This was an earthy yellow animal skin, and though it looked unimpressive, touching it sent shivers through Lin Tian’s heart, followed by a wave of excitent, for the texture of this animal skin was identical to the one the female zombie Qingyao had given him!
With an excited heart, Lin Tian unraveled the animal skin, not even in the mood to look at the books inside, setting them aside, and then he carefully spread the animal skin on his palm.
If this animal skin was like the one given to him by the female zombie Qingyao, it should also contain patterns for cultivation, but to Lin Tian’s disappointnt, the other side was blank as well, devoid of any text or diagrams.
The animal skin given by the female zombie had twelve human figure patterns on it, representing twelve cultivation movents, which Lin Tian practiced nearly every day and was very familiar with, but this animal skin was blank!
How could this be? My feeling can’t be wrong, the material of this animal skin is the sa as the other, but why is there nothing on it? Lin Tian was montarily stunned, unable to comprehend this matter.
The animal skin was far too important to him; without the cultivation technique on the skin, he would have been unable to control his bloodsucking desires and would have long since turned into a zombie crazed for blood. He would gladly refuse all of the shrine’s resources for the animal skin, but a blank animal skin was truly a blow to the spirits.
"Lin Tian, what’s wrong?" Ning Luoxi asked with so curiosity.
She saw Lin Tian go from joy to endless disappointnt and thought sothing had happened to him. Seeing him with a seemingly ordinary animal skin and lost in thought, she beca even more puzzled.
"Did you discover sothing?" the Heavenly Master Girl also asked, as both she and Ning Luoxi were unaware of the existence of the animal skin and, naturally, didn’t understand Lin Tian’s emotions at that mont.
Kikuchi Mika looked at Lin Tian with concern but didn’t know what to say, her command of the Chinese language also being very limited.
The voices of the two won snapped Lin Tian out of his daze, and he casually slipped the animal skin into his pocket. The action was natural and the animal skin itself was rather unremarkable, so neither Ning Luoxi nor the Heavenly Master Girl suspected anything; the precious books were their main concern, who would care about sothing used rely to wrap them?
Lin Tian considered the two won friends and didn’t want to deceive them, but the animal skin was tied to his biggest secret, and he was destined to be unable to disclose anything. He could only take it with him to study at leisure later on, wondering why the animal skin had no record of the cultivation technique.
After securing the animal skin, he also quietly breathed a sigh of relief. At least he hadn’t drawn the attention of the two won; otherwise, it would have been difficult to explain. They were not the sort to be easily fooled.
"I’m fine, I’m just angered by the sight of so many books written in Chinese characters that have been stolen and ended up in Japan. If we hadn’t eradicated the shrine, these texts might never have seen the light of day again, let alone be returned to Huaxia," Lin Tian said indignantly.
This anger was not feigned but genuine. The ancestors of Huaxia had created a brilliant civilization, and the classics recorded all kinds of extraordinary skills and knowledge from that ti, which could include ancient dicine, Ancient Martial techniques, or other inventions and creations.
These classics had already disappeared in their own country, and it naturally infuriated him that the originals had been lost abroad.
Seeing Lin Tian’s genuine expression, they no longer pressed him about the earlier matter.
Even Ning Luoxi followed Lin Tian with a sigh, "Yes, look at this ’Inner Canon of Huangdi with Annotations’. It should be the reading notes of the ’Inner Canon of Huangdi’ by so famous ancient physician. Such a firsthand physician’s notebook contains rich experience, as well as interpretations of the text, which is very important for improving a physician’s skills."
"I have also read an ancient copy of the ’Inner Canon of Huangdi’, but unfortunately, it wasn’t the true original, just from an earlier dynasty. The original might have already been lost. The ’Inner Canon of Huangdi’ that circulates in the modern era could be vastly different from the original. This physician’s notebook could enable better understanding of the original work’s content," Lin Tian also said.
"Demon Exorcism Records! There are actually lost Demon Exorcism Records here!" the Heavenly Master Girl exclaid.
Lin Tian turned to look at her and saw that she was holding a scroll, which seed to be made of silk fabric and had been treated with preservatives. Therefore, the scroll looked very ancient but was nevertheless intact.
"What are the Demon Exorcism Records?" Lin Tian asked, not quite understanding.
"It’s a bit of a long story. Our Huaxia’s demon exorcists actually co from two factions, naly the Zhengyi Dao and the Maoshan Sect. The founder of Zhengyi Dao was Heavenly Master Zhang Daoling, and the founder of the Maoshan Sect was Heavenly Master Tao Hongjing. The Zhengyi Sect later continued through the Zhang Family and thrived, whereas the Maoshan Sect slowly disappeared from history due to a lack of unified succession; now it’s almost impossible to find descendants of the Maoshan Sect."
Lin Tian understood what it ant to be a descendant; it wasn’t a matter of soone simply practicing a few Maoshan Taoist Skills—they wouldn’t be considered a true successor of the Maoshan Sect.
Currently, there might still be demon exorcists who know Maoshan Taoist Skills, but the core system of Maoshan Sect’s Taoist skills has been lost. Without inheriting the core system of the Taoist skills, one had no right to claim the title of successor.
"Beautiful Sky Master, are you from the Heavenly Master Zhang’s family?" Lin Tian asked, recalling that she had claid to be a Demon Exorcist from the Zhang Family while in her zombie state and was now asking normally.
The Heavenly Master Girl nodded her head, confirming her lineage but didn’t dwell on this topic.
"The two factions actually co from the sa lineage, and both hold Laozi as the progenitor, so in the Demon Exorcism Skill, there are differences between the two factions as well as areas where they integrate with each other," the Heavenly Master Girl continued.
"This ’Demon Exorcism Records’ is a collection of the strengths of both factions’ Taoist skills and records very important Taoist skills. Sadly, the ’Demon Exorcism Records’ was lost during a certain period and what is passed down among demon exorcists today is only a very small part of it. I didn’t expect to find it here," the Heavenly Master Girl said sowhat excitedly, her eyes shining with peculiar light.
"If I’m not mistaken, it must have been the Japanese Onmyoji who secretly took the ’Demon Exorcism Records’ out of Huaxia. For various reasons, it ended up in the hands of the Guizhong Clan. However, now that we have discovered it, it can be considered a return to its roots, and it seems to have a connection with you," Lin Tian said, sharing in her happiness.
"Since the ’Demon Exorcism Records’ are so important, didn’t the Onmyoji learn the essence of the Demon Exorcist’s skills?" Ning Luoxi raised an important question.
Such important texts always have a lineage and are typically not allowed to be shared outside. The reasons are generally twofold: fear that the wrong people will learn and harm the society, and the teachings of one’s ancestors.
If the Japanese Onmyoji learned without the consent of the successors, it would be considered theft of knowledge, a serious matter. Of course, the ’Demon Exorcism Records’ have been lost for so long that responsibility can no longer be pursued.
"It shouldn’t be so easy. According to records, the Taoist skills in the ’Demon Exorcism Records’ are very profound, and not so easy to master. However, it certainly provided great inspiration to the Japanese Onmyoji. I’ve always felt that the prison barrier had elents of Zhengyi Dao and Maoshan Sect formation skills. That Guizhong Mingsi must have seen the ’Demon Exorcism Records’," the Heavenly Master Girl shook her head and said.
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