Transmigrated into the villain? Watch my epic comeback in the ethereal fairy realm!

Chapter 190 Exploring the Ancient Pavilion, Searching for the Yao Maiden

The ancient book pavilion stands majestically, its vermilion gates tightly shut, surrounded by a visible golden barrier that shimmers with light, resembling an insurmountable chasm.

An ancient and mysterious atmosphere filled the air, eerily quiet, as if time had stood still, with only the faint heartbeats of Dai Yao and A Yan echoing in each other's ears.

"Good heavens, this restriction is even more complicated than my home WiFi password!" Dai Yao couldn't help but complain as she looked at the dense array of runes in front of her.

This ancient book pavilion, if you didn't know better, you'd think it was the national treasure trove of the cultivation world, its security was so tight it was outrageous.

Ayan frowned, his expression grave: "Yaoyao, this restriction is no ordinary thing. I'm afraid that forcibly breaking it will alert the guardian." He reached out and touched the restriction, and a powerful rebound force instantly came, causing him to take a half step back.

"Don't panic, it's a piece of cake." Dai Yao's lips curled into a sly smile, confident and composed.

She closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and felt the fluctuations of spiritual energy around her.

A strange warm current surged from her dantian and flowed throughout her body, making her more sensitive to changes in the surrounding spiritual energy.

This was her cheat code after transmigrating—the ability to sense the direction of the flow of fortune, which unexpectedly gave her a clearer understanding of the restrictions.

Dai Yao's gaze wandered over the barrier, as if searching for something.

Suddenly, her eyes lit up, and she pointed to an inconspicuous node on the barrier, saying, "This is it! The flow of spiritual energy is weakest at this node, so we can start from here."

She extended her slender finger, and a tiny wisp of spiritual energy gathered at the tip, which she gently touched the node.

The golden barrier rippled outwards like water, revealing a tiny crack.

Upon seeing this, Dai Yao immediately increased the output of her spiritual power, and the crack widened accordingly.

"It's done!" Dai Yao exclaimed softly, grabbed A Yan's hand, and quickly passed through the crack to enter the first floor of the Ancient Books Pavilion.

As soon as they landed, the cracks in the barrier behind them quickly closed up, restoring everything to its original state, as if nothing had ever happened.

"Phew..." Dai Yao breathed a sigh of relief and patted her chest. "Luckily, I'm smart and resourceful, otherwise I would have been turned away today."

She turned to look at Ayan, only to find him staring at her with a somewhat complicated expression.

"What's wrong?" Dai Yao asked, puzzled.

Ayan hesitated, then finally just shook his head slightly: "It's nothing, it's just..." "It's just that I feel you're getting more and more amazing." Ayan ultimately swallowed back the words that were on the tip of his tongue.

He didn't know how to bring it up; he was still angry about it.

Inside the ancient book pavilion, towering bookshelves stretch all the way to the dome, filled with densely packed ancient books, and the air is filled with the stale scent of ink.

Dai Yao took a deep breath, feeling as if she had fallen into an ocean of knowledge, and couldn't wait to start "swimming" in it.

"Yaoyao, are you alright?" Ayan noticed that Dai Yao's face was a little pale and asked with concern.

Forcibly breaking the restriction just now took a toll on her.

"It's nothing, I'm just a little tired and depressed." Dai Yao waved her hand and rubbed her temples.

Ayan silently took out a clean white handkerchief from his sleeve and handed it to her.

When Dai Yao took the handkerchief, their fingertips touched unintentionally.

Their eyes met, and a jolt of electricity seemed to pass through the air.

Dai Yao's heart skipped a beat, and a barely perceptible tenderness flashed in A Yan's eyes.

But soon, they both looked away. Dai Yao casually wiped non-existent sweat from her forehead, while A Yan turned and walked to another row of bookshelves to start looking for clues.

This damn Cold War, when will it ever end!

Following her memories from her previous life, Dai Yao headed straight for the area where the war between immortals and demons was recorded.

Just as she reached out to take down an ancient book titled "The Record of Immortals and Demons," an aged yet authoritative voice suddenly rang out: "Stop! Who dares to trespass into the Ancient Books Pavilion!"

An elderly man in a gray robe appeared before them at some unknown time. His hair and beard were all white, his eyes were sharp, and he exuded a powerful aura. He was clearly a master of the Nascent Soul stage—the guardian of the Ancient Books Pavilion.

"Old man, don't get agitated, we just..." Before Dai Yao could explain, she was interrupted by the guard.

"This is a sacred place, not a place for you to browse at will! Leave immediately, or don't blame me for being impolite!" The guard's tone was firm, leaving no room for negotiation.

The powerful aura pressed down on her, and Dai Yao felt a tightness in her chest, making it difficult to breathe.

"Old man, can't you be reasonable? I haven't done anything wrong, why can't I watch it?" Dai Yao retorted indignantly. This old man is taking advantage of his age!

"Hmph! What kind of status do you have to be worthy of viewing these precious books?" The guardian sneered, his eyes full of contempt.

He knew this girl was from the Demon Palace, and how could someone from the Demon Palace have good intentions?

"Identity? I don't understand what you're saying. Does this Ancient Books Pavilion have a VIP system? Is it only for people with specific identities who can enter?" Dai Yao retorted without backing down.

"How dare you be so disrespectful to me!" The gatekeeper roared in fury, and a powerful surge of spiritual energy instantly enveloped Dai Yao. "Today, I will teach you a lesson on behalf of your master!"

Dai Yao was so overwhelmed by the powerful spiritual energy that she could barely breathe, but she still stubbornly raised her head, her eyes showing no fear whatsoever.

“Teach me a lesson? Ha…” She sneered, “That depends on whether you have the ability!” Dai Yao was almost suffocating under the powerful spiritual pressure, but she still stubbornly raised her head, without the slightest fear in her eyes.

"Teach me a lesson? Ha..." she sneered. "We'll see if you have the ability!" With that, she feigned weakness, her shoulders slumped, and she muttered to herself, "Sigh, I was hoping to take a shortcut, but it seems I'll have to find another way."

She turned to leave, but out of the corner of her eye she caught sight of a furry little thing at the bottom of the bookshelf.

The little thing, like a moving dandelion, was secretly nibbling at the corner of an ancient book.

Dai Yao's heart stirred, and a plan came to mind.

"Hey, little guy, what are you doing here?" Dai Yao asked casually.

The little creature was startled and darted deep into the bookshelf.

Dai Yao didn't chase after them, but instead muttered to herself, "Tsk tsk tsk, the collection of books in this ancient book pavilion is really rich. It's a pity that some secrets are destined to be buried in the dust of history."

She deliberately raised her voice to make sure the guard could hear her.

Sure enough, the guard's tense expression relaxed slightly. He looked at Dai Yao suspiciously, as if trying to figure out the meaning behind her words.

Dai Yao was secretly delighted and continued, "For example, when the Pavilion Guardian was young..." She deliberately paused, then lowered her voice and said mysteriously, "...the spirit pet he raised named Little Flower, hehe..."

The gatekeeper's expression changed, and his voice trembled slightly: "You... how do you know about Xiaohua?"

Dai Yao chuckled to herself; this was the secret the clever little devil had told her, and it actually worked!

"Of course I know, I also know..."

"Shut up!" the gatekeeper interrupted her hastily. "What exactly do you want?"

Dai Yao shrugged, looking completely innocent. "What do I want to do? I just want to read a book. How about this, Lord Guardian, we make a bet?"

The gatekeeper looked at her warily: "What bet?"

“Let’s have a quiz on the history of cultivation. If I win, you’ll let me see some of the ancient texts; if you win…” Dai Yao smiled slyly, “I’ll obediently leave and never set foot in the Ancient Texts Pavilion again.”

The gatekeeper stroked his beard, a glint of shrewdness flashing in his eyes.

He was arrogant and thought he was well-read and knew everything about the history of cultivation. How could a little girl like him possibly compare?

"Alright, I'll take the bet!" the gatekeeper readily agreed. "However, if you lose..."

"I lost, do whatever you want with me!" Dai Yao answered without hesitation, her eyes gleaming with confidence.

Seeing this, the gatekeeper was even more puzzled. Where did this girl get her confidence?

Could it be that she really has some knowledge of the history of cultivation?

"The first question..." The gatekeeper cleared his throat, about to ask a question, when Dai Yao suddenly spoke up:

"and many more!"

Dai Yao smiled slyly, took out a thick book from her storage bag, and slammed it on the table with a loud "bang".

"Lord Guardian, this is my treasured 'Complete Collection of Unofficial Histories and Gossip about Cultivation,' which contains many unknown secrets. To be fair, why don't we also refer to the contents of this book?"

The man guarding the pavilion couldn't help but twitch his lips a few times as he looked at the "unofficial history" with its flashy cover and outrageous title.

This girl is really...

Unconventional!

He grabbed the book of "unofficial history," flipped through a few pages at random, and his expression immediately became quite interesting.

The stories recorded above are all unfounded and absurd, some of them even being embarrassing incidents from his youth, which made him both ashamed and angry.

"What...what kind of nonsense is this!" the gatekeeper shouted angrily.

"Hey, Lord Guardian, don't be angry. This is a precious historical record passed down among the people. Maybe it can provide us with some different perspectives?" Dai Yao said with a smile, but she was secretly pleased with herself.

This "unofficial history" was specially compiled by her, and it contains some information that is difficult to distinguish between true and false, enough to disturb the thoughts of the person guarding the pavilion.

As expected, the person guarding the pavilion was distracted by this "unofficial history" and made frequent mistakes in the subsequent question-and-answer session, while Dai Yao answered fluently and ultimately won the competition.

Left with no other choice, the keeper of the pavilion had to keep his promise and allow Dai Yao to examine some of the ancient books.

Dai Yao searched carefully through the vast sea of ​​books and finally found a cryptic record related to the war between immortals and demons in an ancient book.

The text was written in a special kind of symbol, and it took Dai Yao a lot of effort to decipher it.

“I see…” Dai Yao murmured softly, a hint of understanding flashing in her eyes.

This record reveals a startling secret: behind the war between immortals and demons, there seems to be a much larger and more mysterious conspiracy.

The clues to this conspiracy point to a place called "Ghost Valley".

“The Valley of the Netherworld…” Dai Yao was filled with doubt.

She had never heard of this place before. What secrets did it hold?

She closed the ancient book, got up to leave the ancient book pavilion, but found that a mysterious figure was already standing at the door waiting for her.

The two exchanged a glance, said nothing, and silently walked out.

Just as they stepped out of the ancient book pavilion, the mysterious figure suddenly grabbed Dai Yao's wrist and pulled her behind him.

Before Dai Yao could react, she heard a whooshing sound...