Chapter 18: The Ji Clan's Dao Canon Legacy

"Judging by Young Master Shaoyan's expression, he must be going mad with pain." Mu Zishuo transmitted gleefully. This highly esteemed young master Shaoyan kept pulling out one powerful treasure after another—how could Ji Ning, Mu Zishuo, Xue Hongyi, and the others not feel helpless? They understood that they were merely some geniuses from Anchan Commandery.

But their opponent was very likely the next Feather God Duke! A position even more honored than Marquis Anchan!

Even as just a successor, the treasures he possessed were enough to make Ji Ning and the others sigh in lament.

"I won't let a single demon in this Immortal Mansion World get away." Young Master Shaoyan gritted his teeth. Breaking into this fourth sub-hall had consumed three treasures: a Heaven-grade puppet warship, a Desolate Heart, and a Fixation scroll. This far exceeded Young Master Shaoyan's expectations. And this was only the fourth sub-hall—by now, the Wave Demon soldiers and Yaksha Demon soldiers were surely gathered outside the fifth sub-hall. The cost of breaking into the fifth sub-hall would be even more staggering. The more he thought about it, the more his heart ached.

"I must enslave them all, sell them to the tribe, and make them slaves for generations." Young Master Shaoyan said hatefully.

"Young Master Shaoyan." Xue Hongyi said softly.

"Hmm?" Young Master Shaoyan looked at him. "What is it?"

Xue Hongyi quickly smiled and said, "Is the young master worried about entering the fifth sub-hall? In my opinion, there's no need to confront them head-on. These demons just want to leave the Immortal Mansion World, don't they? The young master can simply agree to their request. Surely the demons will be very willing. Then you can swear oaths by the Heavenly Dao, and they won't dare to break them. That way, the young master can enter the fifth sub-hall without consuming any treasures. What do you think?"

Xue Hongyi thought his idea was excellent.

Young Master Shaoyan gave him a cold look and squeezed out two words between his teeth: "Idiot!"

"Young Mas—" Xue Hongyi's face flushed red.

As a cultivation genius, he might not be particularly wise in worldly matters, but Xue Hongyi still had some brains. Being called an 'idiot' by Young Master Shaoyan first filled him with humiliation, but then he understood what Young Master Shaoyan was thinking.

Jiulian, standing beside Ji Ning, transmitted with a laugh: "This Xue Hongyi is truly foolish. Since Young Master Shaoyan came to conquer the Immortal Mansion, he must have considered all scenarios. For Young Master Shaoyan, once he refines the Immortal Mansion, all the demons inside will be at his mercy, with no way to escape. That's tens of thousands of demon slaves! And not ordinary slaves—demon soldier slaves! Including precious Yaksha soldiers. Only a Celestial Immortal could afford such luxury. If he offers all these soldiers to the tribe, he can make up for the loss of treasures and still make a huge profit! But if he negotiates with the demons and lets them leave, wouldn't he be letting a vast fortune slip away?"

Ji Ning nodded.

Just the large quantities of 'Wave Demon Soldier Armor' and 'Yaksha Demon Soldier Armor' were worth an incalculable amount.

"This sub-hall didn't produce a single puppet, nor any formation attacks." Shaoyan Nong stopped thinking and carefully examined the hall.

"Hmph."

Shaoyan Nong suddenly waved his hand, and surging black elemental power flew in all directions, striking the walls of the hall. Boom, boom, boom—the walls were extremely sturdy, but under the elemental power's assault, three large characters appeared on the front wall: Dao Canon Hall!

"Dao Canon Hall?" Ji Ning and the others' eyes lit up.

Any faction would build a Dao Canon Hall.

Even the Ji clan's West Prefecture City had a special scripture tower for the clan's disciples to choose from. The Black-White College also had a dedicated Dao Canon Hall. Wujiang Immortal, as a power in his own right, though not as deep-rooted or long-established as the Black-White College, still far surpassed factions like the Snowdragon Mountain.

Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh!

Without waiting for Shaoyan Nong to speak, Ji Ning and the others turned into streaks of light and rushed toward the corridor beside the three characters 'Dao Canon Hall'. They all entered this corridor because it was the only one.

"These fellows." Shaoyan Nong also followed with a whoosh.

…

As soon as they entered the corridor, they were greeted by a huge hall filled with densely packed books. At a glance, it was vast as an ocean. Its scale was comparable to the Black-White College's Dao Canon Hall.

"Quick, grab them."

"Hurry."

Everyone went wild.

Any faction valued techniques and secret arts immensely. Finding a technique or secret art that the Black-White College didn't have and offering it to the college could earn a huge amount of Black-White pellets.

"Whoosh." Ji Ning waved his hand, and the large number of books before him were directly collected into his storage treasure.

Kongqing Snake flashed to a distant spot and cheered, "All come to me!" A patch of books vanished below.

"Come on." Bai Shuize also started collecting books from various places.

"Seize them."

"They're mine."

Xue Hongyi also went mad. Everyone, including Shaoyan Nong who entered last, began collecting rapidly.

Although the number of books in the huge hall was astonishing, it took only a short while for the entire hall to be swept clean. In the end, even the bookshelves were taken.

"Look at you all scrambling." Shaoyan Nong shook his head. "I hope they're not just abridged copies, or you'll be dumbfounded."

Ji Ning and the others knew well that the books in this hall were likely abridged copies, but no one dared to gamble. After all, determining whether a technique was abridged took some time, and in that time, others might have collected all the books in the hall.

"Let's see." Ji Ning and the others each took out a book and began to examine it.

After careful inspection, a moment later—

"Abridged."

"This is an abridged copy, only the very beginning of the technique."

"It's abridged."

"This one too."

"This one isn't abridged; it's a complete copy, but it's the most common formation technique." One by one, they grew disappointed. Over ninety percent of the books were abridged copies. The complete copies were all common stuff, the kind you could learn at the Black-White College without spending Black-White pellets. Almost any moderately sized sect would have them.

The truly precious techniques, spells, and divine abilities were all abridged.

"Almost all abridged here," Ji Ning thought. "But there must be a place where the complete copies are stored. That place should be more secure and secret. I refuse to believe that Wujiang Immortal carried all those complete copies on his person. If he was always out adventuring, wouldn't his clan have nothing to cultivate?"

Swoosh!

Ji Ning immediately dashed along one of the four corridors surrounding the great hall.

Not only Ji Ning thought of this; the others also realized... there should be a place for complete copies. Such a place would generally be very hidden.

"Swoosh." Shaoyan Nong, relying on the Immortal Mansion key's resonance, followed a corridor and soon discovered a secret chamber.

"It's here."

Shaoyan Nong entered the secret chamber and immediately saw a corpse inside.

This corpse was actually the guardian of the Dao Canon Hall.

"Collect." Shaoyan Nong directly took the corpse, then his gaze fell on a stone book beside it. His Immortal Mansion key told him... this stone book was the core of the entire Dao Canon Hall.

"Refine." Shaoyan Nong only refined a small part before stopping.

Once a small part was refined, all the formation restrictions in the Dao Canon Hall could no longer be activated.

Then Shaoyan Nong quickly left the secret chamber and began searching as well. If he could find a powerful divine ability or secret art that the Shaoyan clan didn't have, that would be a great merit. But given the ancient power of the Shaoyan clan, finding a divine ability or secret art they lacked was extremely difficult.

…

Ji Ning had long released his divine sense, covering all the corridors. However, the walls of the Immortal Mansion blocked divine sense, preventing him from probing inside.

"Ning'er, come quick, hurry."

Uncle Bai suddenly transmitted mentally.

Ji Ning, who was pushing open a stone door to search, immediately stopped and turned into a streak of light, rushing toward Uncle Bai. In just a few seconds, Ji Ning dashed into that secret chamber.

Inside the chamber were rows of books. These books had originally been protected by formation restrictions, but now those restrictions were inactive. Bai Shuize, Cangjiang Zhenren, and Xue Hongyi were all scrambling for them.

"Hurry."

Ji Ning didn't hesitate.

He frantically began collecting the books. At first sight of the chamber and the arrangement of the books, Ji Ning was convinced they were complete copies. Often, a single technique would fill over ten books; an abridged copy would usually be just a thin volume.

"Collect, collect." Ji Ning quickly gathered them.

In just a short while,

The entire secret chamber was emptied. Young Master Shaoyan, who passed by at the end, only managed to collect a few.

"They're complete copies." Ji Ning and the others began examining the technique books they had obtained.

"Hmm? Only Earth-grade techniques?"

"This is a Human-grade technique?"

"This secret art is too ordinary." Ji Ning and the others frowned. They were geniuses; at the Black-White College, they had chosen Immortal-grade qi cultivation methods. But what they had picked up in this secret chamber were only Human-grade and Earth-grade techniques and secret arts. Though the quantity was vast, there wasn't a single Heaven-grade technique.

"These trash are plentiful in my Shaoyan clan, not a single one useful." Shaoyan Nong frowned and shook his head.

But Ji Ning smiled.

Yes.

These were useless to him, but they would be of great use to the Ji clan. The Ji clan had far too few techniques and secret arts; he had only bought a few from the Treasure Hill of the Heavens. But how many could he get just by buying? To acquire techniques and secret arts on a large scale, one usually had to destroy an enemy sect or plunder.

"Over a million techniques and secret arts, though inferior, are enough for Xiantian beings and Zifu cultivators," Ji Ning thought. "Later, I'll find some top-tier qi cultivation methods, and my Ji clan will have a sufficient Dao canon for inheritance."

The Dao canon was the core of a clan or sect's inheritance.

Generation after generation grew strong through these Dao canons.

"Wujiang Immortal was a Celestial Immortal; he must have powerful techniques and divine abilities. Where are they hidden?" Shaoyan Nong frowned.

"The top techniques and divine abilities must be hidden very securely, maybe not even in this treasure hall."

Ji Ning and the others thought briefly, then swoosh, swoosh, swoosh! They scattered to continue searching. Although the treasure hall might not contain the top techniques and divine abilities, there was still a chance.

Swoosh.

Shaoyan Nong returned to the secret chamber, sat cross-legged before the stone book, and began to refine the core of the Dao Canon Hall.

"Once I refine it, the entire Dao Canon Hall will be under my control. No matter how well hidden, I'll know." Shaoyan Nong thought. "Refining will take about an hour. The top techniques and divine abilities are surely hidden extremely well; they might not find them in an hour."

…