Found

He merely nodded slightly, stepping aside to make way and gesturing for him to proceed. His movements were crisp and neat, without the slightest hesitation.

The rest of the armored guards also adjusted their stances, and the invisible field of pressure instantly dissipated.

This was the power of the Crown Prince's Token, and also a manifestation of Luo Zhao's current authority.

Gu Chengyin withdrew the Crown Prince's Token and stepped through the main doors of the Wanxiang Tower.

Inside the doors was another world.

The light inside the tower was bright and even, emanating from some unknown crystals embedded in the walls and the domed ceiling, casting a soft glow.

A unique scent permeated the air, a blend of the faint tartness of aged paper and the light fragrance of premium inkstones.

Combined with the crisp herbal aroma of some insect-repelling and preserving agent, it was not unpleasant; rather, it brought a sense of settling calm that soothed the mind.

However, the most shocking sight was the almost boundless sea of books before his eyes.

Looking up, rows upon rows of massive bookshelves, standing several dozen feet tall and made of some dark hardwood, stretched neatly toward the end of his vision, seemingly endless.

Densely packed on the shelves were scrolls, folios, jade slips, and leather parchments of various materials, and even numerous bone fragments or stone tablets strung together with gold threads.

The sheer quantity and variety of them far exceeded the imagination.

What was stored here was not just written records, but the memories, wisdom, power, and secrets of the Great Luo spanning thousands of years, or perhaps even longer.

The daily records of imperial families from past dynasties, secret files on official evaluations, original records of major events, military reports from the borders, confidential diplomatic correspondence, and so on.

These highly classified documents concerning the empire's lifeblood were categorized and properly preserved.

Even more enticingly, countless top-tier cultivation manuals and secret techniques that cultivators dreamed of were hidden here.

These techniques might involve ancient legacies long lost to time, record exclusive secret methods to break through bottlenecks, or conceal divine abilities and combat skills of unparalleled power.

"So many... how long will it take to find anything?"

Gu Chengyin furrowed his brows as he gazed at the vast, ocean-like collection of books.

He needed to find a suitable alter ego, a hidden cultivation family or sect that had disappeared into the river of history, with vague records but leaving behind clues or tokens.

But looking at it now, finding a fitting target among so many books was tantamount to finding a needle in a haystack.

Gu Chengyin steadied his mind, deciding to first look for something like a general catalog or classified index to narrow down the search scope.

Just as he stepped toward the nearest bookshelf area that looked like it might hold catalogs.

A calm voice suddenly came from the shadows of a bookshelf not far to his side:

"Brother?"

Gu Chengyin paused his steps and looked toward the source of the sound.

He saw a familiar, petite figure step out from beside the bookshelf.

It was still that delicate yet expressionless little face, bearing an aloofness and world-weariness that did not match her age.

However, when those eyes caught sight of Gu Chengyin, a glimmer of light instantly rippled through them.

It was Gu Xiaoli.

She was holding a very old book in her arms.

"Gu Xiaoli?"

Gu Chengyin was quite surprised and walked over quickly: "Why are you here?"

This was the Wanxiang Tower, a royal forbidden ground. Given Gu Xiaoli's identity, it should have been absolutely impossible for her to enter.

Gu Xiaoli hugged the book, took a few steps closer, looked up at Gu Chengyin, and explained in a flat voice:

"The work at the Wenli Hall is finished. Xiaoli wanted to come back and read, and His Highness agreed."

She said it simply, but the amount of information was not small at all.

Gu Chengyin blinked, a bold conjecture flashing through his mind like lightning.

He pointed at the boundless, massive library around them and asked tentatively:

"The books here... have you read them all?"

Hearing this, Gu Xiaoli first nodded, then shook her head.

Her expression remained unchanged as she calmly added: "Xiaoli has only read most of them, but hasn't finished all of them yet."

"Before, when I was in the Inner Secretariat, there were many things to do. Xiaoli could only come to read when she had free time."

"M-most of them?!" Gu Chengyin was truly shocked this time, his eyes instantly lighting up.

What did this mean?

This meant that Gu Xiaoli was a living index for this Wanxiang Tower!

A humanoid library with a near-infinite reserve of knowledge!

After the immense pleasant surprise came a deeper doubt.

Why would Lu Fang allow, or even arrange for Gu Xiaoli to enter the Wanxiang Tower to read?

Could it simply be because her photographic memory could be used to organize documents?

No, that didn't make sense.

The value and sensitivity of the Wanxiang Tower were far beyond that of organizing ordinary documents.

Unless...

Gu Chengyin crouched down, bringing his line of sight level with Gu Xiaoli, and asked softly: "Xiaoli, you being able to freely enter this Wanxiang Tower... was it specially approved by His Majesty?"

Gu Xiaoli did not speak. She looked quietly at Gu Chengyin, and then nodded with absolute certainty.

As expected.

Gu Chengyin sighed inwardly; many of the previous suspicious points instantly connected together.

Gu Xiaoli was not Lu Fang's person at all, or rather, Lu Fang was only her guardian on the surface.

The one who truly decided her fate and whereabouts was the unfathomable Emperor Luo.

Then, the story about her background that she spoke of was carefully fabricated by Emperor Luo, with the purpose of covering up her true origins.

As for Gu Xiaoli's true background, and why she possessed such astonishing memory and so on.

These mysteries were probably only known to that old schemer, Emperor Luo.

Gu Chengyin shook his head, temporarily suppressing these complicated matters.

Regardless of Gu Xiaoli's origins, the current situation was that her appearance had solved his most headache-inducing problem at hand.

A smile appeared on Gu Chengyin's face as he asked sincerely:

"Xiaoli, can you do Brother a favor?"

Gu Xiaoli did not hesitate in the slightest. She nodded gently and uttered a single, simple word in her calm, unrippled voice:

"Okay."

When Gu Chengyin explained his need:

To find relevant records of a cultivation family that had disappeared into the river of history, with vague records but leaving behind clues or tokens.

After telling this to Gu Xiaoli, those calm and world-weary large eyes instantly became hollow.

This time, the time she spent retrieving the information was noticeably much longer than before.

Gu Chengyin waited patiently, his gaze falling on Gu Xiaoli's little face, his heart filled with marvel.

She was like a computer inputted with a massive amount of data, currently conducting an imprecise, wide-area content screening within a colossal database.

The volume of books in the Wanxiang Tower was terrifying. Even if she had only read most of them, the amount of information she needed to access and compare was enough to make any normal person break down.

Fortunately, he did not have to wait too long.

Gu Xiaoli's unfocused eyes regained their luster, reflecting Gu Chengyin's figure.

"Found it."

Immediately after, she reported a string of extremely precise coordinate information, like a library call number:

"Zone Jia, Qian position, first row of bookshelves, first shelf from top to bottom, third scroll on the left."