"Then... let us begin."
The Heavenly Book, which now projected the same physical appearance as Wu Huang, nodded with solemnity. Immediately, the air of the inner library became charged with a dense spiritual static. Thousands of volumes of spirit paper shot out of the bookshelves as if attracted by an invisible magnetic force.
In the center of the mental room, the books began to disintegrate. They did not burn; they simply dissolved into threads of mystic ink and fragments of golden paper that floated in the air, slowly fusing to give shape to something completely new. But the process did not stop there. More and more shelves were completely emptied. The flow of information was so dense and massive that Wu Huang could feel the true weight of knowledge accumulated over years compressing before his eyes.
In a matter of minutes, the vast library that previously seemed infinite plunged into a desolate silence. At last, the whirlwind of energy stopped, letting three thick volumes of ancient appearance fall.
"[Book of Alchemy, Book of Formations, and Book of Talismans,]" the projection of the Heavenly Book announced with its monotonous voice as it handed them to him. "[I have distilled every technique and record stored to create these three pillars of knowledge, optimized exclusively for you.]"
Wu Huang looked around him. The shelves, once packed with stolen or read knowledge, were now mere wooden skeletons and shadows. Although the room was not completely empty, the number of remaining books was so tiny compared to before that the scene felt strange, almost unreal.
"So, the library in my mind is now almost empty?" he asked, a bit impressed by the display.
Although he understood that the cost to create books that compressed all the techniques would be high, he had not expected that the greater part of his mental library would end up disappearing in the process.
"[Only temporarily, Host,]" the entity explained. "[Once you find and assimilate new books and techniques in the outside world, I will be able to repopulate this space. But until then, my processing capacity is at its limit; I will not be able to use the Compendium function again.]"
Wu Huang nodded. He did not plan on using it in the short term anyway; the time it would take him to learn just one of the three perfected books was already too high to ask for more. He weighed the three heavy books in his hands. He felt that each one contained the pure essence of a thousand lifetimes of study and dedication.
"I understand. The sacrifice is worth it if the result is this level of purity. I will dedicate myself to mastering these three. If you detect any anomaly or danger in the outside world while my consciousness is submerged in this, inform me immediately."
The Heavenly Book nodded again. Its body began to become translucent, fusing with the walls and floor of the library until it completely disappeared into the architecture of the place. Wu Huang, now alone in his sea of consciousness, sat cross-legged. He placed the three divine volumes in front of him and meditated on which of the secondary arts he should begin with.
"I have numerous resources and spirit herbs that the Elder gave me," he reflected aloud. "So, learning Alchemy to turn them into something truly useful for my survival will be best."
He murmured that as he picked up the corresponding book. His hands ran over the mystic binding before opening it. He began to read slowly, letting his eyes scan the complex formulas. Although he already knew that the knowledge distilled by his Heavenly Book would be extensive and deep, he had not realized to what point of madness that complexity reached.
He only read for a few minutes before being forced to stop dead in his tracks.
"My head hurts..." he whispered as he rubbed his forehead in frustration.
Despite the fact that he already possessed a solid and functional foundation in alchemy, what this perfected manual showed was simply too profound for his current level of cultivation. Although the book was divided into sections designed for progressive learning, Wu Huang had sinned of arrogance; he thought that with his prior knowledge from the sect, he could advance smoothly to the final stages.
However, the basic principles presented in the first pages made him rethink concepts that he believed to be absolute truths of the Dao of Alchemy, making every step forward a torturous mental struggle.
"Come on, Wu Huang, you can do it," he encouraged himself. "You are a first-grade alchemist who almost ascended to the second; learning this should be simple."
He resumed reading with renewed determination, but as was to be expected in the cruel world of cultivation, willpower is not always enough. It did not matter how much effort he put in: if the logic of the book operated on a higher plane, understanding it all at once would be like trying to empty the ocean with a teacup.
Wu Huang, completely frustrated by his lack of immediate progress, snapped the book shut.
"Having to rethink so many things to be able to advance is simply absurd," he cursed between his teeth. "Shit! The knowledge that one considered true in the early stages was made on purpose by mediocre authors to facilitate initial learning, but once you reach the profound subjects, those simplified details become insurmountable obstacles."
The worst of all was that he had no one to blame for his ignorance. He had learned alchemy in a completely self-taught manner, devouring the volumes of the Vault of Knowledge and the records of the Heavenly Book. But, being scattered books where most authors only narrated their limited personal experiences and how they had mastered the discipline in their own way, they were plagued with flaws, both small and large. They were foundational errors impossible to foresee without a true Master Alchemist to guide him step by step—a luxury that, as a mere servant disciple, was completely elusive to him in the Heavenly Sword Sect.
"Now I regret having learned alchemy like this," he murmured, running a hand through his hair in annoyance. "If I had no prior knowledge, it would be easy to absorb everything from the beginning like a blank slate. But erasing what I already know to replace it with the absolute truth... is much easier said than done."
Wu Huang sighed deeply, calming the agitation in his mind, and picked up the book in his hands once more. This time, he set aside haste and pride; he began to read slowly, breaking down each fundamental principle and reviewing it several times before allowing himself to move on to the next paragraph.
Little by little, hours slipped away in the absolute silence of the library of his mind. By the end of the day, he had barely finished understanding a few pages. However, to him, that represented a much greater advance than any other he had achieved on his own in years of self-taught study.
"I feel like, at any moment, I could become a true Second-Grade Alchemist," he said with a spark of genuine joy in his voice.
He had extracted more real wisdom from those few pages than from all the scattered books he had read up to now. He felt that, if he were to stand in front of an alchemy cauldron at this very instant, the results under this new knowledge would far exceed any impure pill he had created before. The efficiency, the absolute control of the spirit flames, and the purity of the medicinal essences now vibrated in his mind with total clarity.