After Yun Zhi left, Lu Yang and Meng Jingzhou went to check on their own cave dwellings like the other disciples. But before that, Lu Yang followed Meng Jingzhou to ask about bringing Old Ma inside the sect.
Outside the sect, Lu Yang saw many new disciples happily reporting to their families. Whether from small families or well-known cultivation families, it was a big deal for them to join the sect and would be noted in their family histories.
"Why hasn’t anyone from your family come?" Lu Yang learned from Meng Jingzhou's few words that the Meng family had a long history in the cultivation world.
Meng Jingzhou proudly replied, "I ran away from home!"
Lu Yang was speechless. What’s there to be proud of?
After bringing Old Ma back to his cave dwelling, Lu Yang returned to his own place. He took out a jade pendant given to him by an unfamiliar senior brother, who said it was an identity token for disciples of the sect. It could prove his identity outside and open his cave dwelling inside.
The pendant was made from spirit stone and had his name "Lu Yang" inscribed on it. Many of its uses would only be available to him once he officially became a cultivator.
Lu Yang placed the pendant on the stone wall by the entrance of his cave. It emitted a soft blue light that responded to the groove at the cave entrance. The groove flickered twice, and the stone wall automatically opened, revealing a luxurious cave dwelling beyond Lu Yang's imagination.
As soon as he stepped inside, Lu Yang felt a warm sensation in his body, as if a mysterious energy was nourishing him.
"Is this the spiritual energy they always talk about?"
Once he realized this, Lu Yang was very surprised. The concentration of spiritual energy in the cave was so high that even someone like him, an ordinary person, could feel it. It was clear how extraordinary this place was.
The furnishings in the cave were simple: just a table, a cushion, and a straw mat. Compared to the spacious cave, it felt empty. Lu Yang wondered if this was a reminder for disciples to keep their desires in check or if they were allowed to decorate it as they liked.
On the table, there was a piece of paper with information on both sides.
The front side stated that new disciples could go to Yan Chuan Peak to learn basic knowledge or study on their own in the Scripture Pavilion.
The back side showed a rough map of the sect, marking the main peaks and leaving large blank areas. From the map, it was clear that the sect covered an area of a hundred thousand miles, which was beyond Lu Yang's imagination.
The information on the front gave Lu Yang a direction for what to do in the coming month, as he had no idea what to expect.
He yawned, feeling the need for a good sleep.
From encountering rain outside to relying on his sincere character and outstanding wisdom to impress Senior Sister Yun Zhi and Second Senior Brother Dai Bufan, and finally becoming a disciple of the sect, the events of the day had left him mentally exhausted, struggling to keep his eyes open.
"Why doesn’t the sect even provide a pillow..."
Lu Yang mumbled, and all his fatigue surged at that moment. He didn’t care about comfort, smacked his lips, and soon fell asleep.
The next morning, Lu Yang woke up early. He planned to visit the Scripture Pavilion first to understand the general situation of the Central Continent.
"New here?" A senior brother at the entrance of the Scripture Pavilion looked at Lu Yang.
"Yes."
"Since you’re new, let me tell you the rules of the Pavilion. They're very simple, just three of them."
"First, your current permission only allows you to read on the first floor, and you can freely browse the books there; second, you can only borrow one book at a time; third, take care of the books and don’t get them dirty. If you do, you’ll have to pay the full price."
"I understand." Lu Yang nodded, and the senior brother let him in without saying more.
Inside the Scripture Pavilion, disciples of the sect were deeply focused on their reading, completely absorbed, not even noticing Lu Yang passing by.
The large Pavilion was filled with the sounds of footsteps and the rustling of pages turning.
There were countless books here, ranging from the basics of folk arts to cultivation techniques and insights on foundational practices.
Lu Yang was dazzled by the variety and didn’t know which book to pick.
"What’s this book?"
He accidentally found a dusty book wedged between the shelves, as if it had been forgotten for a long time.
He wiped off the dust and finally saw the title—"Dragon and Phoenix Transformation."
"What a powerful name!"
Lu Yang exclaimed softly. Without even looking at the content, he could feel an aura of dominance just from the title!
For a moment, he seemed to hear the sound of dragons and phoenixes harmonizing, and illusory images of them appeared vividly before him, as if depicting the moment they emerged.
When Lu Yang snapped back to reality and looked around, the sounds and images had vanished.
"Was that just an illusion?"
He felt doubtful, but excitement surged as he opened the first page.
Maybe this was his chance!
Unexpectedly, the pages were sharp, and he accidentally cut his finger, causing a few drops of blood to fall onto the paper.
Suddenly, something strange happened!
The ancient book emitted a golden light, as if something inside was trying to break free!
Lu Yang's heart raced. This unexpected turn was beyond his control, and he didn’t know if it was good or bad.
He even felt as if a powerful presence was watching him, making him instinctively freeze in place!
The feeling grew clearer, indicating that the powerful presence was getting closer.
Finally, the powerful presence stood behind Lu Yang, gazing at him silently, making him break out in a cold sweat.
"You..." Finally, the powerful presence spoke.
"Here!" Lu Yang jumped.
"You’ve stained the book."
The powerful presence frowned. Lu Yang turned around to find it was the senior brother at the entrance of the Pavilion.
The senior brother looked at the bloodstains on the book with displeasure. He had just reminded him not to dirty the books, and here this kid was dripping blood on it.
Inside the Pavilion, there was an array that signaled the guards whenever a book was stained, emitting a golden light.
"What kind of book is this? Why haven’t I seen it before?"
The senior brother picked up the book in confusion and flipped through it, his expression changing dramatically. "This... this is actually the legendary forbidden book!"
Lu Yang felt a surge of joy, not expecting to find an ancient forbidden book right after entering the Pavilion. He was curious about the secrets hidden within.
"Senior brother, what’s wrong with this book?" Lu Yang asked curiously.
The senior brother’s expression shifted as he considered whether to share such secrets with a new disciple. After thinking it over, he decided to be honest.
"This book details the mating process of dragons and phoenixes in great detail. Because it was too explicit, it was complained about by both the dragon and phoenix clans and was labeled as a forbidden book. I thought all copies had been destroyed, but I didn’t expect one to still be here. I wonder who hid it!"
In other words, this was an adult book.
Lu Yang was speechless.
Forget about the dragons and phoenixes!
He suddenly remembered what the senior brother had said: if you dirty a book, you have to pay for it.
(End of Chapter)