Wait a minute, where is my master?

No one knew of Xu Qian's attack; Gusu City at this time was a picture of tranquility and peace.

Well, at least it seemed tranquil and peaceful on the surface.

...

"The current Daoist heir of the Kunlun Immortal Palace is suspected to have come through from a 'small world'.

Mysterious golden lightning appeared near Qingmu Academy and White Emperor Pavilion, leading analysts from Tingfeng Building to speculate that a hidden expert might be challenging the Four Great Immortal Sects; Blazing Sun Sword Sect and Pan Shi Valley should be on high alert.

A certain disciple surnamed Chu, who sits under the Seventh Elder of the Blazing Sun Sword Sect and wishes to remain anonymous, revealed that yet another legendary sword is about to emerge, estimated in one year's time.

The Shui Clan Elder's alchemy prodigy girl, who was brought back from Qing State over two hundred years ago, has mysteriously disappeared; Shui Clan members clap their hands in delight, happy no longer to eat dirty things.

The Qingmu Secret Realm is set to open this September; it remains to be seen which young genius from which Immortal Sect will take the lead.

There is an increasing number of vicious incidents caused by the Demon Sect's Transformation Fruit; lower-tier cultivators should be mindful of their safety.

Tingfeng Building kindly reminds, 'Demon cultivation progresses quickly, heavenly tribulation hits hard,' please, fellow cultivators, do not stray onto the wrong path.

After a thousand years of repair, the space of the Nine Provinces Realm has become more stable, and it will probably be increasingly difficult to 'cross over' from various small worlds to the Nine Provinces in the future.

..."

——Tingfeng Building's Summary of Major News in the Cultivation World·Semiannual Publication.

Jin Xu flicked through the stack of newspapers in his hand and tossed them onto a nearby rosewood table.

This Tingfeng Building, claiming to be the largest information organization in the Nine Provinces, seems to mimic the gossip tabloids of his previous life.

The last part even advertised inviting cultivators from all walks to provide information with generous rewards.

Upon first glance, the young Taoist was tempted, but he soon realized he already had a well full of Spiritual Liquid and was not troubled by the need for Spirit Stones.

He could live that plain and boring life from now on.

...

Just now, he and the two women returned to their room.

When they got there, he found that Li Mi had prepared a room with only one bed, and a rather large one at that.

So...

The young Taoist took his token and went straight to the night-watchman's library, leaving the bed for Yu Yaoer and Little White.

He planned to spend his evening swimming in the ocean of knowledge.

With his token in hand, Jin Xu was not hindered on his way and arrived at the library, where the guard respectfully opened the door for him.

Stepping through that door, the young Taoist looked at the vast sea of bookshelves before him and was filled with emotion.

Why are they all paper books! Didn't we agree on jade slips for such things in the world of cultivation!

He convinced himself not to mind these small details.

The young Taoist walked up to the bookshelves and began to carefully choose, picking up anything that seemed to explain the Nine Provinces Immortal World, ready to dive in for a thorough read.

More than an hour later, Jin Xu tossed the stack of publications onto the table and stood up to stretch lazily.

He had finished reading the dozens of books he had picked, and from then on the young Taoist also had a general understanding of the Nine Provinces Realm.

He had gained some knowledge about things like the classification of magical treasures, the approximate value of Spirit Stones in the Nine Provinces, the division of different cultivator paths, and the various grades of cultivation techniques, among others.

Of course, some of the more specific details might require gradual practice to gain experience.

After all, practice is the sole criterion for testing the truth.

Moreover, the young Taoist noticed a small issue.

Cultivators in the Nine Provinces Immortal World seemed not to practice cultivation solely; cultivators more or less all studied other auxiliary means of cultivation.

Such as Artifact Refining, Alchemy, Talisman Making, Formation, Spirit Plant Cultivation, Beast Taming, etc., there are many categories. And each seemed to have its own set of deep knowledge.

Just now, he looked through a book called "Guide to Subsidiary Occupations for Cultivators of the Nine Provinces."

As the name suggests, there seemed to be as many as a hundred auxiliary skills related to cultivation to learn.

Unfortunately, that book did not record everything in detail.

Moreover, the library only contained some books of common knowledge and hearsay, without any direct cultivation techniques and the like.

Otherwise, Jin Xu would have quite liked to find a book and try out practicing on the spot.

At the same time, he also understood why all the books in the library were made of paper.

Since this knowledge was relatively not considered too valuable, they were copied by mortals and no cultivator bothered to inscribe them onto jade tokens.

As for why Tingfeng Building's biannual publications were also on paper.

The little Taoist suspected they were trying to save on costs.

"I only cultivate the special skill master gave me; could it be a bit too narrow-focused?"

The little Taoist muttered to himself, pacing a few steps.

Too lazy to go through each book page by page, he decided to use his Spiritual Sense to scan all the books in the library at once, memorize them, and then enjoy them gradually at leisure.

With a thought, his Spiritual Sense enveloped the entire library, and all the words on every book entered his heart.

"Previously, Li Mi mentioned needing a Nascent Soul Realm master to take turns scanning Gusu City with Spiritual Sense. Why don't I lend him a hand?"

Jin Xu felt this was like a version of paying for knowledge in the cultivation world. He had read other people's books, so he might as well help patrol the city for safety.

As the Spiritual Sense spread out, the entire city was enveloped within it, but no one noticed.

After scanning back and forth a few times, Jin Xu did not see the Black Qi like at Wild Wolf Ridge, but rather a few places emitting red Sha Qi.

"The military camp and prisons emitting red Sha Qi is normal, but why is there such strong evil energy in this brothel? And why is the Sha Qi in this unknown household also exceptionally dense?"

Jin Xu secretly noted down several locations, planning to inform Li Mi of his findings the next day.

Withdrawing his Spiritual Sense, the little Taoist found a clean spot to sit down cross-legged on the ground.

He planned to cultivate in this library overnight.

Even though he still hadn't figured out the extent of his own strength.

But he had come to terms with it, feeling that dealing with Divinity Transformation should still be no problem for him.

Closing his eyes, Jin Xu fell into cultivation.

...

On the outskirts of Shangjing City.

The Third Elder of the Demon Sect had just finished reading messages from her subordinates.

She languidly leaned back on a reclining chair, plucking a grape-like Spirit Fruit from a dish beside her and popping it into her cherry-like mouth.

After eating the Spirit Fruit, she extended her little tongue to lick her lips, then spoke.

"The nightwatchmen from various places indeed discovered something amiss in Shangjing City and started sending people back to investigate. However, we have also hired assassins from Jingyu Building to intercept along the way. It's just that I wonder if Xia Xuanmin, that old fox, will believe this act of ours."

Before her voice even faded, a pitch-black eye appeared on the wall in front of her, and a murky voice came through.

"The more powerful the cultivator, the more confidence they have in themselves. He thinks he knows our Divine Sect is plotting against him, little aware that this is also part of our Divine Sect's plans."

The Third Elder glanced unhappily at the eye that suddenly appeared in front of her, flicking a Spirit Fruit toward it.

The pitch-black eye vanished into the wall, dodging the incoming Spirit Fruit, and then reappeared on another wall.

"Can't you appear in a less creepy way every time? You are one of the elders of our Divine Sect, after all!"

The pitch-black eye blinked.

"...We are Demon Cultivators, what's wrong with being a bit strange?"

"..."