Chapter 53: Harvest and Hidden Dangers

The Pavilion of Skill Transmission seemed to contain some sort of spatial formation; the interior space was unexpectedly larger than it appeared from the outside. The entire first floor was divided into an outer ring and an inner ring. The outer ring was filled with cultivation manuals and classics, while the inner ring contained top-tier secret techniques and spells.

The outer ring was further divided into seven colored zones representing Zither, Chess, Calligraphy, Painting, Alchemy, Talismans, and Formations. Among these, the zones for Talismans and Formations had the fewest manuals, containing only a handful of bookshelves.

As for the inner ring, the storage of books was far more casual. After all, an individual generally only specializes in one cultivation method, but one can practice multiple secret techniques and spells. Consequently, the collection of secret techniques and spells was as vast as the sea, far outnumbering the standard manuals. Furthermore, their attributes varied wildly, making them difficult to categorize.

Having already mastered the "Chaos Cultivation" and the "Mindless Indecision Method," Liang Yan ignored the manuals in the outer ring and headed straight for the inner ring, hoping to find a secret technique for sword cultivators.

Time passed minute by minute, and in the blink of an eye, more than half an hour had gone by.

Liang Yan stood behind a black bookshelf, flipping through the last few books with an expression of disbelief.

Before long, a loud "thud!" echoed as Liang Yan slammed the final manual shut.

"How can this be? This massive Pavilion of Skill Transmission doesn't even have a single secret technique for sword cultivation!"

Seeing that the time limit was approaching and he had gained nothing, Liang Yan felt a surge of anxiety. However, he was not one to hesitate without purpose; after a brief moment of calculation, he forced himself to calm down.

"Forget it. I can't come all this way for nothing. I'll just pick two books for now."

With this thought, Liang Yan returned to the two areas he had previously browsed. He retrieved a book with a grey cover and a scroll of yellow bamboo slips; the covers were inscribed with "Dragon Seeking Formula" and "Thunder Training Technique," respectively.

He walked to the entrance with the two items. Li San took one glance and asked, "Are you sure you've made your choice?"

Liang Yan nodded, then asked reluctantly, "Senior Brother, are there truly no sword cultivation secret techniques in the Pavilion?"

"Of course there are, you just can't access them."

"Oh?" Liang Yan's heart stirred. "What do you mean by that?"

Li San studied him for a moment and said with a half-smile, "The methods of sword cultivation are great divine abilities passed down from antiquity. How could they be kept on the first floor of the Pavilion? They would be on the second floor at the very least."

"I see!" Liang Yan realized. "Then I..."

"Don't even think about it!"

Before Liang Yan could finish, Li San interrupted him. "The Pavilion of Skill Transmission has three floors. Only the first floor is open to all disciples for reading. To reach the second floor, you must be at least an inner sect disciple or possess a cultivation level of Foundation Establishment or above. As for the third floor, it contains the sect's most guarded secrets. One only gets the chance to visit if they have sufficient contribution points, have performed great service for the sect, or upon being promoted to a Protecting Elder."

Liang Yan sighed inwardly, thinking, *It seems the time is not yet ripe.*

However, he quickly regained his composure, bowed to Li San, and said, "Thank you for the guidance, Senior Brother. I have decided; I will take these two secret techniques."

Seeing his determination, Li San said no more. He took out two pieces of parchment, made rubbings of the two techniques, and handed them to Liang Yan. "These are rubbings of the two techniques. You may take them back to study for ten days, after which they will automatically burn. Additionally, you must swear a Heart Demon Oath here: you shall not teach these techniques to others without the sect's permission, or you will be punished according to the sect rules."

Following his instructions, Liang Yan swore the Heart Demon Oath within the Pavilion and then descended the mountain with the rubbings.

That night, in the thatched hut of a formation-path handyman disciple.

Liang Yan sat cross-legged on his bed. Before him lay many artifacts, each surrounded by spiritual aura, clearly not ordinary items.

Although his trip to Yongle Town had been fraught with danger, fortunately, his life was not in peril. Furthermore, he had cleared out seven hostile rogue cultivators in the town, seizing a windfall of "ill-gotten gains" in the process.

The spiritual tools laid out before him were the spoils of war collected from those seven men.

Liang Yan murmured to himself, "It's a pity that the spiritual sense of a Qi Refining stage cultivator is limited. Most can only control one or two spiritual tools at once. Because I practice the 'Mindless Indecision Method,' my divine sense is slightly stronger than an average cultivator, but I can still only manage three tools simultaneously."

Due to the limitations of his spiritual sense at the Qi Refining stage, although he had many tools, not all could be used by him. Adopting a philosophy of quality over quantity, he selected three: the octagonal compass from the Green-Robed Guest, the red wooden box from Feng Kun, and the pitch-black small shield from "Number Two."

The octagonal compass came from the most mysterious "Number One." Although Liang Yan had not yet fully mastered its wonders, its ability to provide warnings in the spirit mine's malefic pit proved its extraordinary nature. For this reason, Liang Yan had specifically borrowed the "Dragon Seeking Formula" from the Pavilion; while it focused on the secret arts of locating dragon veins and acupoints, it also provided detailed insights into the use of compass-type spiritual tools, which was exactly what he needed.

As for the contents of the red wooden box, it was a set of flying needle spiritual tools called the "Crimson Pine Needles." Furthermore, inside Feng Kun's storage bag, there was a secret technique titled "Crimson Pine Needle Formula," which described exactly how to refine and control them.

According to the records in the "Crimson Pine Needle Formula," these needles were crafted from a divine tree of the cultivation world: the Crimson Pine Li-Fire Wood. The tips contained the divine might of Li-Fire, providing instantaneous explosive power, making them perfect for sneak attacks.

Truth be told, if Liang Yan hadn't used the "Sheng Shen Method" to suppress the Book-Ghost Twin Fiends and caught them off guard, the consequences of Feng Kun using those needles might have been dire.

The final item, the pitch-black small shield, was a defensive spiritual tool. Liang Yan had already witnessed its formidable defense. Moreover, this small shield did not require special refinement; he only needed to wipe away "Number Two's" aura from it and refine it with his own spiritual power.

Satisfied with his selection, Liang Yan placed the remaining spiritual tools into his storage bag, intending to exchange them for spirit stones during a future exchange meeting.

He then took out a purple-gold glazed lamp from his storage bag—the one he had intercepted from the air when Xue Kuang scattered the four Buddhist treasures. As soon as the lamp appeared, the entire room was instantly coated in a layer of golden light. Liang Yan was enveloped in this radiance, feeling a sense of solemn majesty.

"Of all my gains from Yongle Town, this is the greatest."

Looking at the glazed treasure lamp, Liang Yan murmured, "This item is capable of suppressing Xue Kuang; it is at least a first-class Dharma Treasure. It's a pity I cannot activate it with my current cultivation. I'll have to wait until later." He cast a regretful glance at it before stowing it away.

After organizing all his belongings, Liang Yan counted the spirit stones in his storage bag.

In total, including his previous stones, the rewards from the sect, and his half of the spoils from Tang Diexian, he had over a thousand stones. For a cultivator of his level, this was quite a significant fortune.

Thinking of Tang Diexian, Liang Yan suddenly felt a wave of loss. He had thought he would see her shortly after waking up, but he hadn't even caught a glimpse of her all day.

"Perhaps she is busy with other matters. After all, to her, I am just a junior brother from the handyman department."

Liang Yan gave a self-deprecating smile, but his brow suddenly twitched. He wasn't sure if it was an illusion, but he felt the red light orb latent within his body move.

Not daring to be negligent, Liang Yan immediately entered a meditative state and turned his divine sense inward. To his dismay, he found something was wrong!

The golden light wall surrounding the red light orb had become noticeably thinner, and the position of the entire red orb had risen significantly, drifting toward the periphery of the "Two Fish Twin Array."

"This is trouble..." Liang Yan muttered. "While there is no immediate threat to my life, it remains a hidden danger. If left for too long, who knows what might happen."

After a moment of thought, he took a piece of parchment from his storage bag, which contained the "Thunder Training Technique."

He had chosen this specific technique for a reason.

First, Xue Kuang's cultivation method was clearly a sinister, blood-based path, and in this world, nothing countered such methods better than lightning techniques. He chose this method with the intention of dealing with the red light in his body in the future.

Second, his "Chaos Cultivation" was a supreme body-refining method, with its "Eight Phases" containing peerless secret techniques for physical cultivators. His "Mindless Indecision Method" was a Confucian method for refining the spirit and nurturing qi, with its strength lying in "Spirit-Driving and Consciousness-Breaking." Neither of his current strengths lay in the path of spells.

With his current cultivation level, Liang Yan was vulnerable to enemies skilled in long-range magical attacks. Thus, he chose the "Thunder Training Technique" to compensate for this weakness, making his combat methods more unpredictable.

According to the opening of the book, the technique was divided into four stages: Minor Success, Great Success, Perfection, and Attainment of the Dao. Reaching Minor Success allowed one to release a type of lightning qi from their fingertips; while not as powerful as true lightning spells, its destructive power was quite formidable for the Qi Refining stage. If one reached the stage of Attainment, they could even draw true divine lightning into their body to refine and use it.

Calming his turbulent mind, Liang Yan began to practice the "Thunder Training Technique" within his thatched hut.