57: Dusty ancient books

At this moment, the coldness and solemnity brought about by resource scarcity in his heart had long been replaced by a raging, heaven-shattering Battle Intent!

He knew that the road ahead was difficult and full of thorns.

But he knew even more clearly that his greatest reliance was not talent, nor background, but the System that could overturn all common sense—the idle cultivation System!

As long as he had enough contribution points to exchange for enough Cultivation Techniques and resources, he would be able to grow stronger at a speed beyond anyone's imagination!

His gaze was like a torch as he walked straight towards the Sect's mission stone wall... The mission stone wall was one of the liveliest places in the entire Inner Sect, apart from the Merit Hall.

The entire massive mountain wall had been smoothed like a mirror by people using spiritual power.

On it, hundreds of Jade Slips, emitting various colored lights, floated densely.

Each Jade Slip represented a Sect mission.

From the lowest Rank of "Caring for Spiritual Plant fields" to the highest Rank of "Deep into the Yao Beast Mountain Range, hunting Golden Law Great Yao," everything was available.

At this moment, under the stone wall, hundreds of Inner Sect Disciples had already gathered.

They were either in groups of three or five, discussing loudly and teaming up to take on high-difficulty missions; or they were alone, their brows furrowed, carefully scrutinizing missions suitable for themselves.

Lin Ye circulated the "Breath Concealment Art," perfectly concealing his aura, like a drop of water merging into the ocean, silently blending into the crowd.

His gaze, like the most precise instrument, quickly swept across the dazzling array of mission Jade Slips.

Soon, his face, which had been full of Battle Intent, gradually sank.

Reality was far more cruel than he had imagined.

Those high-Rank missions with generous rewards, without exception, had extremely harsh acceptance conditions.

"Hunt the Blackwater Profound Serpent (Foundation Establishment Late Stage), reward eight hundred contribution points. Requirement: At least a five-person team, and the Cultivator's cultivation must not be lower than Qi Refinement Stage eighth layer."

"Escort the Sect's caravan to Tiannan City, reward one thousand contribution points. Requirement: Those ranked in the top thirty of the Inner Sect have priority."

With his current strength and status, he couldn't even think about these missions.

As for the low-Rank missions he was qualified to accept, the rewards were pitifully small.

"Clean the Sword Tomb, wipe the spiritual swords of the Sect's predecessors, mission duration one month, reward twenty contribution points."

"Care for Medicinal Plant field number three, for three months, reward fifty contribution points."

These few contribution points, let alone exchanging for those Profound Rank Cultivation Techniques that cost thousands, might not even be enough for the Medicinal Pills he needed for daily idle cultivation!

What made his heart sink even further was his keen discovery that even among these low-Rank missions with meager rewards, those that were slightly easier and more lucrative, such as "Guarding an Elder's Immortal Cave" or "Assisting the Pill Hall in sifting Medicinal Plant materials," had already been taken.

What remained were all arduous, tiring, and unprofitable chores.

He even heard several Disciples beside him complaining in low voices.

"Alas, we were a step too late! That mission to be an assistant to the Artifact Refining Hall Elder was snatched away by Han Meng Senior Brother's people again!"

"Isn't that right! In this Inner Sect now, almost all the slightly better missions are monopolized by those Senior Brothers ranked higher up.

We newcomers can only get some scraps."

Han Meng!

Hearing this name, a cold glint flashed in Lin Ye's eyes.

He instantly understood that this was probably Han Meng's "doing"!

He not only deducted his monthly allowance but also arranged everything in advance to completely cut off all his hopes of obtaining contribution points through missions!

To exterminate him completely!

A deep sense of powerlessness, mixed with cold anger, surged into Lin Ye's heart.

He finally experienced firsthand how cruel Su Qingyue's "Hell of the Incompetent" truly was.

Without strength, without connections, in this Inner Sect, you really... cannot move an inch!

Could it be that he really had to spend several months or even years, like those ordinary Disciples, doing these arduous chores to accumulate those pitifully few contribution points?

Lin Ye clenched his fists tightly, his brain working rapidly.

The conventional path had been blocked.

To break the deadlock, he had to find another way!

A thought uncontrollably emerged from the bottom of his heart.

His gaze suddenly shifted from the mission stone wall, once again looking towards the magnificent nine-story glazed pagoda in the distance.

Scripture Pavilion!

Since he couldn't quickly break the deadlock in "martial arts," then he would start from "literature"!

Within that pagoda, all the knowledge accumulated by the Qingyun Sect over hundreds of years was stored!

Perhaps... perhaps in those inconspicuous corners, some keys that could change his current predicament, overlooked by everyone, were hidden!

Thinking of this, Lin Ye no longer hesitated in the slightest.

He turned around, and amidst the slightly surprised gazes of the Disciples, he resolutely walked towards the Scripture Pavilion again...

Stepping into this ocean of knowledge once more, Lin Ye's state of mind was completely different.

He no longer looked at those dazzling, astonishingly expensive Cultivation Technique Jade Slips, but walked directly to the deepest and most secluded corner of the first floor.

【Miscellaneous Records】.

The bookshelves here were not made of thousand-year warm jade, but of the most ordinary ironwood.

What was placed on them were not precious Jade Slips, but ancient texts of varying thickness, full of the traces of time.

The air was filled with a strong musty smell, a mixture of dust and old paper.

This was the most desolate place in the entire Scripture Pavilion, so much so that even the Disciples responsible for cleaning bothered not to come.

Yet, Lin Ye felt as if he had found a treasure.

He squatted down, completely calming his heart, and began to carefully read through them one by one.

"Records of Queer Tales in Qingzhou," "Studies on Ancient Cultivator Immortal Caves," "Fragmentary Texts on Spiritual Plant Identification," "Supplements to the Yao Beast Bestiary"...

These books recorded what other Cultivators would consider useless "idle books."

But Lin Ye read them with great interest.

He was like a parched sponge, frantically absorbing this most basic and easily overlooked knowledge about this world.

Time quietly slipped away as the pages turned.

Just as he was about to reach the bottom layer of the bookshelf, his finger touched an unusually thick ancient book with no name whatsoever.

The ancient book was bound with an unknown, dark animal skin, cold to the touch, and full of the vicissitudes of time.

Curiously, he pulled it out and blew away the thick dust on the cover.

He opened the first page.

What was recorded inside was not some strange tales, but the travelogue of an unknown ancient Cultivator...

The handwriting was messy, and the content was disorganized, jumping from one topic to another.

"...Today, I accidentally entered the extreme northern ice plain and saw a strange flower called 'Ice Heart Grass,' which can actually absorb cold Qi from ten-thousand-year-old profound ice to grow on its own, how wondrous..."

"...Traveling to the coast of the Southern Sea, I encountered a Yao Beast, shaped like a flood Dragon, which could speak human words, calling itself 'Great Sage Overturning Sea,' and I discussed the Dao with it for three days, gaining much..."

Lin Ye found it somewhat uninteresting and was about to close this "diary."

However, just as he turned to a certain page, his gaze suddenly narrowed!

On that page, no travelogue was recorded; instead, with a fervent and obsessive brushstroke, a type of flame was repeatedly depicted!

"...My lifelong pursuit is only the Dao of flame! However, all fires in heaven and earth have their forms, but only the 'Flame of Burning Heaven' is formless and shapeless, capable of burning all things and refining the Divine Soul! I accidentally obtained a trace of its method, exhausted a hundred years, and finally gained some enlightenment..."

Upon seeing this, Lin Ye's heart inexplicably skipped a beat!

And it was at this moment—

In his mind, the System, which had been silent for a long time, suddenly popped up a cold, emotionless notification sound!