CHAPTER 36: CHAPTER 35: THE CELESTIAL DAO IS NOT CONSTANT!

Swallowing the sarcastic remark that was on the tip of his tongue, He Dongsheng’s response did answer one of Lu Yan’s doubts.

The storage bag obtained from Shopkeeper Chu must be connected to the Red Lotus Demon Sect, which made Lu Yan even more certain that he must not casually expose the storage bag.

After rummaging for a while, He Dongsheng found a dusty book from the pile, with big characters that read "The Demon Sect Enchantress Chronicles."

"Cough, cough, cough! Although this book’s origin is somewhat dubious and its contents a bit skewed, it indeed comes from the hand of a bona fide disciple of the Joyful Union Sect.

Aside from the extensive dual cultivation plots, it provides extremely clear descriptions of the origins and specialized spells of the various demonic sects, which Fellow Daoist Lu might find useful for reference.

However, the book was written a long time ago, so the information may be somewhat distorted. Fellow Daoist Lu should be cautious in filtering its content."

Lu Yan took the book and, upon skimming through it, discovered it was essentially an erotic Xianxia novel.

Though the direction was somewhat biased, it was satisfactory nonetheless.

After bidding farewell to He Dongsheng, Lu Yan immediately went to a Spirit Talisman shop.

Previously, the storage bag contained over a hundred Spirit Stones, but with Lu Yan’s initiation into cultivation, the consumption during the apocalypse version, and purchasing the "Tier One Magic Skill Collection" upon returning to the Xianxia version, his Spirit Stone reserves were nearly depleted.

He still needed to rent a cave mansion, so Lu Yan planned to sell most of his Spirit Talismans for Spirit Stones.

A short while later, Lu Yan exchanged dozens of lower-tier Tier One Spirit Talismans, five middle-tier, and one upper-tier for ninety Spirit Stones, leaving only a few for daily use and those with no market value.

For Lu Yan, offensive means mainly relied on the Soul Banner, and Spirit Talismans were a supplementary method from his time without spells. Now with the "Tier One Magic Skill Collection," he no longer needed Spirit Talismans.

As for the middle-grade Magical Flying Sword, Lu Yan considered selling it but worried it might bear the mark of the Red Lotus Demon Sect, so he was in no hurry to deal with it and decided to plan later.

Passing through the market street, he arrived at the cave mansion rental place, where only a middle-aged man in a Daoist robe lazily lay across a desk.

"Excuse me, how can I rent a cave mansion?"

The middle-aged man lifted his head to glance at Lu Yan.

"A lower-grade cave mansion is one Spirit Stone per month, a middle-grade is two per month, and upper-grade ones are not available for external rental. One must be at least in the Late Stage of Qi Cultivation to have the qualifications to rent such within the market."

"Renting a middle-grade cave mansion for three months."

Lu Yan took out six Spirit Stones and handed them to the middle-aged man.

"Renting a middle-grade cave mansion at Qi Cultivation Stage Three is indeed quite unusual.

Let me remind you, before advancing to the mid-stage of Qi Cultivation, try not to leave the cave mansion too often, nor the market."

Handing Lu Yan a palm-sized array plate, the middle-aged man waved him away.

Lu Yan glanced at the middle-aged man in slight surprise; although the cultivator did not appear friendly, his reminder was out of goodwill.

Renting a middle-grade cave mansion at the early stage of Qi Cultivation was indeed too conspicuous, easily attracting attention.

However, since Lu Yan would only be staying in the Xianxia version for three months, there wasn’t much need for concern.

Thanking the middle-aged man, Lu Yan followed the guide of the array plate towards the cave mansion.

Carved into the mountainside, the cave mansions grew richer in Spiritual Qi the closer they were to the valley.

Upon finding his cave mansion, Lu Yan activated the array plate with his Magical Power, forming an array at the entrance that transformed into a Restriction to block outsiders.

Inside, the cave mansion comprised simple rooms, with the middle-grade even having a Spirit Beast Room and Alchemy Room planned out, where the density of Spiritual Qi exceeded that of the apocalypse version, making it quite worth the cost.

Once settled in his cave mansion, Lu Yan immediately took out the three books he bought today.

Setting aside the "Tier One Magic Skill Collection" for now, Lu Yan first picked up "The Demon Sect Enchantress Chronicles" to peruse.

Ignoring the numerous dual cultivation plots and some terms concerning the harmony of yin and yang, Lu Yan roughly understood that this book was purely a novel about a Joyful Union Sect enchantress taming the prodigies of demon sects and aloof righteous male deities.

The scale and imaginative content would make even First Edition Masters blush with shame.

However, just as He Dongsheng mentioned, the book indeed detailed much information about various demonic sects, with the Red Lotus Demon Sect notably listed.

According to the book, the Red Lotus Demon Sect emerged abruptly following the Great War of Righteousness and Demons, founded by a demon path heavyweight known as the Red Lotus Demon Venerable.

Typically, once established, each major sect would first circulate its orthodox origins, with some even tracing back to ancient times.

Yet, the Red Lotus Demon Sect remained highly secretive about the source of its orthodoxy, even leaving the author of "The Demon Sect Enchantress Chronicles" in the dark.

"Given the rise of the Red Lotus Demon Sect after the Great War of Righteousness and Demons, by then, the Daode Sect had long been wiped out by the demonic sects.

Moreover, the exclusive spell of the "Red Lotus Karma Fire Scripture," the Red Lotus Karma Fire, even allows one to refine merit and cultivate the divine technique of Profound Yellow Merit Fire.

Could this suggest that the inheritance of the Red Lotus Demon Sect may likely stem from the Daode Sect?

Did the Red Lotus Demon Venerable secretly seize the inherited Cultivation Technique while the Daode Sect was under siege, resulting in the present Red Lotus Demon Sect?"

As soon as this thought emerged, Lu Yan’s mind became exceptionally clear.

Although mere speculation, Lu Yan’s instinct told him that this might indeed be the truth behind the "Red Lotus Karma Fire Scripture."

"It seems that to find the subsequent Cultivation Techniques of the "Red Lotus Karma Fire Scripture," I may not necessarily need to seek out the Red Lotus Demon Sect."

Contemplating privately, Lu Yan put down "The Demon Sect Enchantress Chronicles," ready to delve into the spells within the "Tier One Magic Skill Collection."

But as his hand reached halfway, Lu Yan redirected his attention to "Heavenly Dao Discussion."

"There’s no rush to comprehend the spells, especially since they were gained for free; why not first see what the so-called "Heavenly Dao Discussion" is all about."

Upon opening the book, one sentence immediately caught Lu Yan’s eye.

[The Celestial Dao is not constant!]

Lu Yan’s gaze instantly sharpened.

Most cultivators in this world believe the Celestial Dao is constant, implying it is eternal and unchanging. To the average cultivator, this statement would seem utterly heretical.

Yet, for Lu Yan, who had experienced multiple version updates, it revealed a different layer of meaning.

"Interesting."

With a smile, Lu Yan began to browse through this seemingly spurious ancient text.

However, as he read further, the smile on Lu Yan’s face disappeared.

The entire "Heavenly Dao Discussion" saw the author express the idea that the Celestial Dao is not constant, changing in subtle, imperceptible ways.

But being under the Celestial Dao, no one can detect these changes, nor can anyone defy the Celestial Dao; they can only conform to its development.

Even those who ascend to the Immortal Realm are merely aligning themselves more with the Celestial Dao, but this is a misconception.

The more aligned one is with the Celestial Dao, the harder it is to break free from its constraints, obstructing the realization that the Celestial Dao is not constant by nature.

At the book’s conclusion, the author regretfully expressed a hypothesis.

[All beings in the world passively accept the changes of the Celestial Dao. However, if there exists an Unchanging entity that breaks free from these constraints, it may influence the celestial transformations, substituting man for heaven!]

In an instant, Lu Yan felt as if struck by lightning, a wild idea flashing continuously in his mind.

"Version Change Value!"