Blind Spot
Chapter 558: Competition 513 One

Chapter 558: Competition 513 One

Li Chengyi did not rashly touch the scene again, but returned to his quarters to ponder the scenes he had just witnessed.

’From the information gathered by the investigation, the eldest senior brother didn’t do anything to attract attention, and his schedule is full of normal activities. If it was simply a problem with his cultivation technique, then the sect leader would have been the first to encounter trouble. It makes no sense for it to have happened to the eldest senior brother.’

Li Chengyi furrowed his brows in contemplation as he sat cross-legged. Moments later, unable to obtain any useful information, he decided to head directly to the sect’s library.

The Faceless Sword Sect did indeed have a library, fashioned as a towering pagoda-like structure.

Unfortunately, most disciples hadn’t even mastered their own swordsmanship and had no time to waste here reading other books.

When Li Chengyi arrived at the library, there were only a few common disciples and a male attendant quietly leafing through books.

Now, his reputation nearly matched that of Huo Qingkong, so as soon as he entered the small tower of the library, he was recognized.

The two common disciples saluted him from afar, and the attendant seemed to want to strike up a conversation, but seeing Li Chengyi pick up a book and start flipping through it quickly, indicating his desire not to be disturbed, wisely stopped.

The circular bookshelves within the tower held the most refined and carefully selected books accumulated by the Faceless Sword Sect over the years.

From ancient stone tablets to bamboo scroll books of the past, up to the current paper books, the collection spanned a vast array of time and contained just about everything one could imagine.

Moreover, Li Chengyi even suspected that the library was outfitted with some kind of space-related formation, as the space inside appeared much larger than it seemed from the outside.

Each floor had a thousand square meters of space.

He made a round of the first floor, which contained only books on ordinary martial arts and health cultivation, along with historical records. None of these contained the information he was looking for.

So he moved upstairs.

The second floor was deserted, dusty in many places.

The bookshelves remained densely packed, but the books on them appeared to have been neglected for a long time, with nobody to maintain or clean them.

At the entrance stood a sign.

’Do not be arrogant or impatient, focus your pure thoughts. If you see black writing here, you may enter. If it is red, retreat immediately.’

Black? Red?

Li Chengyi confirmed that the script he saw was indeed black and crossed past the sign to the rows upon rows of bookshelves.

The books here mostly had no titles, their covers crudely wrapped without any decoration.

Yet strangely, Li Chengyi could still sense an indescribable aura emanating from them.

Some books felt cold, others warm. There were those with grand and commanding auras, and others that exuded luxury and dominance.

The aura of different books shared similarities, yet their intensity, concentration, and styles were all distinctly unique.

Li Chengyi picked a book at random and opened it.

As the pages rustled, the pages were filled with dense Black Sea Script, all of which moved and changed like wriggling insects.

’Book of Life Volume 1366.’

That small line of text was written at the very beginning of the first page.

Amidst the vast expanse of changing script, only this single line remained unchanged.

’Book of Life?’ Li Chengyi flipped through for a while, but he could not recognize any of the text—the Black Sea Script changed too quickly, with no discernible pattern. Although he knew each character individually, their combined meaning eluded him entirely.

His intention was to search the library for the history and origins of the sword sect, to discover the nature of the peculiar aura that afflicted the eldest senior brother.

If the prominent traits of the Faceless Scholar had manifested before, there would surely be records of it.

With that in mind, I should be looking at historical records or local gazetteers.

Setting down the book, Li Chengyi’s gaze swept over the endless bookshelves. With tens of thousands of volumes to go through, he had no idea how long the search might take.

There was no guide to assist him here.

He pondered for a moment before deciding to allocate some time each day to flip through the books here.

This was going to be a long-term task.

Besides...

Li Chengyi reached into his pocket, feeling for an item he always carried with him.

It was a purple jade pendant.

Given to him by Yin Yue, it was a special jade pendant that represented his identity and was a means for protecting his life.

’Just in case I can’t defeat the Faceless Scholar, I have to prepare for the worst... The distance here from Tianju Pavilion of the Sect and the actual Earth-Moon is too far. The next Flower Language, if chosen to strengthen and amplify the restoration of the Flower Language Ability itself, might be able to... connect with the Sect and the other Floral Beads... to pinpoint the exact coordinates.’

Having settled on a plan, Li Chengyi continued to ascend. He made a full round of all the floors within the library tower.

But he didn’t find the information he needed.

With no other choice, he began to slowly examine the books on the second floor, only to return for meals and cultivation as evening approached.

Days passed by.

The sword sect returned to its original state of solitude and tense cultivation.

Elders and attendants came and went repeatedly, and news of the combat with Qingmu Sword Sect sporadically reached them from the outside.

The stalemate between the two sides led to numerous casualties.

Many of the sword sect’s experts were gravely injured, and Huo Qingkong’s power increasingly stood out.

In these difficult times, his strength was actually still rising, and rising quickly.

Two months later.

Li Chengyi sent out two disciples from the Volcano to collect Snow Lotus flowers, and they successfully brought back one hundred blossoms.

To prevent withering, Yuan Qi from the Suyue Sect also sent an additional ten or so as a supplement.

Wrapped neatly in soft, dry grass, the pure white Snow Lotus flowers sat atop container-like objects filled with black soil.

"You’ve worked hard," Li Chengyi said with great joy in his heart.

With the Snow Lotus in hand and the energy from the flowers secured, all that was needed now was a bit of Evil Thoughts to complete an evolution.

Two muscular squirrels saluted with a fist and spoke in unison.

"Serving our master is not hard work!"

Li Chengyi, in the courtyard in front of the attic, watched as the two carried in all the flowers. He immediately went forward and began to check the flowers’ condition.

He appeared to be inspecting the quality of each pot, but in reality, he was absorbing new flower energy.

The flower energy quickly passed the halfway mark, reaching 60, and then when touching the eighty-ninth pot, it fully saturated to 100%.

After absorbing all the flower energy, Li Chengyi finally stood up, satisfied.

He waved his hand.

"No issues, move them all to my courtyard at the base of the mountain and plant them all." Whether they survive was irrelevant, as he had already filled up on their energy.

"Yes," the two from the Volcano replied respectfully.

After watching the two leave, Li Chengyi returned to the attic and knocked softly on the door of the Sunspirit Sect.

"Come in," Kui Ling’s voice called from inside.

"Mother, I would like to take a walk outside. Staying on the mountain all the time is a bit too dull," Li Chengyi said, using an excuse as he entered and approached Kui Ling, who was meditating cross-legged.

"You are only allowed to move within our controlled safety area. Do not approach the war zone. Is that clear?" Kui Ling, looking a bit weary, opened her eyes and reminded him.

"Yes, I promise," Li Chengyi nodded in agreement.

"Go then, but remember not to forget the Dingyuan Sword I gave you. It holds three of my Sword Intents," said Kui Ling, who had just returned from the war zone with some minor injuries and was now recuperating.

"I won’t forget. Rest assured, if I come across any dangerous areas, I will stay well away and not approach them," Li Chengyi assured her.

"Hmm... that’s good," Kui Ling originally considered having Tie Zhu accompany Li Chengyi, but she knew cultivators could not grow if they were always protected in a greenhouse. Too much protection could harm Bai Lu.

So she held back her words and said nothing more.

Li Chengyi, however, did not have the time to carefully observe Kui Ling’s expression, as his mind was preoccupied with filling up on Evil Thoughts as soon as possible, then completing his first evolution, and merging the Twelve Floral Dress. His strength would surely surge exponentially by then.

Once he had a solid foundation of strength, he planned to try breaking through the Blind Spot and leave, as well as... have a serious talk with his eldest martial brother.

He wanted to find out what that sensation he had perceived from afar was all about and its connection with the Faceless Scholar.

This was something he had to clarify.

If he determined that there was no hope of redemption, he planned to take his loved ones and leave this Blind Spot.

"By the way, Mother, when I was reading, I came across information about the Seal Environment Realm, which is the realm you are currently in. Why have so many of the elders been stuck in the same place for so many years, with their Origin Seals showing no sign of increase?" Li Chengyi suddenly asked.

This was a doubt that had lingered in his mind since entering the Seal Ring Realm.

He had gotten to know several elders from the Faceless Sword Sect, and it was strange to him that their realms had not changed at all in three years, remaining the same as before.

Moreover, according to what his brother Tie Zhu said, many of the elders had been that way for hundreds of years, unchanging.

So, before departing, he took the chance to ask.

After returning this time, he did not intend to hide his strength any longer. After all, there was no point in hiding any further. If he were to confront his eldest martial brother, it was very likely they would clash.

He couldn’t continue to conceal his real power then.

"The Seal Environment Realm is different from those below it," Kui Ling said with a slight smile. "Below the Seal Ring, it’s about increasing the number of Origin Seals, but above it, adding more miscellaneous Origin Seals would be counterproductive. With more abundant and varied skills, it would be impossible to excel in any one aspect. At this stage of the Seal Ring, you need to reach the pinnacle."

"Reach the pinnacle? How is that done?" Li Chengyi knew there must be some tricks to this level.

"You should fortify existing Seal Rings, avoid adding more Origin Seals, but rather enhance the original ones, allowing them to continue fusing and merging, to raise the Seal Ring Virtual Light. At this stage, you don’t need to blindly increase other Origin Seals but break through based on your existing ones. It’s very difficult to achieve that," Kui Ling smiled.

She estimated in her mind and also guessed that Bai Lu had probably just crossed the Five Seals.

If he mastered the Holy Spirit Technique and the Faceless Sword Technique, he could reach the Eight Seals level. Coupled with the innate Origin Seal he possessed naturally, he would reach Nine Seals.

It indeed makes sense to start learning about this pertinent information in advance.

"To strengthen Origin Seals, you should already be aware of some methods, which are to condense similar Origin Seals, they will naturally merge and interweave," Kui Ling continued to explain.

"So does that mean that, at the Seal Ring, we can’t judge strength by the number of Origin Seals anymore?" Li Chengyi frowned.

"Strength has never been about on-paper realms, but rather is proven in actual combat," Kui Ling laughed. "Your eldest brother’s Origin Seals haven’t changed much in three years, and the quantity is almost the same as ours, yet his strength surpasses us all. Can you figure that out by merely comparing the number of Origin Seals? Furthermore..."

Kui Ling’s smile suddenly began to fade.

"Life has its limits... The innate quality of the body determines the physiological limit, and the inherent capacity for cognitive awareness determines the limits of the Consciousness Power realm... We old ones... have already reached our limits... Unable to make further progress."

"I see," Li Chengyi nodded, with a sense of sobering gravity in his heart.

Limits... If Kui Ling had reached her limit, then what about his limit?

As the master of the Evil Flower, did he also have limits?

After a moment of silence, he took advantage of his imminent convergence of Origin Seals to ask several questions.

Only when Kui Ling’s face revealed signs of fatigue did he take his leave. After bidding farewell to both Yun Chen and Tie Zhu, he set out alone from the mountain, ready to gather Evil Thoughts.