Chapter 45: The Path Beyond Righteousness

Chapter 45: Chapter 45: The Path Beyond Righteousness

Following Ye Xuan’s plan, he walked away from the auction pagoda in search of other supply shops that still sold Water Elemental Essence.

He had already obtained a considerable amount from the previous shop, but he didn’t think it was enough.

In his opinion, he needed to visit at least three or four more supply shops to gather a quantity worthy of the favor he intended to ask of Senior Wang.

He visited one shop after another, meeting their respective owners and asking the same question.

Some didn’t have any Water Elemental Essence, while others had some in stock, though not in significant quantities.

Ye Xuan spent spirit stones to purchase whatever Water Elemental Essence they had available.

He didn’t feel that he was wasting money or worry about running out. After all, he possessed far more spirit stones than he needed.

Buying Water Elemental Essence for his own benefit was certainly worthwhile, especially if there were valuable scrolls hidden among the contents of those wooden boxes.

"Thank you for your purchase, Fellow Daoist!"

Ye Xuan nodded and walked out of the supply shop. He was still holding a pouch containing seventy-eight pieces of Water Elemental Essence, all of them Mortal-Stage.

[Is that enough?]

"No," Ye Xuan replied. "I need more."

He put the pouch into his bag of holding before continuing down the city’s streets, visiting every supply shop he could find and asking the same question as before.

Ye Xuan spent around three hours searching the city and managed to collect 150 pieces of Mortal-Stage Water Elemental Essence and fifty pieces of Yellow-Stage Water Elemental Essence.

During those three hours, he had visited every shop in the city.

The last supply shop he visited didn’t have any Water Elemental Essence, which proved that it was time for Ye Xuan to return to Senior Wang.

He could have searched another city, but doing so would be exhausting and consume too much of his time.

He decided to give Senior Wang whatever Water Elemental Essence he had gathered and hoped that the senior would accept it.

Once he was satisfied, Ye Xuan summoned his sword and flew away from Yunlong City.

His goal was simple: find a secluded place, such as a forest or cave, then activate his teleportation formation there.

It wasn’t difficult for him to find a suitable location. He discovered a cave hidden within a forest, safely isolated from other people.

Upon arriving, Ye Xuan patted his bag of holding and summoned his teleportation token. He raised his hand and activated his spiritual qi.

In an instant, a teleportation formation materialized inside the cave, manifested by the token.

The passage leading to the golden pagoda beneath the lake was now fully open.

He stepped into the teleportation formation and disappeared in an instant.

When Ye Xuan opened his eyes, he found himself standing in the courtyard in front of the pagoda.

Ye Xuan brought his hands together and lowered his head. "This junior pays his respects to Senior Wang."

"Welcome, Brother Ye."

"This junior has come to ask Senior Wang for a favor. However, before doing so, please allow me to take care of something first."

"Go ahead. Take your time, Brother Ye," Senior Wang replied from within the golden pagoda.

Ye Xuan nodded, then used the courtyard to sort through the scrolls inside each wooden box.

He patted his bag of holding and summoned all twelve wooden boxes at once, revealing hundreds of mysterious scrolls that needed to be sorted into their respective categories.

[Would you like me to help you, Ye Xuan?]

"There’s no need. I can handle this myself, Qingyu."

He manifested his spiritual qi and lifted the numerous mysterious scrolls into the air.

With a sweep of his hand, he used strands of qi to unroll every scroll under his control.

There were so many mysterious scrolls that Ye Xuan appeared to be surrounded by them.

However, controlling the scrolls with strands of qi made the task considerably easier.

Once they were all unrolled, Ye Xuan began examining them one by one.

Some contained cultivators’ personal notes, while others described certain objects, explained how to forge weapons, or contained other information of little value.

[This is like gambling.]

"I know."

Ye Xuan clenched his fist and burned the scrolls he considered worthless and useless.

He then stored the remaining scrolls according to their categories, including techniques, formations, pill recipes, and maps.

Each category was placed in a separate wooden box.

This arrangement would make it much easier for Ye Xuan to find something valuable among the scrolls.

As Ye Xuan turned around to examine the other scrolls, his attention became fixed on one that remained unopened despite already being connected to his strands of qi.

"What kind of scroll is that?" Ye Xuan asked.

He reached out and took the scroll. Its title was Demonic Finger Manifestation, and it faintly radiated a mysterious purple qi aura.

"Could this scroll be related to the demonic cultivation path?"

[It seems so. Its aura is incredibly dense and sharp, far more overpowering than those of elemental scrolls.]

Ye Xuan fell silent for a moment. This was the first time he had held a scroll that appeared to belong to someone who practiced demonic cultivation.

For cultivators who followed the righteous path, such as Daoism or Zen, possessing—let alone studying—techniques from the demonic cultivation path was considered taboo and a grave sin.

Even so, he had already purchased the scroll. It made sense to keep it for the time being.

Perhaps the Demonic Finger Manifestation technique would prove useful to him someday.

"I won’t study it for now. Besides, I can’t even open this demonic technique scroll yet."

Ye Xuan stored the combat technique in his bag of holding before continuing to sort the remaining scrolls until he was finished.

By then, four wooden boxes had been filled with scrolls sorted into their respective categories.

Out of the approximately 360 scrolls, Ye Xuan had managed to sort only around 120 into the four categorized wooden boxes.

"Alright," Ye Xuan said. "It’s time to ask Senior Wang for help."

He stored the four wooden boxes in his bag of holding, then entered the golden pagoda and climbed to its seventh floor.

Upon his arrival, Senior Wang immediately opened his eyes as he sensed Ye Xuan’s qi aura approaching his room.

"What do you need from me, Brother Ye?"

"Before asking you for a favor, Senior, I’d like to fulfill my part of our arrangement," Ye Xuan replied.

He patted his bag of holding and summoned several black pouches containing different quantities and stages of Water Elemental Essence.

Senior Wang examined the amount and smiled before storing everything away.

"Thank you. You’ve brought quite a lot of Water Elemental Essence. I presume the favor you need this time is something only I can help you with, correct?"

"That’s right, Senior," Ye Xuan replied.

Before summoning the four wooden boxes, Ye Xuan produced another technique scroll radiating a dense purple qi aura. The scroll floated above his palm.

"I found this scroll at—"

"Demonic Finger Manifestation?!" Senior Wang exclaimed, immediately fixing his gaze on Ye Xuan.

"Where did you obtain this technique? Did you steal it from a demonic sect?" Wang Shuyuan asked.

"This junior obtained it from the auction pagoda in Yunlong City. It was stored among the scrolls considered worthless."

Senior Wang sighed and shook his head before looking at Ye Xuan again.

"They would never have recognized the value of this technique."

"What do you mean, Senior?" Ye Xuan asked.

"As far as I remember, the Demonic Finger Manifestation technique was one of the three ultimate techniques of a demonic sect that once dominated the three kingdoms of Shattered Cloud Star."

Ye Xuan narrowed his eyes, growing increasingly curious about the story Wang Shuyuan was about to tell.

Wang Shuyuan extended his hand and drew the floating scroll closer to himself.

"They considered this technique worthless because they probably couldn’t open it. That’s understandable, since there’s only one way to unlock this technique," Senior Wang Shuyuan explained.

"What is it, Senior Wang?" Ye Xuan asked.

"Soul-Possessing Demon Pill," Wang Shuyuan answered.

Ye Xuan was somewhat surprised. He had never even heard of a pill by that name.

Wang Shuyuan returned the scroll to Ye Xuan. The young man accepted it immediately before asking another question.

"Then should I study this technique, or should I discard it because it’s associated with the demonic cultivation path?"

"If you wish to continue serving the righteous path of cultivation and seeking the truth of Heaven, then you must discard it and forget about it."

"However, if your ambition is to become an immortal and defy Heaven itself, then you may study it."

"C-Challenge Heaven?" Ye Xuan asked.

Wang Shuyuan suddenly rose to his feet and walked toward the pagoda’s window, gazing at the ceiling of the golden dome that protected him from the pressure of the lake.

"Only those with great ambitions can defy Heaven’s will. Even I cannot do so because of my own limitations."

"It’s far too early for you to understand the meaning of heavenly destiny or what it means to defy Heaven. When it comes to understanding either of them, a sect’s teachings alone will never be enough."

The man turned around and looked at Ye Xuan again.

"You must begin to see the world for yourself instead of viewing it through the stories told by your sect."

"Only then will you be able to decide which path you wish to follow."