Upon entering the library pavilion, Meng Shuying found that, contrary to her expectations, there were no books inside. Instead of rows of towering bookshelves, the pavilion was filled with floating jade slips, densely packed in mid-air, glowing softly. The empty bookshelves reached all the way to the ceiling, and Meng Shuying's confusion was evident.
"Long ago, when this sanctuary was discovered, the sect's great masters transferred the books. They then had the most suitable techniques for Foundation Establishment cultivators inscribed into these jade slips and left them here," Su Luowei explained.
"You may choose one of these jade slips," she added.
Each jade slip floated serenely in the air, all identical in appearance—translucent white with no inscriptions, surrounded by a faint glow of spiritual energy.
This left Meng Shuying in a dilemma.
Each person could only select one jade slip from the library. But since the jade slips looked exactly the same, it was impossible to tell what was inside.
After much hesitation, she finally used her spiritual energy to envelop one of the jade slips and gently plucked it from the air.
As she infused her spiritual power into the jade slip, the technique it contained automatically imprinted itself into her spiritual sea. The four characters that appeared in her mind made her expression turn a little odd.
Seeing this, Su Luowei grew curious.
"What did you get?"
"Basic Formation Techniques."
"That's good," Su Luowei replied with a light tone. "Mastering formations sharpens the mind and tempers one's spirit. When fully mastered, they can trap enemies without a trace."
Meng Shuying's eyes lit up. "Senior Sister, do you want me to study formations?"
In truth, she had hoped to learn a powerful offensive technique, but if her Senior Sister believed she was better suited for formations, she was willing to dedicate herself to it.
"My thoughts don't matter. What's important is what you want," Su Luowei said, her voice calm and steady.
As long as Meng Shuying didn't do anything that defied the natural order, Su Luowei would support her in anything. She just hadn't yet figured out how to pull Meng Shuying out of the narrative's vortex while still completing her own mission.
The thought of it made Su Luowei sigh inwardly.
Meng Shuying quickly skimmed through the "Basic Formation Techniques" in her spiritual sea but hadn't had time to delve into it when she sensed someone approaching outside the bamboo grove. The newcomer was none other than Jiang Ye.
Jiang Ye strode in with her hands clasped behind her back, impatience etched in her brow. Now that the restrictions had lifted, she had regained her five senses and no longer needed to be guided.
The two disciples who had been supporting her earlier, You Wen and another disciple, were now trailing behind her, leaning on each other for support. Both appeared injured, their shoulders soaked in blood.
Seeing that Meng Shuying had exited the maze before she had, Jiang Ye frowned.
"How did you get out so quickly?"
"By finding the Life Gate," Meng Shuying replied calmly.
Jiang Ye scoffed, a hint of mockery in her eyes. "I guess I misjudged everyone. Who would have thought that you, of all people, would be the most useful?"
Those useless fools had nearly led her into the Death Gate, causing her to almost get hurt. Fortunately, in the moment of danger, she had grabbed the nearest disciple to shield herself from the attack. Otherwise, she would have been the one injured!
Noticing the jade slip in Meng Shuying's hand, Jiang Ye asked, "What technique did you get?"
Meng Shuying didn't hide it, answering straightforwardly, "Basic Formation Techniques."
Jiang Ye sneered. "I thought you'd gotten something powerful, considering how fast you got out. Turns out it's just some useless formation techniques."
Meng Shuying paid no mind to her taunts. Since her Senior Sister had said that formations were valuable, she believed that out of all the jade slips, the one she had chosen was the best.
After Jiang Ye and the others finished selecting their jade slips and left the library pavilion, Su Luowei, not wanting to stay too close to them, walked out into the courtyard. There, she spotted a signal left by Wen Miaomiao, indicating that they were waiting for her at the Abandoned Sword Grave.
The Abandoned Sword Grave lay to the west of the library pavilion. It was originally a resting place for spirit swords, with over a hundred swords once sleeping there. After the owner of the sanctuary perished, the spiritual energy within the sanctuary gradually waned, causing those spirit swords to lose their power over time.
A spirit sword without spirit was considered a "waste sword."
The Abandoned Sword Grave was also the only one of the four major areas in the Ten Directions Blessed Land that posed no danger, making it an ideal place for teams to rest.
Su Luowei still had the invisibility charm on, so Meng Shuying couldn't see her. However, Meng Shuying could sense that the familiar lily of the valley fragrance was fading, indicating that her Senior Sister was no longer nearby.
She glanced at Jiang Ye, who was focused on inspecting the jade slips in the air and wasn't paying attention to her.
Taking advantage of this, Meng Shuying quietly slipped out of the pavilion. After clearing her throat a few times, she heard Su Luowei's voice.
"I'm leaving. The disciples of Yanmo Peak are waiting for me up ahead."
Meng Shuying had just felt a sense of satisfaction from correctly guessing her Senior Sister's whereabouts, only to be doused with cold water.
She stood still for a while, then lowered her head, her voice small and soft, like someone who had just been wronged. "Do you really have to go?"
"Yes," Su Luowei replied softly. "They're all Foundation Establishment cultivators. Without me, they could easily be in danger."
Unwilling to see Meng Shuying upset, Su Luowei thought for a moment and gently patted the top of her head, her voice as tender as the first snow of early winter. "I'll be waiting for you up ahead."
Meng Shuying suddenly smiled.
Suppressing her reluctance, she looked up and forced a smile, all to reassure Su Luowei.
"Okay, Senior Sister, I'll find you soon."
Her smile only made Su Luowei feel even more sorrowful.
As much as she wished to stay, it wasn't wise to continue traveling with the disciples of Qionghua Peak. The ten disciples of Yanmo Peak were still waiting for her. She needed to ensure their safety.
When the disciples of Qionghua Peak finally emerged from the library pavilion, Meng Shuying had already composed herself, her expression as cold and distant as ever, practically radiating an aura of "stay away."
Several disciples had managed to obtain valuable techniques, finally allowing Jiang Ye to relax a little. She figured that as long as they could acquire the Nine-Turn Spirit Herb, she could report back to her master without worry, hopefully avoiding any further trouble for Senior Sister Yu Qing.
Jiang Ye was in a surprisingly good mood, and even when she noticed Meng Shuying's low spirits, she only gave a slight sneer and refrained from further targeting her.
"We've spent too much time on the road. By now, the disciples of Yanmo Peak and Baizhan Peak should have reached the Abandoned Sword Grave and be resting there."
"Next, we'll take a detour, following a small path to reach the Beast Hall ahead of them."
The Beast Hall was where the original owner of the Ten Directions Blessed Land had kept his spirit beasts. Unfortunately, after his death, most of the powerful spirit beasts either died from contract backlash or managed to escape, leaving only a few weaker, ordinary spirit beasts behind.
However, in today's cultivation world, spirit beasts capable of forming contracts with human cultivators were incredibly rare, making them highly sought after.
For these Foundation Establishment cultivators, possessing a spirit beast would be a great honor.
So, aside from Meng Shuying, everyone else agreed with Jiang Ye's decision.
If they could reach the Beast Hall ahead of the other two peaks, their chances of acquiring a spirit beast would be greater.
Meng Shuying, however, was preoccupied with the thought that Su Luowei was waiting for her at the Abandoned Sword Grave. She didn't want to continue with the disciples of Qionghua Peak.
But Jiang Ye seemed to have taken a strange liking to her this time, insisting that Meng Shuying stay with the group and refusing to let her act alone.
Left with no choice, Meng Shuying followed the group as they headed northwest, bypassing the Abandoned Sword Grave and heading straight for the Beast Hall.
The Beast Hall was located at the very center of the Ten Directions Blessed Land. After half a day of travel, they could already see the towering gate in the distance, along with the three large characters "Beast Hall" carved in a majestic style on the stone tablet beside the gate.
Although the gate was now dilapidated, with waist-high weeds growing inside, the remnants of its glory were still evident in the ruined walls and scattered bricks.
"There's a rumor that the former owner of the Ten Directions Blessed Land had two great spirit beasts: a dragon and a phoenix."
"And then what happened?" a curious disciple asked.
"What do you think happened?" Jiang Ye replied coolly. "The owner died, the dragon perished from contract backlash soon after, and the phoenix, although it managed to escape despite its injuries, probably died somewhere in the wilderness."
As they got closer, they could smell a faint stench wafting from the Beast Hall. Jiang Ye took a few steps back, covering her nose and mouth with her sleeve, frowning. "Alright, if you want to check it out, go ahead. Just make sure to capture a few spirit beasts. I'll wait for you here."
The disciples exchanged hesitant glances, but finally, someone succumbed to the lure of the spirit beasts and, after bowing to Jiang Ye, walked toward the Beast Hall.
As they approached the entrance, a young girl in a green dress suddenly emerged from behind the stone tablet, blocking their way with outstretched arms.
The girl looked about six or seven years old, with twin buns on her head and bright, shiny eyes.
"You can't go in there," she said in a childish but firm voice. "The spirit beasts inside are my friends, and they're sick right now. I can't let you disturb them!"
Jiang Ye recognized all thirty-three people who had entered the Ten Directions Blessed Land and was certain that this little girl wasn't one of them.
Although the girl had no discernible spiritual energy, she gave Jiang Ye a sense of unease.
The girl seemed to recognize Jiang Ye as the leader and even tilted her head, smiling sweetly as she greeted her.
A spirit beast? Jiang Ye wondered.
She had heard of rare spirit beasts that, after reaching a certain level of cultivation, could take human form.
But all the powerful spirit beasts in the sanctuary had either left or died, and the elders had never mentioned there being such a spirit beast in the Ten Directions Blessed Land.
If this girl wasn't a spirit beast, how had she survived in this dangerous place?
The sanctuary was deceptively peaceful, but in reality, it was full of dangers. If she were just an ordinary little girl, she would have been devoured long ago.
Jiang Ye couldn't make up her mind and decided to proceed cautiously.
The little girl tilted her head as she observed Jiang Ye for a while. When Jiang Ye remained still, the girl turned her gaze to Meng Shuying.
She stared at Meng Shuying, her bright eyes narrowing in concentration as if trying to recall something. After a long while, when Meng Shuying began to feel Jiang Ye's suspicious gaze on her, the girl suddenly clapped her hands in realization.
"Oh, I remember now! It's the smell of the snake!"
"Have you met the snake? You smell just like it."
The little girl made a wide circle with her arms, trying to illustrate the size. "It's one of my friends, really big, with hard scales. Ever since I tried to bite it last time and it ran away after I beat it up, I haven't been able to find it anywhere. I've been looking for it everywhere!"