At the end of his speech, the Elder of Book Mountain's tone grew quite stern.The overwhelming pressure made Ye Zhiqiu and the Flower Monk feel suffocated, as if they could not breathe. Unconsciously, they wanted to retreat, to flee the grand hall, feeling unworthy to stand there any longer.
"That's right. I came here to take the collection of ancient books," Yi Tianxing said calmly, without the slightest attempt to conceal it.
He had entered for the collection; the books were a treasure trove. There was no point in hiding it. Especially in front of the Elder of Book Mountain, whose gaze was as clear and profound as the sea—it would be almost impossible to lie to such a man.In the face of a scholar like this, the best approach was to be direct and honest.
A trace of appreciation flashed across the elder's eyes before it quickly disappeared. He spoke calmly, "Very well. You did not lie. As a reward, you may choose three ancient books from the Xuan Zhen Hall to take with you. As for the other two, they are not allowed to take a single one."As he said this, his gaze turned stern, landing firmly on Ye Zhiqiu and the Flower Monk.
A person must have the courage to take responsibility for their actions.If they lacked even the courage to admit their intentions, they were not worthy of receiving anything more.This was not just about courage—it was a test of one's ability to face their own heart.If one could not even confront themselves, how could they hope to ascend the higher peaks of heaven and earth and become a true powerhouse?
Ye Zhiqiu and the Flower Monk's expressions changed drastically when they heard this. Their minds churned like a raging sea, countless thoughts colliding violently within.
"Only three ancient books?"Yi Tianxing shook his head slightly when he heard this and said, "I'm very greedy. I want all the ancient books in this Xuan Zhen Hall. Is there any way for me to take them all? Leaving them here would be a desecration of the wisdom of the ancients. They should be taken out to benefit more people, to contribute to the advancement of humanity."
His voice carried no concealment of his desire to obtain all the books in the hall.Yi Tianxing had always been unashamed of his greed for knowledge.The value these books would have for the future of Xuanhuang Town was simply too great—so great that he could not help but feel that he must take them all.If he succeeded, the Sutra Depository would truly become one of the finest collections of human knowledge across the entire Eternal Continent.The temptation was overwhelming.
"Do you even know how many ancient books are here?"The Elder of Book Mountain frowned slightly, looking at Yi Tianxing with a cold smile. "There are the works of the sages: the Book of Songs with 305 poems, the Analects with 20 chapters, the works of Mencius, Liezi, the Nanhua Classic with 89 chapters, and the Strategies of the Warring States with 33 chapters.The Incomplete Works of Lu Ban contain 43 scrolls.There are 134,745 Taoist scriptures.Tactical discourses, alchemical texts—658 of them.And over 1,032 cultivation methods compiled by alchemists.There is also the Huainanzi authored by the King of Huainan, who also compiled the precious Huainan Alchemical Classic."
He continued coldly, "You intend to take all of it? Young man, know that greed is not a good thing."
The Elder of Book Mountain stared at Yi Tianxing, his gaze sharp.The quantity and quality of books stored here were unimaginable.And what he had listed was only a portion—the collection gathered by the King of Huainan included nearly everything he could amass at the time.Some techniques had evolved with the merging of myriad worlds, now perfectly suited to the laws of the Eternal Continent.Once useless remnants were now treasures.To pick even one would be a great fortune—and yet Yi Tianxing wanted them all.Such greed was outrageous; even the heavens should strike him down for it.The elder's heart grew faintly displeased.
"Without greed, there would be no desire; without desire, civilization would not advance," Yi Tianxing said without a trace of shame."Fish yearn to escape the sea and fly into the sky—thus, some transform into mighty Pengs soaring across the heavens. Humans longed to fly, so Lu Ban invented mechanical birds. Desiring to fight fierce beasts and monsters, they observed nature and created cultivation techniques, evolving into cultivators, pushing life itself to evolve.Desire for wealth drives commerce.Desire for better food leads to the cultivation of crops and rice."
"You're saying then, that greed and desire are not wrong?"The Elder of Book Mountain retorted sharply."If everyone acted on their greed and desires, would not all order collapse? Would not human civilization destroy itself?"
He could not even imagine a world where greed ran rampant—it would surely be a hell on earth.
"I'm not saying greed and desire should be unbridled."Yi Tianxing shook his head. "The reason humans are human is because we imposed a shackle upon ourselves from the beginning."
He said calmly, "That shackle is morality. Morality restrains desire, forces us to consider our conscience before acting. A man without morality is a demon. One with morality, even when momentarily swayed by desire, knows when to stop.There are good desires and bad ones—it depends on our stance and purpose.Good desires should be preserved; bad desires must be restrained by morality."
"Nonsense! By that logic, your desire to seize all the books here is a 'good' desire?"The Elder of Book Mountain's brows furrowed deeply.
"Perhaps my greed brings no good to others, and in their eyes, it is merely selfish.But for my Xuanhuang Town—for the tens of thousands, perhaps even hundreds of thousands of people under my protection—it would be an enormous blessing.It would bring the most direct transformation, accelerating my own growth and the town's expansion.It would allow me to shelter even more of humanity.From my standpoint, why should I not act on this desire?"
A resolute gleam flashed in Yi Tianxing's eyes.This was his conviction.
"My duty, my very purpose, is to guard these books.If you take them all, there's no reason for me to exist.You might as well take my life.If you wish to take the books, there is only one way—defeat me, kill me.Otherwise, leave immediately."
The Elder of Book Mountain blew at his beard, a cold glint flashing through his eyes.
"Then let's fight and see!"Yi Tianxing answered decisively, battle intent surging within him.
As his words fell, he stepped forward without hesitation.The moment his foot landed, the entire floor of the hall trembled violently, as though a crack was about to split open.With a palm strike, golden light flowed around him, and his vital energy surged like a peerless dragon-elephant crashing forward, exuding a mountainous, oppressive force.
With the strength behind that strike, even a towering ancient tree would have been smashed to pieces.
"Youngsters nowadays really are so impolite.If you must fight, don't damage the precious books!"The Elder of Book Mountain frowned slightly.He waved his sleeve—and in an instant, all the books in the hall disappeared without a trace, as if they had been illusions all along.
"So that's why the books we touched before felt blurry and unreal. They weren't the real ones," Yi Tianxing thought to himself, but his movements did not slow.His palm still roared forward toward the elder.
"Stubborn fool!"The Elder of Book Mountain shook his head slightly and spat out four words.
Swish!As he spoke, a white spear shot from his mouth like a sharp flying javelin, imbued with boundless righteous energy, piercing straight toward Yi Tianxing's descending palm.It was aimed to pierce through his hand entirely.
儒道命窍 — Lip Spear!
The white spear was the manifestation of the Lip Spear divine ability.The stronger one's Confucian cultivation, the stronger the spear's destructive power, and the greater the righteous energy it carried.Right now, the spear was charged with immense righteous might, enough to tear the air apart.
Even Ye Zhiqiu and the Flower Monk, standing on the sidelines, felt a chilling sting on their skin, as if deadly vipers had locked onto them, ready to kill at any moment.
Boom!!
The palm and spear clashed violently.Yi Tianxing did not retreat.His palm struck squarely against the tip of the Lip Spear.The scene of his palm being pierced through did not occur.
Instead, surging blood essence and true energy exploded from his palm, violently clashing against the spear.
The Lip Spear trembled violently, its divine light flickering.The righteous energy it carried was vast and overwhelming.
The terrifying shockwave from the clash forced Ye Zhiqiu and the Flower Monk to retreat again and again, unable to resist the force.
Within the brilliant burst of light, one could see clearly:A wound appeared on Yi Tianxing's palm, a small spear mark from which blood seeped.Yet under his powerful blood essence, the wound swiftly healed, erasing even the divine power lingering in it.
Meanwhile, the Lip Spear was knocked flying backward, its brilliance dimming before vanishing altogether.
"Fate Aperture Realm cultivation," Yi Tianxing noted as he looked at the Elder of Book Mountain.
With a single clash, he had already sensed the elder's strength—far beyond the Sea of Divine Power realm, with righteous energy vast as the sea, a true Confucian ocean.
His divine abilities in the Fate Aperture Realm exploded with power far exceeding that of the Divine Sea Realm.