Forbidden Book —— "Dragon and Phoenix Transformation"
After Yunzhi left, Lu Yang and Meng Jingzhou, like the other disciples, went to check out their own caves.
But before that, Lu Yang also followed Meng Jingzhou to bring Old Ma into the Way-Asking Sect from outside.
Outside the Way-Asking Sect, Lu Yang saw many newly joined fellow disciples reporting the good news to their families. Whether it was a small family or a cultivating clan, it was a major event worthy of being recorded in the family history for one of their own to be accepted as a disciple of the Way-Asking Sect.
"Why didn't anyone from your family come?" Lu Yang also learned from Meng Jingzhou's words that the Meng family was a historic cultivating clan.
Meng Jingzhou was a bit proud: "I ran away from home!"
Lu Yang: "..."
What are you proud of?
After Meng Jingzhou led Old Ma back to their cave, Lu Yang also returned to his own.
Lu Yang took out a jade pendant. It was given to him by an unfamiliar senior brother earlier, who said it was an identity token for disciples of the Way-Asking Sect. It could prove one's identity as a disciple to outsiders and open the cave entrance, among other things.
The jade pendant was carved from spirit stone marrow, with the name "Lu Yang" inscribed on it. Many of its functions would only be available to Lu Yang after he officially became a cultivator.
Lu Yang placed the jade pendant on the stone wall at the entrance of the cave. The pendant emitted a faint blue light, resonating with the groove at the entrance. The groove flashed twice, and the stone wall moved aside automatically, revealing a luxurious cave beyond Lu Yang's imagination.
As soon as he stepped into the cave, Lu Yang felt a warm sensation, as if wonderful energy was nourishing his body.
"Is this the spiritual energy they always talk about?"
Lu Yang was very surprised when he realized it. The concentration of spiritual energy inside the cave was so high that even a mortal like him could feel it, indicating how extraordinary it was.
The cave was simply furnished, with only a table, a meditation cushion, a straw mat, and the spacious cave made it look empty. It was unclear whether this was to remind disciples to be ascetic or to allow them to decorate it as they liked.
There was a piece of paper on the table, with writing on both sides.
The front side said that disciples who knew nothing about cultivation could go to the Yan Chuan Peak to learn the basics or go to the Sutra Pavilion to study on their own.
The back side was a map of the Way-Asking Sect, quite brief, depicting the main peaks of the sect, with large blank areas. From the map, the Way-Asking Sect covered an area of a hundred thousand miles, which was truly vast beyond Lu Yang's imagination.
The content on the front side gave Lu Yang a direction for what to do in the coming month.
Lu Yang yawned and was ready for a good sleep.
From encountering rain when he left home, to relying on his sincere character and outstanding wisdom to pass three trials, winning the attention of Senior Sister Yunzhi and Second Senior Brother Dai Bufan, and finally becoming a disciple of the Way-Asking Sect, the events of the day had left him mentally exhausted, so sleepy that he could barely keep his eyes open.
"Why doesn't the Way-Asking Sect even provide a pillow..."
Lu Yang mumbled, and the fatigue of the whole day surged up. He didn't care about comfort anymore and quickly fell asleep.
...
The next morning, Lu Yang woke up early. He planned to go to the Sutra Pavilion first to learn about the general situation of the Central Continent.
"New here?" A senior brother at the entrance of the Sutra Pavilion looked up at Lu Yang.
"Yes."
"Since you're new, I'll tell you the rules of the Sutra Pavilion. There are only three simple rules."
"One, with your current permissions, you can only read books on the first floor, and you can read them freely; two, you can only borrow one book at a time; three, take care of the books and don't get them dirty. If you do, you'll have to pay for them at the original price."
"I got it." Lu Yang nodded, and the senior brother didn't say anything more, allowing Lu Yang to enter.
Inside the Sutra Pavilion, Way-Asking Sect disciples were devotedly reading, with no distractions, not even noticing Lu Yang walking by.
The vast Sutra Pavilion was only filled with sporadic footsteps and the rustling of turning pages.
The books here were diverse, ranging from beginner's guides to cross-talk by folk artists, to cultivation manuals and secrets for Qi refinement and foundation establishment by cultivators.
Lu Yang was dazzled and didn't know which book to choose.
"What book is this?"
Lu Yang accidentally found a book in the gap between the bookshelves, covered in thick dust, as if it had fallen there and hadn't been read for a long time.
He wiped off the dust and finally saw the name of the book —— "Dragon and Phoenix Transformation".
"What a powerful name!"
Lu Yang exclaimed in a low voice. Without even reading the content, he could feel a regal aura just from the title!
He was dazzled for a moment, as if he heard the harmonious sounds of dragons and phoenixes, and illusions of dragons and phoenixes appeared, vivid and lifelike. Then the illusions changed, seemingly depicting the process of the emergence of dragons and phoenixes.
Lu Yang snapped back to reality and looked around. The sounds and illusions disappeared.
"Was that just an illusion?"
Lu Yang was skeptical but excitedly opened the first page.
Perhaps this was his opportunity!
Who would have thought that the pages were so sharp that they accidentally cut his finger, and a few drops of blood fell on the paper.
Something unexpected happened!
This ancient book suddenly emitted a golden light, as if something inside was trying to break free!
Lu Yang's heart pounded. This process was completely unexpected and beyond his control. He didn't know if it was a blessing or a curse.
He even felt as if he was being watched by some powerful being, making him instinctively dare not move!
This feeling became increasingly clear, indicating that the powerful being was getting closer and closer to him.
Finally, the powerful being stood behind Lu Yang, gazing at him silently, scaring Lu Yang into breaking out in a cold sweat.
"You..." Finally, the powerful being spoke.
"Yes!" Lu Yang jumped.
"You got the book dirty."
The powerful being frowned. Lu Yang turned around and saw that it was the senior brother at the entrance of the Sutra Pavilion.
The senior brother looked at the bloodstains on the book and was a bit displeased. He had just reminded him not to get the book dirty, and this guy had dripped blood on it.
There was an array in the Sutra Pavilion. Whenever a book was dirtied, it would emit a golden light to signal the guardian of the Sutra Pavilion.
"What book is this? I don't recall seeing it before," the senior brother said with suspicion.
The senior brother picked up the book and flipped through it, his face changing drastically. "This... this is actually that legendary forbidden book!"
Lu Yang was delighted. He couldn't believe his luck. He had found an ancient forbidden book as soon as he entered the Sutra Pavilion. He wondered what secrets this book held.
"Senior brother, what's wrong with this book?" Lu Yang asked curiously.
The senior brother's face changed, considering whether to tell this secret to the newcomer. After thinking about it, he told the truth.
"This book details the process of dragons and phoenixes mating. It was written in such detail that it was complained about jointly by the dragon and phoenix clans and was listed as a forbidden book. I thought all copies of this book had been destroyed. I can't believe there's still one here. I wonder who hid it!"
In other words, it was a pornographic book.
Lu Yang: "..."
Screw you, harmonious sounds of dragons and phoenixes!
He suddenly remembered that the senior brother had said that one had to pay for dirtying a book.