If his guess was correct, the nations in these regions were likely also closely tied to the Great Virtue Temple, perhaps even its puppets.

He didn't believe for a second that the Great Virtue Temple was capable of any real good. As far as Cultivators were concerned, he'd yet to meet a single one who possessed the mindset and morals of a normal person.

After watching for a while, Yang An lost interest. He closed the window, shutting out the night, then blew out the candle and got into bed.

His mind raced, calculating how to obtain information about the Treasure Temple Domain. This was crucial for the task the old man had given him. Establishing a foothold and finding a suitable Mountain Gate here wasn't as simple as just picking any random mountain.

The Great Virtue Temple's sphere of influence was everywhere. Any action that made waves would surely be noticed by them.

Therefore, the best solution was actually to head into the Golden Thread Pavilion's territory.

They had a feud with the Great Virtue Temple, but not with the Golden Thread Pavilion.

The old man had only told him to come to the Treasure Temple Domain and find a Mountain Gate, leaving all the decisions up to him. He never specified it had to be within the Great Virtue Temple's territory.

After a moment of thought, he made his decision. Yang An took the Bow Lady from his back, planning to use this time to properly understand the methods of cultivating Physical Power.

He was now thoroughly intrigued by this Physical Cultivation Method.

For one, because he had cultivated a large amount of Light Magic, any enemy who wasn't a fool would be able to tell that he was practicing a pile of Forbidden Techniques the moment he used his skills in battle.

If he could kill his opponents, that was one thing; silencing them would be the end of it. But if he ran into a powerful enemy, he would very likely expose his secrets. Even if not, he might be mistaken for an Innate Flesh Mushroom.

But how could an Innate Flesh Mushroom possibly break through to the Corpse Transformation stage, or even higher realms?

This was clearly another problem he couldn't avoid.

Besides, his immunity to the suppression of the Power of Rules in the Outer Continent was another unspeakable secret, one he couldn't even explain himself.

Before he knew it, he had unwittingly accumulated many secrets that could not be revealed.

If he could master a Physical Power Cultivation Method, just like these Cultivators from the Outer Continent...

He could just be a little deceptive about the costs he had to bear, put on a good act, and become a drama king.

While solving the problem of his secrets being exposed, he could also conceal the fact that he was unaffected by the Power of Rules in the Outer Continent.

It would be killing two birds with one stone.

As long as he could learn a Physical Cultivation Method, he could thereafter use his Light Magic as a trump card.

On the surface, he'd be a melee Cultivator with immense physical strength, taking down foes with a single punch.

But in reality, he was the eternal light of this world. Anyone who got close would die!

'Just the thought of it is thrilling.'

"Bow Lady, hurry and tell me everything you remember about Physical Cultivation Methods."

Taking the Bow Lady down, Yang An curiously looked at the intricate demon face on the grip. He stroked it gently with his finger as he spoke to her.

The small demon face seemed to have changed slightly from when he first obtained the Bow Lady.

It was originally a ferocious, black demon face with fangs, but its luster seemed to have changed. There were hints of it turning pure white, like the bow's limbs.

"You little bastard! If you dare touch me again, believe it or not, I'll break both your legs!"

The Bow Lady's furious, teeth-gritting curse rang in his ears. Yang An's action seemed to have touched a raw nerve.

Yang An instinctively pulled his hand back with an awkward smile.

'She's that sensitive? Is something hidden in this demon face?'

'So weird! I'll take another look!'

He didn't find anything unusual, but at that moment, the Bow Lady's words entered his ears again.

Because they were memories the Bow Lady had obtained, she could only convey them to Yang An verbally.

Wu Yun's Physical Cultivation Method generally consisted of one main Cultivation Technique and several Body Refining Methods.

The Cultivation Technique was called the >. Unlike Cultivation Techniques that focused on magic, Physical Cultivation Methods used very little Mana and had low consumption. However, the cultivation process required numerous materials and was quite tedious.

This particular Cultivation Technique required the flesh and Heart of a Demon Fiend called a Horned Antelope as the main ingredients, supplemented by dozens of other materials, to continuously cultivate and advance.

After the Bow Lady finished explaining the contents of the > and Yang An had committed it all to memory, an information box promptly appeared before his eyes.

[>: [Can reach the Early Stage of Zombie God] Passed down from the ancestors of the Antelope Demon Daoist. It uses the heart of a Horned Antelope as the source of power attraction and its flesh as the foundation for gathering power, refining the user's body with its demonic essence.

Cost of Use: The user's body will become demonic and undergo a demonic tribulation. Upon advancing in Cultivation Level, the user will enter a state of frenzied madness, their physical body eroded by Demonic Qi and their soul lost. Influenced by the Horned Antelope's lustful nature, even when not in tribulation, the user will be instinctually affected; upon seeing a Horned Antelope, their own soul will be overwhelmed with an irresistible attraction.

Status: Can be Purified!]

Whether he was receiving the full information about these Cultivation Techniques or coming into contact with written records containing them, the information box would always appear at the opportune moment.

But when he heard it was a Cultivation Technique, Yang An lost interest.

It was common knowledge that once a Cultivator settled on their Cultivation Technique, they could not switch their main one unless they had cultivated it to its absolute limit.

This wasn't a rule, but a fundamental limit.

Yang An had tried it before. Every Cultivation Technique had a Resonance Stage for adaptation, which was meant to help Cultivators choose a suitable technique and determine if they could withstand its costs.

However, when he tried to operate the Resonance Stage portion of other Cultivation Techniques, he felt nothing, and his body showed no unusual reactions.

This meant he was unable to practice any other Cultivation Technique.

But being unable to practice a Cultivation Technique didn't mean he couldn't practice a Body Refining Method that enhanced his physical form.

Body Refining Methods were equivalent to Techniques; one could continuously learn them without any upper limit.

However, practicing each Technique came with its own cost. This didn't mean that learning more made you stronger. On the contrary, it could become an unbearable burden and might even severely impact one's combat effectiveness.

This was the difference between a Cultivation Technique and a Technique.

A Cultivation Technique was a complete, scalable Cultivation Method. Although its cost grew more severe with one's Cultivation Level, the Cultivator would also gradually adapt to it. This was always better than stacking different costs on top of each other, which would ultimately create an unbearable risk.

Techniques and Body Refining Techniques, on the other hand, were static. Once learned, they would only display greater power as one's Cultivation Level increased, but this also meant bearing a crueler and more severe cost. 𝑓𝘳𝘦𝑒𝑤𝑒𝘣𝘯ℴ𝘷𝘦𝓁.𝑐𝑜𝑚

This was why, aside from sects like the Life Crane Sect which required different Techniques for its main Dao of Destiny Technique, most Cultivators Yang An had encountered rarely mastered too many Techniques.

Thinking back, he had been young and naive. Looking at it now, the cultivation risk of > was the highest of all.

The Bow Lady then passed on four more Body Refining Methods to Yang An: >, >, >, and >.

As the information boxes appeared one by one before Yang An's eyes, he temporarily set aside three of the Body Refining Methods, leaving only the last one—>!

This was because the other three Body Refining Methods all required various materials, and Yang An had no way of finding them to begin cultivation at the moment.

This >, however, didn't require any materials. Its cultivation method was just rather... bizarre.

[>: From the Golden Soul Sect's Engraving Technique Collection. Condenses the Power of Nine Dragons within the body, using this power to shock dragons and overwhelm the heavens.

Cost of Use: If one draws upon the Power of Nine Dragons, their flesh and blood will wither and their vitality will be lost, with no possibility of short-term recovery.

Status: Can be Purified!]

To cultivate this Body Refining Method, one needed to use their own body as a container, storing their own power within their flesh to achieve the effect of Body Refining. The greater the power stored, the better the effect, until a limit was reached.

It sounded complicated and grand but empty, leaving one confused. In practice, however, it was very simple.

Because the method was... to beat yourself up!