CH 25.2

she suddenly turned her head to look at zhao keran, only to see her also looking confused.

immediately, she activated the jade slip and rewound the projection of lin shuang and the others!

in the projection, the mountain-sea screen that separated lin shuang’s steps seemed like an insurmountable predicament, like a heavy mountain, making it hard to breathe.

at this moment, on the two beds in the outer room, huangfu yuan and meng zi were still pondering the learning pyramid that xiao qi had mentioned in his message just now.

they didn’t notice that they had tried it once already.

now they were still a bit skeptical.

“village chief,” meng zi took out the carved totem from his arms, “you haven’t seen it before, right? this is the ‘thirteen blades of mountain and sea.'”

\[you’ve already shown it to him! but you’ve forgotten. wake up!\]

the projection spoke anxiously.

but meng zi smiled, seemingly oblivious, placed the totem on the table, and then opened the manual.

“the first layer of the knife is like my body.”

meng zi paused there, grinning, “village chief, did i not tell you? this cultivation method is worth eight thousand spirit stones!”

\[you told him once already! help!\]

zhao keran also followed the words of the projection, muttering to herself.

she wished she could rush into zhenchuan, but she saw meng zi’s smug smile in the projection, and suddenly she was stunned.

“i have never obtained such a precious cultivation method—huh?”

he suddenly lowered his head, his joyful expression somewhat suspicious. he flipped through the knife manual again, then picked it up.

“eight thousand spirit stones, is this fake?”

\[?\]

\[??\]

‘present-day’ meng zi touched his chest and frowned.

“something’s wrong. touching a technique worth eight thousand spirit stones, why am i not as happy as i imagined? this is the first time i’ve obtained it. according to my past self, i should be ecstatic, right?”

\[!\]

meanwhile, in the library, another displeased voice soon sounded. “this is not right. why do i have a repulsive feeling towards this alchemy technique? i always feel a faint smell of burning around it.”

huangfu yuan crossed his legs, his phoenix eyes squinting, looking at the ‘poisonous camphor pill technique’ in his hand.

\[!\]

\[!!\]

【spiritual awareness is keen, sensing danger? yesterday, he exploded the stove three times. if he comes again today, he’s afraid he’ll explode it again.】

【it is said that those with powerful spiritual awareness will be warned in their sea of consciousness.】

【it seems that before his realm declined, he was indeed an extremely talented individual!】

in the projection, lin shuang had already opened her eyes from the bed, seeming to sense something unusual.

she stood up and approached.

this time, there was no thousand mountains and myriad rivers screen to stop her.

she smiled at them, “have you also noticed?”

meng zi and huangfu yuan both showed suspicious expressions, looking at her, and standing up solemnly.

“it seems like we’ve lost some memories.”

“it seems that we’ve been repeatedly trapped here.”

in an instant, it seemed like the mist of the library dispersed.

the gazes of the three were like sharp swords, piercing towards the projection.

【… amazing.】

【while others in the condensation realm are still going back and forth, these three have already broken through!】

【in a hundred years, probably no more than five people can perceive anomalies in the library.】

【these three are probably not ordinary in the future!】

“extraordinary. other nascent soul experts are still in repetition, but these three have already broken through!”

“in a hundred years, perhaps not more than five people have perceived anomalies in the library of ten thousand books. these three are not ordinary people in the future!”

an old voice echoed in the library.

“congratulations. perceiving through the illusion, seeing oneself.”

“i read thousands of books in the mist, and when i get up, i’m still an ordinary person.”

“as a reward for passing this level, your time and rewards will be doubled, and each of you will obtain the qualification to enter the library of ten thousand books again! after breaking through, you can check the rewards in the resting cave!”

in the resting cave.

zhao keran’s eyes flickered as she looked at the projection, wiping all the cave jade slips in an instant.

she immediately took out “the fastest way to learn” and flipped through the pages.

lowering her head to check, she murmured, “so the additional answers to this question were already hidden in the book my senior sister gave me—”

pink-robed senior sister: “…………”

why didn’t she believe it, “is this also written?”

“well, in the ‘the fastest way to learn’ friendship chapter, it says, ‘be cautious in making friends. friends to a certain extent will help you on the right path, or lead you astray.'”

“senior sister met a good friend.”

“!”

the challenge in the library of ten thousand books continued.

lin shuang closed her eyes, then reopened them, and the fire eye golden vision technique operated at full speed.

soon, her eyes turned red, and tears almost welled up.

“the bed has no formations, talismans, or related spiritual fluctuations.”

but as she spoke, she still took a step back, and meng zi’s thunder blade struck from the side.

in an instant, the bed curtains shattered.

meng zi sheathed his blade, “you probably rested on it using some tomato timer yesterday. it’s safer to destroy it.”

after speaking, he poured the tea table and the basin of spiritual water out of the window.

“i should have drunk tea yesterday as well.”

huangfu yuan, holding a silver-threaded hand stove, wandered in front of the bookshelf, his phoenix eyes inspecting, “i have handled three types of spiritual treasures at rongbao pavilion that can make cultivators forget their memories.”

“lost mist incense, zhou zhuang’s dream talisman, and meng po’s water.”

as he spoke, he searched through the bookshelf.

meng zi nodded, “the incense burner has also been thrown outside.” as he spoke, he looked at the silver-threaded hand stove in huangfu yuan’s hand, with a strong intention to throw it out.

huangfu yuan: “…this is worth fifty thousand spirit stones.”

meng zi, carrying the blade, turned around.

“ah, it’s indeed a good stove.”

“huangfu senior brother, whenever you don’t want it, consider giving it to me…”

huangfu yuan cleared his throat and opened and closed the scrolls, checking each one.

lin shuang’s eyes flickered, “how long can cultivators forget their past using items that make them forget?”

after the original body died, she came into this world, not remembering anything from the past.

“don’t worry, junior sister. at most, three days. it won’t have a lasting impact if you don’t stay in it for too long.”

that’s a relief.

lin shuang sat down with a satisfied “oh.”

but soon, she blinked, “if we still haven’t found a way to dispel the forgetfulness tonight, we’ll start over very soon.”

alternate plans must be considered to deal with what comes next.

“if it continues like this tomorrow, shall we switch to a simpler cultivation technique?”

lin shuang suggested, then fell into a daze.

rebound sword technique was indeed wonderful, and she was reluctant to give it up.

“uh, thirteen blades, uh,” meng zi’s face showed pain, and it was worth eight thousand spirit stones, but he gave up, “thirteen blades, actually quite simple?”

huangfu yuan held the elixir recipe in his hand, looking at the words ‘first tier,’ and fell into silence.

the first-tier elixir recipe was indeed simple.

the three hesitated, reluctant to give up what they loved.

after a short pause, the moonlight outside the window, like white silk, gradually enveloped the library.

they were once again swallowed by darkness in an instant.

【it has begun!】

【today, destroy everything in the house. if you don’t forget by tomorrow, you can continue learning the cultivation techniques from today.】

【why are they so persistent?】

【clearly breaking through the illusion and choosing the simplest cultivation technique is the fastest!】

the higher-level disciples watching the three breaking through didn’t even notice that their mental states were subtly changing.

from the beginning, they thought lin shuang, the outer disciple, meng zi, who loved money without any principles, and the frail huangfu yuan couldn’t possibly succeed in leaving the library… to now, hoping that they could break through and leave.

senior sister in the pink robe, looking at these words, couldn’t help shaking her head.

soon, the “third day” in the library arrived in an instant.

sunlight penetrated the window of the library for a moment.

the three woke up like from a dream, showing three bewildered faces under everyone’s expectations.

“is this the library of a thousand scrolls?”

【darn it!】

【forgot again?!】

but in an instant, the three of them, in their confusion, all trembled.

their gazes gradually cleared.

lin shuang frowned, pressing her stomach, “my no. 6 is vaguely nauseous. i’ve been on duty for at least two days?”

【!】

“i…” meng zi opened his eyes, and unexpectedly, his eye sockets turned red.

he covered his heart in pain, bent over for a moment, and struggled to breathe.

“all the cultivation methods in the room not only don’t make me happy but also make me so sad as if i’ve lost some treasures. at least so much pain for losing two treasures!”

【!】

huangfu yuan’s phoenix eyes flickered. unable to bear it, he took out a handkerchief to cover his nose. “why is the burnt smell so pungent—like staying in an alchemy room for two days, the stench is nauseating.”

expressionless, his index finger and thumb picked up his green mustard pouch.

huangfu yuan: “…but i haven’t been to the alchemy room in a long time.”

【!】

“so, i forgot.”

huangfu yuan’s phoenix eyes flickered as he looked at his hands, a look of disdain on his face.

dirty.

“i chose an alchemy technique not long ago and blew up the furnace?”

“the feeling of losing something precious…”

meng zi raised his head in pain and looked at the wall of books.

“at least twice here!”

lin shuang’s expression turned ugly, “who stole two days of my time?”

the three walked to a spot and looked at each other.

“we’ve been stuck here for at least two days. i should have noticed it yesterday when i was exhausted,” lin shuang nodded to them.

“if i found out yesterday, i would have taken action,” meng zi covered his painful chest.

he couldn’t bear to forget the expensive cultivation technique!

“but why are we still here today—”

huangfu yuan squinted his phoenix eyes.

“our attempts yesterday all failed?”

【…impressive.】

【respect.】

huangfu yuan once again walked to the bookshelf he suspected the most, “if i had found something unusual yesterday, i should have told you already. “lost mist incense, zhou zhuang’s dream talisman, and meng po’s water, these three items may make cultivators forget their past.”

lin shuang nodded, scanning the room.

soon, she located the most conspicuous bed, “we ‘yesterday’ should have already destroyed all suspicious items.”

“spirit tea, water basin, incense burner, body-touching cushion, bed… these obvious things.”

meng zi, in pain, covered his chest, “i cut them all into pieces. these items cost me several thousand spirit stones!”

huangfu yuan chuckled, “so—none of these.”

【!】

【meng zi, who loves money, huangfu yuan, who dislikes alchemy, lin shuang, tired and snoring. after this, even if you go up another five hundred levels, i want to follow and watch the projection!】

this message had just scrolled across the projection screen.

huangfu yuan’s phoenix eyes swept across the room, all the inconspicuous places.

finally, the gazes of huangfu yuan and lin shuang fell in one place.

both reached out.

pointing to the most expensive blade technique that meng zi was guarding with his life— the entire wall.

the ink on it, from light to dense, changed again and again when they entered.

countless cultivation methods, walls, books, and rice paper… ink was everywhere.

“smoke-inducing incense can dissolve in water,” huangfu yuan said.

lin shuang nodded, “naturally, it can also be among the ink treasures.”

meng zi, carrying a large knife, turned to look at the white wall covered in black ink, a moment of regret, then suddenly realized.

the myriad cultivation methods were so precious.

even if they discovered abnormalities upon entering as disciples and sensed the presence of smoke-inducing incense, they were unwilling to destroy it immediately upon discovery.

slightly hesitating, they had inhaled the bewitching incense, and by the next day, the cycle repeated, causing them to forget everything!

“this elder in charge of the level… you’re so cunning!”

meng zi took a deep breath, then swung his knife towards the wall after putting it on his back, enduring the pain.

lin shuang activated her water spirit art, washing away the shattered wall.

huangfu yuan ignited spiritual flames between his fingers, burning all the bookshelves.

“wait, is it okay for us to destroy it like this? what if we get fined!”

only then did meng zi, who had shattered the wall and bookshelves, remember.

a cold sweat ran down him.

“i can’t afford to pay.”

lin shuang: “…”

isn’t it too late to bring this up now?

she stood in the ruins, turned to look at him, and said, “isn’t it supposed to be like this here? senior meng, what are you talking about?”

【pfft—my spirit tea!】

【… lin shuang from the outer sect, i remember you.】

huangfu yuan chuckled, walked out of the ruins, and wiped his fingers.

“no worries, i blew up the alchemy furnace before, but now it’s still intact.”

meng zi and lin shuang both breathed a sigh of relief.

【hehe, the elder in charge of maintaining zhenchuan is probably crying now.】

outside the projection, the pink-robed senior in the resting cave clenched and released her fists repeatedly.

“ah—these three bastards!”

in the now-ruined myriad scrolls library, moonlight did not descend.

there was no forgetting and no restarting.

lin shuang and the others practiced for three days each, gradually comprehending the techniques to the second level.

【book pavilion cleared: lin shuang, meng zi, huangfu yuan.】

【time spent: 7 days, becoming the fastest level master in a hundred years, rated a+.】

【triggered all hidden spiritual treasures in the library, rated a+.】

【all rewards doubled, tripled, and doubled again!】

【can go to the resting scenery court to check.】

lin shuang and the others simultaneously opened their eyes.

the third beast head, the symbol of a level master emblem, appeared on their chest, like exquisite embroidery.

at the same time, three leaves with a hint of ink fragrance slowly fell into the library.

—the zhenchuan leaves!

author’s note:

《master zhao’s notes 25》: “resting yesterday, today my inspiration surges like a spring. i can write a few more notes, talking about the zhenchuan book pavilion…”

—a disciple who bought this note a hundred years later, excitedly flipped the page, only to find it was a blank page: “??? where’s the rest? master zhao said he would write a bit more!”

—zhao keren: just making a little joke~ i tricked you, hahaha. rested yesterday, entertainment schedule is today.

—disciple: …

*