Zhang Chen stopped paying attention to the energy changes within the Devouring Space and instead looked at the tablet, increasingly finding the Feng Shui Grand Array to be truly mysterious. Such a small tablet had such an effect; it really was baffling.
As the energy issues of the Feng Shui Grand Array were resolved, Zhang Chen’s life calmed down. Every day, he simply read books and pondered the path ahead.
That night
Outside, the north wind howled, while inside, Zhang Chen sipped tea and held books, reading them one by one.
After quickly finishing all the books, Zhang Chen carried twenty or so books back to the Scripture Pavilion, returned them to the shelves, then took a lantern and walked through the shelves of the Scripture Pavilion, finally stopping in front of the last row of shelves:
"The books on this shelf were left by the Helv Temple. They record the anecdotes recorded by various disciples and members of the Helv Temple, as well as the daily life within the Daoist Temple, and some ancient legends, narratives of divine demons."
Bored, Zhang Chen casually pulled out more than thirty books, then carried them back to his bedroom. He was aware that although there were many books in this Daoist temple, gathering the full Hundred Schools of Thought, there was not a single book about mysterious cultivation techniques. Prince Pingbian’s Mansion had read them numerous times, checked them again and again, and would certainly not give him any chance to pick up any oversight. But reading some ancient tales could broaden his mind and pass the time.
Treating these books as novels was actually not a bad choice.
Time flew by quickly, and after three days, the number of books Zhang Chen hadn’t read on the shelf was getting fewer. On this particular morning, after washing up, Zhang Chen casually picked up a book and sat by the stove to read.
The book was titled "Great View Anecdotes", and from this book, Zhang Chen gleaned a few things.
As Zhang Chen flipped through page after page, his gaze halted at a certain segment because he saw a familiar term: ’ascension’.
"The thirty-third Sect Leader obtained a rare book and wished to refine a supreme array, gathering the life essence of thirty-six thousand disciples and elders of the Daoist Temple to himself, then ascend to the Celestial Realm. In the final moment, fifteen elders led disciples in joint rebellion, and so he was executed!"
"At that time, the Immortal Sect gate opened, and a pool appeared, with a droplet of water falling, bringing life to the dead flesh and bones! Immortals and Divine Beings paraded, dancing gracefully in the Immortal Realm. Later, the elders killed the Observatory Master, and the Immortal Sect gate was forcibly shut. Seventy-two disciples took the opportunity to jump into the Immortal Sect gate, their whereabouts unknown."
"Does this world truly have an Immortal Realm? Is there really an Ascension Pool, immortality?"
Further on, it recounted in detail the great battle of old, leading to the backlash faced by the Helv Temple, seemingly suffering heavenly retribution, and thus beginning a decline.
"Interesting, the Immortal Realm mentioned by the other side should be the First Heaven of the Spiritual World. This thirty-third Sect Leader of Helv Temple tried to use a Feng Shui Grand Array to gather everyone’s life essence to seize the opportunity for ascension. The Immortal Sect gate was indeed opened but unfortunately, was thwarted by the elders working together, becoming the scapegoat for seventy-two disciples. Truly a great injustice," Zhang Chen mused.
"Ascension Pool, huh?" Zhang Chen’s gaze fell upon the term Ascension Pool.
This book was very ancient, not made of ordinary plant fibers, but rather some strange beast hide. The beast hide was tough, and even after countless years, it still hadn’t decayed.
"Judging by the timeline of the current cultivation world, this book is definitely not a product of the Late Ancient Era. It should be something left over from a very, very long, extremely distant era." Zhang Chen silently flipped through the pages, seeing that the dynasty it mentioned was ’Grand View’, but in Zhang Chen’s memory, there was no dynasty called Grand View in this world.
"At least a hundred thousand years old book. Simply because it didn’t record anything important, Prince Pingbian’s Mansion left it on the shelf." Zhang Chen flipped through the book page by page, simultaneously developing an interest in Helv Temple.
This Helv Temple could open a channel to the Spiritual World with a Feng Shui Grand Array, which shows to what astonishing level its Feng Shui Technique had reached, yet while watching, Zhang Chen also noticed two issues:
First, during the era of the Grand View Dynasty, there were cultivators! During that time, the Ascension Pool was still usable! Then, because of the End of the Dharma, the spirituality of the Divine Spirits dissipated and perished, only their mysterious bodies remaining. So, were there cultivators during that era? If there were, they ought to be able to ascend! Why resort to Feng Shui Technique for ascension?
How far is the Grand View era from the Earth era? How did the Spiritual World come into existence? How did it become known as the Immortal Realm by the people of Grand View?
The Earth era was the age of deities, an era where the Human Race had not yet risen, that era had no Qi Cultivation Technique. Zhang Chen could be sure of this because the cultivation method of Earth was his enlightenment.
The second issue, that is, since Helv Temple had been passed down to the present from that era, it counts as an extremely ancient faction. In theory, sixty years ago, there should have been Yin Spirit Technique cultivators, there should have been the Feng Shui Grand Array as a reliance, so how could it have been destroyed by Yellow Heaven Dao?
Since these ancient inheritances had always existed, why was it said that it was sixty years ago that the path of cultivation across the world was reconnected, and that the mysterious cultivation techniques began to be mastered?
Zhang Chen knew that those bloodline families used mysterious powers to pass down their bloodlines, so why were the cultivation techniques buried?
So what exactly happened in all of this?
Why did a rift appear?
With inheritances all present, how could a disconnect have occurred? Zhang Chen was perplexed, his fingers tapping on his knee, his eyes full of confusion.
Since he couldn’t figure it out, he decided to ask the Great Freedom Celestial Demon; thus, Zhang Chen summoned the Great Freedom Celestial Demon and voiced his doubts.
The Great Freedom Celestial Demon merely shook its head: "I don’t remember! I completely don’t remember!"
Asking it was equivalent to asking nothing; Zhang Chen couldn’t be bothered with it and continued to flip through the books, hoping to uncover the truth of the past within the books of Helv Temple.
"This book of yours is quite odd!"
Just as Zhang Chen was going through the book, the Great Freedom Celestial Demon remarked, leaning over to gaze at Zhang Chen’s book, a hint of curiosity in its eyes.
Upon hearing this, Zhang Chen’s interest was piqued: "Odd? What’s odd about it?"
He had been flipping through it for so long without noticing anything odd, yet the Great Freedom Celestial Demon could tell just by a glance?
The Great Freedom Celestial Demon scratched its head: "Don’t rush, let me think! Let me think! I can’t recall what’s odd about it, but your book is definitely odd."
Zhang Chen lit the candle, holding the book under the lamp to carefully observe, trying to discern any peculiarities.
He still believed in the Great Freedom Celestial Demon’s perceptive abilities. If the Great Freedom Celestial Demon said this book was odd, then it certainly was.
"What’s odd about this? The book seems perfectly normal!" Zhang Chen continuously flipped through it under the lamp, trying to verify whether there were any hidden layers. However, no matter how many times he checked, the thickness of the beast hide on every page was the same, and all were intact, not appearing layered at all.
Moreover, even when Zhang Chen opened the True God Golden Light’s Dharma Eye to examine it, the book didn’t emanate any mysterious vibe. He even opened the Eye of Devouring, and the book remained just beast hide, not piquing the Eye of Devouring’s interest at all.
He could ascertain that while this book’s material was extraordinary, it was no longer considered mysterious.
"You said this beast hide is odd, but what’s odd about it? Or are words written on it with some special potion?" Zhang Chen evaluated it in his hands, yet there seemed no indication of any concealed writing.
Standing there in thought for a long time under the lamp, the Great Freedom Celestial Demon finally turned toward the book’s binding, a distinctive gleam in its eyes, its tone somewhat smug as it said, "I know now! I finally found it."