Celestial Official!

Yan Chen was naturally unaware of the conversation between the two outside the hall.

The moment he stepped into the hall, his cultivation level of the third level of Qi Refining, coupled with his eye-catching crimson Daoist robe, immediately attracted a lot of attention.

Before he could speak, a guard stepped forward and asked:

"Senior brother, what brings you to Yanxuan Palace?"

Yan Chen looked over and saw that the other party was a middle-aged Taoist priest in his thirties.

It's quite a coincidence that the last time he came here to break through to the second level of Qi Refining, this person was on duty. However, he was insignificant at that time, so it's normal that the other party doesn't recognize him now.

Yan Chen didn't say much. He walked to the table, raised his hand and took out ten wooden plaques symbolizing great merit, arranged them neatly, and explained his purpose.

The middle-aged deacon carefully examined the matter for a moment, and after confirming that there was nothing wrong, he said to Yan Chen:

"The entire collection of books in Yanxuan Hall is in the inner room. Senior brother, please follow me."

Thank you for your trouble.

Yan Chen nodded slightly and followed him into the inner room.

On the way, the middle-aged steward learned in casual conversation that Yan Chen had only broken through to the third level of Qi Refining and become a steward in the past month. He was secretly surprised and, as usual, explained the rules of the inner library room one by one.

It turns out that when disciples exchange incantations and Taoist techniques, they don't just take them and leave. Instead, the length of time they stay is determined by their level of merit.

The most ordinary little task only allows for a stay of less than half an hour, and apart from exchanging the corresponding secret manual, there is no time to spare for anything else.

A major task takes half an hour.

Similarly, the Ten Merits, also known as One Good Deed, can be performed for a full five hours.

With such a long period of time, a person of exceptional wisdom and understanding could not only exchange the secret manual for the manual itself, but also comprehend another technique or Taoist art.

Whether it succeeds or not, that's another kind of hard work.

Yan Chen thought to himself:

"Under such circumstances, who wouldn't want to accumulate more merits in order to stay here a little longer and master more techniques and arts?"

"This move benefits both the officials and their ambition, making it a brilliant strategy that achieves two goals at once."

While pondering, they arrived at the door of the inner room.

Yan Chen bowed to the middle-aged steward, who quickly returned the bow. The two then parted ways without further ado.

Upon entering the inner room, the first thing that catches the eye is a series of bookshelves, neatly arranged and filled with a vast collection of books.

Yan Chen figured he had plenty of time, so he wasn't in a hurry. After selecting the location for the "Divine Furnace Fire Burning Passion and Desire Curse", he decided to proceed.

He walked and stopped as he pleased, his heart filled with the joy of hunting, examining one cultivation manual after another, pondering in his heart:

"In the path of cultivation, in addition to cultivation techniques, auxiliary cultivation methods, as well as Taoist arts for attack and killing, and even the various arts of cultivation such as alchemy, weapon crafting, and talisman making are all indispensable."

"However, a person's energy is always limited, so one should choose one thing to do and not be greedy for more."

Yan Chen paused in front of a bookshelf, reached out and took down a book titled "Stepping on the Dipper and Traveling Through the Clouds," flipped through it briefly, and then put it back.

He shook his head and said:

"Although the art of escape is good, I now have the help of the flying shuttle. Although it is an external force, if I use it skillfully, it is no less powerful than the art of escape, and its offensive power is even greater."

"Apart from that, swordsmanship, saber techniques and other Daoist weapon techniques are certainly powerful, but they rely too much on talent and hard work. There is no need to rush them now; we can deal with them later."

"Right now, the most suitable thing for me is a supernatural technique belonging to the Bing Fire path. Although the 'natal fire' is good, it always lacks a bit of killing intent."

Yan Chen flipped through dozens more secret books, but felt that they were all slightly lacking, not enough to make him devote his limited time and energy to them.

Before I knew it, the "Song of Restraining the Two Elements and the Divine Evil" came into view.

Only then did he realize that he had actually read through most of the secret records in the inner room.

Yan Chen smiled helplessly, then calculated the time and realized that he had been there for more than three hours.

He took down the "Song of Restraining the Two Elements and the Divine Influences" and tucked it into his sleeve.

Yan Chen thought to himself that he had more than an hour left and he absolutely could not waste it.

You must at least find Taoist techniques that are truly suitable for you!

So after a moment of contemplation, just as he was about to turn back and try to comprehend a Taoist technique that he had previously found somewhat interesting.

My gaze suddenly fell upon a line of small print.

That wasn't some kind of magic technique or Taoist art, and it couldn't even be called a cultivation method. On the contrary... it was more like the art of weapon crafting.

"The Zhaohua Xuanlie Sword-Nourishing Gourd!"

For some reason, the moment Yan Chen's gaze fell upon it, he seemed to be drawn by an invisible force, freezing in place and unable to look away.

Even though it didn't meet his expectations, he didn't look at anything else at the moment, raised his hand to take it down, and carefully flipped through it.

"The gourd contains a small world, encompassing yin and yang, nurturing the five elements, evolving the celestial spirits, and transforming the earthly evils."

"Drawing upon the yang fire of Bing, shining brightly, it refines the essence of heaven and earth, using a gourd as a cauldron and fire as a medium to forge and nurture the embryo of one's natal sword."

"The embryo leaps out, and the flying sword is sacrificed again. Seven times seven forty-nine, the swords are connected, and the beginning and end are linked."

"When the mind moves, the sword is drawn; when the will withdraws, the sword returns. Attack and kill are at will, advance and retreat are as one pleases..."

A strange light flashed in Yan Chen's eyes as he murmured:

"The sword embryo is nurtured inside the gourd, and when it emerges, it is used to consecrate the flying sword... This is similar in principle to the 'Internal Alchemy Method' described in the 'Divine Elixir and Golden Liquid Three Fire Scripture'."

"The difference is that the internal alchemy method involves refining elixirs within the human body, while this sword-nurturing gourd contains all the steps from forging the sword blank to the final sword."

"Truly mysterious and extraordinary!"

"Such a wonderful method cannot be understood in just three or five hours; great perseverance and great willpower are indispensable!"

"But I don't know why it's placed in Yanxuan Hall, allowing the disciples to cultivate there?"

"Could it be that even disciples of the Eight Meridians Dao Sect look down on such methods?"

While marveling at this, Yan Chen looked at the wooden plaque hanging below the bookshelf.

"Worth one merit point..."

In the Gold-Melting Valley, a single merit is considered the highest level of achievement, equivalent in value to five good deeds.

One good deed is equal to ten good deeds.

Yan Chen spent a whole month cultivating the Water-Fire Vine, but only gained five merits. If he wanted to accumulate one merit, it would take a full ten months.

Yan Chen fell silent.

"So be it. According to what he said, to refine this sword-nurturing gourd, not only is it necessary to find a high-grade spirit gourd, but also the finest metals needed to nurture the sword embryo are indispensable."

"Besides, my Bing Fire Qi mechanism doesn't seem to be enough to reach the realm of 'Brilliant Splendor'... unless I open up the Yang Mansion."

"I currently lack all these essential items, and even if I were to acquire this technique, I would have no way to begin practicing it."

"We'll have to talk about it another day."

Yan Chen made up his mind immediately, without any lingering attachment.

Five hours had passed when he shook his sleeves and left the inner room.

The "Song of Restraining the Two Elements and the Divine Evil" is not an isolated copy. After Yan Chen took the manual, he still needed to register it with the guard on duty and make a replacement, so that later people would not be unable to find the manual if they wanted to replace it.

Once all the procedures were completed, Yan Chen left Yanxuan Palace, boarded a flying shuttle, and returned directly to Xiangzhi Mountain.

……

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