Beast Taming: My System is Bugged

Chapter 305 - 295: First Edition Spirit God Ritual Scroll

Lu You was startled, thinking she had recited the Divine Invitation Spell incorrectly.

She hesitated for a moment, spending several seconds recalling the Spell she had just chanted. It seemed she hadn’t made a mistake.

"The composition of this Sea of Consciousness-Expanding Elixir has already been altered by Cyan Treasure, so the following Divine Invitation Ceremony will also need a few small changes."

Gu Ming didn’t need to explain further.

Being the intelligent person she was, she understood immediately.

The medicine and its corresponding ceremony were intrinsically linked, a manifestation of proper order.

Once the medicine’s composition changed, the Divine Invitation Ceremony she needed to perform would also have to change significantly.

This was remarkably similar to the principles of Array Art.

Even a minute change could lead the Array itself to a completely different, unknown outcome.

A ceremony was even more exacting. The timing for the medicinal ingredients, the Sealing Hand Techniques, one’s state of Mental Concentration, and even the surrounding tides of Spiritual Qi were all interlinked. A single change could affect the entire process.

But with the medicine changed, how should the ceremony’s content be modified?

She got a little stuck on that point.

「The purified medicinal liquid no longer matches the original ceremony. The two of you begin to brainstorm, but with your limited knowledge, you are unable to successfully modify the ceremony together.」

"How about we go to the library now? The university library is open 24 hours," Gu Ming said.

Once one embarked on the path of a Beastmaster, their Spiritual Power would improve by leaps and bounds. It was common for people to pull all-nighters for Enlightenment or to read books.

Therefore, university libraries generally operated around the clock, year after year, as an unshakable rule.

「You decide to go to the Wenquxing University library to further your research, seeking information on the original Divine Invitation Ceremony in pursuit of the purest, simplest blessing.」

As expected.

By interrupting the original Divine Invitation Ceremony, Gu Ming had guided the system’s plot down another path.

This was the path Gu Ming had been hoping for.

’I have to take this medicine safely, even if it means spending time reading those ritual books I don’t understand.’

’Just because I don’t get it doesn’t mean Lu You won’t.’

’In the system’s eyes, Lu You is a prospective university student whose Talent is far superior to mine. She’s someone who can get into Wenquxing University.’

’Honestly, without the system, I’d probably just be like any other person, ending up at a normal university and finishing my life there.’

A short while later, the two of them left the villa and headed for the brightly lit Wenquxing University library.

The library was enormous. Just looking at it from a distance gave one the feeling that the scent of old books was wafting through the air.

Its structure was not that of a conventional building, but rather a gigantic bookshelf.

Looking up, each level of the bookshelf was stacked with thousands of massive tomes. Their leather spines glowed with a soft luster, and the gold-stamped titles shimmered faintly in the moonlight.

At the entrance on the bottom level, two bronze statues holding scrolls stood silently.

As the two approached, the statues’ eyes suddenly glowed with a faint blue light.

Their Jade Tokens glowed silently as they underwent an identity check.

Once the statues’ scans confirmed their identities, the bookshelf at the entrance slowly slid open to either side, revealing a gap just wide enough for two people to pass through.

Gu Ming gestured for Lu You to follow. The moment they stepped inside, a wave of Spiritual Qi, mixed with the musty scent of old paper, washed over them.

Overhead, countless bookshelves floated like suspended islands, soaring above.

Inside the first floor, a vast number of Jade Scrolls and Beast Hide Books glided automatically along Spirit Pattern tracks.

Teacher Huang had previously mentioned that with his honor student reading privileges, he could access all the books on the first to third floors at most.

The fourth floor and above required a large number of Credit Points or the permissions of an upper-year honor student.

’Can’t bite off more than I can chew.’ Gu Ming didn’t expect to understand the high-level content.

’As long as Lu You can understand it, I can use the system’s power to acquire future knowledge.’

Walking into the library, a hazy Book Spirit approached them. It had a round head and large eyes, and with a wave of its hand, it summoned their Jade Tokens.

It knew every student who entered the library.

Seeing strangers, it naturally had to come over and take a look.

Around this time every year, new prospective students would arrive on campus early to study. Perhaps these two were among them.

It casually scanned the tokens, then sent the Jade Tokens back and allowed them to pass.

"If you want to find something, you can ask me directly," the Book Spirit said in the deep, gravelly voice of an eighty-year-old man.

Gu Ming glanced around. Many students were reading with their Pet Beasts.

The principles of the Great Dao manifested from every scroll, making one feel as if they were bathing in the Holy Light of the Hall of the Great Dao.

He knew this wasn’t the Hall of the Great Dao, but every book was written on high-end paper infused with Dao Charm.

Reading a book here was like attaining Enlightenment; the experience was far beyond what online reading could offer.

Gu Ming took a deep breath, his mind feeling clearer than ever before.

This place not only had a basic Spirit Gathering Array but also a Spiritual Array designed to refresh the mind.

Standing here, he felt like he could stay for a year without getting tired of it.

Unfortunately, his schedule from June to August was already completely packed.

Starting tomorrow, he had to go work at a company or someone’s house, becoming a time management Master to earn the Spirit Stones the system had mentioned.

He knew there was a huge gap between him and a true genius. Without Spirit Stones, that gap would be even wider. He had to use the system to its absolute fullest and not waste this opportunity.

Thinking of this, Gu Ming bowed to the Book Spirit at the entrance and asked:

"Excuse me, where can I find books about the Divine Invitation Ceremony related to a Spirit Venerable?"

The Book Spirit was a bit surprised. It had scanned their Jade Tokens just now, so it knew the two were national competition candidates who had enrolled early.

Usually, when such candidates first arrived, they would choose books related to their Pet Beasts’ Attributes or Evolution.

It didn’t expect them to ask for books on ceremonies related to a Spirit Venerable right off the bat.

However, the Book Spirit had seen its fair share of genius students who marched to the beat of their own drum. After a brief moment of surprise, it casually pointed to shelf area 560 on the first floor, then said no more.

After thanking the spirit, Gu Ming led Lu You to a deeper area on the first floor.

That was a reading area where one had to pay a few Credit Points for an hour of access.

With his honor student privileges, he didn’t need to pay Credit Points and could read for an unlimited amount of time.

A soon-to-be sophomore, standing at the demarcation line and not going in to read, had a flicker of surprise on his face as he watched the two newcomers walk right in.

Gu Ming didn’t have to walk far before finding over two hundred books related to the Divine Invitation Ceremony for a Spirit Venerable.

"Let’s split up and search. Focus on finding books about modifying the ceremony," Gu Ming said.

Lu You nodded and picked a book that caught her eye.

Although that’s what Gu Ming said, he was actually flipping through pages rapidly, using the Quantum Reading Technique.

Some of the books described the miracles of a Spirit Venerable descending as a retainer of a Spirit God.

Others were research papers on the development of Divine Potions for the ceremony.

For example, there were research papers on the pharmacological links between Spiritual Power and Cultivation Techniques after a Beastmaster performed the divine invitation.

The variety of books was dizzying, and none of them were what Gu Ming was looking for.

He flipped through them quickly, just waiting for a system prompt.

「You have found a book: "Original Spirit God Ceremony Enlightenment Scroll".」

’Oho?’

When Gu Ming saw a named book appear in the system’s text prompt, he immediately slowed his reading speed to study it word by word.

Unexpectedly, this book wasn’t about inviting a retainer Spirit Venerable, but aimed directly at a Spirit God.

That was a great being above the Spirit Venerables.

Gu Ming knew that Low-star Beastmasters didn’t dare to directly invite a Spirit God because the blessing they bestowed was too immense for a Beastmaster with a nascent Sea of Consciousness to handle.

Once accepted, it was like a flood bursting through a dam. In a mild case, one’s Sea of Consciousness would be flooded and collapse. In a severe case, it would lead to brain death or even one’s head exploding.

Therefore, compared to a Spirit God, most Beastmasters would choose to petition a lower-tier retainer Spirit Venerable for a blessing.

Although the physical book was an archeological text about Spirit Venerable retainers and Spirit Gods...

...the full text of the "Original Spirit God Ceremony" Spell, along with the various events that followed, continuously appeared in his mind.

The more he read, the more horrified Gu Ming became.

Petitioning a Spirit God for a blessing resulted in far more disaster than fortune.

It was only through continuous suffering and growth that people slowly improved the Spell, resulting in the Divine Invitation Spells of later generations.

The original version of the Spirit God Ceremony was filled with uncertainty.