was proceeding smoothly, and Ma Feifei's laid-back lifestyle had begun again...

"My Chang Kong, why haven't you returned yet!" Ma Feifei suddenly thought of Chang Kong and couldn't help but sigh as she spoke.

"Teacher!"

"Hmm?" Ma Feifei frowned and said in a low voice, "Could it be that the recent hot weather has made you dizzy and hallucinating?"

"Teacher..."

With a whoosh, Ma Feifei instantly looked up and stared at the outside of the Bookstore. Chang Kong Zhengyi, watching Ma Feifei.

It's like speaking of the devil and he appears!

"Elder Chang Kong, come in quickly." Ma Feifei stood up and waved to him.

Only then did Chang Kong dare to walk into the Bookstore. As he Bookstore, he subconsciously glanced around, a hint of surprise in his eyes.

He was a Ninth-tier formation master. Although he had guessed from the beginning that the interior of the Mysterious Bookstore was a very powerful spatial array, he had never been able to detect any fluctuations from the array. Even now, with the Bookstore's interior expanding once again, he still couldn't sense any fluctuations from the array.

In other words, the formation inside the Bookstore is definitely a god-level formation.

"Hmm?" Suddenly, Chang Kong caught a glimpse of a very familiar figure. Upon closer inspection, he realized it was none Yan State Chancellor Yuwen Hongdu!

"Why did he come to the Chu Kingdom?" Chang Kong wondered, but he didn't have time to think about it. He quickly approached Ma Feifei, cupped his hands, and said, "This student greets teacher."

Ma Feifei grabbed Chang Kong and quickly said, "No, no, no, I can't take this!"

Chang Kong is great in every way, except that he's a bit rigid in his thinking. He has three thousand students, but he's the only one who calls everyone "teacher" all the time, making Ma Feifei feel a little embarrassed.

Chang Kong didn't say much, but insisted on finishing his bow before standing up and looking at Ma Feifei, saying, "Teacher, I am no longer an elder of the Sword Sect. Now, as long as you nod, I can take over the position of the Bookstore's Lantern Holder."

Ma Feifei nodded happily. After Chang Kong became the Lantern Holder, all of Ma Feifei's Side Quest, except for the Empress's assistance quest, were completed. It can be said that Ma Feifei was very satisfied with the quest he completed!

However, seeing Chang Kong's travel-worn appearance, Ma Feifei still said, "Since you've already resigned from the Sword Sect position as an elder of the Sword Sect, we won't be in a hurry. Go back and rest first, and come to the Bookstore with Zhang Yunji tomorrow to officially take over Lantern Holder of the Mysterious Bookstore."

Upon hearing this, Chang Kong nodded in agreement. He was indeed anxious; as soon as he resigned from his position as elder, he rushed back home and came straight to the Mysterious Bookstore without even entering his own house.

Actually, since the shop owner has already agreed, there's no way he'd go back on his word, so why should I be in such a hurry?

After agreeing to meet Chang Kong at the Mysterious Bookstore the next day, it was already five o'clock, and the Mysterious Bookstore was closing.

Ma Feifei plopped down into the backyard warehouse, ready to begin his plan.

The so-called plan simply means opening branch stores.

It had been some time since the branch was established, but Ma Feifei had never visited it. The reason was a piece of information provided by the system after the branch was established.

The Mysterious Bookstore Branch Two was built on the same scale as the original main store, meaning it was only 20 square meters in area and could only accommodate 12 people at a time to read books.

More importantly, the branch store didn't have any books at all.

If everything had to start from scratch, Ma Feifei might feel she should give up on this branch.

Fortunately, the information provided by the Supplier Warehouse, a reward from the system, relieved Ma Feifei.

Supplier Warehouse

Effect: Can copy all books from the main store for use by branch stores. (Note: Copied books will reduce book revenue by 20%.)

Note: The host cannot use the 'Book Spirit Protects Master' skill on copied books.

Although copying the books would reduce book revenue by 20%, it was enough for Ma Feifei; as long as the Bookstore had enough books, it didn't matter how much revenue readers could gain from them.

Moreover, with these books serving as a facade, and ensuring that the branch stores don't run out of books, Ma Feifei can occasionally buy some books and put them in the branch stores to make up for the 20% loss in revenue.

It could be said that it was precisely because of this Supplier Warehouse that Ma Feifei had the ambition to open a branch store; otherwise, he would not want to Encore the process of starting a Bookstore with just one book, "Andersen's Fairy Tales".

The reason for waiting until Chang Kong returned before starting the branch operation plan was that Ma Feifei wanted to test the waters by operating the branch at night and see the results; moreover, Ma Feifei also consulted the system and learned that he could light up the Lotus Lantern not only at night but also during the day, with the same amplification effect.

Another point is that the number of nighttime opening hours is not shared between different stores; that is to say, each branch and the main store will have one opportunity per week to open the Bookstore at night.

'Ding~ Start copying books?'

Upon entering the warehouse, a system notification sounded.

Ma Feifei let out a soft breath and silently clicked "confirm" in her mind.

'Ding~ Book burning in progress...'

'Ding~ Book copied successfully.'

'Ding~ The book has been stored in the Mysterious Bookstore Branch Two. Please go and check it.'

The whole process took less than five seconds, and Ma Feifei even suspected that the system might have been prepared in advance.

Ma Feifei exited the warehouse and arrived at the branch store's teleportation portal, her heart pounding slightly.

Stepping through this door, Ma Feifei arrived in the Qin State.

That was another country, and Ma Feifei himself didn't know what awaited him there.

'Hoo~'

Ma Feifei took a deep breath and opened the branch store portal.

The hole was pitch black. Ma Feifei reached out and probed it, finding that his hand passed through without any hindrance.

"It seems the other side of the black hole is the branch store," Ma Feifei thought.

Taking another deep breath, Ma Feifei lifted her leg to go inside.

Suddenly, as if remembering something, he stopped and rushed into his mind to ask the system: "Does the branch store also have protective capabilities like the main store? Am I still invincible inside?"

We need to find out for sure. If they don't provide system protection, Ma Feifei feels she'll have to bring Yun Qingyang along. The branch can be closed, but her safety must be guaranteed!

'Within the Mysterious Bookstore, gods and demons can be destroyed!'

"Awesome!" Ma Feifei gave the system a thumbs up and stepped into the black hole.

'Ding! Congratulations, host, you have triggered a new Main Quest.'