At dawn the next day, Chen An slowly opened his eyes while sitting cross-legged on his bed. Before him lay a pile of fine powder scattered across the floor.
The previous night, out of curiosity, he had absorbed a spirit stone he had obtained from Wei Ming. Depleted of spiritual energy, the stone immediately crumbled into dust, and a gentle breeze could scatter it into nothingness.
The spiritual energy contained within the stone far exceeded Chen An's expectations. Just a single spirit stone was equivalent to half a month's worth of cultivation!
Thanks to last night's practice, Chen An's cultivation had noticeably advanced!
Of course, the reason a single spirit stone had such a profound effect was primarily due to Chen An's poor aptitude. His ability to absorb spiritual energy from the world was much slower than normal. While a spirit stone would still be beneficial for a regular cultivator, it wouldn't have such a dramatic impact.
But that didn't concern Chen An. All he needed to know was that the spirit stone could compensate for his deficiencies!
"It seems my partnership with Li Muchen is indeed necessary. As long as I have spirit stones, I can drastically increase my cultivation speed!" Chen An thought joyfully. After getting out of bed, he quickly washed, changed clothes, and hurried toward the Elders' Hall.
Since today was his assigned day for duties, Chen An was the only servant scheduled to clean the Elders' Hall.
Not wanting to make any mistakes, he immediately began cleaning upon arrival. Although he wasn't thrilled about the job, he understood that staying in the Lingfu Sect wouldn't always be smooth sailing. What truly mattered was improving his cultivation.
Despite focusing on his task, his mind wandered to thoughts of the future.
Would he spend the rest of his life as a servant in the Lingfu Sect, or would he follow in the footsteps of the old man and find a chance to escape down the mountain?
The key difference between him and the old man was that Chen An had now become a cultivator, so his choices should be broader. His ambition went far beyond being a mere servant.
Chen An wanted much more than his current situation!
At the same time, he now had more options. He could use the spiritual liquid produced by his gourd to aid his cultivation, and he could also continue his partnership with Li Muchen to earn spirit stones by creating talismans. With these two paths, Chen An believed he wouldn't end up like the old man!
Lost in thought, Chen An unconsciously wandered into the meditation room where Elder Gu regularly cultivated.
Realizing where he was, he immediately panicked. He had always been wary of Elder Gu, not wanting to give him any reason to cause trouble. Without hesitation, Chen An turned to leave.
However, just as he lifted his foot, he heard a faint, familiar voice.
"Help... Help me..."
The weak cry for help made Chen An freeze in place.
He recognized the voice—it belonged to the chubby servant from the servant quarters.
Hearing the chubby boy's cry for help, Chen An could no longer suppress his curiosity. But it wasn't because he wanted to save anyone; other people's lives had nothing to do with him. He had only exchanged a few words with the boy in the past, and Chen An wasn't going to risk his life for that.
The real reason he stayed was because he wanted to use the situation to investigate what Elder Gu was doing in the meditation room.
If he could catch Elder Gu off guard and discover his weakness, it might give him an advantage the next time Elder Gu tried to target him!
Chen An had never been the type to sit and wait for disaster to strike. Since an opportunity had presented itself, and knowing that the Elders' Hall was currently empty except for him, now was the perfect time to investigate the meditation room.
With a deep breath, Chen An cautiously pushed the door open just a crack and peered inside.
Every movement was carefully controlled, and Chen An held his breath, not daring to make any sound.
When he finally adjusted his angle and saw the scene inside the room, he couldn't help but gasp in shock.
The windows of the meditation room were all sealed shut, and the dim lighting inside was provided by a few flickering candles.
In the eerie glow, Chen An could see that over a dozen servants were suspended upside down from the ceiling. Among them was the chubby servant from the quarters.
The boy's right index finger had been cut, and blood dripped steadily from the wound. The blood was being collected in a pool that was about a meter wide.
Sitting cross-legged in the blood pool was none other than Elder Gu—shirtless and with disheveled hair!
"He's been here in the meditation room the whole time!!"
The moment Chen An saw Elder Gu, a chill ran down his spine. He had assumed that Elder Gu wasn't in the Elders' Hall this early in the morning, but it turned out he had been hiding in the meditation room all along.
And the way Elder Gu looked now was vastly different from how he had appeared in the servant quarters.
The last time Chen An saw him, Elder Gu had a dignified, immortal-like demeanor. His white hair and red face gave off an aura of a reclusive sage. But now, his face was twisted, his skin wrinkled, and his entire body was surrounded by a deathly aura, as if he could die at any moment.
Red lines, like pulsing veins, crawled over his bare upper body.
It was obvious that Elder Gu was absorbing the essence blood from the servants to extend his own life!
Suddenly, all of Chen An's suspicions were confirmed. He now understood why the chubby boy had gone missing, why the relatively small Outer Sect needed so many servants, and why Elder Gu, despite suspecting him, had never acted openly against him. Elder Gu was using all the servants as living elixirs for his survival.
Including Chen An himself. No one would escape!
"Thump... thump..."
Chen An's heart raced. He wanted to flee immediately, but he feared alerting Elder Gu, who was still absorbing the blood. So, he forced himself to remain calm and slowly began closing the door.
However, at that moment, Chen An accidentally triggered a hidden formation. A wave of mortal danger enveloped him.
"Who's there?!"
Elder Gu's eyes snapped open, and murderous intent radiated from him, locking onto Chen An in an instant.
With no time to think, Chen An quickly pulled out the escape talisman he had drawn the previous night and activated it.
*Buzz!*
In a split second, Chen An felt dizzy, and then his body vanished from the spot.
Meanwhile, Elder Gu, who had hastily thrown on a robe, rushed out of the meditation room. But by the time he arrived, Chen An's figure had already disappeared.
Standing where Chen An had been, Elder Gu's face was dark with malice, his brow furrowed as he silently stared in the direction Chen An had fled, deep in thought.