Chapter 31

“The reward is this!”

Lu Fang’s eyes lit up; he leaned over his desk, closed his eyes, and silently chanted “Grand Void Realm” three times.

In a daze, he arrived at the Ink Brush Book Realm.

This Ink Brush Book Realm differed from before: opposite the horizontal streak of seven-colored ink, a diamond-shaped mirror had appeared.

It stood over seven feet tall, its diamond edges seemingly embedded into space, creating irregular, jagged borders.

As he drew closer, the mirror’s surface glowed white and was coated in frost.

Lu Fang reached out to wipe it; the “frostwater” dripping from the mirror landed on the inked ground, sprouting ink-black branches and leaves, with a bud at the tip.

Grand Void Realm · Ink-Black Flower.

Wherever the Grand Void Realm exists, the Ink-Black Flower grows.

Water the Ink-Black Flower bud with ten strands of book-scent, and it will bloom, granting Lu Fang, the master of the Ink Brush Book Realm, an enhancement to his transcendent power.

Lu Fang touched the two Ink-Black Flower buds; instantly, information about them surfaced in his mind.

Ink-Black Flower · Solidify Body

When watered with book-scent and blooming, this flower grants Lu Fang, the master of the Ink Brush Book Realm, the Book Spirit Yan Chixia a body formed from the Ink-Black Flower’s branches and leaves—indistinguishable from a human of the Great Zhou Dynasty.

Ink-Black Flower · Peach Blossom Shadow

When watered with book-scent and blooming, this flower enhances Lu Fang’s transcendent power, Dirge of the Buried Flowers, allowing the user to hide within Peach Blossom Shadows to achieve a single, fatal strike.

“This is too powerful.”

Lu Fang couldn’t help but laugh.

Aside from the strict requirement of ten strands of book-scent to make it bloom, every other aspect of the Ink-Black Flower was formidable.

For instance, these aren’t the only two buds.

From now on, every new transcendent power Lu Fang acquires will spawn another Ink-Black Flower to enhance that ability.

Most astonishingly, for example, the Ink-Black Flower · Solidify Body grants Yan Chixia a human-like body; after its first bloom, a new Ink-Black Flower regrows, enhancing the ability in a different way.

“Ten strands of book-scent to make one Ink-Black Flower bloom?”

The moment Lu Fang thought of this, his enthusiasm was doused like a bucket of cold water.

Though Dream of the Red Chamber was wildly popular in the Imperial Capital, he currently had only thirteen strands of book-scent—enough to make one Ink-Black Flower bloom.

He needed to launch a “Literary Gazette” to spread across the entire Great Zhou.

Currently, the “Literary Gazette” is only mass-distributed in the Imperial Capital; if he expanded it nationwide, he would surely gain far more book-scent.

“Grand Void Realm.”

Lu Fang turned his gaze to the glowing white mirror; the misty four characters “Grand Void Realm” hovered above it, unchanging, and the mirror reflected not his own figure, but a cave entrance.

He reached out and touched it, entering the midair of the Grand Void Realm.

He had no physical form—only a consciousness.

After absorbing the information about the Grand Void Realm, Lu Fang no longer felt alarmed; his gaze settled on the “Grand Void Mountain” before him.

This majestic mountain pierced the clouds, wider at the base and narrower at the top, with a stone platform every hundred zhang, divided into nine tiers.

The Grand Void Realm is a sacred land; anyone who reads Lu Fang’s refined literature and gains book-scent may enter the first tier of Grand Void Mountain.

Here, reading and writing refined literature from the Ink Brush Book Realm grants more book-scent and makes it easier to obtain transcendent powers from the texts.

Those on the first tier of Grand Void Mountain, once they accumulate sufficient book-scent, may use ladders formed from book-scent to climb to the second tier.

The higher the tier of Grand Void Mountain, the easier it becomes to gain book-scent and transcendent powers.

“Too bad I can’t enter Grand Void Mountain.”

Lu Fang smiled bitterly and shook his head.

Even if he couldn’t climb it himself, this sacred land allowing more people to gain more book-scent and transcendent powers ultimately benefited him.

After all, the more book-scent and transcendent powers others gained, the more he gained too.

Lu Fang exited the Grand Void Realm and returned to the Ink Brush Book Realm; Dream of the Red Chamber was finished, meaning he could now obtain his third book.

Whether it was Strange Tales from a Chinese Studio: Nie Xiaoqian or Dream of the Red Chamber.

He didn’t know if it was luck or something else, but clearly, the rewards and realms granted by the books far surpassed his own.

He was still eager for his third book.

With a thought, Lu Fang summoned an ink-black bamboo rod; after a moment’s consideration, he decided to use one strand of book-scent as bait.

The last time he fished for book-scent from Dream of the Red Chamber, he hadn’t even gained one strand.

Book-scent wasn’t easy to obtain; by early November, he might need to enter the dangerous Xiao Shangjie and had to reserve some for emergencies.

One strand of book-scent was already no small amount.

Lu Fang twisted the one-foot-long strand—composed of eighteen threads—into a larger ball and hung it on the ink hook, then cast the rod out.

As before, the moment the book-scent bait appeared, three book-people leapt onto it.

Unlike last time, one of the book-people punched and kicked, flinging the other two away and claiming the bait for himself.

Lu Fang stared, dumbfounded.

This was allowed?

He’d only ever heard “money can make a ghost push a mill”; now he knew that with enough book-scent, book-people could cheat and ambush.

After the book-person devoured the book-scent, the book’s contents immediately surfaced in Lu Fang’s mind.

……

Lu Fang emerged from the Ink Brush Book Realm, opened his eyes, and saw a large, round face right before him; he frowned:

“Why are you so close when I’m sleeping?”

He Zixuan didn’t mind, grinning: “The slot for entering the Seventh-Rank Xiao Shangjie you asked me to get—I got it.”

“I asked my father to petition His Majesty; His Majesty set one condition: you may enter the Xiao Shangjie, but only if you defeat me.”

“Defeat you?” Lu Fang’s expression said, “Did I hear that right?”

He was Eighth-Rank First Stage; He Zixuan was Seventh-Rank Third Stage. His Majesty’s condition clearly meant to bar him from entering the Xiao Shangjie.

He Zixuan shrugged, looking helpless:

“His Majesty himself said I’m not allowed to hold back. Not letting you go is actually for your own good—never mind the threat from the Barbarian and Demon clans, even the Xiao family might pose a lethal threat to you…”

“The Xiao family?”

Lu Fang raised an eyebrow.

He Zixuan’s father, Minister He Fan, naturally knew more than others; he sighed: “The three Semi-Saints of the Xiao family did promise not to trouble you—but Xiao Yunru won’t let you off.”

Lu Fang said grimly: “Xiao Yunru?”

He Zixuan sat down heavily on a nearby chair:

“Xiao Yunru is the eldest son of Minister of Justice Xiao Qi. He was abroad hunting mountain spirits and wild demons linked to Yaozu assassins of the prophetic figures, and he’s returned now—he’ll definitely enter the Xiao Shangjie.”

“Not only is his Confucian cultivation talent extraordinary, he’s also born with a peculiar trait: his heterochromatic eyes can foresee danger and opportunity.”

“Xiao Yunru reached Seventh-Rank Third Stage three years ago; to make a stunning debut in this Seventh-Rank Xiao Shangjie, he used a secret method to suppress his cultivation and hold back his realm.”

“You killed his younger brother, Xiao Jincheng, and had his father branded as a slanderer in the Annals of Time—do you think he’ll let you walk away when he enters the Xiao Shangjie?”

Xiao Yunru is the universally recognized number one of the Seventh-Rank Third Stage in the Great Zhou.

Lu Fang sneered: “So the Xiao family’s three Semi-Saints’ promises are just wind?”

He wasn’t afraid of Xiao Yunru—just furious. After careful thought, he suspected his revered Senior Brother might have been toyed with by the Xiao family.

He Zixuan sighed: “Soo Lao was upright and honest, devoted entirely to country and people—how could he match the Xiao family’s scheming? That’s why, at forty, he’s still just a Hall Lecturer.”