'Such high compatibility?!'

When he saw the small, white, misty snake coil around the Spinal True Feather, it was like a starving man who had just found a gourmet meal—it clung on for dear life.

Although Yang An had already anticipated that the Spinal True Feather, being a part of his own body, would naturally have a very high compatibility with him—certainly no weaker than any Technique he had mastered.

But seeing the small, misty snake's reaction still took him by surprise.

After all, of all the items and Techniques he had tested before, not a single one had elicited such a strong reaction from the misty snake.

Looking at the Spinal True Feather in his hand, Yang An immediately made a decision.

With an item of such high compatibility right in front of him, he wasn't a fool. Of course, he would choose the Spinal True Feather as the vessel for his Shell Nourishing Technique.

The small, misty snake reluctantly dissipated. Yang An gathered up everything on the floor, leaving only the Spinal True Feather behind.

Cultivating the Shell Nourishing Technique was different from ordinary Techniques. It was more complex, and just the preliminary preparations required a considerable amount of materials.

Materials like Green Hill Mouse Eggs, Wood Soul Essence, and Demon Qi Stones were things Yang An had never even heard of.

However, that wasn't a problem. Since Elder Zhuan Yu had passed this Technique down to him to cultivate, and all the Elder's other disciples also practiced it, it meant these materials should be readily available here. He probably just needed to ask his fellow disciples for them.

Furthermore, after choosing the vessel for the Shell Nourishing Technique, he needed to use his own blood to inscribe a special Array and place the vessel within it for refinement.

He could take care of these things one step at a time.

Yang An decided to first find a fellow disciple to ask how to obtain these materials, so he immediately went downstairs.

But as he stepped out of his personal pavilion and was about to extend his senses to find the nearest disciple, he was surprised to see two figures striding quickly toward him.

It was two women!

Both women were tall and well-proportioned, with roughly the same build. They wore identical long, white and blue dresses, but their auras were completely different.

One was dignified and elegant, her eyes shimmering with a peculiar light. The other was bewitchingly charming, her fragrance reaching him even from a distance.

The former was poised and confident, while the latter was alluring and captivating, as if capable of sparking endless fantasies.

Both were only at the Middle Stage of Visceral Stone in their Cultivation Level, which wasn't particularly high.

Yang An froze for a moment. It wasn't because of their beauty, but because he had never seen them before. They weren't among the fellow disciples he had seen in the Golden Demon Tower.

The two women approached and bowed respectfully to Yang An. As they bent over, their necklines offered a tantalizing, ample view that stirred the imagination.

"Greetings, Senior Brother Yang An!"

"What can I do for you two Junior Sisters?"

Yang An's tone was hardly warm. He felt a subconscious resistance and appeared unmoved.

"We are three-star disciples from the Iron Mountain Tower. According to the tower's rules, an Elder Disciple is assigned personal attendants. We are here to serve you, Senior Brother," one of the female disciples said.

"Senior Brother, you may call me Hui Yu."

"Senior Brother, you may call me Miao Xiang."

"..."

'There's a rule like that?'

Yang An was rather surprised. 'No wonder the Golden Thread Pavilion is one of the overlords of the Treasure Temple Domain.' Even a disciple like him could enjoy such treatment. It was simply on another level compared to other sects, to say nothing of the Life Crane Sect.

The Life Crane Sect only had corpses.

This couldn't help but remind him of Fugui, whose body was still inside his Meat Burial Talisman. He still hadn't found a good way to resurrect him.

As for the present situation...

"I don't need anyone!"

Yang An rejected them flatly.

He already had too many secrets to let outsiders get close. Having two people by his side constantly—two living people, at that—would only make him more guarded.

If it were a Corpse Slave like Fugui, who could only obey orders, he wouldn't mind.

Living people? Absolutely not!

'Who knows if they might betray me or cause me trouble.'

Seeing Yang An's blunt and decisive refusal, the two women were taken aback.

As top-tier three-star disciples in the Iron Mountain Tower, they held a higher status than ordinary disciples and wouldn't normally be assigned to serve an Elder Disciple.

But this time was different. It was a personal arrangement by Elder Zhuan Yu, who had chosen them specifically for their exceptional looks.

The two had no choice but to explain the situation to Yang An in full detail.

"If you refuse, Senior Brother, we won't be able to answer to Elder Zhuan Yu or the Iron Mountain Tower. We would likely be expelled from the Golden Thread Pavilion."

They seemed to be pleading with Yang An, their gazes pitiable and moving.

'Arranged by my Master?'

Upon hearing it was personally arranged by Elder Zhuan Yu, Yang An knew he couldn't refuse, even though he had no idea what his new Master was up to. He could only nod.

"In that case, there's a courtyard over there. You can live there for now. I'll let you know if I need anything."

Yang An said, pointing to a small, unoccupied courtyard several hundred meters away.

When the two women saw Yang An nod in acceptance, their faces immediately lit up with joy. But when they heard him tell them to stay so far away, they instantly grew dejected, a hint of grievance showing on their faces.

Yang An pretended not to notice. In any case, their arrival was timely, saving him a trip. He asked them to find a fellow senior brother for him, inquire where he could get the Magical Materials, and bring them back for him.

The two women immediately agreed and left to carry out his instructions, while Yang An turned and went back into his pavilion.

Half an hour later, the two women returned. They stood respectfully outside the door downstairs, having successfully brought back the materials Yang An needed.

Just as he had expected, everything was there. He didn't need to waste any more time searching for them himself.

Yang An put the materials away and was about to tell the two to go rest, but the disciple named Hui Yu spoke up.

"Senior Brother, Senior Brother Yin Zhou wishes to pay you a visit. He asked us to inquire if you are willing to see him."

Hui Yu was the one with the dignified and elegant aura, while Miao Xiang was the charming and alluring one. Both were stunning beauties.

"Senior Brother Yin Zhou? Who's that?"

The name didn't ring a bell at all, so Yang An asked in confusion.

"Senior Brother Yin Zhou is a Five-Star Disciple of the Iron Mountain Tower."

Hui Yu replied, and then explained the hierarchy of disciples within the Iron Mountain Tower to Yang An.

Yang An understood.

'A Five-Star Disciple? So he's only one rank below me, an Elder Disciple.'

If his status as Elder Zhuan Yu's disciple made him a core disciple in the Golden Thread Pavilion, then this Yin Zhou was a top-tier Inner Sect Disciple with a chance to be promoted to core disciple status.

'But... what does that have to do with me?'

"I won't see him! Just say I'm busy cultivating and have no free time."

Yang An replied. After giving the two women their instructions, he turned and went back into the pavilion.

It was just as he said. He needed to cultivate the Shell Nourishing Technique, and the materials were all ready. Why would he have time to meet a stranger?

Compared to cultivation, nothing else mattered. This was about increasing his own strength, which was of the utmost importance.

Yang An's actions were always surprising. Hui Yu and Miao Xiang hadn't expected him to refuse so bluntly. They looked at each other in dismay as he left, but had no choice but to do as he said.

Soon, outside the training grounds of the Golden Demon Tower.

Dressed in white and blue robes, the incredibly handsome Yin Zhou was waiting there. Without permission, he could not enter.

The two women returned with the message, relaying Yang An's words to Yin Zhou, and prepared to leave.

But at that moment, Yin Zhou called out to them again.

"I'll have to trouble you two Junior Sisters to relay another message to Senior Brother Yang. Tell him I will wait here for him. Whenever Senior Brother Yang has time, I will be waiting. I will wait until I see him."

Yin Zhou's expression was calm; he didn't seem discouraged by Yang An's rejection.

Hui Yu and Miao Xiang exchanged a glance. Seeing Yin Zhou's firm resolve, they could only nod.

Inside the small pavilion.

Yang An spent more than four hours before he finally succeeded in inscribing a complete Array with his own blood in the Quiet Chamber.

This was one of the steps to cultivating the Shell Nourishing Technique. The Array wasn't very complex, but because he had no experience, he failed many times.

Any mistake made while inscribing the Array would cause all his effort to go to waste.

He only barely succeeded on his eleventh attempt.

The entire Array was fan-shaped, formed by countless lines drawn with blood from his body. It looked simple, but it had to be created in a single, unbroken motion.

After it was formed, the Array looked quite ordinary. There was nothing unusual about it, just a design formed from a pool of fresh blood.

Next, he just needed to channel his Mana into it to activate the Array.

Just then, however, Yang An's senses detected Hui Yu and Miao Xiang waiting outside his pavilion. A look of confusion appeared on his face.

Fortunately, the Array was now complete, and he didn't need to rush to activate it with Mana right away. He went downstairs to ask the two women what was going on.

"He's not leaving until he sees me?"

Yang An raised an eyebrow after the two women relayed Yin Zhou's message.

'This guy is so persistent. Could he have some urgent business?'

He decided he might as well see him and find out what he wanted.

Before long, a figure was led into the pavilion by Hui Yu and Miao Xiang, stopping three meters away from Yang An.

The two women excused themselves and left immediately.

Yang An sized up the man before him, and Yin Zhou did the same to Yang An.

"Greetings, Senior Brother Yang."

Although Yin Zhou had long been a disciple of the Iron Mountain Tower, if he were to become an Elder's disciple in the future, his entry would indeed be later than Yang An's. Therefore, he had to address Yang An as Senior Brother.

"What is it, Junior Brother Yin?"

Yang An got straight to the point, too lazy to waste time on pleasantries.

To his surprise, however, this person's Cultivation Level was higher than his own—at least Late Stage of Corpse Transformation. 𝗳𝚛𝚎𝚎𝘄𝕖𝕓𝕟𝕠𝚟𝚎𝕝.𝗰𝕠𝐦

'It seems that even though they aren't taken in by Elders like me, these Five-Star Disciples of the Iron Mountain Tower are no pushovers.'

In response to Yang An's question, a smile suddenly appeared on Yin Zhou's handsome face.

"Junior Brother has come today to issue a challenge to you, Senior Brother Yang!

At noon three days from now, I hope to see you at Qiushui Court, where we will settle things once and for all!"

"???"

The expression on Yang An's face froze instantly, his mind filled with confusion.

"Are you nuts?"