Chapter 57: Borrowing Ancient Texts

Ding Shiping nodded, confirming that Jiang Xu was right.

"How could Senior Sister Yan be connected to that Secret Realm? It hadn’t even opened when we went there!"

"Perhaps it’s precisely because it hadn’t opened yet that it’s connected to Senior Sister Yan."

Jiang Xu’s eyes widened in shock.

"Senior Sister Yan opened that Secret Realm?!"

"Anyway, based on my speculation, she’s definitely involved. But as for how involved she is, or how it was opened, I can’t really guess any further."

Jiang Xu frowned in thought.

He recalled Yan Chunyu’s behavior from three months ago. Nothing had seemed out of place. ’How could she have suddenly run off to the Endless Forest to open some Secret Realm?’

While Jiang Xu was deep in thought, Ding Shiping couldn’t help but start chattering again, making it impossible for Jiang Xu to continue thinking.

Watching the rambling Ding Shiping, Jiang Xu felt a headache coming on. But then, in a flash of inspiration, he suddenly had an idea.

’Ding Shiping might be a chatterbox, but he’s still a Qi Cultivation Sixth Layer cultivator. He has more experience and knowledge than I do.’

’Since I have to listen to him talk anyway, why not have him talk about his cultivation experiences and some things to watch out for?’

Jiang Xu immediately began to steer the direction of Ding Shiping’s monologue.

Ding Shiping was more than happy to oblige. After all, talking was talking, no matter the topic.

So, Jiang Xu began to listen as Ding Shiping spoke about the problems he’d encountered during his cultivation, questions about practicing Magic and Cultivation Techniques, as well as some common knowledge about the Cultivation Realm, and more.

They continued until the afternoon. Jiang Xu was still eager for more, but Ding Shiping was starting to run out of steam.

It wasn’t that Ding Shiping had gotten tired of talking.

If it were just talking, Ding Shiping could go on for three days and three nights without stopping.

Unfortunately, Jiang Xu kept asking questions about cultivation, and the questions grew deeper and more profound. Towards the end, even Ding Shiping had to think for a long time before he could answer, and he was finding it hard to keep up.

So, using the excuse of needing to eat, Ding Shiping kicked Jiang Xu out.

"Hey, hey, Brother Ding, let’s chat a bit more!"

"Next time! Definitely next time!"

SLAM—!

The large door was slammed shut.

Inside, Ding Shiping wiped the sweat from his brow and vowed fiercely to himself:

’Hmph, I’ll let you off the hook this time. I’ll go look up some resources and ancient texts first. Just wait until next time, I’ll lecture you for a whole day and night!’

...

’Just when it was getting interesting!’

Seeing the tightly shut door, Jiang Xu could only head back in resignation.

After returning home, Jiang Xu first took some time to digest all the answers Ding Shiping had given him. Then, he took out a few sheets of paper and wrote down some of the key points.

After processing everything, Jiang Xu felt that his foundation was much more solid than before.

If this sort of thing could show a Skill Level, Jiang Xu was sure he would have seen it increase by a large chunk.

’My panel’s Skills still can’t break their limits. This means that to break through from Mastery to the next Realm, I need to spend at least ten Limit-Breaking Points.

One Limit-Breaking Point takes ten days, so ten points is a hundred days. In other words, it takes at least one hundred and ten days to raise a single Skill from zero Skill Level to the realm beyond Mastery.

I really don’t know if the changes from a Skill breaking past Mastery will be worth this one-hundred-and-ten-day wait.’

’There are still three days before I find out. There’s no point in overthinking it now. But since I don’t have to grind Skill Level for these three days, I’m suddenly relaxed and don’t quite know what to do... I might as well use this time to join the Talisman Pavilion.’

Having made his decision, Jiang Xu calculated the date. Based on the recruitment schedule he’d seen before, the day after tomorrow was the Hundred Arts Pavilion’s monthly recruitment for new members.

’The Hundred Arts Pavilion... right, I remember Shen Ji saying she wanted to join the Scripture Pavilion. I wonder if she managed to get in.’

Jiang Xu thought for a moment. He wasn’t busy right now, and it had been four months since he’d last contacted her. He figured he might as well go pay her a visit.

...

"You already joined the Scripture Pavilion?"

Jiang Xu was speechless.

’I didn’t expect Shen Ji to be so fast.’

According to Shen Ji, she had joined two months ago.

"How were you so fast?"

Shen Ji’s complexion was clearly much better than before. She was glowing, probably due to being nourished by a large number of books.

"You think I read all those Ancient Texts for nothing?"

Shen Ji said proudly:

"I just told the Inner Sect Disciple in charge of the assessment about the number of Ancient Texts in my collection. He came to my study, took one look, and passed me on the spot."

"Indeed, you truly deserve it!"

Shen Ji looked a little embarrassed, twirling a lock of her black hair around her finger.

"Well, not really. It’s mostly because the Scripture Pavilion isn’t very popular within the Hundred Arts Pavilion. Not many people apply, so it was easier for me to get in."

"I’m a little curious. The Talisman Pavilion involves Talisman Making, and the Alchemy Pavilion involves Alchemy. What do you usually do after joining the Scripture Pavilion?"

"There’s quite a lot to do. The most important thing is reading; you’re buried in books from morning to night. Then there’s managing the books, preventing insect damage, and so on. After that, we make handwritten copies of Magic and Cultivation Techniques, and there are other miscellaneous tasks."

At the mention of books, Jiang Xu couldn’t help but glance toward Shen Ji’s study.

Ever since Jiang Xu had transmigrated, he had been completely immersed in grinding Skill Level and Cultivation.

Although Jiang Xu’s strength had risen quickly, his knowledge and worldly experience had not kept pace.

Jiang Xu had thought about borrowing Shen Ji’s Ancient Texts to read before.

But Shen Ji had several hundred books, at the very least. Even conservatively estimating one or two hours per book, the time commitment would have been immense, severely delaying his Skill Level grinding. So, he never asked to borrow them back then.

Now, he no longer had to focus solely on grinding his Skill Level like before.

He finally had time for something like reading.

"Fellow Daoist Shen, I have a request. I’ve been interested in your collection of Ancient Texts for a long time. Might I borrow your books to have a look?

Oh, I understand that you worked hard and spent who-knows-how-many Spirit Stones to collect these. It would be taking advantage of you if I just read them for free.

How about this: I’ll use Spirit Stones to purchase the right to read your books. You can set the price, just don’t make it too expensive. I can’t afford it if it’s too high."

Jiang Xu had originally thought Shen Ji would be displeased.

This room full of books was Shen Ji’s hard-won collection. If their roles were reversed and someone wanted to easily reap the rewards of his own hard work, Jiang Xu would be displeased too—unless they offered to pay up.

But to Jiang Xu’s surprise, the moment he finished saying he wanted to look at her Ancient Texts...

Shen Ji shot up from her seat, leaned over, and brought her flushed face extremely close to Jiang Xu’s.

Her eyes sparkled, a mix of surprise and anticipation shining within them like brilliant crystals, making them exceptionally dazzling:

"You like to read Ancient Texts, too?! That’s wonderful! Let me tell you, my collection is divided into more than ten categories, such as Ancient Curiosities, Ancient Exotic Insects, Ancient Spirit Beasts, Ancient Demon Beasts, Ancient Battlefields, Ancient Kingdoms, Ancient Sects, Ancient Demons, Ancient..."