Chapter 9 Scripture Repository And Secret Cultivation

• Nine Palaces Peak. Upstream of the waterfall, where the current murmured softly, a few sere yellow leaves spun along the surface, while minnows occasionally leaped clear of the water. Tan Xuan sat cross-legged on a mossy boulder, idly rolling a glazed bead between his fingers. Upon closer inspection, faint cyan lightning flickered within its core. This *Water-Thunder Pearl* had been bestowed three days prior by Sect Master Shi Daoyuan. A rare treasure, it could unleash fearsome Gui Water Divine Thunder when fueled by spiritual power. “It’s time to choose a cultivation manual from the Scripture Repository.” Tan Xuan flipped his palm to stow the pearl and rose, descending the mountain path. *Dragon Ascension Cloud-Surge Art*, the sect’s foundational technique, served only to temper the body for pre-Profound Dragon cultivators. Now at the Fourth Stratum of Profound Dragon, he needed a more advanced method. The Scripture Repository, while less sacred than the Hall of Inherited Arcana, held paramount importance as the sect’s repository of cultivation arts. Unusually, it stood not on the nine peaks but within a lakeside complex where most disciples resided. A jade causeway stretched from Nine Palaces Peak like a heavenly ladder. Since Li Yue’er was occupied with her own training, Tan Xuan made this journey alone. As he bounded down the path, handmaids along the way bowed deeply. He nodded curtly, traversing the distance in half a quarter-hour—impossible for a mortal, but effortless for a Fourth Stratum Profound Dragon cultivator.
• “That’s him!” “He’s descending!” Whispers trailed Tan Xuan as he reached the foot of the mountain. “Is that Tan Xuan, Elder Xu Zhen’s new disciple?” asked a fan-wielding man named Shi Yan, his tone clipped. “Yes, Brother Shi. He’s Li Yue’er’s junior apprentice brother. Word is he awakened acupoints in the Inheritance Hall and condensed an Azure Dragon Embodiment, which alarmed the elders.” Song Chongyuan, a shorter cultivator, replied. Shi Yan’s expression darkened at the mention of Li Yue’er.
• “An Azure Dragon Embodiment means nothing. History is littered with promising talents who perished early. How many truly succeed?” Song Chongyuan fell silent, knowing Shi Yan coveted Li Yue’er, though she ignored him. *Li Yue’er is a Core Disciple at Third Stratum Divine Repository*, he thought, *while Shi Yan is just an Inner Disciple at Eighth Stratum True Spirit. He’s only relevant because his father is a Ninth Stratum Divine Repository deacon.* Unaware of Shi Yan’s animosity—and unlikely to care if he had known—Tan Xuan wandered through mist-shrouded corridors.