Cultivation begins with forming a bond with a spirit bee.

The wind whistled past their ears the whole way, and no one spoke.

When it was fully light, Qu Ye could finally see the mountainside of Cicada Singing Mountain in the distance.

The group landed at the mountain gate, where two Hou family disciples on duty greeted them.

Upon seeing Hou Youde's miserable appearance, the two men exchanged different expressions and quickly stepped aside to let him pass.

Hou Fangping said in a deep voice, "Xiao Qu, you and Yan Ke go to the main hall to wait. I will go and inform the clan elders."

After saying that, he instructed the middle-aged cultivator to take Hou Youde to a place to rest, and then he walked alone towards the back mountain.

Qu Ye, accompanied by Hou Yanke, returned to the main hall, closed her eyes to regulate her breathing, and waited quietly.

After waiting for about half an hour, footsteps were heard outside the hall.

Why are there two people?

Qu Ye opened his eyes and turned his head to look at the entrance of the main hall.

A kind old woman in a purple robe stepped into the main hall, followed by Hou Fangping, whose expression was serious.

"Greetings to the clan elders."

Upon seeing the old woman in purple robes, Hou Yanke quickly stood up and bowed.

"So you are Qu Ye?"

The old woman in the purple robe looked at Qu Ye.

Qu Ye quickly stood up, clasped his hands in greeting, and said, "Junior Qu Ye greets Senior."

Hou Fangping explained from behind, "After hearing my report, the clan elders thought of coming to see you."

Qu Ye understood.

The old woman waved to Qu Ye: "Don't be nervous, sit down and talk."

After everyone was seated, she spoke again: "I've already heard Fang Ping's account of what happened. You did very well."

"You killed those two Tribulation Cultivators last time, didn't you? What reward do you want this time? Just tell me."

Qu Ye shook his head.

"To be honest, before coming to Cicada's Cry Mountain, Uncle Youde had already rewarded the younger generation, and dared not ask for any more rewards."

The old woman smiled kindly: "You can't say that. Youde's reward was given to you personally, but since you have made a contribution, the clan cannot leave without showing some recognition."

As she spoke, she took out several small light gray flags from her storage bag and presented them to Qu Ye.

"You were able to kill enemy cultivators twice, so you must have no shortage of magical artifacts."

"It just so happens that I have achieved some success in the art of array formations. A few days ago, I refined this low-grade 'Bewitching Killing Array,' which combines trapping and killing enemies. I will give it to you as a reward."

Battle flags!

Qu Ye was shocked.

As everyone knows, among the various arts of cultivating immortality, alchemy, array formations, talismans, and artifacts rank among the best.

Among them, the formation method is the most dependent on talent, and the finished product is also the most expensive.

Although the array flags before us are only of the lowest grade of the first rank, they are probably much more expensive than some mid-grade magic weapons.

"Elder, isn't this too precious..."

"Don't rush to refuse, I have one more small request."

The old woman paused for a moment: "After you accept this flag, keep Hu Si's matter to yourself and don't tell anyone else. We will handle Zhao Haiqiong's family matters ourselves."

"If anyone asks, just pretend you know nothing about it."

Qu Ye was stunned for a moment.

So it was hush money.

That makes sense, given that an inside job was exposed not long ago, and now this scandal has occurred, the Hou family will definitely try to cover it up and save face.

If we don't take down these flags, it might actually alienate the Hou family from us.

After thinking it through, Qu Ye put away the array flags and cupped his hands in thanks: "Then this junior thanks the clan elder. Rest assured, clan elder, this junior will keep this matter to himself and will not tell anyone."

The old woman nodded in satisfaction.

She then chatted with Qu Ye for a few minutes before saying that she wasn't feeling well and needed to go back to rest.

Before leaving, Hou Fangping, who was standing behind, handed Qu Ye a small wooden plaque: "There are thirty contribution points in here, which Youde allocated to you."

"The restriction on this wooden plaque will dissipate in two hours, so you'd better hurry up and choose the item you want to exchange for."

After saying that, he said no more and accompanied the old woman away.

After the hall quieted down, Hou Yanke walked over with a smile on his face:

"I wonder if Fellow Daoist Qu has decided what to exchange for?"

Qu Ye pretended to think for a moment: "Hmm... I still want to exchange for a spell to enrich my combat methods."

Hou Yanke nodded: "In that case, if you don't mind, fellow Daoist, how about I lead the way?"

Qu Ye did not refuse upon hearing this.

When I exchanged the Gengjin Sword Manual, I was waiting outside the mountain gate and didn't know the exact location of the Scripture Pavilion.

"Then I will trouble Fellow Daoist Hou."

"It's nothing, not worth mentioning."

The two walked out of the main hall one after the other, and led by Hou Yanke, they walked along the road towards the Sutra Repository.

……

Along the way, Hou Yanke was quite enthusiastic and took the initiative to introduce himself.

"The Hou family's library has three floors, and several side rooms are separated from it."

"The first floor mainly contains spells that can be learned in the early to mid-stages of Qi Refining, as well as various miscellaneous knowledge, travelogues, and anecdotes. As long as you have contribution points, you can exchange them."

"The second level is more rigorous, containing mostly important scriptures and cultivation methods, with the rest being later-stage spells."

"I haven't been to the third floor either. I heard that it holds even more important things, so I won't go into details with you, fellow Daoist."

"However, there are quite a few techniques included in the first floor, so fellow Daoist need not worry about not finding a suitable one."

Qu Ye nodded and made a mental note of it.

Before long, the two arrived outside a three-story wooden pavilion.

The wooden pavilion is not grand, but it is sturdy and ancient. Copper bells hang from the eaves, and they make a very soft tinkling sound when the mountain wind blows.

As Qu Ye entered, he saw a wooden table on the right side of the door, where a young disciple was carefully flipping through a bamboo scroll.

Upon seeing the two, the disciple put down the bamboo slips and asked, "Brother Yan Ke, who is this?"

"This is Fellow Daoist Qu, who has rendered meritorious service and has come to exchange for magic spells."

Qu Ye handed out a wooden plaque, which the disciple took, checked it, and then returned to Qu Ye.

"The wooden plaque is fine. The spell section is on the east side, and the other miscellaneous books are on the low shelf on the west side. Once you've decided, you'll need to bring them here for registration. Fellow Daoist Qu, please."

Hou Yanke, being quite sensible, looked at Qu Ye and said, "Fellow Daoist, go and choose. I'll wait for you outside."

Qu Ye nodded, bowed in thanks, and entered the first floor of the Sutra Repository.

The room was dimly lit, but the bookshelves were arranged very neatly. Rows of wooden shelves held jade slips, animal skin booklets, and old thread-bound books, clearly categorized by type.

A rough count suggests there are at least several hundred books.

Qu Ye glanced at the scene and sighed inwardly.

As expected of a Foundation Building family with hundreds of years of heritage, their foundation is so rich.

I wonder what kind of grandeur the four great immortal sects must be, with Golden Core cultivators presiding over them.

Suppressing his gratitude, Qu Ye walked to a bookshelf in the magic section marked with the character "Gold" and began to examine it.

Each spell displayed on this shelf is labeled with its rank and the contribution required.

Qu Ye picked up a scroll containing a mid-grade spell called "Flaming Golden Palm," which required 25 contribution points, and began to read it.

"...Financial forging is like a fire, capable of shattering hearts and breaking bones..."

He then discovered that he could only see the general outline of the Flame Golden Palm spell, while the rest was locked away by a restriction.

This was clearly to prevent some disciples from neglecting their duties and forcibly memorizing things while visiting the Sutra Repository.

After reading the general outline, he put the Flaming Golden Palm back. This spell was powerful, but it required close-range attacks, which did not fit his combat philosophy.

He then looked at other spells, pondering them in his mind as he looked.

Golden Blade Technique, Tier 1, Low Grade, requires five contribution points. It can condense qi into a blade to injure enemies from a distance. Hmm... it feels similar to the Gengjin Sword Art, but its power is somewhat weaker.

Iron Armor Technique, Tier 1, Mid-Grade, requires 23 contribution points to condense iron armor for protection. I already have the Golden罡 Technique and the Jade Pendant, so I'm not lacking in defensive capabilities.

Virtual Gold Explosion, a mid-grade Tier 1 skill, requires 30 contribution points to condense a golden light explosion. Its power is decent, but unfortunately, it consumes too much energy and has a long cooldown period; it's best left as an alternative.

...

After searching for a long time, he finally found a suitable method on the bookshelf.