Chapter 12

For three whole days, Yue Yuan stayed at the Quanzhen Sect on Zhongnan Mountain.

During this time, Yue Yuan almost never left the Quanzhen Sect, not even venturing to the forbidden area at the back of the mountain. After all, the ancient tomb in the forbidden area was now sealed and could no longer be entered. Even if Yue Yuan went there now, he would only see the exterior of the tomb.

Moreover, during this period, Yue Yuan had other things to do. Going to the forbidden area of the Quanzhen Sect for no reason would only invite trouble.

Since it was unnecessary, Yue Yuan had no intention of going to the back mountain.

So, what did Yue Yuan do during these three days at the Quanzhen Sect?

Nothing else!

He read the Daoist scriptures!

Every famous sect has its own heritage, and this is especially true for the Daoist and Buddhist sects.

In the Buddhist world, there are those who travel west to obtain scriptures, leaving behind countless works by high monks. Similarly, in the Daoist world, although no one travels west, the indigenous sects have produced countless works. The Daoist scriptures are not martial arts manuals but rather the spiritual and ideological foundations of their beliefs.

Yue Yuan, under the identity of a Pure Yang disciple, came to the Zhongnan Quanzhen Sect with the purpose of reading all the Daoist scriptures.

At Shaolin, it is said that you can donate some incense money to copy the scriptures. However, in the Daoist world, and given Yue Yuan's current virtual identity, he could not do so. As a trade-off, Yue Yuan had to offer something in exchange.

And Yue Yuan did offer something in return.

This allowed Yue Yuan to stay comfortably at the Quanzhen Sect without anyone exposing his false identity. Additionally, Yue Yuan was treated as a distinguished guest of the Quanzhen Sect. During the three days, three of the Seven Quanzhen who were nearby returned to see him, even though some were unable to return due to being away.

After Yue Yuan provided the appropriate items for exchange, he was treated very well at the Quanzhen Sect, with food and clothing provided for him. The only disappointment was that the people responsible for his daily needs were male Daoists, not charming maids.

With the help of those who assisted in the copying, it took Yue Yuan more than two days to copy the Daoist scriptures he needed.

After completing the copying of the scriptures he needed, Yue Yuan bid farewell to the Seven Quanzhen and Yin Zhiping, then rode the small donkey given by the Quanzhen Sect, carrying his bag and sword, and leisurely descended the mountain.

"This nephew Yue is indeed impressive!"

On the mountain, Ma Yu, the leader of the sect, watched as Yue Yuan's figure disappeared at the mountain gate. He turned to Sun Budan, Wang Chuyi, and Hao Datong, who were standing beside him, and sighed, "This exchange with the Pure Yang Sect will greatly benefit our Quanzhen Sect!"

"Hmm, indeed!"

"Yes!"

The other three nodded in agreement, fully endorsing their leader's words. Among them, Hao Datong was particularly interested in Huashan, where the Pure Yang Sect was located, and thought about visiting it when he had the time.

After Yue Yuan's figure completely disappeared from their sight, the four of them turned and left, entering the Chongyang Hall to continue studying the Daoist scriptures provided by Yue Yuan.

...

Going up the mountain is difficult, but going down is also challenging.

Climbing the mountain initially took Yue Yuan a lot of time, but this time, riding the donkey given by the Quanzhen Sect made the descent much more comfortable. He chose not to ride a horse because he had only ridden one once in his urban life. Riding a horse now... aside from whether he could ride, even if he could, it would likely cause discomfort to his thighs.

Otherwise, a single ride might leave him unable to walk, which would be quite troublesome.

"I have a little donkey, I never ride it..."

Humming an old children's song, Yue Yuan smiled, satisfied with the outcome of his visit to the Quanzhen Sect. He patted the bag on his back, which was filled with the newly copied Daoist scriptures, feeling much lighter.

These things were one of his trump cards for self-preservation in this martial arts world—well, to be precise, they were the appropriate compensation.

Half an hour later.

Yue Yuan had already ridden the donkey to the middle of Zhongnan Mountain. Along the way, he looked around and, seeing no one else, found a small path in the forest and walked in. He did not ride the donkey but led it into the forest.

After a while.

It took him a considerable amount of time to find a relatively secluded spot and stop.

First, he cleared all the weeds around him, creating a large open space. Then, he took off the bag on his back, opened it, and dumped all the books on the ground.

After stacking them neatly, Yue Yuan took out a lighter from his pocket, picked up one of the Daoist scriptures, which could be considered an artifact to modern people, and lit it.

He then placed the burning book in the center and carefully covered it with the other scriptures. Soon, the area was filled with smoke as all the books caught fire.

The donkey, though slightly affected by the firelight, was not greatly disturbed. It only brayed twice and continued to graze on the grass.

Yue Yuan stood beside the burning pile of books, his gaze fixed on the rising smoke.

The smoke rose steadily, unaffected by the surrounding breeze, forming a column that seemed to reach the sky.

Watching the smoke, Yue Yuan squinted his eyes.

There!

He then closed his eyes, exhaled deeply, and inhaled sharply as if smoking. The smoke column, which had been unaffected by the breeze, bent downward as if drawn by something, and all of it entered Yue Yuan's nostrils as he inhaled.

After a deep inhalation, the smoke was completely absorbed, and the flames extinguished, leaving only a patch of white ash on the ground.

Ha—

After inhaling all the smoke, Yue Yuan exhaled forcefully, and a white circle of smoke dissipated into the air.

It looked like someone who had a sudden craving for a good cigarette.

Enjoyable!

"Done!"

Yue Yuan then extended his right hand, stepped into a specific stance, and muttered, "The payment has been made!" At the same time, he visualized and recalled the impressions in his subconscious.

Zhang Sanfeng, the Daoist master...

Shi Zhexuan, the fusion of Buddhism and demon...

Ximen ChuiXue, the sword master from the West...

Ye Guocheng, the Flying Immortal from the Heavens...

And countless other images of masters and experts he had seen flashed through Yue Yuan's mind, like a slot machine. Unlike a slot machine, where winning depends on chance, Yue Yuan's success rate was 100%, and he could not choose but only receive randomly.

Suddenly, the image in his mind stopped and settled on a portrait. The man in the portrait was handsome and elegant, his right index finger gently touching his nose, with a smile that was both present and absent.

"Hmm?"

Opening his eyes, Yue Yuan was somewhat surprised and exclaimed, "Why him?"

Never mind!

He is who he is, and he is better than Tian Boguang and Yun Zhonghe. His abilities are strong, even if his habits are a bit peculiar.

Shaking his head, Yue Yuan was satisfied with his visualization and this was his means of self-preservation in this martial arts world.

After everything was done, Yue Yuan turned and continued his journey down the mountain on his donkey, ready to officially begin his journey in the world of "The Return of the Condor Heroes."