You said you would practice martial arts. Have you mastered the Tiangang Dharma?

Chapter 497 Ancient Book

The quaint wooden door creaked open, and as if traveling through time and space, Jiang Qiu stepped into this hidden attic for cultivation. Mottled light and shadows shone through the window lattice, casting a shadow on the piles of books, and the yellowed pages showed the traces of time. The air was filled with the scent of old wood and ink, which was the taste of time and the fragrance of knowledge.

The towering bookshelves around him were like tall trees in a forest, and Jiang Qiu was the lost explorer, eager to find his own true meaning of Taoism in this endless ocean of knowledge. On each shelf, various ancient books were placed neatly or scattered, some with damaged covers and blurred handwriting, but all of them revealed their vicissitudes and heaviness. Jiang Qiu gently touched these crystals of wisdom, and the rough texture on his fingertips seemed to tell of their former glory.

In a corner of the attic, an old wooden desk sits quietly, with a yellowed piece of rice paper on it, and a brush rests next to an inkstone. The ink in the inkstone has solidified, which looks a bit desolate. Outside the window, a black-sailed boat slowly passes through the misty holy land, and the boatman's horn can be heard from afar, forming a sharp contrast with the tranquility in the attic. Jiang Qiu imagined that there was a master who had concentrated his mind and energy here, studied classics, and comprehended the way of heaven.

Opening a yellowed book at random, one can see densely packed texts and complex diagrams interwoven together, as if telling the mysteries of one world after another. Jiang Qiu immersed himself in it, forgetting the disturbances of the outside world, with only awe and yearning for this ancient practice method surging in his heart. Here, time seems to have frozen, and the long river of history is now staring at the future.

Jiang Qiu took a deep breath. Everything in the attic seemed so real and dreamy. There was no hustle and bustle of the city, no worldly worries, only a dialogue with the wisdom of the ancients and a pursuit of a higher realm. Jiang Qiu stood on the dusty floor, his heart full of desire for the unknown and the desire to control his own destiny. At this moment, Jiang Qiu understood that this was not just an attic, but a door to endless possibilities.

The elder guarding the pavilion of the demon tribe, wearing a black robe, with the hem fluttering in the wind, exudes a calm air. His face is marked by the traces of time, but he is still handsome. His deep eyes seem to be able to see through all the truths in the world, flashing a sharp and wise light. His eyes always have a subtle kindness, as if he can see through people's hearts, but often reveal a kind of deepness that is hard to fathom.

His long eyebrows were like swords, slanting into his temples, adding a bit of majesty and coldness to him. Whenever he raised his eyelids, the look in his eyes would emit a breathtakingly sharp light, enough to scare any intruder who was trying to retreat.

The elder guarding the pavilion stood on the ancient attic, gazing at the mountains and rivers in the distance. Behind him, the ancient door of the attic was closed, engraved with totems and runes of the demon tribes of past dynasties, mysterious and solemn. In front of him was a densely packed bookshelf filled with heavy books and scrolls, which exuded a heavy historical atmosphere and also showed the knowledge and wisdom guarded by the elder.

Although he has gone through countless years, the elder who guards the pavilion is still as tall as a pine tree. His existence itself is a heavy history. His hands gently stroke the yellowed pages, and every stroke reveals his endless respect and love for knowledge. When night falls, the stars dot the sky, the attic is brightly lit, and the elder's figure becomes more mysterious in the flickering firelight.

Even when facing the most difficult issues in the tribe, the elder guarding the pavilion always maintains a calm demeanor. His decisions are always made slowly after deep thought, and every word seems to have been tempered and accurate. Under his protection, the civilization and secrets of the demon tribe can be passed down from generation to generation and will never disappear.

Ah Ying greeted him obediently, and he nodded in response. He cast his eyes on Jiang Qiu and others. When he learned that they wanted to go to the fourth heaven, his face was expressionless and very calm.

In the mottled light and shadow, the ancient attic is hidden in the dust of time. The wooden door creaks gently to welcome the rare visitors, and a heavy historical atmosphere blows in. There are countless classics on the bookshelf, which are witnesses of time. The yellowed pages record the past glory and vicissitudes. These books are silent, but they tell stories of thousands of years between the lines.

Looking closely at each book, the covers may be gorgeous or plain, but they all reveal the wisdom and ingenuity of the ancients. Every crease between the pages seems to carry a story of the past, and every turn of the pages is an exploration of the author's state of mind. In the dusty corners, mottled words can be vaguely seen, and they appear more profound and mysterious under the baptism of time.

The space between the bookshelves seems to have frozen time, and the air is filled with the scent of ink and paper, which is a deep cultural heritage that makes people intoxicated and forget the hustle and bustle of the world. Here, time seems to become slow and meaningful, and every breath can feel the weight of history.

Occasionally, a beam of sunlight shines through the narrow window and onto a corner of the bookshelf. The golden spots of light dance on the ancient books, as if injecting vitality into these silent chapters. At that moment, the whole attic is surrounded by warmth, and the books seem to revive in this instant, showing their unique vitality.

In the corner of the attic, an old cat is napping lazily, its tail swaying gently from time to time, adding a touch of liveliness to this ancient space. It seems to be the guardian of these books, quietly accompanying them through lonely days and nights.

In such a scene, the emotions of Jiang Qiu, Nine-tailed Fox, Yiwei, and Ah Xiong also settled down, and their hearts became quiet and profound. The ancient classics and the tranquility of the attic, everything seemed so pure and so real. There was no bustling worldly noise here, only the echo of history ringing softly in the ears.

Soon, under the guidance of the elder guarding the pavilion, Jiang Qiu went to the deepest bookshelf alone and flipped through an ancient book. Then an illusory picture appeared in his vision.
The tail feathers of the blue phoenix swept across the sky-blue dome, and the first rays of morning light leaked through the gaps between the feathers. The sleeping valley yawned, and the nine-colored deer wrapped in dew stood up from the moss carpet, and the night-shining pearls on the tips of the deer antlers were still hazy and blue. Jiang Qiu lay on the aerial roots of the thousand-year-old banyan tree, watching the fine sunlight like gold powder, weaving a flowing net in the floating spiritual mist. The morning breeze brought the sweet fragrance of osmanthus, wrapped in the crisp sound of the mountain spring in the distance. Seventeen or eighteen sycamore trees that were as thick as a man's embrace bent into a natural arch bridge, and a hammock woven with vines hung between the branches. Several girls of the wood spirit tribe stepped barefoot on the leaves that had not yet dried with morning dew, and their slender fingers pinched the silk thread of the morning glow, sewing gauze wings for the newborn butterfly demon. The honeysuckle flowers in their hair were covered with mist, and the drooping silver hair tips occasionally startled a string of glowing mayflies.

Mirror Lake was still shrouded in milky white mist. The koi fish were swinging their glass-like tail fins, gathering the debris of last night's stars into a string of glowing beads. The girls of the Water Clan knelt on a cushion made of duckweed, using a shell comb dipped in laurel dew to slowly comb their scales. Suddenly, a naughty little dragon jumped out from the deep water, startling the water surface to bloom thousands of silver lotus flowers. The mermaid who was dressing up smiled and swung her tail, and the splashing water droplets condensed into a rainbow bridge in the air.

The roots of the ancient banyan tree stretch underground to form a natural market. Firefly lanterns hang on the drooping mycelium, illuminating the small stalls set up by the mushroom caps. The squirrel spirit holds a bamboo tube jar that is taller than himself, and a few branches of snow primrose covered with morning dew stick out of the jar mouth. "Newly brewed nectar of a hundred flowers--" He jumped over the tangled roots with his fluffy tail, followed by a bunch of bouncing moonlight mushrooms, "The mica powder that Grandpa Ochre wants is in the old place!"

The stalactites in the Chalcedony Cave were dripping the 9,000th spiritual fluid. The white fox priest guarding the cave entrance counted the ripples in the pool and used cinnabar to draw star tracks on the tortoise shell. The little demons lined up with pottery jars to receive the stalactites. The rabbit-eared boy at the front suddenly sneezed, and the spiritual fluid in the jar shook out tiny spots of light, causing the night-shining bats hanging upside down on the cave ceiling to laugh.

At noon, the sun was hanging in the center of the dome woven with vines. The young men of the Feather Tribe spread their wings and cut the overly scorching sunlight into gentle gold foil. The Wind Whispering Flower Field was covered with layers of purple waves, and each flower bud contained an unspoken secret. The rabbit demon girl in charge of harvesting was wearing dewy gloves. As soon as her fingertips touched the glowing stamens, the whole flower field suddenly turned to the east - it turned out that the mobile library carried by the old turtle passed by, and the sound of the bamboo slips colliding awakened the sleeping flower spirits.

The Fog Fairy tribe weaves starlight in the cloud cocoon, and the stream of light brought by the spinning wheel illuminates their translucent fingertips. The young Fog Fairy, who has just grown up, cannot control her body shape well. When she weaves to the point of forgetting herself, her whole body turns into light smoke, and the teaching nanny is so anxious that she chases her around the room with a solidified jade pendant. Suddenly, cheers came from the weaving workshop next door. It turned out that a wedding dress made of thousand-year-old silk mixed with morning glow had taken shape, and the night dew pearls on the cuffs were flickering with her breathing.

As the sun sets in the west, the returning feather tribe brings back sporadic news from the outside world. The blue phoenix throws its newly shed feathers into the Tianjing Lake, and the water immediately reflects the reflection of the city on earth. The elder in charge of recording injects spiritual power into the mirage bead, and the bustling scene turns into a wisp of green smoke, swirling into the memory gourd hanging on the branch of the ancient banyan tree. The little demons squeezed into the tree house to peek, and were frightened by the steam locomotive in the illusion.

As the dusk infiltrates the clouds, the fireflies on the ancient altar light up one after another. People of all ethnic groups come with the harvest of the day: gauze embellished with moonlight, chalcedony condensed with morning dew, silk soaked in nectar, and palm leaf scriptures recording the ballads of the four seasons. The night owl begins to count the stars, the spiritual spring begins to sing before falling asleep, and Jiang Qiu is still curled up on the aerial roots of the ancient banyan tree, watching the last bit of sunlight flow into honey on the wings of the butterfly demon.
"Look, this is the history of the evolution of the Third Heaven."

The voice of the elder guarding the pavilion was vicissitudes and long-lasting, like a cotton thread pulling Jiang Qiu's thoughts back, and then he immersed himself in another older book, and the illusory scene was played out again.
In the ancient and wild times, the monsters in nature underwent a long evolution, gradually developing from the initial simple life form to a more advanced and mysterious direction. All living things, in this spiritual world, are constantly changing and adapting to seek survival and strength.

At first, the demons were just wild beasts with special abilities that were different from ordinary people. They were either born with strange powers or absorbed the energy of heaven and earth by chance. As time passed, these first demons began to undergo strange changes in their bodies during their continuous cultivation and evolution. Some became half-human and half-beast, while others completely turned into human form. However, every hair and every scale on their bodies contained powerful power.

The evolution of the demons did not stop there. As their cultivation improved, their power began to affect the surrounding environment. Some powerful demons could even call the wind and rain and control the power of nature. They lived in deep forests or hid among mountains, rivers and lakes, forming a close connection with the natural charm around them. Whenever night fell, under the moonlight, the figures of the demons shuttled between the treetops, their toes lightly touched the water surface, raising layers of fine waves, as if performing a silent and gorgeous dance.

The most amazing thing is that some demons can actually condense their own demon pills during the evolution process. This is the source of the demons' power and the symbol of their evolution. The demon pills contain the demons' innate talents and powers. Some demon pills show colorful light, while others are as mysterious as the deep starry sky. The appearance of demon pills has made the demons more powerful. They can use various magical powers, change into strange forms, or manipulate powerful elemental forces.

Later, among the demons, there appeared beings with profound wisdom. They not only cultivated powerful strength, but also possessed wisdom and culture that could rival the stronger demons. These demons either established their own kingdoms or lived in seclusion in paradise, but all of them wrote legends of the demons in their own way. The evolution of the demons seems to be continuing. No one can predict where they will go, but this is the mysterious and beautiful part of nature.

In this evolution, Jiang Qiu didn't know how much time had passed. He just calmed down, while the Nine-tailed Fox and others downstairs felt that time was passing very slowly. They didn't know when Jiang Qiu would find a way. In their opinion, they were just waiting boringly: "Didn't you say you were going to find a way to the fourth heaven? Why is there no movement at all?"

Ah Ying didn't know how to explain it. She didn't know what the elder guarding the pavilion took Jiang Qiu to do, and there had been no movement for such a long time. She had also read the ancient books here before, but she woke up in a very short time, it wouldn't take so long.

(End of this chapter)