The Ten Thousand Scriptures

"So the Scripture Pavilion was located beneath Vermilion Bird Tower..."

In the darkness, feeling the iron cage plummet at great speed, Yang Xiao did not panic. Instead, he closed his eyes and waited quietly.

A full incense stick's worth of time passed before, with a thunderous "boom," the entire iron cage began to tremble violently, as if it were about to collapse and shatter.

But Yang Xiao did not panic, because he could faintly sense that this should be the vibration caused by the iron cage hitting the ground.

And because he had lived two lives, Yang Xiao had a mysterious confidence in his own sixth sense. At this moment, he did not detect any danger.

Only after another dozen or so breaths did the shaking gradually stop.

The iron cage's door slowly opened.

An entirely new underground world instantly appeared before Yang Xiao's eyes.

It was an extremely spacious and tranquil square. The ground was paved with bluestone, and ahead stood an ancient, simple corridor bridge. Around it were pavilions and towers, artificial hills and flowing water, birdsong and fragrant flowers.

Thousands upon thousands of lanterns floated in midair, lighting the entire underground world as brightly as day.

In the distance, the faint sound of an ancient zither drifted over with the wind.

The zither music was ethereal, its lingering notes curling around the beams.

For some reason, Yang Xiao felt that within the music there seemed to be a faint thread of sorrow.

But when Yang Xiao pricked up his ears and tried to listen carefully, the zither sound stopped abruptly, as though it had been an illusion.

"I never thought the underground beneath Vermilion Bird Tower would actually be this grand. Then wouldn't the Sixth Princess's residence be even more extravagant?"

"I wonder if those lanterns floating in the air are science, mysticism, or something else?"

Yang Xiao walked as he looked around. Curious and puzzled, he could not help secretly clicking his tongue in amazement.

On this corridor bridge alone, calligraphy and paintings by famous figures of past dynasties could be seen everywhere. Take any one of them outside, and it could sell for a sky-high price!

A moment later.

Yang Xiao stood before the main doors of a majestic nine-story pagoda, took out the Martial Introduction issued by Uncle Liu, and respectfully handed it over with both hands to the old man lying in a rattan chair at the side.

The old man had his eyes closed as he dozed, expressionlessly waving a palm-leaf fan, showing not the slightest intention of opening his eyes to pay Yang Xiao any attention.

"Senior, your silver fell on the ground. Shall I pick it up for you?"

Yang Xiao took a few pieces of broken silver from his sleeve, tossed them by the old man's feet, and spoke softly.

Hearing this, the old man finally opened his eyes. After taking the broken silver Yang Xiao handed over, his cold expression eased slightly.

"Is this young brother's first time at the Scripture Pavilion? Planning to choose a martial skill for self-defense?"

Picking up Yang Xiao's Martial Introduction and giving it a glance, the old man said lazily.

"I would ask Senior to give me some guidance."

Yang Xiao's face was piled with smiles as he stuffed another heavy piece of broken silver into the old man's hand.

A smile immediately appeared on the old man's face. "Show this old man your Waiter Token."

Yang Xiao hurriedly offered it up with both hands.

The old man pressed down on the token and only slightly urged his true qi, and behind the token, some bird-like seal-script characters appeared.

"Lower-grade aptitude, lower-grade foundation?"

The old man was instantly taken aback. The smile on his face vanished, and obvious disdain and impatience appeared in his eyes.

"I would ask Senior to give me some guidance."

Yang Xiao cursed inwardly, but on the surface, his smile remained unchanged as he took out a few more pieces of broken silver.

"The martial skills on the east side of the first floor require neither aptitude nor foundation. You may search there on your own."

"Remember, do not go to the second floor. Only First Blood martial artists, or iron-token waiters, may enter the second floor!"

Impatiently tossing the token back to Yang Xiao, the old man lay down in the rattan chair and continued dozing with his eyes closed, no longer of any mind to pay Yang Xiao attention.

"I spent ten taels of silver, and this old man only pointed out that much?"

Forcibly suppressing the anger in his heart, Yang Xiao still bowed respectfully, then turned and stepped into the Scripture Pavilion.

What Yang Xiao did not see was that the instant he stepped into the Scripture Pavilion, the old man suddenly opened his eyes, and a trace of appreciation flashed through his cloudy pupils.

"This old man made things so difficult for him, yet this child was actually unmoved, and instead remained even more respectful. He is quite an interesting one."

"Unfortunately, this child's aptitude and foundation are far too poor. He is destined to accomplish nothing. A little cleverness is meaningless."

The old man shook his head slightly, closed his eyes, and continued dozing.

Inside the Scripture Pavilion.

Yang Xiao looked around, and everywhere his gaze reached, there were clusters of gray, hazy mist.

These mists were as short as one inch and as long as nine inches. They were neatly stacked on hundreds upon thousands of bookshelves, dense and packed together, numbering no fewer than a hundred thousand!

"Rumor has it that in the early days after Great Yan's founding, the Great Yan Ancestor Emperor once campaigned north and south, wiping out countless martial sects and confiscating every sect's martial skills."

"Could it be that these martial skills were not stored deep within the imperial palace, but in Vermilion Bird Tower's Scripture Pavilion?"

Yang Xiao found it somewhat unbelievable.

But although there were many martial techniques, none of them could be cultivated to First Blood. To Yang Xiao, they naturally held no meaning at all.

At the same time, Yang Xiao could finally confirm that not only could he see the qi above a martial artist's head, he could likewise see the qi of martial techniques.

"If I find a suitable martial technique, I wonder whether my method of observing qi and stealing the art will work the same way?"

With a touch of unease and anticipation, Yang Xiao walked while observing, and found that amid these gray mists, there were also no few flickers of white light.

Among a hundred thousand gray mists, there were only eight hundred white lights!

And in the eastern area the old man had recommended, there was not even a single white light!

Moreover, the gray mist in this area was also extremely faint compared to the other areas.

"That rotten old man really is rotten to the core. He actually recommended the worst martial techniques to me."

Yang Xiao's face darkened, and he turned to head for another area.

Hm?

No, something was wrong!

Yang Xiao suddenly discovered that amid the dense, oppressive gray glow in the east, a flash of golden light had actually flickered past.

Golden light?

Gulp!

At once, Yang Xiao's mouth went dry.

One had to know that the reason Uncle Mute had been hunted across the whole world by the Peace Sect was because Uncle Mute had made off with the sacred object.

And that sacred object was golden light!

Yet on this utterly ordinary first floor of the Scripture Pavilion, there was actually golden light too?

"Calm down, calm down!"

Forcibly suppressing the excitement in his heart, Yang Xiao did not go directly to where the golden light was. Instead, he casually picked up a martial technique and flipped through it, then picked up another one.

He looked through martial technique after martial technique like this, and only after half an hour did Yang Xiao finally walk to the place where the golden light was.

Only now did Yang Xiao see that the source radiating golden light was a roll of yellowed bamboo slips.

The bamboo slips were covered in cobwebs, clearly having gone neglected for many years.

Yang Xiao did not pick up the bamboo slips. He merely swept them with a casual glance, then picked up other bamboo slips and lowered his head to begin reading.

Another half hour passed before Yang Xiao finally put down the last bamboo slip in his hand, pretending to look uncertain.

"Anyway, my aptitude and bones are both no good. Whatever bamboo slips I take, it'll all be the same. I might as well close my eyes and grab one."

In a voice only he himself could hear, Yang Xiao softly muttered a sentence, paced back and forth, then closed his eyes, gritted his teeth, and reached forward with his hand.

At once, that tattered bamboo slip radiating golden light was seized in Yang Xiao's hand.

"It's actually this piece of junk?"

"No, wait. These bamboo slips look rather old. Although I can't understand what's written on them, if I painstakingly study them for a few decades, maybe I'll comprehend some peerless divine art?"

As Yang Xiao spoke, he deliberately put on an excited look. "Then it's you!"

With that said, Yang Xiao took the bamboo slips and walked all the way out of the Scripture Pavilion. "Senior, I've chosen my bamboo slips."

Mm!

On the rattan chair, the old man looked sideways at Yang Xiao, merely sweeping a casual glance over the bamboo slips. At once, his pupils shrank, and his aged eyes filled with—terror!