After staying in the Holy Land for a while, Zhaozhao returned to his own Divine Hall. He summoned Duanyu and said, “Find a few ancient texts related to the Demon Clan.”
Upon hearing this, Duanyu hesitated and replied, “Your Highness, all ancient texts related to the Demon Clan have been classified as Forbidden Books in the Divine Realm. Without Divine Official Lu’s approval, this humble immortal cannot obtain them.”
“Forget it, I’ll speak to him myself.” Unwilling to trouble her further, Zhaozhao went personally.
Library Hall.
Divine Official Lu Qingyu was repairing some damaged ancient texts. He worked with extreme diligence and focus, completely absorbed in his task. Seeing that he was still busy, Zhaozhao quietly sat down nearby to wait.
Resting his chin on his hand, he observed Lu Qingyu’s movements with an air of indifference.
He had interacted with Lu Qingyu a few times before. In his memory, Lu Qingyu was either repairing books or on his way to repair them—a true workaholic.
A quarter of an hour later, Lu Qingyu inadvertently looked up and was startled by Zhaozhao, who seemed to have appeared out of nowhere. “Divine Son Zhao Zhao, what are you doing here?”
Zhaozhao leisurely adjusted his sleeves, his movements elegant and dignified. He looked up, his voice cool and clear, and said, “I came to ask you for a few books.”
Lu Qingyu set aside his work, appearing quite accommodating. “May I ask what books the Divine Son requires?”
“Ancient demon realm texts.”
Lu Qingyu: “…”
“What is it?”
Seeing him fall silent, Zhaozhao could roughly guess the outcome.
“Today, I must have these books.” Without wasting words, he made his stance clear.
Lu Qingyu forced a smile and said, “Then allow me to first report to the Divine Emperor. Please wait a moment, Divine Son.”
“Very well.”
Lu Qingyu immediately performed a spell, and within moments, he received a reply from the Divine Emperor.
“His Majesty has granted permission.” As he spoke, he summoned a young attendant who was organizing the books. “Child, go fetch the Ancient demon realm texts for Divine Son Zhao Zhao.”
“No need, I’ll find them myself.” Zhaozhao’s expression remained indifferent as he walked past them directly toward the ancient texts section.
He often visited the Library Hall and was quite familiar with its layout. In no time, he found the books he needed and purposefully flipped through them to locate the information he sought.
“Malevolent Spirits are perilous. If encountered, they must be eradicated and not allowed to accumulate within the body for long. Otherwise, the consequences range from confusion of consciousness to sudden death…”
“In the Demon Clan, there were ancestors who refined Malevolent Spirits for their own use, only to be consumed by them in the end… This serves as a warning to future generations: cultivate diligently and avoid unorthodox paths.”
“Spiritual Essence, a sacred treasure unique to the Demon Clan’s Abyssal Night Realm, is the ultimate means to protect future generations from Malevolent Spirit infestation and also serves as a tool to eliminate them…”
Zhaozhao gazed thoughtfully at the words “Spiritual Essence” inscribed in the ancient text.
Su was pure and kind-hearted, with no intention of betraying the God Clan. In Zhaozhao’s view, in the storyline, Su was likely influenced or controlled by Malevolent Spirits, which led him to commit evil deeds and defect to the Demon Clan.
In short, none of it was of his own volition.
As long as he could obtain Spiritual Essence for Su and suppress the Malevolent Spirits within him, the storyline would likely take a different turn.
Zhaozhao pulled up the information provided by the System and carefully reviewed the plot once more. As his gaze drifted downward, he noticed the progress of the main quest: 50% completed, and the side quest: 10% completed.
“System.”
[Host, I am here.]
“How is the progress of the main quest evaluated?”
【The host has safely navigated the Divine Maiden rescue plot with minimal casualties and the signing of a key treaty, successfully retrieved Nanyue, dampened the Demon Clan’s morale, altered the timeline of the Divine-Demon War, and changed Shi Qinian’s fate of death.】
【Therefore, it is determined that the host has completed the task of “changing Shi Qinian’s fate of death.” Please continue to strive for further success.】
“Understood.”
“Report task progress promptly from now on.”
【Affirmative.】
Next, it is time to secure sufficient Spiritual Essence for Su. The task of finding Shi Qinian’s Destined Wife should also be put on the agenda.