Chapter 87: The Pavilion of Myriad Arts

Chapter 87 - The Pavilion of Myriad Arts The Pavilion of Myriad Arts stood like a relic from a forgotten age, its three-story silhouette deceptively plain, as if plucked from a mortal village. Gray stone walls, weathered and moss-streaked, rose unadorned, their cracks swallowing the daylight. Weathered wood and chipped paint, the structure's eaves sagging under the weight of neglect. Wild grasses clawed at its foundations, swallowing the lower steps whole. At first glance, it might have been some abandoned mortal tavern, left to rot. Yet the structure hummed—a subtle, bone-deep pulse that pressed against Lordi Payne's senses, heavy with secrets. The sealed gate, carved with faded runes, was flanked by two emerald gauze palace lanterns, their eerie green flames flickering even under the noon sun. The light they cast was wrong—sickly, pulsing faintly as if breathing, staining the ground beneath them the color of drowned moss. Lordi Payne lingered at a distance, eyes scanning the empty grounds. No guards, no disciples stood watch—only sparrows nesting under the sagging eaves, their chirps absurdly cheerful against the pavilion's silent menace. Distrust gnawed at him, gradually souring his faith in Kinson Wexford. That Bloodline Lord's promised to Lordi Payne that Lady Joanie's patronage meant Fairy Lith's official intervention in his matter which would shield him completely from every threat. Well, to him that is flimsy, the assurances rang hollow. "That bastard Chou Ease bragged he was Sect Successor Chou's clan brother. And look where that got him. A corpse cooling in the dirt." Lordi's lips twitched, grim. "Sect Successors, Bloodline Lords—these overload deterrence names couldn't scare the slaughter mind at the critical moment of life and death. Fairy Lith, her highness's promises won't stop a murder's claw." Speaking of Fairy Lith... Lordi Payne's thoughts churned. Well, he himself was confused and baffled about his relationship tie with Fairy Lith. What's her game? He pictured himself in her place—a Sect Successor, an Immortal Master, a Holy Saint, an Abyss Pit Sect Overlord, lofty and untouchable. If some lowborn girl jumped on his bed, forced him to dual-cultivate with her? "Well, hmm, that's... that's fine maybe. That wouldn't be a big loss to me anyway." Perhaps after the bedding, he'd even toss that female cultivator some benefits, offer her some minor protection. His face darkened, and then a flush creeping up his neck. Wait. That means?! Did Fairy Lith think that as well? Am I the one raped? So it was not me forcing and bedding her, but actually it's her occupied me? The half-joking realization stung. He'd lost out a big disadvantage. Dang! BRUH! "Eighteen years hardworking to guard my virginity, and she just... took it? How could Fairy Lith not take responsibility for me?" Lordi Payne snorted, shaking off the joking thought. He'd dare not walk close to that beauty overlord and demand recompense from her highness. Even in his head, the thought was suicide. On the corpse cloud ride back to the Outer Sect, Lordi Payne steadied himself, racked his brains to refocus on how to ensure his safety in the future. Survival first. "Sigh..." Lordi muse inwardly, "At present, I had the Bone Tempering Art as basic martial technique to forge my body constitution basement, and I mastered Blood Fiend Blade Art as the assault martial technique, next, I mastered the the Blood Lothgar—no, dammit, the Blood Spectre Footwork Art as movement and danger escape martial technique." "Considering from survival perspective, I still lack of a healing art or restoring martial technique—something to patch me up when blades bite deep. Without it, I'm one bad fight from dust." Lordi's gaze settled on the pavilion's gate for a while, its runes pulsing faintly, like veins under skin. Then he tentatively approached it cautiously. Lordi Payne halted three steps from the gate, his breath shallow. The lanterns flared, green fire surging like a beast's maw snapping open, and a formidable invisible force slammed into him. It was no mere weight—it was a nightmare given form, crushing down like mountains pressed against every inch of his flesh that pressed from every angle, as if the air itself had turned to iron. His veins throbbed, each muscle fiber screaming as the force ground against his bones, threatening to pulp him into dust. His vision blurred, thoughts slowing to a crawl, trapped in a molasses of dread. From his gut, a sickening churn rose, a cacophony of whispers—hissings of lost souls, clawing at his mind. Restrained yet ravenous, the force poised to unravel him, its chill seeping into his marrow, making his soul shudder as if brushed by a reaper's hand. Then this invisible force touched his sect nameplate, a cold spark flaring at his waist. The force vanished—snuffed out like a candle in next instant. The lanterns dimmed, their flames retreating to a sullen flicker, and the gate swung open, silent as a crypt. Beyond lay no vista, only an endless void, black and swallowing, beckoning with a hunger Lordi could feel in his chest. He gripped the nameplate, knuckles white, and steadied his racing pulse. With a cautious step, he crossed the threshold, the air rippling like liquid shadow, parting to reveal an immense hall within. The chamber sprawled vast and opulent, its walls of polished obsidian veined with silver, reflecting the eerie dance of will-o'-the-wisps—ghostly green orbs that drifted aimlessly, casting long, writhing shadows. The ceiling arched impossibly high, lost in a haze where faint whispers seemed to coil, like voices trapped in stone. To the left, a spiral staircase of bleached bone twisted upward, its steps gleaming with a sickly sheen, as if carved from forgotten dead. Three gates loomed on the far wall, each sealed with runes that pulsed faintly, their purpose hidden. Nearest stood a stone stele, towering twice a man's height, its surface crawling with ghostly runes that flickered under the wisps' glow. Lordi approached, boots echoing in the hollow vastness, and studied the stele. Its engraved words burned into his mind—Laws of the Pavilion of Myriad Arts, etched with a sickly green severity. ACCESS BY RANK: The Pavilion spans three floors. - Qi Refinement 1st to 3rd Layer: First floor only. - Qi Refinement 4th to 6th Layer: Second floor permitted. - Qi Refinement 7th Layer and above: All floors open. Each floor divides into three domains : - Grand Hall of Cultivation Art Techniques, - Open Square of Martial Spell Arts, - Ball Room of Special Labor Skills. Trespass beyond your rank invites expulsion and ruin. TIME EDICT - Linger over an hour without purchase? The Pavilion's array will expel you. - Ten-day ban from all Outer Sect Pavilion follows. - Repeat violations incur spirit stone fines (doubling each violation). CONDUCT - Silence is absolute. - Violence forbidden. - Violators face immediate ejection and fines, their names marked for scrutiny. SACRED SECRECY - Cultivation Art Techniques and Martial Spell Arts purchased herein are bound to the buyer's soul. - Sharing or leasing them to others incurs a TENFOLD fine of the purchase price. - Leaking the Cultivation Art Techniques and Martial Spell Arts purchased herein to those outside the Abyss Pit Sect brings annihilation: cultivation stripped, bones shattered, soul torn and forged into ritual fodder. Lordi's brow furrowed, catching a gap. "Special Labor Skills aren't mentioned in this secrecy law—can they be shared? This shouldn't be a loophole, is this intentional allowed by the holy sect?" Recalling that the Holy Sect's only welfare benefit for the disciples is to attend the free skill lectures, he figured that his guess should be correct. As for why Abyss Pit Sect allowed this, Lordi Payne had no time to ponder at the moment, survival is his number one task right now. After scanning the law stele, he hurried to the second floor. Lordi Payne's pulse thrummed with greed-fueled hope, the AllFullOS System his golden ticket. This System can actively collect all types of Cultivation Art Techniques, Martial Spell Arts, and Special Labor Skills! Even if he could not see the specific detail records, but could only cultivate or practice these arts or skills after AllFullOS collected them, that would definitely made him a profit immensely fortune. With such a beautiful vision, with eager for the AllFullOS system to loot free techniques, with high hopes, Lordi Payne excitedly took two steps at a time on the bone stairs and rushed to the second floor and entered the Open Square of Martial Spell Arts. This square is a series of magnificent palace that looks very different from the exterior plain shabby appearance of the Pavilion of Myraid Arts. Towering vermilion pillars, each thirty feet high, marched in endless rows, their lacquered surfaces gleaming blood-red under the flicker of ghostly will-o'-the-wisps that drifted above. The ceiling, shrouded in shadow, dripped with countless crimson ropes, swaying gently as if stirred by an unseen breath. Each rope was strung with joss paper ghost money—yellowed, tattered sheets fluttering like trapped spirits, some rope with sparse joss paper, others heavy with stacks. At the end of each rope dangled a tiny skull, its jaw clamped around a bamboo tome, eye sockets hollow yet glinting with a faint, malevolent light. The air buzzed, thick with a low hum that clawed at Lordi's nerves, the square a cathedral of forbidden power, its opulence laced with dread. According to the explanation of the law stele on the first floor, the joss paper money strung on the red rope is the price of the book. Each joss paper equals 100 spirit $tones. Pricing Structure: - The cost of each Martial Spell Art tome is denoted by the joss paper money affixed to the crimson rope suspending the tome's skull. Each sheet of joss paper represents a value of 100 spirit stones. The total number of sheets determines the tome's purchase price. - Technique Preview: To access the summary of a Martial Spell Art, a disciple must insert their sect nameplate into the left eye socket of the tome's skull. Upon insertion, the nameplate will channel a brief overview of the technique's properties and applications directly to the disciple's mind. - Purchase Protocol: To acquire a Martial Spell Art, a disciple must deposit the requisite number of spirit $tones, as indicated by the joss paper count, into the right eye socket of the tome's skull. Upon confirmation of payment, the full contents of the technique will be transcribed into the disciple's sect nameplate within two breaths. The transfer is irrevocable and binds the technique to the purchaser's soul. - Addendum: All transactions are subject to the overarching Laws of the Pavilion of Myriad Arts. Unauthorized sharing or leakage of purchased Martial Spell Arts incurs severe penalties, including tenfold fines or, for external breaches, the stripping of cultivation, bone-shattering, and soul extraction for ritual use. Lordi Payne patted his storage pouch, Kinson Wexford's $tones heavy within, and called inward, voice eager: "AllFullOS System, wake up—time to loot this place dry." Silence. The AllFullOS stayed dormant, a dead weight in his mind. His grin faltered. "System, come on—work!" Still no response. The dream of looting techniques for free—poof, gone like mist. Disappointment curdled in Lordi's gut, but he shoved it down. Fine. If he couldn't cheat, he'd browse properly. Striding to the nearest skull, he jammed his nameplate into its hollow left eye. Blood Burning Technique [Type]: Booster Martial Spell [Description]: A vicious, self-cannibalizing martial art that ignites the practitioner's essence blood, forcibly unleashing a torrent of power far beyond their cultivation realm for a fleeting moment. This savage burst of strength comes at a dire cost—vitality is ravaged, leaving the body a hollow husk. Those with frail constitutions risk shattering their cultivation base, crippling their dantian or cursing themselves with lifelong maladies. Only the reckless or desperate dare wield this double-edged blade. [Requirements]: Consumption of Blood Qi Pills during cultivation is mandatory to stabilize the raging essence blood. [Price]: 5,000 D$t Heart Bewitch Technique [Type]: Mind Assault Martial Spell (Spiritology Path) [Description]: A sinister art that strikes at the enemy's very soul, weaving illusions and doubts that are nigh impossible to resist. Whispers slither into the enemy's mind, coiling around their Dao Heart like a venomous serpent. No armor can block it; no shield deflects its corruption. Deceptively simple to learn, yet a nightmare to master, this technique demands an iron will and a heart steeped in the mysteries of the Spiritology Path. One misstep, and the whispers turn on the caster—their own Dao Heart gnawed hollow by the very shadows they sought to command. [Requirements]: - Cultivator must major in Spiritology Path Cultivation Techniques. - Consumption of Soul Contain Pills during cultivation is mandatory to stave off possession by lingering bewitched spirits. [Price]: 7,500 D$t "How overpriced these spell arts are!" Every technique here cost a small fortune, and most came with crippling drawbacks--meridians that would rupture if cultivated past midnight, or requiring rare poisonous herbs that cost triple the Martial Art's own price. Lordi Payne yanked his sect nameplate from the skull's socket with a disgusted snort. These weren't treasures - they were traps wrapped in silk. He moved deeper into the square, boots echoing on the obsidian floor, the ropes above clattering faintly as if the skulls whispered to each other. Soon, a few ropes caught his gaze, their tomes marked by a few familiar martial art names he recognized. Five Poisons Finger [Type]: Lethal Strike Martial Spell (Toxicology Path) [Description]: A venomous art that delivers death in a single touch, its poison burrowing into the victim like ravenous maggots. Once struck, the victim's veins darken as five vile poisons surge through their meridians—each toxin more agonizing than the last. Flesh bubbles, organs liquefy, and bones soften into a grotesque slurry.the toxin festers, melting flesh and bone into a gruesome puddle of blood within half an hour unless the victim's cultivation is formidable or an antidote is administered. Otherwise, the victim will collapse into a steaming, twitching bloody puddle within thirty breaths, their screams silenced only when their jaw melts away. This technique is the cruel handiwork of those who walk the shadowed Toxicology Path, reveling in the agony of their foes. [Requirements]: - Cultivator must major in Toxicology Path Cultivation Techniques. - Consumption of five distinct Poisoned Pills during cultivation is mandatory to attune the body to the venom's wrath. [Price]: 4,700 D$t Green Ghost Battle Body [Type]: Possession-Type Booster Martial Spell (Body Tempering Path) [Description]: A formidable art that summons the Green Ghost to envelop and fortify the cultivator's form, granting monstrous strength, unyielding physical defence, and a mind shielded from spiritual assaults. Those who master this technique may unlock the Green Ghost's divine abilities, tapping into a wellspring of limitless potential. This is a path for those who seek to become an unbreakable bulwark, their body a living fortress. [Requirements] : - Cultivator must major in Body Tempering Path Cultivation Techniques. - Consumption of Bone Tempering Pills and Green Ghost remnants during cultivation is mandatory to forge the body and bind the ghost's essence. [Price]: 8,000 D$t Phantasm Manipulation Technique [Type]: Phantom-Enslaving Martial Spell [Description]: A chilling art that bends the restless dead to the cultivator's will, refining and commanding phantoms as loyal instruments of chaos. With this technique, the veil between worlds is torn asunder, and spirits become both weapon and shield. Only those with a heart cold enough to enslave the departed dare tread this path, their every step haunted by the wails of the bound. [Requirements]: - Spirit-Lure Incense (smells like your memories to bait them). - Ghost-Nurture Pouch (lined with your hair and blood—their chains and their weapon). - Soul Crystals (harvested from a still-living cultivator's skull). [Price]: 3,500 D$t Pressed by the one-hour time limit, Lordi Payne advanced quickly, unable to thoroughly examine every martial spell art. After a brief but intense deliberation, he narrowed his choices down to three—lingering over them, torn between their strengths and costs The first martial spell is one he has long coveted—its power alluring, its price surprisingly reasonable. Life Seize Technique [Type]: Restoring Martial Spell [Description]: A coveted yet merciless art that mends wounds and replenishes blood qi with unparalleled efficacy, restoring the cultivator or their allies to fighting form. Its power comes at a gluttonous price, siphoning the vitality of all living beings in the vicinity—plants, beasts, and even unwitting souls wither to fuel its miracles. [Requirements]: No specific cultivation path required, but caution is advised to avoid environmental repercussions. [Price]: 1,800 D$t ... Yet, a warning reminder lingers in the air... ... [Reminder]: Practicing this technique within the Holy Sect risks severe fines if the surrounding flora is greatly reduced to desiccated husks. The second technique bears a striking resemblance to the Blood Burning Art. Blood Boiling Technique [Type]: Booster Martial Spell [Description]: A ferocious martial spell that sets the cultivator's blood boiled with primal fury, amplifying strength, speed, reaction, and the potency of other martial spells for one glorious hour of dominance. Unlike its cousin, the Blood-Burning Technique, it spares the cultivation base from ruin but leaves the practitioner weakened for two hours after the surge fades. ... Yet its demands are far more gruelling, and its price, too damn expensive! ... [Requirements]: - Major in Blood Path Cultivation Techniques; - consumption of Blood Origin Pills during cultivation is mandatory to prevent blood from boiling and vessels from drying out. [Price]: 6,800 D$t The final option was the Withered Heart Technique—a martial spell he'd initially overlooked. Yet its shockingly low price caught his eye, making him reconsider its hidden potential... or its unseen cost.