"Huh? Why can't I read so many of these?" Zhang Yiyi muttered to herself instinctively. Nearly half of the jade slips on this level were unreadable to her, even though she had full access to all the jade slips and books on the first three levels.

Unwilling to give up, she picked up one of the jade slips that appeared unreadable and focused her spiritual sense on it, trying to delve into its contents. No matter how hard she tried, the jade slip remained a hazy gray. She could sense there was something inside, but it was impossible to decipher.

After trying several more jade slips with no success, she reluctantly went back down to the first floor to consult the gatekeeper of the library.

"It's normal if you can't read them," the gatekeeper explained patiently. "Most of the jade slips on the second floor require an exceptionally strong spiritual sense to access. At the Foundation Establishment level, the number of jade slips you can read is typically no more than a dozen. The rest require at least a Golden Core or even Nascent Soul level cultivation to unlock."

Zhang Yiyi nodded in understanding. She now realized that having permission alone wasn't enough—she needed a cultivation level that matched the material as well.

She found herself agreeing with the Wang family's approach of setting such restrictions. For most of the family's disciples, it was better to absorb knowledge step by step, rather than reaching for things beyond their grasp, even if those things were valuable.

After expressing her thanks, Zhang Yiyi returned to the second floor.

The gatekeeper's explanation also confirmed that her spiritual sense was far stronger than her cultivation level. She could freely access nearly half of the jade slips on the second floor, far exceeding the "dozen or so" limit he mentioned.

This time, she didn't pick and choose. Any jade slip she could read, she did, one by one.

Although the jade slips were small, their content was vast. The amount of information she absorbed from the readable jade slips on the second floor alone was staggering.

Even with her extraordinary spiritual sense, the continuous reading and memorization took a toll on her, requiring her to pause and rest several times. She would pull out a mid-grade spirit stone to quickly replenish her spiritual energy, restoring herself to peak condition before diving back into the jade slips.

Immersed in her task, Zhang Yiyi lost track of time and how many spirit stones she consumed. Each time she pushed her spiritual sense to its limit and then recovered, she felt a slight improvement. Though the progress was subtle, it became a method of tempering herself—over time, these small gains would undoubtedly lead to significant breakthroughs.

This realization made her all the more excited. She loved activities that yielded multiple benefits at once.

Ten days later, she finished reading every jade slip on the third floor that she could access using the same method. Only then did she return to the first floor.

However, instead of leaving the library, Zhang Yiyi began reviewing all the books and jade slips she hadn't yet explored on the first floor.

Whether or not the material was immediately useful didn't matter—anything stored in the library had some value. Having spent relatively little time in the cultivation world, she had far less accumulated knowledge than others.

This was an excellent opportunity to expand her understanding without spending money or being limited by qualifications. The more she read, the more she learned, and the more she prepared for future challenges. Even if the knowledge wasn't useful today, tomorrow, or the day after, who could say it wouldn't be invaluable one day?

The gatekeeper, noticing Zhang Yiyi descending from the second and third floors after so many days, initially thought she was finally leaving.

To his surprise, she stayed on the first floor and continued reading with the same intensity as before. From her posture and focus, it didn't seem like she'd be leaving anytime soon.

This piqued the gatekeeper's curiosity. He couldn't help but wonder what this girl was looking for. Had she searched the entire library and still not found it, prompting her to comb through everything again?

Unaware of the gatekeeper's speculation, Zhang Yiyi saw it as a fortunate misunderstanding. If anyone realized she was systematically memorizing every single item in the library that she could read, they would likely be left speechless.

Another ten days passed before Zhang Yiyi finished memorizing the unread material on the first floor. She exhaled deeply and massaged her throbbing temples, feeling her spiritual sense reach a new limit once again.

Although she carried pills to quickly restore her spiritual sense, she chose not to use them, instead holding another mid-grade spirit stone to replenish her energy and recover gradually.

After recovering sufficiently, she decided it was time to leave. But just as she turned toward the exit, a sudden feeling made her stop and walk toward a nearby bookshelf.

Her eyes landed on a book titled Record of the Lanyu Landscape. She picked it up, remembering that this book contained a rough description of the regions, terrain, and place names of this small world. It was essentially a rudimentary map.

She had already read it when she first entered the library and had memorized its contents. There didn't seem to be anything special about it.

Yet something urged her to take another look.

Just as Zhang Yiyi was preparing to leave, her spiritual sense inadvertently swept across the library, and she suddenly felt something unusual about the book in her hands.

Perhaps her spiritual sense had become sharper and more refined compared to when she first entered the library. What she hadn't noticed before, she could now perceive—a faint anomaly.

Zhang Yiyi calmed herself and once again focused all her spiritual sense on the book, meticulously examining it inch by inch to uncover the source of the anomaly.

With a soft buzz, her sea of consciousness seemed to emit a faint hum as if her spiritual sense had collided with an invisible barrier, only to be bounced back.

This discovery confirmed her suspicions that the book was far from ordinary. She steadied herself, increased the intensity of her spiritual sense, and directed it toward the book once more.

Another buzz rang out. While she was still blocked, the resistance felt slightly weaker than before.

Encouraged by this, Zhang Yiyi continued her efforts, tirelessly probing and chipping away at the intangible barrier.

After countless attempts, her face had turned slightly pale from the exertion. Finally, on her last attempt, the barrier shattered with a resounding crack.

At that moment, the book in her hands transformed. Its cover no longer bore the title Record of the Lanyu Landscape but instead displayed four bold characters: The Gate of Time and Space.

This revelation left Zhang Yiyi astonished. She knew this book was no ordinary tome. Without delay, she opened it and began examining its contents from the first page.

To her disappointment, the first page's text was identical to the original Record of the Lanyu Landscape. It seemed the effort she'd expended to break through the barrier had only unlocked the book's cover. To view the true contents of each page, she would have to use her spiritual sense to break through new barriers, one at a time.

Her guess proved correct. As she attempted to delve deeper using the same method, she encountered resistance much stronger than what had guarded the cover. She surmised the difficulty correlated with the amount of text on each page.

After withdrawing her spiritual sense, Zhang Yiyi decided not to rush into breaking more barriers. Just unlocking the cover had taken her nearly half a day. The barrier on the first page was dozens of times stronger. At this rate, it could take months, if not years, to fully unlock the book without doing anything else.

Yet, Zhang Yiyi knew this book was a priceless treasure. If she could one day fully comprehend its contents, it would undoubtedly benefit her immensely.

As for how such a mysterious and extraordinary book had ended up buried among the relatively ordinary collections of the Wang family's first-floor library, she had no idea.

One thing was certain: she needed to take this book with her, or she would deeply regret it.

Negotiating to Acquire the Book "Excuse me, Uncle," Zhang Yiyi approached the gatekeeper with the book in hand. "May I purchase this book and take it with me?"

Unless absolutely necessary, she didn't plan to steal it.

The gatekeeper, surprised to see the guest who had spent nearly a month in the library finally leaving, glanced at the book. Seeing it was an unassuming geography book, he felt it odd but didn't ask unnecessary questions.

"The first-floor collections, while not as precious as those on the second or third floors, are not for sale," he explained. "However, if you need it, you can pay a small amount of spirit stones to copy it onto an empty jade slip."

Zhang Yiyi frowned inwardly. That wouldn't do. What she needed wasn't the Record of the Lanyu Landscape itself but the hidden The Gate of Time and Space beneath it.

"Uncle, this book is quite useful to me. I'd like to purchase the original," she said with a smile. "Copied versions don't feel the same. Could you make an exception? I'm willing to pay extra spirit stones."

The gatekeeper hesitated, feeling she had a point. After some thought, he replied, "This is beyond my authority. Wait a moment while I report this to the family head."

"Thank you, Uncle," Zhang Yiyi said, delighted by the possibility.

She was confident the Wang family head would grant her request, considering her and Luo Qiheng's potential, which the family valued. Moreover, the book appeared unremarkable on the surface, and her willingness to pay extra made the request reasonable.

Before long, the gatekeeper received the family head's reply. His demeanor toward Zhang Yiyi became noticeably warmer.

"The family head has agreed," he said with a smile. "Since our esteemed guest Zhang Yiyi values this book, we're happy to accommodate you. The family head even wanted to gift it to you outright, but as it belongs to the library and not his private collection, it's best not to break protocol. Therefore, you may purchase it for 1,000 low-grade spirit stones. We kindly ask that you don't mention this to others."

The message was clear and tactful, expressing the family head's favor while subtly indicating this was a one-time exception.

Understanding this perfectly, Zhang Yiyi nodded with gratitude and assured them she wouldn't make things difficult in the future.

A thousand low-grade spirit stones was a modest price, considering the rarity of even a rudimentary map of the Blue Feather realm in this resource-controlled world. The family head likely set this symbolic price to extend goodwill toward her.

Not one to skimp, Zhang Yiyi handed over ten mid-grade spirit stones instead. Although theoretically equivalent to 1,000 low-grade stones, the purity and quality of mid-grade spirit stones far exceeded their lower counterparts, making her payment more than generous.

With the transaction complete, Zhang Yiyi stored the book away in front of the gatekeeper and left the library, her spirits high after acquiring such a mysterious treasure. Back at her residence, she noticed Luo Qiheng hadn't returned. Likely still in seclusion attempting to break into the mid-Golden Core stage, she decided not to disturb him.

After some thought, she left again, heading directly for the Wang family's sacred site dedicated to breakthroughs and advancements.