Born as an ant, I was summoned to ascend to immortality.

Chapter 43 The Murderous Intent of the Scripture Pavilion

The pavilion exudes a solemn atmosphere. The main entrance is a curtain that is over three zhang high, flanked by a pair of ferocious lion-headed beasts with golden rings in their mouths and deep, dark eyes.

"We've arrived at the Treasure Pavilion," Wu Liang stopped and solemnly instructed in a low voice, "This is an important place of the sect. There are elders guarding the pavilion. Remember to be respectful and do not make a fuss."

Seeing Zhou Li and the other two nod, Wu Liang stepped forward, held his disciple's token, and respectfully bowed to the pair of Suanni beast heads before heading towards the main gate.

The three of them followed Wu Liang's example and entered the pavilion holding their disciple tokens.

At this time, most disciples were still choosing their techniques in Zongde Hall. Zhou Li and his group arrived at Jingbao Pavilion early with Wu Liang's help, where there were still very few disciples.

As the group passed through several rows of bookshelves, the surrounding light suddenly dimmed and was replaced by soft starlight.

High above the palace ceiling, countless jade slips, gold books, silk scrolls, and even bone fragments collected by the sect over generations formed a giant galaxy vortex under the pull of an invisible force.

At the center of the vortex, a straight beam of light shone down from the top of the starry sky and landed on a small, crystal-clear jade platform on the ground.

In front of the jade platform was a long table, where an old man dressed in a gray-white Taoist robe was dozing off.

Wu Liang led the three of them forward stealthily, bowed and said, "Disciple Wu Liang has brought three new disciples, Zhou Li, Shen Qing and Xia Minghui, to select their spells. I thank the elder for his help."

Hearing voices, the old man slightly raised his eyelids and asked in a deep voice, "What method have you chosen?"

Xia Minghui handed over his disciple's token and respectfully said, "This disciple requests a copy of the 'Heavenly Gang Armor Seal'."

The old man placed a blue jade slip on a small jade platform behind him with his withered fingers. After a short while, he took out the jade slip and placed it in front of Xia Minghui. It was the "Heavenly Gang Armor Seal" that he needed.

Zhou Li suddenly realized that the jade platform was used to make rubbings of jade slips, so that the original texts of these classics were still kept in the Scripture Pavilion.

Zhou Li then stepped forward and said, "Elder, I request the 'Wonderful Method of the Heavenly Evolution of the Mist'."

Shen Qing seemed somewhat hesitant at this moment, feeling that she didn't like either the "Nine Abyss Devouring Spirit Curse" or the "Heavenly Rain Technique".

The old man, seemingly growing impatient, turned to look at her and asked, "And you? What have you chosen?"

Shen Qing was speechless for a moment, her pink cheeks slightly embarrassed, unable to say what she wanted. After a long while, she stammered, "Disciple... what I ask for is the same as Senior Brother Zhou's, also the 'Misty Manifestation of Heavenly Evolution Method'."

As soon as he finished speaking, all three people present were taken aback. Zhou Li knew that his low-level spell was not due to any exceptional insight, but rather a pragmatic move to suit his own needs, and was by no means a good choice.

Hearing Xia and Wu's whispered advice, Shen Qing became even more uneasy. Her bright eyes were filled with worry and fear, and she couldn't help but look at Zhou Li.

Zhou Li was about to speak to stop him, but a thought suddenly flashed through his mind.

"If I advise her to choose another path, and she stagnates and makes no progress on that path, wouldn't I be ruining her journey with just one word today? If I follow her choice today, she can make rapid progress with this skill in the future. Wouldn't my obstruction be cutting off her opportunity?"

Zhou Li pondered, "The Great Dao is profound and mysterious, and opportunities are unpredictable. How can I know that Junior Sister Shen's choice today is not guided by some divine inspiration? If I interfere, thinking I am helping her, who knows if I am actually harming her?"

Having understood this, Zhou Li did not object. He looked at Shen Qing and said, "Junior Sister Shen, fate is predetermined. Do not betray your own heart."

Upon hearing this, Shen Qing's hesitation gradually faded, and he finally made a decision. He looked at the old man and said softly but firmly, "What this disciple seeks is the 'Misty Manifestation Heavenly Evolution Wonderful Method'."

After the group had chosen their spells and were about to leave, Zhou Li suddenly felt a burning sensation coming from the "Fangcunqian" magical artifact he wore close to his chest.

This treasure was bestowed upon me by my master, and Zhou Li has been nurturing it with spiritual power every day, so it has long been connected to his energy.

Although he knew that this treasure had the ability to warn, Zhou Li, being in the sect, thought it would be a long time before he could use this function. He did not expect that when he came to the Treasure Pavilion to retrieve a spell, Fang Cunqian would warn him that he had murderous intent.

"Is someone here trying to kill me?" Zhou Li's heart skipped a beat, but he remained calm on the surface, casually glancing around.

Zhou Li trusted Xia Minghui and Shen Qing, and there was no reason for Wu Liang, whom he had just met, to suddenly harbor murderous intent. This murderous aura must have come from the Scripture Pavilion.

At this time, apart from the elder guarding the pavilion who was sitting at his desk with his eyes closed, there were two other people in the pavilion.

One of them was an old man wearing a long robe, his figure hidden beneath the robe. He was burning incense and controlling the fire in front of a bronze cauldron that was about ten feet tall in the pavilion. His long hood covered his face, making him look somewhat suspicious.

The other person was a young disciple, who was browsing through books on several rows of bookshelves near the entrance. The precious classics of the Treasure Pavilion were all in the starry sky above the dome, so it was strange that this person was lingering here.

Zhou Li's mind raced: "It's still unclear who is behind this murderous intent, but it must be one of these three. If I leave now, it will be difficult to find this person later. Let me test him."

After thinking it over, Zhou Li composed himself and said to the people beside him, "Please wait for me a moment, I'll be right back."

He then approached the elderly man burning incense and respectfully said, "I had no intention of disturbing your meditation, senior. I simply wish to ask if the books on these shelves are available for reading?"

The elderly man burning incense raised his head slightly and said kindly, "These are mostly mundane records; you may browse them at will, but they are probably useless to you. If you wish to take them away, it will require some effort."

While saying "Thank you, senior," Zhou Li memorized the old man's appearance.

Then, Zhou Li walked straight to the young disciple next to the bookshelf and said coldly, "You are He Feng's disciple. Why don't you bow to me, 'Know-It-All Wu Liang'?"

The disciple was startled, clearly taken aback. The book in his hand fell to the ground with a thud. He hurriedly turned around and bowed repeatedly, saying, "This disciple... is just an outer disciple. I didn't know Senior Brother Wu was in person. Please forgive me, please forgive me."

Zhou Li's gaze was sharp as lightning, staring intently into his panicked eyes. After a long while, seeing that he didn't seem to be faking it and there was no trace of murderous intent hidden, he slowly withdrew his piercing gaze.

The disciple felt as if the gaze of the person in front of him contained the power of thunder, which made him fearful. He accidentally fell to the ground, and quickly got up and turned to leave.

"Junior brother," Zhou Li said, picking up the book that had just fallen to the ground, "don't you want your book anymore?"

"No...no more, no more." The disciple didn't dare to turn his head and staggered out of the Scripture Pavilion.

Zhou Li felt a little helpless and looked down at the book in his hand. The cover of the book had the words "Essentials of Yin-Yang Harvesting and Nourishing" written in ancient seal script.

He shook his head inwardly: "So he's just a nobody who's obsessed with this kind of technique." He was already certain that the murderous intent he had sensed earlier was not from this person.

But how could either the elder guarding the pavilion or the incense-burning elder possibly hold a grudge against a newly initiated disciple, to the point of wanting to take his life?

Zhou Li pondered for a long time, wondering whether there was truly a hidden murderous intent or if he had misjudged the situation due to his own indecisiveness.

He stroked the ritual implement on his chest with his fingertips, his gaze deep and his mind filled with doubts, ultimately unable to make a judgment.