Returning to the Library Pavilion

Time flew by.

In the blink of an eye, seven days had passed since Qin Huaian accepted the Qi Recovery Pill task.

That day, he stepped out of the cultivation room, preparing to turn in the Qi Recovery Pills at the task office. Over the past seven days, Qin Huaian had successfully refined fourteen bottles of Qi Recovery Pills.

After leaving, Qin Huaian used Skystride Hundred Transformations and soon arrived at East Dawn Plaza. There were no longer as many people there as when he had come last time.

The newly inducted disciples had probably passed their initial excitement and begun cultivating quietly. The path of immortality had always required one to work diligently in peace and solitude.

When he arrived at the sect's task collection office, the disciple on duty was no longer the same one from his previous visit.

"Hello, Senior Brother. I'm here to turn in my Qi Recovery Pill task." Qin Huaian handed his Identity Token to the cultivator, then took out the Qi Recovery Pills he had just refined along with those he had left over from before—a total of thirty bottles—and placed them on the task office table.

"Please wait." The disciple on duty took the Identity Token and operated the device for a moment, then inspected the Qi Recovery Pills.

"Thirty bottles of Qi Recovery Pills, for a total of 240 Sect Contribution Points. Junior Brother, please take this."

"Thank you, Senior Brother!" Qin Huaian accepted the Identity Token and walked toward the trading counter.

The same Senior Brother was still on duty at the trading counter. At that moment, he was already nodding off.

"Hello, Senior Brother!" Qin Huaian called out brightly.

The disciple on duty jolted upright. Without showing the slightest embarrassment, he smiled. "What does this Junior Brother need?"

"Please help me get seventy sets of spiritual herbs for refining Qi Recovery Pills." Qin Huaian handed his Identity Token to the cultivator.

"Seventy sets of spiritual herbs will deduct 140 Sect Contribution Points. Please wait, Junior Brother." The cultivator entered the storeroom behind him. A short while later, he emerged carrying a large sack of spiritual herbs.

"Junior Brother, check them."

"Thank you, Senior Brother." Qin Huaian gave them a quick look, found no problems, and put them into his storage bag.

After finishing these matters, Qin Huaian did not linger. He headed straight for the Library Pavilion. He intended to use his remaining 100 Sect Contribution Points to spend a day reading on the second floor.

Upon entering the Library Pavilion, the old man was still holding a book and reading. Qin Huaian clasped his fists. "Senior, I would like to read on the second floor for a day."

The old man raised his eyes and glanced at Qin Huaian. "Little one, the books on the second floor aren't something you can master in a short time, and they can't be borrowed. Those 100 contribution points could be exchanged for plenty of cultivation resources."

"Thank you for your concern, Senior. This junior wishes to see whether there are more suitable cultivation techniques. Sharpening the axe does not delay the chopping of wood." Qin Huaian bowed. He knew the old man meant well. For most newly inducted disciples, studying the Qi Drawing Art was more than enough. What remained was to earn more resources for cultivation.

"Well said. Sharpening the axe does not delay the chopping of wood..."

After a brief hesitation, the old man smiled at Qin Huaian. "Give me your Identity Token."

After the contribution points were deducted, Qin Huaian climbed the wooden stairs to the second floor of the Library Pavilion.

The second floor was just as spacious, but it had fewer than a tenth as many bookshelves as the first floor. The shelves were scattered throughout the vast space, making the second floor seem somewhat disorderly.

Qin Huaian began with the bookshelf closest to the entrance.

Annotations on the Fireball Technique, Six Methods for Crafting Vajra Talismans, <The Past Between the Thirty-Second Sect Master of the Joyous Union Sect and the Beast Taming Sect's Grand Elder>, Detailed Notes on the Wind Blade Technique, <How to Increase the Pill Formation Rate of Barrier-Breaking Pills>...

The arrangement was still chaotic, with no categorization for the books.

After browsing through them, Qin Huaian discovered that most of the books on the second floor concerned beginner-level cultivation techniques, notes on various immortal cultivation arts, and a small number of cultivation manuals.

One sword art caught Qin Huaian's attention: Phantom Sword Art. Its primary characteristics were its strong concealment and extremely fast sword strikes, making it especially suitable for sneak attacks.

Qin Huaian began selecting books and recording them one by one, mainly choosing those related to the various immortal cultivation arts, as well as some basic spells and cultivation techniques.

A day later, Qin Huaian walked out of the Library Pavilion in exhaustion. He had gone through all the books on the second floor and recorded some that interested him. There would be no need to come to the second floor again.

Qin Huaian returned to his cave abode. After meditating briefly to rest, he began another round of pill refinement and cultivation.

The days passed one by one amid pill refinement and cultivation.

During that time, Qin Huaian went to the Affairs Hall several more times to submit pills and purchase spiritual herbs for refining.

More than another month passed.

When Qin Huaian arrived before the Library Pavilion once more, three months had already passed since he joined the sect. At last, he had saved enough Sect Contribution Points to enter the third floor of the Library Pavilion.

He now had 1,040 Sect Contribution Points. After subtracting the Qi Recovery Pills he had consumed for his own cultivation, he still had sixty-nine bottles of Qi Recovery Pills that he had not turned in.

Entering the Library Pavilion, Qin Huaian clasped his fists toward the old man overseeing it. "Senior, I would like to read on the third floor of the Library Pavilion for a day."

The old man was slightly surprised. "Little one, are you sure?"

"Yes, Senior. This junior did not find the books he needed on the second floor, so I would like to take a look at the third floor." With that, he handed over his Identity Token.

"Fine. As long as you've thought it through." The old man took Qin Huaian's Identity Token and operated it for a moment. "All right, go up."

"Thank you, Senior!"

Qin Huaian went up to the third floor. The third floor was somewhat smaller than the first and second floors. Yet there was only a single bookshelf, making it feel equally empty.

The bookshelf stood at the center of the third floor. Qin Huaian walked over and scanned the books on it one by one.

Unlike the casual placement on the first and second floors, these books were arranged properly. The bookshelf had three levels. The lower two levels were marked "Yellow-rank Cultivation Techniques," while the top level was marked "Mystic-rank Cultivation Techniques."

Qin Huaian first examined the Mystic-rank cultivation techniques on the top level. There were very few of them, only several books:

Li Fire True Formula, Geng Metal True Formula, Yi Wood True Formula, Kui Water True Formula, Earth Mother True Formula, Power-Accumulating Truth-Expansion Technique, Concealing Truth Formula, Lightning Summoning Technique.

Qin Huaian chose to record all of these books. Mystic-rank cultivation techniques contained far more content than Yellow-rank cultivation techniques. He recorded these books in two sessions, meditating for an hour to rest in between.

After recording the Mystic-rank cultivation techniques, Qin Huaian began browsing the Yellow-rank cultivation techniques:

Tortoise-Breath Technique, Sky-Dancing Sword Formula, Little Cloud-Rain Technique, Free and Easy Wanderer, Frost Formula, Indestructible Vajra Body, Entanglement Technique, Flame Blade...

There were fully thirty or forty Yellow-rank cultivation techniques.

By the time Qin Huaian had recorded them all, it was already midnight. He did not leave immediately, instead meditating and cultivating on the third floor until dawn.

The next day, Qin Huaian finally stood up and descended from the Library Pavilion only when his Identity Token sent out a signal.

After bowing in farewell to the old man guarding the Library Pavilion, Qin Huaian headed toward the cave abode district.

As Qin Huaian walked out of the Library Pavilion, the old man gave him a meaningful look before lowering his head and returning to his reading.