"Do I have to pay compensation?" Lu Yang asked nervously. The most valuable thing on his entire body was probably his brain.
"Compensation?" The senior brother glanced down at the book in his hands, then looked back at Lu Yang, his eyelid twitching violently.
According to sect rules, compensation in spirit stones was indeed required. The problem was that if word of this book leaked out, the Dragon and Phoenix Clans would join forces and slaughter their way from the Demon Domain straight to the Central Continent, storming up the Dao Seeking Sect.
Not that the Dao Seeking Sect feared the two clans—dragon liver and phoenix marrow were said to taste exquisite, nourishing both yin and yang—but they were an orthodox sect after all. Harboring a banned book like *Dragon Phoenix Transformation* in the Scripture Pavilion would ultimately tarnish their reputation.
With that in mind, the senior brother quietly slipped the book into his sleeve, wearing a nonchalant expression.
"Compensation? What book did you soil? I didn't see anything."
Destroying books inside the Scripture Pavilion was too conspicuous and would trigger the defensive formations. It was better to take it outside to dispose of it.
Lu Yang immediately grasped the scheme—the senior brother wanted to keep it for himself!
Therefore, nothing had happened just now.
The two exchanged a glance, the corners of their mouths curving upward, as though they truly understood each other.
The banned book was only a minor interlude; Lu Yang had not forgotten his purpose in visiting the Scripture Pavilion.
After searching for quite a while, he finally found the book introducing the Central Continent as he had hoped—*Treatise on Continental Geography*.
Lu Yang rubbed his hands together in excitement and began reading carefully.
"The world is inhabited by humans, demons, ghosts, and other entities. The Central Continent is the gathering ground of the human race. The largest power on the continent is the Great Xia Dynasty, the sole state on the Central Continent, which anchors human destiny and represents orthodox human rule."
"In that case, even though my home is close to the Dao Seeking Sect, it still falls within the borders of the Great Xia Dynasty."
"To the east of the continent lies a vast ocean dotted with scattered islands, where ancient demon beasts such as the kunpeng and hundun appear from time to time."
"To the west of the continent lies a golden Buddhist realm, an immeasurable pure land where temples are as numerous as grains of sand."
"To the south of the continent is the Demon Domain of the demon race, with the Dragon and Phoenix Clans ruling as its overlords. Demons are cruel and bloodthirsty. Friction between the Great Xia Dynasty and the Demon Domain never ceases, and demons lurking within the Great Xia Dynasty pose a constant menace to humanity."
"To the north of the continent lies the Far North, a land of perennial ice where not a blade of grass grows. Human traces are scarce, and other living beings rarely show themselves; only exceptionally formidable races dwell there."
"The Central Continent has the largest human population and the most cultivators. Some cultivators choose to enter the imperial court as officials, but far more choose to establish their own sects or join an existing one. Sects are scattered across the Central Continent like stars in the sky, the most powerful among them being the Five Great Immortal Sects, such as the Dao Seeking Sect, which stand as the leaders of the righteous path."
"The book also says each of the Five Great Immortal Sects must possess a Tribulation Transcendence stage mighty figure, as well as means rivaling the combat power of the Tribulation Transcendence stage... Does that mean our Sect Master is a Tribulation Transcendence expert? Or does our Dao Seeking Sect have secluded Supreme Elders who never show themselves?"
Thrilled at the prospect of being apprenticed to a Sect Master who might be a Tribulation Transcendence expert, Lu Yang felt a surge of excitement. He stood up, poured himself a cup of water, and used taking a drink to calm himself before sitting back down to continue reading.
"Demonic cultivators are utterly bloodthirsty, using the lives of living beings to advance their own cultivation, posing a threat even greater than that of the demon race. Ultimately, demonic cultivators are figures who cannot face the light of day. Hiding in shadowy corners under the joint suppression of the Great Xia Dynasty and the Five Great Immortal Sects, demonic sects only dare to act in secret, never venturing out into the open."
Aside from demonic cultivators, the book also mentioned entities called evil fiends. The description was quite vague, stating only that evil fiends were born devoid of emotion, existed as the shadow of humanity, could not be judged by normal reason, and should be avoided on sight. It sounded thoroughly esoteric, and Lu Yang could not make out what they actually were.
"Mortals use gold, silver, and copper as currency, while cultivators use high-, mid-, and low-grade spirit stones."
Next, Lu Yang began studying basic knowledge of the cultivation world, such as the criteria for each cultivation realm, what the hundred arts of cultivation included, the classifications of demon beasts, the tiers of cultivation methods, the history of the Central Continent, and so on.
The bits and pieces Lu Yang had picked up from teahouse storytellers were far from enough to secure a foothold in the cultivation world.
Faced with line after line of profound knowledge, Lu Yang became completely engrossed. He swam through the ocean of learning until evening, when the gnawing in his stomach finally reminded him that he had gone without food all day.
By this time, the disciple at the Scripture Pavilion entrance had switched from a senior brother to a senior sister.
Lu Yang asked respectfully, "Senior Sister, excuse me for disturbing you. I'm a disciple who just arrived yesterday and I'm not yet familiar with the Dao Seeking Sect. Does our sect have a dining hall?"
Startled by Lu Yang, the senior sister flinched, her eyes darting away nervously. She seemed terrified of speaking to people.
Most disciples followed the pavilion rules without needing reminders, making her timid disposition well suited for the post.
Not daring to look directly at Lu Yang, she kept her head down and said in a soft, timid voice, "So you're a new junior brother. The Dao Seeking Sect does have a dining hall, but speaking from experience, I wouldn't recommend eating there."
Lu Yang was puzzled. "Why is that? Is there something wrong with the dining hall?"
"It's on the Fifth Elder's mountain, Mount Hundred Refinements."
Lu Yang blinked. That hardly sounded like a place meant for cooking. "May I ask what Hundred Refinements Peak is for...?"
"The Fifth Elder specializes in artifact forging, so Hundred Refinements Peak is naturally dedicated to forging. The dining hall was established right on Hundred Refinements Peak, and all the cooks there are top-tier artifact refiners. Their steamed buns can punch through mountain ranges, their grains of rice serve as concealed darts, and their fried dough sticks can shatter bones of steel."
Lu Yang was so choked with retorts that he didn't even know where to begin. "...Why would cooks be artifact refiners?"
The senior sister offered a meek explanation: "Think about it, Junior Brother. What matters most to a cook is heat control, and heat control is precisely what artifact refiners excel at. The connection between the two professions is much closer than you think."
Lu Yang nodded earnestly. "It really is closer than I imagined."
Glancing at Lu Yang's plain attire, the senior sister hesitated. "Besides, buying weapons—oh, I mean eating at the dining hall—requires spirit stones. And Junior Brother, you don't look... particularly wealthy."
Even if an ordinary cultivator's robes were not elaborate, they were at least woven from common spiritual materials like celestial silkworm silk, impervious to water and fire.
Lu Yang was dressed in humble clothes, patched together with scrap cloth in countless places. One look was enough to tell he came from mortal origins.
Lu Yang offered an embarrassed smile. He truly did not possess a single spirit stone.
"There's no need to feel embarrassed. Many disciples in the Dao Seeking Sect come from mortal backgrounds, myself included," the senior sister comforted him gently.
"There are other ways to eat. Hmm... you could check out Pill Cauldron Peak. They should have discarded Fasting Pills there, and you could ask them for a few.
"Pill Cauldron Peak holds extremely high standards for medicinal pills. Even though they're called discarded, it just means the quality wasn't quite high enough. You don't have to worry about poison.
"Still, on Pill Cauldron Peak, you must watch out for the peak master, the Seventh Elder, Senior Brother Wu Ming, Senior Brother Wenda, Senior Sister Qingkong, Junior Brother Longyan... In short, just be careful around everyone."
Suppressing his bewilderment, Lu Yang cupped his hands. "I am Lu Yang. Thank you, Senior Sister. May I ask your name?"
"I am Zhou Lulu."
Chapter 9