"Fellow Daoist Yang may not know this, but throughout history, among cultivators' trades, cultivation methods have always been among the rarest things. It is seldom seen that anyone would use a cultivation method in a transaction."
"Why is that?"
Yang An was somewhat puzzled.
"Fellow Daoist should also know that not every cultivation method is compatible with a cultivator. If one cannot adapt to the price of a cultivation method during the Resonance Stage, then it means that method is not the best choice and will instead waste a great deal of time. This makes for a very demanding criterion."
"Secondly, cultivation methods are exceedingly valuable, and few cultivators can afford them. Those who can afford them generally would not pay such a tremendous price to trade for a cultivation method either. They are rather tasteless—unless the method is truly powerful."
"The third point, and the most important one, is that every cultivation method represents the secret legacy of a faction or great cultivator, never passed on to outsiders. Most cultivation methods circulating outside are common and widespread ones. If you are fortunate enough to encounter a top-tier cultivation method that has leaked out, obtaining it through trade may instead bring great trouble upon you."
Pan Shi explained in great detail.
"Take my Three Pine Mountain, for instance. If we discovered that a cultivation method practiced within our sect had somehow spread outside, then Three Pine Mountain would absolutely do everything possible to find everyone involved. We would never forgive them lightly! Anyone would do the same!"
"Even the immortal mountain where you reside, Fellow Daoist, would act likewise. Only by preventing the leakage of one's inheritance can a sect preserve its very foundation!"
These were fairly basic common sense matters, yet Pan Shi did not become suspicious of Yang An because of them.
In his eyes, a cultivator like Fellow Daoist Yang must have come from a sect with sufficiently deep foundations, so he had never needed to worry about cultivation methods. A classic case of asking, "Why not eat minced meat?"
Even he and his junior sister, Pan Yu, were actually the same.
This was the benefit of having the backing of a faction with ample foundations.
Hearing Pan Shi's words, Yang An understood, but he could not help feeling somewhat disappointed.
He had originally planned to see whether he could find a cultivation method at the Communal Feast Convention and thus step onto the path of cultivation.
But after hearing Pan Shi's explanation, he realized it was not nearly so simple.
To come across a cultivation method with no entanglements, one that suited him and was absolutely formidable—
Meeting all three conditions at once was simply too harsh.
In that case, if he wanted to fulfill those three conditions, obtain a cultivation method, and become a cultivator—
The most suitable approach would be to join a cultivator faction or become the disciple of some cultivator.
Yang An sighed. Yet, because he knew too little about these cultivator sects, he still intended to take another look around.
After all, there were so many cultivators attending the Communal Feast Convention—at least a thousand, perhaps—coming from all manner of factions and sects, a mingling of fish and dragons.
Moreover, he possessed the ability to purify and erase prices. Others needed to meet three conditions, but he only needed to meet two. There was no need for him to consider whether he could bear the price of a cultivation method.
Therefore, he could accept any cultivation method, so long as it was not too poor.
Perhaps he might still have a chance of encountering one.
The three of them chatted as they walked. Cultivators became more and more numerous everywhere they looked, and many places were packed so tightly that not even water could pass through. It seemed some magical artifact had drawn a crowd of cultivators to watch.
Out of curiosity, the three decided to go take a look and join in the excitement.
Yang An walked at the very back. Yet before he had even taken two steps, he suddenly discovered that several Muckworm Children had approached him in succession, instantly surrounding him.
Yang An's heart tightened at once. These humanoid creatures formed from countless muckworms stuck together had surrounded only him. Clearly, they had come for him.
Meanwhile, Pan Shi and Pan Yu were walking ahead and had already gone some distance, seemingly unaware of what was happening.
A faint unease rose in Yang An's heart. Just as he was about to speak, the Muckworm Child before him spoke first.
"Fellow Daoist, True Person has summoned you. Please come with us."
True Person?
The only one who could be called True Person by the Muckworm Children was Mother Diviner True Person of the Xi Yue River—their master.
Yang An sensed trouble. He truly could not think of what matter would cause a True Person to specifically send someone to summon him.
Among the many cultivators attending the Communal Feast Convention, he was merely an utterly inconspicuous one.
Could it be that his impersonation of a Fate Crane Sect disciple had been exposed?
But what merit did he have to draw the attention of a Viscera Stone True Person?
He swept his gaze over the Muckworm Children that had blocked nearly every exit around him. It seemed he had no way to refuse.
"Please!"
The Muckworm Child urged him again.
Yang An looked toward Pan Shi and Pan Yu, who still had not noticed him. Even the other cultivators passing by around them seemed not to have noticed his situation.
The circumstances looked rather strange.
"Fine!"
He took a deep breath and nodded.
Before long, the Muckworm Children brought Yang An to a secluded place where scarcely another person could be seen.
Having arrived here, Yang An grew increasingly tense, to the point that he barely dared to breathe.
Yet even after they had brought him here, there were instead more and more Muckworm Children around him. He had no opportunity to escape at all.
"May I ask, Fellow Daoist, where is True Person?"
He mustered his courage and took the initiative to ask the Muckworm Children. But the instant his words fell, everything within his sight plunged into darkness.
In an instant, Yang An seemed to be entirely wrapped in some dark substance. The surroundings were pitch-black, so dark he could not see his hand before his face. Even the Muckworm Children vanished without a trace.
A terrible feeling of loneliness, silence, and unease surged into Yang An's heart.
Just then, a woman's voice that sounded inexplicably gentle suddenly appeared beside his ear.
"Where did this little junior come from? How dare you sneak into my Xi Yue River? Your sect is... hmm?
No Mana? You are a mortal?!"
The woman's voice had been about to question Yang An when she suddenly discovered that he did not possess the slightest trace of Mana, leaving her stunned.
Anyone who entered Golden Egg Jade Qiong Island must have taken an Illusionary Insect Corpse beforehand in order to reach this place.
But once a mortal took an Illusionary Insect Corpse, they would inevitably fall into an illusion worse than death itself and perish because they could not endure it.
How had this mortal sneaked in?!
The woman's voice had suddenly appeared and disappeared, startling Yang An. But at that moment, light abruptly appeared beside him again.
A smooth sphere the size of a fist appeared, radiating golden-yellow light and immediately drawing Yang An's attention.
But just as he looked toward the glowing sphere, its light suddenly burst apart and vanished into the darkness. Then the woman's voice sounded again.
"You can see it?! So the Illusionary Insect Corpse has no effect on you at all. How did you accomplish that?"
The suddenly appearing light had merely been a test.
The Lamp Soul of the wooden boat responsible for receiving cultivators would never dare neglect its duty. Therefore, the person before her had unquestionably consumed an Illusionary Insect Corpse, yet had not fallen into an illusion.
The peculiarity of this immediately aroused the voice's curiosity.
Before Yang An could speak, he had guessed that the owner of the voice must be the rumored Mother Diviner True Person. But he had not expected that, in the blink of an eye, his origins would already be thoroughly uncovered. His scalp went numb at once.
Still, Yang An did his best to steady his emotions, while thinking of how he should answer Mother Diviner True Person's question.
But just as he planned to play dumb and answer Mother Diviner True Person by claiming that he knew nothing himself—
Crack!
In the silent darkness, the sound of something breaking suddenly rang out.
As a faint light abruptly emerged, an enormous avian head as large as a human head suddenly thrust out of the darkness, stopping barely a foot away from Yang An.
Its pair of eyes, reflecting the faint light, seemed filled with savagery and impatience. From its long, pointed beak came human speech.
"Mother Diviner, you old hag! I told you to bring someone over, yet you are still dragging your feet. Are you courting death?"
Before you continue