The afterglow of the setting sun dyed the continuous palaces of Danxia Peak in a warm golden hue. Lin Fan, following the stream of people leaving work, walked out of the refining room filled with the aroma of herbs and the heat of subterranean fire. His focused spirit for the entire day, simulating the fire control level expected of a Qi Refining stage disciple, meticulously refining bundles of Heart Calming Grass, was not a burden on his powerful divine sense. However, this deliberate suppression and outward display brought a different kind of mental exhaustion.
The Steward Liu was quite pleased with his performance today, praising him for his "adept technique, extremely few impurities in the refined medicinal liquid, and well-preserved spiritual energy." He even gave Lin Fan an extra reward of five low-grade spirit stones. Lin Fan, naturally, put on an act of being extremely humbled and endlessly grateful.
Returning to the simple stone house in Area C of Qingxia Peak, he did not immediately begin his evening cultivation practice. The sights and sounds he encountered today upon entering the Inner Sect's Danxia Peak, though merely a tip of the iceberg, made him keenly aware of the profound heritage of the Taiyi Immortal Sect. The profound formations visible everywhere, the spiritual energy in the air, which was far purer and denser than in the Outer Sect, and the powerful auras occasionally sensed deep within the various grand halls, all served as a reminder that this place was filled with hidden talents.
"Perhaps... it's time to go take a look there," Lin Fan mused to himself.
He changed out of his Outer disciple robes, stained with herbal juices, and put on a clean blue shirt. Night gradually descended, shrouding Qingxia Peak in a tranquil darkness. Only a few scattered cave dwellings still emitted the faint light of cultivation.
Lin Fan left Area C as silently as a phantom, his form blending into the night, and sped towards the summit of Qingxia Peak. There stood one of the most important structures in the Outer Sect area – the Scripture Repository.
Unlike the simplicity of the Outer disciples' living quarters, Qingxia Peak's Scripture Repository was a magnificent seven-story pagoda, with upturned eaves and brackets, gleaming coldly in the moonlight. The attic was enveloped by a soft yet resilient light barrier, with faint runes flowing within, exuding an aura of inviolable majesty. Even at night, the glow of eternal lamps emanated from within, and two disciples at the Foundation Establishment initial stage stood guard at the entrance, their expressions solemn.
Lin Fan stopped under the shade of an ancient pine tree, a hundred feet away from the Scripture Repository. He did not rush forward but quietly circulated a trace of his Innate Eye's power. His eyes, capable of discerning illusions, emitted a subtle golden light in the darkness, casting towards the heavily guarded pavilion.
In his "field of vision," the protective barrier around the Scripture Repository no longer appeared as an integrated whole. Instead, it revealed countless fine, intertwined streams of spiritual energy, forming an extremely complex and vast composite formation. This formation not only possessed powerful defensive capabilities but also served purposes of warning, trapping, and even counter-attacking. The flow patterns of spiritual energy around the two guards and their subtle connection with the formation were also clearly visible.
"As expected, the defenses are strict," Lin Fan realized. A direct assault was out of the question. Even with his Nascent Soul stage cultivation, silently breaking through the protective formation of this Outer Sect Scripture Repository would be nearly impossible and would undoubtedly alert the higher-level cultivators stationed here.
His objective was not the profound cultivation techniques and secret manuals within – those held little significance for him and Tongtong. What he truly needed were those miscellaneous books and jade slips that might record the geography of Liuyunzhou and even wider regions, accounts of strange creatures, and ancient legends.
After observing for a moment, he memorized several relatively weaker nodes in the formation's spiritual energy flow (not flaws, but points where energy fluctuations were slightly slower) and the general pattern of the two guards' patrols and shift changes.
With his Mid Nascent Soul cultivation, Lin Fan was already unrivaled below the Nascent Soul realm in this world. His powerful divine sense, combined with the Fu Xi Divine Race's natural affinity for the vital energies of heaven and earth and their talent for concealment, made his night travel akin to that of a ghost. Even when passing by patrolling Foundation Establishment disciples, they would only feel a slight cool night breeze.
Over the past month, he had moved stealthily at night, relying on his extraordinary concealment abilities and speed. He had thoroughly mapped out the layout of the Taiyi Immortal Sect's Outer Sect, Inner Sect, and even parts of the Core Sect, including formation nodes, patrol patterns, and the distribution of powerful auras. The entire sect had formed an incredibly detailed map in his mind. He confirmed that the strongest individuals publicly acknowledged in the sect were all at the late Nascent Soul stage, numbering three: Sect Master True Lord Xuancheng, Hall Master of the Martial Arts Hall True Lord Mingxin, and Hall Master of the Discipline Hall True Lord Tianxing. These three possessed immense auras and were stationed at the main peak and important halls, making them targets he needed to avoid.
His ultimate goal was the Scripture Repository located at the heart of the Inner Sect area.
There, countless ancient texts, cultivation methods, and secret records accumulated by the Taiyi Immortal Sect over the years were housed. It was the most likely place to find clues about the location of the Void Crystals or a place that possessed both extreme depth and boundless height suitable for the Kun Peng Nascent Soul Formation.
Tonight, with the moon hidden and stars scarce, it was an opportune time for action.
Lin Fan, like a wisp of green smoke, silently traversed the weak point between the Outer and Inner Sect barriers, darting quickly through the shadows of the continuous halls and pavilions of the Inner Sect. The Inner Sect's defensive formations were far more rigorous than those of the Outer Sect, but for Lin Fan, who had already discerned their operational patterns and had the assistance of his Innate Eye to observe energy flow, they posed no significant obstacle.
The Scripture Repository was an ancient nine-story pagoda, with upturned eaves and brackets, built entirely from a material called Spirit-Suppressing Stone, which could effectively block divine sense probes. The tower's body shimmered with light, countless fine runes flickering like breathing, forming a powerful composite defensive formation.
Lin Fan lurked in the shadows of an ancient tree a hundred feet from the Scripture Repository. His Innate Eye silently activated, a faint golden light swirling in his eyes. In his field of vision, the Scripture Repository's defenses transformed from an invisible barrier into a complex network composed of countless colorful energy lines. He rapidly analyzed the strength and flow of these energy lines, as well as the key nodes.
"The main entrance and regular entry points have the strongest restrictions, along with recording formations. The top floor... the energy fluctuations are the most obscure, likely where the highest secrets are stored, but the guards must also be the most vigilant," Lin Fan's mind raced. "I will infiltrate from the energy confluence point between the third and fourth floors on the side. Due to structural load-bearing and formation transitions, there is a very brief, almost imperceptible fluctuation gap here."
He locked onto his target and moved. The next moment, he appeared under the shadow of the Scripture Repository's outer wall. He held his breath, concentrating, timing the rhythm of the formation's fluctuations. At the precise moment the subtle gap appeared, he formed his fingers into a blade, a faint trace of spatial distortion power swirling around his fingertips. Like a hot knife cutting through butter, he sliced open a gap in the formation's light barrier just large enough for one person to pass through. He flashed inside, and the gap sealed behind him instantaneously, as if it had never existed.
The interior space of the Scripture Repository was far vaster than it appeared from the outside, clearly utilizing spatial expansion techniques. Rows of tall jade slips shelves were neatly arranged, housing countless jade slips, beast skin scrolls, and even some ancient bamboo slips, classified and placed accordingly. The air was filled with the unique fragrance of scrolls and spirit wood.
Lin Fan's divine sense spread out like liquid mercury, yet it was controlled within an extremely precise range to avoid causing any unnecessary fluctuations. He first excluded large areas containing basic cultivation methods, spells, miscellaneous accounts, historical records, etc., focusing his attention on shelves classified under "Secrets of Heaven and Earth," "Accounts of Strange Creatures," "Spatial Formations," and "Studies of Ancient Ruins."
His browsing speed was extremely fast. As his divine sense swept over them, the vast information within the jade slips surged into his mind, where he rapidly sifted and analyzed it. Numerous records of secret realms, dangerous places, and heavenly materials and earthly treasures in Liuyunzhou and surrounding regions flashed through his mind, but he found no direct connection to the Void Crystals or any description of an environment fitting Tongtong's requirements.
Time ticked by. Lin Fan worked efficiently and silently, like an emotionless search engine. Most areas had already been investigated, leaving only a few final sections housing obscure and damaged ancient texts.
As he approached a secluded bookshelf labeled "Fragmentary Records - Regional Studies," his heart stirred slightly. He sensed a Nascent Soul initial stage aura on the seventh floor of the Scripture Repository, in a state of deep meditation. This was likely the elder on duty guarding the Scripture Repository tonight. The elder's aura was stable, and they had not detected his infiltration.
Lin Fan became even more cautious, suppressing all sound. He reached the bookshelf. Most of the jade slips here were covered in dust, and some were even incomplete. He patiently examined them one by one.
Suddenly, his gaze fell upon a dark gray jade slip, its edges even slightly chipped. The label on the slip had long since faded, but its material gave him a feeling of great antiquity. He picked up the jade slip and immersed his divine sense into it.
The beginning was a hasty and desperate account:
"...In an unknown place deep within the Sea of No Light, lies the Abyss, devouring light and soul, where all magic is forbidden. It is the place where world fragments return to silence, and also the source of surging void energy... My companions and I, three of us, wielded our swords to explore, seeking to glimpse the secrets of the origin of space. Only one of us, severely wounded, managed to escape, our foundations utterly destroyed... I warn those who come after: do not approach the Abyss unless you possess the ability to traverse the void..."
Lin Fan's spirits lifted, and he continued reading. Most of the subsequent content described the unknown cultivator's observations around the periphery of the Abyss, detailing many bizarre spatial phenomena and dangers. At the end of the jade slip were several more cryptic passages, seemingly left in a state of semi-consciousness:
"...At the edge of the Abyss, I once saw a strange beast, resembling a giant Kun, yet possessing the wings of a Peng bird, swimming between shattered space and real seawater, consuming and exhaling void energy. It was suspected to be an ancient variant species..."
"...At the core of the Abyss, there is a wondrous sight: it connects to the Star Power of the nine heavens above and the darkness of the Nine Netherworld's return below. It seems to be a balance point where Yin and Yang intersect, but it is extremely perilous, with spatial storms raging, beyond human reach..."
"...By chance, I obtained a piece of 'Core of the Void' (small text annotation beside it: possibly 'Void Crystal'), containing pure origin of space. However, my injuries were too severe, and I was unable to refine it, nor did I know its specific use. A great regret..."
Found it!
A wave of emotion surged through Lin Fan. This fragmented jade slip not only confirmed the existence of the "Void Crystal" (referred to here as "Core of the Void") but also pointed to a specific location – the "Abyss" deep within the Chaos Sea! Moreover, according to the description, the Abyss's environment, "connecting to the Star Power of the nine heavens above and the darkness of the Nine Netherworld's return below," precisely matched what Tongtong required: the coexistence of "extreme depth" and "boundless height"! It even mentioned a beast resembling a Kun Peng!
He suppressed the excitement in his heart, indelibly imprinting all the information on the jade slip, including the hasty handwriting and vague descriptions of spatial coordinates, deep into his divine sense. Afterward, he carefully placed the jade slip back in its original position, leaving no trace.
His objective achieved, it was not wise to linger here.
Lin Fan, just as when he arrived, silently retraced his steps. He once again utilized the brief gap in the formation's fluctuations to stealthily slip out of the Scripture Repository and melt back into the deep night. Throughout this entire time, the Nascent Soul initial stage elder meditating on the seventh floor remained completely unaware that an uninvited guest had, on this night, read and figuratively burned a major secret of the sect's collection.
Returning to Courtyard No. 76 in Area C of Qingxia Peak, Lin Fan dispelled his concealment, his aura returning to that of Qi Refining level six. He gently knocked on the wall.
A moment later, Tongtong's figure, as light as a nightingale, hopped in, her face filled with anticipation. "Brother, how did it go?"
Lin Fan waved his hand and set up a soundproof barrier, his eyes flashing with sharp light. "I found it."
He detailed his findings in the Scripture Repository, especially the location and environmental characteristics of the "Abyss," the potential existence of a balance point suitable for her Nascent Soul Formation, and even information about the suspected ancestral species (Kun Peng), telling Tongtong everything.
"Deep within the Sea of No Light... the Abyss..." Tongtong murmured, her eyes bursting with bright light – a stirring and yearning originating from her bloodline. "Brother, that place... I feel... it's very, very important! We must go there!"
"Mm," Lin Fan nodded. "The Abyss is dangerous, far beyond what we've experienced before. According to the jade slip's description, one would need the ability to stably traverse dangerous voids, perhaps reaching the Divine Transformation stage, or possessing a special Space Artifact. "
He paused and continued, "Moreover, this journey requires meticulous planning. We need more precise sea charts, we need to understand the recent situation deep within the Sea of No Light, and we need to prepare sufficient resources for a long period of void travel and harsh environments. These clues might be found in the Sect's mission information or higher-level classics."
Tongtong nodded vigorously. "I'll listen to you, Brother! Anyway, we are in the sect now, so we can slowly look for this information."
The night was deep, but within the small hut, the two were filled with surging excitement due to this significant discovery. The goal of infiltrating the Taiyi Immortal Sect had been half-achieved. The next step would be to utilize the sect's resources to make thorough preparations for the journey to that mysterious and perilous "Abyss."