"Good, good, good. Hurry and rise."
Old Man Fate Crane smiled and raised a hand slightly. Yang An immediately felt a force lift him to his feet.
"From today onward, you are this old man's thirteenth personal disciple!
When we return to the Fate Crane Sect, I will have someone properly arrange your initiation ceremony, and then we shall formally perform the rites of taking master and disciple.
The Fate Crane Sect has not held such a joyous occasion in a very long time!"
The thirteenth disciple?
That meant there were already twelve senior brothers and sisters ahead of Yang An.
He was not particularly fond of the number thirteen. It sounded like the Thirteen Guardians, after all, but how could he dare voice any objection?
"Yes, this disciple shall leave everything to Master's decision!"
Yang An did his best to appear obedient. He had only just witnessed how ferocious this Old Man was, and he feared that crane head might truly swallow him whole.
"Your name is Yang An, correct?"
Yang An nodded. He was not surprised that Old Man Fate Crane knew his name.
Since he had been captured and brought here, it must have been because the identity and name he had reported before entering Mother Diviner True Person's territory had exposed him.
It also sounded an alarm for him. If he ever did something like this again, he could not use his real name.
This time, he had happened to stumble upon Old Man Fate Crane, the very person he had been looking for. A disaster had turned into a blessing, but he had still taken a trip through the gates of hell.
Had he encountered some villain who did not care for reasons, that person might not even have bothered to find him personally. A mere method or two could have killed him, and he would not even know how he had died.
"Not a bad name. But you are far too weak now. Since the bond between master and disciple has been established, the formal rites can wait. You may first learn a thing or two."
Old Man Fate Crane said with a smile.
Thinking of his eleven disappointing disciples, he kept studying Yang An with his gaze. The more he looked, the more satisfied he became.
"You have nine senior brothers and two senior sisters. At your age, even the weakest among them had already reached the late False Eater Realm."
Hearing Old Man Fate Crane's words, Yang An was immediately delighted. Was this an advance reward?
But why did that sound wrong?
Nine senior brothers and two senior sisters only made eleven altogether!
If he was the thirteenth, should there not be twelve senior brothers and sisters before him?
Why had the Old Man not mentioned the other one? Had he forgotten?
Yang An was puzzled, but as if sensing something, he looked up and saw the enormous crane head staring wide-eyed at him, its face wearing a humanlike wicked grin.
"..."
A terrifying possibility flashed through Yang An's mind. He sucked in a cold breath, and his scalp went numb.
He also seemed to understand why Old Man Fate Crane had deliberately phrased it that way.
Before giving him a reward, the Old Man was first knocking him into line, telling him that he had better behave himself!
He had been quite happy at first, but all of a sudden, Yang An realized that taking such a master and entering the Fate Crane Sect might not be a good thing after all...
But this was not something he could refuse. Before he had the strength to resist, all he could do was endure it.
At that moment, an object appeared out of thin air in Old Man Fate Crane's hand: a small, exquisite ancient bronze coin.
"This is called the Flesh-Buried Talisman. It is a fairly good artifact. It can be controlled without Mana and suits you well. It can also store items, so I shall give it to you."
"Thank you, Master!"
Yang An reined in his emotions and smiled as he reached out to receive it.
But the moment he extended his hand, Old Man Fate Crane flicked a finger. The ancient bronze coin instantly turned into a straight streak and shot into Yang An's arm at incredible speed.
The next second, a line of blood spurted from Yang An's arm, and blood poured out at once.
"..."
Fuck!!!
It had happened too suddenly. Yang An had not even had time to react before the coin had entered his flesh, and pain like breaking bones struck him in an instant.
Fortunately, whatever Old Man Fate Crane had fed him earlier still seemed to be working. In the blink of an eye, the wound on Yang An's arm had healed.
Yang An's tightly furrowed brows relaxed again, and he immediately understood why this thing was called the Flesh-Buried Talisman.
It truly lived up to its name—it was buried in the flesh!
At the very instant the wound healed, an information panel popped up before Yang An's eyes.
Flesh-Buried Talisman: One of the Blood Weapon Daoist's seventy-two flesh-nourished talismans. This talisman can store items and launch attacks, but it requires flesh as sustenance. At maximum, it can imitate the full-force strike of a cultivator at the peak of the Origin Feeder Realm. Cost of use: This item must be fed at least once every three days. Otherwise, when hungry, it will devour the user's flesh and blood on its own. Status: Can be purified!
After taking in the item's information at a glance, Yang An unhesitatingly chose to purify it. The cost of use in the information panel instantly vanished without a trace.
What a joke. This thing would actually eat its user's flesh and blood—it had to be purified!
Yang An had actually always had a question: did the items he purified only work for him, or would they also have an effect when used by others?
Unfortunately, no one could give him the chance to test it. He did not dare reveal this special ability rashly either, so he could only find an opportunity to test it later.
After he purified the Flesh-Buried Talisman that had fused into his arm, an inexplicable thought immediately arose in his mind.
He raised his right hand, and with a thought, a mouth lined with sharp teeth suddenly split open in his palm. It looked ugly and sinister.
The Flesh-Buried Talisman had taken root and formed within his arm, creating two special stomach pouches.
One stomach pouch had the ability to store items, like the Small Sumeru Bag on Pan Yu. It could normally be used to store objects.
The other stomach pouch was used to digest the flesh and blood offered to it. It was like a living creature: as long as it was fed, it could unleash attacks of considerable power.
Old Man Fate Crane had indeed not been wrong. With Yang An still possessing an ordinary mortal body, this artifact truly suited him.
"Thank you, Master, for bestowing this artifact upon your disciple!"
Yang An immediately used his actions to show his gratitude.
Old Man Fate Crane smiled and nodded in satisfaction, then looked toward the crane head nearby.
"Give him the cultivation method."
The crane head did not cause any trouble. It directly stretched out its neck, then opened its long beak and kept forcing it apart to both sides until it was wide enough to fit a washbasin.
The next moment, a scroll three inches long, along with some sticky tissue, was spat from its mouth and landed in Old Man Fate Crane's hand.
The crane head could not help letting out a foul belch. The stench was overwhelming, as if it had just eaten something rotten that had yet to be digested.
Old Man Fate Crane handed the scroll in his hand to Yang An.
"This is your master's inheritance. It contains a cultivation method that can allow you to cultivate to the peak of the False Eater Realm. Once you enter the False Eater Realm, you may come ask for the later portions."
"Later, I will have Mother Diviner prepare a quiet room for you. Go study it carefully first, and strive to adapt to the Resonance Stage as soon as possible!"
He had finally obtained a cultivation method, yet it had come after so many twists and turns. Yang An felt an indescribable mixture of emotions.
He had originally planned to see whether he could encounter cultivators trading cultivation methods at the Communal Feast Convention. Instead, he had unexpectedly received the thing he had longed for from Old Man Fate Crane.
Sometimes, the words fate and opportunity were simply this unfathomable.
"Yes, thank you, Master!"
He respectfully bowed, then reached out somewhat fearfully to accept the scroll Old Man Fate Crane offered him, afraid that the Old Man would suddenly pull something like before and catch him off guard again.
At the same time, Yang An felt somewhat disgusted, though he did not dare show it.
That thing had been spat out from the crane head's mouth, and sticky tissue of unknown origin still clung to it. He had the urge not to take it with his hand, yet there was nothing he could do.
Fortunately, Old Man Fate Crane made no extra movements this time and simply handed the cultivation method over to him.
With a wet slap, the scroll recording the cultivation method fell into Yang An's hand.
Before you continue