Chapter 407: Chapter 407: Book of Black Erosion Stone

Fang Lin smiled, “Does this mean that I have passed the test? Can I proceed to the second layer now?”

The old man in the green robe nodded, “Of course you can.”

With a wave of his hand, the surrounding scene faded away, and Fang Lin suddenly found himself within a stone enclosure.

In this stone room, there were rows of bookshelves with numerous books, some were in tatters, and others were even bamboo strips.

“This is a repository of many ancient alchemical scriptures, feel free to read them here.” The green-robed elder then appeared next to Fang Lin and advised him.

Fang Lin glanced around before proceeding towards the bookshelves, casually pulling out an ancient book.

The cover of the ancient book was old and yellow, with the words ‘Detailed Explanation of Pill Scripture’ written across it.

Fang Lin’s mouth curled into a smirk as he began flipping through the ancient book without any real interest.

With Fang Lin’s status as a Sovereign of Alchemy Tao, all these books were virtually a waste of time. They wouldn’t provide Fang Lin with any help.

However, Fang Lin didn’t complain further, deciding to be patient and continue reading.

However, the elder in the green robe seemed to discern Fang Lin’s disdain for the ancient books and looked rather displeased.

“Even if one is talented, without the humility to learn, it is hard to achieve greatness.” The green-robed elder thought to himself.

Fang Lin flipped through the ‘Detailed Explanation of Pill Scripture’ for a few pages before losing interest completely. He returned it to the shelf and picked up another ancient book.

However, he only flipped through a few pages before returning it to the shelf. This pattern repeated itself as Fang Lin casually flipped through over a dozen books without actually reading any of them thoroughly.

The green-robed elder could no longer hold his patience,” Can’t you find anything interesting in these ancient books?”

Fang Lin turned around, an innocent look on his face, “It’s not that I can’t, but these books don’t have much use for me.”

Upon hearing this, the old man in green robe got even angrier. He had originally perceived Fang Lin as moderate and humble, so how had he become so arrogant all of a sudden?

All of these books were highly valued ancient texts, every Alchemist who came here was desperate to read through these books, to absorb every bit of knowledge they could.

Yet Fang Lin carelessly flipped through a few pages and pronounced these ancient books useless. How arrogant could one be? He didn’t seem to hold any respect for these historical scripts. This was downright disrespectful to our ancestors.

“Fang Lin, even though your talent is astonishing, these ancient scriptures have their merit and are not to be denigrated by you.” The green-robed elder said angrily.

Fang Lin was speechless. He didn’t argue back as he knew the green-robed elder was upset because he had disrespected the ancient scriptures, and his anger wasn’t directed at him personally.

On the contrary, Fang Lin held considerable respect for the elderly man, deeming him better than the previous elder in white who offered nothing but sarcasm.

“Please calm down, elder. I’ve already read through these ancient scriptures under the guidance of a mentor,” Fang Lin said, left with no other choice.

The green-robed elder was taken aback, before a skeptical look crossed his face. The ancient scriptures kept here were almost all unique, how could Fang Lin, with his youth, possibly have read them all?

“If the elder doesn’t believe it, feel free to question me,” Fang Lin replied, with a smile.

The green-robed elder furrowed his brows and posed several questions.

To his surprise, Fang Lin answered each question effortlessly and perfectly, leaving no room for doubt.

The green-robed elder fell silent, finding it hard to believe what had just transpired. His questions were far from easy and could only be answered by a few individuals. Yet, Fang Lin had managed to answer all of them perfectly which astounded the old man.

Noticing the green-robed elder had stopped talking, Fang Lin, too, kept silent and began walking around the stone room again.

“Hmm?” Suddenly, Fang Lin spotted an old, tattered book in the corner of a bookshelf, his eyes narrowing slightly upon its sight.

Immediately, Fang Lin carefully picked up the dilapidated book and found it was indeed in poor condition with only a few yellowing, torn pages left. Half the cover was torn off as well.

Fang Lin held the book in his hands, a complex expression on his face as he sighed inwardly.

Fang Lin had come across this book before. He had read it when he was in the Pill Saint Palace in his previous life.

The book was from the Pill Saint Palace.

Fang Lin distinctly remembered that the author of this book was a predecessor from the Pill Saint Palace.

Now, as time had elapsed, the Pill Saint Palace had faded away into the sands of time, and the once complete ancient book had also turned into a remnant of its former self.

Fang Lin started reading, the content of the book did not matter much to him as he had already read it before. Instead, it was all about nostalgia now.

The green-robed elder also observed the tattered book in Fang Lin’s hands from afar, expressing a trace of surprise.

After flipping through the book, Fang Lin, with a complicated expression on his face, put the book back into the corner, and continued to explore the room.

After a while, Fang Lin discovered another book that had once belonged to the Pill Saint Palace. This one was even more damaged. Only a handful of damaged pages remained, which were re-bound by later generations, or it couldn’t have been preserved at all.

Fang Lin was filled with emotions. He didn’t expect to find books from the Pill Saint Palace inside the Pill Pole Tower.

Although the books didn’t serve much purpose, they provided Fang Lin with some consolation.

At least, the Pill Saint Palace didn’t disappear completely without a trace. These preserved scriptures were proof of the Pill Saint Palace’s past glory days.

“There’s a book over there, which might be of some help to you.” The green-robed elder pointed to a bookshelf in the corner and said to Fang Lin.

Upon hearing this, Fang Lin walked over. There weren’t many books on this shelf, and most of them were bamboo slips.

Walking to the back, Fang Lin was unexpectedly greeted by a stone book. A square blue stone slab, was placed on the bookshelf, etched with dense, tiny characters.

Fang Lin was taken aback. Such stone books were rare, and they were less likely to be ruined, meaning they could be preserved for a long time.

“This Stone-carved Ancient Book has been here for quite a long time. It contains infinite profoundness, but there has never been anyone who could comprehend it,” said the green-robed elder as he walked over.

Fang Lin’s expression turned serious as he realized the uniqueness of the Stone-carved Ancient Book, especially the material. It was carved from Black Erosion Stone, which was extremely rare.

Black Erosion Stone was exceedingly sturdy, so much so that even those skilled in Martial Arts struggled to leave a scratch on its surface.

There were dense words engraved on this Black Erosion Stone, and they were engraved quite thoroughly. The engravings were clearly done by someone with a strong Cultivation.