Since there was no danger, there was no need for him to waste any more time. He had to clear the trial and find the Great Codex of Spring and Autumn first.
Everyone nodded at the same time and walked toward the passage.
Hula!
As soon as Zhang Xuan walked up to Zhang Xuan, he immediately felt a warm light enveloping his body. Following which, his vision blurred, and he disappeared from the spot.
In the next moment, he appeared in front of a majestic mountain.
Towering into the clouds, it was impossible to see the end of it. The entire mountain seemed to be made up of books. There was no path, no end, only a series of words floating in the air from time to time, giving off a dreamy feeling.
"You'll pass when you reach the top of the mountain! If you give up, you will be bestowed with different opportunities based on your progress! "
Kong Shi's indifferent voice continued to ring out.
"Un." Zhang Xuan nodded as he took in a deep breath.
Although everything before him seemed extremely real, judging from the situation of Zhao Ya and the others, it was most likely an illusion.
In other words, his body was still in the passageway, but his spirit had arrived at this mountain of books.
With a grave look in his eyes, Zhang Xuan circulated the energy in his body.
Hu!
He did not leave his original spot.
"Looks like I'm unable to fly … That's right, if I could fly, it would be too easy …"
Zhang Xuan nodded.
Even if he reached the top of the mountain, he would have passed. If he could fly, wouldn't it be too easy?
Looking at the mountain of books once more, Zhang Xuan saw that the entire mountain was completely barren. Other than books, there was nothing but books. There was no passageway, and there was nowhere for him to start.
Zhang Xuan placed his palm on one of the books, and just as he was about to leap up, he suddenly felt an immense pressure crushing down on him. As if struck by lightning, his entire body turned numb, and his palm seemed to have been pierced by thorns, causing blood to flow from his wound.
"This …"
Zhang Xuan's expression darkened.
He was still thinking of climbing the mountain. Given his strength, even if the mountain was as smooth as a mirror, it shouldn't be difficult for him to reach the peak. He didn't think that the pressure would be so great!
It was as if a Sempiternal realm consummation expert was assaulting him relentlessly. Under such circumstances, how was he supposed to get to the top?
"Don't tell me … it's not climbing up?"
After circling around for a while, Zhang Xuan tried several places consecutively, but the result was the same. He couldn't even climb half a meter before he was forced back down. Zhang Xuan could only stop and frown deeply.
If they did not climb up, there was no path, so how could they go up?
No wonder Zhao Ya, Wei Ruyan, and the others couldn't pass. It was not as easy as they thought.
"Since it's a mountain of books, I should study them first to see what they are. Perhaps, I might be able to find the crux of the matter …"
Zhang Xuan paused for a moment before turning his attention to the books before him. With a thought, he collected several hundred books into the Library of Heaven's Path. With a tap of his finger, a vast amount of knowledge flowed into his mind.
These books covered cultivation techniques, battle techniques, humanities, geography, astrology, divination … There were all kinds of books, and it seemed like the occupations of the Master Teacher Continent were included within.
Whoosh!
Just as Zhang Xuan was immersing himself in the knowledge, he suddenly saw a flight of stairs appearing on the mountain of books, which was as smooth as a mirror.
Zhang Xuan was taken aback.
He had been walking around for a long time, but he didn't see this thing. How did it appear after reading a few hundred books?
Could it be that … reading a book could reveal a passage?
"Give it a try!"
Thinking of this, he no longer hesitated. His eyes scanned the surroundings of the mountain of books.
Whoosh!
Countless books appeared in the Library of Heaven's Path, and in less than ten minutes, he had already collected tens of thousands of books.
With a light tap, the knowledge flowed into Zhang Xuan's mind. Closing his eyes tightly, he began digesting the knowledge. At that moment, the mountain before him suddenly shook, and a flight of stairs appeared out of nowhere.
"As expected …"
Seeing that it was indeed related to reading books and digesting knowledge, a glint flashed across Zhang Xuan's eyes.
Even if others were to scan through so many books with their Spiritual Perception, they would surely go berserk and lose their minds. However, Zhang Xuan was different. With a single glance, the Library of Heaven's Path had automatically collected all of them and converted them into memories.
In terms of time, he didn't waste the slightest bit, and he didn't lose his mind either.
The current him was like a powerful computer. While others would have to memorize and recite the contents of the massive mountain of books, all he had to do was copy and paste them over and over again.
Whoosh!
Stepping onto the flight of stairs, Zhang Xuan continued browsing through the books around him, and knowledge flowed into his mind.
As he read through more books, more and more stairs appeared, and Zhang Xuan slowly made his way up.
As he proceeded forward, he realized that a flight of stairs would appear after every hundred books he read.
He was the only one who could read in such a manner. Had it been anyone else, even an Ancient Sage, who would have gone insane by now.
After walking for an unknown period of time, Zhang Xuan lowered his head and saw a flight of stairs piercing through the clouds. The world around him was boundless, and it felt as if he was the only person left in the world.
"Even after reading so many books, I still haven't reached the peak. It's hard for anyone to accept this!"
Zhang Xuan sighed.
Most likely, the flow of time here was completely different from that of the outside world.
With the powerful cheat known as the Library of Heaven's Path, he had already spent more than half a day here. It would have taken several hundred years or even a thousand years for others to reach this point.
Just the loneliness of reading books for several hundred years was enough to leave one mentally unstable. Even Ancient Sages might not be able to persevere through it.
Hu!
Taking a few more steps forward, Zhang Xuan suddenly felt a little helpless.
At this point, he had to read a thousand books before a flight of stairs appeared.
He was already finding it hard to persevere through previously, and the difficulty had increased by tenfold. This was the final straw that broke the camel's back.
While the difficulty might have increased for others, to Zhang Xuan, it was still nothing more than a duplication process.
Thus, he continued walking forward for another half a day. At this point, he had to read ten thousand books before a flight of stairs would appear.
Knowing that he was about to reach the end, Zhang Xuan did not give up. Instead, he hastened his pace.
Some time later, the peak of the mountain finally came into sight.
"There's a path to the mountain of books, and diligence is the shortcut … It seems like what Kong Shi is testing is one's comprehension of knowledge and diligence …"
Zhang Xuan sighed deeply.
The more one read, the higher one would climb. This was not just a way to temper one's spirit but also a warning that Kong Shi was giving to the later generations.
He was trying to tell the later generations that what mattered the most in cultivation was not talent but culture!
Only with sufficient culture would one be able to gain a deeper understanding of cultivation and the heavens. Only with a broader mind would one be able to accept new things, and only then would one be able to walk further and further, achieving greater and greater heights.
It was just like the Seventy-two Sages and the Ten Sages of Confucius.
Even if their talent was beneath that of Kong Shi, the fact that they had been groomed by Kong Shi personally and imparted to them his cultivation techniques … was bound to be much more generous than the latter.
Yet, their accomplishments were still far from matching up to Kong Shi …
There could only be one possibility, and that was that they were far beneath Kong Shi in terms of knowledge. Their culture had limited their progress.
Back then, Kong Shi had chosen the Upper, Intermediate, and Lower occupations. While it might seem like there was nothing special about his cultivation, it was this kind of tempering that had allowed him to widen his horizons and advance further.
Kacha!
These thoughts flowed through Zhang Xuan's mind, and all of a sudden, the sound of an egg cracking echoed in his mind, reminiscent of a seedling breaking through the soil to welcome the sun.
"My Soul Depth … has reached 29.9?"
Clenching his fists tightly, Zhang Xuan's eyes gleamed brilliantly.
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