Yefutidaolu

Chapter 348 Kill him!
In the end, Gao Jian and Xia Youdu set off for the Sutra Repository.

Stepping through the heavy, dark iron doors of the Scripture Pavilion, a scent mingled with the aroma of aged scrolls, spirit wood, and dust assaults the senses. Light filters through the surrounding luminous pearls, casting dappled beams of light between the countless stacked bookshelves.

There is also a couplet in the scripture pavilion of the Youmingdi.

"Never tire of learning, and you will be able to govern others."

"One who never tires of practice is a person of high status."

To be honest, this one sentence gave Gao Jian a renewed understanding of Youmingdi's way of handling things...

Everything is written down clearly.

Gao Jian shook his head, but still pushed open the door and went inside.

The pearl is extremely bright, almost like a light bulb, making this place as bright as day, regardless of day or night, season or weather.

Surrounded by glittering pearls, visible dust particles float in the air.

This is the treasure trove of the netherworld, and also the place where countless disciples have devoted their lives to studying scriptures and yearning for enlightenment.

However, today, when Gao Jian appeared at the door, the soft sounds of turning pages and whispering instantly vanished, like a stone thrown into water, a deathly silence quickly spreading. Countless gazes, filled with fear, inquiry, and hatred, focused on him as if they were tangible, and also swept over the distraught Xia Youdu behind him.

Fear clung to everyone present like cold vines.

Clearly, Gao Jian's reputation had spread far and wide. They couldn't forget how this young man from the Imperial Academy had so easily defeated ten true disciples, and the Yellow Springs Map he had engraved had even been copied and included in the Sutra Repository.

Moreover, Gao Jian's background had already been thoroughly investigated. He was an imperial envoy of the Divine Dynasty and a "distinguished guest" of the Netherworld. He had ruined things in the Netherworld in Liangzhou and could be described as a walking jinx.

Why did he step into the library at this moment?
Gao Jian seemed oblivious. Ignoring all gazes, he walked straight to a bookshelf labeled "Tracing the Origins of the Ancient Array of the Netherworld" and "Understanding the Spiritual Pivot of the Earth Veins".

His goal was clear, his movements swift and decisive, without a single wasted effort. Xia Youdu subconsciously retreated to an inconspicuous shadow in a corner, leaning against the cold stone wall, as if only in this way could she draw a tiny bit of security. She curled up like a wounded little animal, her eyes vacant as she spent the moment that would completely overturn her fate.

Then, she started looking at him.

Gao Jian took down several thick jade slips and animal skin books and sat down in front of a large, empty stone table in the corner.

He didn't clear the area or drive anyone away; he simply opened his books quietly. The atmosphere inside the library remained tense. The disciples were like frozen fish, afraid to breathe loudly or get within three zhang of him, only daring to peek at him from afar.

Xia Youdu also looked at Gao Jian. She watched him open the jade slip covered with ancient seal script, her brows furrowed slightly, her eyes focused.

Gao Jian's fingertips traced the yellowed animal hide diagrams, as if he were tracing some invisible thread. Every now and then, when he encountered an obscure and difficult array deduction, he would subconsciously scratch his hair with his fingers, a look of puzzled distress on his face—an expression no different from any ordinary disciple in the Scripture Pavilion who had encountered a bottleneck.

There was no divine light, no innate Taoist charm, and no extraordinary phenomena that a legendary "monster" should possess.

He just sat there, like an ordinary reader, engrossed in his books, page by page, line by line.

When he encountered something he didn't understand, he would put down his book and unconsciously trace lines on the stone table with his fingertips, as if he were calculating something. Occasionally, he would stop, gaze at the light filtering in for a moment, and then bury himself in his book again.

The initial numbness and fear in Xia Youdu's eyes were gradually replaced by a huge sense of absurdity and indescribable confusion.

This… is that the “monster” that terrified the entire Netherworld? This is that young genius who treated the true disciples like dirt, chatted and laughed with the patriarch, and harbored hidden wits? To be honest, his appearance right now is really, ordinary.

What she found even more incomprehensible was Gao Jian's attitude.

He gave her no further instructions beyond the initial request to lead the way, as she was a "gift" sent by the ancestor and theoretically his possession.

There was no belittling or insult, not even a second glance, as if she were merely an insignificant decoration in this library.

His attitude towards others astonished her even more. When an old servant with low cultivation level, responsible for cleaning the library, tried to timidly go around him to wipe the bookshelves behind him, Gao Jian even slightly turned aside, voluntarily giving way, and nodded in acknowledgment with extreme naturalness, his movements as smooth as breathing.

The old servant was clearly flattered, trembling so much he could barely hold the duster. When another disciple carrying a large stack of jade slips nearly tripped in front of him out of nervousness and fear, Gao Jian merely raised his eyelids and helped him up, without making any other move. His calm and unwavering gaze held no mockery or pressure, as if he were simply seeing something ordinary.

He was polite, yet aloof and distant. All his actions revolved around his own goals, and as long as no one provoked him, nothing unusual would happen.

He was like a stone thrown into water, only stirring up a ripple of fear before sinking into his own world, no longer disturbing the fish in the pond, even though he had already disturbed them enough.

He maintained an almost indifferent equality towards everyone—whether it was the high and mighty elders, the lowly servants, or even Xia Youdu, this "gift".

Just yesterday, or even just a few hours ago, if she had seen Gao Jian treat his servants this way, she would have scoffed and mocked him for his hypocrisy and pretentiousness. Why would someone with such power and status be so polite to a nobody? It's nothing more than a tactic to win people's hearts.

But now… she huddled in the cold shadows, her body still bearing the chilling feeling of being utterly abandoned by her master and treated like merchandise. She looked at Gao Jian's focused and ordinary profile, at his natural, unassuming courtesy towards the servants, and then at his “ignorance” of her… an extremely complex emotion, one that she herself could not clearly define, quietly grew like vines, binding her cold heart.

In Xia Youdu's eyes at this moment, this equality was no longer a hypocritical pretense, but a kind of... heart-wrenching, mind-blowing normalcy.

His strength was real, and so was his ruthlessness. But his current "ordinariness" and that peculiar "equality" were hard for Xia Youdu to understand.

She didn't understand. She couldn't comprehend this man named Gao Jian.

The library remained deathly silent, save for the occasional soft rustling of Gao Jian turning pages. Xia Youdu hugged her knees, resting her chin on them, her eyes vacant as she stared at the figure quietly reading amidst the dust and light. Only one chaotic thought remained in her mind, echoing repeatedly like a dream:

Monsters... so they can do this too... reading, huh...

----------

Several days have passed.

Gao Jian felt a wave of mental exhaustion, and the ancient seal script on the jade slip in front of him seemed to come alive, twisting and moving before his eyes.

His highly focused mind finally reached its limit, and a deep sense of exhaustion surged from the depths of his soul, washing over his will like a tidal wave.

He put down the heavy scroll of "The Pivot to Understanding" in his hand, his knuckles slightly white from pressing the jade slip so hard. He closed his eyes and rubbed his aching brow, as if trying to temporarily dispel the tangled array principles and talismans from his mind.

The library remained eerily quiet, save for the occasional soft sounds of pages turning or jade slips clinking in the distance. Even the prying gazes seemed to have grown somewhat numb from his long hours of meditation.

Gao Jian opened his eyes, his gaze lingering unfocused on the scattered scrolls on the stone table for a moment, then, as if finally remembering that there was someone in the corner, he turned his head, his gaze landing precisely on Xia Youdu, who was curled up in the shadows. Her posture had hardly changed.

"Xia Youdu." Gao Jian's voice wasn't loud, but it clearly pierced through the silence of the Sutra Repository, causing Xia Youdu's shoulders to tremble almost imperceptibly.

She immediately looked up at him.

Gao Jian's expression was calm: "Go and rest by yourself. I already know the way around here."

“I’ll be studying here for a while,” he continued, his gaze no longer on her, but sweeping over the towering bookshelves. “If you need anything, come find me here. If not…” He paused, as if feeling he needed to add something, and then said, “You can go do your own thing.”

He stood up, stretched his neck which was stiff from sitting for so long, making a slight clicking sound. Just as he was about to turn and leave, as if on a whim, he left behind a sentence:
"However, I think you could go and see those people at the 'ranch'."

"Go and see them, and see how they differ from you now."

After speaking, he gave Xia Youdu no time to react, and didn't care about the consequences of his words. He simply turned around, took a step, and disappeared into the slightly glaring sunlight outside the door.

As he stepped outside, a thought flashed through Gao Jian's mind.

Is there any hope for the summer-growing beetle?

As Gao Jian walked through the cold and vast corridor of the gloomy place, the question briefly surfaced in his weary mind like a bubble before being easily extinguished.

do not know.

A hint of impatience flashed across his brow.

I'm too lazy to know.

To persuade someone who is mired in a quagmire, whose hands are covered in blood, and whose very existence is a twisted product of the unseen world to reform.
The idea itself struck him as ridiculous and...a waste of time.

He is neither a saint nor a savior. His sword is a sharp weapon to cut through obstacles, not a gentle staff to redeem lost sheep.

If he were to act according to his true nature, the most decisive way to deal with a true disciple like Xia Youdu, who aids and abets evil and enjoys the nourishment of flesh and blood from the Netherworld, would be to stab Jie to death.

It saves time and effort, and also rids the world of harm.

But I don't have time right now.

Gao Jian's fingers unconsciously pressed on the hilt of the sword at his waist, the cool touch giving him a slight jolt.

We can't do that.

Killing Xia Youdu would be tantamount to directly slapping the face of the Netherworld Ancestor and destroying the current delicate "peace" built on the exchange of interests. What he needs now is time, to lie low and accumulate strength, not to immediately tear off the mask of civility.

So, let's just leave it like that.

Like an object that is temporarily useless but cannot be easily discarded. Let her struggle, feel fear, and face that cruel contrast on her own.

As for the outcome, that was no longer his concern. That suggestion to "go and see the ranch" was already the greatest "mercy" Gao Jian had given her—a hint that helped her see her situation clearly.

After all... there are other things to do right now.

Gao Jian's gaze suddenly sharpened to the point of being like that of a hawk, piercing through the layers of restrictions on the dark and bright land, as if looking towards the distant southeast.

The goal is to find out about Yuan Lu's situation and... get myself back to the capital, Yangjing, as soon as possible!

Yuan Lu was the most deadly sword hanging over his head. In the underworld, he plotted with the tiger and delayed time, all for this ultimate goal.

Come to think of it...

Takami's tightly clenched lips finally relaxed into a barely perceptible smile. The image of a round, furry hamster with cunning and tenacious eyes appeared in his mind.

Elder Shu Jian should be almost at Yangjing by now.

That adorable-looking but unfathomable demon elder was the key to breaking the deadlock, the one he planted in the seemingly hopeless situation of the Netherworld.

He bought so much time, allowing Shu Jian to escape danger and return to the capital with crucial intelligence...

We're finally out of danger.

A long-lost sense of relief, tinged with the smell of blood, swept through Gao Jian's mind.

However, this sense of relief lasted only a moment before being replaced by a deeper gloom.

However... Yuan Lu certainly won't let me get away so easily.

Gao Jian's footsteps stopped in the empty corridor. The only sound around him was his soft breathing. Yuan Lu's shadow was everywhere, like an invisible net.

Did he think he could just leave unscathed? Yuan Lu would never allow it. He still hoped that Gao Jian could help him figure out the method to break through to the Earth Immortal realm and give him some inspiration.

However, he felt that everything was under his control?

Gao Jian's gaze became completely calm, like the deepest night sky before a storm. His weariness was replaced by an extreme calm and madness.

A thought, like a cold flame suddenly igniting in the dark abyss, burned in his mind!
kill him.

The idea was so simple, so direct, yet so shocking!
Kill Yuan Lu!

A mere sixth-realm cultivator, who might be considered a slightly stronger ant in Yuan Lu's eyes, was now calmly, frantically, and recklessly thinking in this cold corridor of Youming Land about how to kill a twelfth-realm powerhouse who stood at the peak, second only to the Earth Immortal!
Gao Jian's brain started working at an unprecedented speed. Countless fragments of information, past experiences, secrets of the Netherworld, possible weaknesses of Yuan Law, and all the bargaining chips he could and could not use... collided and reorganized wildly in his sea of ​​consciousness.

Kill him!
(End of this chapter)