Chapter 201: 194 Xuanji Lou

Eyes closed, then opened.

Tang Zhao still appeared within a great hall.

This was his second time coming here, yet it was the first time he knew the name of this hall.

Xuanji Lou—the library of Long Yuan; it was a name that suited Seven Star Long Yuan.

The hall had no windows and no obvious lamps, yet it was very bright. The light shining down from the ceiling was soft, extremely suitable for the floor-to-ceiling shelves that surrounded the space. Looking up, they went all the way to the high ceiling, with books neatly arranged on the shelves, square and upright, with almost no gaps.

Yet Tang Zhao knew that those books had a realistic texture; one could even smell the scent of ink, but not a single one could be taken down.

From this point of view, this place was, after all, a dream.

In the center of the hall floated a large book, half a person high, its binding slightly old, carrying an ancient charm.

Tang Zhao knew what that was; it was the general reading Art Tool used to look up and retrieve books. One only needed to tap it, and the required information would naturally fly down. He had buried himself in research here before and was used to using it.

He familiarly opened the pages, a Micro Light rose up, but there was not a single word on the pages.

What was it he wanted to look up again?

It seemed there was nothing he particularly wanted to look up, so he would just look at history.

He moved his finger slightly—

"You've come again? What are you looking at this time?"

An aged voice sounded, echoing in the empty pavilion.

Tang Zhao's spine straightened, and he was startled—

It was a real jump; he almost jumped up.

"Who?"

Suddenly turning his head, he stared at the bookshelf behind him.

One must know, he had stayed quietly in this library for several months; how could he not know there was no one here?

Thump, thump—

Heavy footsteps sounded.

A giant tortoise slowly circled out from behind the bookshelf. The heavy tortoise shell was almost as high as the top of Tang Zhao's head. Its head was ugly, its skin wrinkled, and it was eighty percent similar to Gui Ye, only the round, bean-like eyes were not as pitch-black as Gui Ye's, but instead covered with a layer of the turbidity of time.

Facing such a strange beast, Tang Zhao instead let out a sigh of relief and bowed, saying, "So it is an elder of the Yuangui Clan."

Was this a change made by Gui Ye?

Putting a tortoise in the library as well?

Wait...

Tang Zhao suddenly realized something was wrong and said, "Just now you said... said I came again? Was I here when I came before?"

The giant tortoise's voice was slow and leisurely as it said, "Ah, wasn't that just yesterday? If I am not in Xuanji Lou, where else would I be? I was here when the building was built, four hundred and twenty years ago to this day. There hasn't been a day I wasn't here; what is there about Xuanji Lou that I don't know? You are a good student. I saw you buried in ten thousand scrolls, focused and intent; you have the look of a scholar. You remind me of Chen Ju."

Tang Zhao froze, feeling somewhat confused.

What confused him was whether this giant tortoise was added by Gui Ye or if it had always been here. He was also confused about whether this was a dream or a connection to reality.

Immediately following this, he asked along the line of thought: "Then... who is Chen Ju?"

The giant tortoise said, "Ah, that is Beichen. He is also the ancestor of Long Yuan. I still remember when we first met on the water; I carried that sword out from the bottom of the water, and he made a pact with me to establish a great sect that would not fall for a thousand years and to cast one thousand divine swords that would traverse the eight wildernesses."

Tang Zhao listened silently, and the giant tortoise said, "It is a pity, later Long Yuan was not as good as we had agreed. But it is not too bad either. At the time, dreams were always perfect, but after experiencing the wind and rain of these years, one knows that being able to live and continue to exist is already very good. How can one ask for too much? Just like you. I hope that such an outstanding young person as you is a Disciple of Long Yuan, but unfortunately, you are not, which counts as a small regret of mine. But even if you are not, doesn't Long Yuan still have many of the new generation growing up? There are many such regrets, big and small; some are still on one's mind after many years, but most have already been forgotten. I suppose it is nothing important."

Having said this, it seemed a bit tired and appeared ready to go back, to return behind the bookshelf.

Tang Zhao hurriedly said, "Please wait. Elder Gui, may I look up the historical records of Long Yuan?"

The giant tortoise did not turn its head and said, "You may, come with me."

Having said this, it walked with heavy steps around the bookshelf.

Tang Zhao followed it forward and also circled behind the bookshelf.

At this moment, he was certain in his heart that this Xuanji Lou was indeed different.

Previously, Tang Zhao had been here for months and had of course tried to walk through every corner. He was very certain that this room really only had one floor, and the surrounding bookshelves were like posters, firmly embedded in the walls, and it was absolutely impossible to go around them. To retrieve books, one could only use that reading Art Tool. So even in the dream, he was very clear that this was an illusory place.

But now, this place had truly become a library, and suddenly it was possible to walk through. Behind the bookshelves, there was a new space, still stacked with bookshelves. The layers of bookshelves wound back and forth like a coiled dragon. He also saw bamboo slips, jade slips, silk, and other various books appearing on the shelves, no longer filled with rigid, square book spines.

This place was becoming more and more like a real library.

The giant tortoise came under a bookshelf and tapped it lightly; several thick books flew down automatically. From this point of view, it had the same duty as the reading device.

"The books are here, you can take a look."

Tang Zhao thanked it and sat at the table and chairs in front of the shelf. With a light touch, tea and snacks were automatically set out; this point was the same as before. There was no hunger in the dream, but one could taste the flavors to soothe the body and mind.

He read the books silently, turning them page by page without making a sound. The giant tortoise stood under the bookshelf, a book floating before its eyes, the pages turning without wind; it was actually reading as well.

After a while, Tang Zhao suddenly looked up and said, "So the divine beast revered by the previous dynasty was also a tortoise?"

The giant tortoise lifted its layered eyelids and said, "The previous dynasty? Wei? They revered the Black Tortoise, one of the Four Divine Beasts. We mere Yuangui cannot climb that high."

Tang Zhao said, "It is the Black Tortoise. The previous dynasty worshipped Water Virtue, no wonder they revered the Black Tortoise. But in the present day, it is only disparaged as a tortoise." As he spoke, his gaze became sharp, and he said, "So the remnants and rebels of the former Wei are called 'Tortoise Bandits'!"

The giant tortoise sighed leisurely, "Don't keep saying that; it doesn't sound very pleasant to my ears."

Tang Zhao smiled and apologized, then flipped through the pages again. After a while, he said, "Is the Seven Stars Furnace really broken?"

The giant tortoise sighed, "It was smashed in that catastrophe. It is a sin; there is no better Sword Furnace in the world."

Tang Zhao said, "Is the Seven Stars Furnace the best in the world? How does it compare to the legendary Creation Furnace?"

The giant tortoise shook its head and said, "I don't know; I have never seen the Creation Furnace. However, even if the Seven Stars Furnace is broken into pieces, it is still extremely precious. It is enough to stabilize people's hearts when Sword Casting."

Tang Zhao said, "It is said that Iron Furnace Castle picked up the fragments of the Seven Stars Furnace? And used this as a foundation to build a huge, mobile fortress? Openly flaunting it in public, bullying Long Yuan for closing its doors, with no victim to demand it back. Now that Long Yuan has paid the price, do they not know how to exercise Restraint? No wonder they are called thieves."

This was just an anecdote recorded in books, not confirmed fact. If Iron Furnace Castle really had the fragments of the Seven Stars Furnace, then Long Yuan could of course call them "thieves," but there was another group of people who could as well. After all, the Seven Stars Furnace was not made by Long Yuan itself; it was the essence gathered by the former Wei Imperial Court.

Looking at it this way, was the mastermind not about to be revealed?

Tang Zhao finally had a bottom line in his heart. He read several more history books from different sources in detail, distinguishing, filtering, and piecing together useful information from them, and finally found the answer he wanted.

However, even at the end, there was still one question for which he had not found an explanation.

"Then what is the relationship between the Northern Sea Yuanji Palace, the Former Wei, and Longyuan?"

The giant turtle rolled its turbid eyes and said, "Huh? The Northern Sea? Isn't that a land beyond the pale? Why mention it? I have heard that the Northern Sea Yuanji Palace is built on the extreme northern ice plains and rarely sets foot in the Central Plains. How could it have any relationship with the Former Wei? And it has even less to do with Longyuan. Why do you think there is a connection?"

Tang Zhao frowned. The giant turtle was knowledgeable and well-read; if it said there was none, then it likely would not be recorded in books either. He said, "But Xiao Guangwang... could it be a private vendetta?"

The giant turtle said in a low voice, "A vendetta with Yuanji Palace? That is no small matter."

That's right, who would have a private vendetta with Yuanji Palace?

He had not expected things to go so smoothly; eight or nine out of ten problems had been solved at once.

Tang Zhao still had plenty of time. However, having stayed in the building for several months previously, his Spirit had suffered significant depletion, and he did not intend to delay for so long this time. He would just stay for a month and read some leisure books.

"Turtle... Ancestor." He remembered that the Yuangui Clan liked to be addressed by their seniority. "Please help me select some books regarding the Demon Cave."

At this moment, the physically and mentally exhausted Ju Tianxuan escorted Zhu Yang, who had just recovered from a major injury and was pale-faced, to the Libationer's lodging, which was Tianzi Yihao Fang in the guest house.

"Master Tuo." The Head of Tianxuan wore a solemn expression and said in a businesslike tone, "I leave tomorrow's lecture forum to you. It must be earth-shattering and leave the ghosts and gods in awe."

Although Zhu Yang was weak, his Spirit was still stable. He said calmly, "I know. The expression of your Palace Master tells me clearly that if I cannot shock the heavens and move the earth, he will make me meet the ghosts and gods."

Ju Tianxuan twitched the corners of her mouth, seemingly wanting to smile kindly, but she did not manage to in the end. She only said, "You are a Libationer; how could we move a Libationer we invited ourselves? However, you had better behave yourself. Clearly, your enemy is quite capable. If you act rashly again, our Longyuan has limited Secret Medicine and may not be able to save you a second time."

Her words were caustic, and Master Tuo's face flushed red, which actually gave him a bit of color. He glared fiercely at Ju Tianxuan and flicked his sleeves as he went upstairs.

Ju Tianxuan naturally knew she had provoked him, but she did not care. Ever since she realized that he, a dignified Libationer, had personally plotted against a junior and failed, even suffering a backlash, she had never respected this person again. A shameless and incompetent person, and he still thought he was in the right?

It was merely because the Talisman assembly had not yet ended, and she still had to play along with him.

Master Tuo stormed to the front of the building and closed the door. His expression actually calmed down; the anger from just a moment ago vanished completely, as if it had all been fake.

He gently smoothed his empty sleeve and actually revealed a sense of gratification—it was the relief of a great vendetta being avenged and the shackles being cast off.

Suddenly, he was slightly startled, for he saw a corner of white showing from within the Inner door.

What is that?

Could someone have entered his room?

The first thing Zhu Yang thought of was Longyuan—did Longyuan actually suspect him and search his room without permission?

He was furious, but then he thought of something and sneered: Let them search; did they think they could find any flaws? His room did not have a single suspicious spot.

Pushing the door slightly, he saw what that corner of white was: it was actually a letter, placed right on the floor.

Unaccountably, a dark cloud passed over his heart, and he had a bad premonition.

He squatted down, pulled out the letter, and without even standing up, he sat on the floor to read it.

After just one glance, his face turned snow-white, and he looked around nervously.

Then, Zhu Yang gritted his teeth and continued reading. The more he read, the more his expression changed; the veins on the back of his hand bulged, and in the end, he was left with a look of utter defeat.