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"The Scripture Pavilion, of course, we must visit," Xue Shan and Wan Xiaoqian responded with great joy upon hearing this.
Liu Ming naturally could not refuse either.
Thus, Shi Chuan stopped speaking, formed a hand seal with one hand, and once again conjured a cloud of grey mist, carrying the four towards another place atop the mountain.
A moment later, after the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, they landed in a secluded area. After passing through a stone forest formed by numerous green stone pillars, they saw a pavilion built against the mountain, half protruding from the mountain's body and half merging directly into the rock.
Above the grand entrance to the pavilion hung a plaque with the vibrant purple-red characters "Scripture Pavilion" written in a flourish resembling dragons and phoenixes dancing in the air. On either side of the grand entrance stood two ten feet tall fierce demon statues, incredibly lifelike, their bodies uniformly dark as if cast from refined iron.
"Remember well, the Scripture Pavilion is a vital site of our sect. Apart from the small path that we used to come here, there is no second path that approaches this place. Even if occasionally flying above nearby, one must not come within five hundred feet of the Scripture Pavilion; otherwise, one might be perceived as an intruder, thus violating the pavilion's prohibitions and getting directly slain by the pavilion's guardians, Puppet. Such incidents have happened before." Shi Chuan spoke gravely.
"There have been such incidents! Could these guardians be these two massive fellows?" Wan Xiaoqian exclaimed in fright, involuntarily giving the ferocious statues several glances.
"Precisely, it's them. Do not be fooled by their current state as inanimate Puppets; once activated, they possess a terrifying strength close to that of a Spirit Master, absolutely not something we, disciples at the Spirit Acolyte level, can withstand. It's just that activating them consumes a great deal of spirit stones," Shi Chuan explained briefly, then led the three into the pavilion.
Liu Ming glanced inside and couldn't hide a trace of surprise.
Upon entering, what appeared was a small room, no more than tens of feet both in length and width, containing nothing more than an empty chair.
Upon seeing this, Shi Chuan showed no sign of surprise but simply flipped his palm, revealing his sect badge, and waved it towards the opposite wall.
With a "pfft" sound, a beam of white light spurted from the badge, instantly vanishing into the wall and leaving no trace.
Shi Chuan then quietly waited with Liu Ming and the others, showing no impatience.
After a short while, a flash of white light appeared on the opposite wall, and a fat elder wearing a high crown, continuously yawning and looking half-asleep, stepped out of it.
"Disciple Shi Chuan, greets Uncle Master Ruan," Shi Chuan said, promptly approaching the fat elder with due respect.
"Oh, it's one of Jiuying's lads. Why have you brought the new disciples to choose their techniques so soon?" the fat elder asked lazily after briefly scanning them all.
"The junior disciples wanted to see what kinds of techniques are available in the pavilion first. It will be up to them to decide if they wish to choose now," Shi Chuan replied without hesitation.
"Fine, according to the rules, new disciples indeed have a one-time opportunity to tour the pavilion for free, and I will personally explain the pros and cons of various fundamental techniques. However, according to regulations, one person can only bring in one other. Who will go first?" the fat elder asked without any difficulty.
"Elder, junior would like to go first," Xue Shan immediately stepped forward to say, his face full of eager anticipation.
"Hehe, then you lad follow me," the fat elder chuckled before waving his wide sleeve, and suddenly a blinding white light swept out.
Liu Ming and the rest instinctively closed their eyes, and when they reopened them, both Xue Shan and the fat elder had vanished from sight.
"This is…" Wan Xiaoqian couldn't help but show a hint of alarm.
"Don't worry, Uncle Master Ruan merely used the power of the pavilion's formation to directly transfer Younger Brother Xue into the Scripture Pavilion," Shi Chuan explained nonchalantly.
Wan Xiaoqian felt relieved upon hearing this.
Liu Ming frowned slightly and asked, "Senior Brother Shi, is Uncle Master Ruan always in charge of guarding the Scripture Pavilion? May I ask from which lineage of Spirit Masters he hails?"
"Hehe, I know what junior brother is worried about. Rest assured. Uncle Master Ruan has always been in charge of the pavilion, but he hails from a rather unique background and does not belong to any particular lineage," Shi Chuan replied with a smile.
"I see," Liu Ming said, visibly relieved.
Afterward, both he and Wan Xiaoqian took the opportunity to ask Shi Chuan some further questions about the Scripture Pavilion.
This "Senior Brother Shi" also patiently answered them one by one.
After about the time it would take to finish a meal, a swirl of white light at the wall poured forth, and Xue Shan emerged with a joyful expression alongside the fat elder.
"Congratulations to Younger Brother Xue, it seems you have chosen a suitable technique!" Shi Chuan said with a smile, his eyes flashing.
"Hehe, this is all thanks to Uncle Master Ruan's guidance," Xue Shan nodded continuously.
"Who's next?" The fat elder didn't continue but rather turned his gaze towards Liu Ming and Wan Xiaoqian.
"Junior Sister Wan, please go ahead," Liu Ming said politely to the young girl beside him.
"Since Senior Brother Bai is so courteous, then junior sister will not stand on ceremony," Wan Xiaoqian replied upon hearing this, stepping forward without hesitation.
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"Alright,"
The portly elder nodded, then with another flick of his sleeve, a flash of white light enveloped him and Wan Xiaoqian, and they were similarly transported away.
"Younger Brother Xue, which basic technique have you chosen?" Shi Chuan turned and asked Xue Shan.
"It's the 'Earth Spirit Technique' that Senior Brother mentioned earlier. Uncle Master Ruan briefly examined my aptitude and helped me analyze the pros and cons of other techniques. I feel this technique suits me the best," Xue Shan honestly replied.
"Hehe, congratulations, Younger Brother. I also practice the 'Earth Spirit Technique.' This technique may not be as fast as some others at the beginning, but once you're on the right path, you can proceed smoothly with very few bottlenecks. It is also one of the most practiced basic techniques in our sect. Moreover, once you've cultivated it to a certain degree, you can switch to our lineage's 'Huangquan Yin Demon Technique,'" Shi Chuan said with a smile.
"What? Senior Brother Shi practices the 'Earth Spirit Technique' too? That's wonderful! If I encounter any confusion in my cultivation in the future, I hope Senior Brother will offer me further guidance," Xue Shan replied with great joy.
"Of course, if you have any doubts about the Earth Spirit Technique, just come and ask," Shi Chuan said without hesitation.
Xue Shan thanked him profusely, visibly overjoyed.
Liu Ming stood by with a smile on his face, not interrupting again.
Wan Xiaoqian did not spend much time inside; in almost half the time it took Xue Shan, she appeared in the room within a white light, alongside the portly elder.
From the slight joy in her eyebrows, it was clear she had not come back empty-handed either.
This time, before Liu Ming could ask anything, the portly elder, without saying another word, flicked his sleeve directly at him.
Liu Ming only felt a brilliance before his eyes, and his head spun as if the earth and sky were rotating. He staggered, nearly unable to stay on his feet and almost sitting down on the ground.
Fortunately, he reacted swiftly, steadying himself with a shrug of his shoulders and a twist of his waist until he stood upright as if boneless.
"Eh, not bad. It seems you are quite agile. The previous two youngsters couldn't stabilize themselves after being transported," a somewhat surprised voice of the portly elder came to Liu Ming's ears.
Only then did he manage to regain his composure and look around.
He found himself in the center of an extremely unfamiliar hall, with the portly elder standing about a zhang away from him.
The entire hall was several acres in size and was divided into several areas by walls of five-colored light. Within each area, there were independent stone platforms, each with various styles of scrolls or piles of bamboo slips underneath, all covered by glowing domes of different colors.
"Outside, I practiced some of the secret techniques of mortals, so I react faster than the average person," Liu Ming explained, bowing to the portly elder.
"You don't have to explain anything to me; I was just asking casually. Follow me, all the basic techniques are right here," the portly elder said, waving his hand and walking toward one of the light walls.
After a wry smile, Liu Ming could only honestly follow.
With a "bang!"
After the portly elder casually swiped his identification plaque through the air in front of him, the light wall immediately dissolved into specks of aura and vanished into thin air.
The two of them walked straight in.
Liu Ming quickly swept his gaze over the area and his face revealed a trace of astonishment.
"These are the basic techniques that you can learn for free at your current stage! What is it, do you have any questions?" the portly elder glanced at Liu Ming before asking flatly.
"Uncle Master Ruan, I heard from Senior Brother Shi that there are only thirteen basic techniques in our sect, but there seems to be far more than that here," Liu Ming said, his eyes narrowing slightly as he looked at the hundreds of stone platforms.
"Indeed, there are only thirteen techniques in our sect. However, our sect has been established for thousands of years. Naturally, we have also collected many outside basic cultivation techniques. There's nothing strange about that. However, I advise you newcomers not to rashly cultivate those external techniques. There are only thirteen techniques confirmed by the sect as foundational over so many years, which naturally has its reasons. Many of these external techniques either lack subsequent cultivation methods or require very specific conditions to cultivate, making them generally unsuitable for our disciples," the portly elder lazily replied.
"Thank you for the guidance, Uncle Master. May I know which technique you think would be suitable for me to cultivate?" After listening, Liu Ming had some clarity, but after another look at the nearly one hundred stone platforms, he asked the portly elder after a moment's consideration.
"What is your spirit root?" the portly elder asked without hesitation.
"Disciple has three spirit roots," Liu Ming respectfully answered.
"Three spirit roots! Good!" The portly elder nodded his head, then suddenly moved his arm, gesturing in the air with one hand.
Liu Ming instantaneously felt his body tighten, bound by some invisible force, unable to move. Then, with a "swoosh," he was pulled directly in front of the portly elder.
He was startled but then relaxed, refraining from struggling.
The next moment, he saw the elder muttering to himself. As his palms lit up and turned into a blur, he began to furiously slap Liu Ming's body.
Liu Ming felt that these strikes carried no weight but with each hit, a warm substance burrowed under his skin, even permeating directly into his bones, causing him to be inwardly alarmed.