Chapter 593 - Copying the Divine Scripts
Translated by: Sarah
Edited by: Ea
Sword Saint Tianshu looked at these neatly arranged books with a defensive array floating around them. “If there is any book that East Empress wants to read, put the leaf card onto it and then take the book out.”
Lin Zhan glanced at the t.i.tles. “What books are stored on this floor?”
“All kinds of astrological divination, secrets of mental techniques, descriptions of animals and birds…” Sword Saint Tianshu tilted his lips slightly and said, “as well as the ancient books and historical records of the Nine Lands, but see if you can understand them.”
Lin Zhan threw the leaf card towards a book, only to see a circle of ripples with gold patterns. The book that was originally protected by the array was moved, and it seemed to have a will of its own as it fell into Lin Zhan’s hands.
“Don’t tell me it’s a divine script?” Lin Zhan said half-jokingly, opening the book with his fingers. First he showed a slightly surprised expression, then laughed.
This really was a divine script.
The words on it were like characters drawn by ghosts. There was indeed a sense of ancient history about the book. Sword Saint Tianshu glanced at this book and smiled. “The name of this book is called «Ghost Mirror», which includes ill.u.s.trations of hundreds of ghosts and their birth and death. It was compiled by the ancient Divine Emperor, and it uses the divine scripts. With the fall of the last ancient G.o.d, after tens of thousands of years, no one has been able to understand those words.”
Lin Zhan squinted and turned a few pages, saying, “I really can’t read these words. Can I take the book out and borrow it?”
Seeing that he didn’t give up, Sword Saint Tianshu said, “These are all originals, which can only be read here, so it cannot be taken out. Moreover, it is very difficult to make a copy of this kind of divine script. You have to have many years of experience to replicate each stroke.”
Although there was no obvious rejection, from Sword Saint Tianshu’s words, it seemed that making a copy would be difficult.
Lin Zhan, however, waved his hand. “It’s alright. Is there a brush and paper here?”
Sword Saint Tianshu was surprised. “Could it be that the East Empress wants to personally copy it?”
Lin Zhan curled his lips and said with a little mystery, “Say, if I really didn’t have any skills, why would the East Sovereign let me visit Myriad Dao Academy?”
Sword Saint Tianshu raised his eyebrows. “I can’t say that Myriad Dao Academy has the most research on divine scripts, but it is bound to rank among the top three. In these years, whenever I had time, I would study the divine scripts. So far, I have only learned less than ten ancient books, and I have also tried making copies of them. However, the divine scripts are so profound that it is hard to replicate the original. If there is even a tiny mistake, it will change the meaning completely.”
Although he said this, Sword Saint Tianshu still found a high-quality paper and brush and spread it out for Lin Zhan on the table.
Lin Zhan opened the book «Ghost Mirror» and put it on the table. He held a brush and looked at the ghostly characters on the first page. He said, “Many years ago, I lived in a small world where spiritual energy was almost exhausted. I had no father, no mother, no relatives, and no friends. I lived very badly since I was a child, but then I happened to meet an expert who could bring drawings to life. He thought I had dull talent and did not teach me too many Daoist techniques. But he pa.s.sed on this imitation technique to me.”
As he spoke, Lin Zhan calmly put the brush to paper. When he did it, his movements were very natural and unrestrained. Looking at the paper, it turned out that there was the divine script being replicated. The more Sword Saint Tianshu watched, the wider his eyes grew. The tip of the brush snaked around, and there was no pause in his movements. It only took fifteen minutes to almost perfectly write the ghost characters of the book. These ancient books were very simple in style, and they didn’t use too much extra ink to write what they wanted to describe.
Therefore, the entire «Ghost Mirror» only had less than one hundred pages. It took some effort before Lin Zhan completely replicated the whole book, character for character. Such an imitation technique also consumed a lot of stamina, especially copying these books that had never been seen before and that carried the residual spiritual energy of ancient powers. It made people exhausted.
After Lin Zhan finished copying the text, cold sweat flowed down his forehead, and his back was wet. Obviously, he was almost out of energy.
When the last stroke finished, Lin Zhan smiled knowingly. He stepped back half a step and compared the two books, saying, “It’s done. This copy of the original can be taken out, right?”
Sword Saint Tianshu’s expression was complicated, and his heart had been shocked to the extreme. “East Empress really has been hiding his talents. I’ve seen imitation techniques before, and I’ve even practiced them, but this is the first time I saw someone who can copy divine scripts. May I inquire about the gentleman who taught you this?”
The image of a beautiful man’s face, who was lazy, sloppy, and always smiled mischievously, appeared in Lin Zhan’s mind. He curled his lips and smiled. He put away the «Ghost Mirror», where the ink had already dried, and hid it in his storage ring. Lin Zhan said lightly, “Him ah. He’s a good person.”
Sword Saint Tianshu, “???”
Sword Saint Tianshu saw that he didn’t want to say anymore, so he didn’t ask more questions, but he was a little puzzled. “There are so many books here, so why did you specifically choose this «Ghost Mirror»?”
Lin Zhan answered, “I once heard that great man mention that the place in the world with the densest malevolent Qi is the battlefield where countless departed spirits roam about. The place with the second-densest malevolent Qi is the abyss where ancient great G.o.ds are sealed, and the third place is the ancient remains with ten thousand weeping ghosts. It is said that the location of the remains where ten thousand ghosts wept can be found in the «Ghost Mirror», so I want to see if my luck is good.”
Sword Saint Tianshu narrowed his eyes. “I have studied the «Ghost Mirror» specially, but the divine script on it is more ancient, and it is still very different from the simplified divine script. My talent is not up to par and I can’t understand it. I just didn’t know that there were people in this world who could actually understand it.”
Lin Zhan hooked his lips and said, “There is always someone better.”
Sword Saint Tianshu felt itchy and asked, “East Empress, why don’t we discuss it later and let me know when this book is translated?”
Lin Zhan nodded. “That’s only natural. There are secrets hidden in the «Ghost Mirror». If I can translate them all, I will be the first to tell Saint Sword to repay today’s courtesy.”
Lin Zhan seemed to be aimlessly searching for something in the thousand volumes of the library, yet it also seemed like there was an idea in his heart. He didn’t make moves easily, but when he decided something, he would take out the books and then copy them.
Although Sword Saint Tianshu felt that there was definitely a deeper meaning to Lin Zhan’s trip, he still could not guess Lin Zhan’s true purpose. After Lin Zhan finished copying the fourth book, he could not help asking, “East Empress, dare to ask, what kind of books are you looking for?”
Lin Zhan put away the replicated books and said, “I have already taken four books — the first one is «Ghost Mirror», and the second one is «Cla.s.sic of Mountains and Rivers». That master of mine told me that I must get the first two books, and it’s also for my own personal interests. The third book is «Record of Sealed Secrets», and the fourth book is «Nine Lands Seals». These two books are for tracing the birthplace of the Fiends and for finding the method to deal with them.”
Sword Saint Tianshu frowned slightly. “«Record of Sealed Secrets», it is said that it records the secret past between emperors and ancestors during the Antiquity Era. How can it be related to the Fiends? And the «Nine Lands Seals» should be related to those ancient great G.o.ds. If you want to look for things about the Fiends, shouldn’t you look for miscellaneous books like the «Strange Tales»?”
Lin Zhan shook his finger. “You don’t know anything about this. Although there are some records about Fiends in the miscellaneous stories like «Strange Tales», they are merely superficial information. Legend has it that Fiends have existed since ancient times. They are formed from the malevolent Qi of Heaven and Earth. Malevolent Qi and spiritual Qi are created simultaneously and grow together. Just as there is Yin and Yang, they are both indispensable. Since that is the case, the ancient G.o.ds must have also known about the Fiends. When they recorded these ancient events, they probably recorded the Fiends as well.”
Sword Saint Tianshu thought about it and said, “I think it’s very reasonable to say this. I didn’t expect that the East Empress knew a lot about Fiends. It seems that before coming to the sect, he did a lot of homework.”
Lin Zhan replied, “Of course. I can’t leave the East Land for too long. Naturally, I have to do official business as soon as I come to the sect. Where can I have the extra time to ponder here?”
Sword Saint Tianshu said, “I only heard that the rulers can’t leave the land for too long. Why are you in a hurry to go back, East Empress?”
Lin Zhan showed an expression that men all knew. He rubbed his hands. “My East Sovereign can’t live without me. If I’m here for too long, then who will warm his bed?”
Sword Saint Tianshu, “…”
This Venerable kicked through this pot of sudden dog food coldly.
Next, Lin Zhan copied and stopped, and took out three books. Copying books really consumed a lot of spiritual energy. At first, Lin Zhan could write many characters in a single stroke. However, towards the end, every time he wrote a stroke, he had to rest for a while, and Sword Saint Tianshu couldn’t stop worrying that Lin Zhan would come to a critical point and fall down.
However, Lin Zhan’s hand was as steady and powerful as ever from beginning to end. Sword Saint Tianshu couldn’t help but say, “East Empress, do you want to take a rest first, and then come back to copy and repeat it another day?”
Lin Zhan shook his head, sat on the futon in a sloppy way, and said, “I don’t have much time to stay here. Besides, it’s not easy for me to open my Eyes of Heaven once. I must copy all the books I need this time.”
Sword Saint Tianshu lowered his hand to his side. “Eyes of Heaven?”
Lin Zhan wiped the sweat from his head and said lightly, “There are still some words in here that I can understand.”
Sword Saint Tianshu’s heart moved. “How can you understand it?”
Lin Zhan said, “I rely on the slightest induction from the Dao of Heaven, but after the period of time pa.s.ses, I won’t be able to sense the connection.”
Sword Saint Tianshu was stunned. It was the first time he heard that reading characters relied on the sensory abilities of the Eyes of Heaven. Half a month later, Lin Zhan finished copying the seven selected books, and his entire person had almost lost strength. Lin Zhan laughed and stood up against the wall. “It’s done. I won’t read the remaining books for the time being. This Myriad Dao Academy Library Pavilion deserves its reputation. After going out, I will advertise for you for free.”
Sword Saint Tianshu raised the corner of his mouth and said, “What does ‘advertise’ mean?”
Lin Zhan patted him on the shoulder. “It means to promote something. If it was in my world, advertising would cost money.”
Sword Saint Tianshu, Then I really have to thank you ah.
The gate of the library pavilion was blocked for 15 days because of the East Empress’ visit.