Chapter 106: The Library Chamber

Qi Xiao stepped through the grand entrance, and an employee dozing at the reception desk immediately jolted awake, sitting up straight and wiping the corner of his mouth nervously. “Ah… sorry, sir, what kind of books are you looking for?”

Glancing around, Qi Xiao asked with some puzzlement, “In such a vast archive, are you the only staff member here?”

The employee, though not overweight, had a round, cherubic face and replied shyly, “The tenth of each month is Reading Day. Lord Mo Ling established this rule five thousand years ago. On this day, except for one staff member who remains on duty, all others can freely choose any book useful to them to read without charge. Recently, Lord Mo Ling dispelled the mist that had settled over the area, but most people, unsure why, remain wary and have not dared to come by, so there aren’t many visitors…”

“And you? Are you here all alone? No books to read?”

The round-faced employee quickly waved his hand. “Of course not. Tomorrow is my day off to rest and read. That’s been the custom for a thousand years… But let’s get down to business. What type of books or knowledge do you need, sir?”

Qi Xiao glanced at the catalog and replied casually, “Anything related to alchemy—knowledge, blueprints, formulas. Bring out everything below official wizard level, and I’ll pick from there. We can discuss the price afterward.”

“Uh…” The employee was about to ask if Qi Xiao understood how exorbitantly priced alchemical knowledge usually is, but suddenly, the face before him seemed familiar. After a moment’s thought, his eyes brightened. “Ah, you’re Lord Qi Xiao!”

Qi Xiao was somewhat taken aback, unsure why this recognition had come out of nowhere. “Lord is too grand a title. Do you really know me?”

“Of course! I was present for both of your battles against Lady Avril! I’ve even visited your shop! It’s just that I never managed to meet you in person until now!”

The round-faced employee’s eyes sparkled with excitement, barely able to contain himself. “My name is Ethan! Could you sign something for me? I truly don’t understand how you manage to be such a master alchemist while also so powerful…”

Qi Xiao felt a bit embarrassed. “You flatter me. I’m just a humble alchemist. Signing an autograph is no problem, but the things I need…”

“Oh right, right! Just sign this cap here. I’ll go fetch the items you want.”

Ethan placed a hat before Qi Xiao, apologized profusely, and hurried backstage to prepare.

Qi Xiao signed casually and waited about three minutes before Ethan returned, bustling with energy.

“Here you go! Take a look and tick off whatever you need. You can click each item for detailed information… though most things are hidden,” Ethan said, catching his breath as he handed over a sheet resembling traditional paper.

This was not quite what Qi Xiao expected—it was much like operating a tablet from his previous life. The sheet was densely packed with names of books, blueprints, and formulas, and clicking on each revealed detailed descriptions.

Qi Xiao found a spot and began selecting carefully. Many items overlapped with knowledge he already possessed, so naturally, he passed on those.

Nearly two hours passed without other members arriving or Ethan urging him on. The employee simply admired the hat, flipping it over with satisfaction.

“Sorry for the wait. That’s all,” Qi Xiao said apologetically as he handed the list back.

“No problem. Since there’s no one else here, I’d just be sitting anyway,” Ethan replied casually. Without even glancing at the list, he fed it into a device behind him. The machine flashed golden light and emitted two clicks of grinding gears before spitting out a completely different list.

“Let me see… a total of 107 books, total price… 46,532 magic crystals. You can also pay with points. Since your order is large, the spirit of the device helped round down to 46,000 magic crystals.”

Qi Xiao nodded. The price was even lower than he had anticipated. Many of the blueprints were for high-quality items, and selling just a few would cover his costs. He handed over the crystals but found himself curious about another matter. “Spirit of the device?”

“Yes,” Ethan said. “It’s a spirit born from this device… Lord Mo Ling used to carry it around and personally teach it. Recently, it has developed a rudimentary sense of self, so the lord let it out to gain some popularity.”

Qi Xiao understood and nodded thoughtfully. Spirits arise from people, so it wasn’t surprising that further development depended on human interaction. Reflecting deeper, he wondered if this might explain why the ancestral spirits had yet to ascend to legendary status.

Of course, Qi Xiao merely pondered this quietly. Since the establishment of the Everlasting Spirit Vault, spanning countless millennia, their research into spirits had reached unparalleled heights. With so many ancestral spirits at the peak of all spirits, such novice musings had surely already been considered numerous times by those in high command. It was not his place to speculate further.

Soon, a stack of books was delivered by a creature resembling a refined spirit, using extraordinary power.

Though 107 books seemed many, most were blueprints and formulas, stacked thinly. Qi Xiao easily swept them into his spatial pocket and remembered his own space was nearing capacity.

“So troublesome… I should quickly craft a storage item,” he muttered.

Since acquiring spatial magic, Qi Xiao rarely carried temporary storage rings. This thought had crossed his mind countless times. Bidding Ethan farewell, he left the ancient pavilion.

“I heard book spirits are also in the archives… How strange. Normally, wouldn’t they be found in the library, which is sealed and accessed only inward? Selling books here would surely anger most book spirits, wouldn’t it? Besides, it seems more fitting to station an ancestral spirit at each key building.”

The Everlasting Spirit Vault had delved deeply into spirit research—how each spirit was born, the environments conducive to their birth, their emotional preferences, and more. Book spirits favored places filled with books; many were born and resided in libraries. Given that the Book Spirit was the progenitor and reputedly the most knowledgeable in the Northern Wizardry World, it made sense for it to dwell there.

With these thoughts, Qi Xiao’s steps naturally led him toward the library.

The library was not far from the archive. Qi Xiao had never been there before, but a quick spatial transfer of two seconds could bring him there. His visit was not for alchemy recipes or spatial knowledge, for even the library’s collection paled compared to Midiel’s in those areas. He sought books related to culinary arts.