The Prodigies War-Chapter 2733 Scripture Mountain

Since the banquet only had three attendees, Lin Xun cleared all the other tables and put them away.

He, Feng Qixi, and Liu Yunfeng then gathered around the remaining one, drinking and chatting. It was nightfall, and the moonlight was bright against the backdrop of sparse stars. Hazy mist covered the distant mountain. The atmosphere was harmonious and delightful.

Feng Qixi had ranked second at the Nine Peaks Dao Contest a thousand years ago. Over the centuries since, she had gotten several opportunities to ascend the path of immortality yet had forcefully turned away from them, for her goal was something much higher.

Liu Yunfeng was also renowned among the nine peaks for how ruthless he was. He fought almost recklessly like a madman who disregarded his own life and death. As a result, he was notorious even in the Origin Sect as an unrivaled savage.

Despite their strength, both had found themselves in a rather awkward position after entering Origin Sky Pavilion, facing neglect and being shunned by many other members. While this didn’t affect their cultivation, it still left a bitter taste in their mouths.

The reason why they were spurned was simple: during the assessment in the Heaven-Derived Dao Arena one had voluntarily surrendered while the other had abandoned the fight, both during their duel with Lin Xun, thus drawing the attention of certain influential characters.

In other words, they had been implicated by Lin Xun.

At the moment, when Feng Qixi proposed an alliance to Liu Yunfeng, the latter only hesitated briefly before giving the nod. Lin Xun had no objection either. As a newcomer, gaining allies like Feng Qixi and Liu Yunfeng was undoubtedly a good thing.

“By the way, Senior Brother Liu, have you ever heard of Senior Brother Gu Yujian?” asked Lin Xun.

Liu Yunfeng's eyes squinted slightly as he nodded, “I know him. Long ago, he was the leading figure of the core disciples of the Third Peak. He simply excelled at cultivation and was held in high esteem by the elders.

“But eight thousand years ago, while on a sect mission, Senior Brother Gu Yujian vanished mysteriously. There has been no news of him even to this day.

“The incident shocked the whole sect. Many suspected he had fallen, but the prolonged investigation conducted by the elders uncovered nothing. This matter was ultimately left unsolved.”

Lin Xun narrowed his eyes, “Eight thousand years ago...”

Liu Yunfeng wondered, “Why are you asking about this, Junior Brother?”

“No particular reason, really. I just heard some stories about him and found them rather strange,” replied Lin Xun. “Senior Brother Liu, since you also come from the Third Peak, did Peak Master Nan Bohong ever make you swear allegiance to him?”

Liu Yunfeng's expression changed slightly. “Who told you this?”

Lin Xun said, “That’s not important. What’s important is whether this is true.”

Liu Yunfeng glanced around before transmitting, “It is true. Any core disciple of the Third Peak who is highly regarded by Nan Bohong has gone through this. However, he’s never forced them to agree. “

After a pause, he continued, “This is a secret belonging to the Third Peak only. Everyone who was asked that by Nan Bohong also vowed never to divulge it, myself included. I can't imagine why you would know of this.”

He sounded genuinely surprised. Lin Xun pondered for a long while, and in the end, he decided against telling him about Gu Yujian's ordeal.

“What are you two whispering about?” Feng Qixi interrupted when she noticed their telepathic exchange.

Lin Xun smiled and honestly told her about their conversation.

Feng Qixi snorted, her eyes flashing with contempt, “That old thing, forming cliques for personal gain as a peak master. Is he planning to build his own empire on the territory of Origin Sect? Come to think of it, Second Peak Master Yun Tianming is pretty much the same. He only favors disciples who originate from the Eighth Heaven Domain and give them all the benefits, which has sparked discontent among many other inner true disciples.”

Lin Xun smiled, “Sooner or later, their luck will run out.”

Both Yun Tianming and Nan Bohong hailed from his enemies' factions. He certainly would not let them off the hook.

“After escaping that muddy swamp of the Second Peak, I thought entering Origin Sky Pavilion would mean less trouble in my life. How naive I was...” Feng Qixi sighed softly.

“Do you know why the other disciples of Origin Sky Pavilion didn't come to your banquet tonight?” asked Liu Yunfeng.

Lin Xun and Feng Qixi both turned to him.

Liu Yunfeng didn't beat around the bush, “It was at Qi Lingzhen's order.”

Feng Qixi's beautiful eyes grew sharp, “It is him after all!”

Qi Lingzhen was the strongest disciple of Origin Sky Pavilion. Roughly three hundred years ago, he had already realized Immortality and entered the Heavenly Longevity Realm, which was an exceptionally dazzling achievement.

He was strong enough to become a deputy deacon, but according to the rules, he needed to first undergo a trial. Only by defeating one of the twenty-four deputy deacons could he replace them and officially assume the position.

However, despite being called ‘deputy deacons,’ these characters were no ordinary experts. Some were nearing the peak of the Heavenly Longevity Realm, while others boasted terrifyingly profound heritages. Over the three centuries since becoming a Heavenly Longevity Immortal, Qi Lingzhen had initiated multiple challenges to pass the trial, and each had ended in failure.

Consequently, Qi Lingzhen remained a disciple of Origin Sky Pavilion to this day despite his cultivation level. In truth, the number of disciples in the same shoes as him were far from rare among the three pavilions. In Origin Sky Pavilion alone, five among the thirty-plus disciples were Heavenly Longevity experts.

This went to show how incredibly difficult it was for a disciple to be promoted to deputy deacon!

Lin Xun had heard of Qi Lingzhen, but never imagined that the other party could be so influential. A single command from him was enough to deter the other Origin Sky Pavilion disciples from attending his banquet.

It couldn’t be more clear that this was aimed at him.

“Qi Lingzhen is surrounded by three Heavenly Longevity Immortals: Zhongli Ran, Gu Shaoyin, and Fu Chaosheng. His group are considered titans with the heaviest authority among the disciples, so who dares go against him?” remarked Liu Yunfeng coldly. “I'm certain their bullying won't stop here, and the three of us are their targets.”

His gaze shifted to Lin Xun, “Junior Brother, Origin Sky Pavilion operates differently from other places. People will deliberately exploit the rules to suppress you here while most of the big shots will just stand by and watch.”

Lin Xun asked, “So this is what it means by what the rules don't prohibit is permissible?”

Liu Yunfeng nodded. “Precisely.”

Lin Xun's eyes became profound. “If so, I will keep my eyes peeled and see what tricks they'll pull next.”

The banquet concluded late into the night. Liu Yunfeng and Feng Qixi took their leave one after the other. After the long conversation with them, Lin Xun had become increasingly aware that if he didn't break into the next cultivation stage soon, his prospects for advancement in Origin Sky Pavilion would be quite bleak.

“I will visit Scripture Mountain tomorrow,” Lin Xun made a decision.

His three nine-star merits, which had earned him the qualification to join Origin Sky Pavilion, had remained unspent. He could exchange them for a chance to peruse the Immortal legacy at Scripture Mountain!

Little did Lin Xun know that on this very night, word of his banquet for Origin Sky Pavilion's disciples had already spread, and that everyone except for Feng Qixi and Liu Yunfeng had declined the invitation!

“This clearly aims to intimidate Lin Xun!” Many realized that even after going from the Ninth Peak to Origin Sky Pavilion, his situation remained unchanged; he still faced resistance and exclusion.

Some gloated, some pitied him, while some eagerly waited to see how the drama would unfold.

Early the next morning, Lin Xun appeared at the foot of Scripture Mountain of Origin Emptiness Pavilion. After presenting his sect token, he smoothly passed the protective barriers and reached the summit of the mountain.

Here, an ancient palace stood. Seemingly cast from divine metal, the building glowed majestically in the sunlight. Before the entrance, a man reclined in a rocking chair. He wore a blue robe, had gray hair, and his eyes closed as if in deep slumber.

“Greetings, Elder. This is Disciple Lin Xun.” Lin Xun approached and bowed respectfully with clasped hands.

He recognized the old man, Jiang Ye. During his first visit to the Heavenly Treasure Hall to collect his monthly allowance, he had faced harassment from Chao Zonglin. It was Elder Jiang Ye who had intervened and handled Chao Zonglin.

It was rumored Jiang Ye had remained stationed at the Scripture Mountain all these recent years. The elder himself was a legend within Origin Emptiness Pavilion, possessing unfathomable cultivation.

At the same time, he was known as the right-hand man of Dugu Yong, who was a deputy pavilion master of Origin Emptiness Pavilion. In the rocking chair, Jiang Ye slowly opened his eyes and asked, “You want to borrow the Immortal legacy, don't you?”

Lin Xun nodded. There was nothing to hide when the entire sect knew he had completed three nine-star missions.

“I anticipated this day would come, just not so soon,” sighed Jiang Ye as he rose from the chair. “Come to think of it, it's been ages since I last saw someone do this. Follow me.”

With that, he turned and walked into the ancient palace. Lin Xun followed closely behind. The main hall was expansive and filled with row upon row of bookshelves—over a thousand of them. Jade slips, scrolls, silk texts, animal hides, bamboo slips, and countless other scriptures were displayed on these shelves.

The sight left Lin Xun momentarily dazzled.

“This is the First Hall of Scripture Mountain, housing one 1,164,327 texts that range from all types of cultivation arts to methods of artifact forging, pill refining, beast taming, plant cultivating, and object identification,” Jiang Ye introduced as he led Lin Xun deeper in.

At the very end of the hall was a massive bronze door. Pushing it open revealed yet another hall of scriptures!

“This is the Second Hall, housing over 590,000 scriptures that are far more precious than the ones in the First Hall,” Jiang Ye continued forward as he spoke.

The two kept walking as he explained the place to Lin Xun, and before the latter knew it, he had passed through hall after hall.

Awe welled up in him. All along the way, his sight had been filled with nothing but densely packed legacy scriptures. It was nothing short of a grand and overwhelming spectacle.

Legacies formed the very foundation of a dao lineage. From the sheer volume of such texts stored at Scripture Mountain, one could see just how frightening the Origin Sect's foundation and heritage were!

Suddenly, Jiang Ye stopped before a bronze door at the end of a grand hall and said, “Beyond this door lies the Ninth Hall. The Immortal legacy you wish to consult is stored within.”

Lin Xun sharply looked up.