The battle was rather baffling, really, but thankfully it didn't take up too much of Yang An's time.

When someone came to his door looking for a fight, Yang An's policy was always to deal with them immediately. If he could kill them now, he would never drag it out for three days.

Three days... That was a full thirty-six hours. Who knew what variables might emerge in that time?

He clapped the dust off his hands, watching the bloody gash on his shoulder slowly heal as the azure light around it faded.

The wound was healing, but he had to admit, the guy had some skill. The power of his Sword Qi was quite impressive.

If he hadn't run into him, he might have been considered a top expert among those at the Corpse Transformation stage.

Unfortunately, that was all he was.

Forget Corpse Transformation—he had even killed a Zombie God. On the way to Ten Directions City, he'd lost count of how many Corpse Transformation Demon Fiends he had slain. A mere Corpse Transformation practitioner was nothing.

The sound of footsteps came from nearby, and two beautiful figures hurried over.

It was Hui Yu and Miao Xiang, Yang An's two attendant disciples.

But when they saw Yang An standing there alone, with Yin Zhou nowhere in sight, and noticed a new crater in the courtyard and a long trench not far off...

A battle had clearly taken place here. The lingering aura of a Technique still hung in the air.

"Senior Brother Yang, Senior Brother Yin Zhou... he..."

The two women seemed to realize something, and their expressions turned strange.

"He's gone."

Yang An replied calmly. Unwilling to waste any more time, he paid them no further mind and started walking toward his small pavilion.

"Clean this place up."

"...Yes!"

Watching Yang An's departing figure, the two women seemed too stunned to react, only responding after he was some distance away. They looked at each other in dismay.

'Senior Brother Yin Zhou... is dead!'

'A Five-Star Disciple of the Iron Mountain Tower, and one of the very best at that, killed just like that.'

'So this is the judgment of an Internal Affairs Elder of the Golden Thread Pavilion. Truly sharp and merciless.'

'No wonder he refused to take Senior Brother Yin Zhou, choosing instead to bring back a disciple from the Outer Sect who wasn't even from the Golden Thread Pavilion originally.'

Before, they—and not just them, but many disciples of the Iron Mountain Tower—had been baffled by Elder Zhuan Yu's refusal of Senior Brother Yin Zhou.

'With Senior Brother Yin Zhou's talent, strength, and status in the Iron Mountain Tower, most of the sect's Elders would have gladly accepted him if he had offered to become their disciple.'

'Only Elder Zhuan Yu was so stubborn, refusing to take him in.'

'Now it seemed there was a reason for it after all.'

'There are always stronger people out there, mountains beyond mountains.'

'This Senior Brother Yang... just where did he come from? How could he be so powerful?!'

Though they didn't know his origins, both women realized that if they could serve this senior brother well, it might lead to a great opportunity for them in the future.

Soon, Yang An was back inside his small pavilion. Just as he closed the door behind him and prepared to head to the Quiet Chamber on the second floor to resume his preparations for the Shell Nourishing Technique, he froze.

A figure had appeared out of nowhere in the main hall. He was sitting in the host's seat—the one Yang An had occupied earlier—and was watching him with a smile.

It was Elder Zhuan Yu!

"Master!"

Yang An immediately bowed.

He knew the fluctuations from his battle with Yin Zhou would have been detected by Elder Zhuan Yu, but he hadn't expected the old man to appear so stealthily.

"You did well."

Elder Zhuan Yu slowly rose from his seat and walked toward Yang An.

In truth, he had arrived the moment Yin Zhou died; Yang An simply hadn't noticed him.

He hadn't expected Yin Zhou's death, and neither had Wen Zhao.

In their original estimation, Yin Zhou, whose Cultivation Level was higher than Yang An's, should have also been stronger. The outcome of the battle seemed a foregone conclusion.

Wen Zhao hadn't planned on blocking Zhuan Yu indefinitely. In fact, once Yin Zhou had achieved his goal, Wen Zhao would have eventually let Zhuan Yu intervene to save Yang An's life.

Otherwise, if Yang An had died at Yin Zhou's hands, it would have been a complete breakdown of relations between the two Elders. They would have become mortal enemies from then on.

How could a matter between two disciples possibly dictate the feud between two Internal Affairs Elders?

But no one could have imagined that less than two breaths after the fight began, Yin Zhou would suddenly be... gone.

It was as if he had vanished from the world in an instant, completely and utterly, with not even his soul left behind!

The power Yang An had displayed had been a complete surprise, even to them.

So, the moment Yin Zhou died, the situation flipped. It was no longer Wen Zhao blocking Zhuan Yu, but Zhuan Yu blocking Wen Zhao.

After all, this was a disciple Wen Zhao had just taken under his wing. He hadn't even had the chance to announce it publicly or conduct the formal discipleship ceremony before the young man was suddenly gone.

One can only imagine the state Wen Zhao was in at that moment.

However, just as Wen Zhao had been able to block Zhuan Yu, Zhuan Yu was equally capable of blocking Wen Zhao.

Both were practitioners of the Insect Dao; neither could gain the upper hand over the other in a short amount of time.

In the end, the matter was dropped. Wen Zhao only left one sentence before he departed:

"You'd better pray he never steps outside the Golden Thread Pavilion's Mountain Gate!"

Zhuan Yu didn't pay Wen Zhao's words much mind. Watching Wen Zhao storm away from the Golden Demon Tower, he felt nothing but immense satisfaction.

'I really made the right choice with this disciple!'

'Not only can he help me with my plan for the Great Virtue Temple, but he even brings these unexpected surprises.'

He had already reported his plan to the Pavilion Master. In a little while, once the time was right, Yang An would be sent to the Great Virtue Temple.

At that point, if Yang An could achieve something of strategic value for the Golden Thread Pavilion within the Great Virtue Temple, the Pavilion Master wouldn't allow Wen Zhao to act against him even if he wanted to.

Therefore, he wasn't worried about this at all.

「Inside the small pavilion.」

Faced with Elder Zhuan Yu's praise, Yang An was completely baffled.

'I just killed someone, so why am I being praised? Could there be more to this matter?'

"You handled this matter well, so as your master, I can give you a small reward. Tell me, what do you want? The resources of my Golden Thread Pavilion might be able to satisfy any request you have!"

Elder Zhuan Yu said with a beaming smile, growing more and more pleased with Yang An the longer he looked at him.

'An unexpected bonus like this?'

Yang An clearly hadn't expected to get an unexpected bonus just for killing Yin Zhou.

'A reward? What do I need?'

'A Dao of Destiny Technique, of course!'

He had already reached the Middle Stage of Corpse Transformation; the next step was the Late Stage.

But if he couldn't find a suitable Dao of Destiny Technique beforehand, his Cultivation Level would remain stuck at the Middle Stage of Corpse Transformation, no matter how much he improved.

Therefore, the Dao of Destiny Technique was the most important thing.

"Master, if you would allow this disciple to choose a Technique, that would be for the best."

Yang An replied immediately.

"A Technique? Why are you so focused on Techniques? Don't you understand the principle that specializing in nothing and knowing everything will only bring you harm?"

In this world, more Techniques were not necessarily better. On the contrary, due to the various cruel costs, cultivating too many Techniques could put a Cultivator in grave danger.

This was not a good thing for any Cultivator.

If one could cultivate a single Technique to a sufficient level of mastery, the power from that specialization, combined with the lighter burden of costs, was the most suitable Cultivation Method for a Cultivator.

"The Cultivation Technique this disciple practices requires a sufficient number of Techniques to advance my Cultivation Level."

Yang An didn't reveal the name of his Cultivation Technique, explaining it only in this way.

'Mystic Path Decoded comes from the Earth Spirit Stele, and I haven't even figured out the stele's origins. I have to keep something like this a secret.'

'Though I know that fewer, more refined Techniques are better, that's for other people.'

'For me, with my ability to use Purification to eliminate the costs, the more things that can increase my power, the better.'

But upon hearing Yang An's answer, Elder Zhuan Yu frowned.

"A Cultivation Technique that relies on Techniques to advance? To think such an ancient Cultivation Method still exists in this day and age. You have walked down a divergent path from which there is no return."

"..."

'An ancient Cultivation Method?'

Yang An keenly caught that key phrase, feeling very confused.

'How is Mystic Path Decoded related to something ancient?'

'Could it be that this type of Cultivation Technique has long been obsolete in the current era?'

Zhuan Yu had been in an excellent mood due to his satisfaction with Yang An, but upon hearing that his disciple's Cultivation Technique followed an ancient path, his smile immediately vanished.

One could only follow a Cultivation Technique to its inevitable end. Even someone like him, a practitioner of the Insect Dao, was powerless to change it. Once a Cultivation Technique was chosen, it could not be altered.

Cultivating such a technique meant that the costs and dangers Yang An would have to bear would be far more complex and terrifying than those of an ordinary Cultivator. This was not a good thing.

However, since Yang An had already made his decision, he didn't try to stop him.

"This is a Golden Demon Order. It can open the entrance to the Golden Thread River. Within the Golden Thread River lies the Golden Thread Pavilion's accumulation of countless years of various Techniques and Cultivation Methods. This order can only be used once, and you can only choose one item. Choose wisely!"

Elder Zhuan Yu handed over a palm-sized Jade Token.

"Thank you, Master!"

Yang An accepted it with delight. Information about the item immediately appeared before his eyes.

He gave it a quick scan, confirmed that the item was just as Elder Zhuan Yu had described, and stored it in his Meat Burial Talisman.

"Two months. You only have two months left. Prepare well, and do not be idle."

Elder Zhuan Yu seemed to have lost his enthusiasm. After reminding Yang An, he left at once.

"Yes!"

Watching Elder Zhuan Yu's figure fade and vanish—truly coming and going without a trace—Yang An suddenly collapsed to the ground.

Countless motes of Golden Radiance crawled over his body like ants, constantly burrowing in and out. Yang An thrashed on the ground, his face twisted in an expression of uncontrollable agony.

'You have to commit to the act. Even though Elder Zhuan Yu is gone, there's no guarantee he isn't still watching me.'

'This is when the "cost" is supposed to flare up. I have to go through the motions, just in case.'

A stick of incense worth of time passed. Cold sweat had soaked through Yang An's robes, his face had become deathly pale, and his lips had turned purple.

Fortunately, the "cost" had faded, and the ruptured flesh all over his body began to recover quickly.

Yang An finally caught his breath and dragged his exhausted body toward the Quiet Chamber on the second floor.

Two months wasn't a long time, but it wasn't short, either. Still, the things he needed to prepare had to be ready.