"Do I have to pay?" Lu Yang asked nervously, realizing that the most valuable thing he had was probably his brain.
"Pay?" The senior brother glanced at the book in his hand and then looked at Lu Yang, his eye twitching slightly.
According to the rules, compensation in spirit stones was indeed required. But the problem was, if this book got out, it would mean the Dragon and Phoenix clans would team up to come from the Demon Realm to the Central Continent and attack the Wendaozong.
Although Wendaozong wasn't afraid of the Dragon and Phoenix clans, the taste of dragon liver and phoenix marrow was delightful, nourishing both yin and yang... but they were a reputable sect. Having a forbidden book like "Dragon and Phoenix Transformation" in their collection would ultimately tarnish their reputation.
Thinking of this, the senior brother quietly hid the book in his sleeve, looking calm.
"Pay? What book did you dirty? I didn't see anything."
Destroying books in the scripture pavilion would be too obvious and trigger the array, so it was better to take it outside for destruction.
Lu Yang quickly understood the situation—his senior brother wanted to keep it for himself.
So nothing had actually happened earlier.
The two exchanged a glance and smiled, as if they truly understood each other.
The forbidden book was just a small incident; Lu Yang hadn’t forgotten his purpose for coming to the scripture pavilion.
After searching for a long time, he finally found the book introducing the Central Continent—"Continent Geography."
Lu Yang rubbed his hands together in excitement and began to read carefully.
"There are human beings, demons, ghosts, and more in this world. The Central Continent is the gathering place for humans, and the largest force on the continent is the Great Xia Dynasty, the only country in the Central Continent, suppressing human luck and representing human orthodoxy."
"That means, even though my home is close to Wendaozong, it still belongs to the Great Xia Dynasty."
"To the east of the continent is a vast ocean, dotted with a few islands, where ancient beasts like Kunpeng and Chaos occasionally appear."
"To the west lies the Golden Buddhist Kingdom, a pure land with temples as numerous as grains of sand."
"To the south is the Demon Realm, where the Dragon and Phoenix clans are the overlords. The demons are cruel and bloodthirsty, and the Great Xia Dynasty has constant friction with the Demon Realm, with demons hiding within the Great Xia Dynasty, posing a threat to humans."
"To the north is the extreme north, where ice never melts, no grass grows, and human presence is rare. Only extremely powerful races live there."
"The Central Continent has the most humans and the most cultivators. Some cultivators choose to serve in the court, while many others choose to establish their own sects or join a certain school. The sects in the Central Continent are numerous, with the five great sects, including Wendaozong, being the most powerful and representing the righteous path."
"The book also mentions that among the five great sects, there must be one powerful being in the Tribulation Stage and means to match that level... Could it be that the sect leader is a powerful being in the Tribulation Stage? Or does Wendaozong have a hidden elder who doesn't show themselves?"
Thinking about how lucky he was to be under the possible guidance of a powerful being, Lu Yang felt a thrill of excitement. He stood up to pour himself a cup of water, using the moment to calm his emotions before sitting back down to continue reading.
"Devil cultivators are bloodthirsty, using the lives of beings to enhance their own cultivation, causing even more harm than demons. Ultimately, devil cultivators are not respectable cultivators; they hide in the shadows. Under the joint suppression of the Great Xia Dynasty and the five great sects, devil sects only dare to act in secret and do not show themselves."
Aside from devil cultivators, the book also mentioned something called "evil spirits," described in a vague manner, saying that evil spirits are born without feelings and are a shadow over humanity. It was very abstract, and Lu Yang couldn't figure out what evil spirits really were.
"Ordinary people use gold, silver, and copper as currency, while cultivators use spirit stones divided into upper, middle, and lower grades as currency."
Next, Lu Yang began to learn basic knowledge about the cultivation world, such as the standards for different realms, the various skills involved in cultivation, types of demon beasts, levels of techniques, and the history of the Central Continent...
The knowledge Lu Yang had picked up from the storyteller at the teahouse was still far from enough for him to stand firm in the cultivation world.
As he looked at the rows of profound knowledge, he couldn't help but immerse himself in it, swimming in the sea of knowledge until evening, when he finally felt hungry and remembered he hadn’t eaten all day.
At this time, the person at the scripture pavilion entrance had changed from a senior brother to a senior sister.
Lu Yang respectfully asked, "Sister, sorry to bother you. I just arrived yesterday and am not familiar with Wendaozong. Is there a place to eat here?"
The senior sister was startled by Lu Yang’s sudden approach, shivering slightly and avoiding eye contact. She seemed very afraid of talking to people.
Usually, everyone could follow the rules of the scripture pavilion without needing reminders, and her personality suited this place well.
She didn’t dare to look Lu Yang in the eye, lowering her head and speaking softly, "Oh, it's a new junior brother. Wendaozong does have a cafeteria, but as someone who has been here, I wouldn’t recommend you eat there."
Lu Yang was confused, "Why not? Is there something wrong with the cafeteria?"
"On Elder Wu's peak, Hundred Refinements Peak."
Lu Yang was taken aback; that name didn’t sound like a place for cooking: "I don’t know what this Hundred Refinements Peak is..."
"Elder Wu is skilled in weapon forging, so Hundred Refinements Peak is naturally the mountain for forging. The cafeteria is set up there, and the chefs are top-notch forgers. Their buns can break mountains, rice grains can be used as hidden weapons, and their fried dough sticks can even break steel."
Lu Yang was at a loss for words: "…Why can chefs be forgers?"
The senior sister weakly explained, "Junior brother, think about it. The most important thing for a chef is controlling the heat, and forgers are best at controlling heat. The connection between these two professions is closer than you think."
Lu Yang nodded sincerely, "It really is closer than I imagined."
Seeing Lu Yang's simple attire, the senior sister hesitated for a moment: "Also, buying weapons—oh no, eating in the cafeteria requires spirit stones. You don’t seem very wealthy."
Generally, cultivators' clothes might not be exquisite, but they were at least made from materials like silkworm silk, which were resistant to water and fire.
Lu Yang's outfit was plain, patched with who knows how many scraps of cloth, making it clear he came from a common background.
Feeling embarrassed, Lu Yang smiled awkwardly; he really didn’t have a single spirit stone.
"You don’t need to feel embarrassed. Wendaozong has many disciples from common backgrounds," the senior sister gently reassured him.
"There are ways to eat. Hmm... You can go to Dan Ding Peak and see if there are any discarded fasting pills. You can ask them for some."
"Dan Ding Peak has high standards for pills. What they call discarded ones are actually just of insufficient quality, so don’t worry about them being poisonous."
"But at Dan Ding Peak, you need to be careful of the peak master, Elder Seven, Senior Brother Wu Ming, Senior Brother Wen Da, Senior Sister Qing Kong, Junior Brother Long Yan... Just be cautious around them."
Suppressing his confusion, Lu Yang clasped his hands and said, "I am Lu Yang. Thank you, Senior Sister. May I ask for your name?"
"My name is Zhou Lulu."
(End of Chapter)