Chapter 54: The Peripatetic Practitioner Who Learned to Think

The Spirit Treasure Pavilion might look small from the outside, but it holds many secrets within. Xu Xiaoshou gazed around, seeing hundreds of bookshelves stretching in every direction. Each shelf held either jade slips or ancient texts, totaling at least a thousand Post-Heaven spiritual techniques.

"Wow, this is incredible!"

He followed the group, staying at the back. After turning into the room, he immediately reached for the first spiritual technique.

This was an ancient book. While it could be flipped through, it was protected by a formation that only allowed him to see the title and a brief introduction, not the actual content. Xu Xiaoshou didn't linger. He picked it up, glanced at it, and then casually shook it, but got no reaction; he shook it again, still no reaction. He put it down and moved to the second book.

The result was the same. In contrast, the rest of the group had already bypassed the first floor and were heading towards the stairs leading to the second. Xiao Qixiu had made it clear that the first floor contained Post-Heaven spiritual techniques, which these individuals didn't value much. Having finally gained unrestricted access to the Spirit Treasure Pavilion, they naturally wanted to go to the second floor to find Pre-Heaven spiritual techniques!

Zhou Tianshen shared this thought. He lagged behind the group, climbing the stairs, but as he rounded the corner, he noticed no one behind him and stopped. "Where did Xu Xiaoshou go again? Could it be that he still wants to pick spiritual techniques on the first floor?" Zhou Tianshen was puzzled. If that were the case, he felt he should go and advise him.

Looking over, Xu Xiaoshou was leaning against a bookshelf near the entrance, seemingly doing nothing. As he focused his gaze, one of his feet missed a step, and he nearly tumbled down the stairs. "Holy cow! What is that guy doing? Shaking ancient books???" Zhou Tianshen was utterly dumbfounded. Xu Xiaoshou truly had guts! He had just entered and was already treating Elder Xiao's words like idle chatter. At this rate, the scripture guardians would rush over to fight him within a quarter of an hour!

With a look of exasperation, he quickly strode over and grabbed Xu Xiaoshou's restless hand. "What are you doing?"

"Looking for spiritual techniques, of course!" Xu Xiaoshou replied, completely matter-of-fact.

"You call this looking for spiritual techniques?" Zhou Tianshen's voice rose significantly in pitch. "You're destroying ancient books! When the scripture guardians arrive, you'll be finished!"

"Quiet down!" Xu Xiaoshou quickly shushed him. "What do you know? These ancient books are protected by formations; how could they break? You're so loud, are you trying to get yourself killed?!"

Zhou Tianshen recoiled, saying, "Even so, you can't just do this! It's better to be safe than sorry; what if you really break one...?"

"They can't be broken!" Xu Xiaoshou waved him off, interrupting him. Then, he glared, "How are you here? Aren't you going upstairs to look for Pre-Heaven spiritual techniques?"

Zhou Tianshen couldn't help but laugh in exasperation. *So you do know the good stuff is upstairs, yet you're shaking books down here... Huh? Wait!* His train of thought suddenly paused, and he began to ponder. *This guy clearly knows the good stuff is upstairs, so what is he doing here? Unless... I get it!* He recalled his conversation with Xu Xiaoshou on the way and looked as if he'd just realized something profound. "You have a trick?"

"What trick? This is called 'sifting for gold in sand'!"

"Pfft!" Zhou Tianshen curled his lips. "What gold could there be on the first floor? To me, it looks like you're trying to pick out sesame seeds from dung!"

Xu Xiaoshou's book-shaking motion paused. *God, picking out sesame seeds from dung...?* "Never mind. Since you're here, I'll teach you!" Xu Xiaoshou sighed, feeling helpless towards these ignorant people from another world. But seeing as the guy was genuinely trying to be helpful, giving him a tip wouldn't hurt.

He grabbed Zhou Tianshen's head and whispered, "Listen carefully. Truly superior spiritual techniques are never openly displayed. Only by searching like this can you find the lost treasures!"

Zhou Tianshen wore a look that clearly said he didn't believe a word of it. "You think you can shake out treasures by just shaking ancient books?"

"Well, you never know..." Xu Xiaoshou stretched, then smiled mysteriously. "Things like golden pages, ancient maps, or fragments of incomplete scrolls are usually tucked inside these seemingly ordinary ancient books."

"How do you know that?"

"Heh heh, read enough books, and you'll know everything." Zhou Tianshen saw his confident demeanor, which didn't seem like a lie, but... *What kind of method is this? Could it really work?*

"Believe it or not!" Xu Xiaoshou rolled his eyes, too lazy to explain further, and continued sifting through the ancient books. Zhou Tianshen glanced at his back, his gaze passing through the ceiling to the second floor, pondering something.

As he pondered, his hand, as if by some strange impulse, reached for an ancient book on the shelf. "Anyway, we have three hours. I'll search for an hour and a half, and if there's no result, I'll go upstairs! Yes, that's the plan!" He nodded heavily, then looked back at Xu Xiaoshou, as if seeing an inexplicable light. *This guy might be unreliable, but he's taken down everyone most people considered reliable. Maybe... This is the secret to his victory?* Zhou Tianshen's eyes widened. He felt as though he had stumbled upon some of Xu Xiaoshou's secrets to success.

Swish, swish, swish. He shook the ancient books one by one, but found nothing... "As expected! Success isn't that easy!" Zhou Tianshen's eyes lit up. "Keep going!"

Swish, swish, swish. Still nothing. "Failed again, as expected... Excellent! This must be the tempering on the path to success that Grandpa talked about! So, you need to think to find shortcuts to success. No wonder Grandpa always told me to think more!"

On the first floor of the Spirit Treasure Pavilion, a muscular young man rubbed his hands, his eyes glowing green as he reached for the next ancient book.

Meanwhile, Xu Xiaoshou had already gone through several bookshelves. However, his "Perception" revealed that Zhou Tianshen had started searching in the very places he had already checked, which made him feel dizzy. He quickly walked over. "I've already searched this area!"

"Maybe you missed something." Zhou Tianshen didn't even lift his head, his hands continuously swishing. *No one can stop me from succeeding!* he thought to himself.

Xu Xiaoshou's face darkened. *What you said makes so much sense...* "But we don't have that much time!" He pointed to the far end of the first floor. "You go search from the opposite side. We'll tackle this from both ends, and remember to share if you find anything."

"Hmm... That seems reasonable." Zhou Tianshen stopped his actions, thought for a moment, and decided to adopt his suggestion.

"Remember, the stranger the item, the better. If you find a blank piece of paper, you're not far from becoming a god!"

"A blank paper?" Zhou Tianshen's face suddenly brightened, and he clenched his fist. "I got it!"

"Don't just keep looking through the bookshelves. Check dusty corners, and any notebooks used to prop up tables – if you find anything like that, show it to me first!"

"This..." Zhou Tianshen's steps faltered. *He thought of that too? These must be the legendary hidden treasures! As expected of a champion's mind...* He swallowed, suddenly feeling that following Xu Xiaoshou's logic would definitely lead to good fortune.

Seeing Zhou Tianshen leave, Xu Xiaoshou continued rummaging, leaving no corner unchecked. Zhou Tianshen might not find anything satisfactory, but he was different. Self-awareness is crucial. Xu Xiaoshou knew how rare his talent was, having only mastered one stance of the "White Cloud Sword Art" in three years. Thus, he didn't expect to successfully cultivate any Pre-Heaven techniques. He was more focused on finding spiritual techniques that were highly practical but didn't require much talent. In terms of level, it would be even better if they were below Post-Heaven. As for other powerful skills, he could only rely on his passive system. As for incomplete scrolls... He certainly had to look for these, even though the probability of finding them was slim. All the books he had read said so. *What if?*

He looked back at Zhou Tianshen. To be honest, he had placed greater hope in this guy. "How does that saying go? Hmm... Fools have fool's luck!" *Perhaps he would stumble upon a rare cultivation method!*