Zhang Long had barely finished a single page in six hours. No wonder it had taken Song Xian eighty-one years to decipher all of the secrets of the Grimoire of Heaven. But, these six hours were all that Zhang Long would get.
Zhang Long left almost as confused, if not as mentally traumatized, as Tang Ze had been when he had finished with the Grimoire of Heaven.
What on earth was that world? Why did everyone behave so… oddly? Jin Zhen would never betray him, Zhang Long was sure of that. Nor would his parents leave him. Why didn't Tang Ze have his powers in that realm and had turned into a wealthy fatty somehow? And he hoped to heaven even if those two things happened he wouldn't turn out the way he did in that dream realm that the Grimoire of Heaven showed him.
The only thing that was somewhat reflective of reality in that dream realm was that Tang Ze was still a good friend to him even there, though for some reason Tang Ze seemed far more like a bootlicker when it came to his behavior in that odd reality than he was in real life.
Zhang Long shuddered. No, he far more preferred this world compared to that dream world - which honestly seemed more like a nightmare than a dream.
He was left, much like Tang Ze, to ponder the Dao regarding his experiences.
The next member of the squad who got to use the Grimoire of Heaven was Chen Yu.
Naturally his heart felt some trepidation as he opened up to the first page, wondering if he would also end up encountering something that would either confuse him or mentally scar him.
Or, in Tang Ze's case, both.
Like with the others, when Chen Yu began reading, a white light passed over him.
He was now no longer in that same room, but in a grand hall which had been emptied of any furniture. It looked like the inside of a palace, though devoid of any furniture, paintings, or decorations that you would normally find in a place like that.
Standing before him was a single towering figure. His face was like that of a lion, and he was wearing glowing scarlet plate armor - armor that anyone within the Raswatian Empire would've recognized. A crown adorned his head, and he wore a long flowing purple cape. He looked to be in his mid-thirties, and his face, while kind, also gave the aura of a battle-hardened veteran. He was a man who had gone through hell and back multiple times; who had achieved a synchrony with heaven that others could only dream of.
There was no way that Chen Yu would not recognize him- was there anyone within the Raswatian Empire who couldn't tell who this person was?
If this man called himself the second strongest under heaven, there was not a soul who had ever lived within the Raswatian Empire who would dare claim themselves to be the first.
"Has junior forgotten his manners? You have yet to greet your old ancestor," the Emperor of Five Attributes asked.
This man - was the founder of the Raswatian Empire. The original owner of the Five Attributes, and also the origin of Chen Yu's bloodline ability.
"Are you real?" Chen Yu asked, forgetting to greet this man. He knew the Grimoire of Heaven was powerful, but could it really simulate a Hinayana realm cultivator?
"Real enough for me to do this," he replied, sending a small fireball Chen Yu's way.
Chen Yu felt the heat of the flame even as he moved and was able to just barely avoid it.
"Good, your reflexes are fine," the man said. "Even if you have forgotten to give face to this old emperor. Let me see how well you can use your attribute - to be as tough as steel, no?"
He then lunged at Chen Yu.
Chen Yu barely blocked the strike with the help of [Steelskin]. He still felt as if the strike had nearly broken his bones, but he knew that if this man used his actual strength no defensive ability would've saved him.
"[Steelskin]? Not bad," he said. "Again!"
He struck again, this time Chen Yu barely being able to hold on.
"Your skin is tough," the man said. "But what of your bones? What of your tendons? They can still be shattered."
He was right - [Steelskin] did make it so that Chen Yu's skin was hard as if he was wearing a several inches thick layer of armor, while retaining normal skin's properties. That meant that the impact of most blows would be distributed over the skin, saving the vital tissues beneath, and meant that his bones and muscles would normally not be hurt.
That was not to say that a strong enough blow could not get through that and shatter his bones like glass. Given the emperor's strength, he could easily just break off both of Chen Yu's arms.
The two of them continued to spar until Chen Yu's entire body was covered in sweat, he felt sore all over, and nearly collapsed. He panted, his lungs feeling like they were burning.
"You're still weak," the man said. "Terribly so. But every oak was once an acorn - and for that, I will impart a piece of wisdom to you."
It was the basics for mastering the technique [Ironbones] - a similar defensive skill that could work on one's bones, and the benefit was that this could very easily be used offensively, even more so than [Steelskin].
It was not a complete technique and still needed to be refined, but Chen Yu could already see the pieces falling together in his mind and what he might need to do in order to perfect it.
White light washed over him, and he was told his time was up.
Although his encounter had been mentally exhausting, he had the pieces for a new skill, and also felt that his understanding of the Dao had increased to the point where a few more pills and he would move up a minor realm!
Chen Yu returned to the common living quarters of the squad, and Yin Tiang turned towards him.
Zhang Long and Tang Ze had had bad experiences with the Grimoire of Heaven, and he likely wanted to know whether or not Chen Yu had also ran into some issue.
Chen Yu shook his head at the quizzical look. "Nope! I honestly don't know what Tang Ze and Yin Tiang were complaining about, things went great for me. Ah, no offense guys, but I felt that I really benefited from using it."
Chen Yu probably couldn't have gotten more unless he had been at Qi Refinement so that he could learn about more advanced defensive techniques that relied on his bloodline, but even this was quite useful.
"Alright then," Yin Tiang said, suddenly feeling much better about going to use the Grimoire of Heaven.
Tang Ze and Zhang Long, on the other hand, exchanged looks, likely wondering if there was some problem with them in understanding what the Grimoire of Heaven was saying, or if they had just been unlucky.
The morning that it was his turn, Yin Tiang got up early and went over to the designated spot where the Grimoire of Heaven was being held, only to see there was already something of a crowd around the area for some reason.
Even Division Head Elder He Xuan was there.
"Ah, what's going on?" Yin Tiang asked one of the prefects.
"We're busy right now, can't you see? We don't have time for questions - shoo!" the prefect said, trying to wave him away, before seeing who he was talking to. "Wait - you're one of the people who won a ticket, right?"
"Yes," Yin Tiang said. "What's going on?"
The prefect backed away two paces as Elder He Xuan approached Yin Tiang. "I'm afraid I have terrible news. The Grimoire of Heaven has been stolen."
"Stolen!?"
"Keep your voice down, junior," Elder He Xuan said solemnly. "We don't want panic brewing about. But please stay here for now while we investigate this matter." He turned to one of the prefects. "Everyone who had access to the grimoire up till now, bring them here immediately!"
Within half an hour, the other winners were there, which included the rest of Yin Tiang's squad.
"Hmm? All four of you won a ticket?" Elder He Xuan wondered, his gaze moving over all of them. He was looking for anything that might be out of the ordinary, and while this was suspicious, it wasn't like it was necessarily impossible for it to happen. Just highly unlikely.
Not to mention if it was these four involved, Elder He Xuan thought, it wouldn't have been stolen before Yin Tiang was going to use it. Naturally, the most suspicion fell on the one who used it last - who didn't belong to their group.
But, that person was already being grilled quite thoroughly.
"Answer me! You were the last one with the grimoire - so you've been caught red-handed. What did you do to the book?"
"Please, I'm honest I have no idea what happened."
"Liar!"
"At ease," a voice said, cutting through the noise. It was the same elder in charge of taking care of the grimoire, the one who was at the Nascent Soul realm. "This boy here is only at the Qi Refinement realm. It is unthinkable that he could be the one who stole it, let alone could hide its aura so that I cannot detect it. He cannot be the culprit, it was either another Nascent Soul cultivator, or an Eternal Soul realm cultivator."
The Rising Phoenix sect only had a few other Nascent Soul cultivators, and not a single Eternal Soul cultivator.
"Senior Elder Wang Zhen, do you think this is the action of a rival sect then?" Elder He Xuan asked.
"That would be the most likely culprit yes, but who could be so bold and have so far a reach as to get so far without us noticing?" Senior Elder Wang Zhen asked. This would normally be a matter of such severity that it could lead to an all-out inter-sect war, but without any evidence as to who the culprit was they could only gnash their teeth in anger.
"Did anyone see anything?" Elder He Xuan asked those who had went to use the book. They all shook their heads - they had seen quite a lot due to the book, but nothing that could be considered abnormal.
"This…" Senior Elder Wang Zhen said, sighing as he bowed his head to all of them, eliciting gasps from many in the crowd. A Nascent Soul realm cultivator bowing to people like them? "...I must apologize. I have failed in my duty to protect the Grimoire of Heaven. I request that you all cooperate and help me apprehend the suspect - as it is, this failure will still forever stain my reputation even if the grimoire is found again. If it is not, without a doubt I will answer by offering my life to the sect as recompense."
There was a sincerity to his words which made all of them realize the weight of what he had just said.
The Grimoire of Heaven was an irreplaceable treasure - one that had been gifted to them by one of the greatest minds in the history of the Rising Phoenix sect. To have lost it was to besmirch the entire name of the Rising Phoenix sect and it's legacy.
All of them had the same thought - if Song Xian were looking down at them, what would he think of those who had inherited his legacy but had allowed it to be stolen?
That was why the theft had to be treated with such gravity.
Such a crime was unforgivable - but before any of them could say anything on that matter, they first had to try their hardest to find the book and where it was.
That was the most important thing - they could always assign blame later once things became clearer.