Chapter 9: Treatment

Jiang Yu raised a slight eyebrow, and the little turtle Jiang Tu stretched his neck to pull the jade slip away.

"Hmph! Junior sister raised a decent spirit beast." Sister Ye's hand was empty, so she turned to look for another jade slip.

A disciple nearby gave them an unhappy glance; the library forbids noise, so to avoid disturbing others, everyone usually transmits thoughts.

"Anything else?" the little turtle politely transmitted the thought to Jiang Yu.

She took the jade slip, shook her head, and said, "Enough."

Then her mind entered the jade slip, but the technique only revealed the first five layers of the Refining Qi stage; the later parts were sealed and invisible.

It didn't prevent Jiang Yu from finding a spot to read and carefully study the differences between this technique and her own.

Half an hour later, she returned the technique to its place; the technique was good but not suitable for her to practice.

Jiang Yu tiptoed past each disciple reading slips, first looking for a bibliography introducing the Cavern Mystery Scripture.

The sea of scrolls and jade slips was vast as smoke, and even though each row had signposts, it took her two quarter‑hours to locate it.

Unexpectedly, this time she reached for the scroll on the shelf at the same moment as someone else.

The little turtle tried to jump out again to help, but she promptly pressed him back into his cloth bag.

The other party also stepped back and transmitted a thought: "You read first; I'll fetch another."

"No need, no need, senior sister, go ahead." Jiang Yu recognized at a glance that the person was a female cultivator who had lived on the boat with Lu Ruochan.

Lu Chenxia waved her hand, "I want to borrow it; it'll take longer. After you finish, I'll borrow it."

"May I take it out?"

"Only paper books can be borrowed for two days, and you need an inner sect disciple token."

"I'll finish quickly, thanks senior sister." Jiang Yu abandoned the idea of borrowing and again found a spot to study.

This book was very detailed; it not only explained the Cavern Mystery Scripture's classification according to spirit roots, such as the Cavern Mystery Gold‑Fire Technique and the Cavern Mystery Fire‑Cloud Technique, etc.

It also pointed out its shortcomings; practitioners must choose according to their own spirit roots, selecting carefully, because some techniques are incomplete, lacking sections beyond the Golden Core, and some can only be cultivated up to Foundation Establishment.

"Quickly see which one suits your spirit root; if you can cultivate to Nascent Soul and transform into a deity, that's best."

"If not, choose another technique early." The little turtle was no slower than she was.

Jiang Yu laughed and transmitted: "Transforming into a deity? So far, on Tianyuan Continent, only Nascent Soul is heard of."

"My demands aren't high; if I can establish Foundation and live two hundred years, that's already a profit."

"Pathetic, at least achieve Golden Core and accompany me for five hundred years."

"My three spirit roots aren't lacking either." The little turtle harshly mocked her.

Jiang Yu couldn't help but point her index finger at its head, "Thanks for your kind words; I'll borrow a brush to copy a few book titles and find more data for comparison."

The library has a rule: all spatial items, such as storage bags, must be placed in the storage cabinet before reading, and paper and brush can be borrowed from the steward.

She continued the comparison until the library locked in the evening, reluctantly leaving.

Before leaving, she specifically asked the stewards whether the library had any tasks.

An elderly steward monk said, "There are, but whenever a task is released, it's snatched up in an instant."

Besides that, when sorting the first layer of slips, one can browse many books.

Although technique slips are sealed, the basics of alchemical vessels, talismans, arrays, as well as various customs, chronicles, and predecessors' insights can be perused freely.

Normally, each entry to the library requires paying one spirit stone, regardless of how long you stay; if you enter three times a day, you pay three spirit stones, and imprinting jade slips has a separate price.

Therefore many disciples scramble for these tasks to read without spending spirit stones.

This library steward noticed she had been searching books since the afternoon until closing, and said, "Junior disciple, if you want to read more, I suggest coming at dawn when the doors open."

"You could take a Bigu pill and stay until the Hai hour when the lock drops."

"Thanks, senior uncle, for the guidance." Jiang Yu noted a point: older Foundation Establishment stewards in the sect are relatively more willing to advise newcomers.

She herself also wanted to resolve the technique issue quickly, so for the next three days she stayed in the library from dawn to dusk.

After reviewing the books containing the words "Cavern Mystery," she flipped through other techniques for comparison.

Unfortunately, she had no lucky encounter to obtain a tome or a peerless technique hidden in the shelves.

While Lu Chenxia was returning books, she heard Jiang Yu had been reading so long, so she went to Shan Shui Valley to bring Lu Ruochan, demanding that she must sit quietly and read a book.

So when Jiang Yu finally finished copying the jade slip, the first to sigh in relief was not the little turtle that accompanied her daily, but Lu Ruochan, who had been forced to read.

The library steward, seeing Jiang Yu hand over the "Supreme Cavern Mystery Thunder‑Fire Technique," was slightly startled and transmitted: "Junior disciple, with a new disciple token you can go to the third floor to retrieve the full jade slip of this technique."

"Golden Core or Nascent Soul floor?" Jiang Yu was a bit surprised—was a lucky encounter waiting for her here?

The steward nodded, "If you don't want to…"

"Want to, shall I go up right now?" Not wanting is foolish; Jiang Yu immediately expressed her intention.

The steward took a blank jade slip, affixed it to his forehead and engraved the content, then handed it together with the technique slip: "Take these two to the third floor and show them; someone will let you in."

"Also, your spirit beast cannot enter the third floor."

Jiang Yu was about to ask the steward to watch over a bit, when Lu Ruochan came over: "Junior sister Jiang, I'll watch the little turtle for a while."

"You go quickly get the items and return to the valley; then I can go with you."

"…" Jiang Yu inexplicably understood the subtext in Lu Ruochan's eyes.

She didn't expect that the steward on duty on the third floor turned out to be Master Lin, who had been on the previous boat.

"Disciple has seen Elder Lin," Jiang Yu quickly bowed.

Master Lin smiled and nodded, "The Cavern Mystery Thunder‑Fire Technique you chose is because you saw a miscellaneous note in the 'Cavern Mystery Anecdotes,' which says this technique has a one‑percent chance of refining the cultivator's spirit root into a Thunder spirit root."

Jiang Yu handed over two jade slips with both hands; she was not at all surprised that the Golden Core master knew what she was holding.

With just a sweep of his mind, he knew everything upstairs and downstairs: "I've read that miscellaneous note, but the technique was chosen before I saw it."

The disciple thought it was just a fun talk; it is said the Thunder spirit root originates from Gold‑Water spirit root or Water‑Earth spirit root, or possibly a mutation of the three spirit roots.

If there truly is a one‑percent chance, then those with Gold‑Water spirit roots would only be one percent of that one percent.

The disciple values that this technique can merge Gold and Water into one system and be cultivated alongside the Fire spirit root, complementing each other.

She paused, then said, "As a disciple I have studied the first five layers of the method; it lacks the rapid advancement of a top‑tier fire‑type technique, being instead balanced and peaceful—only its name is meant to dazzle."

True Person Lin nodded again, "Very good, but do you know that those who practice this method often, after Foundation Establishment, find its progress slow because the name does not match the reality, and thus switch to another method?"

And once they switch, within the Grand Void Sect there will be no chance of ever becoming a direct disciple.

"Do you still wish to persist in practicing this method?"

Jiang Yu was startled and said, "Please, True Person, grant me your instruction."

"Because there truly have been people who succeeded, the sect now treats all disciples who practice this method as direct disciples, issuing the standard allocation, and assigning a Jie Dan Elder to guide the early stage of Qi‑refining practice."

Even if after Foundation Establishment the spiritual root remains, that disciple, regardless of whether they have a master, will forever enjoy direct‑disciple privileges.

If they switch, the sect reserves the right to reclaim the costs previously spent." True Person Lin's face was solemn, awaiting her decision.

Jiang Yu pondered for a moment and asked, "Is it necessary to use some special method and medicinal potency to forcibly stimulate the potential of the spiritual root?"