After looting the two corpses, I became the proud owner of two spatial rings, a decent sword, a collection of pills, a handful of minor Qi crystals, and a week's supply of dry rations. Additionally, the leader’s ring contained a document signed and stamped by the head of the Radiant Fingers Sect, granting permission for three inner circle disciples to access the Valley of Deprivation. I reread this piece of incriminating evidence with great satisfaction and promised myself it would reach the appropriate hands. Later, I’d personally annihilate their entire sect, for daring to target me.
However, my most valuable find was something labeled a "spiritual compass." The object resembled a square piece of jade inlaid with concentric golden rings. I wasn’t entirely sure how to use it, but it seemed this was the device that trio used to track me down.
Having thoroughly stripped the bodies of all they had, I stood up and moved forward. The ghostly arrow shifted along with me, guiding my path. I dashed after it, weaving through the labyrinth. The arrow led me deftly past traps, allowing me to maintain my speed.
I had assumed I’d need to emerge onto the steppe and run for dozens of kilometers, but reality had its own surprises. Within a minute, I reached a doorway shrouded in mist. It matched the description Chi Hua Hua had given of the library entrance. Just as I was about to step through, a strained shout rang out behind me.
"Stop right there!"
Turning, I saw a disciple of the Radiant Fingers Sect charging at me with the grace of a rhinoceros. Without hesitating, I extended my hand and used the Claw of the Western Demon technique. A glowing crescent of Qi sliced through the air and then through the cultivator's body, splitting him into two unequal halves. Blood and entrails splattered across the corridor as I turned back and stepped through the mist with a sense of grim accomplishment. The technique was tested, it worked just fine.
On the other side of the mist, I found myself in a small room where nine disciples of the now-hostile sect were sitting on benches along the walls.
"What? You’re alive?" - one of them blurted out, unable to contain himself.
"Hah! As if anything could threaten me." - I replied smugly, displaying the three rings on my left hand.
At the sight of my trophies, the disciples immediately fell silent, trembling as they pretended not to notice me. I wasn’t planning on hiding the fact that those three had attacked me, so there was no need to conceal their fate. How exactly they died, however, was information I’d keep to myself.
Before I could even catch my breath, a door opened at the opposite end of the room. Casting a condescending glance at the cowards surrounding me, I was the first to step through.
The next room was a grand hall filled with rows of bookshelves. Except, instead of books, the shelves held jade tablets. I tried reading the information from the tablets as I normally would with jade, but encountered resistance from the protective field surrounding the shelves. The only way to assess the contents was to read the brief labels etched on the edges of the tablets.
The disciples dispersed immediately, searching for something of interest. Within moments, I saw one of them touch the protective field in front of a selected tablet. The tablet slid out, becoming accessible for retrieval.
Well, if the simple method didn’t work, it was time for a more complex approach. Over time, I had honed my ability to read jade inscriptions not just with Qi but also with psionics. The protective field might block Qi, but it had no defense against psionics. I began walking around the hall, reading the tablets’ contents while accelerating my consciousness to process the information faster.
At first, I thought I’d struggle to memorize the entire library, but it turned out the collection consisted of no more than thirty tablets, despite each being uniquely named.
The techniques offered fell into two categories. They either invoked some form of Celestial Law or relied on Demonic Curses. Keeping my conversation with the ghost in mind, I searched for something different. I had almost scoured the entire hall without finding anything worthwhile when I noticed a mural in one of the niches.
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The painting depicted the familiar cultivator holding several jade tablets, extending them to a crowd of all sorts — humans, celestials, and demons mingling together.
But what truly caught my attention was a subtle detail: while the cultivator handed out tablets to the crowd, he kept one in his pocket. Barely visible, the corner of a jade tablet peeked out of his robes. Most intriguing of all, within the wall near this exact spot, I detected a tablet containing a technique not listed elsewhere in the library.
I approached the mural, touched the corner of the tablet, and it "slid out" of the wall. Picking it up, I examined the acquisition from all sides. The back of the tablet still resembled part of the mural, but the front bore the engraved words: "A Malicious Gaze that Ignores Heaven and Earth". Intriguing.
Sitting down on a nearby bench, I immersed myself in the tablet's contents. It turned out to be about ten times more detailed than the other books. The technique it described seemed, at first glance, lacked significant combat value. By activating it, I could frighten an enemy simply by looking at them. However, more importantly, the technique also allowed the user to perceive the Heavenly Laws or Demonic Curses underlying an opponent’s techniques. Now that is fascinating.
Upon completing the book, I noticed fragments of "mental images" embedded in it that didn’t quite align with the surrounding "text." Compiling these fragments revealed a coherent image that spoke of a Dragon’s Blood Legacy located in the outer regions of Jiang. The image included a map, though I had no idea how to link it to the actual terrain, my knowledge of local geography was practically zero. Still, I memorized the information for future use.
After thoroughly studying the tablet, I stood and resumed browsing the rest of the library to ensure I hadn’t missed anything of significance. Halfway through, a disciple of the Radiant Fingers Sect confronted me with a somewhat angry expression.
"Where did you get the rings of our inner-circle disciples?" - he demanded.
"I took them off their corpses” - I replied with a smug grin.
"What killed them?" - he pressed further, unsatisfied with my response.
"They chased me and got caught in a primitive trap” - I replied, my grin widening.
The disciple asked no further questions, simply glaring at me with a look full of unspoken promises. Well, I had promised to follow the rules, but rules can always be interpreted literally.
I found nothing else of interest in the library. Exactly one hour after we had entered, a glowing light enveloped us, teleporting us into a hall near the tomb's exit. The tablet I had stored in my spatial ring disappeared. I hadn’t expected to keep it, but still, I’d hoped.
Alongside me in the hall appeared the nine other disciples from the library. Moments later, members of the Radiant Fingers Sect began streaming in from the corridors. However, I didn’t see a single member of my own group.
"Today, your life ends here!" - declared one of the disciples dramatically as he stepped forward. His comrades began to surround me, forming a circle.
"This seems against the rules” - I remarked with a smirk.
"No one will know how you died. We’ll simply say ten of our disciples reached the library” - he sneered.
"Such a cunning plan. But there’s a flaw: you won’t be able to kill me. On the contrary, I’ll kill all of you without hesitation."
At this, the group erupted into laughter, as if I’d told a joke.
"You’re hilarious. Your bravado is worthless. Kill him!" - the leader shouted. "A Thousand Merciless Strikes!"
A golden-decorated sword materialized in his hand, its blade shimmering as he swung it downward in a clumsy, overdramatic arc.
"One normal punch!" - I retorted.
I accelerated, dodging the clumsy attack, and landed a punch to his chest, channeling a subtle burst of Qi. During my time in the library, I had studied all the available techniques and decided to employ one called Heavenly Hammer. Although this was my first attempt at using it, my comprehensive understanding from the tablet allowed me to execute it flawlessly.
My target exploded into a spray of blood before he even had time to register fear. I caught the now-ownerless sword as it fell and scanned it. The blade indeed contained the technique A Thousand Merciless Strikes, likely a treasure found in the tomb. However, like every other artifact here, the sword had an inherent defect that made its use extremely "costly" for the wielder. Evaluating it as "trash” I tossed it into my ring. A nice ‘gift’ for my superiors. They won't mind garbage like this.
Meanwhile, the surrounding disciples recoiled in fear. I didn’t give them a chance to regroup and attacked, tearing through the crowd with Heavenly Hammer and Claw of the Western Demon. Simultaneously, I looted my victims of anything remotely valuable.
Interestingly, the issued spatial rings had a pre-built flaw in their structure that allowed their contents to be remotely viewed by anyone. Essentially, they were "transparent pockets" — while items appeared safe, anyone could inspect their contents.