Volume 1

Chapter 10: Murderous Intent in the Dark Night within the Scripture Pavilion

The lingering warmth of the victory had yet to dissipate when, early the next morning, Lin Xuan stepped into the Yunni Sect Outer Sect Scripture Pavilion.

This was a simple three-story wooden building with upturned eaves, hidden among green pines and bamboo on the east side of the station, offering a secluded environment. Outside the pavilion, there were simple defensive and warning Formations. Two Disciples at the Middle Stage of Qi Refining were on duty; after verifying Lin Xuan's identity token and Elder Sun Miao's order, they allowed him to enter.

"Senior Brother Lin, the first floor of the Scripture Pavilion contains various basic Cultivation Techniques, miscellaneous notes, geographical records, charts of Spiritual Plants and minerals, low-level Spell models, as well as travelogues and insights from some of the Sect's predecessors. Jade Slips and books are placed in separate areas, all protected by Restrictions, and cannot be taken away; they can only be read within the pavilion. You have three days, please make good use of them," the duty Disciple instructed routinely.

Lin Xuan nodded slightly and stepped inside.

The light inside the pavilion was soft, filled with a faint scent of books and old spiritual wood. Rows of tall bookshelves were neatly arranged, piled with Jade Slips, bamboo slips, animal skin scrolls, and paper books, dazzling to the eye. A few Outer Sect Disciples were scattered around, buried in reading, and the atmosphere was quiet.

For the vast majority of Outer Sect Disciples, entering the Scripture Pavilion was a rare benefit, often to find suitable follow-up Cultivation Techniques, study a certain Spell, or look up information needed for missions. But for Lin Xuan, his goal was completely different.

He did not need Cultivation Techniques (having the System-adapted 'Basic Martial Dao Spirit-Transformation Art' and 'Ancient God Body Refining Technique'), and he did not need Spell models (the nature of 'Source Martial Spiritual Energy' was unique, making conventional Spells difficult to apply directly). What he needed was knowledge—common sense about this 'new version' of the world, detailed understanding of the cultivation System, historical context, distribution of forces, Heaven And Earth Treasures, strange tales... everything that could help him understand, adapt to, and establish himself in this world faster.

He started reading efficiently, like a sponge in water.

First, geography and forces. He found Jade Slips like 'Northern Region Geographical Gazetteer' and 'Records of the Yunni Sect's Domain'. With his Divine Sense immersed, he quickly absorbed information about the general outline of the Northern Region, major mountain ranges and rivers, Mortal kingdoms, cultivation Sects (such as the Xuan Tian Sect, Ice Lotus Valley, etc.), the distribution of noble families, as well as the history, scale, key figures, and jurisdiction of the Yunni Sect. Qingshi Town was just an inconspicuous edge town on this vast map.

Second, a detailed explanation of the cultivation System. From the most basic 'Elementary Introduction to Qi Guidance' and 'Essentials of the Nine Layers of Qi Refining' to the slightly more in-depth 'Brief Introduction to the Three Passes of Foundation Establishment' and 'Discussion on the Golden Core Dao', he systematically understood the characteristics, Bottlenecks, conventional Breakthrough methods, and the characteristics of different attribute Spiritual Roots for every stage from drawing Qi into the body to the Golden Core Dao. This gave him a clearer positioning of the strength level corresponding to his 'Martial Dao Spirit-Transformation' path, and also made him understand why his 'no Spiritual Root' state was considered a dead end.

Third, various miscellaneous studies. He focused on browsing 'Illustrated Handbook of Common Yao Beasts and Their Habits', 'Identification of Basic Mineral Spiritual Materials', 'Principles of Low-level Talismans and Formations', and 'A Glimpse into Medicinal Pill Refining'. These pieces of knowledge seemed trivial, but they were key to traveling outside, obtaining resources, and even saving his life. Especially in the 'Illustrated Handbook of Yao Beasts', he saw records about 'Gold-Eroding Ants' and 'Flame-Claw Demon Bear', which confirmed some characteristics of the Black Wind Ridge ruins.

Finally, history and secret anecdotes. He flipped through 'Chronicles of the Northern Region in the Last Thousand Years', 'Collection of Ancient Legends', 'Records of Spiritual Qi Anomalies', etc. Among them, some sporadic, vague records in 'Collection of Ancient Legends' caught his attention: "...In ancient times, there were Divine Beings who did not rely on external objects, achieving sainthood with their Physical Body, their fists could crack the air, their feet could suppress mountains... Later, the Heavenly Dao changed, the Immortal Dao flourished, and the path of the Divine Being gradually faded..." "...There were once great experts who established 'Martial Training Grounds' at the intersection of earth veins, drawing in Evil Qi to temper the body; only those with great perseverance and great Opportunity could enter..."

These fragmented pieces of information vaguely echoed with the 'Ancient God Body Refining Technique' and the Black Wind Ridge ruins, giving him deeper thoughts on the decline of ancient Body Cultivators and the drastic changes brought by the current Spiritual Qi recovery. And 'Records of Spiritual Qi Anomalies' recorded the phenomenon of abnormal fluctuations in Spiritual Qi concentration in various places over the past few decades, which seemed to herald the prelude to some greater change.

His reading speed was extremely fast, his Divine Sense was powerful and focused, and his ability to understand and digest was far beyond ordinary people. He could grasp the essence of a Jade Slip or book in just a moment; useful information was extracted, associated, and stored, while useless information was filtered out. This efficiency made other Disciples who occasionally looked in his direction gasp—was this person reading or just flipping through books?

In one day, Lin Xuan had almost swept through nearly one-third of the books on the first floor of the Scripture Pavilion, especially focusing on history, geography, and miscellaneous studies. His knowledge base was enriched at an astonishing speed, and his understanding of this world was no longer limited to the corner of Qingshi Town.

In the evening, just as he was preparing to continue reading some notes on Restrictions and ruins, Deacon Wang quietly arrived at the Scripture Pavilion.

"Little Friend Lin, Elder Sun requests your presence," Deacon Wang led him to a quiet place outside the pavilion and said in a low voice.

Lin Xuan followed him to a small house where Sun Miao usually meditated. Sun Miao was contemplating a newly drawn, crudely lined map. In the center of the map was Black Wind Ridge, with the dark red mist area and the suspected entrance to the ruins marked in cinnabar.

"Little Friend Lin is here, sit," Sun Miao motioned for him to sit down and got straight to the point, "How much do you know about the Black Wind Ridge ruins?"

Lin Xuan's thoughts raced, and he said frankly: "I don't know much. I only know that the stele Legacy is called the 'Ancient God Body Refining Technique' Basic Chapter, and there seem to be ancient guard Puppets and insect beasts inside the ruins. For more information, further exploration is needed."

Sun Miao stared at him for a moment, as if trying to find flaws on his face, and finally said slowly: "The Sect has received my preliminary report and attaches great importance to the Black Wind Ridge ruins. Especially the name 'Ancient God Martial Training Grounds'. According to sporadic records in the Sect's secret collection, during the peak of ancient Body Cultivators, they established 'Martial Training Grounds' at some special earth vein nodes. They were both places of heritage and places of trial, often sealing away secret treasures of Body Cultivators or high-level legacies."

He pointed to the dark red mist area on the map: "The Spiritual Qi anomaly and Evil Qi here are mixed, forming a natural barrier, and there are remnants of ancient Restrictions, which indeed matches the records. The Sect has decided that in half a month, a formal exploration team led by elite Inner Sect Disciples and assisted by several Foundation Establishment Deacons will be dispatched, carrying Magical Artifacts to break the Restrictions, to fully investigate the ruins. At that time, we may need the assistance of you, the 'person of destiny'."

This was expected. The Yunni Sect would never let go of an important ruin suspected to be from an ancient Body Cultivator. The so-called "assistance" was not only to utilize his special sensing of Restrictions but also a disguised form of monitoring and control.

"Lin will do his best," Lin Xuan replied, his tone flat.

Sun Miao nodded, his tone softening a bit: "You performed excellently in this Outer Sect competition and exposed the framing, clearing out the black sheep for the Sect; your merits and faults are distinct. The Sect's reward is what you deserve. During this half month, you can Cultivate with peace of mind at the station and prepare for the ruin exploration. If you have any questions about cultivation, you can also come to find me or Deacon Wang. As long as you are loyal to the Sect, the Yunni Sect will not treat those who have rendered meritorious service unfairly."

The words were both soft and hard, containing both wooing promises and implied warnings.

Lin Xuan understood in his heart, but remained calm on the surface: "Many thanks for the guidance, Elder Sun."

When he left the small house, it was already dark. Lin Xuan returned to his small courtyard and activated the Restriction. He did not Cultivate immediately, but instead sorted and integrated the vast amount of information he had obtained from the Scripture Pavilion in his mind, forming an initial cognitive framework of this world.

"Northern Region, Yunni Sect, Xuan Tian Sect... Qi Refining, Foundation Establishment, Golden Core... Ancient Body Cultivator, Martial Training Grounds, Spiritual Qi recovery..." Keywords flowed in his heart. The power System, the pattern of forces, the mist of history; the path to the future seemed a little clearer, but more mysteries also emerged.

He took out the dark red metal piece and examined it carefully under the moonlight.

Combining this with the scattered records he had seen today regarding ancient Formations and ley lines, he vaguely felt that the mountain and river patterns on this metal piece might not have been carved at random. Instead, they were likely fragments of a "map" pointing to a specific location, possibly related to the subsequent chapters of the Ancient God Body Refining Technique or other Body Cultivator relics.

However, there was too little information to decipher it.

He then took out the Incomplete Manual of the Three Mountain-Shaking Forms and continued to ponder the Concept of the first form, "Mountain Crushing."

This combat technique emphasized intent over form; its core lay in concentrating one's entire strength and will into a single point, erupting with a destructive force far exceeding what appeared on the surface. It suited his combat style quite well.

Over the next few days, apart from his daily, unwavering visits to the library to continue "sweeping" through the remaining classics, Lin Xuan spent his time cultivating behind closed doors.

He attempted to use the methods from the basic chapters of the Ancient God Body Refining Technique to refine his Physical Body more meticulously, and by combining it with the "Mountain Crushing" Concept, he polished his explosive control over Source Martial Spiritual Energy.

His strength was improving steadily and solidly; the dark golden vortex within his Dantian became increasingly dense, and the eight hundred wisps of Source Martial Spiritual Energy were as responsive as his own limbs.

Since the finals that day, Su Qingyue had never actively sought out Lin Xuan. Occasionally, when they met at the encampment, she would only glance at him from afar, her expression complex and difficult to fathom.

Lin Xuan did not care about this at all.

It was Wang Mang and Li Dali who had come to find him twice.

Wang Mang was genuinely impressed and brought some dried beast meat he had hunted himself.

Li Dali, acting mysterious, told him that Zhao Long had not made any big moves recently, but several of his trusted Disciples seemed to be secretly inquiring about the Black Wind Ridge ruins and detailed information about Lin Xuan, warning him to be extra careful.

Lin Xuan thanked the two, his vigilance deepening.

An inner Sect elite like Zhao Long would never let things go after suffering a loss; temporary calm often signified more sinister schemes.

That night, the moon was dark and the wind was high.

Lin Xuan finished his evening cultivation and was preparing to rest.

His newly Acquired "Spiritual Qi Perception (Elementary)" ability suddenly transmitted faint, unusual fluctuations—outside the courtyard wall, there were two extremely obscure presences, nearly blending into the night, approaching silently and carrying cold killing intent!

Their movement method was quite peculiar; it was neither flying on a Magical Artifact nor a light-body technique, but rather resembled some advanced stealth and concealment skill. If not for Lin Xuan's keen perception and the fact that the opponents had entered within ten zhang, they would have been extremely difficult to detect.

"They're finally here."

Lin Xuan's eyes turned cold. He rose quietly without lighting a lamp, his figure sliding to the shadows by the window like a civet cat.

The arrivals were clearly experts proficient in assassination, working with tacit coordination.

One person stood still somewhere outside the wall, seemingly setting up some Formation or Talisman to isolate noise; the other, like a gecko scaling a wall, silently vaulted over the courtyard wall and landed without a sound. In their hand, they gripped a lusterless, pitch-black short blade in reverse; the blade's edge carved a cold arc through the darkness, lunging straight for the bedroom window where Lin Xuan was!

Just as the assassin was about to break through the window, the tightly shut window suddenly exploded outward from within!

Amidst the flying wood splinters, a fist, like a venomous Dragon that had been dormant for a long time, struck out without warning, aiming straight for the assassin's face!

The speed of the punch and the concentration of its force far exceeded the assassin's expectations!

The assassin's pupils shrank, and in their haste, they blocked with the short blade.

"Clang!!!"

The explosive sound of metal clashing was exceptionally jarring in the silent night sky!

The assassin felt an indescribable, immense force transmit from the short blade; their entire arm went numb instantly, and the short blade flew out of their hand!

Terrified, they used the force to retreat rapidly while simultaneously raising their left hand, shooting three shimmering blue, poison-coated throwing needles at Lin Xuan in a triangular Formation!

Lin Xuan's figure swayed like a phantom, easily dodging the poison needles. With a push from his feet, the ground shook slightly, and he was already sticking to the assassin like a shadow!

His right hand opened, dark golden light flowing, and it clamped onto the assassin's throat like iron pliers!

The assassin was horrified. A jade pendant at their waist suddenly erupted with blinding white light, forming a light barrier to protect their body, while at the same time, they let out a shrill whistle!

This was a distress signal!

However, Lin Xuan's right hand did not slow down, grabbing straight onto that protective light barrier!

"Pop!"

The light barrier shattered instantly like a bubble!

Lin Xuan's fingers did not pause, firmly locking onto the assassin's throat, and Source Martial Spiritual Energy instantly invaded, sealing off their entire Meridians and vocal cords!

The assassin's eyes bulged, filled with terror and disbelief, and they collapsed limply.

Almost at the same time the whistle sounded, the presence outside the courtyard wall fluctuated violently. Clearly, the companion responsible for support and setting up the isolation realized the failure and, without hesitation, turned and fled!

Their speed was extremely fast!

Carrying the unconscious assassin, Lin Xuan stepped out of the small courtyard, his gaze sharp as a falcon, locking onto the blurry figure fleeing in the night.

He did not pursue but instead tossed the assassin in his hand into the courtyard like garbage. Coldly, he sent a voice transmission in the direction of the fleeing figure, his voice icy and bone-chilling:

"Tell Zhao Long, if he wants to kill me, let him come himself."

"If he sends more of these trash, I will keep as many as he sends."

The fleeing figure clearly paused, then vanished into the darkness at an even faster speed.

Lin Xuan turned and returned to the room, glancing at the unconscious assassin on the ground and the dropped pitch-black short blade.

The short blade was of a common style, but the edge was deep blue, clearly coated with deadly poison; it was standard assassin equipment, making it difficult to trace its origin.

He picked up the assassin and walked to the well in the courtyard, pressing their head face-down into the icy well water.

After a moment, he pulled them up; the assassin woke up coughing violently, their eyes filled with water and despair.

"Who sent you? Zhao Long?" Lin Xuan asked, his voice flat yet carrying an invisible pressure.

The assassin gritted their teeth, eyes flickering; they had clearly been trained and refused to speak easily.

Lin Xuan stopped wasting words and tapped several major acupoints on their body in quick succession.

The assassin instantly felt as if thousands of ants were gnawing at their bone marrow, both itchy and painful, yet they could not move or make a sound. Their face twisted instantly, and cold sweat poured down like rain.

A few breaths later, Lin Xuan released the seal.

The assassin, as if fished out of water, collapsed on the ground, gasping heavily, their eyes filled only with fear.

"I'll talk... it's... it's Steward Pang, who is by Senior Brother Zhao Long's side... he gave us Spirit Stones and information about the weak points of this courtyard's Restriction... telling us... we must take your life..." the assassin confessed intermittently.

Steward Pang? It seems he is Zhao Long's eyes and ears or agent in Qingshi Town.

"Which organization do you belong to?" Lin Xuan asked again.

"No... no organization. We are Loose Cultivator assassins registered under the 'Shadow Pavilion' in Qingshi Town; we work for whoever pays..." the assassin answered every question.

After clarifying some details and confirming there was no further value, Lin Xuan knocked them out with a palm strike, crippled their cultivation, and then, like dealing with trash, threw them into a secluded alley corner on the outskirts of the encampment.

Whether they lived or died depended on their own fate.

Returning to the small courtyard, he cleaned up the traces of the fight.

Lin Xuan stood in the courtyard, looking up at the pitch-black sky.

The knowledge from the library had broadened his horizons, the approaching relic exploration brought opportunities, while Zhao Long's tightening killing intent was a sword hanging over his head.

Half a month later, the Black Wind Ridge ruins.

That would be the next stage.

And before that, he needed to become stronger, and also... more careful.

The night deepened, and the small courtyard returned to silence.

But the scent of a storm had grown increasingly thick.

(End of Volume 1, Chapter 10)

[Next Chapter Preview]: Inside the library, murderous intent in the dark night! Lin Xuan counter-kills the attacking assassins, and the conflict with Zhao Long intensifies completely, becoming a fight to the death! The half-month deadline approaches, and the official exploration of the Black Wind Ridge ruins is imminent. With an inner Sect elite leading the team and a Foundation Establishment Deacon accompanying, is this exploration an Opportunity or a trap? Su Qingyue falls into a dilemma; between master's orders, her own heart, and those quietly budding, inexplicable feelings, how will she handle herself? Lin Xuan's strength improves steadily, and the cultivation of the Ancient God Body Refining Technique shows initial results. Deep within the ruins, what exactly is waiting for him? And Zhao Long's revenge will absolutely not stop here. More sinister, more lethal killing traps may already be on the way. Next Chapter: Deep in the Ruins, Evil Qi Body Tempering! Lin Xuan: "Black Wind Ridge, I am coming. This time, what I want is not just a little bit."