Another Unexpected Gain

Finding books in the collection is a bit of a hassle.

Chu Tianshu learned that the water demons had invited seventeen clans of man-eating monsters to a meeting here.

He devoted most of his energy to figuring out poison techniques.

There was no time to inquire where the book of spells and incantations was kept.

However, Helai very thorough in his work.

As the deacons and guards rushed over to help.

Besides making an example of the most aggressive deacons, Helai Lai spared the rest of them, leaving them mostly alive, though they were rendered unconscious by the curse.

"My plan was that if things went badly on your side, I would directly control these survivors to chant incantations, perform a large-scale blood sacrifice, fill the altar, and blow up this battlefield."

Helai knows a lot of evil magic.

After killing the enemy, using the corpses for a blood sacrifice is naturally not as effective as controlling them while they are alive, chanting incantations, and combining different incantations to form a great blood sacrifice incantation.

Chu Tianshu asked in surprise, "Controlling so many people at the same time, chanting different incantations?"

Helai said, "My inheritance, after mastering the Second Split Soul, allows for a deeper understanding of the mysteries of the soul, enabling me to focus on a multitude of tasks at once."

Chu Tianshu said, "Then you are far from Leakless Innate Nature..."

" To Leakless Innate Nature, one must be able to cut off the sustenance needed by the soul while maintaining vitality. This means being able to sever thoughts and achieve a pure and ethereal mind. This inheritance, however, will make it even more difficult for me to advance to that stage."

Helai explained, "However, once I cultivate my Leakless Innate Nature, I will be able to directly leap over the Returning Light."

As they spoke, the Bai He flapped its wings.

On one side of the battlefield, amidst a vast palace complex, lay unconscious deacons and guards.

The Bai He's fan only awakened the steward within.

These people dressed in pale gold robes sensed something was wrong as soon as they regained consciousness.

Some people subconsciously want to use their innate supernatural abilities, leaving a gaseous illusion in place while their real body escapes.

However, just as they were about to activate their power, a red crane-shaped mark on their foreheads lit up.

"Ah!!!"

Some people staggered in pain, clutching their heads, while others fell to the ground, drenched in cold sweat.

"Amitabha Buddha."

Upon seeing this, Master White Horse clasped his hands together in prayer. "Using spells alone to suppress their souls isn't enough. Shall we strike a few more vital points on them?"

"Benefactor Chu, with your martial arts skills, you should be able to perform that technique that delays the attack for a few quarters of an hour, causing the body to explode if the pressure points aren't released?"

I wonder if it was because Master White Horse spoke in a kind and warm voice that he provided an extra layer of deterrence.

Immediately, one of the deacons shouted out that he was willing to help them.

Soon, they revealed the locations of all the books in the Heaven and Earth Palaces.

Attendants, scholars, and master craftsmen, relying on their identity tokens, could only access specific places to consult ancient texts.

Those who reach the level of steward are already aware of the existence of the Wraith God, and can not only consult any classic texts, but also view the newly written manuscripts of the Heavenly Officials and Earthly Sovereigns.

Chu Tianshu and his group went to the main hall of the Heavenly King Palace and watched as a large number of books were continuously moved in.

The script used in the Long Continent Kingdom is quite similar to the script used in modern Huaxia. Although it requires some guesswork to understand, it is mostly comprehensible.

Qian Jin, the commander of the Nineteenth Battalion, was able to adapt so quickly to the role of a seafood company owner in reality, partly due to the high similarity between his characters and the characters.

The problem is that although the writing system has been standardized throughout the Long Continent Kingdom.

Inside the Heaven and Earth Palaces, there was a strange custom that took pride in being able to use an even more ancient script.

When Bai He and the others began to peruse the ancient books, Chu Tianshu also picked up a few to look at.

It turned out that these few books were all written in different languages.

"Neuropathy!"

Chu Tianshu couldn't help but curse, "Why are you people of the same clan using so many different scripts for academic research?"

Under Bai He's direction, the stewards were selecting texts. Hearing this, they dared not say a word and worked even faster, handing over the most important texts to Wei Qidong and the others.

Lin Chucheng was quite knowledgeable about ancient scripts and could flip through them very quickly.

Chu Tianshu turned his head and saw that only he and Feng Jianhua were staring at each other.

"Cough!"

Feng Jianhua casually grabbed a book and strolled over. "I am quite knowledgeable, but ancient scripts from the Spirit Realm are too obscure."

Chu Tianshu deeply sympathized, feeling a pang of sympathy. "I consider myself a very studious person, but... learning has no end."

He wanted to learn a few tricks of martial arts and medicine from every world.

Although some things weren't worth using tokens to deduce, he would still try to figure them out himself, showing his eagerness to learn.

Even in other worlds, he would ponder over novel delicacies whenever he had free time.

But no one knows what kind of knowledge they might need to handle the next situation.

For someone like Chu Tianshu who travels around a lot, increasing his vitality is the only priority.

"Huh?"

Feng Jianhua suddenly said, "There are a few words here that look somewhat familiar to me."

"Look, doesn't it look a bit like those symbols on the Great Yu Stele?"

The Great Yu Stele, even in its normal state, has several characters on its surface.

Chu Tianshu leaned closer to take a look and indeed it did look somewhat similar. He then waved for a steward to come and translate.

"These pages were made using magic techniques applied to bamboo bark; they are genuine ancient books."

The steward said, "The above records the legends about Great Yu, also known as 'One Thousand Anecdotes of the Merits and Virtues of Great King Yu '."

Chu Tianshu's eyelids twitched.

That sounds really weird.

The recorded merits and deeds of the ancient Great Yu are probably not this many.

The steward had already recounted several anecdotes about meritorious deeds.

Feng Jianhua understood immediately and shook his head repeatedly.

"That's just blatant flattery. You ancient Fangfeng Clan are somewhat neglecting your duties."

Although Great King Yu killed a leader of the Fangfeng Clan, in the ancient legends of the Fangfeng Clan, Great King Yu was the greatest benefactor of the entire Fangfeng Clan.

Everything related to Great Yu deserves to be remembered, down to the smallest detail.

"Alright, stop..."

Feng Jianhua was about to interrupt the deacon's translation.

Chu Tianshu suddenly asked, "Wait, what was that sentence you just said?"

The steward asked, "May King Yu live ten thousand years?"

"No."

Chu Tianshu's expression turned solemn. "The sentence before that."

The deacon glanced back. "Profound and mysterious, it pervades all worlds."

Chu Tianshu was startled.

The Youdu Edict contained eight unfamiliar characters, yet inexplicably legible.

It's these eight words.

Chu Tianshu took the book and examined it carefully. He found that the eight characters on the book were not exactly the same as the eight characters on the token, but they were quite similar.

He immediately instructed the deacon to select all the passages in the book that contained those eight characters and read them to him.

After a long while, Chu Tianshu summarized a pattern: these eight characters seemed to represent some extremely high realm.

In the stories of merit, Great Yu was not associated with these eight characters in his youth. It was during his flood control efforts that these eight characters first appeared in descriptions.

It wasn't until long after he became a sage king that these eight characters began to appear more frequently.

However, considering that this book is an ancient text that is essentially a sycophantic work...

Chu Tianshu immediately found the pile of books where Feng Jianhua had been and asked the steward to help him continue searching for the relevant text.

Sure enough, in some other, more serious ancient books...

The profound and mysterious concept, which circulated throughout the world, was merely an idea from the time of Great Yu and was never truly realized.

Ancient texts mention a place called "Youdu," also known as the Source of the Dao or the Wilderness of Wuji.

Within the Youdu, the shadows of the Dao are everywhere; apart from the Dao, there is nothing else.

Neither matter nor soul can exist here.

"If we accept this view..."

Chu Tianshu gripped the ancient book, his eyes narrowing slightly. "Every civilized world is a floating island."

"The Spirit Realm is like the lower side of a floating island ecosystem, with more contact with the sea, while Youdu is the source of the ocean?"

Ancient texts praise that Great King Yu cultivated himself to the point of transcending the boundaries of Cross-Realm Ascension.

Because he could transcend the Spirit Realm, and descend once more into the Youdu Youdu, where only the Great Dao existed and nothing else remained, even Great King Yu could survive stably.

Then, from Youdu, the deepest source of all things, they flew to other worlds.

In other words, the highest realm of ancient cultivation, Cross-Realm Ascension, is actually divided into two parts.

"Crossing the boundary" refers to being able to cross the boundaries between the real world and the Spirit Realm, and directly enter the Youdu.

"Ascension" means flying out of the Youdu again.

As for the profound and mysterious, they are found throughout the world.

It is because in ancient times, some of the powerful beings who were able to enter Youdu foresaw the existence of the Wind of Dao Dissolution and believed that the actions of the Ghost God were unacceptable, and that the actions of the Grotto-Heaven might lead to the loss of contact with their homeland.

So they came up with another plan.

This plan requires a thorough investigation of all worlds before it can be begun.

Unfortunately, based on the information in these ancient books, we can only deduce this much.

It's impossible to deduce the details of the plan, how it was executed, or whether it was successful.

Chu Tianshu closed the book cover, thinking to himself.

The Youdu Edict has been lost for so many years, and it has actually ended up in the hands of a small sect like the Ghost Gate Witch Doctor.

I fear that this plan ultimately failed.

Although many of these Grotto-Heaven could not remain in their homeland, at least the cultivators within Grotto-Heaven were able to survive.

As for the creator of the Youdu Edict, it's unclear whether he abandoned his plan and threw away the token, or whether he has met with some misfortune.

"Wrong."

Chu Tianshu's mind raced.

If Youdu is truly a land of pure Dao, then how could powerful beings Cross-Realm Ascension, who can withstand even such an environment, possibly fear a gust of wind that makes it easier for them to comprehend the Dao?

If they only want to stay in their homeland, then they should just stay put; there's no need to come up with any new plans.

Unless, of course, some other disaster could threaten even such a powerful being.

Or perhaps, while they pose no threat to them, they are powerful enough to destroy their homeland, which they themselves are unable to protect with their own strength.

So, that's why a new plan is needed?

Chu Tianshu couldn't figure it out for a moment, and his brows furrowed.

Feng Jianhua also heard these accounts, but he simply stroked his beard.

"That sounds impressive."

He patted Chu Tianshu on the shoulder, "But for us now, these are just stories. If you don't understand something, just remember it."

Feng Jianhua's claim of extensive knowledge is not an exaggeration.

Even if different worlds truly exist, and there is a common source for all worlds, it is merely one of countless hypotheses imagined by people throughout history that has been proven true.

A naive scholar might get caught up in this and become obsessed with proving it, ignoring everything else and throwing themselves into it with fanaticism.

But Feng Jianhua is also an elderly man who has personally witnessed the tremendous changes of the times.

When he was born, he heard that there were gods who could destroy armies and were called God, but they were not his own gods. When he was young, he heard that mankind had created nuclear bombs, but they were not his own bombs either.

In the past, rumors of nuclear energy development destroying humanity were rampant; now, nuclear power has become an indispensable energy source.

Don't let your imagination overwhelm you; the important thing is to keep moving forward.

Chu Tianshu came to his senses and exhaled a breath of stale air.

"The principal is right."

He suddenly had a brilliant idea, "However, with so many records about Great Yu here, perhaps we can actually find some things that are useful to us today."

Feng Jianhua's eyes lit up. "You mean, the specific uses of the Dragon Stele?"

(End of this chapter)