Chapter 55: The Third Treasure Seeker

Ling Cang Ge, second floor.

Unlike the first floor's layout, there were no bookshelves here, no ancient texts or jade slips, only rows of white light circles, widely spaced out.

Each light circle represented a Xian Tian Ling Ji, and there were over a hundred of them in this area.

Mu Zixi twirled her twin ponytails with her finger, looking somewhat bored as she stepped out of one of the light circles.

Unlike the others, she had a clear goal and found what she needed as soon as she entered.

But it was a rare opportunity for her to be in Ling Cang Ge, and she didn't want to register and leave so quickly.

Everyone else was still inside; what fun would it be to go out alone?

She glanced around curiously, wandering about.

These light circles were peculiar; they would light up when someone entered and then block anyone else from coming in.

After walking a full circle, Mu Zixi suddenly noticed something off. She counted them from front to back.

"Eight?"

Weren't there eleven people who came in? How come only eight light circles were lit? Where were the other three?

The third floor was off-limits, so were they still browsing on the first floor?

Mu Zixi's eyebrows furrowed slightly, finding it intriguing. She trotted quickly down the stairs.

...

"Shua shua shua!"

"Shua shua shua!"

A series of rhythmic yet faint sounds emerged. Mu Zixi crouched down and sneaked over quietly.

Zhou Tiancan? What was he up to?

Mu Zixi stared in astonishment.

The burly young man was holding two ancient texts in his hands, shaking them out before putting them back and pulling out two more.

That wasn't the strange part. What was alarming was that he suddenly stopped at a corner, his eyes lighting up, and lunged toward a dust-covered box like he'd found a treasure.

He pushed the box, stirred up the dust, and played with it as if he were having the time of his life.

Mu Zixi was completely baffled, her little head full of huge question marks. Who would have thought this tall guy enjoyed such childish games?

But this was Ling Cang Ge! Wasn't he supposed to be picking a Ling Ji? Instead, he was playing house all by himself?

"Zhou Tiancan!"

"What are you doing?" she demanded, hands on her hips.

The big guy, who was moving the box, jumped in fright. He turned and saw it was Mu Zixi, then let out a sigh of relief.

"You scared me to death. I thought the guardian had come..."

"Hmph, the guardian isn't here, so you feel like messing around?"

Zhou Tiancan was stunned and wiped his sweat. "I'm not messing around; I'm looking for a Ling Ji!"

Mu Zixi couldn't help but laugh, watching his dirty hands leave another mark on his face. "With your face all covered in grime, who looks for a Ling Ji like that?"

"How not?" Zhou Tiancan shot back, pointing behind him. "Xu Xiaoshou is looking for one too!"

Xu Xiaoshou?

Mu Zixi followed his finger and spotted a tall, slender figure.

But the scene was different from what either of them expected.

Xu Xiaoshou was in a simple white shirt, leaning against a bookshelf, holding a scroll and lost in thought, as if pondering some profound mystery.

A few rays of sunlight filtered through the window, casting a soft glow on the young man's lean face, making it look like a beautiful painting.

Zhou Tiancan: ???

Mu Zixi stared for a moment, mesmerized, but then remembered the image of Xu Xiaoshou rubbing his neck and saying it smelled bad, and she snapped back to reality.

She smirked at Zhou Tiancan. "Your ways of finding a Ling Ji are pretty similar, huh!"

Zhou Tiancan fell silent. He looked at his own grimy hands, then at Xu Xiaoshou's clean face, feeling utterly deceived.

"I think I need to explain..."

"No need. Go wash your face!"

"Oh? Don't you want to know his secret to winning the championship?"

"I don't... Hmm? What did you say? Say that again?"

"Nothing, I'm going to wash my face."

"Hey, wait. Let's talk privately for a second!"

...

Xu Xiaoshou wasn't pretending to be profound because he "sensed" their conversation and actions, then found a sunny spot.

He was genuinely captivated by this fragmented scroll.

"Ten Stages Sword Finger?" Xu Xiaoshou murmured.

In the past hour, he'd found many fragmented scrolls, but they were all for special attributes that he knew he couldn't cultivate.

Only this "Ten Stages Sword Finger"...

Its grade was unknown, it didn't require spiritual power, and relied purely on sword intent and finger techniques. When mastered, it could sever a river with one finger.

It was like it was made just for him!

The experiences of those senior transmigrators were incredibly useful after all!

His only concern was whether this sword finger would overlap with the function of "Sharp Light," which was also making him think deeply.

The description of this fragmented scroll involved infusing sword intent into the fingers...

Not into a sword weapon or treating all things as swords, but into his own fingers!

This opened up a third way of sword cultivation!

The mainstream was combining swords with Ling Ji. That was one.

His self-created pure sword intent combat style, which he wasn't sure would work, was two.

This "Ten Stages Sword Finger"...

Sword intent fused with the physical body?

The world was full of wonders!

Xu Xiaoshou was shocked by this bold idea. Fusing sword intent with a sword weapon created "Enlightened Sword Weapon"; so, fusing sword intent with the body, what would that be?

Wait, no!

Sword intent was something cultivated from within oneself, so how could it need fusing?

But that didn't make sense!

The scroll clearly stated it could be done...

Xu Xiaoshou was confused.

He decided that if he didn't find anything better later, he'd take this "Ten Stages Sword Finger"!

Even if he couldn't cultivate it, this unique method would give him plenty to ponder.

"Hmm, who came up with such a quirky idea? It's on par with mine. Must be a genius!"

Xu Xiaoshou tried to flip through for the creator's name, but it was a fragmented scroll with no record.

He tucked it away, checked the time, and saw he still had two hours left. Plenty of time!

Time to keep rummaging through the boxes!

...

"Shua shua shua!"

"Shua shua shua!"

Mu Zixi was starting to regret believing Zhou Tiancan's nonsense. She held two ancient texts in her small hands, her face covered in grime, and even her favorite skirt was dirty.

"Zhou Tiancan!"

"There's nothing here!" She slammed the ancient texts back onto the shelf in frustration.

The bang made Zhou Tiancan jump.

He poked his head out from a dark crevice in the wall, grimacing. "Oh, my dear lady, please don't scare me like that. Becoming a champion takes effort, you know!"

Mu Zixi had been holding back her annoyance, but seeing Zhou Tiancan made her burst out laughing.

His face was pitch black, and in the dim light, all she could see was a row of white teeth.

"Pfft!"

"I think you really do need to wash your face, ha!"

"Shh! Keep it down!" Zhou Tiancan shook the find he'd dug out from the crevice—a tattered page. "Take a look?"

"Found something?" Mu Zixi's eyes lit up, and she hurried over.

Zhou Tiancan patted the page and blew on it, making both of them cough.

"An ancient map?"

On the worn sheepskin scroll, there was a drawing of a one-armed old man hanging upside down with a knife, in a twisted and bizarre pose.

Mu Zixi's lips puckered. This clearly suited Zhou Tiancan and not her.

She was about to complain when she turned and saw the dark-faced guy staring intently at the ancient map, as if he'd entered some profound state.

"Enlightenment?" she exclaimed in surprise.

"Yes."

"So what Xu Xiaoshou said was true. The treasures are really on the first floor?"

"Mm-hmm."

Mu Zixi felt motivated to look for Ling Ji again, but then she realized something and froze.

Zhou Tiancan was in enlightenment, Xu Xiaoshou wasn't here, and just now...

Who had spoken?

She turned back in terror.