Chapter 13: Ascend and Become an Immortal?

At the Gujian Sect’s Library Pavilion, Chu Feng asked a few of the Gujian Sect disciples for directions before making his way there.

It was a five-story building, and an old man in gray robes sat at the entrance.

As soon as Chu Feng walked up, the gray-robed old man suddenly opened his eyes, and a sharp glint burst from his cloudy gaze.

“Where is your sect token?” the old man asked coldly as he looked at Chu Feng.

Chu Feng took out the token Gu Jianfeng had given him and held it out.

The moment the gray-robed old man saw the token, his expression changed drastically. He immediately scrambled to his feet and did not even dare touch it.

“This old one greets the Sect Master.”

His face full of respect, the old man bent deeply at the waist.

Only then did Chu Feng realize that the token Gu Jianfeng had given him represented the identity of the Sect Master of the Gujian Sect.

Whoever possessed this token was the Sect Master of the Gujian Sect.

With this token, one could command anyone in the Gujian Sect. One could also go anywhere within the Gujian Sect, and no one would dare block the way.

Hearing that, Chu Feng offered no explanation. He put the token away and stepped into the Library Pavilion.

The moment he entered, a mechanical prompt sounded in his mind.

【Ding! Detected that the Host is in the Gujian Sect’s Library Pavilion. Would you like to Sign-In?】

“Sign-In.”

【Ding! Sign-In successful. System reward: Read Ten Lines at a Glance, Heaven-Defying Comprehension!】

As the system’s voice fell silent, an indescribable sensation surged into Chu Feng’s mind.

In an instant, Chu Feng felt his thoughts become incomparably clear. Problems that had troubled him before now resolved themselves with ease.

Chu Feng gathered his thoughts and began browsing through the Library Pavilion.

With the heaven-defying talent Read Ten Lines at a Glance, Chu Feng quickly finished scanning the books on the first four floors. They were all merely low-grade sword arts.

He did not even have the desire to open them and went straight up to the fifth floor.

The fifth floor was much smaller, less than a hundred square meters in size, and only three bookshelves stood there.

Two of them held all the superior sword techniques the Gujian Sect had collected from outside the sect since its founding.

The remaining shelf was piled with several hundred books of all kinds. Their covers were yellowed, and the books were covered in dust and cobwebs. It was obvious that no one had touched them in many years.

Chu Feng’s eyes lit up. He walked over to the shelf, casually picked up an ancient text, brushed off the dust, and began reading it.

With his ability to read ten lines at a glance, Chu Feng finished the ancient text in less than ten minutes.

Unfortunately, it was only a record of strange incidents encountered while forging swords. It was not the book Chu Feng was looking for.

After putting the ancient text down, Chu Feng picked up another one and started reading.

Time passed bit by bit.

Two days went by.

Throughout those two days, Chu Feng remained in the Library Pavilion reading and never left.

On the third day, Chu Feng finally found the ancient text he had been searching for.

It was a book made from an unknown beast hide, crudely stitched together.

Calling it an ancient text was already stretching it, because the so-called book consisted of only three sheets of beast hide. There was not a single written word on them, only a few disconnected images.

After studying them carefully for a while, Chu Feng pieced together the meaning those images were trying to convey.

In the immeasurable river of ages long past, a peerless swordsman had once been born in the lands of the Five Great Dynasties.

This swordsman possessed monstrous talent and stood unrivaled beneath the heavens. Like a blazing sun hanging high in the sky, he eclipsed everyone of his era, leaving them able only to gaze up at his figure.

Before the age of thirty, he had reached a height the world could never hope to attain—the Great Grandmaster Realm!

Yet one day after becoming a Great Grandmaster, the swordsman’s temperament suddenly changed drastically. Every day, he sat alone on the cliff at the mountain peak, head raised as he stared at the sky from dawn to dusk.

He would also often mutter strange and bizarre things under his breath.

At first, the swordsman’s family thought he had encountered a bottleneck and that he would soon recover.

But a few days later, the swordsman suddenly picked up his sword and left the cliff, vanishing to parts unknown.

That disappearance lasted for several long decades. When he appeared once more and returned to the cliff, the entire man resembled an unrivaled sword. The aura emanating from him had already surpassed that of a Great Grandmaster!

The swordsman fixed his eyes on the firmament, drew his sword, and flew into the sky, seeking to battle the heavens themselves!

The image on the final piece of beast hide showed the swordsman stabbing a black hole into the sky with a single sword strike before stepping into it.

Chu Feng closed the ancient text and rubbed the corners of his eyes.

“Did this swordsman ascend and become an immortal in the end?” Chu Feng muttered, a strange look appearing on his face.

The images on the beast hide immediately reminded him of the immortal cultivation novels he had read in his previous life. The scenes of ascension described in those novels were exactly the same as what was depicted here.

Most likely, He Yan had become obsessed after reading this ancient text and had also wanted to ascend and become an immortal.

Unfortunately, his talent could not even begin to compare with that swordsman’s. So he could only resort to a crooked path and think of borrowing the power of the Demonic Sword.

With a little analysis, Chu Feng had already guessed the truth of the matter.

“The realm above Great Grandmaster... ascension... This is rather interesting.”

A glint of light flashed in Chu Feng’s eyes, and a trace of longing for the world beyond these heavens also arose in his heart.

Chu Feng put away the ancient text, then went through the remaining ancient books as well, hoping to find more information about the world beyond the heavens.

But even after finishing every last one of them, he gained nothing at all.

In the end, Chu Feng could only give up and shift his gaze to the other two bookshelves.

Although he already possessed the strength of the Great Grandmaster Realm, his offensive methods were still far too limited.

Now that so many superior sword techniques were laid out before him, he naturally could not let the opportunity go to waste.

With that thought, Chu Feng walked over to the other two bookshelves and picked up the sword manuals on them to begin reading.

Chu Feng possessed the Formless Sword Physique, so any sword technique could be instantly comprehended and mastered. For him, there was no such thing as learning too many or spreading himself too thin.

He was like a sponge, absorbing all the sword techniques on the fifth floor and making them his own.

Half a day later, Chu Feng walked out of the Library Pavilion.

Blinding sunlight shone over him. Chu Feng let out a stale breath, and the slight weariness on his face instantly disappeared, replaced by renewed vigor.

Now that he had found the answer he wanted, it was time to leave the Gujian Sect and set out once more.

Chu Feng first went to find Gu Jianfeng. After politely declining his repeated attempts to make him stay, he took out the token and tried to return it.

“Your Highness, I will never forget the great kindness you have shown my Gujian Sect.”

“Keep this token. If you ever have need of us in the future, everyone in my Gujian Sect will follow your orders unto death and answer your call,” Gu Jianfeng said solemnly with a bow, refusing to take the token back.

Chu Feng glanced at him and immediately guessed his intention.

Was Gu Jianfeng not making it plainly obvious that the Gujian Sect wished to place itself under his command from now on?

After thinking it over, Chu Feng nodded and put the token away.

Though he was powerful, once he entered the Capital in the future, he could not possibly handle every matter personally.

With a force like the Gujian Sect at his disposal, he would indeed be spared quite a bit of trouble.

Seeing Chu Feng accept the token, Gu Jianfeng’s aged face instantly blossomed with a smile.

“Your Highness, where do you plan to go next? Shall this subordinate send some men to escort you there?” Gu Jianfeng asked.

Chu Feng waved a hand. “No need. Su Yanran alone is enough to drive the carriage for me.”

“All right.” Gu Jianfeng sounded somewhat disappointed.

He had originally hoped to place his own granddaughter by Chu Feng’s side, but that plan had fallen through on the spot.

“Where is Su Yanran?”

“Your Highness, Yanran and Yueyue should be at the dueling platform right now. This subordinate will take you there at once.”

“Very well.”

Led by Gu Jianfeng, Chu Feng arrived at the Gujian Sect’s dueling platform.

At that moment, the area around the platform was packed with Gujian Sect disciples, all watching the match taking place above.

Standing among them, Gu Yueyue was cheering loudly for Su Yanran on the platform.

The moment Chu Feng and Gu Jianfeng arrived, the disciples who had been watching the excitement all hurried over to bow to Gu Jianfeng.

“Greetings, Sect Master.”

Gu Jianfeng merely nodded calmly.

“Grandfather, Your Highness, why have you come here?” Gu Yueyue ran over, wrapped herself around Gu Jianfeng’s arm, and asked sweetly.

“I came with His Highness to find Su Yanran. His Highness is leaving the Gujian Sect today,” Gu Jianfeng said dotingly as he looked at Gu Yueyue.

Then Gu Jianfeng turned his gaze toward the dueling platform. When he saw the man currently sparring with Su Yanran, a trace of surprise appeared on his face.

“Zhuohao? When did he return?”

“Grandfather, Senior Brother Zhuohao only came back not long ago. He had originally intended to go pay his respects to you, but when he passed by the dueling platform, the other senior brothers stopped him.”

“Yanran happened to feel like testing her hand for a while, so she invited Senior Brother Zhuohao onto the platform for a match,” Gu Yueyue explained from the side.

“So that is what happened.” Gu Jianfeng smiled in understanding. Then he cast a sidelong glance at Chu Feng. Seeing that Chu Feng said nothing, Gu Jianfeng did not call a halt to the match on the platform.

On the dueling platform, Su Yanran’s eyes were sharp. Holding “Spring Chant” in hand, her movement technique was elusive, and Sword Aura surged like a rolling river.

The Sword Aura swept across the entire platform, filling every corner with razor-sharp light.

The man sparring with Su Yanran appeared to be around the same age as her.

He wore a blue-green robe embroidered with cloud patterns. In the face of Su Yanran’s attacks, his expression remained calm, and the sharp sword in his hand had not even left its sheath.

Only when the Sword Aura reached within one foot of him did the man raise the scabbard in his hand and thrust it forward.