The Blazing Flame Tiger was over three meters long, exuding an astonishing aura. However, William Clark was completely unconcerned—it was just a mindless beast, after all. Besides, even though he wasn’t valued much in the sect, he was still a disciple of Piaoyun Valley.

Each disciple of the sect had a unique spiritual signature, which, through mysterious Daoist arts, would be imprinted deeply into the minds of the guardian spirit beasts. This allowed the spirit beasts to distinguish between insiders and outsiders.

The Blazing Flame Tiger approached William Clark, growling lowly. William Clark remained calm and composed. The spirit beast glanced at him a few times, and gradually, its hostility faded. It wagged its head and tail, clearly having confirmed the boy’s identity through his spiritual signature. It stepped aside and even rubbed its head against his pant leg.

Passing through the entrance guarded by the Blazing Flame Tiger, William Clark arrived at the main hall. Looking up at the building before him, he saw that the entire library pavilion was divided into three floors. The first floor held the most books—at least several hundred thousand volumes—and was open to all disciples.

However, for cultivators, the books on the first floor held little value. There wasn’t a single cultivation technique, nor any secret manuals on artifact forging or alchemy. Those were all stored on the second floor, which only experts at the Foundation Establishment stage or above could access.

The defenses on the second floor were also far stricter than those on the first. Not only were there layers of restrictive spells, but the patrols were conducted by the sect’s elders.

As for the third floor, it was even more precious, enshrining the cultivation insights of generations of grandmasters, as well as Piaoyun Valley’s most powerful techniques. It was said that only those holding the sect leader’s command token could gain entry.

The third floor was guarded by several reclusive old monsters as well!

Books from the second and third floors were strictly forbidden to be taken out. On the first floor, each disciple could borrow up to three books at a time. After mentally reviewing the library’s rules, William Clark began to search in earnest.

The entire first floor covered several thousand square meters, with rows upon rows of neatly arranged bookshelves. William Clark started browsing from the left side.

""Tianshan Nine Yang Art,"" ""Xuan Yin True Scripture,"" ""Sun and Moon Divine Palm,"" ""Demon Lord Overlord Fist""...

One martial arts manual after another—these were the ultimate skills of the highest worldly martial artists. But to cultivators, they held no appeal. No matter how advanced one’s martial skills, they couldn’t compare to magical treasures. Here, these things were worthless.

William Clark shook his head and moved to another corner.

""Compendium of a Hundred Herbs,"" ""Thirteen Chapters of the Divine Doctor,"" ""Golden Needle Pulse Severing""...

One book title after another caught his eye. These were medical books lost for centuries, but to cultivators, they were of little value. Even the lowest-grade pill could cure any ordinary person’s illness.

Looking at the book titles before him, a trace of mockery appeared at the corner of William Clark’s mouth. No wonder it was open for free—the first floor was full of tasteless, dispensable things for cultivators. They called it a benefit for Qi Refining disciples, but in reality, they didn’t care about these low-level disciples at all. It was just a perfunctory gesture.

The world of cultivation truly was survival of the fittest. To gain power and respect, one needed strength. With this in mind, William Clark became even more determined to cultivate.

Chapter 12: Mysterious Light Spot

William Clark turned his attention to the remaining books and continued searching. After a while, he stopped, taking a black-covered book from the shelf. On the cover, several large characters read: ""Anecdotes of Cultivation.""

He flipped through it briefly—it was a cultivator’s journal, but contained no techniques. Instead, it recorded the author’s experiences and stories from his travels.

This row of shelves was filled with similar books. Perhaps some clues could be found among them. William Clark carefully sifted through them and picked out two more: ""Strange Events of the Nine Provinces"" and ""Tales of Gods and Ghosts.""

Three books—the maximum a low-level disciple could borrow at once. William Clark completed the borrowing procedures, carried the books back to his room, sat down in a chair, and began to study them diligently.

As the sun set, golden clouds floated on the horizon. William Clark rotated his somewhat sore neck and rubbed his dry eyes, finally finishing all three books.

They contained many strange and marvelous tales, which greatly broadened the boy’s horizons. However, there were still no clues about the blue star sea within his body.

The three books did recount many legendary encounters from the Immortal Realm. For example, two thousand years ago, Master Foster consumed a mysterious Xuantian Ice Fruit atop the northernmost peak. From then on, his cultivation of water-element Daoist arts progressed as if aided by the gods, and he became a revered grandmaster, founding the Tianshan Sect.

Another example was the demonic overlord Master Reed, who was bitten by a strange serpent in his youth and poisoned. Strangely, not only did he survive, but he also gained tremendous benefits. From then on, all his techniques carried the serpent’s deadly venom, which few could withstand.

And so on...

The three books described many such encounters, but not all were blessings—some were disasters. More cultivators perished from eating rare fruits or encountering poisonous beasts than gained fortune.

In other words, such encounters could be both beneficial and harmful. Whether one gained or suffered depended entirely on luck.

However, William Clark wasn’t worried about this. From Emily Carter’s act of killing her master, it was clear that the shell was a beneficial and harmless treasure. His only concern now was how to use it. Unfortunately, there wasn’t a single word about the blue star sea in any of the three books.

It seemed he would have to rely on himself to slowly figure it out...