After reciting the couplets ten times over, the Primordial Spirit Expert said with great satisfaction, "Only a disciple of I, the Primordial Spirit Expert, could write couplets so imbued with the essence of the Dao. Look at these characters! Bold and elegant, possessing extraordinary spirit! An ordinary person could never write like this! That bald donkey Huihai and that scoundrel Zhao Dezhu, just because they each took on a good disciple, they strut around all day, flaunting them. Once Changsheng builds his Foundation, we must definitely crush their arrogance." Having said this, the Primordial Spirit Expert clasped his hands behind his back and walked off, immensely pleased with himself.
A moment later, a faint, blurred figure suddenly appeared at the entrance of the previously empty main hall.
"Having cultivated the Dao for a thousand years, I haven't seen through things as clearly as a grand-disciple. Interesting," a soft voice murmured.
Before the words fully faded, the blurred figure vanished once more.
...
Several streaks of light flashed across the sky. The mortals on the ground who saw them were filled with yearning, for those lights represented the omnipotent Immortals of this world. However, they didn't know that within those streaks of light was one particularly "unambitious" Immortal.
"Senior Brother, could you make your spiritual power a bit thicker? The wind is too strong; I can't focus on reading."
A manifested flying sword was speeding through the air. At its tip stood Qingfeng, the head disciple of Shangqing Temple, hands clasped behind his back. Behind him, however, sat a young man cross-legged, frequently pressing down on the pages of his book against the fierce headwind.
Faced with his junior brother's seemingly "lackadaisical" attitude, Qingfeng waved his right hand, slightly thickening the protective spiritual barrier around them. The fluttering pages promptly settled down.
"Changsheng, you're always clutching books. What exactly are you reading all day?"
Hearing this, Chen Changsheng smiled faintly. "I enjoy reading any book. But it's not just books I like; I enjoy observing everything in this world. However, the world is vast. Even if I spent thousands or tens of thousands of years, I might not be able to see it all. So, I choose to read books first, then observe the world. Because books are written by people. The reason people write books is to transform what they have seen, heard, felt, and understood into words, preserving them. Reading a book is, in a way, like understanding a person's entire life. While you might not grasp the complete picture, you can still glimpse a part of it."
Listening to Chen Changsheng's explanation, Qingfeng also grew interested. "So, having read so many books, have they actually been helpful to you?"
"Of course. If I hadn't read those books, how could I have deciphered Master's core formation?"
At these words, not only did Chen Changsheng's other senior brothers become intrigued, but even the Primordial Spirit Expert leading the way at the front pricked up his ears. While the Primordial Spirit Expert had indeed been pained by Chen Changsheng using the Lightning-Struck Wood for a coffin, what puzzled him more was this: how could a formation laid by a Nascent Soul stage cultivator be broken by a disciple only at the ninth level of Qi Refinement?
"Are you saying the Scripture Library contains records of Master's formations?"
"Senior Brother, you jest," Chen Changsheng replied. "The Master isn't particularly skilled in the Art of Formations. Why would the Scripture Library house his formations?"
Primordial Spirit Expert: "..." That's a bit hurtful! I am still your Master, a Nascent Soul mighty figure. What right does a mere ninth level Qi Refinement cultivator have to assess me?
"Since the Scripture Library doesn't contain Master's formations, how did you break it then?" Qingfeng pressed. "Even if Master isn't a formations expert, a formation set by a Nascent Soul stage cultivator isn't something a ninth level Qi Refinement cultivator like you can comprehend!"
"Senior Brother is correct," Chen Changsheng conceded. "Under normal circumstances, I naturally couldn't comprehend Master's formation. But Senior Brother overlooks one principle: everything under heaven leaves traces. Master is the leader of Shangqing Temple. The foundation of his cultivation naturally stems from the Shangqing Temple's legacy. In the Shangqing Temple's Scripture Library, I have perused roughly eighty to ninety percent of the books related to formations. Among them, the branch Master delved into was the Five Elements Formation lineage. While reading texts from the Five Elements Formation lineage, I also discovered notes and insights left by Master from his younger days. Therefore, I gained some understanding of Master's formation-setting habits."
Hearing this, Qingfeng immediately turned to look at the Second Senior Brother. "Mingyue, you're in charge of the Scripture Library. Does our Shangqing Temple have a Five Elements Formation lineage?"
Upon hearing this, Second Senior Brother Mingyue thought for a moment, puzzled. "Although I'm not as widely read as our Junior Brother, I do know the general classifications of the Scripture Library. I've never heard of a Five Elements Formation lineage."
Seeing this, Chen Changsheng chuckled. "Of course Second Senior Brother wouldn't know. Second Senior Brother began overseeing the Scripture Library thirty years ago. But the Five Elements Formation materials were removed from the library fifty years ago. The Five Elements Formation approach was popular in the cultivation world a century ago, but it was gradually replaced by other formation methods later on."
Realization dawned on Mingyue's face, followed by a look of disbelief. "Junior Brother, don't tell me you went to the Book Tomb."
"Heh heh heh... Second Senior Brother is truly perceptive. I did indeed go to the Book Tomb."
Hearing this, Mingyue immediately felt a headache coming on. Nothing in the world remains unchanged forever, and this holds true for cultivation techniques and various fields of knowledge in the cultivation world. From major cultivation methods for the Golden Core and Nascent Soul stages down to basic primers on formations and cultivation fundamentals – everything evolves. The cultivation world always has geniuses who innovate and improve upon the old. Therefore, the Scripture Library undergoes a cleaning every fifty years, aiming to replace outdated techniques and texts. The replaced books are then sent to a specific storage location, which the disciples of Shangqing Temple call the "Book Tomb."
Shangqing Temple has existed for over a thousand years. No one knows exactly how many books are stored in the Book Tomb, nor what kinds of books are there. Mingyue had visited the place a few times when he first entered the sect and had even discovered a mortal folk novel, The Plum in the Golden Vase, there. After confirming that most of the books there were useless, Mingyue never went again.
Taking a deep breath to compose himself, Mingyue asked tentatively, "Junior Brother... don't tell me you've read all the books in the Book Tomb?"
"Senior Brother Mingyue must be joking," Chen Changsheng replied. "I've only been here ten years; how could I have finished them all?"
Mingyue let out a sigh of relief.
"However," Chen Changsheng continued, "I have read about three-tenths of them."
Mingyue: ???
"Three-tenths?! Three-tenths of the books in the Book Tomb must amount to several hundred thousand!"
"Not that many," Chen Changsheng corrected calmly. "There are a total of nine hundred eighty-three thousand, five hundred and twenty-one books in the Book Tomb. Over the years, I have read two hundred eighty-six thousand, three hundred and eighty-five books. That's roughly three-tenths."
Silence fell. Mingyue was speechless. The other senior brothers were speechless. Even the Nascent Soul stage Primordial Spirit Expert wasn't spared.