The Sword Pavilion, the Jade Pool Immortal Sect's heavily guarded repository of ancient scriptures and secret arts, stood tall with nine-tiered eaves piercing the sea of clouds. Its vermilion doors remained tightly shut, flanked by two weathered stone Pixiu beasts whose eyes were crusted with bird droppings, exuding a dignity battered and embittered by the passing years.
Chen Mo clutched the jade token given by Li Wuhen and stood before those massive doors, feeling like an ant preparing to crawl up an elephant's trunk. The wound beneath his ribs still throbbed faintly, while the Heart-Clear Jade Essence pressed against his skin kept a chill against his chest, remarkably soothing his left eye, which tended to twitch and ache at random intervals.
"The Sword Observation Manual..." Chen Mo muttered with a bitter taste in his mouth. He had never even heard of such a thing. In his imagination, immortal-cultivating scriptures should either be glowing and floating in mid-air, or written on ancient animal skins accompanied by celestial melodies. Yet the Pavilion-Guarding Old Man—a withered geezer whose eyelids drooped so low they nearly covered his pupils, snoozing while cradling a bald-patched purple clay teapot—had merely pointed his chin at the dustiest corner shelf after hearing Chen Mo's purpose, grunting two words from his nose: "Bottom shelf, sort it out yourself."
Chapter 75