Chapter 52 I Want to Become an Immortal (Twenty-One)
Liu Sheng watched She Chan slowly walk into the black mist outside Qingxu Hall, still holding the Cultivation Technique notes She Chan had just given her.
She ultimately did not stop She Chan.
There was no reason to stop her.
Staying here would only confine her to this world, watching this eerie eternal night, and a moment of carelessness could cost her life.
Moreover, She Chan had no choice but to leave; the weird objects seemed unwilling to see someone who had already achieved Qi Refinement Stage but lingered.
Liu Sheng wished her well in her heart, then turned and left.
She didn't know that She Chan, standing in the mist, was silently turning her head to look at her.
...
The next day, She Chan did not return to Chongdao Shrine.
Liu Sheng continued to go to the Hidden Scripture Library. This time, she chose a biography.
“The Biography of Seven Profound Master” recorded the magnificent and inspiring life of Seven Profound Master, the Ancestral Master who founded Seven Profound Mountain.
On the cover were a few sentences:
“If it weren't for Seven Profound Master, I wouldn't have thought of founding Xiaoyao Gate,” said Wuyunzi, the first Sect Leader of the Six Veins of Xiaoyao.
“Without this book, I would never have chosen to convert to Buddhism,” said Empty Ming Master, the abbot of Brahma Sound Temple.
“This is not just a book; it is a man’s journey, a path to ultimate cultivation,” said Fairy Biluo.
Of course, Liu Sheng wasn't drawn by these quotes.
The book began by stating that Seven Profound Master was a rural boy from the mortal world. One day, he found a large stone tablet in a small river and surprisingly comprehended a Cultivation Technique from it, thus embarking on the path of Cultivation.
Many chapters then described how he gradually grew stronger through various fortuitous encounters, how he defeated those who looked down on him, and his inevitable romantic entanglements with many Fairies.
Finally, Liu Sheng saw that he was about to establish a sect, and her spirits lifted as she read on intently.
After reading for a while about how Seven Profound Master occupied and divided mountain territories and recruited followers, she finally saw the content she wanted to read:
Seven Profound Master did not forget the great stone tablet that enlightened him, so he erected it on Enlightenment Mountain. Miraculously, as soon as the stone tablet was erected, a golden light flashed, and the stone tablet seemed to grow naturally from the ground, perfectly formed and seamless. Everyone praised it as truly a divine object that led the Sect Leader to the Dao. But how to name this stone tablet, Seven Profound Master found himself in a dilemma.
One day, Seven Profound Master fell asleep and suddenly dreamed of a stone tablet countless times larger than Seven Profound Mountain, towering into the clouds. It actually lowered its head and spoke to him, saying, “My daughter ‘Tian Yan’ is entrusted to you; treat her well.” The Master awoke with a start, and thus named the stone tablet the tian yan stone.
Perhaps grateful for the name bestowed by the Master, the tian yan stone also gifted the Master an unparalleled divine Cultivation Technique—the “Qiankun Chaos Art.” No one knew its true nature, only that Seven Profound Master became invincible thereafter, creating a spatial rift with a wave of his hand and traversing a thousand li with a single step. He could also easily predict others’ moves, leading people to speculate that Seven Profound Master had already crossed the river of time and could foresee the future.
According to the author's hearsay, Seven Profound Master, based on this art, established an extremely secret academy on Seven Profound Mountain called Qiankun Hall. Seven Profound Master gathered learned individuals from his sect to be Qiankun Hall Instructors, meticulously selected Disciples with exceptional talent and superior bone structure to enter Qiankun Hall, and issued a seven profound token as a credential, allowing entry only with this token.
Within Qiankun Hall, time and space interweave, and all phenomena are still. Here, there is no distinction between day and night, no passage of years. Therefore, within Qiankun Hall, everyone can acquire knowledge at the same moment. One year here passes in merely an instant outside, allowing ample time to refine one's Cultivation.
It is only regrettable that the true existence of Qiankun Hall remains questionable; the author interviewed many Seven Profound Mountain Disciples, all of whom vehemently denied it.
However, from then on, Seven Profound Mountain's strength advanced by leaps and bounds, with many powerful experts emerging, ultimately establishing its position as the foremost Immortal Sect on the Chuan Nan Continent.
Liu Sheng read this passage somewhat confusedly, combining it with the surrounding text to grasp a general understanding.
In other words, anyone who entered this rumored Qiankun Hall, regardless of the time they entered, could exist at a single point in time.
For example, a Master from fifteen years ago could teach Disciples who entered this year, and a Master taking Disciples this year could simultaneously teach Disciples from the next ten years.
Moreover, the time inside Qiankun Hall was not synchronized with the outside world; it was an incredibly exaggerated ratio of one year to one instant.
Thus, for Masters and Disciples, imparting knowledge became extremely time-efficient, ensuring everyone's study time and quality while leaving ample time for Cultivation.
Furthermore, Disciples could attend lectures given by any exceptionally talented Senior from Seven Profound Mountain's history, regardless of the era, which would undoubtedly be immensely beneficial.
According to the author's gossip, the seven profound token was originally the credential for Qiankun Hall, but somehow it became the Disciple token for the current Seven Profound Academy, with everyone possessing one.
Looking at it this way, if Qiankun Hall were real, it would indeed be a bit too Heaven-Defying.
If all this originated from the “Qiankun Chaos Art,” then it's no wonder Seven Profound Master became the strongest in the world.
However, this seemed to be just a rumor, written like a storybook; at least, Liu Sheng hadn't seen it in the official history of Seven Profound Mountain.
Liu Sheng continued to the end, learning that Seven Profound Master finally disappeared at the age of seventy-six thousand while resisting a weird disaster in the sky. Some said he had perished, while others believed Seven Profound Master must have achieved Dao Ascension and become an Immortal.
...
Liu Sheng closed the book, suddenly thought of something, and her face turned pale.
She put down the book, abruptly stood up, closed her eyes, and retreated ten steps.
Opening her eyes, she was already outside the Hidden Scripture Library.
A crescent moon hung in the sky, and the old man outside the door was still sweeping, but there were no fallen leaves under his broom.
Liu Sheng pretended to stroll, slowly approaching the small room by the door where candles were kept, her back to the entrance.
Little Tentacle twisted into a thin thread behind her, carefully extending into the door, then up the table leg, opening the drawer, feeling for the registration roster inside, and quietly returning the roster to Liu Sheng's hand.
Liu Sheng rolled the roster into a scroll, hid it in her sleeve, and silently slipped into the shadows of the pine and cypress forest, leaving the Hidden Scripture Library.
Only when she returned to her room in Chongdao Shrine did Liu Sheng dare to open the book and flip through it.
She turned to the page she wanted to see, staring intently at one spot for a long time.
Then she put away the booklet and ran out the door.
She walked along the rows of Disciple rooms, checking the doors, and stopped only when she saw the room with the wooden plaque marked “Fifty-Seven.”
That was the room where She Chan lived when she was in Chongdao Shrine.
The large red lantern on the door was lit, and candlelight shone through the window lattice on the door.
Liu Sheng looked at the lantern, her heart sinking. She stepped forward and knocked on the door.
The door opened, and a round-faced woman walked out, looking at Liu Sheng with displeasure.
It was currently after the Chongdao Shrine statue had awakened, and everyone had been Cultivating all day and were resting in their rooms, naturally not wanting to be disturbed.
“Senior Sister or Junior Sister, I just want to ask you one question,” Liu Sheng said.
The woman said impatiently, “Ask away.”
“May I ask how long you have lived in this room?”
The woman found this person very strange, but seeing her pale and seemingly fragile face, she still suppressed the urge to get angry and said testily, “I’ve been living here for ten days. What’s wrong?”
Upon hearing this, Liu Sheng finally confirmed her thoughts.
She bowed slightly, then turned and left.
Leaving the woman standing at the doorway, utterly bewildered and unable to vent her frustration.
...
In the Hall of Heroes, Liu Sheng, following the years, finally found the small wooden plaque she was looking for among the densely packed ones covering an entire wall.
She Chan, born in Red Lotus Ninth Year, a native of Great Chu, entered the academy in Red Lotus Twenty-Ninth Year, and died at twenty-one years old.
The wooden plaque was tiny, only about the size of a thumb, yet it inscribed a person's entire life.
Liu Sheng recalled that in the Hidden Scripture Library's registration book, the entry time for She Chan was indeed “Red Lotus Twenty-Ninth Year.”
Red Lotus Twenty-Ninth Year, according to Liu Sheng's understanding of Great Chu history, was one hundred thirty-three years before Tianhe Twenty-Third Year.
In other words, She Chan, who had recently bid Liu Sheng farewell with a smile, was a Senior Sister one hundred thirty-odd years older than her.
And, she had already died over a hundred years ago.
It was a cruel twist after all 5555