Chapter 51: An Exception
"I heard you left the mountain recently. Were you looking for a second-rank beast?" Meng Wentian got straight to the point.
Chen An didn't bother to hide it. "I've found a Hundred-Eyed Giant Toad in the depths of the Poison Marsh. A month from now, when it's weakened after laying its eggs, I plan to team up with others to hunt it down."
Meng Wentian didn't inquire about who Chen An had teamed up with; it held no importance to him. Instead, he waved his hand, and a storage pouch appeared in his palm.
"This pouch contains all the ingredients needed to refine the Essence Cleansing Pill. Once you acquire the toad's inner core, head to Qixia City and seek out the Pill King to craft it."
"The success rate of refining a second-rank pill is quite low. At best, you have a one-in-three chance of obtaining the Essence Cleansing Pill. Whether it succeeds or not will depend on your luck."
Holding the pouch handed to him, Chen An frowned slightly. He hadn't expected Meng Wentian to gather the materials so quickly, or to entrust them to him even before he had obtained the toad's inner core. What was the meaning behind this gesture?
"I know you're a cautious person," Meng Wentian explained. "Since you've already found an opportunity, it's unlikely to be a false lead. Rather than having you make an extra trip to the sect later, it's better to save some time now."
"Remember, this is the most I can help you with. The rest is up to you."
"Also, if there's anything else you need to prepare before hunting the Hundred-Eyed Giant Toad, perhaps I can assist you."
Chen An's mind raced, and he quickly replied, "I've always wanted to visit the sect's Scripture Pavilion to see if I could find techniques suitable for me. However, as an outer disciple..."
"This is not difficult," Meng Wentian interrupted with a wave of his hand. "I'll inform the Scripture Pavilion to make an exception. From now on, you may freely enter and exit as you please."
"This is the most I can do for you. The rest is entirely up to you."
Chen An was genuinely surprised by Meng Wentian's generous assistance.
He could hardly believe that, as an outer disciple, he was granted unrestricted access to the sect's Scripture Pavilion. Even more unbelievable was the sect master himself gathering pill materials for him.
Such an opportunity was akin to a pie falling from the heavens, yet Chen An couldn't bring himself to feel entirely happy. Something felt off.
"Sect Master, I've only stumbled into the cultivation path by chance. My talent is mediocre at best. I don't understand why you would go to such lengths to support me."
After a moment's hesitation, Chen An voiced his doubts.
"You're young," Meng Wentian said, "so you might not understand that while talent is important for a cultivator, it's not the most important thing. You possess many qualities that, in my eyes, are a thousand times more valuable than innate talent."
"If you manage to obtain the Essence Cleansing Pill, the issue of talent will no longer hinder you. At that point, your potential will be limitless!"
Meng Wentian patted Chen An's shoulder encouragingly, then added with a hint of melancholy, "I've already lived four centuries, and my remaining time is short. To this day, I have no personal disciples. When I eventually ascend, there will be no one to lead the Lingfu Sect."
"So seize every opportunity you're given. The future rests in the hands of your generation of cultivators."
With those words, Meng Wentian turned and left, leaving Chen An alone in deep thought.
It wasn't hard to discern from his words that Meng Wentian intended to groom Chen An as his disciple, possibly even as his successor.
For most people, this would be a dream come true. Yet for some reason, Chen An couldn't feel entirely at ease. It seemed as if there were unspoken truths in Meng Wentian's words, secrets left untold.
"Whatever," Chen An muttered to himself after a moment. "For now, I'll focus on the benefits. Future problems can wait for the future."
After sending Meng Wentian off, Chen An lost his mood to continue practicing the Buddha's Flower Pinching Finger.
Since the sect master had made an exception for him, Chen An decided to seize the opportunity. He immediately headed toward the inner sect's Scripture Pavilion.
Following the necessary formalities, he successfully entered this most vital repository of the Lingfu Sect.
The pavilion, a five-story structure, wasn't particularly large. Each floor housed rows of towering bookshelves, some laden with dusty tomes, others with jade slips recording various techniques.
On the first floor was a catalog detailing the techniques stored within. Each entry included a brief introduction and location markers, allowing disciples to easily find what they needed. Disciples could then copy the techniques and, after reporting them, practice on their own.
With a thick catalog in hand, Chen An spent a long time browsing. His initial excitement gradually gave way to disappointment.
It wasn't that there were no powerful techniques that caught his eye—on the contrary, there were many. However, all of them had cultivation requirements far beyond his current level.
At his early Qi Condensation stage, he lacked the qualifications to learn these techniques. Conversely, those he could access were far too mundane to interest him. It was an awkward predicament.
Disappointed but undeterred, Chen An soon shifted his focus to another area: talismans. He possessed considerable talent in crafting talismans, and the pavilion held records of advanced talisman-making techniques.
As he scoured the catalog for talisman-related entries, his eyes lit up.
The Puppet Talisman!
This talisman could transform an object into a duplicate of the caster, possessing roughly one-tenth of its strength. The duplicate could communicate and even mimic basic actions, though it appeared somewhat wooden and lacked depth in interactions.
At higher levels of cultivation, the Puppet Talisman could even refine corpses into puppet-like beings. These puppets, indistinguishable from living humans, could retain 70-80% of their original strength and behave as ordinary people. Such a technique was nothing short of terrifying.
However, the Puppet Talisman was a second-rank talisman and notoriously difficult to craft. Even a minor error at any step could lead to failure, leaving almost no room for mistakes.
Despite its complexity, the talisman's ability to act as a lifesaving measure was invaluable, especially with Chen An's impending battle against the Hundred-Eyed Giant Toad.
After careful consideration, Chen An decided to learn the Puppet Talisman. Even though it was typically crafted by Foundation Establishment cultivators, he was determined to give it a try.