Inside the Yellow Registry Repository, Chen Xuanze and the other two, under the guidance of Old Li, began the daily task of organizing records.
The task was straightforward – one person per row of bookshelves, reach out, grasp the spine of the book, and activate the Wind and Sun technique. Based on the thickness of the book, they decided the duration of the spell themselves.
Initially, Old Li assigned them the outermost rows of bookshelves. These books were of low importance, given to them to avoid irreversible damage to valuable records due to poor time management. The Wind and Sun technique had no attacking power; at most, it would over-dry the pages, making them brittle.
In such cases, the damaged books had to be set aside. Whoever caused the damage was responsible for copying the content. After copying, the damaged book was discarded, and a new one was placed in its stead.
Fortunately, the three had good learning abilities and quickly grasped the time required for different materials and thicknesses of the records.
During the process, Chen Xuanze damaged three books, San Zang damaged one, and Daoist Wang Qingxuan fared worse, damaging five books. One of them was as thick as a brick.
Mastering the time duration didn't mean they wouldn't damage the records, as their movements were very systematic: left hand casting the Wind and Sun technique, right hand flipping through the previously dried book. If they became too engrossed, it could lead to exceeding the allocated time.
Wang Qingxuan and San Zang each damaged a book every half-day, while Chen Xuanze, after mastering the time duration, didn't damage a single one. He seemed to have a knack for it.
In the afternoon of their entry into the Yellow Registry Repository, as his left hand touched a book with a beast skin cover, the Demon Suppression Chart in Chen Xuanze's mind transmitted information: "Sprout Demon."
After casting the Wind and Sun technique, Chen Xuanze looked through the book with the mysterious numbers 1367 on its cover. It documented the process of the Yellow-ranked group from the Demon Suppression Bureau suppressing the 'Sprout Demon' five hundred years ago.
In the land of Baiyue, Sprout Demons emerged, devouring everything within a hundred miles of green mountains. In just ten days, they turned three hundred miles into barren land. The Sprout Demon was only of the seventh rank, but their sheer number posed a significant threat.
Reading through the entire process of suppressing the Sprout Demon, Chen Xuanze felt a chill down his spine. In that battle, the entire Yellow-ranked group was wiped out, and most of the members from the Demon Suppression Bureau's group with the word 'Xuan' in their names suffered heavy casualties.
It took the intervention of a second-ranked Demon Suppression Bureau leader to annihilate the overwhelming Sprout Demons.
After that, while maintaining the records, the Demon Suppression Chart constantly provided hints—either about the hidden places of sects or rare sightings of demons and monsters.
After half a day, Chen Xuanze figured it out. If the Demon Suppression Chart didn't provide hints, the contents were ordinary; if it did, there were hidden secrets in between the lines.
Inside the Yellow Registry Repository, everything was regulated.
It wasn't until the end of the first busy day, when they were about to go back to rest, that Old Li informed the three of them.
"Lord Wang has given permission. Feel free to browse through the records. By the way, during this period, you are not allowed to leave the Yellow Registry Repository."
And so, the three of them spent their days eating, drinking, and attending to their bodily needs within the Yellow Registry Repository. Fortunately, the place was well-ventilated, and the accommodations for eating and sleeping were decent.
They roamed freely in the ocean of secrets, feeling no difficulty in passing the time. After half a month, all the records in the hall were processed, and the damaged ones had been copied.
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During this time, Chen Xuanze gained a rough understanding of the levels of cultivation in various systems. There were five major mainstream systems: Dao, Martial, Buddhist, Demonic, and Confucian, each divided into nine grades. Daoists went through Foundation Building, Aperture Opening, and Spirit Roaming; martial practitioners underwent Essence Refinement, Skin Refinement, and Bone Refinement; Buddhists cultivated Novice, Warrior Monk, and Demon Suppression; and Confucians focused on Self-Cultivation, Family Harmony, and Scholar. These corresponded to the nine, eight, and seven grades, respectively.
Anything beyond that was not mentioned in the records. For the demonic system, there were no specific names, only classifications based on their accomplishments. Seventh grade at thirty years, eighth grade at fifty years, and the ability to transform at a hundred years.
"I'll ask Wang Qingxuan later; he should know," thought Chen Xuanze, curious about the paths of advancement in various systems. Currently, he was at the ninth grade of Daoist Foundation Building and the eighth grade of Essence Refinement. His martial cultivation was at the eighth grade of Skin Refinement, and he possessed peculiar abilities such as the Sky Opening Eye, Night Travel Technique, Palm Thunder, and Ghost Killing Sword Technique.
Without understanding the intricacies of each system, it was challenging to assess his own strength.
...
After completing their tasks, Old Li released Wang Qingyun and San Zang but left Chen Xuanze behind. Following Old Li, Chen Xuanze descended to the second underground floor. The area was smaller than the first floor, with only about a tenth of the records on the shelves.
Old Li, leading the way, said, "Lord Wang instructed that you can stay here for three days. Remember as much as you can. With your eighth-grade martial cultivation, three days won't starve you. After three days, I'll take you to select martial techniques."
Chen Xuanze, confident due to the assistance of the Demon Suppression Chart, thought important content could be handled in a day. However, as his finger traced the top shelf of the first row, he realized he had miscalculated. Sixty books in a row, and the Demon Suppression Chart provided hints for all of them.
Luckily, the Demon Suppression Chart was reliable at critical moments, providing a pre-established route for mana circulation. After practicing, Chen Xuanze's ears and eyes were clear, and his memory had undergone a terrifying improvement. He decided to name this unnamed technique: the Unforgettable Gaze technique.
For the next three days, he worked tirelessly, forsaking sleep and food. Mainly because there was nothing to eat. As he read, Chen Xuanze understood why these materials were placed on a separate floor.
No martial techniques, no spells, no formations, no methods for crafting spiritual tools or talismans. Stroke by stroke, the records chronicled the establishment of the Demon Suppression Bureau, the changing dynasties of the Nine Provinces, the rise and fall of various major forces, and the daily mission of the Demon Suppression Bureau: to suppress the evil and safeguard the world.
While reading, he kept muttering to himself. "Killing Life Temple, Qingyun Sect, and the Demon Suppression Bureau cooperated at the beginning. Interesting, interesting."
"White Mountain and Blackwater spawn major demons every hundred years. Good gracious, how glorious? Chen Qianqian is really timid; you can't tell at all."
"Oh my, Killing Life Temple taming the White Mountain and Blackwater? Are they going to kill the demons or cultivate them?"
The last book had very recent handwriting and documented the process of demon suppression during the Mid-Autumn Festival.
"Lord Wang at the third grade, the Grand Commander at half a step to the first grade, amazing!"
"White Mountain Rock Sparrow, seventh among the top ten famous swords in the Nine Provinces? Comes with its own firepower, burning everything when activated? This thing is a waste if not used for barbecue; it's a pity to use it as my room's air conditioner!"
"Wow, Lord Wang personally went to call back Zhao Baihu? Chen Qianqian was lucky to encounter me; otherwise, Zhao Baihu would have stewed her."
"Really embarrassing for White Mountain and Blackwater, no trace of the appearance of the Saintess Liusu."
Here, Chen Xuanze, alone, kept muttering like he had gone mad. However, the more he read, the more confused he became.
It was as if he was looking at flowers in the fog, glimpsing some secrets and discovering even more behind them.
"In the misty clouds, what was the purpose of throwing me in here?"
The bronze door lifted, and Chen Xuanze stopped muttering, organized his thoughts, and walked out of the second underground floor.
Back in the courtyard, Old Li threw a piece of parchment at him. "Soul Vow. Read it carefully."
Chen Xuanze took it and read it thoroughly. It turned out to be a soul oath using the three souls and seven spirits, vowing not to disclose what he had seen in the Yellow Registry Repository. After reciting every word, a mysterious aura descended on Chen Xuanze's head.
Then, he noticed that the Demon Suppression Chart had rotated, sealing the mysterious aura from his sea of consciousness. The sealing pattern was identical to the one frequently used by the Demon Suppression Bureau.
"Alright, Demon Suppression Chart, Demon Suppression Bureau, if you two aren't related, my name is not Chen Xuanze!"
At this moment, Chen Xuanze, limited by his knowledge, had no idea about the significance of sealing the soul oath.
After internal complaints, he followed Old Li to the next room and randomly selected a Yellow-ranked martial technique, Twelve-Year Cicada.
In Old Li's eyes, a flicker of surprise flashed. Then, he took Chen Xuanze out of the courtyard, following the route that clearly headed toward the residence of the Lord Commander Wang.