Ch 3: The Forbidden Tome (1)

Man 1: (worried) Although we have found the hidden library the legend spoke about, a restriction is placed on every single book here. We are unable to open them even with our cultivation. What should we do?

Man 2: (frustrated) It truly is damn annoying. A vault of great treasures lies before us, but we can only look and not take. These are all precious cultivation techniques and skills once cultivated by the experts of the Dragon Descending Sect, which once ruled the Ancient Dragon Domain. If we could cultivate even one of the techniques available here, we could improve by leaps and bounds. What a pity we are unable to open any book.

Li Wei's heart pounded in his chest. He realized that these cultivators were here because they were also searching for the hidden library. If they found out that someone else was here, he might end up in great danger.

Li Wei clutched the tome tightly. Not knowing what to do, he remained like a statue, not making any movement.

Man 3: (bitterly) I think all we could do is move these books from here to our sect. That way, we can at least obtain a mountain of contribution points which can also help improve our cultivation greatly in a short period of time.

Man 1: (Regretfully) Yes, I think this is our only option left. However, we can still choose to keep a few books with us. That way, when our cultivation reaches the required level in the future, we can open the restrictions ourselves and cultivate the techniques and skills.

Man 2: (Irritated) Let's do this. However, we will not do all the work ourselves. Let's just choose the cultivation techniques and skills we want to take with us, and then leave. After returning to the sect, we will inform the sect leader and elders about our discovery and lead them here. These are such important treasures that the sect leader and elders will choose to move the books personally instead of letting other disciples do the job.

Man 1: (Nodding) Let's do this.

Just like that, Li Wei watched as the three people separated and started looking for the books they wanted to keep with them. There were thousands of books here, it took them hours to choose what they wanted to keep.

During this period, Li Wei was bored and extremely tired as well. As a mortal, he was just ordinary. Staying in one position for a long without making any movement was too much of a toll on his body. It made him feel exhausted and worn out. On top of that, he had also started feeling hungry.

Fortunately, the three cultivators were finally done. They seemed to have chosen what they wanted and left the place.

Li Wei chose to stay in his position for ten more minutes before coming out. The first thing he did was stretch his body, and then he lit up the oil lamp again, holding the thin handle of the lamp with his teeth.

Since these books were all going to be taken away, Li Wei chose to take the heavy tome with him and leave.

Although the tome was heavy, he still did not give up. Soon, he slipped into the shadows and made his way to the staircase.

Li Wei moved up the stairs slowly. After a while, he came out of the stone door. This place did not need his oil lamp, so he kept the lamp back in the sachet and moved towards the second stairway.

Not long after, he came out of the hole, appearing behind the statue.

As Li Wei emerged from the hole behind the statue, he felt a sense of relief wash over him. He had managed to escape the hidden library and avoid the three cultivators. He glanced at the statue of the middle-aged man wearing the dragon crown and couldn't help but feel that the bizarre feeling within his heart had grown yet even stronger now. He hadn't forgotten the chills he felt earlier after seeing the statue.

"I should leave this place as soon as possible!"

Just as he was about to leave, something unexpected happened. The statue of the middle-aged man with the dragon crown on his head suddenly began to move.

Creak~

The sound of grinding stones filled the air as the statue turned its head to look directly at Li Wei. His heart skipped a beat, and he felt a cold sweat break out on his forehead.

All of a sudden, the statue's eyes glowed with an eerie, golden light.

Before Li Wei could react, a shockwave originated from the statue which caused ripples to appear in the surrounding space. The air seemed to shimmer and distort, as if the space itself was bending. In an instant, the familiar crumbled temple of the Dragon Descending Sect vanished, and Li Wei found himself standing in a strange, new place.

"What's happening with this situation?"

Li Wei looked around, trying to make sense of his surroundings. The new place was a vast land, covered in small, delicate grasses that swayed gently in an invisible breeze. The sky above was a deep, serene blue, without a single cloud in sight. The landscape stretched out endlessly in all directions, with no signs of buildings, trees, or any other structures.

Suddenly, Li Wei saw something that astonished him even more.

Not far away, a middle-aged man stood with his back to Li Wei. The man wore a long, flowing robe that seemed to shimmer with a faint golden hue. A dragon-shaped crown rested on his head, identical to the one on the statue. His presence exuded an aura of immense power and ancient wisdom.

'Who is he?'

Li Wei felt a mix of awe and fear as he took in the sight. The middle-aged man turned around slowly, revealing a calm and composed face that radiated a sense of authority. His eyes, glowing with the same golden light as the statue's, locked onto Li Wei.

Li Wei was shocked to discover that the middle-aged man looked exactly like the statue. For a moment, he even thought that the statue had come alive.

The middle-aged man darted a look at the tome in Li Wei's hands and a complicated expression surfaced on his face.

"Sigh, it all started with this Forbidden Tome!" He sighed, reminiscing about the old time.

Li Wei did not dare to say anything. He seemed to enter a dazed state, standing still without moving. It was as if he had forgotten all sense of exhaustion and hunger.

"Welcome, young scholar," the man spoke in a deep, resonant voice that seemed to echo across the vast land. "Fate is truly mysterious. It actually chose a young scholar like you instead of powerful cultivators of my time."