"We're entering the whirlpool lands?" John asked with some surprise. "Why am I entering, instead of you?" John couldn't help but ask.
Sect Leader Thunderzen sighed slightly before responding. "If only I could. Unfortunately, there is a powerful formation surrounding the whirlpool, and it restricts those over sixteen years from entering. If my guess is correct, it's the same formation that you experienced when you entered the pocket realm...only, the warping of the whirlpool also warped the formation, causing it to expand to its edges," Thunderzen explained.
John nodded his head as he came to an understanding. "So that's the reason."
John began to think about what could potentially exist inside such a land. It had been guarded by the Qi infused whirlpool for untold millenia, and no one knew exactly what existed inside of it. Those who could enter the formation were too weak to explore the lands within, causing it to be completely unknown to all.
"Sect Leader, couldn't there potentially be extremely strong beasts within those lands, far stronger than what anyone sixteen years or younger could handle?" John asked.
While there were restrictions on humans entering, John was unsure if there were any restrictions for beasts. If beasts did manage to survive and live in that land, surely they would have grown to immense levels of strength, having been baptised by the Qi whirlpool for thousands of years.
"It's possible. However, what is cultivation without taking a few risks? If you detect a strong beast, avoid it and you'll be fine," Thunderzen replied, causing John to frown slightly.
He wasn't scared of entering such a land, but the Sect Leader's comments made it seem like they treated the disciples as disposable fodder. Sect Leader Thunderzen could read John's thoughts by the look on his face, and began to chuckle slightly.
"If you do end up running into a dangerous situation however, you'll be fine. The sect will be providing a spatial talisman to each disciple that enters the land, as a last measure to ensure safety," Thunderzen continued.
His explanation satisfied John, as it would more than likely ensure none died within unless they were careless with their lives. While spatial talismans would be locked down by cultivators at the Meridian Forging realm and above, beasts typically did not have the same skill set. With only disciples under sixteen and beasts, a spatial talisman would almost be a guarantee of safety.
'A spatial talisman for every disciple? That sounds quite expensive, but I suppose such a thing is trivial for a sect of this size.'
Spatial talismans were quite rare in John's homeland, and even his clan only had a few at their disposal. This was due to the talisman's needing a Heaven Tribulation cultivator experienced in formations and talismans to make the spatial talisman. However, the Heavenly Lightning Sect had no shortage of Heaven Tribulation cultivators, and so getting that many spatial talismans was not a big task.
After a moment of silence, Thunderzen spoke up.
"I have matters to attend to. You will find out more about this situation in the near future."
John looked back up to the Sect Leader to ask another question, but suddenly found himself standing in the same spot he had been before, on the sect grounds below. He took a few seconds to gather his senses.
'He moves me miles without me even noticing the process of how he does it. Just how strong is he?'
After composing himself, John decided to once again continue his trek towards the library, as he still had not accomplished his original purpose.
'It seems like my need for powerful lightning based battle arts is even greater now, so I definitely need to get something good today.'
John continued to walk through the sect, and eventually arrived in front of the Heavenly Lightning Library. It was located near the Heavenly Lightning Palace, and was one of the most impressive looking buildings in the sect.
It stood nearly a thousand yards tall and a few hundred yards wide, and appeared to be a nine sided pagoda with twenty eaves spanning to the top of the building. The building walls were completely white, and the eaves were gold and blue, making the building appear incredibly regal.
A large marble staircase led up to the main entrance of the building, and thousands of cultivators, ranging from disciples to Elders, were streaming in and out of the building every minute. John even managed to see several Heaven Tribulation Elders entering the building.
After taking in the sight for a moment, John entered the building as well. An incredibly large atrium greeted John, with many desks located in its center. John looked up, and was stunned to see that the very center of the building was completely hollow, stretching up all the way to the top a thousand yards above. A circular staircase, made of dark wood, continuously revolved around the hollow interior, winding all the way to the top.
Ornately carved beams existed all throughout the staircase, making it look incredibly grand.
After taking in the sight once again, John walked up to one of the desks. A female disciple was seated behind it, perusing through some documents. She looked up as she noticed John approach.
"What can I help you with?" The disciple asked.
"I'm looking to purchase lightning based battle arts suitable for the Qi Condensation and Core Formation Realm," John explained his purpose for visiting.
"Lightning based Qi Condensation battle arts are on the second floor of the library, in section 2E. For the Core Formation realm, the battle arts are located on the third floor, in section 3E," the disciple explained.
"Thanks."
John turned towards the massive winding staircase that led all the way to the top of the building. The staircase was ten yards wide, allowing for many cultivators to walk up and down it unobstructed.
John arrived on the second floor, and began to search for section 2E. The hallway stretched in a circle around the outside of the interior staircase. Every few dozen yards, a new hallway would appear, leading to a different part of the floor.
Sections A through D contained many pieces of literature regarding the Qi Formation Realm, such as pills, cultivation techniques, cultivation aids, and more.
"Section 2E, here it is."
John quickly entered the hallway marked as 2E, and the hallway quickly led to a large room, dozens of yards long and wide. There were many rows of bookshelves, each containing tens of books and scrolls.
"So many techniques, there must be several hundred in total" John's eyes lit up in excitement.
"Ahem"
A sound to John's side stirred him out of his thoughts. He looked over to his right and spotted an Elder sitting at a desk nearby.
"Do you know what technique you are here for?" The Elder asked in a dull tone.
"How am I supposed to know that? I don't even know what techniques this room has," John replied in a confused tone.
The Elder sighed, as if John's response burdened him somehow.
"Fine, go ahead and peruse the techniques. However, you are not allowed to study them here, and can only purchase them for study. If I catch you studying any of the techniques, you will be kicked out," the Elder explained in his same dull tone.
"I'll be sure to stick to the rules," John replied.
While the sect did teach its disciples many techniques during their years as students, they also wanted something for the disciples to work towards. Pills, cultivation techniques, and battle arts were part of these motivations, and so disciples had to earn them appropriately with contribution points or spirit crystals.
Without proper motivations, many of the disciples would get lazy and complacent, resulting in them actually becoming weaker despite knowing more techniques.
John walked into the room, and noticed many other disciples within, browsing the various techniques. He randomly picked a corner of the room, and began to read the battle art descriptions.
"Lightning Burst. One thousand spirit crystals or one hundred contribution points. Send a burst of lightning from the hand towards the target. This seems quite similar to the Lightning Finger technique I know already. Next."
"Lightning Blast. Send a burst of lightning in all directions. Weaker power than directed attacks but wide areas of effect. Might be useful, but I need something a bit stronger."
John continued to read through the various techniques. While some did sound impressive, none were good enough for him.
"Excuse me," John said as he approached the Elder at the front of the room. The Elder looked up at John.
"What part of the room contains the most impressive battle arts?" John asked. While he did enjoy reading through the various techniques, it would take far too long to read them all at this rate.
"They are in that corner," The Elder said as he pointed to a certain part of the room. "However, they are quite expensive."
"Thanks," John replied as he walked over to the section pointed out by the Elder. He was unconcerned regarding the price.
John picked up a rather impressive looking scroll, and unfurled it to read its description. His eyes immediately lit up.
"Heavenly Lightning Domain."