Chapter 8

The Library Pavilion is tucked deep within a forest of red maples, its grey bricks and blue tiles exuding the weathered patina of passing ages.

Le Li hung her identity jade token at her waist, stepped through the protective array at the entrance, and bowed to the Foundation Establishment uncle on duty before heading inside.

Towering bookshelves stretched toward the depths of the pavilion, laden with an endless array of books and jade slips, the air thick with the fragrance of ink and the shimmering glow of cultivation rhymes.

Le Li walked to the section containing cultivation techniques. With a sweep of her divine sense, she first picked up the jade slip labeled "Basic Blade Techniques," then continued forward to the area housing ice-attribute arts.

The Taiji Twin Aspect Technique allowed for the seamless invocation of both ice and fire spiritual powers, and Le Li already had a rough plan in mind.

Her fire spiritual power would remain dominant, serving as her primary offensive force paired with blade techniques. Having practiced fire-attribute arts thousands of times in her past life, she would simply continue using them in this one—saving effort, time, and precious contribution points. As for her ice spiritual power, she did not intend to use artifacts; instead, she chose to cultivate arts to serve as a supplementary aid for unforeseen needs.

However, the ice-attribute arts on the shelves were sparse: "Frost Palm," "Phantom Ice Finger," "Ling-Shuang Fist," "Frozen Miles," "Spirit Tempering Manual," and "Ice Blade Technique"—a mere handful.

Ice spiritual roots are a mutation and are inherently rarer than the five elemental roots. Furthermore, the Southern Continent where they resided was a land of abundant fire, where fire roots were common and water roots relatively scarce, making ice roots even more precious. It was only natural that ice-attribute arts were equally rare.

Le Li glanced at the nearby, overflowing shelves of fire-attribute arts and couldn't help but shake her head, resigning herself to choosing from the few ice options available.

"Frost Palm," "Phantom Ice Finger," "Ling-Shuang Fist," and "Ice Blade Technique" shared similar cores: using ice spiritual power to manifest physical forms for combat, incorporating palm, finger, fist, and blade maneuvers respectively.

"Frozen Miles" was simpler to understand—it completely froze the target. Once thoroughly frozen, whether a person or a demonic beast, the target would become incredibly brittle, potentially suffering severe injury or even shattering into fragments with a single strike.

The final one, the "Spirit Tempering Manual," was different from the rest; it was an art that combined ice spiritual power with the cultivation of divine sense.

Cultivating this technique required a medium—an ice-attribute spirit object, such as a piece of spirit ice, cold iron essence, or ice jade marrow. Initially, one had to refine the spirit object into the dantian. From then on, one would use ice spiritual power to temper the spirit object, and in turn, use the spirit object to refine one's divine sense.

Through daily refinement, the spirit object naturally grew more powerful, and the divine sense would grow alongside it. A close connection would naturally form between the object and the divine sense, allowing the practitioner to drive the spirit object to attack or even launch sneak attacks.

The method of using spiritual energy to temper a spirit object was similar to the "Vermilion Bird Heart Sutra" she had practiced in her past life. To cultivate that, one had to refine a wisp of Southern Brightness Li Fire; without it, the technique could not function smoothly. At the same time, the fire would grow stronger daily under the tempering of her fire spiritual power.

By the time one reached the Golden Core stage and forged a life-bound artifact, the matured Southern Brightness Li Fire could be fused into it, greatly enhancing its power. If one were fortunate, it could even help the artifact develop spirituality, becoming a spirit treasure.

But whether it was an ice-attribute spirit object or the Southern Brightness Li Fire, the process of refinement was extremely dull and tedious, requiring immense patience and perseverance.

In truth, every cultivation technique required such dedication. Cultivation is inherently a lonely and monotonous endeavor; only by embracing solitude and enduring great loneliness can one hope to become a great cultivator.

Le Li did not lack patience or perseverance. Being able to both practice an art and temper her divine sense was killing two birds with one stone, so she chose the "Spirit Tempering Manual" without hesitation.

Her thousand-plus contribution points were barely warm before more than half were gone. Recording the "Basic Blade Techniques" cost only 120 points, but the "Spirit Tempering Manual" was much pricier at 750.

On her way back to the peak, Le Li’s mind was occupied with how to earn more spirit stones and contribution points.

Spirit stones are crystal-like rocks that store spiritual energy. Not only can cultivators absorb the energy directly for cultivation, but they also serve as the universal currency of the cultivation world, essential for purchasing resources.

Contribution points are the measure of one's service to the sect. They circulate only within the sect and among disciples, used to exchange for various resources—equally indispensable.

She had always been ambitious, hoping to climb the path of immortality and reach the highest peaks to see the world's scenery. Having been granted a second life, she would go further than ever before to honor this new chance.

In her previous life, her spiritual roots were excellent and her cultivation speed was never slow, so she rarely used pills to boost her progress. She only prepared them for missions or trials, usually for specific needs like detoxification or healing.

This life was different. Cultivation speed had become an unavoidable issue, and to move faster and more steadily, the support of medicinal pills was essential. Pills could not be conjured from thin air; they had to be bought with spirit stones or exchanged for with contribution points.

Looking back, in her past life, she had spent her time revolving around Yan Yueheng or fixating on Huo Fengji and Feng Xiaoxiao. Aside from cultivation, she rarely settled down to master a specific craft. When she eventually left the sect, she had been forced to rely on hunting demonic beasts and gathering spirit herbs for resources.

She had dabbled in the four arts—alchemy, talismans, arrays, and artifact forging—but had been mediocre at all of them. None were sufficient to aid her path. Thinking back, she realized she hadn't practiced them for herself, which was truly pathetic and sad.

She would never again foolishly waste her energy on others. By focusing on herself and becoming better, she would make this second journey worthwhile.

Yet, as she returned to the Purple Bamboo Courtyard, she still hadn't decided which craft to master.

Alchemy, talismans, forging, arrays—to her, they all seemed much the same. She could continue with any of them, but she lacked outstanding talent in any.

"The four arts are merely the mainstream; there are others. I should visit the market stalls, explore and compare, pick one, and then go to the library to record the relevant materials."

She knew her own temperament well. Once she decided on a path, she rarely changed it. She was the type who needed a set route, one she could follow with single-minded devotion until she leveled the thorns and reached the very end.

Le Li took a deep breath. With a plan in mind, she stopped worrying.

She sat at the stone table in the courtyard, took out the jade slip for "Basic Blade Techniques," and silently memorized its contents.

The record stated that the blade's lethality lay in the 'cut,' alongside basic maneuvers like lifting, stabbing, blocking, intercepting, collapsing, hacking, wiping, carrying, and wrapping.

Whenever her divine sense touched a character, an image would appear in her mind—a figure demonstrating the blade work, from stance to arm movement, from the initiation to the conclusion, perfectly clear.

Le Li summoned the Hongming Blade and began to mimic the movements!

First move: Cut!

Once, twice, three times...

Le Li practiced over and over, slightly adjusting her posture and movements, comparing them to the image while finding the alignment most natural to her body. Her experience from her past life taught her that while techniques are dead, the person is alive; one must take oneself as the foundation rather than blindly imitating.

Seven hundred thirty-one, seven hundred thirty-two...

Le Li counted silently. Her arms were already swollen and aching, and each lift felt like a monumental effort. Even so, she gritted her teeth. Her goal was one thousand cuts.

One thousand!

Le Li completed the final cut and could no longer lift her arm, her entire body soaked in sweat.

She leaned on the blade tip, waited a quarter of an hour to recover, then sat cross-legged. Forming a seal with her hands, she channeled her dantian's spiritual power throughout her body, nourishing her heavy arms and limbs.

Two quarter-hours later, her body felt lighter, and the swelling in her arms had mostly faded.

Le Li picked up the blade again to practice the 'lift' technique, again aiming for one thousand reps.

By the time the sky turned pitch black, Le Li had finished one thousand repetitions of every basic blade maneuver, and the spiritual power in her body was almost entirely depleted.

Returning to her room, she took a Bigu pill and began meditating on the "Taiji Twin Aspect Technique." Before long, she was enveloped in dense spiritual energy.

Ice and fire energies collided within her. Her meridians were still tight and swollen, but compared to the day before, it was slightly better. Le Li knew this was the result of her blade practice; the repetitive motions had tempered her flesh and strengthened her meridians, allowing them to better withstand the collision of energies.

In time, her meridians would be strong enough to handle the collision without any sensation of swelling. Only then would her physical strength truly match the technique.

In cultivation, spiritual power is important, but physical strength is equally vital. The body is the vessel; only by being strong enough can it carry more power.

The next morning, as soon as the sky brightened, Le Li was back in the courtyard with her blade. By mid-afternoon, after finishing her practice and recovering her energy, she headed down from Qianyuan Peak to the market behind the sect.

The market was a place for low-level disciples to trade. There were no permanent shops, only rows of stalls, and trades could be made with contribution points as well as spirit stones.

Le Li walked and observed. She bought daily necessities, seeds for the fire-attribute herb Zhukui, a carving knife, and ten low-level array discs, keeping a keen eye on the goods at every stall.

The market was dominated by pills, talismans, and related items, followed by arrays and artifacts. She took note of everything.

Suddenly, a wisp of fragrance drifted toward her, catching her attention and causing her eyes to flicker.