Translation: Aerial Rain Translation (aerialrain.com) by koffeam

Meng Qi clenched her nameplate suspiciously.

“Beyond The Heaven has its own set of rules.” Seeing her doubts, the book hall’s old man smiled and continued to explain: “Inside this small world, no one can break the rules. It is impossible to grab anything that not belongs to you, nor can anyone take away what is yours.”

Meng Qi nodded. Feeling enlightened, she turned to look at the rows of bookshelves that seemed to never end.

Here, there must be many secrets that she didn’t know. But she already made her decision: do not doubt, do not overthink, and just focus on making herself stronger first.

Meng Qi had always been a firm person who was not easily influenced by others. Since she had decided, she no longer bothered herself.

“Thank you, Senior.” She cupped her hands to the old man, then lowered her gaze at the slips on her hands. The four bamboo slips seemed to be a bit old. Their surfaces were a little yellowed. And the jade slips looked very exquisite. One of them was carved with a pattern that Meng Qi couldn’t recognize.

She sent her aura into the slips one by one.

The old man stood by, watching over Meng Qi with a smile. Knowing that it would take her some time to read all the books he just gave her, the old man took out a bamboo slip from another shelf and started reading intently.

Meng Qi browsed the content of the bamboo slips one by one. Each recording a different cultivation technique, six in total, all of which was without grade indication and she had never heard of before.

Most of the cultivation techniques in the Three Thousand World had their rank marked on the bamboo slips. For example, the technique Meng Qi currently used was from Qingfeng Valley, and it was only a fourth-grade technique.

In other words, she could only cultivate using this technique until the fourth realm at most. After breaking through from the Golden Core stage and entering the Nascent Soul stage, it would be extremely difficult to make any progress if she kept cultivating using this technique.

The cultivation techniques passed down from generation to generation inside large sects were obviously much better, mostly of the sixth to seventh grade. Those high-grade techniques not only could help disciples to cultivate faster, but also could be used until the Void Comprehending or even the Comprehending Perfection stage1.

Of course, those large sects also had even better cultivation techniques. But those were reserved for the upper layer disciples or could only be obtained by exchanging contribution points, and not to be taught equally to all disciples.

Obviously, Meng Qi had never learned such high-level techniques.

Now the six cultivation techniques the old man gave her seemed to have no formal grades. One possibility was that these techniques had never been used by cultivators before, so their grades were still unclear. Another possibility was that these were the highest-grade techniques that could be used even up to the Great Ascension stage.

Meng Qi hesitated. She actually was still unsure what to choose.

“Young Daoist, are you unsure what to choose?” In the meantime, the old man had finished two books. He raised his head and saw Meng Qi’s hesitant face. He smiled: “Or, does none of these meet your expectation?”

“Senior.” Meng Qi didn’t hide anything, “I don’t know much about cultivation techniques and really don’t know how to choose a suitable one. If possible, can Senior give me some advice?” She bowed her head politely: “Many thanks for Senior’s help.”

“Haha.” The old man reached out to the slips on Meng Qi’s hands: “For humans, cultivating is an act against the heaven. Absorbing aura from the surrounding nature, using it for yourself, forcibly expanding the sea of spiritual aura in your body, and then storing even more aura.” He continued: “This is different from how demons and devils cultivate. Therefore, there are many obstacles in human’s cultivation.”

The old man pointed at one of the bamboo slip: “From early on, I have been collecting various human cultivation techniques. They are roughly divided into two types. The first is the techniques that focus on aura absorption, and the second is the techniques that focus on spiritual sea expansion. So, the main basis for ranking a cultivation technique into various grades is by how much spiritual aura it can absorb, or how big can it expand a cultivator’s spiritual sea.”

“I see.” Meng Qi listened very seriously. Her eyes shone brightly.

The old man put his hands on his back, gazing into Meng Qi’s eyes that were full of genuine curiosity. He was happy. Most of the younger generations in his clan were overly talented, and none of them had the patience to listen to his lecture.

“Cough…” The old man coughed slightly. He paced slowly between the bookshelves, hands on his back, and continued to say: “This is how later generation of cultivators grade cultivation techniques. In fact, in ancient times, more than tens of thousands of years ago, there isn’t such a human-made grade system.”

“I see.” Meng Qi nodded obediently.

“So when choosing a cultivation technique, human cultivators like to choose a higher-grade one, that can be used longer.” The old man said. “What troubles you is that these techniques have no grades, so you don’t know how to choose?”

“Yes.” Meng Qi was a little embarrassed, “This junior has limited knowledge and low cultivation talent, and only knows to choose the highest grade possible.”

“Haha.” The old man smiled and nodded, “Let me see.” He took the bamboo and jade slips back.

Although the old man was idle, if Meng Qi didn’t take the initiative to ask, he would not deliberately give her guidance either. Now that Meng Qi asked actively, he was willing to help her. This could be considered a small assessment.

The old man handed the jade slip with the unknown symbol to Meng Qi, “This is just okay. You can use it for now.” This book hall didn’t have many cultivation techniques. In Three Thousand Worlds, cultivation techniques were the most important part of a sect’s inheritance. Many guarded them secretly, and very few were passed outside. For the old man, it was not necessary to collect these cultivation techniques. The one he singled out for Meng Qi was the best here.

Anyone familiar with the old man would know that when he said, “This is just okay,” it was actually his highest evaluation for anything from Three Thousand Worlds.

Meng Qi happily took it over, “Thank you, Senior.” For her, as long as it is better than Qingfeng Valley’s cultivation technique, it was enough.

The old man became even more satisfied. He lived on celestial tree, and his clan’s members were notoriously sparse. There were only a few people who would come to visit and talk with him. Meng Qi’s total trust, as well as the pure admiration in her eyes, made him very satisfied.

“Senior.” After thinking for a while, Meng Qi said: “Since I have more than nine thousand spirit points, can I borrow other books?”

“Of course.” The old man nodded with a smile. “What else do you want?”

“I wonder if Senior has medical-related books here?” Meng Qi asked again.

“Well…” The old man glanced at Meng Qi up and down, “There are many books in this criteria. The seventh floor,” the old man pointed up, “is full of books related to medical techniques, medical spells, and other medical-related knowledge. There are also material compendium, medicine formulas, treatment notes, and such.”

“Ah!”Meng Qi was ecstatic, “Can I also borrow them by ten spirit points per book?”

“Yes.” The old man nodded, “I’ll give you a mark.” As he said, a star-like ray flew from his finger into Meng Qi’s forehead. “The books on the seventh floor, as long as you have enough spirit points, you can read by yourself here, but you cannot take them out.”

“Many thanks for Senior’s help.” Meng Qi was thrilled. In her heart, she sincerely thanked the owner of Beyond The Heaven. This place was truly a huge treasure trove, especially this book hall.

Besides, she earned spirit points so easily.

Meng Qi happily held the jade slip the old man had picked for her, sent spiritual aura into it, and closed her eyes. The content of the jade slip began to pour into her mind. Meng Qi’s talent in cultivation was mediocre at best. If it were a medical book, she might be able to read the whole content and remember it within one stick of incense of time. But for cultivation technique…it was hard to say.

Meng Qi simply found a secluded place, sat cross-legged, and slowly devoured the content.

One’s cultivation talent was also reflected in their ability to comprehend a cultivation technique. Some people could immediately apply a simple cultivation technique as soon as they learned it. With a more complicated technique, the time they learned was still twice the ordinary people, and they could get twice the result with half the effort. But other people would take a long time just to comprehend the technique, and even a longer time to start using the technique for their cultivation.

Using the same technique, a highly talented cultivator would take less time to run the technique each time. At the same time, the amount of aura they could absorb was also a bit more. One day, two days, the difference might be insignificant. But as time accumulated, their cultivation speed would also be increased.

For example, Meng Qi’s senior sister Lu Qingran, whose talents wer high and versatile. Using the same low-grade cultivation technique from Qingfeng Valley, she was able to stand out from hundreds of other disciples and broke the record of being the fastest disciple who reached the Foundation Establishment stage in Qingfeng Valley’s thousand years of history.

On the contrary, Meng Qi’s progress was much slower. She had an extremely high aptitude in the medical path, but her cultivation talent was mediocre. She cultivated step by step for half a year, but in the end, she still had to rely on the help of the array her Master taught her, in order to break through from the Qi Condensation stage and entering the Foundation Establishment stage quickly.

…

When Meng Qi finally mastered the cultivation technique, it was several hours later. She opened her eyes. The old man had already left, and the whole book hall had become quiet again. Meng Qi took a deep breath and stood up, carefully putting back the jade slip into a shelf nearby.

She loosened her body and looked up at the seventh floor.

Shall she go up and take a look?

Meng Qi couldn’t help thinking about countless medical-related books on that floor. Unable to hold back, she quickly walked to the wooden spiral staircase, which made a creaking sound upon her steps.

On the way, each floor was filled with rows of rows of bookshelves that reached the ceiling. Meng Qi didn’t linger. Her eyes merely swept over quickly, and she could see countless bamboo and jade slips stacked on each shelf.

Her pace became faster and faster, and her heart was throbbing with excitement.

Treasure trove!

A real treasure trove!

She was really thankful to the owner, and also to Su Junmo, who informed her about this shop.

Finally, Meng Qi reached the seventh floor. There were also more than a dozen bookshelves there, fully stacked with countless bamboo and jade slips. Meng Qi took a deep breath, trying to calm herself down. But her heart pounded even faster, and she was enveloped by absolute joy. She always thought that she at least had to pass the Grand Tournament at Medical Cultivator Conference and enter a large medical sect before she could see so many medical books.

Ah!

Meng Qi took a deep breath and rushed to the nearest row of bookshelves.

So many books. So many…

Meng Qi felt her mouth a bit dry. As if seeing the person she like, she was so nervous that her palms sweated slightly. She reached out her trembling hand and took out a bamboo slip.

The old man said that she had been given the permission to read all the bamboo and jade slips on the seventh floor at will, as long as she had enough spirit points.

She held her breath and poured a strand of spiritual aura into the slip. Sure enough, the content of the bamboo slip was immediately presented into her mind.

“Wei Ran’s Medical Record.” She murmured the book title. This should be a medical note left behind by a predecessor. This kind of personal note that recorded a practical experience was a precious asset for any medical cultivator.

Ah, she is so happy!!

No one was around. Meng Qi stroke the bamboo slip lovingly.

She doesn’t want to go back! She wants to live here!

Her more than nine thousand spirit points could be used to read more than nine hundred books. Meng Qi suddenly felt distressed. She actually spent sixty points just now to exchange for six cultivation techniques. She should have asked for the old man’s help from the beginning, so she could read five more medical books.

Meng Qi pouted her lips and sat down against one of the bookshelves. She could read a medical book very quickly, and basically remembered most of the content after just reading it once. Unlike the cultivation technique she had just read before, where she forgot the previous paragraph the moment she moved to the next paragraph.

Meng Qi didn’t even choose. After reading the first book, she randomly took the second, then the third…

Medical notes, records of spiritual herbs from a certain part of the Demon Realm, and even a book about the Demon Realm’s medical knowledge…

Meng Qi was fascinated, and totally forgot about the time.

“Meng Qiqi! Meng Qiqi!” Sikong Xing’s voice rang in her ears, seemingly came from far away. “Meng Qiqi, are you in the room? Are you okay?”

Meng Qi was stunned. Her mind slowly returned from the book she was reading. She stood up and lightly stretched her body. If someone outside called her near her body while she was inside Beyond The Heaven, she could hear them.

Just like this, the voice seemed to come from far away, as if separated by a boundary.

Sikong Xing’s voice was tense, and she also knocked on the door.

Meng Qi reluctantly put the bamboo slip back into the bookshelf and quickly walked back to the first floor. She then left the Heaven And Earth Book Hall, and then left Beyond The Heaven through the teleportation array.

Meng Qi opened her eyes slowly. Beyond The Heaven’s jade slip was still warm in her grip. Xiao Qi was by her side, lying lazily as usual. The little white tiger heard Meng Qi’s movement and raised his eyes slightly, glancing at her.

“Meng Qiqi? Meng Qiqi!” Sikong Xing knocked on the door again, “Are you inside?”

“Xingxing.” Meng Qi quickly opened the door.

“Huff—” Sikong Xing sighed in relief. “If you don’t open the door, I’m about to break in.”

“What’s the matter?” Meng Qi asked.

“Excuse me, are you Fellow Daoist Meng Qi?” Before Sikong Xing could answer, a young man’s voice came from behind.

Meng Qi looked over Sikong Xing’s shoulder. In the courtyard they rented from Ruyi Inn, two tall and slender young men in a blue robe stood in front of her. The chest of their robes was embroidered with Feng Alliance’s emblem.

Meng Qi had seen this emblem on Xue Clan’s robes.

“Meng Qiqi.” Sikong Xing curled her lips, “They insist on seeing you.” Sikong Xing didn’t hide her dislike at all. Unwillingness was written all over her face, “Su Junmo is with them.”

Meng Qi raised her eyebrows. For Sikong Xing to be so angry, did Feng Alliance dare to detain Su Junmo to threaten them?

“Young Master Su always has a good relationship with Feng Alliance. He is the guest of our Alliance Leader and four major clans.” Feng Alliance’s disciple who spoke earlier said. “It is also Young Master Su who asked us to invite Fellow Daoist Meng to discuss a matter.”

“What matter?” Meng Qi’s tone was indifferent.

“Fellow Daoist Meng will know when you are there.” The disciple replied. “This matter is related to the three major clans of Feng Alliance and cannot be discussed here.”

From beginning to end, the two disciples didn’t even greet Meng Qi, and their expressions also showed the peculiar arrogance of a large sect’s disciples.

Sikong Xing’s face was very dark, but Meng Qi didn’t care.

However, hadn’t the Xue Clan Head arrived? They still couldn’t cure Xue Lingfeng’s poison?

“Wait a minute.” Meng Qi said. “I need to take some things.”

“If Fellow Daoist Meng needs to take any medicinal ingredients, I don’t think it is necessary.” The disciple said haughtily. “Although Feng Alliance comes in a hurry, we still bring all kinds of spiritual herbs and other medicinal ingredients.”

“Oh.” Meng Qi still went back to take Xiao Qi. Seeing that they made Sikong Xing so upset, she raised the corner of her lips and asked: “Has Xue Lingfeng’s poison been detoxified?”

Feng Alliance’s disciple “…”

“Puff…” Sikong Xing truly disliked these two uninvited guests, and immediately burst out in laughter. She didn’t like Xue Clan, and also didn’t like these two arrogant disciples.

Seeing the disciples’ expression sinking, Meng Qi was sure of why they came to her. She went back into her room, took Xiao Qi into the beast house, and put it into her storage space. Then she went out and closed the door again.

“Meng Qiqi, I will accompany you.” Sikong Xing took Meng Qi’s arm. She couldn’t feel assured letting Meng Qi go alone. Remembering that old fart from Xue Clan who almost harmed Meng Qiqi last time, she wanted to curse.

“Pavilion Master Pei is also there?” Meng Qi asked again.

Feng Alliance’s disciple still had dark faces, and their tone was bad: “Pavilion Master Pei, as the Lord of Xingluo City, is naturally there.”

“The Lord of Xingluo City?” Meng Qi was stunned. It was the first time she heard such a statement.

“The Lord of Xingluo City?” Meng Qi was stunned. It was the first time she heard such a statement. Three Thousand World had a specific rule. There was one sect per city, and the sect located nearest to the city was responsible for protecting the ordinary people residing there. In exchange, part of the city’s tax revenue would be paid to maintain the sect’s daily operation.

For example, Qingfeng Town at the foot of Qingfeng Valley’s mountain, and Fentian City of Fentian Palace. Some of the ancestors of Xingluo Pavilion had also died protecting Xingluo City. They held their swords to guard the city gate and protected all the ordinary residents inside.

But this was the first time Meng Qi heard about the title ‘City Lord.’ She glanced at the Feng Alliance’s disciple again. The other party seemed to be talking matter-of-factly, and there was no slightest difference in his expression.

Meng Qi retracted her gaze. Feng Alliance consisted of four large clans plus one headquarter and were in charge of five cities in the Western Realm. Moreover, Western Realm was also the area where medical cultivation had the highest and strongest status.

Turned out, they were strong enough to be the city lords?

She somewhat understood why at Xue Clan’s temporary residence that day, the First Elder was not hesitant when demanding Pei Mufeng to drive out the entire eastern district’s residents. For them, this might be just a trivial matter.

Subconsciously, Meng Qi put more distance from the two Feng Alliance’s disciples. She and Sikong Xing walked side by side on the other side of the street.

“How long did I sleep?” Meng Qi asked.