“Ding~”

Qin Ruqing shook a bronze bell and used her spiritual sense to connect with the Wanjun Pavilion.

It was magical, as if a place was mysteriously calling out to her. Following the bell’s guidance, she stepped into that place.

When she opened her eyes again, she saw a magnificent hexagonal tower, rising high into the clouds.

Pure white jade stairs supported it, giving it a solemn and sacred appearance.

Qin Ruqing didn’t rush inside. Instead, she glanced at the bronze bell.

The Penglai Divine Mountain was indeed mysterious.

Qin Ruqing had a strange premonition; she wasn’t on top of the mountain or halfway up but rather inside the mountain in a different space.

Inside the divine mountain, the area’s size was unknown—perhaps it was just a small piece of land or maybe an expansive, boundless space, another realm altogether.

Such a breathtaking place—was it naturally formed or man-made?

If it was natural, one could only marvel at the wonders of nature.

If it was man-made, what an astonishingly powerful being must have created it?

Qin Ruqing stepped onto the white jade stairs and advanced slowly.

When she reached the last step, the hexagonal tower was right before her.

She looked up at the golden plaque with the vast characters: Wanjun Pavilion.

After a moment, she stepped inside.

At that instant, she felt an invisible spiritual presence sweep over her.

It didn’t feel like a living being, but rather the tower’s own will.

This spiritual scan didn’t feel intrusive to Qin Ruqing; it seemed more like the tower was trying to connect with the bronze bell hanging at her waist, perhaps to confirm her identity.

Inside, it was a whole new world.

It wasn’t the orderly library she had imagined, with towering bookshelves arranged neatly.

Instead, it resembled a grand celestial hall.

The floor was made of deep, polished jade, and the ceiling was a vast, mysterious purple starry sky.

The difference was that the starry sky was dotted not with stars but with countless white light clusters.

…

In the center of the hall stood a virtual star map, and in front of it sat an elderly woman in a white and green robe, meditating.

This elderly woman was likely the librarian. Qin Ruqing thought as she walked over slowly.

Upon closer inspection, the woman’s face was extremely old, with all-white hair and loose, wrinkled skin.

Yet, oddly, she radiated a vibrant vitality.

As if sensing Qin Ruqing’s approach, the elderly woman slowly opened her eyes.

Meeting her gaze, Qin Ruqing was startled.

The woman’s eyes, though marked by countless years, were sometimes as innocent as a child.

It was quite peculiar.

Qin Ruqing bowed to the elderly woman, who spoke gently, “Your bronze bell shows traces of the Underworld. Do you have a token?”

Wow, she can even see that?

Qin Ruqing obediently took out her token.

An old woman noticed the ancient bronze token with the words “Heavenly Level” inscribed on it, her aged eyes reflecting a hint of surprise.

“The Fifth Clan hasn’t had anyone obtain a Heavenly Level token in a long time. The last one I recall was little Lingyu.”

The old woman looked at Qin Ruqing, “You are not from the Fifth Family.”

Qin Ruqing bowed respectfully, “I am a junior from the Qin Clan, a silver-level family in the southern region, invited by the Southern Region Director to train with the Fifth Clan.”

Though the actual person who invited her was Fifth Lingyu, the official invitation was from the Southern Region Director.

Qin Ruqing had a suspicion at the time that Director Dahu might be in league with Fifth Lingyu.

As expected, the old woman understood and nodded, “So it was little Lingyu who invited you.”

She marked Qin Ruqing’s bronze bell with a seal and said, “With the Heavenly Level token from the Hell Path, you can access up to the fourth floor.”

“Go ahead.” With a wave of the old woman’s hand, Qin Ruqing experienced a brief moment of dizziness as the hall and the star map vanished.

It felt as if Qin Ruqing was now floating in a deep purple starry sky, where she could reach out and touch the clusters of light.

She realized she must be on the first floor.

“Amazing,” Qin Ruqing muttered, reaching out to touch the nearest light cluster.

It shattered, and a scroll gently landed in her palm.

Each light cluster corresponded to a book.

Looking up at the vast starry sky, Qin Ruqing marveled.

Did this mean there were that many books on just the first floor?

“Your library’s name, ‘Ten Thousand Volumes Pavilion,’ is quite modest. There must be at least ten thousand books just on this floor.”

“With so many light clusters and no labels, how am I supposed to find the books I need?”

Her eyes fell on the bronze bell. With a thought, she input a category.

Fire Techniques.

The light clusters around her shifted, and one constellation’s worth of clusters floated toward her.

Wow, your celestial library even has an automatic search system.

She casually tapped one of the light clusters, causing a scroll to materialize. She began reading.

It was indeed a rare fire technique, but Qin Ruqing wasn’t interested.

In fact, she had no intention of changing her techniques during this visit.

The technique she currently used was one her ancestor had given her many years ago.

At the time, it was the most advanced technique the Qin family had, likely brought back from Yingzhou by her ancestor.

While this technique wasn’t bad, she was sure she could find something better in the celestial library.

Even the random technique she had just glanced at was on par with the one she used.

Qin Ruqing was not interested in changing her cultivation method.

For her, if a technique wasn’t exceptionally good, it wasn’t very useful.

She could improve her skills through other means, like spending more time or exploring secret realms.

Also, changing techniques would take time, and she could use that time for other things.

Qin Ruqing wanted better techniques, but those that could make a significant difference for her had to be sought in the Gui Xu, the ancient burial ground of powerful beings.

She was looking for extraordinary techniques, not just any ordinary ones.

Thinking about it, Qin Ruqing entered another category into the bronze bell: Body Refinement Techniques.

The light clusters in front of her changed. Qin Ruqing quickly broke apart each light cluster and examined them one by one.

While she was most interested in techniques for her Dao Physique, she hoped her actions wouldn’t be too obvious in this mystical place.

No matter how much the celestial family knew about her, she shouldn’t reveal what she truly cared about.

She continued searching for alchemical recipes casually, not in a hurry.

Though she was trying to mislead others about her true interests, the books she was looking up were genuinely needed.

If she didn’t need them, she could have her sister, Tang Zifeng, or the Qin family look them over!

When it came to maximizing benefits, Qin Ruqing was serious and professional.

For her sister, she looked for alchemical recipes.

There was also a special talent in alchemy called the Alchemist’s Heart.

For her brother, she searched for methods to perfect his acquired spiritual body, as he had taken herbs to improve his qualifications but might not have actually developed an acquired spiritual body.

For her ancestor, she looked for ways to maximize the breakthrough to the Nascent Soul stage, beyond just using high-level pills or the Nascent Soul Fruit.

She wanted to find useful pills and their recipes.

For Tang Zifeng, since his talent seemed to be at its peak, she looked for rare weapon refining blueprints.

And for her parents, she focused on books to extend their lifespan.

Since their qualifications were limited, unlike her brother, who was still relatively young and could improve his qualifications, she aimed to use external means to prolong their lives.

Qin Ruqing spent a few days in the Tian Juan Pavilion, reaching only the top level.

On an otherwise ordinary day, she finally made it to the fourth level.

Compared to the previous floors, the fourth floor had a noticeable change: there was no one there.

In the earlier floors, Qin Ruqing could see other people.

Over the past few days, quite a few disciples of the Celestial Family had run into her in the library.

One of them, named Yingjun, even claimed to be her fan and asked for her autograph.

Qin Ruqing reluctantly (happily) signed an autograph for this Celestial fan.

She signed it on the little fan’s personal handkerchief and even left a passionate lip print on it (wow).

Naturally, Qin Ruqing wasn’t that self-obsessed; it was all at the request of Yingjun.

On the fourth floor, Qin Ruqing continued her usual flashy and varied search of categories.

Then she began to search specifically for information related to “Dao Physique.”

To avoid suspicion, she searched for “Dao Physique” on every floor, but clearly, she hadn’t found any substantial results.

The lower floors only had a few scattered legends.

On the fourth floor, Qin Ruqing didn’t find many results either, just about a dozen glowing orbs of information.

She broke each one open and read them.

“A Dao Physique is a natural physique that aligns with a certain Dao principle.”

Hmm, this explanation sounds professional. It aligns with a certain Dao principle?

Principle…

“Those with a Dao Physique have their path naturally determined by the Dao, facing virtually no obstacles in the early stages of cultivation. They are favored by the heavens, blessed with good fortune.”

She had heard the last sentence many times from the elders; it was industry-standard.

But the first sentence, what does “path naturally determined by the Dao” mean?

Is my path already predestined?

Qin Ruqing shook her head, realizing that this scroll only mentioned some basic information about Dao Bodies.

Although these bits of information were already very important to her, there was no more information.

So she moved on to another glowing orb…

Qin Ruqing resisted the urge to directly search for the Green Lotus Dao Body and manually searched, finally finding some clues in a book titled “Dao Physique Records.”

However, the results disappointed her.

What this record stated was no different from what the elders had previously discovered through their investigations.

It only briefly introduced the characteristics of the Green Lotus Dao Physique, stating it originated from an ancient era, and nothing more.

That was it!

Aren’t you an Celestial Family? How can you not know the detailed characteristics of the Green Lotus Dao Physique?

Is it because the floor I’m on is too low, or is the Green Lotus Dao Physique simply too ancient, even for the immortal sect to research thoroughly?

Qin Ruqing frowned, thinking it was more likely the former, though she didn’t rule out the latter.

It was very possible that both situations were true.

She needed to be mentally prepared for the possibility that even in the fifth level of the Library, she might not find any information.

Qin Ruqing was disappointed, but not too disappointed.

She thought that going up two more floors might yield some new discoveries.

Unfortunately, her Heaven-level token only allowed her access to the fourth floor.

It seemed she had to consider entering the second prison.

After finishing her search on Dao Physique, Qin Ruqing didn’t rush to leave, and…

Qin Ruqing went through the categories she had searched earlier, hoping to find something new on the fourth level.

Indeed, she found something useful: a scroll introducing various special spiritual bodies, including a mention of Qirong’s devouring physique and its advancement methods.

Qin Ruqing was stunned.

Her first reaction was that Qirong was lucky.

She couldn’t find anything for herself, but she found something perfect for Qirong.

She sighed inwardly; at least it was good news.

She quickly noted it down and planned to tell Qirong later.

After another hour, Qin Ruqing finished her reading tasks for the day.

As she was about to leave, she accidentally bumped into someone.

This person seemed to be practicing in the Wanjun Pavilion’s fourth level and had used a concealment spell.

Qin Ruqing, with her spiritual sense, hadn’t detected him at all.

A mystical wave appeared, forming a barrier like ripples on water, and eventually revealed a man.

He had sharp, handsome features and a deep, captivating gaze, giving him an exotic, mixed-race beauty that Qin Ruqing, lacking artistic sensibility, would describe as striking.

The man wasn’t wearing the standard uniform of the Fifth Family, but Qin Ruqing could tell he was of high status due to two reasons:

His aura and presence.

The intricate jade ornament hanging from his waist, more elaborate than the one on Fifth Lingyu.

In their world, the complexity of jade ornaments often indicated family status, and although she wasn’t sure if this applied to Penglai, it was likely similar.

The man opened his eyes, radiating a similar aura to the elderly woman sitting by the star map.

Qin Ruqing’s eyes flickered, and she bowed respectfully, wearing the standard white-green disciple robes of the Fifth House with the willow leaf pattern and the bronze bell at her waist.

The man probably wouldn’t notice anything odd.

Just as she thought this, the handsome man spoke, “You’re not from the Fifth Family? How did you get to the fourth level of the Wanjun Pavilion?”

The man could tell she wasn’t from their house just by looking at her?

Seemingly aware of Qin Ruqing’s confusion (which was intentional), the man continued, “Your bronze bell is a secondary bell.”

Qin Ruqing’s lips twitched.

So, her bell was a fake. Fifth Lingyu was so petty!

“Who gave you this bronze bell?”

Qin Ruqing answered honestly, “It was given to me by the former West Ridge Director, Fifth Lingyu.”

Qin Ruqing wasn’t sure of Fifth Lingyu’s status in the Fifth House, but it should be accurate to say he was the former West Ridge Director.