Chapter 18: Unlocking New Uses of the Celestial Tome

Although the world of *Shrouding the Heavens* involves cultivation, it differs significantly from traditional cultivation settings. In the latter, there exists a "Hundred Arts of Cultivation," but such things are rare in the world of *Shrouding the Heavens*.

This is not because the world is backward, but because there is simply no need for them.

For instance, the reason talisman arts are prevalent in traditional cultivation is that a practitioner's spiritual energy cannot withstand large-scale consumption. A cultivator at the Qi Refining stage might be drained after casting a few fireballs.

However, the Human Secret Realm cultivation system in *Shrouding the Heavens* was created by the Heavenly Emperor Huang using the chaotic ancient method. In that method, there is a stage called the "Cave Heaven." Once a Cave Heaven is opened, the practitioner uses it to steal the fortune of heaven and earth, allowing for a continuous recovery of essence. The Life Spring stage inherits this advantage, and even surpasses it.

Because of this, cultivators in this world rarely worry about running out of divine power during combat. Rather than worrying about energy depletion, it is far more common for them to exhaust their very lifeblood. If a cultivator has drained their own lifeblood and still hasn't defeated their enemy, then no amount of talismans will be of any use.

Furthermore, most cultivators in this world are fanatics who seek the sublimation that comes from standing on the brink of life and death. Talisman arts are inherently incompatible with this world.

Aside from talismans, formation and alchemy arts are somewhat valued, but unfortunately, cultivators in this world tend to be "all-rounders." Many are capable of refining their own pills and setting up great formations. Take Elder Han of the Spirit Void Grotto-Heaven from the original story, for example; even a small fry like him possessed quite decent alchemy skills.

While the path of the "Hundred Arts of Cultivation" is technically feasible here, Li Yao’s idea of using it to accumulate vast wealth was pure fantasy.

Li Yao racked his brain, wondering how he could quickly amass a large amount of Source. As his thoughts drifted, a flash of inspiration struck, and his focus instantly locked onto the Heavenly Book. If there was anything that could help him now, he could think of nothing else.

*Swish!*

As the pages flipped, the first and second pages shone brilliantly. They were now filled with scriptures. Each passage contained nearly a thousand words, yet every word was a gem, articulating the profound mysteries of the Great Dao. The original "Sea of Bitterness" volume of the *Yaoguang Scripture* contained over ten thousand characters; while exquisite, it seemed verbose compared to an Emperor Scripture, and its explanation of the Great Dao was vastly inferior.

Li Yao did not linger on the profound scriptures. He flipped the Heavenly Book to the third page. The brilliant radiance vanished, replaced by a simple, ancient page.

Just a moment ago, Li Yao had a realization: ever since he acquired the Heavenly Book, he had always fully charged it before inscribing scriptures, causing the book to perform deductions at the highest level—the Great Emperor level.

Now, Li Yao wanted to reverse the process: inscribe the scripture first, then charge the book, letting the amount of energy determine the level of the deduction.

If this were truly feasible, he would have found a way to accumulate wealth—by selling cultivation scriptures.

What is most important on the path of cultivation? Not resources or rare treasures, but the cultivation scriptures themselves; they are the foundation of everything. The strength of a scripture often determines how far one can go.

Cultivators in the Hengyang Grotto-Heaven, for instance, only have scriptures up to the fifth level of the Dao Palace realm. They lack scriptures for the Four Extremities realm, meaning the fifth level of the Dao Palace is their absolute peak. Unless they obtain new scriptures that are compatible with their original ones, they cannot progress further.

This shows how crucial a good scripture is. If Li Yao’s hypothesis proved correct, he could mass-produce decent scriptures and sell them.

Looking at the ancient, yellowed page, Li Yao was filled with anticipation. With a thought, an invisible pen appeared, and a passage of scripture materialized on the page.

This was a divine technique called "Radiance of the Setting Sun." Its level was not exceptionally high—it was a secret art created by a powerful expert at the Great Energy level, recorded within the *Yaoguang Scripture*.

As the scripture for "Radiance of the Setting Sun" appeared on the third page, Li Yao’s heart leaped. The fact that it could be inscribed meant he had already succeeded halfway.

He took out a piece of pure Source the size of a fist, weighing about ten jin. The surging essence was extracted and absorbed by the Heavenly Book.

*Hum!*

A brilliant light erupted. The third page of the Heavenly Book began to glow. It was no longer just a small area, but the entire page.

"It worked!" Li Yao was overjoyed. He hadn't expected his hypothesis to be true.

A light of enlightenment flared. The "Radiance of the Setting Sun" scripture underwent subtle changes. Compared to the original, the new version was slightly more concise and significantly more profound.

Li Yao instantly grasped the new version. Because it had been deduced by the Heavenly Book, he didn't need to practice it; he mastered it completely right away.

The new "Radiance of the Setting Sun" was not much different from the original, though it felt slightly smoother when cast. Li Yao didn't find this strange; after all, he had only spent ten jin of Source. He felt no disappointment; on the contrary, he was ecstatic.

His hypothesis was correct. He had found his path to wealth—a path no one else could replicate, as he was the only one with such conditions.

With the method in hand, the next issue was the scriptures themselves.

"That's simple. The Yaoguang Sacred Land has dominated this land for hundreds of thousands of years. It has countless scriptures. I can just find one that’s been gathering dust in a corner."

Li Yao stood up. Since joining the Yaoguang Sacred Land, this was the first time he had left his living quarters.

He lived on a mountain peak. It wasn't tall—only a few hundred zhang. There were thousands of such peaks on the Rising Sun Divine Island, and his was unremarkable.

...

Rising Sun Divine Island, Library.

Li Yao arrived before the library. After presenting his elite disciple token, he entered without issue.

There were no restrictions for elite disciples entering the library. They were already practicing the highest art of the Yaoguang Sacred Land, the *Yaoguang Scripture*, and no scripture in the library could surpass it. As the primary focus of the Sacred Land's cultivation, the only requirement for elite disciples was to cultivate diligently; the Sacred Land did not expect anything in return from them in the early stages.

Of course, it was different for ordinary disciples. To enter the library and select scriptures or divine techniques, they had to make specific contributions.

The library did not look particularly large from the outside—only about a hundred zhang high—but inside, it was a different world.

The interior was dim, like the night sky, but this darkness was dotted with countless stars, colorful and magnificent.

"Is every star a scripture or a divine technique?!" Li Yao was stunned. Before his eyes, there were thousands, perhaps tens of thousands of stars, a dizzying sight.