Chapter 2013: Elder's Library

"You..." Zhang Xuan was astonished by the gourd's ferocity. With a single gulp, it had swallowed a peak Immortal Monarch-level longsword. Infuriated, he rushed forward, grabbing an axe and hacking at it fiercely. "Spit it out!" he demanded.

That sword was his ultimate life-saving item; if it were truly swallowed, the loss would be immeasurable! As for the gourd itself, it was utterly unreliable, completely useless!

"Just a broken sword, acting all arrogant and mighty," the gourd mumbled, twisting. "It's better if I just eat it..."

"Spit it out now, or I swear, you'll never get another bite of food from me again!" Zhang Xuan was fuming, almost ready to explode.

What kind of thing was this? All it ever thought about was eating!

Despite his annoyance, a deep shock settled within him. He had always dismissed the gourd as highly unreliable, believing its only real use was for its bathwater's healing properties. He never imagined it could swallow an Immortal Monarch-level weapon whole! Didn't that imply... it was a weapon even more powerful than those of the Immortal Monarch realm?

Seeing its master's unwavering resolve, the gourd hesitated. With a reluctant sway, it spat out the Wutong Robe Sword. It had no choice; what its master would provide in the future would surely outweigh the benefit of consuming a single sword. It understood how to weigh its options. The True Qi alone, which facilitated its rapid recovery, was far more valuable than any sword.

"Who... are you?" The Wutong Robe Sword, now expelled, was utterly terrified. A dignified, peak Immortal Monarch-level longsword, a renowned weapon throughout the world, had been swallowed by... a gourd! The very thought sent shivers down its blade.

"If you don't acknowledge your master, believe it or not, I'll eat you again and then excrete you as a pile of shit..." The gourd grumbled.

"I..." The sword trembled for a moment, then suddenly puffed itself up with righteousness. "The moment I first saw Master, I knew he was extraordinary and immediately wanted to acknowledge him. My earlier actions were merely a test!"

"..." Zhang Xuan slapped a hand to his forehead. He couldn't believe an Immortal Monarch-level weapon could be so shameless!

Soon, the sword acknowledged him as its master, and feeling it completely under his control, Zhang Xuan blinked. It seemed... the gourd wasn't entirely useless; it had its moments of utility after all! While he knew he could eventually refine the Wutong Robe Sword based on the flaws revealed by the Library of Heaven's Path, it certainly wouldn't have been this swift or easy.

"An Immortal Monarch-level sword is still too powerful; even with the Sword Intent of the Gods, I can't wield it normally..." After refining the longsword, he finally grasped just how formidable the Wutong Robe Sword was. No wonder it had been reluctant to acknowledge him as its master. His Half-Immortal realm strength was barely stronger than an ant in its presence. With his current power, he couldn't even unleash one percent of its true might. Even so, if he used this sword unexpectedly, he could potentially slay an Immortal Monarch expert! This meant it was virtually impossible for anyone below the Immortal Monarch realm to kill him; even Immortal Monarch experts didn't need to be overly feared. He truly possessed the means to protect his life now.

"Store!" With a mental command, the sword vanished into his storage ring.

"You did well this time. I'll buy you some more pills as a reward!" He looked at the gourd with satisfaction. Without its help, he couldn't have refined the sword so quickly; it had indeed played a crucial role. After placating the gourd with a few words, he stored it back in his Dantian and stepped out of the room.

Knowing that Luo Ruoxi might be a deity, Zhang Xuan felt an even greater sense of urgency; he had to raise his cultivation as quickly as possible. It had been over an hour since he broke through to the peak Half-Immortal realm—a significant amount of time. He needed to find more books to read and strive for a faster breakthrough! Once he reached the True Immortal realm, with the purity of the Heaven's Path True Qi, the Sword Intent of the Gods, and the Wutong Robe Sword, he would be capable of challenging even an Immortal Monarch.

Leaving his courtyard, he borrowed a flying sacred beast from Bai Ruanqing and soared towards the mountain peak where the elders resided. Most of the books in the inner disciple library catered to cultivators below the Half-Immortal realm, while the core disciples' library primarily contained techniques for those below the True Immortal realm. To access cultivation methods for the True Immortal or even Immortal Monarch realms, one had to visit the elders' private library.

Upon arrival, he presented the identity token Han Jianqiu had given him and gained smooth entry. The Elder's Library was not as grand as the Core Disciple's; it was merely a small two-story pavilion, sparsely furnished with only a few bookshelves. Frowning, Zhang Xuan surveyed the interior.

Sure enough, cultivation techniques for the True Immortal realm were present, though not in large numbers. He swiftly absorbed them into the Library of Heaven's Path.

"Only a little over six hundred books?" Zhang Xuan paused. The Elder's Library contained just over six hundred True Immortal realm cultivation techniques, far short of the thousand he needed.

He ascended to the second floor. Here were cultivation techniques for Immortal Monarchs, but their number was even smaller—only a dozen or so.

"This..." Zhang Xuan was troubled. Others could simply pick one cultivation technique and diligently study it, but he required a greater volume of books to refine them into a complete Heaven's Path cultivation art before he could progress. Truth be told, finding over six hundred True Immortal realm cultivation techniques was an immense feat; outside of major sects like the Soaring Cloud Sword Pavilion, it would be utterly impossible. The quantity was already vast, but for him, it was still woefully insufficient!

"Correct!" With a mental command, the True Immortal realm cultivation techniques merged into a single secret manual. Opening it, Zhang Xuan shook his head. Just as he suspected, there were still too many flaws—seven in all! While a cultivation technique with only seven imperfections would be considered a peerless secret manual to others, it was still unviable for his practice.

"It looks like I still need to find more secret manuals..." He rubbed his temples. To eliminate all seven flaws, he would likely need at least three or four hundred more True Immortal realm cultivation techniques. The cost of purchasing such advanced techniques would be astronomical, and the meager amount of Sword Pavilion coins he had just earned would certainly not suffice.

After circling a few more times and absorbing every book in the library into his mind, he confirmed that he still couldn't form a Heaven's Path cultivation technique. Zhang Xuan reluctantly exited the building.

As he flew back, he pondered. A True Immortal, even within the Soaring Cloud Sword Pavilion, was powerful enough to be an inner elder, and few among the core disciples reached this level. In fact, throughout the entire continent, a True Immortal was considered a formidable power. On the Master Teacher Continent, they would be comparable to a Great Sage. At such an advanced level, it was normal for cultivation techniques to be scarce; the fact that he found over six hundred was a testament to the Soaring Cloud Sword Pavilion's might. However, if he couldn't gather enough, he couldn't cultivate. Forcing him to practice a technique with seven flaws would be worse than killing him!

"The token Master Kong gave me allows for the free purchase of advancement pills... I wonder if it can be used for cultivation techniques too!" A thought suddenly struck him. According to Sect Leader Han Jianqiu, Master Kong's token allowed unlimited purchasing power for advancement pills. If that were the case, could it extend to True Immortal realm cultivation techniques? He hadn't been able to afford them before, but with this item, he could buy them without a second thought!

At this realization, his eyes lit up, but a moment later, a wry smile spread across his face: "I'll need to leave the Soaring Cloud Sword Pavilion first..." The token couldn't be used within the pavilion; to activate its true power, he had to go to a Transcendent God Hall located outside.

"I'll go ask first..." Returning to his courtyard, he saw Bai Ruanqing still present. Zhang Xuan approached her. "Excuse me... do you know which direction the nearest town to the Sword Pavilion lies? And does it have a Transcendent God Hall?"

"You want to leave?" Bai Ruanqing was taken aback.

"I'm considering it..." Zhang Xuan admitted.

"The closest town to the Sword Pavilion is Wuhai City," Bai Ruanqing replied. "It's about three thousand *li* away, named for its proximity to the Dark Sea. It's a large, first-rate city, and yes, it has a Transcendent God Hall!"

"Not too far..." Zhang Xuan breathed a sigh of relief. Three thousand *li* was a distance a flying sacred beast could cover in just over an hour, making it quite close.

"It's not far, but... the Sword Pavilion doesn't permit disciples to leave freely," Bai Ruanqing explained. "If you truly wish to go out, it could take a great deal of effort, possibly even requiring deliberation by the Elder Hall. It's not something that can be arranged in just a few days!"

"A few days?" Zhang Xuan frowned. That much time would certainly be troublesome. "If it's such a hassle for disciples to leave, what about elders? Can they depart at will?"

"No, they can't either. Elders are not permitted to leave the sect freely unless there's a special reason," Bai Ruanqing explained. "Unless..." Her grandfather, Elder Bai Ye, was one of the three grand elders, so she was well-versed in the sect's regulations.

"Unless what?"

"Unless they're leaving for a mission!" Bai Ruanqing replied. "In that case, both elders and disciples can depart easily without any difficulties."

"A mission?"

"Whether inner or core disciples, if they need Sword Pavilion coins, they go to the Mission Hall to claim a mission," Bai Ruanqing explained. "Once they have a mission token, they can leave the sect at any time without restriction!"

Zhang Xuan finally understood. He had heard about earning money through missions before, but dismissed it as too slow a method.

"Uncle-Master, if you truly wish to leave, I can go claim a mission, and then we can travel to Wuhai City together!" Bai Ruanqing offered with a smile. She had long desired to venture beyond the sect's gates, but her grandfather had always disallowed it. While she had accepted many missions that permitted her to leave, she had never ventured far. This time, if she went with her Uncle-Master, she was certain her grandfather wouldn't object. Wuhai City was the most prosperous city near the Soaring Cloud Sword Pavilion, and she had long heard its renown and yearned to visit.

"Then go claim the mission. We'll go and see together..." Zhang Xuan nodded in agreement. It would be inconvenient for him to claim a mission under his own identity, so Bai Ruanqing's offer neatly solved that issue.

"Let's go!" Seeing his assent, Bai Ruanqing sprang onto the sacred beast's back, and the two flew directly towards the Mission Hall. The Mission Hall was the Soaring Cloud Sword Pavilion's designated area for assigning missions, which were categorized by difficulty and corresponding Sword Pavilion coin rewards.

Arriving there, they searched for a while and discovered numerous missions for Wuhai City. Missions from Wuhai City were generally more challenging, but the rewards they offered were equally enticing.

"Wuhai City, Wuhai Commerce Guild, Appraisal Mission, worth thirty Sword Pavilion coins! This one will do..." After a brief selection, Zhang Xuan smiled faintly. Other missions demanded significant time and effort, but this appraisal task seemed straightforward, allowing him to complete it without delaying his visit to the Transcendent God Hall.