Chapter 9

"Should I pay for it?" Lu Yang asked nervously, the most valuable thing he had on him was probably his brain.

"Pay for it?" The senior brother glanced at the book in his hand, then at Lu Yang, his eyes twitching fiercely.

According to the rules, compensation with spirit stones was indeed required, but the problem was that if this book were to be leaked, the Dragon and Phoenix Clans would join forces to attack from the Demon Realm all the way to the Central Continent, and even the Dao Inquiry Sect.

Although the Dao Inquiry Sect was not afraid of the Dragon and Phoenix Clans—dragon liver and phoenix marrow were delicious and nourishing—after all, they were a prestigious sect. Having a banned book like *Dragon and Phoenix Transformation* in the scripture hall would tarnish their reputation.

Thinking of this, the senior brother silently hid the book in his sleeve, maintaining a calm expression.

"Pay for it? What book did you dirty? I didn't see anything."

Destroying books in the scripture hall would be too conspicuous and trigger the array, so it was better to take them outside to destroy.

Lu Yang instantly understood the situation—the senior brother wanted to keep the book privately.

So, nothing had happened just now.

The two exchanged a glance, their lips curling as if they truly understood each other.

The banned book was a minor episode; Lu Yang had not forgotten his purpose for coming to the scripture hall.

He searched for a long time and finally found the book he was looking for, *Continental Geomancy*.

Lu Yang rubbed his hands excitedly and read carefully.

"The world is inhabited by humans, demons, ghosts, and more. The Central Continent is the gathering place of humans, and the largest power is the Great Xia Dynasty, the only country on the Central Continent, which suppresses the human aura and represents the human orthodoxy."

"According to this, although my home is close to the Dao Inquiry Sect, it still belongs to the Great Xia Dynasty."

"To the east of the continent is a vast ocean dotted with scattered islands, where ancient demon beasts like the Kunpeng and the Chaos occasionally appear."

"To the west is the Golden Buddha Kingdom, a land of boundless purity with numerous temples."

"To the south is the Demon Realm, dominated by the Dragon and Phoenix Clans. The demons are cruel and bloodthirsty, and the Great Xia Dynasty frequently clashes with the Demon Realm. Some demons are also hidden within the Great Xia Dynasty, posing a threat to humans."

"To the north is the frigid land, where ice never melts and nothing grows, with few human traces and other creatures rarely appearing. Only the most powerful races live there."

"The Central Continent has the most humans and cultivators. Some cultivators choose to serve in the government, while more choose to establish sects or join a sect. The Central Continent is dotted with sects, the most powerful of which are the Dao Inquiry Sect and the other four major immortal sects, the leaders of the righteous path."

"The book also mentions that among the five major immortal sects, there must be a great being at the Tribulation Transcending stage and means to match the Tribulation Transcending stage's combat power... Could the sect leader be a great being at the Tribulation Transcending stage? Or does our Dao Inquiry Sect have a reclusive Grand Elder?"

Thinking of the possibility of being a disciple of a great being at the Tribulation Transcending stage, Lu Yang felt elated. He stood up, poured a cup of water, and after drinking it, calmed down and sat back to continue reading.

"Evil cultivators are bloodthirsty, using the lives of other beings to enhance their cultivation, posing a greater threat than demons. Evil cultivators are ultimately not respectable and hide in dark corners. Under the joint suppression of the Great Xia Dynasty and the five major immortal sects, evil sects only dare to act in secret and do not dare to show themselves."

Apart from evil cultivators, the book also mentioned something called evil spirits, described very vaguely. It said that evil spirits are born without emotion, the shadow of humanity, and cannot be judged by ordinary means. Lu Yang didn't quite understand what evil spirits were.

"Ordinary people use gold, silver, and copper as currency, while cultivators use upper, middle, and lower-grade spirit stones as currency."

Next, Lu Yang began to learn common knowledge in the cultivation world, such as the standards for dividing various realms, the various skills of cultivation, the types of demon beasts, the levels of cultivation techniques, and the history of the Central Continent...

The knowledge Lu Yang had gained from the storyteller at the teahouse was far from enough to help him stand on his own in the cultivation world.

Lu Yang was immersed in the mysterious knowledge, wandering in the sea of knowledge until evening, when he felt hungry and realized he hadn't eaten all day.

At this time, the scripture hall's entrance had changed from a senior brother to a senior sister.

Lu Yang respectfully asked, "Senior Sister, I'm sorry to disturb you. I'm a new disciple who just arrived yesterday and am not familiar with the Dao Inquiry Sect. Does our Dao Inquiry Sect have a place to eat?"

The senior sister was startled by Lu Yang, shuddering and avoiding eye contact. She was very afraid of talking to people.

Generally, everyone follows the rules of the scripture hall without needing reminders, making her personality well-suited for this place.

She didn't dare to look at Lu Yang directly and said softly, "You're a new junior brother. The Dao Inquiry Sect does have a cafeteria, but as a senior sister, I don't recommend you go there."

Lu Yang was puzzled, "Why not? Is there a problem with the cafeteria?"

"It's on the mountain of the Fifth Elder, Hundred Refinements Mountain."

Lu Yang was taken aback; the mountain name didn't sound like a place for cooking: "I wonder what this Hundred Refinements Mountain is..."

"The Fifth Elder is skilled in refining, so this Hundred Refinements Mountain is naturally a place for refining. The cafeteria is on the Hundred Refinements Mountain, and the chefs are all top-notch refiners. Their steamed buns can pierce through mountains, grains of rice can be used as hidden weapons, and fried dough sticks can break steel and iron."

Lu Yang didn't know where to start with his complaints: "Why are the chefs also refiners?"

The senior sister explained weakly, "Junior brother, think about it. The most important thing for a chef is the heat control, and the most skilled thing for a refiner is also heat control. The relationship between these two professions is closer than you think."

Lu Yang nodded sincerely, "Indeed, closer than I thought."

Seeing Lu Yang's simple attire, the senior sister hesitated, "And buying weapons, oh, no, eating at the cafeteria requires spirit stones. Junior brother, you look... not very wealthy."

Generally, a cultivator's clothes, though not necessarily exquisite, are made from common spiritual materials like celestial silk, which are resistant to water and fire.

Lu Yang's attire was simple, with many patches on his clothes, clearly indicating he was from a mortal background.

Lu Yang smiled awkwardly; he indeed had no spirit stones at all.

"Don't be embarrassed. The Dao Inquiry Sect has many disciples from mortal backgrounds," the senior sister consoled softly.

"There are ways to eat. Hmm... you can go to the Alchemy Cauldron Peak and look for some discarded fasting pills. You can ask them for some."

"The Alchemy Cauldron Peak has very high standards for alchemy. What they call discarded is just of lower quality, so you don't need to worry about toxicity."

"But at the Alchemy Cauldron Peak, be careful of the Seventh Elder, Senior Brother Wu Ming, Senior Brother Wen Da, Senior Sister Qingkong, Junior Brother Longyan... In short, be careful of everyone."

Lu Yang suppressed his confusion and bowed, "I am Lu Yang. Thank you, Senior Sister. May I ask your name?"

"My name is Zhou Lulu."