Chapter 9: Central Continent

"Will I have to pay for it?" Lu Yang asked nervously, knowing that the only thing of real value on his entire person was likely his mind.

"Pay for it?" The senior brother glanced at the book in his hand, then at Lu Yang, a sharp twitch racking the corner of his eye.

By the regulations, a compensation in spirit stones was indeed required, but the trouble was that if word of this book got out, the Dragon and Phoenix races would inevitably join forces to slaughter their way from the Demon Territory all the way to the Central Continent and straight up the peaks of the Pillar Sect.

Though the Pillar Sect harbored no fear of either race—and indeed, dragon liver and phoenix marrow were culinary delicacies, known to nourish the yin and fortify the yang—they were, after all, an orthodox and reputable sect; housing a forbidden tome like the Dragon-Phoenix Metamorphosis within their Scripture Pavilion would ultimately tarnish their good name.

With this in mind, the senior brother quietly slipped the book into his sleeve, his expression smoothing into a mask of pure nonchalance.

"Pay for it? What book did you soil? I didn't see a thing."

Destroying books inside the Scripture Pavilion was too conspicuous and would trigger the defensive formations; it would be far better to dispose of it outside.

Lu Yang instantly grasped the unspoken mechanics of the situation—his senior brother intended to keep it for himself.

Therefore, nothing at all had happened just now.

The two exchanged a look, their lips curving upward in a smile, as though they truly understood one another's minds perfectly.

The forbidden book was a mere interlude, and Lu Yang had not forgotten his original purpose in coming to the Scripture Pavilion.

He searched for a long while before finally finding exactly what he desired: a text introducing the Central Continent, entitled *A Treatise on Continental Geography*.

Lu Yang rubbed his hands together with excitement and began to read intently.

"The world is inhabited by humans, demons, ghosts, and other entities, with the Central Continent serving as the primary gathering ground for the human race. The greatest power upon the continent is the Great Xia Dynasty, the sole empire of the Central Continent, which anchors the destiny of humankind and represents the orthodox lineage of man."

"So, even though my home is close to the Pillar Sect, it still falls within the borders of the Great Xia Dynasty."

"To the east of the continent lies a vast, boundless ocean, dotted with scattered islands, where ancient beasts such as the Kunpeng and Chaos occasionally emerge."

"To the west of the continent lies a golden land of Buddhism, an immeasurable pure land with temples as numerous as grains of sand."

"To the south of the continent lies the Demon Territory, dominated by the Dragon and Phoenix clans. The demons are cruel and bloodthirsty; the Great Xia Dynasty and the Demon Territory engage in constant friction, and some demons even conceal themselves within Great Xia, posing a persistent threat to humanity."

"To the north of the continent lies the Far North, a land of unmelting ice and barren soil where human tracks are scarce and other living creatures rarely appear, inhabited only by exceedingly resilient races."

"The Central Continent holds the largest human population and the greatest number of cultivators. While some cultivators choose to enter officialdom within the imperial court, far more choose to establish their own sects or join an existing one. Sects are scattered across the Central Continent like stars in the sky, among which the most formidable are the Five Great Immortal Sects, led by the Pillar Sect, standing as the supreme vanguards of the orthodox path."

"The text also mentions that each of the Five Great Immortal Sects must possess a master at the Tribulation Transmutation stage, as well as means capable of rivaling such power... Could it be that our Sect Master is an almighty cultivator of the Tribulation Transmutation stage? Or does our Pillar Sect have a grand elder living in absolute seclusion?"

At the thought that he had been fortunate enough to be taken in under a Sect Master who might very well be a Tribulation-stage powerhouse, Lu Yang felt a surge of joy. He stood up, poured himself a cup of water, and used the act of drinking to suppress his inner elation before sitting back down to continue reading.

"Cultivators of the demonic path are inherently bloodthirsty, ruthlessly consuming the lives of living beings to bolster their own cultivation, a menace far greater than that of the demons. Yet, demonic cultivators remain a scourge that cannot withstand the light, hiding away in dark corners. Under the joint suppression of the Great Xia Dynasty and the Five Great Immortal Sects, the demonic sects dare only to operate in the shadows, never showing their faces."

Aside from demonic cultivators, the book also made brief mention of an entity called fiends, speaking of them in highly cryptic terms. It claimed that fiends were born devoid of emotion, serving as the shadow of humanity, defying all conventional reason, and that one should flee immediately upon sighting them. It was deeply mysterious, and Lu Yang could not quite grasp what a fiend truly was.

"Mortals utilize gold, silver, and copper as currency, while cultivators employ high, mid, and low-grade spirit stones as their medium of exchange."

Following this, Lu Yang began to absorb the general knowledge of the cultivation world, such as the standards separating the various realms of cultivation, the hundred arts of cultivation, the various species of spirit beasts, the tiers of cultivation techniques, and the history of the Central Continent.

The scattered lore Lu Yang had gathered from storytellers in mortal teahouses was nowhere near enough to grant him a foothold in the cultivation world.

Staring at those lines of profound, mystical knowledge, Lu Yang unwittingly lost himself in them. He swam through the ocean of information until dusk, when a sudden gnawing in his stomach reminded him that he had not eaten all day.

By this time, the senior brother at the entrance of the Scripture Pavilion had been replaced by a senior sister.

Lu Yang asked respectfully, "Senior Sister, I am terribly sorry to disturb you. I am a disciple who just arrived yesterday and am not yet familiar with the Pillar Sect. Does our sect have a place to eat?"

Startled by Lu Yang's voice, the senior sister flinched slightly, her eyes darting away in evident anxiety; she seemed terribly afraid of speaking to people.

Generally, everyone followed the rules of the Scripture Pavilion without needing a reminder, making her timid disposition quite suited to this quiet place.

Not daring to look Lu Yang in the eye, she lowered her head and spoke in a soft, whispery voice. "Oh, so you are a newly arrived junior brother. The Pillar Sect does have a cafeteria, but as someone who has been through it, I wouldn't recommend eating there."

Lu Yang was perplexed. "Why is that? Is there something wrong with the cafeteria?"

"It is located on the peak of the Fifth Elder, Mount Hundred Refinements."

Lu Yang blinked in surprise, for the name of the peak hardly sounded like a place where meals were prepared. "May I ask what this Hundred Refinements Peak actually is...?"

"The Fifth Elder specializes in artifact forging, so the Hundred Refinements Peak is naturally the mountain dedicated to forging artifacts. The cafeteria was established right upon it, and the chefs there are all top-tier artifact forgers. Their steamed buns can pierce through mountain ranges, their rice grains can be used as hidden projectiles, and their fried dough sticks can shatter bones of reinforced steel."

Lu Yang found himself entirely at a loss for words, unsure of where to even begin criticizing such a premise. "...Why on earth would a chef double as an artifact forger?"

The senior sister offered a frail explanation. "Think about it, junior brother. The most critical element for a chef is heat control, and what artifact forgers excel at most is precisely the manipulation of heat. The connection between these two professions is far closer than you might imagine."

Lu Yang nodded earnestly. "It is indeed far closer than I imagined."

Glancing at Lu Yang's simple, unadorned attire, the senior sister hesitated for a moment. "Furthermore, purchasing weapons—oh, no, I mean, eating at the cafeteria requires spirit stones. You, junior brother... do not look as though you are very wealthy."

Generally speaking, even if a cultivator's garments were not exquisitely ornate, they were at least woven from common spiritual materials like celestial silk, rendering them resistant to fire and water.

Lu Yang's attire was plain and rustic, his clothes visibly mended with various scraps of cloth, revealing his mortal origins at a single glance.

Lu Yang smiled sheepishly, for he truly did not possess a single spirit stone.

"There is no need to feel embarrassed. There are many within the Pillar Sect who come from mortal backgrounds," the senior sister comforted him gently.

"There are other ways to find a meal. Hmm... you could head over to the Cauldron Altar Peak and take a look. There ought to be some discarded Fasting Pills there, and you could ask them for a few."

"The Cauldron Altar Peak holds incredibly high standards for their medicinal pills. Though they are deemed discarded, it is merely because their quality isn't high enough; you needn't worry about them being poisonous."

"However, once you are at the Cauldron Altar Peak, you must be careful around the Peak Master, the Seventh Elder, Senior Brother Wu Ming, Senior Brother Wen Da, Senior Sister Qing Kong, Junior Brother Long Yan... In short, just be careful around everyone."

Suppressing the confusion rising in his heart, Lu Yang cupped his hands. "I am Lu Yang. My thanks to you, Senior Sister. May I be honored with your name?"

"My name is Zhou Lulu."