60: Seeking Secret Texts in the Tibetan Library

The morning mist in Wangyue Courtyard had not yet dissipated, but Lin Yang was already standing outside the Scripture Pavilion, clutching his Secret Disciple token. The vermilion gates of the pavilion were carved with dense Star Moon runes, subtly echoing the patterns on his token. The moment he pushed the doors open, a cool sensation, a mix of aged ink and Spiritual Qi, washed over him, several times heavier than the aura of the Outer Sect Scripture Pavilion—this was the Forbidden Ground library section that even Inner Sect Disciples of the Star Moon Sect rarely had the chance to enter.

“Senior Brother Lin, as per the Sect Master’s instructions, the ‘Ancient Land Secret Collection’ area on the third floor of the Forbidden Ground has been opened for you. It contains records of the Ancient Land of Starfall from past Elders, as well as diagrams of ancient battle souls.” The Elder guarding the pavilion presented a string of bronze keys, his gaze lingering on the token with a hint of reverence. “However, many of the texts on the third floor are written in ancient seal script, and some require True Essence to activate and reveal their contents. If you encounter anything you don’t understand, please feel free to call me.”

Lin Yang took the keys, thanked him, and quickly ascended the stone steps. The bookshelves on the third floor appeared even more ancient than those on the first and second, with many covers of the texts being dark brown and their corners still bearing traces of dried Spiritual Qi. He followed the direction indicated by the Sect Master to the shelf marked “Ancient Land of Starfall.” As his fingertips brushed across a row of texts, his chaos star core suddenly pulsed slightly—an Incomplete Manual with the title “Study of Ancient Land Battle Souls” on its cover was emitting a faint aura, originating from the same source as the space stone.

Opening the Incomplete Manual, pale golden ancient seal script slowly lit up after True Essence was injected: “The Ancient Land of Starfall is the relic of an ancient battlefield, preserving nine types of battle souls, with the 'Soul-Splitting Battle Soul' and 'Iron-Armored War Soul' being the most dangerous. Soul-Splitting Battle Souls are skilled at attacking the Sea of Consciousness; touching them causes the Divine Soul to vibrate. Iron-Armored War Souls are covered in ancient Protective Aura, which ordinary True Essence struggles to break... Only Ice True Essence can freeze their Meridians, Divine Soul attacks can disperse their remnant souls, and Chaos power can devour their Origin.”

Lin Yang’s heart rejoiced; this was exactly the battle soul weakness he was looking for! He continued to flip through, and at the end of the Incomplete Manual was a simple map of the Ancient Land of Starfall, marking the “starship wreckage” at the Meteorite Crater in the center of the ancient land. Along the way, three checkpoints guarded by battle souls had to be passed. What surprised him even more was a small line of text next to the map: “The starship core contains star map fragments, which require Chaos True Essence to activate before they can appear.”

For the next two days, Lin Yang immersed himself in the Scripture Pavilion every morning. He not only thoroughly understood texts like “Study of Ancient Land Battle Souls” and “Records of Ancient Starships” but also found a “Analysis of Chaos Forbidden Patterns.” The methods for breaking forbidden patterns recorded within subtly aligned with the operational rules of his chaos star core, allowing him to master the technique of stabilizing his True Essence within the ancient land in advance. During this time, his chaos star core, due to continuous exposure to the Soul Power remnants in the ancient texts, surprisingly awakened “Weak Soul Power Perception” ahead of schedule. He could vaguely sense the Divine Soul fluctuations of nearby Cultivators, laying the groundwork for his “Soul Power Devouring” ability.

On the morning of the third day, Lin Yang arrived at the Training Grounds in the back mountain as arranged. Su Qingyue and Bai Wanqing were already waiting there. Su Qingyue held an ice silk, her fingertips imbued with faint blue Ice True Essence, and three translucent “soul puppets” floated before her—these were specially made Sect-specific simulated battle souls, capable of mimicking the attack methods of Soul-Splitting Battle Souls. Bai Wanqing, on the other hand, held an ice soul pearl, which glowed with a soft blue light, its detection range having expanded to fifty meters and become more precise than before.

“According to the texts in the Scripture Pavilion, we’ll start by practicing ‘detection - defense - devouring’ coordination,” Su Qingyue began. Her ice silk suddenly unfurled, transforming into three ice walls that blocked in front of them. “I’ll use the ice walls to trap the soul puppets, Wanqing, you use the ice soul pearl to lock onto the soul puppets’ Divine Soul cores, and Lin Yang, you take the opportunity to try devouring with your Chaos True Essence. Remember not to use full power; just find the rhythm first.”

Lin Yang nodded, concentrating on the soul puppets. Bai Wanqing lightly tapped the ice soul pearl with her fingertip, and blue light instantly spread, enveloping the three soul puppets: “The left soul puppet’s Divine Soul core is in its chest, and the two on the right are in their glabella!” No sooner had she spoken than Su Qingyue’s ice silk tightened, binding the soul puppets immobile. Fine ice thorns also condensed on the ice walls, preventing the soul puppets from breaking free.

Lin Yang immediately activated his Chaos True Essence, and gray-gold light emanated from his palm as he pressed it against the left soul puppet’s chest. The chaos star core automatically generated suction, and the simulated Soul Power within the soul puppet surged into his palm. A cool sensation instantly spread through his Dantian—although this Soul Power was weak, it made his Sea of Consciousness faintly swell, and his previously awakened “Soul Power Perception” became clearer. He could even “see” the flow of Soul Power within the soul puppet.

“Stop!” Bai Wanqing suddenly exclaimed, the blue light of the ice soul pearl flickering slightly. “Just now, the Soul Power of the right soul puppet showed an anomaly, as if it was about to self-detonate. If it were a real battle soul from the ancient land, Lin Yang, you would have to withdraw your power immediately, and I would use the ice soul pearl to suppress its Divine Soul!”

Lin Yang nodded, adjusting the rhythm of his True Essence circulation. During the second practice, when the right soul puppet simulated self-detonation, Bai Wanqing’s ice soul pearl immediately shot out two blue lights, accurately striking the soul puppet’s glabella, instantly calming its anomaly. Su Qingyue then seized the opportunity to tighten her ice silk, completely locking the soul puppet’s movements. Lin Yang grabbed the chance, wrapping his Chaos True Essence with Star Moon True Qi (the Moon Essence power of the Moon-Attracting Realm), not only devouring the Soul Power but also simultaneously disintegrating the simulated Protective Aura on the soul puppet’s surface—this was a technique he had learned yesterday in the Scripture Pavilion: using Star Moon True Qi to soften defenses, then using Chaos True Essence to devour, which was 30% more efficient than using Chaos True Essence alone.

After half a day of such repeated practice, their coordination became increasingly seamless. Su Qingyue’s ice-element defense could achieve “instant ice walls,” Bai Wanqing’s ice soul pearl detection error was reduced to within three meters, and Lin Yang could complete the “lock - devour - refine” process within two breaths. The chaos star core’s affinity for Soul Power also grew stronger, and his Sea of Consciousness had nearly doubled in size due to continuous refinement of simulated Soul Power. Even the Condensation Realm of the Star Moon Divine Art showed faint signs of Breakthrough.

As evening approached, Lin Yang took out the “Ancient Land of Starfall token” he had found in the Scripture Pavilion—a fragment of meteoric iron with silver patterns, precisely the “starship key” described in the ancient texts. He handed the fragment to Bai Wanqing. As the ice soul pearl touched the fragment, a strong light shone, and tiny star patterns appeared on the fragment’s surface, resonating with the space stone in Lin Yang’s embrace.

“This fragment can sense the starship’s aura!” Bai Wanqing exclaimed in surprise. “Once we enter the ancient land, we can follow the fragment’s guidance to find the starship wreckage faster.”

Su Qingyue also came closer, gently brushing the fragment with her ice silk: “I’ve reinforced the fragment with Ice True Essence, so it can resist the forbidden patterns’ interference in the ancient land and won’t easily fail like the previous soul puppets.”

Lin Yang held the meteoric iron fragment, feeling the resonance between the space stone and the fragment, and then glanced at the two perfectly coordinated companions beside him, his heart completely at ease. Three days of preparation had been sufficient: the texts in the Scripture Pavilion provided clues about battle souls and starships, the repeatedly practiced coordination could handle unexpected situations, and the chaos star core’s Soul Power Perception and the enhancement of the Star Moon Divine Art gave him confidence to face the dangers of the ancient land.

As night fell, the three dispersed, agreeing to meet at the back mountain gate at dawn the next day. Lin Yang returned to Wangyue Courtyard, placing the meteoric iron fragment, the space stone, and the battle soul weakness diagram he had copied from the Scripture Pavilion together. The chaos star core slowly rotated within his Dantian, resonating simultaneously with all three items—he knew that tomorrow’s journey to the Ancient Land of Starfall was not only about finding the starship and star map but also a crucial step for him to unlock his “Soul Power Devouring” ability and approach the Misty Forbidden Land.

Amidst the flickering candlelight, Lin Yang performed a final check of his satchel: the Moon Essence Pill gifted by the Sect Master, the ice-element healing medicine prepared by Su Qingyue, Bai Wanqing’s spare ice soul pearl, and the Secret Disciple token that could open the entrance to the ancient land. Everything was ready, awaiting dawn, to step into that battlefield holding ancient secrets with his two companions.