Volume One: The Dawn of Immortality Chapter Eight: The Scripture Pavilion

After a month had passed, Zhou Yue had proven his capabilities through his actions. He could now easily distinguish all kinds of medicinal herbs, and he had read nearly every book on herbs within Elder Chu’s residence. His skills in alchemy had improved steadily, though his cultivation level had not advanced much, which was his only regret.

Nevertheless, Zhou Yue had not been idle in refining Qi-Gathering Pills. He produced forty or fifty pills for himself, and even gifted one to each of his fellow servant disciples who had shared his living quarters for half a year. He gave an extra pill to Huang Chen, who had lent him the “Hundred Solutions for Qi Refinement.”

That month, Zhou Yue temporarily set aside his alchemical practice and devoted himself to cultivation, consuming two Qi-Gathering Pills daily. After twenty days, he finally broke through to the third level of Qi Refinement.

This breakthrough had cost him twenty times the usual amount of Qi-Gathering Pills, which made his heart ache a little. Fortunately, he could easily acquire more pills. Still, Zhou Yue wondered if the resources required to advance in cultivation would multiply in the future. He could hardly imagine the resources needed by cultivators like Elder Chu, who had achieved more than ten levels of Qi Refinement.

Although Zhou Yue had already entered the outer sect as an alchemy disciple, he had not yet reached the third level of Qi Refinement. As an outer disciple, he had no right to enter the Scripture Repository; only those at the third and sixth levels of Qi Refinement were permitted one entry each. This was the rule for all outer disciples of the Hundred Arts Sect.

Now that Zhou Yue had finally reached the third level, he was determined to make his first visit.

“An alchemy disciple!” The outer disciple guarding the repository was inwardly startled. Few held this position in the outer sect, making it both rare and highly valued by the sect.

“Disciple Zhou Yue requests entry to the Scripture Repository,” Zhou Yue announced.

“Very well, you may enter. But each disciple may only select two scrolls for study,” the guard replied.

“I understand,” Zhou Yue answered.

Upon stepping inside, he was immediately crushed by an overwhelming pressure that nearly suffocated him.

“One more thing: the deeper you go, the stronger the pressure becomes—and the better the techniques you’ll find. But proceed within your limits,” the attendant warned.

The deeper, the better! Zhou Yue felt a surge of excitement. If that was the case, he was determined to press on as far as he could.

Step by step, he advanced, soon reaching halfway. From that point forward, the pressure increased markedly with each step, doubling in intensity.

Fortunately, Zhou Yue had not yet reached his limit; he was sweating, but still not exhausted. He didn’t know if he could reach the end, but he would try.

After a dozen more steps, things became challenging. A few more, and the pressure began to make each breath difficult, though not unbearable. Here, Zhou Yue began to examine the scrolls.

“Mountain-Splitting Formula: grants the strength to split mountains. Sword Command: wield thousands of swords as your companions. Void-Shattering Finger…” Zhou Yue read the descriptions, but none stirred his heart.

Reluctantly, he pressed on, each step as arduous as climbing to the heavens. The scrolls grew fewer and more formidable, but still none satisfied him—until he saw one called the God-Slaying Formula.

God-Slaying Formula? Could this technique truly slay deities if mastered?

The name alone set Zhou Yue’s heart racing.

But the scroll was still a dozen steps away.

He refused to give up. With the goal in sight, Zhou Yue was determined to claim it.

One step. Another. And another. Sweat poured from his pores as the crushing pressure made even breathing a struggle, but he would not relent.

“Only three steps left!” Zhou Yue muttered to himself.

One…

Two…

Three…

At last, Zhou Yue took the final three steps.

With great effort, he reached out. His hand slowly touched the God-Slaying Formula.

At last, it was his.

He had traversed nine-tenths of the hall, leaving only a tenth untraveled. The techniques ahead must be even greater, but they were beyond his reach for now. When he returned at the sixth level of Qi Refinement, he vowed to explore further.

With the God-Slaying Formula in hand, Zhou Yue made his way back, selecting another technique along the way: the Invincible Body Tempering Formula, which seemed no less formidable.

As he retreated, the pressure eased, and he felt much lighter, though his sweat-soaked robe had yet to dry.

More importantly, the ordeal had left his cultivation more solid, even giving rise to a trace of spiritual awareness, which strengthened his mind and will.

After registering the two techniques, Zhou Yue also received a basic technique as a gift from the repository: the Gravity Technique. Mastering it allowed one to control gravity at will, even reverse it—an ability Elder Li of the Alchemy Pavilion used for sword flight. Sword flight required only that gravity be reversed on an object.

The time had come to study his new techniques. Back at his quarters, Zhou Yue eagerly delved into the God-Slaying Formula. If mastered to perfection, it could slay Nascent Soul cultivators; at the first level of Qi Refinement, it was unmatched; at the Foundation Establishment stage, invincible; at the Golden Core stage, supreme in the world; at the Nascent Soul stage, few could rival it; and at the Spirit Transformation stage, even they could be slain.

Unfortunately, this was only a fragmentary scroll, containing just the first two stages. No wonder such a powerful technique was left in the repository for disciples to study.

What Zhou Yue did not know was that both the God-Slaying Formula and the Invincible Body Tempering Formula had been lost for thousands of years. Most disciples could only reach one-fifth of the way through the repository; few could go a bit farther, and even geniuses only reached two-fifths. Only the sect’s Golden Core ancestor, in his youth, had reached halfway. The founder had not placed these techniques in the repository by chance—they may have been meant for a future, heaven-defying disciple. Clearly, the initial aptitude test had been flawed, though no one realized it—not even Zhou Yue himself. No one in the Hundred Arts Sect had ever heard of these techniques until Zhou Yue discovered them.

Yet, when Zhou Yue read the description, he found the God-Slaying Formula required the fifth level of Qi Refinement to practice. He had taken this journey in vain; the realization nearly made him cough blood in frustration.

He turned instead to the Invincible Body Tempering Formula, which fortunately only required the third level of Qi Refinement. However, it demanded many rare herbs to practice safely and effectively. Luckily, as an alchemy disciple and Elder Chu’s pupil, herbs were never a problem for Zhou Yue.

There was also the Gravity Technique to master. As the sect’s foundational skill, it was essential for sword flight. Zhou Yue took ten days to achieve mastery.

And so, his journey of cultivation continued.