Du Fei, noticing Li Yundong's indifferent expression, didn't mind. He simply reached into his pocket and produced a seven-hued brocade pouch, then gently untied the silken ribbon securing it.

In an instant, the Seven Treasures Pouch burst forth with a dazzling radiance. Du Fei reached inside, pulled out a slightly yellowed, thread-bound book, and with one hand still supporting the pouch, held the book aloft with the other. He blew lightly on the cover, then gently pushed it upward so it floated in the air, oriented vertically toward Li Yundong.

Li Yundong focused his gaze. The book appeared somewhat worn due to its age, yet the script on the cover was remarkably clear: four bold characters—Artifact Compendium!

"Artifact Compendium?" Li Yundong murmured. Although he had read numerous Buddhist and Daoist scriptures, they mostly concerned cultivation theory, rarely touching upon specific spells or artifacts.

Li Yundong knew perfectly well that it was impossible for major Buddhist or Daoist lineages to transmit genuine divine arts or miraculous techniques through printed texts; even if such texts existed, they would be the most closely guarded treasures of the sect.

Therefore, despite his extensive reading, Li Yundong failed to immediately grasp the true significance of the book Du Fei held.

But then, Ruan Hongling and Su Chan, leaning out from the second floor, simultaneously gasped, "Artifact Compendium?"

Su Chan stared at the book and blurted out, "Could this be the Artifact Compendium written by Daoist Bin Zhu and his retainers during the Ming Dynasty?"

Li Yundong slightly tilted his head and asked, "You know of it? Then explain it to us?"

Just as Su Chan was about to speak, Ruan Hongling jumped in, "Li Yundong, you’re a sect leader and you don’t even know the Artifact Compendium! Listen carefully! The Artifact Compendium is the great compendium of magical artifacts compiled over more than ten years by Zhu Chengyong, the fifth descendant of Emperor Zhu Yuanzhang of the Ming Dynasty, along with his retainers. It records every known artifact from all sects and schools up to this day, detailing their attributes, ranked evaluations, and illustrative designs."

Li Yundong started. He recalled suffering a terrible loss on Mount Gēxuàn precisely because he didn't recognize the Immortal-Binding Rope. He understood that if one was unfamiliar with an opponent's magical treasure, it provided the advantage of knowing what the enemy didn't know about oneself. In combat, this translated to a significant upper hand.

Moreover, there were countless artifacts in the world; unless engaged in a direct confrontation, one would never see an opponent's artifact, let alone learn its characteristics. With this Artifact Compendium, one could seize the initiative in any duel.

Du Fei looked up at Ruan Hongling with surprise, then gave a mocking smile. "Real Master Li, your disciples seem to know more than you do?"

Li Yundong smiled faintly. "First, she is not my disciple. Second, to know what you know and not know what you don't know is wisdom. Ignorance isn't frightening; what's frightening is pretending to know everything while being ignorant. Third, I have only cultivated for half a year; naturally, I know less than you. There’s nothing shameful about that."

Du Fei’s initial expression of slight disdain and mockery shifted dramatically upon hearing the latter part. "Real Master Li, are you joking? You've only cultivated for half a year?"

Li Yundong smiled slightly and looked up at Su Chan. "Little miss, how long have we known each other?"

Su Chan grinned, winked at Li Yundong from the second floor, and thought sweetly, "A little over half a year?"

Li Yundong lowered his gaze and smiled at Du Fei. "Fine, let me correct that—a little more than half a year."

Du Fei stared at Li Yundong, utter shock plastered on his face. After a long moment, he gravely clasped his hands in respect, incredulity etched in his features. "Real Master Li, I am truly impressed! Impressed!"

Li Yundong returned the gesture with a slight smile. "Thank you, thank you. Shall we continue?"

Du Fei finally snapped back to reality. He gave Li Yundong one more incredulous glance before producing the second item from his seven-hued pouch. "I believe that with your wisdom, Real Master Li, you must surely understand what the Artifact Compendium means to a cultivator!"

Li Yundong nodded slowly. "Of course, I know! But please continue; what is that you are presenting now?"

In Du Fei's hand floated a simple, unadorned, blue-grey glazed alms bowl. He smiled slightly and said, "If Real Master Li possessed the Artifact Compendium, you would know what artifact I hold."

Li Yundong chuckled. "Since Real Master Du also knows I lack the Artifact Compendium, why not just tell me directly."

Du Fei smiled and explained, "This is the Finger-Burning Bowl!"

"The Finger-Burning Bowl?" Li Yundong was utterly bewildered, knowing nothing of this artifact.

But Ruan Hongling and Su Chan exclaimed in unison again, "The Finger-Burning Bowl?"

This time, Cao Yi and Zhuang Yating couldn't help but lean out from the second floor in astonishment, crying out, "Is that a Buddhist artifact, the Finger-Burning Bowl?"

Seeing their shock directed at the humble, somewhat dusty-looking glazed bowl, Li Yundong spread his hands toward them. "Anyone care to explain?"

Su Chan quickly volunteered. "Yundong, this is Fa Hai's artifact!"

"Fa Hai?" Li Yundong was greatly surprised. "The Fa Hai from the Legend of the White Snake? He really existed? And he has an artifact passed down through the ages?"

Ruan Hongling chimed in quickly. "Fa Hai was a disciple of the Sixth Patriarch of Chan Buddhism, Huineng, and also the son of Pei Xiu, Minister of Personnel during the Tang Dynasty's mid-Dazhong era. After Fa Hai became a monk, he burned his finger as an oath to establish Zexin Temple. This artifact he carried with him afterward came to be known as the Finger-Burning Bowl!"

Li Yundong looked at the bowl in Du Fei's hand with a look of utter shock. "Heavens, this isn't the artifact that subdued Bai Suzhen, is it?"

Du Fei burst into laughter. "Real Master Li jokes too much! The Legend of the White Snake is just folk legend! The dramatization is fanciful; don't take it seriously."

Li Yundong laughed along. "True enough. Journey to the West also claims Pigsy was Marshal Tianpeng."

Their shared laughter dissolved much of the underlying wariness and guardedness.

Du Fei levitated the Finger-Burning Bowl into the air, allowing it to float parallel to the Artifact Compendium before him. He stated, "Real Master Li, I won't belabor the point, but since this was Fa Hai's personal artifact, its power must be substantial. And I believe they all know that well enough!"

As he spoke, he gestured toward Su Chan and the others peering from the second floor.

Li Yundong looked up. He saw Su Chan and Ruan Hongling staring at the bowl with wide eyes, a mixture of curiosity and astonishment. Cao Yi and Zhuang Yating, however, regarded the artifact with complex expressions, silent and odd. In contrast, Liu Yuehong, the senior aunt from the Fox and Chan Sect, looked at them blankly, seemingly unaware of why this artifact elicited such shock.

Li Yundong shifted his gaze back to Du Fei. "If this is Fa Hai's artifact, how did it end up in your possession?"

Du Fei smiled mysteriously. "That is a secret of our sect, Real Master Li. If you are interested, perhaps it's best to wait until I present the third and final item before asking."

Having seen two successive items, each more astonishing than the last, Li Yundong felt a surge of curiosity and anticipation. What could the third item be?

Seeing Li Yundong intrigued, Du Fei smiled with a touch of smug satisfaction. He pulled the drawstring of the brocade pouch, and one after another, thread-bound books with dark cyan hard covers flew out on their own.

Li Yundong watched as these books emerged in succession, soon occupying nearly half the hall, piled up like a small mountain. He couldn't help but chuckle dryly. "What is this? The Complete Library of the Four Branches?"

A barely concealed pride and self-satisfaction shone on Du Fei's face. He opened the foremost volume and presented it toward Li Yundong. "Real Master Li, please look!"

Li Yundong saw four shimmering golden characters inscribed on the cover in seal script. He quietly read them aloud: "Dao Fa Hui Yuan?"

"What? Dao Fa Hui Yuan!!!" Everyone except Li Yundong gasped in unison, all leaning forward.

Zi Yuan’s face changed drastically at the sound. She flashed, instantly appearing beside Li Yundong, her eyes wide as she stared at the tome before Du Fei, her voice trembling slightly. "Is this—is this truly the Dao Fa Hui Yuan? Is this the Dao Fa Hui Yuan compiled by Zhao Yizhen during the late Yuan and early Ming periods?"

As Li Yundong spent more time with Zi Yuan, although he knew the fairy could occasionally lose her composure, he had never seen her so shocked and flustered. He couldn't help but be startled, thinking to himself: What kind of supreme text could cause even Zi Yuan such alarm?

Du Fei knew Li Yundong's cultivation time was short and he wasn't familiar with these matters. So he explained, "Real Master Li, look..." He gestured toward the small mountain of books piled before him. "There are a total of 268 volumes here, recording nearly all the Daoist spells and secret histories from the most glorious period of Daoism—the Song, Yuan, and Ming Dynasties."

Du Fei pointed at the pile of books nearly as tall as a man. "These first fifty-five volumes contain all the Daoist techniques of the Qingwei Sect. Volumes fifty-six through one hundred fifty-four contain all the techniques of the Shenxiao Sect. Volumes one hundred fifty-five through two hundred sixty-eight contain the vast majority of techniques from the Zhengyi, Tianxin, Donghua, and Jingming Sects, along with the techniques of smaller schools!"

Du Fei’s casual statement landed on Li Yundong and the others like a detonating atomic bomb!

Li Yundong felt a numbness creeping up his scalp from the shock. He stared dumbfounded at the books filling nearly half the room and stammered, "You—you mean, nearly all Daoist spells are contained here?"

Du Fei smiled faintly. "Precisely!"

Li Yundong was completely stunned. Since achieving Foundation Establishment, although he had faced constant battles and emerged victorious every time, he was acutely aware that his greatest deficiency lay in Daoist combat techniques. Now, precisely when he was feeling the need, someone was delivering a pillow right to him!

This—this was too exaggerated! Almost all Daoist spells?

Zi Yuan looked at Du Fei in disbelief and asked, "Wasn't this classic lost and scattered? How—how do you possess it?"

Du Fei smiled and replied, "It is not mine; it belongs to our Quanzhen Longmen Sect! After the Tartars invaded and Daoism was suppressed, people began constantly seizing and destroying this compendium. Our Quanzhen Longmen Sect spared no effort to preserve this classic for the future of Daoism, shielding it from the Tartars' destruction. However, in modern times, Daoism suffered a massive decline, especially during the decade of turmoil, when our founding ancestor's remains were unearthed and the ancestral court of the Zhengyi Sect was destroyed, dealing a near-fatal blow to the cultivation world."

"At that time, the sect leader of our Quanzhen Longmen Sect decided to shift our sect's influence overseas, thus dispersing many disciples and having them take parts of the Dao Fa Hui Yuan with them. It wasn't until after the Reform and Opening Up that the sect leader ordered his disciples to reconnect with those who had left abroad, gradually gathering this compendium again."

Du Fei paused, his expression filled with pride. "Since the Reform and Opening Up, various sects have shown signs of revival. The Zhengyi Sect busied itself with dominating the cultivation world, the Gēxuàn Sect focused on refining immortal elixirs, while our Quanzhen Longmen Sect dedicated itself to collecting Daoist scriptures, striving to preserve a lifeline for the cultivation world."

Zi Yuan looked solemn and respectfully clasped her hands. "Real Master Du possesses such magnanimity. I am truly impressed!"

Du Fei returned the gesture with a smile. "You are too kind. I am merely a scout on the front line; I dare not shamelessly accept such praise. However, because the initial departure was hurried, and some disciples were hidden extremely deeply across the globe, it took our sect nearly thirty years to bring the Dao Fa Hui Yuan back into the world!"

Li Yundong was shaken inwardly. He understood what a colossal undertaking it would be to retrieve items scattered worldwide forty years prior—how much manpower and resources would that require?

Li Yundong could barely imagine. He had previously taken pride in the array of beautiful women in his Fox and Chan Sect, but now he finally understood what constituted a true sect and genuine influence!

At the moment of existential crisis, being able to instantly branch out globally and hide for decades, like a divine dragon concealed beneath the nine depths, leaving no trace—that is a sect! Being able to retrieve what was scattered and hidden across the nine depths decades ago, intact and undamaged, when prosperity returns—that is influence!

Furthermore, the Dao Fa Hui Yuan, which the Quanzhen Longmen Sect spent thirty years collecting, was now being presented to him for a trade! If something so vital could be offered in exchange, what exactly did Du Fei desire?

Li Yundong looked at the towering pile of books, steadied himself, and asked with extreme seriousness, "You have presented three items, each more astonishing than the last. What you seek must be even more significant. What business do you actually wish to conduct?"

Du Fei laughed heartily, clapped his hands, and said, "Real Master Li is truly straightforward! Very well, I will be direct! I offer you this Artifact Compendium, the Finger-Burning Bowl, and the Dao Fa Hui Yuan in exchange for two items from Real Master Li! A three-for-two deal, guaranteeing Real Master Li will not suffer a loss!"

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