The imperial concubine is charming and coquettish, she crazily criticizes the tyrant for spoiling he

They burst through the crack and indeed left that space. Before them was a library, with rows of bookshelves filled with all sorts of books. Through the windows, they could see the grove of trees they had entered through. It seemed they had returned to the real temple and were now on the fourth floor of the tower.

"Wow~ what are all these rows of things?" The little whirlwind, seeing the world for the first time, exclaimed in amazement at the sight before it. It had never seen so many colors before.

“They’re books. History, geography, literature, travelogues… The selection here is really extensive! Much more than in that secret room I was in!” Song Yunting looked around and casually flipped through the books.

"What is a book? Can you eat it?" Little Whirlwind curiously leaned closer to see what the book Song Yunting had opened looked like, but unfortunately it was full of black symbols that it couldn't understand at all.

"Idiot!" Qingluo retorted casually.

"You can eat it!" Upon hearing this, Little Whirlwind conjured up a mouth and opened it to bite the book in Song Yunting's hand, but Qingluo caught it in her palm.

"Why are you grabbing me? Didn't you say I could eat for free?" Little Whirlwind struggled in his hand, twisting and turning but unable to break free.

"You can't eat it." Qingluo realized that this guy was really stupid and couldn't understand anything. Seeing it wriggling around, she casually took out a snake fruit from her space and threw it into its mouth.

"Mmm...delicious." Little Whirlwind immediately held the snake fruit with both hands, stuffing its mouth full, and began to nibble at it little by little. This fruit was not only sweet, with a taste it had never tasted before, but it also seemed to contain a little bit of spiritual energy.

Seeing that it had quieted down and stopped making a fuss, the group immediately split up to look around. This really did seem to be a library; the books inside were very varied, and Qing Sang even found a few comic books and folk art books. Most of the books showed signs of having been read, clearly indicating that someone had indeed seen them. Could this really be Chang Li's library? Compared to the first three floors, this fourth floor seemed far too ordinary.

The group searched the entire library but couldn't find any exits, either upwards or downwards. If this temple truly was Chang Li's personal domain, then Chang Li should have known they were coming long ago, so why hadn't he appeared yet? Could it really be as the Grand Elder said, that he was severely injured and forced into seclusion?
There were thousands upon thousands of books here, and searching for them with just a few people was like looking for a needle in a haystack. Qing Sang scattered a handful of red leaves, letting them drift in the air, trying to find traces of spiritual energy fluctuations. Song Yunting also sent Xiao Liu to check for any signs of Gu magic being used. The others also searched carefully using their own abilities.

The little whirlwind, having slowly finished munching on a snake fruit, flew up and fawned over Qingluo, having long forgotten how he had almost killed it. It was easily won over by a single snake fruit. Qingluo glanced at it, noticing the occasional flash of red markings on its body, and suddenly an idea struck him.

"Have you ever stolen that foreign power?"

"Hiccup~" Little Whirlwind was startled by Qingluo's sudden question and hiccuped again. After thinking for a while, she said, "Yes... I guess so. Once I was too late to escape and was almost scattered. When I was running away, I think I grabbed a bit of its power."

"Has anything changed since then?" Qingluo asked in a low voice as she searched.

The little whirlwind had never thought about this before. It paused for a moment, then thought carefully. "Ah, I remember now! It seems that after that incident, I stopped getting burned by the red river water. Before that, I would feel unbearably hot every time I got close, so I always kept my distance. But one time, I accidentally ran to the riverbank while playing and didn't get burned at all. I thought it was because my strength had increased, so I didn't think much of it. Now that I think about it, it seems to be because I stole its power." The more it thought about it, the more excited it became. No wonder it was unharmed when it swept the Red River's water into it.

Qingluo pondered for a moment, remembering the little whirlwind's sensitivity to that power, and said to it, "Then look around here and see if there's anything with the same aura as it or the red river water." "Okay." The little whirlwind obediently nodded, then its body dispersed into countless wisps of breeze, slowly blowing through the entire library.

After a while, we heard its excited barking. "Here, here!"

The group immediately headed to the place Little Whirlwind had found. They had only intended to try their luck, but they hadn't expected to actually find something.

Little Whirlwind found a book: "Here, here, I can feel the scent of the red river in this book."

Qing Sang walked over and took the book, discovering it was a Jataka tale. It told the stories of the Buddha's past lives, embodying the ideas of atonement and karma. Thinking of Chang Li's malevolent eyes, Qing Sang couldn't help but feel doubtful. Could such a person still have the thought of atonement? What had he done?
After carefully examining the book, it did indeed show signs of heavy use, suggesting it had been frequently read by its owner. However, it seemed to be just an ordinary scripture, without any magical formations or secrets.

After handing the book to the others to look through, Qing Sang asked Little Whirlwind, "Is this the only one that can sense an aura?"

Little Whirlwind nodded. The others were just books that couldn't be eaten. Besides, it had just secretly taken a bite behind their backs, and it really tasted awful. Qingluo hadn't lied to it. Moreover, the fruit Qingluo gave it was delicious, and it wanted more. It quietly sidled up to Qingluo, wanting to see where he conjured the fruit from.

As it approached, Qingluo noticed it and casually tossed it another snake fruit as a reward for its good behavior. He had picked it up while searching for materials for Qingsang in Zhuiyue City, and he had plenty more in his storage space than he had used.

The group looked through it once, but apart from signs of having been read, they found nothing special.

"Is it really going to be read through again?" Liu Shuangyue, who hadn't said much, couldn't help but complain.

"We can give it a try." Qing Sang had no other choice; there was no harm in trying anyway.

“Then I will recite the sutra!” Song Tanxi took the book, walked to the prayer mat by the window, sat cross-legged, carefully spread out the sutra, straightened her clothes, lit the sandalwood incense that was already on the table, and then began to recite the sutra devoutly. Madam Song used to enjoy Buddhist worship and often recited sutras with Song Tanxi, so she had a long-lost sense of familiarity with the process of reciting sutras.

For a moment, only Song Tanxi's gentle yet firm chanting filled the space. The others, moved by her voice, also sat down cross-legged beside her and listened quietly to the Buddhist chants.

The chanting was not loud at first, but gradually it seemed that the entire stupa was filled with the sound of chanting.

Atop the tower, a pair of eyes that had been tightly closed suddenly opened. One was as black as ink, the other an eerie, ghostly green. (End of Chapter)