Chapter 152: Tales of the Continent

"

Hm?

You're right. I can extend my divine sense only up to ten meters. I'll bring Wan'er out right away, but let me check the surroundings first."

Lu Chen leaned against the wall, glancing left and right to ensure no one was watching. Then he opened the portal to his small world and brought out Nantian Wan'er.

As soon as she appeared, she circled him anxiously, checking over his body for hidden injuries. "Lu-gege, are you all right? I was so worried while watching from inside."

"I'm fine. That black-robed Daoist knew Uncle Jun, so we managed to escape this time." Lu Chen waved his hand, storing the Hunyuan Greatsword back in the Heavenly Pool. Scanning the area, he added, "Let's rest here for a while. Once they wake up, we'll move further up."

"Alright, Lu-gege." Nantian Wan'er answered softly and then sat down, tending to Jun Laoye and Nantian Yijian.

Lu Chen stood up, placed Wind Dragon on his shoulder, and began walking toward the center of the Scripture Hall. "This place is really huge. Wind Dragon, let's take a look around."

He reaccessed his small world and summoned his three avatars, whose intelligence had clearly improved. They could now communicate with him to some extent.

He glanced at them and ordered the most imposing of the three to stand guard, staying beside Nantian Wan'er to protect Jun Laoye and Nantian Yijian. Lu Chen then slowly made his way toward the center of the hall.

With a smile, Lu Chen walked ahead, the second and third avatars flanking him like two loyal guards accompanying a young master on an excursion.

The first floor was vast. The first section he reached was a circular ring of bookshelves, packed with secret records and technique manuals. The shelves were neatly connected, each level etched with deep carvings and threaded with traces of spirit qi.

The currents of spirit qi intertwined, forming what appeared to be a grand, painted scroll across the circular shelves. The outer ring was a massive formation, with thousands of shelves circling the center and shifting to guard the hall's core.

Testing it, Lu Chen discovered that anyone holding a sect token could approach safely. The rotating shelves would gradually stop to let them pass. But any intruder without a token would trigger the formation, and it'd start unleashing lightning until they were forced out.

After understanding the function of the circular shelves with Wind Dragon, Lu Chen began browsing through the manuals.

He picked up a few from each shelf, studying them carefully before returning them. The two avatars behind him mirrored his actions, spreading their spirit qi to absorb the knowledge from the other manuals on the shelves.

Two hours later, Lu Chen had already traversed half the library.

"

Hm?

Why are all of these just low-grade spells and common records? They're nothing more than hearsay anyone could find, and not a single Earth Tier manual is among them."

Sitting cross-legged under a shelf in the western corner, he flipped through the

Records of Continental Observations

and muttered, "We came here to study the continent's lore, but this is too basic. How do disciples of the Heavenly Mandate Hall cultivate with only this?"

Wind Dragon retorted, "Do you think learning a spell is easy?"

He leaned against one of the shelves, a floating copy of

A History of Continental Development

before him. Rolling his eyes at Lu Chen, he said, "My main body was right about you. You really don't know how fortunate you are."

He replaced the book on the shelf and picked up

The Secret Tales of the Seven Children

. "Every technique you practice is built on tens of thousands of years of our hard work. Without that foundation, you wouldn't have learned a single spell."

"That's an exaggeration. I know I owe my achievements to all of you, but I do have some foundation of my own," Lu Chen quickly finished

A History of Continental Development

and pulled out another manual. "

The Supreme Treatise on Moral Response?"

He flipped to the first page, glanced over it, and sighed. "An introductory cultivation manual... I'm already at Qi Regulation. What use is this?"

He skimmed a few pages, then returned the manual to its place. "There are too many beginner guides. I've already mastered the basics."

"You're dismissing it already? With what little you had learnt before meeting us, you’d be no better than someone who hasn’t even begun cultivating.”

Wind Dragon closed

The Secret Tales of the Seven Children

and selected another book titled

The Coming of the Age of Decline and the Abyssal Demonic Beast's Invasion

. "Fundamentals matter. A skyscraper is built from the ground up. How far you go depends largely on your foundation."

Every book Wind Dragon chose was deliberate. From just a short walk from the entrance, he had grasped the major events of the past three hundred thousand years on the continent, leaving only the details, causes, and consequences for him to scrutinize.

"Of course, I know the foundation is important. Ever since I was a child, I loved listening to the storyteller talk about cultivation, so I've always understood that a cultivator's mindset and foundation are the most crucial.

"Right now, though, I'm studying with all three of my avatars at once. We're all learning from one another simultaneously, which makes the process much faster. During those ten years when I couldn't practice cultivation, I relied on the storyteller to teach me the basics. Now, I just need to integrate everything he taught me."

Lu Chen closed the book in his hands and murmured, "But who exactly created the Golden Snake Nine Variations? Its abilities are truly outrageous."

Wind Dragon pulled another book from the shelf, titled

Records of the Secret Histories of the Continent's Heavenly Emperors

, which detailed every emperor on the continent, the cultivation techniques they pioneered, and even the specifics of their signature weapons.

Lu Chen said, "The foundation is something you only need to understand in your mind. As for the Golden Snake Nine Variations, I don't know who created it, but it must date back to the Pre-Primordial Era, and that person had to be extraordinary.".

Wind Dragon glanced at Lu Chen and explained softly, "Now you understand why I was so shocked when I saw you manifest your avatars. A cultivator capable of creating a combat art like that, if placed in this era, would inevitably become an emperor who leads the age.

"You're already feeling unstoppable just because you've manifested three avatars so far," Wind Dragon hovered above Lu Chen, books in hand. "Need I remind you that, back in the day, Lord Green Emperor manifested nine avatars? He was the true genius."

Lu Chen rolled his eyes defiantly, sneering at the book in his hands. "That's all in the past. I'll definitely be able to manifest even more avatars in the future. I'll manifest 18... no, 108 avatars."

"Alright, alright. For now, focus on learning the basics of cultivation. That's what matters most," Wind Dragon teased lightly before returning his attention to the continent's secret histories.

"Got it. Make sure to make a copy for Flame Demon and the others as well, so we don't have to make another trip."

Lu Chen gathered the books Wind Dragon had examined and tossed them to his two avatars. They glanced at the books with delight and immediately released their spirit qi to absorb the knowledge.

During this time, Lu Chen realized these three avatars were like living, breathing cheat codes. Each was an independent individual, yet everything they learned and comprehended was transmitted back to him. This not only helped with practical tasks but also accelerated his learning and understanding of techniques.

Originally, Lu Chen had worried that studying the continent's history would take a long time, but with three avatars, he had a huge advantage. One focused on absorbing historical knowledge, another specialized in learning basic techniques, while the first avatar continued to protect Nantian Wan'er and organize the knowledge gathered by the other two. His rate of advancement instantly quadrupled.

Four hours later, Lu Chen and his avatars had already gone through all of the books on the outer shelves. Feeling his mind nearly saturated, he checked on Nantian Wan'er through the first avatar and saw that Jun Laoye and the others were still unconscious. He slowly stood and returned the books to their places.

"That's enough for now. We should move on to the next stage," Lu Chen grabbed Wind Dragon, called the two avatars, and said. "Let's check the center. These books are still too basic and only cover ordinary cultivators' fundamentals."

"Fine. I've already finished this section anyway," Wind Dragon returned his book to the shelf. "If you want deeper secrets, we need to go to the core. Before that, you should rest a bit too."

"Alright, let's go." Lu Chen glanced at Nantian Wan'er one last time, then, with his two avatars, swiftly passed through the circular bookshelves and reached the center of the first floor.

Wind Dragon hovered above him, admiring the layout. "The Heavenly Qian and Earthly Kun... This is truly amazing. The Scripture Hall is arranged according to the Bagua Diagram. Each section corresponds to a different type of technique."[1]

Holding a Heavenly Spirit-Gathering Disk, Lu Chen studied the transparent walls and murmured, "This should be the center of the Taiji symbol beneath us. So which room should we head to next?"[2]

He stared at the eight doors, lost in thought. The layout of this section of the Scripture Hall resembled his Innate Bagua Diagram—it wasn’t identical, but it carried the same underlying principles. The rooms were only roughly separated, with the walls being formed from spells rather than built in stone.

On either side of Lu Chen stood two small Spirit Gathering Formations, one black and one white, forming the eyes of the Taiji symbol and serving as the central formation for the first floor. At that moment, the two formations continuously generated spirit qi for the Scripture Hall.

1. The Heavenly Qian and Earthly Kun are the foundational forces of Heaven and Earth, representing the active, creative power and the receptive, nurturing power, respectively. In the Bagua Diagram, Qián occupies the top position, symbolizing Heaven and initiative, while Kūn sits at the bottom, symbolizing Earth and support. The Bagua is a cosmic map of yin and yang, of creation and reception, and the Scripture Hall itself is arranged according to this diagram. Each section corresponds to a different attribute of technique, reflecting the balance and flow of these universal forces. ☜

2. The Bagua diagram has the Taiji symbol at its center, representing the balance of yin and yang. The eight trigrams radiate outward from this point, showing how all forces and changes in the world originate from this central harmony. ☜