Chapter 16: Stealthy Observation

Cheng Buzheng watched the lines of text continuously scrolling across the jade wall, falling into deep thought.

"What I need right now is a safe, long-term task. Once my development is complete and I have sufficient cultivation, whether it be through the small dish, alchemy, weapon forging, formations, or talisman making, I will be able to succeed smoothly in any of them.

The only thing restricting me now is insufficient cultivation! Everything is for the sake of safe development."

He cast a quiet glance toward the inner palace, then silently turned and departed.

He had come quietly, and just as quietly he left, waving his sleeve without taking a single cloud with him.

Stepping out of the hall, Cheng Buzheng walked along the roadside, carefully avoiding his senior brothers and sisters, maintaining a respectful and polite demeanor as if facing his teachers.

Once he was far from the Command Talisman Pavilion, he let out a soft sigh.

"Whew!"

"This is what it looks like to have low cultivation and no human rights. Otherwise, if you accidentally offend someone petty, even if they can't openly kill you, they can cause enough trouble to make your life miserable.

He had no background, no master, and no ability to escape if he were being hunted. Nor could he guarantee that he wouldn't encounter someone petty.

A gentleman may be deceived by his principles, but a villain seeks revenge from morning till night."

According to the 'Encyclopedia of Cultivation' issued by the sect, the Library Pavilion was located at Immortal Spring Peak. Following the map, Cheng Buzheng began running once more along the mountain stairs.

Fortunately, he was not a mortal; otherwise, there was no telling how many days it would take to arrive!

After running for a full two quarters of an hour, he finally saw a blurry shadow in the distance.

With a target in sight, Cheng Buzheng found even more strength in his stride.

Before long, he saw a six-story iron tower.

The tower was about sixty feet high, and a faint spiritual light emanated from its body. He did not know what kind of spiritual ore it was forged from; as a newcomer to the path of immortality, he did not recognize many spiritual objects or herbs. Everything he knew was common knowledge gleaned from the 'Encyclopedia of Cultivation.'

However, that book offered limited explanations; after all, how much content could a single book record?

As time passed, Cheng Buzheng drew closer until he could clearly see the entire iron tower. Three large, glittering golden characters were carved on the tower gate: 'Sutra Repository Tower.'

Beside the gate stood two guarding senior brothers.

At this moment, the two cultivating guards were engaged in idle chatter.

On the left, a slender youth with a thin face leaned lazily against the iron tower, speaking listlessly.

"Senior Brother Niu, when will the new junior brothers and sisters arrive? If they don't come soon, I won't have any spirit stones left to buy pills for cultivation!"

On the right, the burly Senior Brother Niu, who had wide eyes and a square face, pondered for a moment before saying, "It should be soon. A batch of new disciples arrived two months ago. Junior Brother Dai, don't be so impatient."

"I hope so! This task guarding the Sutra Repository Tower has so many fellow disciples camping out. We waited in the Command Talisman Pavilion for half a month just to finally grab this task, and so far, not a single spirit stone has come in!

Those senior disciples have cultivation levels similar to ours, but we don't have the ability to make them cough up their spirit stones!"

Junior Brother Dai's eyes darted around as he glanced at Senior Brother Niu before continuing.

"Senior Brother Niu, how about you lend me ten spirit stones to buy two Qi-Nurturing Pills? I'll pay you back once the task is over!"

Senior Brother Niu glanced at him and said helplessly, "My own life is quite tight right now. Even the supply of pills has been cut off. You're better off than me; at least you still have pills to take!"

Fearing that he might actually ask for pills or spirit stones, Junior Brother Dai quickly laughed it off and changed the subject.

"The new junior brothers and sisters each have ten spirit stones in their hands. Once they arrive, we won't lack pills for cultivation!"

He didn't want Senior Brother Niu to eye his few remaining spirit stones, so he turned his gaze away and looked into the distance.

Senior Brother Niu nodded in agreement. "However... we can't be too ruthless. There are so many new disciples. If one of them becomes a Foundation Establishment senior uncle in the future, we'll be in a difficult position. Let's stick to the old rules!"

"Senior Brother Niu... you have a point."

Suddenly, a look of pleasant surprise appeared on Junior Brother Dai's face. He quickly stood straight and said

"Senior Brother Niu, look! Are the newcomers arriving?"

"Correct. Only newcomers would be running up the mountain stairs. The disciples who entered with us ten years ago are at least at the mid-stage of Qi Refinement and can fly using tools; no one would be foolish enough to run up these stairs!

Therefore, this person must be a newly joined disciple."

At this moment, a smile involuntarily appeared on Senior Brother Niu's face.

The smile on Junior Brother Dai's face was uncontrollable as he muttered to himself

"Once there is a first... a second, a third... how much longer will it be?"

Before long, Cheng Buzheng arrived before the iron tower. He saw two men wearing the sect's standard gray robes. The one on the right was burly with a square face and wide eyes, looking quite fierce as he stared intently at him.

The one on the left was slender, with a smile on his thin face, appearing quite easygoing.

However, seeing his eyes darting around, Cheng Buzheng knew he was not as simple as he appeared.

Seeing Cheng Buzheng approach, the burly Senior Brother Niu stepped forward and shouted in a booming voice

"Halt, traveler!"

"Greetings, senior brothers!" Cheng Buzheng hurriedly bowed respectfully. At the same time, he reached for the storage bag at his waist and handed over his sect identity token.

"Senior Brother, this is my token!"

The burly Senior Brother Niu took the token and examined it closely.

At this time, the slender Junior Brother Dai on the left spoke up

"Junior Brother, to enter the Sutra Repository Tower, you need not only your sect identity token but also an entry fee of one spirit stone."

Cheng Buzheng knew there was no such rule in the Library Pavilion, but he did not speak immediately. He glanced at Senior Brother Niu, who was checking the token, and noticed the tacit understanding between the two. He knew he had to give up this spirit stone today.

Otherwise, not only would he be unable to enter the library, but he would also offend these two senior brothers. Yet, he couldn't do nothing, or else... the spirit stones in his storage bag would be slowly drained by them.

The kind are bullied and the gentle are ridden; this truth has existed since ancient times, and Cheng Buzheng understood it well.

After a moment of silence, Cheng Buzheng cupped his hands toward Junior Brother Dai and said

"Let this spirit stone serve as a token of my respect. However, I have already spent several stones on my cultivation and do not have many left. I hope that for future entries and exits, you two senior brothers can show some leniency."

After speaking, he maintained a look of firm determination.

Hearing this, Senior Brother Niu looked up at Cheng Buzheng and then exchanged a glance with Junior Brother Dai.

"Since Junior Brother is giving us such face, we will naturally look after you. We two brothers have always been men of our word; you may come and go as you please in the future.

But we can only guarantee this during our shifts!"

"Of course. Thank you for your leniency, Senior Brother!"

Seeing that his goal was achieved, Cheng Buzheng expressed his gratitude. Politeness costs nothing, and since he had already given the gift, acting overly cautious might offend them, which would be a net loss.

"Junior Brother, the token has been verified!"

As Senior Brother Niu spoke, his tone had become much gentler, and he handed the token back.

Cheng Buzheng took the token, placed it in his storage bag, and with a flip of his palm, handed a spirit stone to Senior Brother Niu. As for how the two divided it, it was none of his business.

Having collected the spirit stone, the two became much more amiable. Cheng Buzheng then chatted with them for a while, learning about the precautions within the Sutra Repository Tower and the pros and cons of the sect's first-grade low-rank spells.

At the same time, it cleared up many of the doubts in his mind.