Chapter 19: Cataloging the Scriptures

Thousands of stars adorned the night sky. The higher one ascended, the brighter their radiance became. A divine rainbow erupted from within Li Yao’s body, lifting him aloft as he soared toward the heavens.

In the blink of an eye, he reached the first belt of stars. Simultaneously, an unimaginable gravity bore down upon him. Li Yao stumbled, nearly crushed to the ground by the sheer force.

"Hmph!"

With a surge of divine power, Li Yao’s black hair danced wildly. His body began to glow with unparalleled brilliance, his vigorous vital energy surging forth like a mighty river, stabilizing his stance and preventing him from being forced down.

"It seems there are limitations after all; for now, I can only access the scriptures of the first layer." Li Yao felt a flicker of disappointment.

However, he did not dwell on it, instead turning his gaze to the surrounding stars.

"Green Wood Art, a Dao Palace-level technique, created by the founding master of the Green Wood Cave Heaven in the State of Qi..."

As Li Yao focused on a star, information about it instantly flooded his mind.

"Blazing Sun Art, a Dao Palace-level technique, created by the founding master of the Blazing Sun Cave Heaven in the State of Chu..."

A glance across the expanse revealed that the first layer was filled with countless Dao Palace-level techniques, as vast as the smoke and clouds of the sea.

*Rustle, rustle!*

The pages of the Heavenly Book turned, and scripture after scripture was transcribed onto them. It was only after a hundred entries that the process ceased.

This was not because the Heavenly Book was full; in fact, although it existed in the form of a book, it was infinite, and one could never reach the end no matter how far one flipped. Li Yao stopped at one hundred because it was sufficient. Even if he were to continue this business in the future, he would not use Dao Palace-level techniques, but rather move on to more advanced ones.

Once the recording was complete, he returned to his small courtyard. Upon entering his room, he eagerly took out one hundred jin of pure Source and began to deduce the Green Wood Art.

The light of enlightenment flickered, and soon, a new scripture appeared in Li Yao’s mind.

"Green Wood Art, Four Extremities Realm-level technique..."

This was a new scripture. Through the deduction of the Heavenly Book, a technique originally at the Dao Palace stage had been elevated to the Four Extremities stage, all for the cost of only one hundred jin of pure Source.

The profound meaning of the new technique did not differ greatly from the original; it was simply more arcane, involving more gates of potential, and included the scriptures for the Four Extremities realm.

Li Yao contemplated the scripture for a moment. Originally, he had felt nothing for such low-level techniques, but after fully comprehending the Green Wood Art, he discovered hidden gems within it. Though few, they provided him with inspiration; they were far from useless.

The path of cultivation is one of analyzing and comprehending the Great Dao. No Great Emperor in the world of Shrouding the Heavens was narrow-minded; they had all read extensively, absorbing the strengths of others to nourish themselves.

"My path has long been determined: to nurture a hundred scriptures within my furnace, to comprehend the myriad Daos of the world, and to eventually smelt them into one, refining myself into a Chaos Body. That is why I chose a furnace as my weapon for attaining the Dao," Li Yao mused to himself.

The Green Wood Art had provided him with a realization. He had always focused solely on Imperial Scriptures, neglecting the importance of his foundation. These basic techniques were incomparable to Imperial Scriptures—the gap between them was wider than a heavenly chasm—but one could not deny that even these low-level scriptures had their merits. If he could master them all, the harvest would be substantial.

If one could comprehend ten thousand Dao Palace-level scriptures, would creating a Four Extremities-level technique still be difficult?

"I only wanted to find a way to make money during the transition, yet I never expected such an unexpected gain," Li Yao thought with pleasant surprise.

At this moment, he felt his understanding of the Dao had deepened slightly, though it remained nebulous, lacking a qualitative leap. It was like learning something new—he felt he had progressed, yet it felt like an illusion.

"It is no illusion; it is simply because the effect of one scripture is not obvious. If this number increases, there will surely be a qualitative leap," Li Yao realized.

Calming his mind, Li Yao stopped contemplating the Green Wood Art and submerged his consciousness into his Bitter Sea, beginning to forge his vessel.

...

As the moon set and the sun rose, the next day arrived. As sunlight spilled over the mountain peaks, Zhang Chong appeared. Li Yao had been waiting outside his courtyard and hurried to greet him.

"Grand Elder Zhang, I apologize for the trouble." His attitude remained humble, showing no signs of arrogance despite his talent.

"A small matter. Is there anything you need to prepare? If not, let us depart," Zhang Chong said with a wave.

"This disciple only wishes to witness the world; I have nothing to prepare."

Li Yao smiled gently; despite his youth, his face already possessed an extraordinary and handsome air. Yet, while Li Yao remained calm on the surface, he was inwardly thrilled. As long as he played his cards right during this trip to the Holy City, the resources needed for the Divine Bridge and Other Shore stages would no longer be an issue.

"Very well, let us go." Zhang Chong nodded and soared into the sky. Seeing this, Li Yao’s Bitter Sea surged, and a brilliant divine light erupted from his body, enveloping him as he shot into the sky to keep pace.

Zhang Chong’s speed was not fast, clearly waiting for Li Yao, but soon he sensed something amiss.

Although Li Yao was only in the Life Spring realm, his foundation was astonishing. He had opened all the potential gates of the Bitter Sea realm. After breaking through to the Life Spring, his divine power was enough to rival a cultivator at the Divine Bridge realm. Later, after practicing the Life Spring scriptures of the Yaoguang Imperial Scripture, his power had become even more refined and formidable.

Thus, the speed at which Li Yao rode his divine rainbow was like lightning, faster than many who had just broken into the Divine Bridge realm.

Zhang Chong was startled, sensing the terrifying divine power within Li Yao—a level of refinement and strength that no Life Spring cultivator should possess. The Yaoguang Scripture, deduced by the Heavenly Book, was incredibly profound; when Li Yao’s power was restrained, it was like a calm lake, but once activated, it was like thunder and lightning, a violent storm.

Zhang Chong had never carefully probed Li Yao’s aura before, so he was naturally stunned.

"Only in the Life Spring realm, yet possessing such terrifying power. It seems that although Li Yao is of common origin, his talent is in no way inferior to a Divine Body."

Zhang Chong sighed inwardly, thinking, "I have heard that the Ji family of the Desolate Ancient aristocratic families has also produced a Divine Body. Perhaps the two will clash in the future."

Even though he had long known of Li Yao’s formidable talent, Zhang Chong’s perspective on him changed with every passing encounter.