Absolute Destiny Game.

Chapter 631 Time in the Landscape Painting
For the next period of time, Xiao Jie completely entered a state of seclusion and intensive cultivation.

He didn't go to Canglin Prefecture or other places to grind for monsters and equipment anymore. He was already at the maximum level, so grinding monsters wouldn't give him any experience, and ordinary equipment was worthless to him.

He also temporarily cut off contact with his other friends and devoted almost all his attention and time to the library.

In the past, I was always being pushed along by various things, and I simply couldn't stop.

Now that he has a rare amount of free time and doesn't have to worry about the imminent crisis, he can finally calm down and properly read through the books in this library that houses countless classic texts, systematically organizing and improving his knowledge system and magical skills.

He did not rush to find the most profound secret texts, but instead took the most solid approach, starting from the first floor of the library and reading up the floors one by one.

In the library, the lower the level, the more basic and ordinary the books are. The books on the bottom few floors are almost all common books collected from all walks of life, covering classics, history, philosophy, poetry, songs, medicine, divination, astrology, strange skills and crafts, martial arts manuals, and miscellaneous knowledge from various schools of thought. They are all-encompassing and have everything you could want.

If the knowledge contained in these books were in the hands of an ordinary player, even a single martial arts manual or special skill would be considered a rare skill or a high-level inheritance. However, in the eyes of immortals, these were mostly just miscellaneous books for broadening their horizons and for daily entertainment.

Therefore, Xiao Jie didn't waste too much time on these basic books. He only glanced at the table of contents and introductions to understand their scope before quickly moving on to the fifth level. From here, the content recorded in the books gradually began to touch upon the core of Xuanmen Daoist arts, involving various mid-to-high-level cultivation methods, spell principles, formations, alchemy, talismans, and so on.

Moreover, according to the rules of the Library, starting from this floor, if you want to borrow books from outside, you need to pay a deposit of corresponding karmic points, which shows that the value of the knowledge in them is not low.

However, Xiao Jie still didn't spend too much energy delving into the middle floors. He knew the principle of not trying to do too much at once; his fundamental path lay in the inheritance of the "Myriad Transformations Immortal." This lineage's expertise mainly focused on changing appearances, simulating the essence of all living things, and devouring and fusing to evolve one's own supernatural powers.

Xiao Jie didn't intend to delve too deeply into the common Taoist arts such as the Five Elements Immortal Arts, Thunder Magic, and Talismans; those weren't his main focus. He felt that mastering the basic principles and learning some versatile and practical auxiliary spells would be enough.

In the process, he learned quite a few interesting and practical things. For example, the "dream-telling technique." The Celestial Venerable used this method to cross the boundary between reality and illusion and pull him into that strange dream space to communicate. This method had always been of great interest to Xiao Jie.

Now that he had the opportunity, he naturally wanted to learn it. This dream-spreading technique wasn't too difficult to master; it was essentially a profound skill in using divine sense, and it didn't have any direct lethality. Trying to use it to perform murder tricks like those in "Freddy's Nightmare on Elm Street" in a dream wouldn't work. At most, it could create some illusions in the dream to scare people when they were disturbed.

Xiao Jie speculated that the main purpose of this spell was to facilitate the transmission of information between immortals and mortals who could not communicate directly, or to enable immortals to conduct secret communication across vast distances or even across different planes when they could not meet directly.

Besides the art of dream transmission, Xiao Jie also learned some spells with wonderful effects but not directly used in combat, such as "enlightenment of the spirit," "transformation of illusion into reality," and "illusionary bewitching."

When he first came to the Scripture Pavilion, he was still driven by typical player mentality, primarily considering intuitive data such as the damage, defense, and attack range of skills. However, after being appeared in a dream by the Celestial Venerable and experiencing numerous events, he realized that the true wonder and terror of immortals lay not in brute force during direct combat, but in their various unpredictable and mysterious techniques. Therefore, this time he specifically learned many of these "unorthodox" spells, hoping they might come in handy later.

Soon, his reading level rose to the eighth level of the Scripture Pavilion. From here on, the rarity of the books increased again. Even without borrowing the books, simply reading and studying them within the Scripture Pavilion required spending a certain number of Karma Points as a "reading fee."

Upon reaching the ninth level, one must pay a large amount of karma points to learn the knowledge within, and each book is a priceless secret of immortal techniques.

At this level, Xiao Jie had to make careful choices. The more than one thousand karma points he had were hard-earned, and he had to use them wisely.

After carefully reviewing the table of contents, introduction, and opening, and considering the characteristics of his own path to becoming a Myriad Transformations Immortal, Xiao Jie finally chose an ancient scripture called "The Precious Scroll of Demon Immortal Transformation" from among several secret manuals that appealed to him. He spent a full 500 karma points to borrow it.

As it turned out, his choice was absolutely correct.

This book, *The Precious Record of Demonic Transformation*, is not merely a record of powerful demonic arts. Instead, it focuses on elucidating the core principles and essence of demonic arts from their very origins, and deeply analyzes the differences, connections, and commonalities between demonic and immortal arts. Most importantly, the book provides a detailed explanation of how to systematically transform and elevate "demonic arts," originating from instinct and bloodline, into "immortal arts" based on the laws of heaven and earth and one's own will!
The book explains that most sorcery originates from a powerful creature's instinctive perception and affinity with the laws of heaven and earth, thereby stimulating and controlling the power hidden in its own bloodline or soul. Its application relies more on talent and intuition.

Immortal arts, on the other hand, are the power of immortals who, through learning and contemplation, deeply understand the operating principles of the laws of heaven and earth, and then project their own will and immortal power into all things in heaven and earth, thereby invoking, controlling, and even changing the laws.

Both can be said to lead to the same goal, both being the application of "power," but differing in level, method, and control.

Demonic arts affect oneself, while magical arts create all things.

The key to transforming sorcery into celestial magic lies in transcending the original "self-perspective." The spellcaster can no longer view the object of the spell merely as an extension of their own abilities or an instinct of their bloodline, but rather as an independent "objective existence" that can be analyzed, defined, and manipulated.

Since it is a "thing", it is naturally not necessary to be bound by its original fixed form and restrictions. Its nature and structure can be changed at will, and its scale and power can be adjusted according to the laws, even if the thing is actually itself.

Therefore, if the same prototype of a spell can be understood and driven by this "transcendent" mindset and perspective, and sublimated into a magic spell, its power, flexibility and energy utilization efficiency can be increased several times or even dozens of times!

Some low-level demonic arts that had become obsolete can be upgraded into powerful immortal arts with practical combat capabilities.

The more Xiao Jie read, the clearer his understanding became, and he suddenly felt enlightened. This book explained the intrinsic connection and key to transformation between demonic and immortal arts with unparalleled clarity, as if it had opened a new door for him.

In this way, all the various sorcery techniques that Xiao Jie had previously mastered now have practical value.

However, the actual combat effectiveness of these spells still needs to be verified.

Landscape Painting - Martial Arts Hall:

The interior of this great hall is extremely spacious. Due to the use of spatial expansion magic, the surrounding walls and floor are engraved with powerful reinforcement and shock-absorbing runes to ensure that they will not be damaged during practice. This allows the immortals inside to freely cast spells and engage in martial arts battles.

At this moment, Xiao Jie and Wu Qingyue stood facing each other in the hall.

The two had been fighting for a while, but they were not going all out. Instead, they were exchanging blows, practicing with each other, and cooperating with each other to test the immortal techniques they had recently learned and comprehended.

Now it was Xiao Jie's turn to defend. Xiao Jie held his breath and raised his hands.

Immortal Technique - Mystic Tortoise Armor Technique!

A thick shield, resembling a giant tortoise shell and composed of countless hexagonal transparent spiritual lights, instantly condensed and enveloped Xiao Jie from head to toe, with flowing spiritual light forming a seamless whole.

This defensive magic, evolved from demonic arts, is hundreds of times stronger than the original version that relied on demonic power! Moreover, as long as one has enough immortal power and the mind can maintain it, there are no longer any restrictions on the number of uses or cooldown time, making it a truly readily available and permanent defensive technique.

"Huh? Brother Suifeng, your protective spell looks quite peculiar. The spiritual light is condensed and does not dissipate, yet it does not resemble ordinary immortal magic... Could it be an immortal technique transformed from some kind of demonic magic?" Wu Qingyue looked at the Xuan Turtle Spirit Armor on Xiao Jie's body, his eyes showing surprise.

"Fellow martial artist, you have a keen eye. That's exactly right. Why don't you give me a punch and help me test the quality of this armor?"

"Haha, Fellow Daoist Suifeng is quite confident!" Wu Qingyue laughed heartily upon hearing this. "However, my fists are quite hard, so you'd better watch out!"

"Just come on, no need for nonsense!" Xiao Jie thought to himself. How could he know the true strength of this upgraded spell without testing it in actual combat?

Wu Qingyue's attacks were simple and brutal, yet extremely powerful, serving as a benchmark for testing the effectiveness of spells.

"Alright! Here I come!" Wu Qingyue didn't stand on ceremony, got into a fighting stance, and threw a punch, but he was cautious and only used about three-tenths of his strength.

Boom! The fist struck with fierce force, creating a visible ripple of air, and slammed solidly into the Xuan Turtle Spirit Armor, producing a dull thud. The surface of the Xuan Turtle Spirit Armor rippled slightly with spiritual light, but remained completely still, as steady as Mount Tai.

"Wow, it's pretty hard!" Wu Qingyue raised an eyebrow, his interest growing even stronger.

He took a deep breath, pulled his right fist back, his muscles bulging, and this time he used a full five-tenths of his strength to throw another punch!
Boom! This punch was powerful and heavy, seemingly shaking a small area of ​​space. The moment the fist force made contact with the spirit armor, a violent shockwave erupted, causing the entire martial arts hall to tremble slightly. Several fine, spiderweb-like cracks immediately appeared on the Xuan Turtle spirit armor, and its spiritual light dimmed slightly, but it still stubbornly maintained its overall structure and did not break.

"Again!" Xiao Jie felt more confident as he assessed the armor's resilience, and shouted loudly.

"Good!" Wu Qingyue was also aroused, and he roared, his immortal power surging and his muscles instantly growing. This time he did not hold back and used nine-tenths of his strength. His punch was like a meteor falling to the ground, and he threw it out fiercely!

Boom! ...

Xiao Jie was forced back dozens of steps by the force of the punch before he stopped, but a satisfied smile appeared on his face. The defensive effect of this Xuan Turtle Spirit Armor Technique was already quite formidable, and even if it was shattered, it could neutralize the impact and prevent injury to himself.

He secretly estimated that, in reality, this level of defense would be enough to withstand the direct bombardment of several high-powered intercontinental ballistic missiles without flinching. Even in a battle between immortals, it would be considered a fairly good conventional defensive measure, sufficient to withstand most ordinary attacks and low- to mid-level immortal techniques.

The Mysterious Tortoise Shell Technique is just one example. Having learned so many demonic arts, even without transforming into a Dharma form, these sublimated immortal arts alone will give me considerable regular combat power.

Xiao Jie was quite pleased.

"Haha, Fellow Daoist Suifeng is indeed exceptionally talented and has amazing comprehension. It's only been a short time since we last met, yet your progress is so rapid!" Wu Qingyue put away his fist and exclaimed in sincere admiration.

"Not at all, Fellow Martial Arts, you flatter me," Xiao Jie said modestly, cupping his hands in greeting. "My armor still couldn't withstand your iron fist in the end, could it?"

"Haha, you jest. After all, I, Old Wu, am an expert in this field. If it were any other fellow Daoists who aren't good at attacking strong targets, your armor would probably give them a headache for quite a while." Wu Qingyue waved his hand, then rubbed his stomach. "I've been training with you for half a day, and my stomach is a bit empty. I'm going to the 'Hundred Flavors Immortal Pavilion' to find some food. Fellow Daoist Suifeng, would you like to come along?"

"Fellow Martial Arts, please go ahead. I will practice these spells a bit more and then go shortly."

"Alright, then I'll take my leave now." After saying that, Wu Qingyue strode away from the Martial Arts Hall.

Xiao Jie had visited Shan Hai Hua Jing several times before, but each time he had only been there briefly and hadn't had a chance to fully experience life in this fairyland. This time, however, he stayed for half a month and truly felt the magic and comfort of this place as a dwelling place for immortals.

It can be said that this landscape painting was created entirely to allow the immortals to enjoy leisure and relax during their long, uneventful years. It includes not only functional buildings such as the Martial Arts Hall and the Scripture Repository, but also various recreational facilities such as the "Listening to the Waves Pavilion," the "Chess Star Platform," the "Hundred Flowers Garden," and the "Great Void Hall."

There are more than one place to eat. The "Hundred Flavors Immortal Pavilion" that Wu Qingyue just mentioned is the largest and has the most complete selection of dishes. There are many famous chefs who are transformed from immortal power and are in charge of cooking. The ingredients used are all kinds of delicacies from mountains and seas and rare treasures. The dishes they cook are not only delicious, but also subtly nourish immortal essence and improve cultivation.

For the past two weeks, Xiao Jie has spent his days reading in the Scripture Pavilion and wandering around and enjoying the various halls and pavilions whenever he has free time. He has certainly eaten quite a lot of the delicious food in the Hundred Flavors Immortal Pavilion.

However, he wasn't in a hurry to satisfy his appetite at this moment. After leaving the Martial Arts Hall, Xiao Jie first returned to the elegant fairy abode that had been assigned to him for temporary residence in the painting.

He sat cross-legged on the futon, held his breath and entered a deep meditative state, his mind sinking into his body, once again entering his "inner universe" space.

For the past two weeks, he has entered his own independent dimensional space every few days to continuously observe the dynamics of the black liquid left behind by those demonic stars.

What he saw after observing for so many days was quite shocking.

The properties exhibited by these black liquids are truly amazing.

(End of this chapter)