Chapter 1120: Chapter 1120: Unexpected Gains
After listening to this, Zheng Jia Ru finally nodded and stopped acting out, though he muttered slightly discontentedly, "But an entire hour! That’s two hours, wasting two hours in this lousy place."
"Bear with it, I’m actually grateful that they let us stay here for two hours. They’ll regret it soon enough!" Ge Yongshou’s obstruction was exactly what Pei Yan had hoped for. He had been lamenting that half an hour wasn’t enough to absorb much energy, but now, without any interference, he was unabashedly absorbing the awe-inspiring energy amassed by the mountain over millennia.
The waves of energy surging toward Pei Yan formed a vortex around him, continuously flowing into his body. Thanks to the illusion he intentionally released to cover it up, except for those nearby who could feel the air passing by them, no one else could see any changes.
After noticing Pei Yan’s anomaly, the members of the investigation team sat around him, feigning meditation to cover for him without needing his instruction.
Time passed by second by second as everyone meditated. It was now late in the morning since they had left, and whether it was due to Pei Yan’s devouring of the surrounding energy, the mist that had shrouded the mountaintop for years suddenly broke, with bright sunlight shining onto the open pavilion square, baking the investigation team members sitting unprotected from the sun.
All of them were cultivators, so this temperature was trivial to them. However, the dissatisfaction from being snubbed and the annoyance from sitting for so long inevitably brewed resentment, filling the hearts of the investigation team members with tinder, just waiting for a spark to ignite an outburst of anger.
Pei Yan, who was leading the affair, seemed very relaxed and at ease. This trip to the Heavenly Guardian Pavilion was intended to stir up trouble, so as long as the objective was achieved, he didn’t expect any real benefits. This unexpected gain just filled the need for energy after he had recently fused with the air element ability, making him exuberantly happy, even softening his animosity towards the Heavenly Guardian Pavilion.
"Do you think the Heavenly Guardian Pavilion erects so many stone tablets just to intimidate visitors with a show of force? If so, it’s a bit too elaborate, don’t you think?" While absorbing the surrounding energy, Pei Yan curiously observed the scenery of the mountain.
"You don’t know the true purpose of these stone tablets?" Mei Simiao chuckled in response.
"Oh? These stone tablets have another use?" Pei Yan realized that there must be more to this after hearing Mei Simiao’s response. His curiosity piqued, he released mechanical bugs to explore the stone tablets around, frowning as he viewed the transmitted images: "Can’t see anything special? Same material, not even carved designs. They differ only in size and shape."
"These stone tablets are like our filing cabinets!"
"Filing cabinets?" Pei Yan said in surprise.
"It’s odd, right? The place where Heavenly Guardian Pavilion stores documents isn’t inside that pavilion!"
As Mei Simiao spoke, he pointed to the dilapidated Heavenly Guardian Pavilion, then playfully pointed to the stone forest stretching down the mountain, continuing, "It’s in this stone forest. The first time I saw them retrieve documents from the stone tablets, I had the same expression as you! Later I learned through inquiries that each stone tablet represents a year in the Daoist Realm, and within each tablet is stored every noteworthy event documented from that year in the Daoist Realm."
While explaining, Mei Simiao traced his finger over rows of stone tablets, further elaborating, "The arrangement of these stone tablets isn’t in chronological order. The tablet in front of you might be recording events from five hundred years ago, while the next one is documenting events from last year. Only those from the Heavenly Guardian Pavilion can identify the exact year marked among these seemingly unmarked, disorderly stone tablets, retrieve the documents, and know how to open the tablets, as well as understand the special coded language used for recording unconventional events, all triple-layered safeguards. Even if an outsider barged into the Heavenly Guardian Pavilion without an insider’s help, you wouldn’t find where the documents are stored, you couldn’t open them even if you found them, and you wouldn’t understand them even if opened!"
"It seems that each domain indeed has its unique skills. I used to look down on the Immortal Palace’s management methods, not realizing they actually have their own system." Pei Yan nodded and commended with much insight upon hearing Mei Simiao’s explanation.
"Every long-running organization will have this and that issue. The Immortal Palace just doesn’t want these matters to affect its status and reputation, so it forcibly blocks them. After all, creating a place like the Peach Blossom Spring has already tarnished their name and drawn criticism from various sects in the Daoist Realm. Should further problems arise, their hard-won power consolidated from the Blood Demon invasion might truly vanish into thin air." Mei Simiao wasn’t unsympathetic to the Immortal Palace’s obstruction and couldn’t help sighing when pondering the entanglements involved.
Just as the pair discussed this, a low, prolonged sound of wood being compressed was heard. The crowd looked in the direction of the sound to see the heavy wooden door of the Heavenly Guardian Pavilion slowly being pushed open from the inside. The old, somewhat loose and sagging door occasionally grazed the ground, emitting a teeth-grinding noise. Seeing this scene, those meditating in the courtyard all rose, looking toward the person about to step out from within the door.
"Phew, fortunately, they were still quite courteous, only keeping us waiting for an hour and a half, not making us truly wait a full two hours!" Zheng Jia Ru dusted off dirt from his uniform and, fanning himself with his collar, mockingly glanced inside the door.
Under Zheng Jia Ru’s disdainful gaze, Ge Yongshou appeared in everyone’s sight, accompanied by two elders. Judging from the aura they emitted, only the one in the central main position was a Heavenly Dao Expert, while the other two, including Ge Yongshou, were at the eighth level of the Asura Realm.
Presumably, this elder was the person in charge sent by the Heavenly Guardian Pavilion. Rather than coldly distancing everyone as Ge Yongshou did earlier, when he saw those inside being roasted under the sun, he first cast a fierce glance back at Ge Yongshou, then walked forward with an apologetic face, cupping his hands respectfully, and said, "Sin! Sin! It was our negligence! May I ask which of you is Cultivator Mei Simiao?"
"I am Mei Simiao, invited by the Spirit Lord of the Immortal Palace to host this investigative matter. May I know how to address you, Senior?" Mei Simiao stepped forward, returning the courtesy, and respectfully said.
"Cultivator Mei, there’s no need for such courtesy. I am Zhangsun Zhize, one of the rotating elders of the Heavenly Guardian Pavilion. I only just heard from my junior brother about the matter Cultivator Mei is here for. The Hour of Si is our fixed daily time for cultivation and meditation, never altered. Those from the Immortal Palace have always been understanding and wouldn’t come up the mountain at this time to disturb us. As outsiders, it’s understandable you didn’t know this rule when visiting. My junior brother was too stubborn to be flexible, failing to notify you early, resulting in your long wait. I truly failed to prevent and apologize for the discourtesy, and I hope Cultivator Mei and all the young friends will forgive us."
