97: Chapter 97 Tracing the Sutra Repository

Lin Muchen walked to the third row of bookshelves on the left.

The bookshelf was very tall, filled with various ancient texts; some were new, some were old, and some had frayed edges.

He looked up at the labels.

"Miscellaneous Theories of the Five Elements."

This was the place.

System, scan this area and mark all ancient texts that mention "Wind" or "Thunder."

[Scanning...]

[Seven relevant passages have been marked.]

[Prompt: All are sporadic mentions; no specialized treatises found.]

Lin Muchen started from the top shelf, flipping through the books one by one.

Essentials of Five Elements Generation and Inhibition... After flipping through a few pages, there was only one sentence: "Wind belongs to the movement of Wood; Thunder belongs to the agitation of Fire."

That was it.

Analysis of Natural Spiritual Qi... mentioned one sentence: "Heaven and Earth have Wind and Thunder, which are also natural phenomena, yet they cannot be encompassed by the conventional Five Elements."

It still didn't say how to handle them.

Lin Muchen flipped through five or six books in a row, and the situation was much the same.

Either it was glossed over in a single sentence, or it was mentioned in passing while discussing the Five Elements; there was absolutely nothing specifically about how to Cultivate or how to comprehend the Wind and Thunder attributes.

He frowned.

This won't do.

What's the use of just knowing Wind and Thunder are natural phenomena? He needed to know how to "move" them into the Origin Star.

"System, scan the 'Senior Travel Insights' area on the right as well."

[Scanning...]

[Detected thirteen potentially relevant records.]

[Suggestion: This area mostly consists of travelogues and records of observations. The records are more specific and may contain field descriptions or special ritual information.]

Lin Muchen turned and walked toward the fifth row of bookshelves on the right.

The ancient texts on these shelves looked more miscellaneous, made of all sorts of materials—bamboo slips, beast skin scrolls, and paper books were all mixed together.

Following the locations marked by the System, he pulled out a booklet with a beast skin cover.

East Barren Travelogue.

He opened it and browsed quickly.

It talked about a certain Senior's experiences traveling in the East Barren, mentioning "Hurricane Valley" and "Thunder Marsh," but the descriptions were very brief, only saying those places had strong winds and much thunder, were dangerous, and suggested taking a detour.

Useless.

Lin Muchen put it back and pulled out a roll of bamboo slips.

South Ridge Miscellany.

After reading a few bamboo slips, he found a mention of a "Wind Howl Beast" in the South Ridge whose roar could trigger wild winds, as well as "Thunder Pattern Stones," which were stones struck by lightning that left patterns behind.

He noted it down, but it still didn't say how to utilize them.

Patiently, he flipped through them one by one.

West Region Observations... nothing.

Tales of the Overseas... nothing.

Central Province Gazetteer... mentioned the phrase "Spring Thunder Awakens Insects," and that was it.

Lin Muchen had a bit of a headache.

There were too many books on the first floor of the Scripture Pavilion. If he searched like this book by book, how long would it take?

"System, can you directly lock onto the one most likely to be useful?"

[Comprehensive assessment in progress...]

[Assessment complete.]

[Suggestion: Prioritize consulting: records of wind and thunder observations in the northern territory (Paper, blue cover, located on the middle shelf, slightly to the right).]

[Analysis Basis: The title of this ancient text directly contains the words "Wind and Thunder," and the System scan detected over five detailed descriptions of Wind and Thunder scenes and one record of a suspected ritual inside.]

Lin Muchen immediately looked at the middle shelf.

Sure enough, among a pile of dusty books, there was one with a blue cover that wasn't very thick.

He pulled it out.

The cover read records of wind and thunder observations in the northern territory, and the handwriting was a bit faded.

He opened the first page.

"I traveled the North Region for thirty years, seeing Astral Winds like knives, splitting stones and piercing the void; hearing startling thunder like drums, shaking mountains and echoing through valleys."

"This is the might of Heaven and Earth, not to be resisted by human strength, yet there are also clever methods to borrow it..."

Lin Muchen's eyes lit up.

This is promising.

He quickly flipped toward the back.

Inside, it described two places in the North Region in detail.

One was "Gale Canyon," which said the place was constantly swept by a strange wind called "Void-Splitting Astral Wind," which was incredibly sharp; if a Foundation Establishment Cultivator entered, their Protective Aura wouldn't last ten breaths before being shredded.

The other was "Thunder Roar Dead Land," a mountainous area shrouded in thunderclouds year-round. Thunder was constant every day, and the ground was scorched black. It was said that thunderstruck wood and "Thunder Crystals" were produced there.

Lin Muchen read carefully.

Just hearing the descriptions of these two places, he knew they were dangerous, but... they were exactly what he needed.

What the Origin Star lacked now was this kind of extreme Wind and Thunder environment.

Relying solely on the little imagery he simulated wasn't powerful enough.

Flipping to the last few pages, Lin Muchen's finger stopped.

"On the outskirts of the Thunder Roar Dead Land, I encountered an ancient tribe. Their tribe passes down a ritual called 'Wind Thunder Induction'."

"It is said that at a specific hour, a special Formation can be used to draw the power of Heaven and Earth's Wind and Thunder to perform Body Tempering. However, the risk is extreme, with barely one in ten surviving."

"I did not see it personally and only record it here."

Wind Thunder Induction!

Lin Muchen's heart skipped a beat.

A ritual, a Formation, drawing the power of Heaven and Earth's Wind and Thunder for Body Tempering.

Wasn't this exactly the "method" he needed right now?

Although the risk was high, at least it was a direction.

It was better than him fumbling around blindly on his own.

He read this passage twice more, confirming he had noted the key information: ancient tribe, specific hour, special Formation, drawing Wind and Thunder for Body Tempering.

"System, can I exchange for the rubbing permissions for this records of wind and thunder observations in the northern territory? I want to rub these few pages of content."

[Querying...]

[This ancient text is a public text on the first floor of the Scripture Pavilion. You can consume points to exchange for a one-time rubbing permission.]

[Exchange requires: 150 points.]

[Current point balance: 200 points.]

[Do you wish to exchange?]

"Exchange."

[Exchange confirmed.]

[Consumed 150 points.]

[Current point balance: 50 points.]

[Rubbing permission activated. The Host can place the ancient text against your forehead, and the System will automatically record the content of the selected pages.]

Lin Muchen picked up the records of wind and thunder observations in the northern territory and placed the pages recording "Gale Canyon," "Thunder Roar Dead Land," and the "Wind Thunder Induction" ritual against his forehead one by one.

With every page he pressed, he felt a clear piece of information added to his mind, as if it were directly imprinted.

The few pages of content were quickly rubbed.

Lin Muchen closed the book and carefully placed it back in its original spot on the shelf.

It's done.

This trip wasn't in vain.

Although he didn't find a ready-made Wind and Thunder Cultivation Technique, he found two actual locations that might contain Wind and Thunder Laws, as well as a clue to an ancient ritual.

Next was the question of how to get there.

Gale Canyon and Thunder Roar Dead Land were both in the North Region, which wasn't close to the Qinglan Sect.

And those kinds of places sounded like they weren't somewhere Qi Refinement Stage or Foundation Establishment Stage practitioners could just go to casually.

He had to plan this out carefully.

Lin Muchen stood in place and thought for a moment.

Going directly to the North Region wasn't realistic, but there might be related missions within the Sect.

For example, exploration, gathering, or escort missions where the destination was near the North Region or passed through its outskirts.

He could take such a mission and check it out along the way.

Even if he couldn't go deep, just experiencing that kind of environment on the outskirts would be beneficial for the derivation of the Origin Star's Wind and Thunder attributes.

"System, plan out the next step after leaving the Scripture Pavilion."

[Suggestion: Head to the Sect Contribution Hall to check the recent mission list.]

[Filterable conditions: Direction (North Region or adjacent areas), Mission Type (Exploration, Gathering, Escort, etc.).]

[At the same time, you can try to inquire for more information about the 'Wind Thunder Induction' ritual or the relevant ancient tribe.]

Alright.

Lin Muchen turned and walked toward the entrance of the Scripture Pavilion.

When he reached the door, the old man holding the wine gourd was still dozing off.

Lin Muchen didn't disturb him and walked out quietly.

It was still early outside.

He patted his chest—though there was nothing there, those few pages of key content were already imprinted in his mind.

At his Dantian, the warm current from the Origin Star was still slowly flowing, as if it knew he was working hard for it, giving back exceptionally gently.

Lin Muchen looked up at the sky.

The weather was good today; there was no wind and no thunder.

But he knew that some wind and thunder were not in the sky, but in the distance, in books, and in his plans.

He set off, walking toward the Sect Contribution Hall.

He had to go see if there was any ride that could take him toward the north for a while.