The Four Spirit Pillars

The reading order in this alternate world is similar to that in Ma Feifei's previous life in ancient times, both from top to bottom and from right to left.

The two lines Ma Feifei wanted to write were, "In books, there are houses of gold; in books, there are women as beautiful as jade."

The first line that should be on the right in the correct order is "There are houses of gold in books," but what's hanging on the right now is "There are beauties as lovely as jade in books."

"Hmm... Don't blame me, I'm a modern person, I'm used to reading from left to right." Ma Feifei bit his pen, resolutely refusing to admit that it was his problem.

However, since it was written this way, Ma Feifei thought about it and decided not to erase it. He simply left it as is, since no one would know which sentence came before which sentence came after.

Thinking of this, Ma Feifei stepped forward again, picked up his pen and wrote, "The book contains..." Ma Feifei hesitated for a moment, and finally changed "Golden House" to "Path to Immortality".

Finally, the sentence becomes. "In books, there are beauties as lovely as jade; in books, there is the path to immortality."

"Hmm... I really am quite the writer." Ma Feifei stepped back, looking at his revised sentences with great satisfaction.

In this fantasy world, the Golden House certainly doesn't fit the background or the atmosphere of the Mysterious Bookstore. However, changing it to "The Path to Immortality" is different. First, the intention is clearer, directly telling readers that the books in the Mysterious Bookstore contain the path to immortality, and that entering the Immortal Realm is the lifelong goal of every cultivator. Then, the Mysterious Bookstore can use this advertising slogan to attract the attention of more cultivators, making them interested in the books in the Mysterious Bookstore, and ultimately leading them to enter the Bookstore to read them.

Therefore, Ma Feifei felt that the change of these three characters was absolutely perfect.

"Ding! The plaque and couplets are complete." The system notification sounded, but no reward was given. However, Ma Feifei didn't care. This thing was just for decoration. Anyway, he wrote it casually, so it didn't matter whether he got a reward or not.

After writing the couplet, Ma Feifei carried a stool into the Bookstore, leaving the onlookers stunned.

"The shop owner's handwriting is really beautiful," a young man couldn't help but exclaim.

"No wonder you'll never reach the Spirit Ancestor in your entire life. Is having nice handwriting really the point?" The middle-aged father standing next to him couldn't help but slap him and scold him.

The young man, slapped by his father, showed no anger, only a trembling smile, and dared not retaliate.

"These two lines must be a couplet. Both 'Yan Ruyu' and 'Chengxiandao' are benefits that can be obtained from books in the Mysterious Bookstore." The middle-aged man turned to look at the couplets on both sides of the gate, his tone filled with regret and Covet.

While the Mysterious Bookstore is indeed magical, it is also a place that consumes a lot of Spirit Crystal. Although the Mysterious Bookstore has been expanding its space and increasing the number of reading slots, the price of each exclusive number in the Wantong Trading Market has remained at around 100,000 Spirit Crystal. The reason is simple: with more slots available, more cultivators know about the Mysterious Bookstore, so the price of exclusive numbers simply cannot be lowered.

That is why even families with Spirit Crystal Vein Mine cannot afford to send one person to the Mysterious Bookstore every day. According to statistics from the Wantong Trading Market, 9,995 out of 10,000 cultivators staying in Dubian Town have never been to the Mysterious Bookstore, 4 out of 10,000 have been there twice, and the remaining 1 out of 10,000 have been there more than three times.

Nine thousand nine hundred and ninety-five percent of cultivators either cannot afford a special phone number, are unwilling to spend the money to buy one, or are unable to obtain one.

Only the remaining 0.05% of wealthy individuals can secure a special number by paying extra to gain entry to the Mysterious Bookstore.

However, in cases like this, the number of Spirit Crystal required for a unique number is higher than the market price, and the cost of reading books for a day can easily reach hundreds of thousands of Spirit Crystal, which is not something everyone can afford.

At least for a middle-aged man, he was considered a figure of some importance. His family owned a low-grade Spirit Crystal Vein Mine that could produce tens of millions of Spirit Crystal every year. However, the income from the Spirit Crystal Vein Mine in a single year was not enough for him to spend four months reading books in the Mysterious Bookstore. If he were to obtain spirit artifacts or sprites there, it would be even more expensive, and he could be stripped naked in a single day.

To profit from the Mysterious Bookstore, you first need enough Spirit Crystal —the entry ticket—and then it comes down to your personal talent.

Although the middle-aged man had Spirit Crystal Vein Mine at home, it was clear that he couldn't possibly throw all the Spirit Crystal into the Mysterious Bookstore. So far, he had only been inside once, comprehended a seventh-order martial arts technique, and made a small profit, but the gains were not significant. He hadn't even had the chance to touch any Yellow Quality books, let alone the path to immortality.

This time, however, looking at the words on the couplet, the middle-aged father Bite, turned around, and walked towards the Wantong Trading Market behind him.

"Father, where are you going?" the young man asked, chasing after him.

"Buy a custom number," the middle-aged father said in a deep voice.

"But it's so expensive... What if my mother finds out?"

"Hmm... I've saved up some money on my own over the years."

"Father..."

One per person.

"Make a deal!"

"..."

The appearance of the couplet, especially the words "the path to immortality," made those cultivators who were originally hesitant finally decide to go to the Wantong Trading Market to buy exclusive numbers. As these two sentences spread wider and wider, the entire Dubian Town began to experience a buying frenzy for exclusive numbers. This practice directly caused the market price of exclusive numbers to rise sharply, exceeding 200,000 Spirit Crystal, and there was no market for them.

Ma Feifei didn't care about any of that; he was currently studying the second interesting part of the information provided by the system.

The first is writing plaques and couplets, and the second is the four spotless white pillars inside the Bookstore. These four pillars have been given a particularly beautiful name by the system: the 'Four Spirit Pillars'.

As you can tell from their names, the pillars on these pillars correspond to the dragon, phoenix, Qilin, and tortoise, which are the "Four Divine Creatures of the Book of Rites.

These four pillars did not require Ma Feifei to draw them himself, nor did he need to press the Four Divine Creatures onto them as specimens. Instead, the Four Divine Creatures used their own Origin Power to draw their own original forms on the pillars, but one part of their original form had to be left undrawn, which Ma Feifei would then fill in himself.

They are: adding the Dragon Ascent, painting a phoenix's tail, drawing a Kirin with splashed ink a unicorn, and painting a turtle's shell.

After the Four Spirit Pillars are carved, a new change will occur in the Bookstore according to the system prompt, but the system does not specify what this change is.

"Putting aside the fact that we haven't even found the turtle yet, and you're already having Dragon Girl draw its true form... I'm afraid she can't tell the difference between dragons and insects..." Ma Feifei shrugged and said helplessly.

"Are you talking about me?" Yun Qingyang asked, sitting on a bench eating Plum Blossom.

Ma Feifei glanced at Yun Qingyang, her eyes lighting up. She ran to sit opposite Yun Qingyang, a brush and a piece of paper appearing in her hand. She handed them to Yun Qingyang and said, "Qingyang, do you know what your true form looks like?"

"I know, I used to look at my reflection in the ice walls when I was bored at the bottom of the Ten-Thousand-Zhang Ice Cavern." Yun Qingyang nodded in response. She had lived at the bottom of the Ten-Thousand-Zhang Ice Cavern for more than 30,000 years. Although she spent most of her time inside the eggshell, she stayed at the bottom of the ice cave for a period of time after she was born from the eggshell to consolidate her cultivation and transformation state.

"Then see if you can draw yourself." Ma Feifei looked expectant. Although Yun Qingyang wasn't very bright, he might be good at drawing, especially his own likeness. Maybe he could draw it very well.

"Draw yourself?" Yun Qingyang took the brush, looked at the white paper on the table, shook his head, and put the brush down again.

"What's wrong?" Ma Feifei asked, puzzled.

"The paper is too small; it can't contain my true form."

"I..."