Chapter Eighteen: The Stolen Classics

  "Li Muran, is it you who killed Qingyuan's son? Tell the truth!"

  "Not..."

  Li Muran suddenly woke up with a start, but found that the sky was already very bright, and it should be almost noon.

  He barely slept last night, constantly worrying that the matter would be pursued by the sect. He finally fell asleep in a daze, but had several nightmares one after another.

  Li Muran took a look and found that there was still quite a bit of dry rations and clean water in the library, enough for him to use for a period of time - this was good news. After last night's terrifying experience, he didn't want to go out again for a while.

  "Not a single one of my fellow disciples has come to visit the library yet, might as well take this opportunity to do something!"

  Li Muran was still afraid of being tracked down and the dead man's belongings on him were also very incriminating, so he wanted to "destroy the evidence".

  He took out several storage bags from his bosom, put his own one aside first, and then checked the remaining two storage bags.

  Li Muran picked up one of the storage bags, injected a small amount of magic into the opening, and then gently shook it. Suddenly, amidst the rustling sounds, a large pile of things fell onto the bamboo bed.

  There are many kinds of things, fortunately Li Muran has read a lot of classics and has some knowledge, so he can basically identify them.

  "Isn't this a dan furnace for refining elixirs? Hmm, there are even the two characters 'dan xin' engraved on it, it must be a dan furnace used by disciples of the Dan Xin Sect. How could Qing Yuan Zi have something like this?"

  "There are still several medicine boxes here, could it be that he really wants to refine elixirs?"

  "Wow, there's also a Buddhist wooden fish instrument!"

  "It's strange, there are also women's shirts with gold and jade inlays, colorful and gorgeous. I saw them being sold in the market, specifically for young nuns who love to dress up. It's said that they can even resist some magical powers! But why did Qingyuanzi buy it? Does he have a habit of cross-dressing?"

  Li Muran suddenly felt very confused, but after a moment's thought, he immediately understood!

  "Hmph, this Qingyuanzi indeed killed many disciples. These things should be the remains of the Danxin Sect and Daming Temple disciples who were killed by him."

  "The things here are still worth some spirit stones, but it's inconvenient to sell them offhand, so Qing Yu Zi couldn't bear to destroy them and left them all stored in this storage bag."

  So the things in another storage bag are the treasures that Qing Yu Zi often uses.

  To prove his conjecture, Li Muran opened another storage bag.

  Indeed, a pile of spirit stones fell out, along with some talismans, several blank talisman papers, a brush for writing talismans, and several small bottles. There were also two books.

  "This guy's got quite a fortune!" Li Muran counted the number of spirit stones and talismans, and was quite surprised.

  There were over a hundred spirit stones, which was a huge sum for Li Muran, an entry-level disciple. The talismans were also very valuable, and the ones he had used up and destroyed didn't count. There were more than 20 finished talismans here, most of which were attack-type talismans like Flame Explosion Talisman, and one was even a mid-grade defensive talisman worth dozens of spirit stones, Golden Bell Talisman. The total value was also over a hundred spirit stones.

  As for the talisman paper, there were only a few sheets, and they were all of the worst first-grade talisman paper. The talisman brushes were also the kind distributed by the sect, which even Li Muran looked down on.

  "Huh? Why isn't there any ink?" Li Muran suddenly thought of this question.

  He then gave the answer himself.

  "Hey, Qing Yuansu, I reckon it's been a long time since you personally forged a talisman! Indeed, by killing people and snatching treasures, it seems that the spiritual stones come faster and more easily!"

  Li Muran shook his head, he didn't dare to acknowledge this kind of shoddy workmanship.

  Among these things, those two books immediately caught Li Muran's attention, and he picked them up and flipped through them.

  Two books, one newer and the other somewhat yellowed, looking quite old.

  A newer book is a volume called "Thick Earth Formula", a earth-attribute skill manual, which contains the entire Qi Mo period's breathing method and more than ten kinds of earth-attribute spells, including the first-level earth-attribute defensive spell that Li Muyan has already mastered - Stone Armor Technique.

  The main content of this book can all be found in the classics in the library, and it's not very useful. Li Muran decided to destroy the book.

  "And destroy those dan furnaces and other things, put them in a storage bag together!"

  Although these things are also worth a lot, in order not to bring potential hidden dangers to oneself, it's better to destroy them. In this regard, Li Muran is more far-sighted and cautious than Qing Yuanshi.

  There was also an old book with the cover prominently written with the two characters "Dao Jing", which made Li Mu Ran's heart skip a beat.

  There's no doubt that this book is telling the "story" of being a thief, and Qing Yu Zi's decision to become a thief may have something to do with this book.

  "Let's destroy everything that harms people."

  Li Muran said, planning to throw this book away with those miscellaneous items.

  However, the hand he stretched out was withdrawn again - to blame it on Li Muran's love for reading and his strong curiosity, he really wanted to see what content this "Thieving Scripture" had.

  "Take a look at it anyway, know yourself and others, just in case you encounter another thief again, it's good to have a defense. Moreover, the book is innocent!"

  Li Muran opened "The Scripture of Thieves", and on the first page there were only two lines of large characters:

  "In the world of cultivation, strength is revered and the weak are devoured by the strong! Rather than envying the powerful, it's better to swallow those who are weak first, using their flesh and blood to make oneself stronger!"

  Li Muran snorted coldly and continued reading.

  This book is written in the tone of a "seasoned" thief, explaining various methods and key points for being a thief, how to identify other cultivators' strengths and backgrounds from their words and deeds, how to follow targets without being detected, how to ambush, how to launch sneak attacks, how to set up traps, how to lure targets in, how to handle aftermaths, and even has special chapters detailing how to dispose of stolen goods.

  Li Muran was getting more and more horrified, cold sweat dripping down. The methods mentioned in this book were extremely sinister and venomous, making it impossible to guard against them! Fortunately, Qing Yuansu only scratched the surface and didn't reach the level described in the book; otherwise, Li Muran wouldn't have had a chance to survive until now!

  There are also many classics in the book pavilion that mention thieves, but they all describe thieves from the standpoint of "evil cannot overcome justice". In these classics, thieves are heartless and ruthless, doing all kinds of evil deeds, and ultimately come to no good end. However, there is little detailed record of how those thieves committed their crimes. As for reference value, the classics in the book pavilion are far less useful than this "Thieves' Classic" in front of me.

  He had only read half of the book, but Li Muran was already terrified. He only then realized how perilous and frightening the world of immortal cultivation was. The fact that he had been able to come and go from the market district unscathed over the past few months was simply a miracle!

  "No, it should be said that my family's property is not worth those thieves taking action. Otherwise, I would have died countless times!" Li Muran shook his head and sighed repeatedly.

  "To survive in the immortal world, it's not enough to just work hard and cultivate diligently. One must also be cautious and always be on guard!" Li Muran sighed with emotion.

  "I don't know how Qingyuanzi got this book, was it accidental or a 'family heirloom'? Did he become influenced by the book and then embark on the path of theft?" Li Muran muttered to himself, but with Qingyuanzi's death, these questions would never have an answer.

  Li Muran put the book on a certain shelf in the library, mixed with a pile of yellowed ancient books. The books on this shelf were mostly some unrelated random notes, and no one paid attention to them except him.

  Qing Yuanshi's "relics", Li Muran basically cleared up all of them, only leaving those few small bottles.

  "It can't be some kind of poison, right!" Li Muran had just seen a bunch of frightening methods in "The Stolen Classics" and was still feeling uneasy.

  He retrieved the intermediate defensive spell scroll "Vajra Seal" from that pile of scrolls, activated the seal on it with a small amount of magic power, and stuck it to his chest.

  In an instant, the talisman transformed into a golden light that enveloped Li Muran's entire body. This was the Golden Shield Technique. This technique had a stronger defensive power than the Stone Armor Technique, but it also required more magical energy. Currently, Li Muran's cultivation level was not enough to practice the Golden Shield Technique.

  With the golden shield on him, Li Muran dared to carefully open those small bottles. As a result, he found that the contents of the small bottles were not only harmless but also very beneficial treasures!

  "Wow, so many Juyuan Dan!" Li Muran was overjoyed. Each small bottle contained five to ten Juyuan Dan, totaling thirty or more!

  "What a big move! It seems that Qingyuanzi has been mainly cultivating by taking elixirs, making rapid progress but consuming a large amount of spiritual stones. At the same time, he secretly steals from and harms low-ranking disciples with some reputation, earning a lot of spiritual stones. Hmph, indeed 'cultivation has its way'!" Li Muran shook his head secretly.

  However, these pellets are now all Li Muran's. These small bottles, along with those spirit stones, talismans and spell papers, were all put away by Li Muran into his own storage bag.

  Then he packed the remaining miscellaneous items into Qing Yu's two storage bags.

  That night, Li Muran took them away quietly from the library.

  In a secluded corner several miles away from the Zangshu Pavilion, Li Muran took out the Fire of Fa and burned these objects together with the storage bag.

  Some objects, such as the wooden fish and the alchemy furnace, were difficult to burn. Li Muran did not hesitate to use his magical powers, burning them for half a night before they were completely reduced to ashes.

  Li Muran also properly disposed of those ashes, and only then did he let out a breath of relief as he returned to the library.

  However, Li Muran still didn't have the mood to cultivate. He spent several days in anxious torment.

  A few days later, Mu Li returned some of the books. Li Muran asked him about it in a roundabout way, but Mu Li said that everything was calm and peaceful within their sect, with no unusual news spreading around.

  What made Li Muran somewhat strange was that no one in the sect mentioned this matter at all. Qing Yuanzi's disappearance did not attract any attention, as if this person had never existed!

  Li Muran was greatly surprised, and the other fellow disciples were also fine. Unexpectedly, there was no news from Yunxia Temple where Qingyuanzi's sect was located!

  At first, Li Muran was still a little pleased, but later on, he inexplicably felt a sense of desolation. It turned out that the disappearance of one disciple was not considered a big deal in the sect.

  "If I had died that night, I'm afraid no one in the sect would have cared about my whereabouts except for Mu Shidi!"