45: Seeking the method

"S-Senior, should I...should I continue?"

After Gu Chang regained his senses, Yu Can, with a pale face, asked him.

"Continue, of course, continue!"

"Tell me, how can one become an Innate Expert, and from where can one obtain a Cultivator's Cultivation Technique? Also, regarding information about Cultivators, you must tell me everything you know, without missing a single word!"

Gu Chang couldn't care less about anything else now; this information was of utmost importance to him.

"Yes, yes, yes, I'll tell you now!"

"To be honest, I'm not entirely clear on the specific way to become an Innate Expert, but I generally know that it requires a Mind-Cultivation Technique capable of reaching the Innate Realm, allowing Internal Energy to flow through all Meridians, opening the Heavenly Bridge, and thus drawing in Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi from the outside world."

Although he felt incredibly puzzled, Yu Can still answered honestly.

In his eyes, Gu Chang was already an Innate Expert, and this information should have been deeply ingrained in his mind. Asking him now was probably to verify if he was lying.

"As for Cultivation Techniques, such things are possessed by ancient aristocratic families, Schools, or even the imperial court with long Legacies. However, these Cultivation Techniques are said to be only the most superficial content. To obtain more, one must go to the Spiritual Mountain Daoist Temple where Cultivators reside."

"Regarding Cultivators, we, the Hundred Scholars, actually know very little. It's just that they possess various abilities such as flying, Burrow, casting Spells, and wielding Magic Treasures. Additionally, Cultivators live longer than Martial Artists. It is rumored that some Cultivators who have attained the Dao can even live for hundreds or thousands of years until they Ascend to the Immortal Realm."

"..."

Yu Can spoke a great deal, giving Gu Chang a general understanding of the Cultivator's world.

Finally, when Gu Chang was about to leave, he offered a sum of gold as compensation, but Yu Can dared not accept it and adamantly refused.

"I never like to owe favors, so you must take this!"

Gu Chang directly put down the gold in his hand and then left. Next, he had to start looking for a suitable Internal Skill Cultivation Technique, striving to become an Innate Martial Artist as soon as possible.

It wasn't until long after Gu Chang had left that Yu Can collapsed onto a chair, taking a big gulp of tea to calm his emotions.

"I never expected that the rumored Hero Gu would actually be an Innate Expert!"

"If such important intelligence is reported, I will definitely gain many benefits!"

"No, no, no, since he didn't actively reveal his strength, wouldn't it be asking for trouble if I leaked it?"

"If I displease him, then I probably won't even need him to act personally; countless Martial Forest Experts wanting to curry favor with him will come and kill me!"

"..."

After much deliberation, Yu Can, who believed he had obtained crucial intelligence, ultimately decided to conceal it for the sake of his own life.

Gu Chang was naturally unaware of this; in reality, even if his strength were to be revealed, it wouldn't matter.

After all, his current strength was already at the pinnacle of the Jianghu Martial Forest. Even if the rumored Innate Expert appeared, he would not fear him in the slightest!

As for Cultivators?

He had never provoked such individuals; would they bother him for no reason?

Moreover, according to the intelligence, the strength of an Innate Expert is not much weaker than that of an ordinary Cultivator. There are even rumors of Innate Experts counter-killing Cultivators.

This means that with his current strength, even if he were to encounter an ordinary Cultivator, the final outcome would not necessarily be his death!

"Ultimately, strength is the key!"

"Only powerful strength is the rule of this world!"

Returning to his boat, Gu Chang once again steered the vessel back into the Wu River. He did not intend to seek an Innate Cultivation Technique in Mengzhou City but planned to go elsewhere.

According to the intelligence he had obtained, there were quite a few Schools in this world that possessed Cultivation Techniques capable of Cultivating to the Innate Realm.

Of course, most of these Schools were not weak, but some had declined, their strength long past its prime. The probability of obtaining an Internal Skill Mind-Cultivation Technique from them was very high.

Naturally, according to Gu Chang's character, it would be best to obtain it through normal means. If that truly wasn't possible, then he would only be able to resort to cunning acquisition or outright seizure!

He was not a stubborn, old-fashioned pedant but had a flexible bottom line.

The main reason he was so cautious was that he worried about the possibility of Cultivators existing behind these Schools.

Unless there was truly no other way, Gu Chang still did not want to provoke those Cultivators.

Following the Wu River downstream, Gu Chang finally arrived at a pier named Fengbo Du.

The main reason he came here was for a School located here—the Divine Image Sect.

According to the intelligence he had obtained, this was a School that had once produced three Innate Experts consecutively, but that was hundreds of years ago, and it had gradually declined since then. Now, the entire Divine Image Sect only had a few small, incompetent individuals left.

Well, in reality, the Divine Image Sect still had a First-rate Expert holding the fort, but this First-rate Expert was also old, and the new generation of Disciples had not yet grown up.

Such a School, as long as that First-rate Expert Sect Leader dies, will definitely be divided up by various forces!

Stopping the boat and going ashore, Gu Chang walked directly into the market town of Fengbo Du. After passing through this market town, there was a large cluster of ancient, charming buildings.

In front of the entire building complex stood a tall archway, and on the plaque above, the three gilded characters "Divine Image Sect" were written!

"Bang, bang, bang!"

Passing through the archway and arriving in front of the main gate of the Divine Image Sect, Gu Chang directly knocked on the door.

"Creak~"

Soon, the main gate opened a crack, and then a young man, half-grown, poked his head out and looked at him.

"Who are you? What business do you have at my Divine Image Sect?"

There was obvious vigilance in his eyes. While asking Gu Chang, he also checked behind and around Gu Chang, seemingly looking for other people.

"My name is Gu Chang. I specifically came today to pay my respects to the Sect Leader of the Divine Image Sect."

Gu Chang looked at the other party, who was like a wary fawn, and couldn't help but feel a little amused. But then he remembered how cautious he himself used to be, and the smile faded.

"Gu Chang? Sect Leader? Why do you want to see the Sect Leader? The Sect Leader is not here recently, please come back!"

The other party thought for a moment after hearing Gu Chang's name, but ultimately couldn't recall where he had heard it before, so he unhesitatingly refused Gu Chang's request.

"I'm afraid that won't do. I have important business today, so I must see him."

Gu Chang shook his head and refused, looking into the other party's eyes without the slightest waver.

"You! No!"

The other party's eyes immediately widened, and then he was about to close the door, but how could his strength compare to Gu Chang's? The open door was directly pushed open slowly by Gu Chang.

"I said, I have important business to see him. You just need to inform him, whether he sees me or not is your Sect Leader's business."

Then, Gu Chang repeated his request as he walked into the Divine Image Sect. There was no way he could be sent away by such a doorman.

The other party watched Gu Chang forcefully intrude and tried his best to push him out, but Gu Chang remained motionless, like an iron man!

"You, I..."

After pushing for a long time and realizing it was useless, the young man gritted his teeth and ran away.

As he ran, he shouted, "Senior Brother! Senior Sister! Something bad has happened! There's a bad guy here!"

Hearing the other party's shouts, Gu Chang couldn't help but feel a little speechless. This dignified Divine Image Sect, a School with a First-rate Expert in charge, letting a child guard the gate was already absurd enough. He never expected this fellow to be such a character.

As the shouting spread, a series of hurried footsteps quickly converged around Gu Chang.

This was a group of men and women, about eight or nine in number. From their Qi, it was clear they had been Cultivating earlier.

"Who are you!?"

"Who goes there? What business do you have at my Divine Image Sect?"

"The Divine Image Sect is closed to visitors and does not receive outsiders!"

"..."

Then these men and women began to question Gu Chang in a flurry of voices. Their demeanor clearly indicated they regarded him as an enemy of the School.

"I say, can you speak properly?"

Listening to these people's accusations, even with Gu Chang's good temper, he felt a hidden anger. So he took a sudden step forward, and immediately, his terrifying Aura instantly spread. The originally noisy crowd instantly fell silent, and those with less courage even sat down on the ground with a thump.

"One last time, I want to see your Sect Leader!"

Looking at the Divine Image Sect Disciples who were just now aggressive but now pale-faced and completely lacking in Aura, Gu Chang spoke again, his tone becoming extremely serious.

"Senior, why do you bother with these Juniors?"

"This Junior is the Sect Leader of the Divine Image Sect. May I know what important business Senior has at my Divine Image Sect?"

Just then, an old man with white hair and beard appeared behind these Disciples, accompanied by a spirited female Disciple.