บท 50: Ancient Knowledge
First things first—he decided to ignore everything below two thousand coins.
Basic cultivation arts of Spirit, Body, and Soul; as well as manuals about professions and avatars cost significantly less than martial arts and magical arts. Latter could cost up to hundreds of thousands and even millions.
And those were the things that he could only access with his rank.
The Soul Arts and Cultivation manuals he had eyes on were within thirty thousand coins range. At first, he had the thought to just gather more coins and buy the best among them.
But again, this quest was too perilous to go back without adequate preparation. He didn't want to explain himself to his uncle every time he came back bloated with Ghost Qi.
Li Ao had no pipeless dream about mastering letting go of Qi either, nor was it reasonable to master it.
After all, the cultivator's instinct to reabsorb their Qi was there for a reason. He wouldn't tinker with his instincts just for a few ghosts.
Hence he lowered the price range to about six thousand.
He found two arts that piqued his interest.
*Extreme Heaven Yang Burning Soulforce Manual*
*Description: Ringing throughout the Three Heavens, combine the Ungodly Heavenly Emperor's Fire to create Eternal Soul Of—*
He found one art that piqued his interest.
*Magic God Firestorm's Soul Expanding Manual*
*Description: You need fire affinity! You need fire affinity! Be close to fire! Fire! Flames! FLAMES! JUST FLAMES! BURN EVERYTHING IN FLAMES!*
*Author's Note: Intrusive thoughts took over, ignore it. This art requires either master-level control of fire energy or a body with fire affinity. There are seven levels in order; corresponding to Novice(Qi Condensation), Adept(Foundation Establishment), Master(Half-Step Core Formation), Mage(Core Formation), Arch-mage(Nascent Soul), Divine-mage(Half-Step Soul Formation), Ascended Mage(Soul Formation)*
*Principle is simple, and there are no minor stages, but the art has no use other than improving the soul power. Means to utilize and mobilize the power must be acquired through other means. After Ascension, attunement of the soul will return to being neutral.*
*Author's Note(2): FIRE FIRE FIRE FIRE FIRE FIRE FIRE FIRE FIRE FIRE FIRE...*
*Author's Note(3): Forgot to mention, it might feel hot when cultivating. Of course you wouldn't mind it when cultivating this kind of art, would you!?*
*Required Aptitude: Fire-attuned cultivation(Spiritual/Physical)
*Cost: 2600 Universal Coins*
''I'll only have 650 coins left...''
The benefits of this manual were pretty obvious, and so were the drawbacks.
Thinking for a moment, Li Ao decided to buy it for now.
''I'll practice it for a week and see what I can do with it.''
If he could take care of the Ghost Qi with the increased Soul power, then he wouldn't need to buy a Soul Magical Art with an exorbitant price.
Just like the last time, Li Ao's head went blank.
He woke up four hours later, dazed, eyes dim.
A moment later, a faint white light escaped his head. He looked like a lit candle.
''...this one was better.''
At least he was prepared.
Reviewing the information in his mind, Li Ao realized the manual was really as the author said.
In the manual, the main point of interest was a single meridian that traveled through his dantian to heart, then towards his temple, and connected back to the beginning.
So long as he fed this meridian with Qi or blood and tempered it, his Soulpower would steadily increase.
However, focusing Qi into a single meridian was a hard task. Especially large bulks of Qi were impossible for him.
One consolation was that the better he got at it, the faster he would improve.
''In a sense, the manual soft-locks the soul within my cultivation realm.''
Unless he used a stronger pill to provide power, his Soul cultivation wouldn't exceed his Spiritual cultivation.
With that in mind, Li Ao spent a day practicing the Soul Expanding Manual with Qi, then the other day with blood.
To his surprise, using Bronze Blood increased his cultivation speed at least three times! When he tried to mix Qi and Blood together, however, the meridian showed signs of overflowing.
He gave up on that idea quickly and continued using Bronze Blood.
Three days later, Li Ao opened his eyes. Nothing felt too different to him, but he could feel some sort of sense opening up within his mind. It wasn't the sixth sense, nor instinct, but this mysterious feeling of increased comprehension and observation.
No, that was a lie. He felt nothing.
Eyes flashing, he opened the universal store.
''Okay, let's buy some pills!''
Screw cultivating slowly!
Without hesitation Li Ao searched for %100 purity soul pills!
The first result wasn't a pill, but a core. A beast core refined by a master.
Most monsters who reached Foundation Establishment could form a core within their bodies which acted as the nucleus of their power. Even after their death, these cores could last a long time and were used as powerful tonics.
''Mutated Flying Fish Core...what is a flying fish?''
Li Ao noted it in his mind since it cost 60 Universal Coins for one of them. He saw a few other pills, 9th-grade Mind Cleansing Pills and 8th-grade Mind Bolstering Pills—former cost 30 Universal Coins a pill and latter cost 50.
There was a 7th-grade Soul Condensing Pill, which cost 400 a piece, so he ignored it right away. Others weren't interesting or seemed too weird to consume.
To be on the safe side, Li Ao bought one Mutated Flying Fish Core, as well as one of Mind Cleansing and Mind Bolstering pills.
Before spending his high-grade spirit stones, he wanted to see which kind of pill could aid him better.
Of course, he forgot that these pills might not exist within his realm.
Swallowing the Mind Cleansing Pill, Li Ao sat cross legged on his bed and circulated Soul Expanding Manual. Quickly, a fire rose within his dantian and speared up his body toward his temples.
His eyes, ears, nose, tongue, skin, buttocks—everywhere began to sting at once.
Grunting, sweating, Li Ao forced himself to circulate faster and faster. The pain began to climb with it.
Soon, tears overcame his eyes. Crying as he cultivated, Li Ao's circulation speed reached a terrifying speed that forced his dantian to shake in pain.
Face pale, deathly afraid, Li Ao tried to stand up.
Even as he did so, he realized he couldn't stop circulating.
The force didn't let him go! If he stopped right now, it would either die out, or go berserk and hurt his soul!
''My butt! My butt!...''
Muffled cries echoed inside his room for an entire night...
*********
Li Huan and Li Huan(M) cast weird looks at Li Ao as he ate breakfast.
His eyes had sunk, his cheeks were hollow, and the entirety of his being let out a despondent aura.
He seemed violated, somehow...
Ignoring the weird gazes and comments, Li Ao ate his weekly family meal and went back up into his room. He set two layers of formations, sat down, and took out the beast core and Mind Bolstering pill.
Former was a round, hard ball with hexagon shapes running on it, bloody red in color. Latter was elliptic, tiny, colored milky-white and radiated a soothing aura.
Staring at them both with frightened eyes, Li Ao put them away.
Last night was just that traumatic. He had never experienced such a pain, and he didn't wish to experience a pain like it ever again.
It wasn't just unbearable, no. If it was in his arms or legs or chest, he could bear somehow.
But it hurt in his butt! It hurt in his brows!
Letting out one deep sigh after another, Li Ao opened the interface and bought four more Mind Cleansing Pills. His total coins fell to 390 in an instant.
Though the entire night was like a living hell, towards the end, Li Ao experienced more relief than pain. It felt like taking a cold shower after sweating in the field, which could only be described as one of the best pleasures in the world.
Yet, there was no visible difference to him after all that effort. Only, if someone had an equal or higher Soul power than him, they could see a white sheen of light over his body.
When he first cultivated it, the light had just covered his head. Now, when he willed it, this white light enveloped his entire being.
This was the manifestation of Soul power, and it was also the only thing Li Ao could do for now. He didn't have enough of it to move or bend, though even if he did he didn't feel like he could without a method.
Still, the returns were great. In one night, he had completed twenty percent of the Novice-level. With these four, if he could complete the Novice-level's entirety, then he would feel safer within the mission space.
Hence, he spent four nights, then three more to compensate for the last stretch of the Novice-level.
Once he achieved his peak form Li Ao took Li Anjing's satchel, opened the missions tab, and pressed onto the castle portrait.
A force bore upon him, then he was no more.
*********
To his utter demise and dismay, Li Ao didn't find himself in another long hallway, but a 'small' room.
Thirty meters all around, with a fifteen meter high ceiling, the room contained a veil-hidden bed, two large bookcases full of tattered books, a study table with trinkets, and a large hole that revealed the outside scenery.
A strong wind blew through the crack, threatening to topple the room down. With it, a beautiful golden light traveled over scattered clouds to light up Li Ao's pale complexion.
Most importantly, there was a pool of red blood under his feet reflecting the shattered ceiling.
Li Ao raised his cold eyes up.
There were thousands of different floors above his head—each and every one broken and shattered in some way, pieces of furniture dangling here and there, until there was no light and he saw no more. Once in a while, some rooms darkened for brief moments, then lit up again.
Revolving whirlpools of shattered space tore apart at these visible rooms, sucking in whatever remained of them to turn into dust.
Mission Log blinked within his vision. Li Ao unfurled the glistening scroll with one hand while keeping an eye around for any hidden danger.
The pool of blood, after all, was fresh.
*Beginning Mission: Let Them Sleep*
*Objective: Retrieve Ancient Knowledge: 0/???*
*Objective: Retrieve Pages: 0/???
*Exchange Rate: 1 page/1 Universal Coin*
*Concluded Upon Retreat*
*Mission Difficulty Evaluation: Easy->Hell*
''...unstable evaluation?''
''Is there something lurking?''
Li Ao, confused, held back his Divine Sense. Higher level Spiritual Cultivators could sense other people's Divine Senses much easier.
After all, a Divine Sense was like a wide barrier that kept feeding the cultivator with information. If, suddenly, a sphere of the sensory feed disappeared, which one of them wouldn't notice?
Using his eyes to check the surroundings, Li Ao trudged through blood to the nearest bookcase. He took out a random book.
The cover read 'Weather Readings Of The Kalen Region 12300-12500', but most of the pages inside were rotten.
Li Ao looked at some other books, all the while watching out for a hidden sign to move in an instant.
''Temperature readings of Kalen Region 11500-11700, Topographic Changes Of Kalen Region 10900-11100...it is all about natural changes.''
''Was the room owner a researcher?''
After looking through around forty books, thirteen of which turned to dust upon touching his hand, Li Ao put them within the satchel.
When he did so, Mission Log flashed again.
*Retrieve Ancient Knowledge: 4/???*
*Retrieve Pages: 143/???*
''It considers only specific pages important?''
''Also, is it four pages among them, or four books?''
Li Ao decided to postpone any investigation for later.
Treading lightly, he approached the study table and raised a small metallic tool.
It was short, with a round butt and a sharp end. Looking down, Li Ao saw un-finished lines on a few parchments. Beginning was burnt, while the end of the unfinished page had dried golden blood on it.
'...but the readings are terrible. Mortal world is suffering its fourth drought right now, yet there is not one thing Heavenly God can do to stop it. Spells are ineffective. I've been going back and forth between the readings I made in the past two thousand years.'
'No clue. No information, no sign. Nothing. If this keeps going on, people's faith will weaken—Heavenly God will lose his powers. If the worst comes to be, then the gate will be opened, and none of us will be able to stop the calamity from descending to the lower realms.'
'I shall seal this letter. The one who must be omitted is still observing 'us', so by the time it reaches you through space and time things very well might have changed. Still, I beseech you aid us in investigating and, if not, evacuating the roots of our wo—'
The letter ended there.
Sniffing, heart heavy, Li Ao put the strange tool down and drew a single mark on the letter. It left a trace of ink that seemed not to be regular ink.
The age of this paper was at least dozens of years old, if not more. It was no wonder the writing could last this long under volatile conditions.
''It is a mechanical brush...''
While he pocketed it, Li Ao also secured the letter into the satchel.
*Retrieve Ancient Knowledge: 5/???*
''Knowledge of the calamity...''
Li Ao sighed.
He went over to the other bookshelf and retrieved the remaining books. Then he leaped up the wall to the room above.
The layout was the same, but the hole on the wall was much bigger, and from its shape Li Ao could actually make out what caused it.
''A finger...''
There was a fingerprint on the wall facing the broken part.
The fingerprint was twice Li Ao's size.
Sweating, Li Ao walked over to the nearest table and picked up a random note.
'Diagnosis List Of Servants: P'tra Leeons, Severe Heart Trauma, Died in Sleep'
'Alai Nablon, Severe Brain Trauma, Died in Sleep'
'Kola Fasp, Severe Heart Trauma, Died in Sleep'
'Helio...'
Thirty names, all of which died in their sleep from severe heart or brain trauma. Except there was no cause to it. No internal or external clue of anything that could inflict such damage.
Frowning, Li Ao picked up another book. It was the medical records of the Kalen Region, where a few hundred names somehow fit into a single page.
The book had a preserving, then space compressing formation inscribed to it. An extremely extravagant and proficient use of formations.
Reading through a little bit of everything, Li Ao saw a familiar name in another note.
'Heavenly Son, 317th Checkup, Condition Unstable, Cultivation dropped three minor realms to Divine Spirit Realm.'
'Three arms usable, remaining five are suffering paralysis. Cause unknown.'
'...Both legs crippled, cause unknown.'
''...he isn't a human?''
Though that was to be expected, he thought.
'...Adelen marked his spine for another operation, but no one is willing to take the risk...'
'...spells ineffective. Immortal Medicine from Six-Fold Immortal World revealed traces of Demonic Qi. A Soul Parasyte—'
'Six-Fold Immortal World!'
Li Ao, shocked, read through again. He swept his divine sense through other books, and indeed there were a lot more transactions between the Kalen Region and Six-Fold Immortal World.
''However, the system called the Bai Dynasty in the Six-Fold Immortal 'Domain'. What is the difference?''
Disgruntled, but also relieved to find some kind of connection, Li Ao felt further mystified by Fan Yueyin's connection to this place.
Was there, perhaps, a space connecting Kalen Region to the Six-Fold Immortal Domain?
The researcher's letter made him doubtful.
But then again, after such a catastrophe, it was possible to create space-time rifts that allowed travel between realms.
The question was, how stable would such rifts be? Had she gone in and out multiple times, alone or with other people, or was it a single time trip?
Retrieving the remaining books and notes, Li Ao climbed up the other room. This room also held medical records, and sweeping his Divine Sense Li Ao found more mentions of the Six-Fold Immortal World.
There were more and more unfamiliar and strange names, transactions that involved pills, herbs, metals, beasts, slaves...
Ouyang Feijing was the name that provided these. However, there was no mention of what he was or what position he occupied.
The room darkened for a moment, so Li Ao leaped up to the other room.
This one was simpler than others, but also the most destroyed. There was but three pages laying on the ground.
'...in anticipation, in love, in hate, harbouring all these contradictory emotions, how can I respond to this proposal in a calm manner? What is to become of me if I refuse, what is to become of me if I agree?'
'...I don't know how I should live anymore. How do I live? If I am to live, what should I live for? I don't know...'
Li Ao gathered them as well. Next room, the biggest one yet, had six bookcases laid on a safe wall. Most books seemed to be in shape, too.
''Advanced Metallurgy, Kalen Region Purple Cloud District Earth Composition 6600-8000, Composition Of Universal Earth, Rare Planets...?''
Swiping his divine sense over the bookcase, Li Ao noticed that most of them were about Earth and Metals. The scale, however, was bigger than anything he had ever seen.
''There are even records of thirty thousand planets with their earth and metal composition.''
The room seemed a tad bit darker, so Li Ao swiped all of the bookcase into the satchel.
*Retrieve Ancient Knowledge: 34/???*
*Retrieve Pages: 2459/???*
''...let's move on.''
He passed several other rooms, but found no further traces of Six-Fold Immortal World. Instead, there were mentions of other worlds; Sealed Misty Sea Realm, Heaven and Earth Paradise of Queen Mother, Blood Moon Realm Of Carnage.
Each one seemed to be in a trade and research relationship regarding natural products of their respective realms.
Li Ao went up further and further, where he found either little or too much. As he climbed up, he noticed the rooms turn darker. At the tenth room, when he found it especially dark, Li Ao looked up to see the other rooms still as bright as he remembered.
He cast a look down, and below the eighth floor, there was still light pouring in. From the eighth to the tenth, it was blocked.
Confused, he looked left to the shattered wall.
Through the shattered wall, a ten-meter wide golden-pupil stared at him.
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