Talisman Emperor

The Scripture Reserve.

This was the first time Chen Xi had stepped foot into it, and ancient and grand buildings were everywhere the eye could see.

These buildings stood towering on the mountain while some stood above lakes, and there were even some that floated above the clouds, causing it to be a rather magnificent scene.

Moreover, as soon as he entered this place, he was able to clearly sense layer upon layer of restrictions distributed throughout the heavens and the earth, and even with Chen Xi’s knowledge in the Dao of Talismans, he still smelled a trace of extreme danger from these restrictions.

He didn’t doubt in the slightest that if he were to dare move about arbitrarily here, then he would probably be blasted into bits in an instant.

“Hey, that young man over there. Right, I’m talking to you. Do you need Lord Book Demon to show you the right path? It isn’t expensive at all, you only have to pay 1,000 Starpoints. I can help you find the books you need the most.” Suddenly, space shook before a 1m tall midget floated into appeared. He had snow white hair, eyes that were bright and deep, a bearing that was rather scholarly, and a smile on his lips.

A Book Demon!

Chen Xi was clearly aware that some books within the Scripture Reserve contained supreme profundities of the Dao and received the purification of Immortal Energy all day and night, causing some spirits to be born after a long period of time, and these spirits were called Book Demons.

The combat strength of these Book Demons can’t be considered to be formidable at all, but their knowledge was immense. Most of the books stored within the Scripture Reserve were organized and maintained by these Book Demons.

“Senior.” Chen Xi cupped his hands.

He was clearly aware that Book Demons existed for a rather long period of time. Some were Book Demons that had been born during the primeval times, and it was even to the extent that the instructors of the academy addressed them respectfully as senior and didn’t dare be disrespectful in the slightest.

“Oh, looks like it’s your first time to the Scripture Reserve, and you don’t know me. I’m Benji, and I’ve existed for 367,321 years, so called me a senior isn’t wrong at all.” The 1m tall midget spoke in a confident and composed manner, and he was obviously pleased with Chen Xi’s modest attitude.

“Let me guess, you’re at the advanced-stage of the Mysterious Immortal Realm, and you’re probably a student of the outer court, whereas the inner court exam is in another year. Thus, you definitely came to the Scripture Reserve to look for a method to charge into the Golden Immortal Realm.”

“Even though our Dao Emperor Academy’s Scripture Reserve is said to contain the scriptures of the three dimensions and naturally doesn’t lack books related to charging into the Golden Immortal Realm, if you were to go look for them yourself, you’d probably be unable to succeed even after a year.”

When he spoke up to here, Benji pointed towards the row upon row of ancient buildings in the distance and said, “Look those buildings are all Scripture Pavilions, and every single one of them stores at least 10,000 plus books while some even store over a million. It can be said to be vast like an ocean of stars. If you don’t have any guidance, then merely looking through those books will exhaust a great deal of your time.”

Benji talked endlessly about all sorts of things while Chen Xi’s answer was much simpler and direct instead. He withdrew the Violet Ribbon Starcrest and passed it over. “Please guide me, Senior.”

Sure enough, Benji revealed an expression that seemed as if he felt Chen Xi was promising and worthy of guidance, and with a flick of his finger, a buzz sounded out before 1,000 Starpoints had been deducted from Chen Xi’s Violet Ribbon Starcrest.

“Go on, little fellow. The third floor of the 37th Scripture Pavilion contains books related to the Golden Immortal Realm. But I have to warn you that the books there contain the experiences summarized by countless people of the past, and you still have to comprehend the true technique yourself.” Benji grinned as he explained.

“Thank you, Senior.” Chen Xi cupped his hands before he flew off.

“This little fellow isn’t bad. No wonder that kid Hua Jiankong passed Starclasp down to him…” As he watched Chen Xi leave, Benji muttered before instantly vanishing on the spot. 

    …

Within a pitch black and ancient hall in the Scripture Reserve.

Swoosh!Benji floated into appearance. His 1m tall figure seemed extremely tiny in this extremely spacious and grand hall, but he seemed to not mind all of this.

However, at this moment, his expressions carried a trace of reverence.

“How was it?” Suddenly, an ancient and indifferent voice that was filled with supreme dignity resounded within the spacious hall.

“His fate is concealed by the secrets of the heavens, and I’m unable to see through it.” Benji frowned and pondered deeply before he said, “You ought to be aware that I’m a spirit formed from the ‘Dao Is Silent Scripture’ that the Dao Emperor wrote himself, so I’m capable of seeing through the fate and Karmic Luck of numerous living beings. But a situation like what I encountered with this little fellow is extremely rare.”

“Did you deduce the reason for it?” The ancient and dignified voice was silent for a long time before it resounded once again.

“There are many reasons, but I feel that the biggest possibility is that an extraordinarily great figure utilized the might of the secrets of the heavens to conceal his fate.” Benji’s frown grew deeper as he said, “Of course, it’s also possible that he possesses an unknown and mysterious precious treasure that concealed his fate. But this sort of situation is extremely unlikely. At the very least, since the primeval times until now, only a small group of people were able to possess such a precious treasure.”

“The truth behind fate comes from the movement of the Heaven Dao. There aren’t many in the entire three dimensions that are able to utilize the might of the secrets of the heavens. If you say this, then wouldn’t there be an existence on par with the Dean standing behind that young man?” The ancient and dignified voice was slightly low and heavy, and it seemed to have fallen into an unfathomable sort of feeling.

“Perhaps it was the Dean himself that did it. You ought to be clearly aware that Starclasp is in that young man’s possession now.” Benji spoke abruptly.

The hall turned deathly silent as soon as these words were spoken.

After a long time, when he saw that the ancient and dignified voice didn’t speak for so long, Benji couldn’t refrain himself and said, “In my opinion, it’s truly unwise for the juniors of your clan to go against that young man. Even if you want to make that young man a whetstone to sharpen the juniors of your clan, the disadvantages will probably outweigh the benefits.”

“A whetstone?” Sure enough, the ancient and dignified voice resounded once more when he heard Benji, and it carried an indescribably complicated feeling as he sighed. “His fate is concealed, and he has obtained the Starclasp Immortal Sword. How could that young man possibly be a whetstone?”

When he spoke up to here, he changed the topic. “Since it was created until now, my Dragon Dimension’s greatest enemy has always been itself because being unable to break through the shackles of one’s own self will make it impossible for one to attain great achievements. If that young man is able to enter the inner court a year from now…”

Benji suddenly raised his head and waited silently for the voice to continue.

“Nevermind, I’ll decide when the time comes.” In the end, the ancient and dignified voice didn’t give a clear answer, and this caused Benji to be unable to avoid from feeling disappointed. He cupped his hands before he turned around and left.

    …

There were many Scripture Pavilions within the Scripture Reserve. They formed a dense mass that seemed like trees standing in a forest, and even with the guidance of the Book Demon Benji, Chen Xi still spent a great deal of time before he found the 37th Scripture Pavilion.

It was a black clothed old man that was looking after this pavilion, and he said frankly upon noticing Chen Xi, “Reading a single book on the first floor requires 3,000 Starpoints, the second floor requires 5,000 Starpoints, the third floor requires 8,000 Starpoints. Which floor do you intend to go to?”

The corners of Chen Xi’s mouth twitched imperceptibly. He really hadn’t expected that the books on the third floor would require 8,000 Starpoints each.

Fortunately, his clone had been accepting and completing assignments in the Dao of Talismans all day and night in the past year. The amount of assignments completed each day varied, but he’d earned a great deal of Starpoints after a year of accumulation. Coupled with the Starpoints he earned at the Dao Development Reserve that day, he possessed over seven million Starpoints, and it could be considered as a great amount of wealth.

“Thank you for your guidance, Senior. I intend to head to the third floor.” Chen Xi cupped his hands.

“Go on. The academy will automatically deduct your Starpoints when you read a book. So, you better not read them carelessly so as to avoid losing all your Starpoints before you know it.” The old man waved his hand before allowing Chen Xi to enter the pavilion. 

    …

The Scripture Pavilion had a world of its own within it. Every single floor was comparable to a small city while bookshelves stood like trees in a forest within it, and they were filled with a dazzling array of jade slips, beast skins, silk, books…

As soon as he entered here, it was like he’d entered an ocean of books, and it was shocking.

If I’d been reading the books here since I was born, then I would probably not need so many years to advance to my current cultivation realm, right?

This is the difference in resources. All along my path of cultivation, I had to work hard and strive to obtain anything I needed, whereas the disciples of those great powers arrived at the Immortal Dimension as soon as they were born. Moreover, since they were young, they had countless medicinal pills and herbs to consume, the guidance of numerous seniors, and innumerable books and scriptures to read. It was impossible for their cultivation to be slow…

However, every single person has their own path. Cultivation is never something that’s only on paper. Even though I lack a great deal of resources, those disciples can’t compare with the experience and tempering I received during my path.

As he swept the dense array of various books and scriptures with his gaze, Chen Xi sighed greatly in his heart, but he quickly restrained his thoughts and walked directly towards the third floor.

There were numerous books stored on the third floor as well.

When Chen Xi arrived here, he noticed to his slight surprise that many students of the outer court were here. It was mostly senior students, yet there was no lack of new students.

It was even to the extent that Chen Xi saw Zhongli Xun, Moqi Yan, Xuanyuan Yun, and the others were all before the bookshelves, and they were silently reading the books from it.

Looks like all of them have stopped before the threshold of the Golden Immortal Realm just like me, whereas, Zhongli Xun and the others probably intend to strive to participate in the inner court exam one year from now… Chen Xi seemed to be lost in thought.

“Chen Xi?” 

“What’re you doing here?”

“Eh, he’s the leader of the Star Alliance, Chen Xi?”

Chen Xi’s arrival drew the attention of many people, and it caused an uproar. In next to no time, the students that were originally comprehending the books had raised their heads successively to look at Chen Xi, and they revealed varied expressions.

Chen Xi was stunned. The leader of the Star Alliance?

He hadn’t expected that he would gain another method of address after only a year — the leader of the Star Alliance.

“Hmph! The Star Alliance? It only possesses a little over ten members until now. It’s fine if it’s just for fun, but it’s simply a piece of trash when compared with the other student societies.” Someone grunted coldly, and it seemed to be extremely sudden.

Chen Xi frowned as he looked over. Sure enough, he saw a familiar face, Zuoqiu Yin. At this moment, Zuoqiu Yin was standing before a bookshelf while sneering with disdain at Chen Xi.