Yang An soon left the Golden Demon Tower. Elder Zhuan Yu had told him he could pick any unoccupied residence within the training grounds to use for his cultivation.

He eventually found a small, two-story pavilion.

The small pavilion stood within a courtyard. The first-floor walls were completely covered in green plants, seeming to overflow with a rich Life Force.

The second floor had a row of small windows, which gave it a fairytale-like charm when viewed with a tranquil mind.

A wooden wind chime hung from the eaves of the roof. When a gentle breeze passed, the bells made a soft sound, as if whispering something sweet.

Inside the quiet pavilion, leaning against a window, one could see a small bridge in the courtyard arcing gracefully over the water. Below the bridge, turquoise waves flowed toward a nearby lake.

The water and sky were one color, a beauty beyond description that seemed to make one forget all their troubles.

The Golden Thread Pavilion really was on another level. The scenery everywhere was like something out of a sacred paradise.

It was nothing like his time in the Life Crane Sect, where he could only live in a shabby dwelling surrounded by ruins.

Additionally, Yang An discovered a small Array at the entrance on the first floor. By simply inputting Mana, he could activate the Array and envelop the entire pavilion.

The Array had only one function: to block external perception. He just wasn't sure if it could fend off someone of Elder Zhuan Yu's level.

Yang An thought for a moment. 'Probably not, but it's better than nothing. Shielding against the perception of most Cultivators is good enough.'

In the Quiet Chamber on the second floor, Yang An quickly took out the Shell Nourishing Technique that Elder Zhuan Yu had given him.

Every Cultivator has their own unique opportunities, and the Cultivation Techniques they practice vary. So, it was quite normal that Elder Zhuan Yu had imparted one of his primary Techniques, not a Cultivation Technique.

As he toyed with the crystal-clear Jade Slab, an information box immediately appeared before Yang An's eyes.

"**[Shell Nourishing Technique]:** From the Earth Spirit Stele's *Five Wheels Ultimate Technique - Seven Extremes Chapter*. This Technique was accidentally obtained by Elder Zhuan Yu nine hundred years ago. It nourishes all things to create a shell. The technique and user become one, granting unparalleled power. The shell can automatically condense Mana and cultivate. If the shell's Cultivation Level surpasses the Cultivator's, it can empower the Cultivator in return.

Cost of Use: The cost varies depending on the object being nourished. As the shell grows, it will develop its own consciousness. If the Cultivator enters a weakened state, their body will be seized by the shell's consciousness.

Status: Can be Purified!"

Yang An had originally thought this Technique was created by Elder Zhuan Yu, or perhaps part of some inheritance. He never imagined it actually came from the Earth Spirit Stele!

When he saw the first sentence in the information box, Yang An was completely stunned.

'How can this be a Technique from the Earth Spirit Stele?'

'The Five Wheels Ultimate Technique... the Seven Extremes Chapter?'

He currently knew of three Techniques from the Earth Spirit Stele.

The Extreme Day Divine Aspect, originally called the Jade Divine Aspect, came from the Five Wheels Ultimate Technique's Refining Spirit Chapter.

The Summoning Incantation came from the Five Wheels Ultimate Technique's Fusion Incarnation Chapter.

And now there was the Shell Nourishing Technique from the Seven Extremes Chapter.

'Could the Earth Spirit Stele be some kind of treasure from the Ancient Era? And what's the origin of this Five Wheels Ultimate Technique?'

Because Elder Zhuan Yu had brought him directly to the Golden Thread Pavilion after they left Ten Directions City, he hadn't been able to get the flesh and blood needed to revive the Earth Spirit Stele. For now, he had no way to acquire it and could only wait for an opportunity.

Even if Yang An wanted to learn more now, he had no way of doing so, and his curiosity about the Earth Spirit Stele only grew stronger.

Following his usual routine, he Purified the Technique to remove the cost. Yang An then infused Mana into the Jade Slab and quickly obtained the Cultivation Method for the Shell Nourishing Technique.

This Technique was truly miraculous. The claim that it could nourish all things was no empty boast. It could nourish inanimate objects as well as living things, and could even nourish items bound by Rules like Forbidden Artifact Fragments and Forbidden Artifacts themselves.

This made Yang An wonder: 'Could Elder Zhuan Yu's short sword be a complete Forbidden Artifact?'

But even if he wanted to nourish a Forbidden Artifact, he couldn't right now. He hadn't reached the Zombie God realm, and he couldn't nourish a Forbidden Artifact he hadn't mastered.

Anything nourished by the Shell Nourishing Technique had to be something he had already mastered, and it also needed to have a sufficiently high degree of compatibility with him.

After all, this wasn't about raising a pet, but nourishing a shell—something that would be equivalent to a part of his own body.

Therefore, before making a choice, Yang An decided to first use the Shell Nourishing Technique to see which of his possessions had the highest compatibility with him.

He simply shook out everything from his Meat Burial Talisman and even took off the Bow Lady, who was always hanging from his body. This immediately put the Bow Lady on alert; she seemed to sense Yang An's ill intentions.

"You little brat, what are you planning to do to me?"

"Nothing much. I just want to see if I can nourish you," Yang An said truthfully.

"Nourish me? How do you plan on nourishing me?" The Bow Lady didn't seem to understand what Yang An meant and immediately issued a warning.

"Let me warn you, don't even think about getting any ideas about me! I'm not a human, not a Cultivator, and not a Demon Fiend. There's no way it could work between us! Unless... unless..."

As she spoke, the Bow Lady trailed off, her voice growing quieter and quieter.

"..."

Yang An was speechless.

'Hey, what kind of person do you take me for? Do I look that desperate? And even if I were! You're a bow, what could I even do?!'

He never would have thought that he'd be rejected before he even did anything!

That was even more baffling than being rejected after actually trying something.

"I was talking about the Technique..."

he confessed, a hint of exasperation in his voice.

'If I let the Bow Lady's imagination run any wilder, who knows where her thoughts will end up.'

"..."

Now it was the Bow Lady's turn to be speechless. She immediately realized her mistake.

The atmosphere between them suddenly became a bit awkward.

"I don't care! You just said you were going to take care of me, so from now on, you have to find handsome men for me. You can't let me go hungry!"

"Fine, fine, whatever you say."

Having been with her for so long, Yang An knew the Bow Lady's temperament and couldn't be bothered to argue with her.

As if she had won the argument, the Bow Lady huffed and said no more.

Yang An, on the other hand, followed the Cultivation Method for the Shell Nourishing Technique and began testing his possessions to find the item with the highest compatibility.

The first thing he thought of was the Unidentified Arrow. It was the most powerful item he possessed. 'If I could nourish this item into my own shell, wouldn't I become even stronger?'

Much like one's initial steps in cultivation, the testing method for the Shell Nourishing Technique was very similar to the Resonance Stage of cultivation.

When practicing a Cultivation Technique, one uses the Resonance Stage to see if they are compatible with the technique and if they can bear the costs required to practice it.

Similarly, the Shell Nourishing Technique was used to test if an item was compatible with oneself and could serve as the most suitable shell.

He activated the Shell Nourishing Technique. With his palms pressed together, wisps of white mist seeped out from his hands. The mist formed a vivid little snake that slithered over all the items Yang An had shaken out onto the floor.

To Yang An's surprise, when the misty snake passed over the other items, they all showed some kind of reaction, though each one was different.

But when it passed over the Unidentified Arrow, there was no reaction at all.

This meant the Unidentified Arrow could not serve as the shell for his Shell Nourishing Technique.

After a moment of thought, Yang An quickly formed a guess.

'Elder Miao Ye gave me the Unidentified Arrow back in the Ancient Collection at Xiyue River. Although I seem to be in control of it on the surface, the arrow is actually connected to a Forbidden Artifact of the Southern Dipper Celestial Sect. The ownership isn't mine; it belongs to the Southern Dipper Celestial Sect.'

There was nothing Yang An could do about the Unidentified Arrow being unusable as a shell for the Shell Nourishing Technique.

Besides that, the misty snake passed over the Bow Lady. Perhaps because she had her own consciousness and was likewise not something Yang An had complete mastery over, there was no reaction from her either. 𝒻𝑟𝘦𝘦𝘸ℯ𝒷𝑛𝘰𝓋ℯ𝘭.𝘤𝘰𝘮

Among the large pile of miscellaneous items, the one with the highest compatibility with him was, unexpectedly, the remnant of the Earth Spirit Stele's Seal!

The silver-colored pearl!

'The Shell Nourishing Technique truly lives up to its name of nourishing all things to create a shell. It can even nourish the Earth Spirit Stele?'

Yang An was astonished. 'If I can nourish the Earth Spirit Stele into a shell, does that mean I can completely control it?'

But upon further thought, something felt wrong.

'The Shell Nourishing Technique itself comes from the Earth Spirit Stele, which means the stele must be a higher-level existence than the technique. There's a connection between them, but the hierarchy shouldn't be reversible. You can't put the cart before the horse.'

'It's like a mother giving birth to a child, only for that child's filial piety to become twisted!'

'That's not right!'

'I have to take a closer look and figure this out properly.'

Sure enough, upon closer inspection, he realized it wasn't what he thought.

If the remnant of the Seal was a shell, then the Earth Spirit Stele was the core sealed within it.

The thing with the highest compatibility was this shell—the remnant of the Seal—and not the Earth Spirit Stele itself.

Although this result confirmed Yang An's suspicions, he couldn't help but feel a little disappointed.

'I've checked all the physical items I have. I should also check other things, like the various Techniques I've already mastered.'

'How do you test compatibility with a Technique?'

'It's simple. I just need to activate it lightly and let the misty snake probe it.'

Yang An first used the Lighting Technique, and a small, dark-red flame flickered to life on his fingertip.

The misty snake began to dance around his finger, and soon came the result: extremely compatible!

Yang An wasn't particularly excited. This was within his expectations. After all, he had diligently cultivated every Technique he'd mastered, step by step. It would have been strange if they weren't highly compatible.

Soon, in about the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, Yang An had tested all of his Techniques. Without exception, the results were all "extremely compatible," with the misty snake reacting strongly each time.

'No wonder when I was in the Golden Demon Tower and saw the other disciples' demonstrations, most of them had a dense aura of a Technique about them.'

'It seems most people choose one of their mastered Techniques as the shell for the Shell Nourishing Technique, simply because the compatibility is the highest.'

But Yang An wasn't finished yet. There was one more thing he hadn't tested.

Controlling the misty snake, he reached his hand through a gap in his clothing at the small of his back and gently pulled out a feather.

The Spinal True Feather!

Just as an electrifying sensation shot through Yang An, making him shudder uncontrollably, the Spinal True Feather in his hand rapidly expanded.

The next second, as if it had spotted some priceless treasure, the misty snake shot toward the enlarged Spinal True Feather and coiled tightly around it.