Chapter 62 - 62 59 Unnamed Taoist Scripture Added for Alliance Hierarch Wu Shang Zhonglin

62: Chapter 59 Unnamed Taoist Scripture (Added for Alliance Hierarch Wu Shang Zhonglin) 62: Chapter 59 Unnamed Taoist Scripture (Added for Alliance Hierarch Wu Shang Zhonglin) As dusk approached, Xiao Jie bid farewell to “I Want to Be Immortal” and they both logged off for the day. After dinner, instead of going out for a run, he logged back into the game. The scene shifted, and his character appeared inside the ancestral hall of Ginkgo Village. This was the only truly safe place after dark. He wasn’t planning to stay up all night leveling, but rather intended to use the quiet hours of darkness to read through the books in his backpack. During the day, he was too busy leveling up and couldn’t calm his mind, and at night, unable to leave, it was the perfect time to thoroughly explore the game’s literature. Glancing out of the ancestral hall, the night in Ginkgo Village was pitch black, with only the lanterns at the entrance of the hall and the dim yellow light from the oil lamps inside, seemingly the only warmth in the cold darkness. It felt as though something in the darkness was watching him, and even through the screen, he could feel an unsettling atmosphere. Xiao Jie sat down cross-legged in the hall, illuminated by the oil lamp, and began to read. His bag was filled with several books. “Strange People Travelogue” was a novel about bizarre travels, somewhat reminiscent of “Search for Gods.” It narrated stories of strange people from the past, which were quite fascinating, albeit challenging to read due to the classical language. Xiao Jie speculated that these strange people might be encountered in the game as well. He initially thought “Hundred Herbs Scripture” was a Skill Book, but it turned out to be a book describing plants and herbs from around the world, listing some mythical herbs and plant-based creatures like Ganoderma and ginseng babies, which could be used for alchemy. Some could even be consumed directly to extend life span and obtain immortal power. As he read, Xiao Jie couldn’t help but be captivated. However, the book also mentioned that the more powerful the celestial herbs, the more likely they were hidden in dangerous, hard-to-find places, often guarded by strong demon beasts, making them not so easy to find. “Nine States Records” especially delighted him, as it essentially served as a background introduction to the game’s map. It turned out “Old Soil” was a term used by the returnees, while the inhabitants of this world referred to their realm as the “Land of Nine States.” The world consisted of Nine States, each being: Fengyin State: the current location of Xiao Jie, situated inland with a dense population and numerous towns and villages across the state. Demon beasts and monsters were relatively rare, making it suitable for human habitation. Beiming State: a snowy northern land covered in ice and snow, inhabited by fierce wild demon beasts. Even immortals dared not easily venture into the treacherous waters of the Nether Sea in the north. Longhua State: allegedly once the residence of the Dragon Emperor, the core region of the Nine States. The Dragon Emperor had unified the Nine States thousands of years ago. Even though the states had been divided in recent millennia, they still considered the Dragon Emperor as the supreme ruler of all. However, with the advent of a great calamity, the Dragon Emperor’s lineage had been severed, and Longhua State had become a land fraught with strife among warlords. In the capital of Longhua State stood the Sky Tower, which was said to connect directly to the Divine Court above the nine heavens. Canglin State: covered in lush forests, also quite suitable for human habitation as the spirits here had mild dispositions, preferring cultivation and refraining from consuming blood, living on dew and dining on evening clouds, accompanied by immortals. Consequently, many humans had built cities and villages here and traded with the Demon Race. However, since the great calamity, many spirits had turned to the Demon Path, and the environment of Canglin State had deteriorated, albeit still relatively safe compared to others. Flowing Fire State: a sweltering land covered with deserts, reportedly suffering from a great sun that had fallen in ancient times, making it unbearably hot. Also home to many fearsome spirits and remnants of the Fire Bird clan. Dream Swamp State: pervaded with mist and marshlands, housing the most spirits and demon beasts of any state; barring a few human towns, it was largely a savage wilderness. Man Yue State: filled with hundreds of thousands of mountains, teeming with poisonous insects and fierce beasts. While demons were few, numerous ancient beasts were abundant. Penglai State: the dwelling of Immortals overseas. In the past, the Dragon Emperor had once dispatched fleets here and even brought back three immortal beings. However, contact had been lost since the great calamity. Gu Yun State: situated among the sea of clouds, a floating land above the sky. A group of immortals had once built an Immortal Palace there, but as Gu Yun State barely interacted with mortals on the surface, no one currently knew the state of affairs there. At the end of the book was a simple map. Having read the introduction to the Nine States, Xiao Jie remarked that Fengyin State was merely a beginner’s map, and Ginkgo Valley was even more so, a beginner’s map within a beginner’s map. He wondered if he would ever have the chance to witness the other maps of this world and their wonders with his own eyes… After reading through the several books he had gathered from Tian Youcai’s study, he had gained a better understanding of the game world. Finally, Xiao Jie came across the most valuable book. “Unnamed Taoist Scripture: First Volume, True Word Chapter” The book’s title was a bit of a tongue-twister, and it was Xiao Jie’s first encounter with Taoist Scriptures. He wondered what content it might hold. Could this truly be a Taoist Scripture? He couldn’t wait and started reading it. This object, like other books, could be browsed, and after being used, a comprehension check would take place. If passed, it would enhance comprehension by one point; if failed, it might be gone forever. Fortunately, there was no limit to the number of times it could be read, so Xiao Jie decided to thoroughly understand it before using the comprehension check. Therefore, Xiao Jie read with extra care. [Immortals, are cultivators. To seek cultivation, one must first observe the truth. What is truth? Truth is the origin of all things. What people know are form, sound, smell, taste, and touch. Yet what people see, is illusion. What people hear, is but noise. What people smell, confuses all things. What people taste, includes mixed flavors. What people touch, they do not know the shape. How so? Birds, beasts, fish, insects, even humans, see things differently. What is truth? All are not true. Truth cannot be seen, heard, smelled, touched, or tasted. How so? Only through comprehension…] Xiao Jie read silently; although it was in classical Chinese, relying on his foundation of having read classical masterpieces like the Three Kingdoms and the Tang Dynasty since childhood, he could roughly understand it. The general meaning of this Taoist Scripture was― The so-called immortals are cultivators; to cultivate and achieve the Immortal Dao, one must first understand the most genuine appearance of this world. The way humans understand the world is through the five senses: sight, smell, hearing, touch, and taste. However, the so-called understanding through the five senses is not the real world. The everyday cognition people have of this world is actually false, because the sensory abilities of different creatures are completely different. Birds, wild beasts, fish, insects… The sensory abilities of humans are not particularly notable among many beings. Neither the best nor the worst, so the scenery that humans see is false, merely images processed by human eyes. Humans hear only chaotic sounds, unable to hear the true sounds. They smell only mixed odors, and what they touch is not the real texture of objects. They taste only five basic flavors. Because of this, humans cannot truly cultivate. Only by seeing the ‘truth’ of all things, can one have the chance to achieve true results…] He was somewhat surprised; although it sounded far-fetched at first, upon deeper thought, it seemed somewhat reasonable. But what exactly is this so-called [Truth]? How can one see, hear, touch the most genuine form of this world? However, when he turned the page, he found there was nothing more. Damn it, what a bastard, the author of this book is a cliffhanger…