18: Chapter 18: Reading ten thousand books, yet encountering bloodshed upon stepping outside.

The summer cicadas chirped with all their might, as if trying to scream out the last of the world's sweltering heat.

On the second floor of the Scripture Pavilion, the windows were wide open.

A breeze swept through the hall, bringing a rare touch of coolness.

"All warfare is based on deception. Hence, when we are able to attack, we must seem unable; when using our forces, we must seem inactive..."

The crisp, youthful sound of reading echoed within the pavilion.

Chu Linger sat upright before the desk, holding a yellowed copy of the "Art of War (Incomplete Manual)," swaying her head as she read.

Three months passed in the blink of an eye.

The little princess who once only knew how to glare, full of imperial arrogance, had now completely integrated into her new identity as the "Scripture Pavilion's Servant Number Two."

She wore a resized set of coarse hemp clothes, her long hair casually held up by a wooden hairpin, looking every bit like a refined little page boy.

Only those eyes that occasionally flashed with sharp light proved her extraordinariness.

Li Mo lay on a rocking chair nearby, his face covered with a copy of "Duke of Zhou's Interpretation of Dreams." He seemed to be in a deep sleep, but his consciousness had already sunk into the System panel.

[Ding!]

[Your "Page Boy" Chu Linger has finished reading the "Art of War (Incomplete Manual)."]

[Triggered the "Study Companion" bond; you have gained shared benefits.]

[Extracted entry: Strategizing (Purple)]

[Entry effect: Your ability to control the battlefield has significantly increased. Before a battle begins, you can instinctively deduce three hundred ways for the enemy to die and choose the most stable (most low-key) one.]

"Good entry,"

Li Mo muttered to himself.

This girl's talent was indeed astonishing.

Especially after being taught killing sword techniques by that old man Dugu Yun for a few months, her taste in reading had changed, specifically picking out military strategy and slaughter-type classics.

"Hey, I'm done reading."

Chu Linger closed the book, rubbed her aching neck, and looked at Li Mo.

"This is the 3,200th book. According to our agreement, for tonight's dinner, I want to eat Braised Lion's Head."

"Granted."

Li Mo lazily lifted the book from his face and said slowly, "But today's Lion's Head has no meat; it's made of tofu."

"You're abusing child labor!" Chu Linger immediately protested.

"This is called cultivating one's character." Li Mo sat up and stretched. "Besides, the price of pork down the mountain has gone up, funds are tight, we have to spend sparingly."

At the moment the two were bickering, the sky outside suddenly darkened.

It wasn't dark clouds blocking the sun.

Rather, it was a strange, dark-red haze, like a piece of rag soaked in blood, silently enveloping the entire Cloud Break Mountain Range.

The cicadas' chirping across the mountain came to an abrupt halt.

Deathly silence.

A suffocating pressure that made the heart twitch seeped into every corner of the Scripture Pavilion along with the wind that was supposed to be cool.

"Squeak!"

Squeak, who was sleeping on the roof beam, suddenly jolted awake. Its gray fur stood on end as it let out a piercing scream.

It lunged onto Li Mo's shoulder like lightning, its two front paws tightly covering its nose, making retching sounds in its throat as if it smelled the filthiest scent in the world.

Li Mo's gaze instantly turned cold as he walked to the window.

"Such a heavy stench of blood."

Chu Linger followed him, her small face full of seriousness. The Imperial Seal within her body was most sensitive to evil auras.

"It's blood."

Her voice was tight.

"So much blood... it's even dyed the wind red."

Li Mo didn't speak, only silently activating [Thousand-Mile Eye (Pseudo)] and Reading the Room.

His vision changed abruptly.

The originally clear Cloud Break Mountain Range was now wrapped in a thin layer of red mist.

Though the red mist seemed thin, it contained extreme malice.

The plants outside the mountain gate were turning yellow and rotting at a visible rate. Several birds accidentally flew into the mist and, before they could even scream, fell straight down, turning into a pool of foul-smelling blood the moment they hit the ground.

"Blood Poison Array?"

Li Mo's brow furrowed into a deep frown.

This wasn't a duel; it was an indiscriminate biochemical massacre.

Old Ancestor of the Blood River.

No one but that giant of the Evil Path would have such a grand style. It seemed the State Preceptor of Great Zhou was determined to wipe the Heavenly River Sword Sect off the map.

"Thud!"

The muffled sound of a heavy object hitting the ground came from downstairs.

Following that was a faint, intermittent cry for help.

"Help... Save me..."

Li Mo's figure faded from where he stood, appearing at the first-floor entrance in the next instant.

The Outer Sect Disciple responsible for delivering food every day was curled up on the steps, his body twitching violently.

His face had turned a dark purple like pig liver, and the veins on his neck writhed like twisted earthworms. His hands were tightly clutching his own throat, nails digging deep into the flesh, dripping with blood.

"Don't touch him!"

Chu Linger followed him down and was about to step forward when she was stopped by Li Mo's sharp shout.

"It's poison."

Li Mo looked solemn. He knelt down but did not touch the Disciple directly.

He extended a finger through the air.

[Anatomy Mastery] + [Blood Manipulation]!

"Come out!"

Li Mo barked.

A blood vessel on the Disciple's neck suddenly bulged, and then with a "pop," the skin ruptured.

A blood-red nematode, covered in fine tentacles and only as thick as a strand of hair, was forcibly stripped from the blood vessel by an invisible force!

Once out of the body, the nematode immediately writhed frantically, screeching as it tried to pounce on the nearest person, Li Mo.

"What a domineering Gu insect."

Li Mo snorted coldly, flicking a ball of already condensed Evil Qi, which accurately enveloped the nematode.

Sizzle, sizzle, sizzle—

A tooth-aching sound of corrosion rang out. The Gu insect, capable of instantly killing a Foundation Establishment Cultivator, didn't last even a second before Li Mo's pure Evil Qi, turning into a wisp of blue smoke.

The Outer Sect Disciple on the ground gasped heavily. The feeling of suffocation receded, leaving only the terror of a narrow escape.

"Thank... thank you, Administrator Li..."

"Don't talk."

Li Mo quickly stuffed a detoxification pill into his mouth and asked, "Where did you get this thing from?"

"Water... the well water..." the Disciple answered weakly. "This morning... everyone in the Servant Courtyard drank from the well... then, many people... many people collapsed..."

Poisoning the water source!

Li Mo's heart sank.

The Heavenly River Sword Sect's Mountain Protection Grand Array could block weapons and resist Devilish Qi, but it couldn't stop these tiny Gu insects that could penetrate underground water veins.

This was a "Root and Branch" extinction plan!

"How is the... Sect doing now?"

"It's a mess... complete chaos!" Despair filled the Disciple's eyes. "The Elders of the Medicine Hall are at their wits' end... they say this is the Blood River Sect's 'Blood-Transforming Divine Gu.' Once infected, one will surely turn into a pool of blood within half an hour..."

Half an hour.

Li Mo glanced at the Disciple. Had he not intervened, this person would already be a skeleton.

"Just lie here and don't move."

Li Mo stood up and looked at the thickening red mist outside.

The Scripture Pavilion had an independent Formation he had set up, and its water source came from an independent spiritual spring in the back mountain, so it was safe for now.

But if the source wasn't dealt with, the thousands of lives in the entire Heavenly River Sword Sect would be buried here today.

"Do you want to save them?"

Chu Linger looked at Li Mo's back and suddenly spoke.

"No," Li Mo replied decisively. "I'm just a floor-sweeper. Saving lives is the Medicine Hall's business."

After saying that, he turned and headed upstairs.

"Close the doors, Seal the windows, and initiate Level One alert. From now on, not even a fly is allowed in."

Chu Linger was stunned.

She thought Li Mo would take action; she didn't expect him to be so cold-blooded.

That's a life after life!

But in the next second, she saw that Li Mo didn't return to his room. Instead, he rushed straight to the corner where the "Demonic Path Forbidden Books" were piled.

He rummaged through the crates, roughly pulling out all the poison manuals, Gu techniques, and even corpse-refining evil scriptures that were considered trash.

"System, analyze them all!"

Li Mo's eyes became bloodshot, and his Mental Energy was unleashed without reservation.

[Reading "Classic of Ten Thousand Gu"... Extracted entry: Gu Technique Common Knowledge (Green)]

[Reading "Treatise on Pandemics"... Extracted entry: Pathogen Perception (Blue)]

[Reading "Autobiography of the Old Ancestor of the Blood River (Hand-copied Edition)"...]

He was looking for an antidote.

Or rather, he was looking for the weakness of this Gu insect.

"Don't want to save people? Liar."

The corners of Chu Linger's mouth curled up uncontrollably as she ran over to help move the books.

"I'll help you, I read fast."

"Don't make a mess!" Li Mo didn't even look up. "These books are very sinister; you won't be able to handle them."

"I have the Imperial Dragon Qi protecting me; I'm immune to all poisons." Chu Linger stubbornly picked up a copy of "Secret Records of Five Poisons." "Besides... you said reading makes one stronger. I want to become strong, strong enough to personally beat that villain who released the bugs to death!"

Li Mo's movements paused for a moment.

He glanced at the girl with her incredibly determined gaze and didn't stop her further, only silently pushing an "Evil-Warding Stone" toward her.

"Read faster. Only look for content regarding 'Blood Nematodes' and 'Blood-Transforming Gu'."

"Mhm!"

One big, one small; one person, one page boy.

In this afternoon shrouded by the breath of death, they began a race against the Grim Reaper.

The sound of pages flipping became the only melody in the deathly silent pavilion.

After the time it takes for an incense stick to burn.

"Found it!"

Chu Linger pointed at a tattered ancient book and shouted excitedly: "'Records of Exotic Insects of Southern Border'! It says that Blood Nematodes love the smell of blood but hate acidity. They stiffen when they encounter the juice of 'Purple Gloom Grass' and are destroyed by 'Heavenly Thunder Fire'! If the mother insect dies, the offspring will perish on their own!"

The mother insect!

A sharp light exploded in Li Mo's eyes.

To capture the bandits, first capture their leader!

But where was the mother insect?

It must be in the hands of the caster!

"System, fuse entries!"

Li Mo issued the command in his mind.

[Gu Technique Common Knowledge] + [Pathogen Perception] + [Anti-Reconnaissance Instinct] + [Thousand-Mile Eye]!

Buzz!

Li Mo's eyes were instantly covered with an eerie green light.

He pushed open the window, his gaze piercing through layers of red mist and the Mountain Protection Grand Array, looking straight outside the mountain gate.

In his vision, the red mist filling the sky was no longer mist.

Instead, it was countless scarlet threads, invisible to the naked eye, connecting every poisoned person.

Hundreds of millions of threads were as dense as a spiderweb, eventually converging on a mountain peak opposite the main peak of the Cloud Break Mountain Range!

There sat a withered old man in blood-red robes.

Before him was a huge blood pool bubbling with gore. He held a pale Soul-Summoning Banner in his hand and was inhaling the massive life force coming from the red lines with a look of intoxication.

Old Ancestor of the Blood River!

"Found you."

The corners of Li Mo's mouth curled into a cold arc.

Just then, a streak of sword light tore through the air and crashed clumsily into the second floor of the Scripture Pavilion.

Dugu Yun was covered in blood, his expression extremely anxious: "Li Mo! Take the girl and leave through the secret passage! Quick!"

"That old bastard Old Ancestor of the Blood River poisoned the water source with Gu and set up a 'Blood River Grand Array' to besiege the mountain! The Sect Master is holding out at the front, but he was ambushed and won't last long! The Mountain Protection Grand Array has already been corroded with gaps; they're about to charge in!"

Dugu Yun grabbed Li Mo's shoulder, his eyes filled with the resolve to face death.

"This old man will stay behind to cover the retreat! You take Linger and go! As long as you two live, the Heavenly River Sword Sect's legacy won't be extinguished!"

These familiar lines...

Li Mo looked at this old man who was usually lazy but was now truly willing to risk his life, and sighed inwardly.

This was a Righteous Path Sect.

Pedantic and poor, yet there were always some stubborn fellows willing to die for what they protected.

"Elder, do you trust me?"

Li Mo didn't move; instead, he reached back and grabbed Dugu Yun's wrist, steady as a rock.

Dugu Yun was stunned: "What time is it to be talking nonsense!"

"Give me fifteen minutes."

Li Mo's gaze was terrifyingly calm.

"Also, let me borrow your sword."

"What are you going to do?"

"Kill some bugs."

Li Mo paused, saying each word clearly.

"And... kill someone."

He turned his head to look at the little black book on the desk that had been playing dead, and Squeak, who was frantically gnawing on the corner of the desk.

"Everyone, move out."

"Today, we're not being low-key anymore."

He pulled out the long-dormant "spring and autumn brush" from his robe and took out the "heaven-deceiving stone."

"Linger, let me borrow your Dragon Qi!"

Li Mo pulled Chu Linger over. The spring and autumn brush was soaked in cinnabar, and with a single stroke, he drew on her smooth forehead!

A dragon-shaped rune was instantly branded there!

"In my name, I borrow the Imperial Dragon Might to command all directions!"

Boom—!

An indescribable, terrifying pressure rose from the Scripture Pavilion and soared into the sky!

Li Mo's figure seemed to grow incredibly tall at this moment. He was still wearing the coarse hemp clothes of a Servant, but that unfathomable aura made even a sword dao powerhouse like Dugu Yun tremble from his Soul.

"Elder, just sit here, drink some tea, and watch the show."

Li Mo gently pushed the dazed Dugu Yun back into the chair.

In the next second.

His figure vanished into thin air.

[Void Walker], full power activated!

Target: Outside the mountain, Old Ancestor of the Blood River!

In the void, only a low, bone-chilling whisper filled with anger remained.

"You dare throw bugs into my territory?"

"Do you really think this Scripture Pavilion Administrator is a pushover?"

Meanwhile, outside the Heavenly River Sword Sect.

The Old Ancestor of the Blood River, who was currently intoxicated by the life force he was absorbing, shuddered without warning, feeling the hairs on the back of his neck stand on end.

He instinctively turned around.

Behind him, there was no one.

Only a pitch-black book made of human skin had opened its bloody maw above his head.