"The Taihua Immortal Sect has, according to our records, amassed over 2.3 million scriptures over the years. Since the Holy King wishes to establish the Great Yi Scripture Pavilion and enrich its foundation, how could we, the immortal sects, stand idly by? Besides these ordinary scriptures, my Taihua Sect is also willing to offer three thousand Yellow-tier cultivation manuals and one thousand Profound-tier ones to Great Yi. May they be of some assistance. That would be a fine contribution indeed," said the Taihua Sect Master decisively, stroking his beard.
He wasn't just offering scriptures but cultivation techniques as well. After all, to the immortal sects, these Yellow and Profound-tier manuals were of little value — gathering dust in the scripture pavilions, unread and unheeded. No disciple bothered with them; all chose stronger, higher-grade techniques. Training in low-tier methods was essentially cutting off one's own future. But now, they could be used to curry favor. It was a win-win.
"The Qian Kun Immortal Sect has over one million scriptures and is likewise willing to offer fifteen hundred Yellow-tier and one thousand Profound-tier manuals. May they help fortify the foundation of Great Yi," the Qian Kun Sect Master echoed loudly.
One after another, the sect masters made similar pledges without hesitation.
To them, these ordinary scriptures were not particularly important, and in any case, it wasn't the originals being given away — just copies. It was hardly a loss.
Watching the various sect masters eagerly offer their collections, Yi Tianxing smiled, pleased. What the sects dismissed as trivial scriptures were, in fact, treasures — repositories of true wisdom. They were records of insights from countless cultivators, summarizing their understanding of the laws of heaven and earth, even the Great Dao itself, often hidden between the lines. To the average person, they seemed ordinary. Only by reading deeply could one occasionally grasp a sudden insight. Just like Huang Shang, who derived the Nine Yin Manual from three thousand Daoist scrolls — and he had only been a scholar before that.
With one moment of enlightenment, the hidden wisdom within those scriptures could burst forth, and cultivation would follow naturally.
To true peak-level experts, such scriptures were true treasures.
Within them lay the essence of Dao.
One insight could advance a cultivator's Dao by leaps and bounds, achieving in a day what others might not in a thousand years of hard training.
This was the legacy of wisdom.
Scriptures were the roots; cultivation methods the fruits.
Only with roots could one draw nourishment to bear the finest fruit. Without roots, all would be illusion.
"With these scriptures and Daoist texts, our Great Yi Scripture Pavilion will be greatly enriched. As for those Yellow-tier and Profound-tier manuals that the sects consider unworthy — Great Yi has no such bias. Even common techniques can give rise to innovation, blooming with unique brilliance, bearing different flowers, and yielding different fruits. Great Yi has people. Great Yi has time," Yi Tianxing mused with a faint smile.
To him, these scriptures and even the low-tier techniques were all valuable.
When many people cultivate the same technique, inevitably, someone will break through its limits, innovating upon it and raising it to a higher level. A Yellow-tier technique might, over generations of refinement and breakthroughs, evolve into a Profound-tier, or even Earth-tier classic.
Take, for instance, the Iron Shirt body refinement technique in Great Yi. It wasn't a high-grade method, but it had many practitioners. It strengthened the flesh as if wrapped in iron, impervious to blades. It had only nine levels and reached the third transformation of body refinement. Each level increased physical strength by five hundred to fifteen hundred pounds, depending on one's constitution. It was limited.
Yet because many trained in it, some with special physiques or unique encounters managed to break its boundaries. Today, the highest version of Iron Shirt in the Scripture Pavilion had reached the peak of the Profound-tier — just a step away from Earth-tier. It was renamed "Hundred Beast Iron Armor Body", incorporating a unique method of tempering the body with beast blood. This not only vastly increased defense but also endowed the user with the strength of a hundred beasts. Its founder was nicknamed "Iron Beast Dune Mountain."
It's said he now seeks to push it even further, to "Thousand Beast Iron Armor Body," or even "Ten Thousand Beast Iron Armor Body." His ambition is immense. He has gathered many who trained in Iron Shirt to research and develop the technique together.
And such examples were countless in Great Yi.
Everyone cultivated in Great Yi. Most commoners couldn't afford high-tier techniques, so they practiced basic ones. But with enough practitioners, new paths would emerge. As such, ordinary techniques were widespread in Great Yi.
Like gold sifted from sand, Great Yi had time. It had patience.
And anything that shone was gold.
"With this, we are one step closer to making the Great Yi Scripture Pavilion the largest in the Eternal World."
The number of scriptures gained this time was massive. Though many were duplicates across sects, the total was still astronomical. Yi Tianxing felt this was a tremendous gain.
And the immortal sects felt that exchanging these texts for Eternal Casting Furnaces was just as rewarding.
A perfect win-win.
Both sides wore genuine smiles.
After some further exchanges, the sect masters departed. Before long, storage pouches arrived — filled with the promised scriptures and Daoist texts, even Buddhist sutras.
Immortal sects often conquered one another, seizing inheritances. Using these war spoils as gifts was ideal.
Yi Tianxing accepted everything. As long as it was a book, of any kind, he welcomed it. There were no useless books under heaven — only wrongly approached ones.
He casually opened a storage pouch. A flash of light — a jade slip appeared in his hand. Most sects stored texts in jade slips rather than paper, which preserved them longer and offered secrecy. Though Yi Tianxing preferred the feel of solid books in hand, he didn't mind.
He sent his divine sense into the jade slip. Immediately, information flooded his mind.
"The Dream Travels of Dian Cangzi"
It was a travelogue by a cultivator named Dian Cangzi, detailing his roaming adventures, what he saw, experienced, and felt. It included accounts of demons and monsters, unique geography, peculiar feng shui, and local customs. The descriptions were vivid and immersive.
"Not bad. Truly not bad. Hidden within this ordinary travelogue is a spell — Dream Infiltration. Without careful study, it would be lost like a pearl in the sea. These cultivators really do love their obscure tricks," Yi Tianxing chuckled.
They called it "serendipity." If fate was right, one would discover the hidden rewards. Otherwise, one was simply not destined.
He examined a few more and couldn't help but shake his head and laugh again. These cultivators truly had flair.
"Twelve Rivers Flow Diagram" — seemingly a hydrological text on river paths, was actually a concealed Qi-gathering cultivation method — Profound-tier level. If found by a mundane person, it could serve as a gateway to the path of cultivation.
"What fine treasures. These immortal sects really are wealthy — they don't even value these texts," he laughed. Though the sects might know what was hidden within, they didn't care for low-level techniques or spells. For Great Yi, however, they were a bounty.
Once word spread, many would flock to the Scripture Pavilion to browse these "ordinary" texts and discover profound truths. That was the true path to unleashing national wisdom.
Swish!!
At that moment, a jade talisman streaked through the air, appearing before him.
Light flared from the talisman, revealing a dignified woman in flowing white palace robes. Her features were indistinct, mysterious.
"So, it's Fellow Daoist Golden Mother," Yi Tianxing remarked, straightening his expression and nodding in greeting. Of course he recognized her — the legendary Mistress of Western Kunlun, Queen Mother of the West. Her cultivation and origins ranked among the top in the world. He had seen an incarnation of hers at the gathering of mighty beings before. Her bearing was unmistakable.
"Fellow Daoist Yi, you are truly a rare guest. Though this is but a projection, since you've come to Kunlun, how could I not offer you hospitality? Were word to spread, would it not provoke laughter from our peers?" The Queen Mother smiled. "I have prepared a modest banquet at Jade Lake. I hope fellow Daoist will come and join me for a few drinks. What say you?"
"To be invited is an honor I would not dare ask for," Yi Tianxing replied with a hearty laugh. "I was already planning to visit your celestial palace. Please wait a moment — I shall come at once."
The Kunlun Mountains were vast. The two key regions were East Kunlun and West Kunlun. East Kunlun was home to the Three Pure Ones — the birthplace of Daoist trinity. After their division, it became the domain of Yuqing Yuanshi Tianzun and the Jade Void Palace. West Kunlun was the birthplace of the Queen Mother of the West, also known as Golden Mother of Jade Lake. It was said she was born from primordial yin, and the foremost of all female immortals.
All women who ascended to immortality had to first visit Jade Lake, be registered by the Golden Mother, and only then be acknowledged as true celestial women.
Ruling West Kunlun as her domain, her status and authority rivaled few in the universe.
Together with the Eastern Prince, she governed female and male immortals respectively.
High in status and power.
Of course, she was not the Queen Mother of Heaven from the Celestial Court — that was a different entity entirely. In fact, compared to the Queen Mother of Heaven, the Golden Mother was arguably superior.