The Library Pavilion and a Familiar Face

The Foundation Establishment Pills had not yet arrived. Luo Yingkong consumed the Primordial Solidifying Pill, then guided the Golden Ape’s essence blood into her body. This would stabilize her cultivation base and accelerate her physical growth.

With nothing pressing to do, she retrieved a token from her storage bag. This token, a reward from her last mission, granted her two hours of access to the Library Pavilion. Though the allotted time was not extensive, Luo Yingkong decided to make use of it. Without returning to her cave abode, she headed directly for the Library Pavilion.

The Hidden Forest Mountain Sect was vast. Luo Yingkong traversed several peaks before reaching the Library Pavilion, encountering numerous cultivators along the way, all of whom regarded her with peculiar gazes. Having only joined the sect a year ago and rarely making public appearances, many cultivators did not recognize her. However, anyone who had seen her once would remember her vividly. How could one forget a child looking barely eight years old with a shock of white hair?

The Library Pavilion was far larger than Luo Yingkong had imagined. It stood nine stories high, occupying approximately a thousand square meters. Numerous small pavilions dotted the surrounding area, where many cultivators sat exchanging insights. A familiar figure caught her eye. A group of Qi Condensation disciples conversed and laughed beside him, their words tinged with flattery.

This individual was none other than Li Yao, the rogue cultivator she had apprehended in the Lu Kingdom. Now, he appeared completely fine, and his aura clearly indicated he had reached the Foundation Establishment stage! The surrounding disciples addressed him as Senior Uncle Li Yao, leaving Luo Yingkong bewildered.

He did not seem to recognize her at first. Luo Yingkong chose not to ponder the reason and, ignoring him, walked towards the Library Pavilion.

“Oh? Look at that child! How old is she to already be at the peak of Qi Condensation?”

“Don’t shout. To be here, she must be a Hidden Forest Mountain disciple. Such a small child could even be a core disciple. Senior Uncle Li Yao, do you know her?”

Li Yao glanced over, then stepped forward to block her path, bending slightly with a smile. “This junior sister looks unfamiliar. How about we get acquainted…”

Luo Yingkong, expressionless, lifted her head to look at him. Li Yao’s smile froze, a look of disbelief on his face. This face was so familiar. “You… you are Miss Luo?”

“If you have nothing to say, move aside.”

“Oh, alright…” Li Yao was momentarily stunned. It wasn’t until she had entered the building that he snapped back to his senses.

“Senior Uncle Li Yao actually knows her! He truly has a wide network of acquaintances! Whose disciple is she? Could you introduce us?”

****

Upon entering the pavilion, a Foundation Establishment cultivator sat at the counter, engrossed in a book, completely oblivious to Luo Yingkong. She was simply too short to be noticed easily.

“Tsk!” Luo Yingkong directly tossed her sect token onto the table. The cultivator, startled from his reading, merely glanced at the token and nodded.

“Two hours. You may browse freely from the first to the third floor. Access to higher floors requires additional fees.”

A barrier array stood ahead. The cultivator used the token to create an opening for her to pass through. As soon as she stepped inside, Luo Yingkong found her divine sense unable to extend, and her spiritual energy completely suppressed. It felt as though she was cut off from the outside world.

The bookshelves were also equipped with numerous restrictions. Books had to be handled gently, as a sign at the front indicated the classification in each section.

‘To only list the categories inside, how stingy.’

Informing disciples of the categories only after they entered would waste some of their precious time. With each hour costing a thousand spirit stones, every minute was money.

The first floor of the pavilion housed basic spells, which were also divided by grade, such as ordinary divine sense detection, telekinesis, soundproofing spells, spiritual message transmission, and elementalization of spiritual energy. Higher-grade spells included the Art of Disguise, Sword Flight, long-distance divine sense detection, and soul possession. Beyond these were alchemy and artifact forging techniques, as well as the creation of talismans and restrictive arrays.

The second floor contained various cultivation methods suitable for the Qi Condensation stage. The third floor held medicinal pill formulas, artifact forging blueprints, and array restrictions. Books for high-level cultivators were on the floors above, requiring additional payment, but Luo Yingkong had no intention of exploring those.

She currently lacked no cultivation methods, and her technological weapons served as adequate replacements for magical artifacts. Practicing the Jade Bone Heart Scripture alone would suffice for both defense and offense; cultivating too many techniques would only slow down her progress.

Therefore, Luo Yingkong chose to focus on basic spells and auxiliary books like alchemy. For two hours, she rapidly flipped through books. Her eidetic memory allowed her to absorb a vast amount of information, finishing nearly one book every ten minutes. She had almost covered all the basic spells and alchemy techniques. Now, she truly considered herself a qualified cultivator.

Leaving the main building, she discovered another free pavilion outside, which contained records of cultivation history, herbal knowledge, and geographical descriptions. Having come all this way, she wanted to enrich her knowledge. Back on Earth, she would read entire instruction manuals for household items just for fun; exploring the unknown was her sole hobby.

Books concerning ancient battlefields were also present. One particular book in a corner caught her attention. It detailed a Yin-Yang Fruit found deep within the ancient battlefield. Consuming it could temporarily change one’s gender for a month, with only one fruit consumable per year.

If that were its only effect, it would hold no value. However, the book stated that prolonged consumption of this fruit would harmonize Yin and Yang, significantly increasing the chances of a breakthrough. One should not underestimate this; at the Foundation Establishment stage, even a slight improvement in the likelihood of breaking through to Core Formation was extraordinarily difficult.

The Yin-Yang Fruit’s effect allowed one to perceive worldly affairs from the perspective of both genders, refining one’s temperament and lowering age restrictions for breakthroughs. Luo Yingkong silently committed this information to memory, then perused some herbal knowledge and demonic beast illustrated guides.

Upon exiting the Library Pavilion, Li Yao was still waiting at the entrance. His surrounding disciples had been dismissed, and he rushed to greet Luo Yingkong as soon as he saw her emerge.

“Miss Luo, it’s been a while. Your cultivation has improved quite a bit.”

“Is Brother Li mocking me? You’re already at Foundation Establishment; what does my progress count for?” Luo Yingkong started walking towards her cave dwelling.

Li Yao felt he had misspoken and quickly followed. “Miss Luo misunderstands. I must still thank you for bringing me into Hidden Forest Mountain. I was noticed by an elder and became a core disciple. As a token of my gratitude, I have some leftover Qi Condensation Pills for you.”

Luo Yingkong paused, glancing at the storage bag he presented. “Qi Condensation Pills are no longer of use to me. If you wish to repay me, give me a few Foundation Establishment Pills.”

“A few…” Li Yao was momentarily stunned. As a core disciple, he received all necessary cultivation materials, but Foundation Establishment Pills were incredibly expensive. His talent was excellent, and he had successfully broken through with just one.

“Is Miss Luo stuck at the peak of Qi Condensation? I will keep an eye out for any news regarding Foundation Establishment Pills for you. And about Senior Uncle Zhang…”

This last sentence was transmitted via divine sense. Luo Yingkong’s eyes turned cold. Li Yao had guessed that she had killed Senior Uncle Zhang. If this news were to leak, she would be hunted by the sect.

Seeing the chill in Luo Yingkong’s eyes, Li Yao shivered. She was capable of killing even Senior Uncle Zhang, who was at the mid-Foundation Establishment stage. Although his own cultivation realm was now higher, he still felt he had to defer to her.

“Miss Luo, rest assured, I swear on my inner demons that no third person will ever know about this,” Li Yao quickly transmitted.

Inner demons were a formidable hurdle in breaking through cultivation realms. If he were to violate his oath, he could forget about successful breakthroughs.

“Then I thank Brother Li for the matter of the Foundation Establishment Pills. Time is short; we shall meet another day.”