Chapter 322: Observing Supreme Learning

"It's a bit boring," Yanjin said as they walked side by side. "Before, we formed demon slayer squads to patrol regions and often fought demon kings. Now that prefectures and counties have been completely abandoned, demon slayers like us in the Great Sun realm are no longer as useful."

Meng Chuan chuckled, "Some Great Sun realm demon slayers still go down the mountain."

"Those are only the older ones who are permitted to descend," Yanjin explained. "Some of our senior martial brothers and sisters join the Earth Net for reconnaissance, while others assist the demon slayers guarding the major cities."

"You're still young, and you cultivate a top-tier demon slayer body," Meng Chuan explained. "Yuanchu Mountain still has high hopes for you."

Yanjin walked into the hall and sat down, then said, "Have a seat."

He poured wine for Meng Chuan and said, "Becoming a Marquis demon slayer is best achieved before the age of sixty. After sixty, your chances gradually diminish. I'm the same age as you, with only eight years left until I turn sixty. To become a Marquis demon slayer within eight years... I have no confidence whatsoever."

"Sometimes, when you're stuck at a bottleneck, a breakthrough can happen unexpectedly," Meng Chuan said, flipping his hand to reveal a treasure box.

"Huh?" Yanjin exclaimed in surprise. "You're not using a storage pouch?"

"I'll tell you, but don't spread the word," Meng Chuan said with a smile. "It's a portable miniature grotto-heaven. Very few people know about it right now."

Yan Chitong and Xue Feng knew about it.

Meng Chuan's trust in Yanjin surpassed that for others.

"A miniature grotto-heaven?" Yanjin gasped in astonishment.

"Here," Meng Chuan said, handing the treasure box to Yanjin. "This is a strange item I acquired by chance. I thought it might be useful to you, so it's a gift."

"For me?"

Yanjin smiled. They had been close friends since their youth, sharing life and death, training and waiting together in Yuanchu City, and then both entering Yuanchu Mountain. Their relationship was so strong that exchanging gifts was perfectly normal.

Yanjin curiously opened the wooden box and saw an ice lotus inside. The stamens of the ice lotus flickered with tiny flames, a perfect fusion of ice and fire within this wondrous lotus.

"This is..." Yanjin's heart trembled as he looked at it.

He cultivated the Green Lotus Divine Body, wielded twin swords, and studied the Black Iron Tome, "Ice Fire Seven Absolutes."

He had a profound understanding of ice and fire.

Seeing the 'coexistence of ice and fire' within this ice lotus instantly resonated with him.

He quickly came to his senses and repeatedly said to Meng Chuan, "This is too precious."

"It's fine," Meng Chuan said with a smile. "For example, my miniature grotto-heaven is more than ten times more expensive than this! And that grotto-heaven... is just one of my treasures. This ice lotus means nothing to me. If you consider me a brother, don't decline. In the future, once you become a Marquis demon slayer, just slay more demon kings. In this war, our human race lacks powerful demon slayers."

Yanjin looked at Meng Chuan, nodded, and simply said, "Okay."

"That's more like it," Meng Chuan chuckled. "Oh, and I also need to thank you for guiding You'er."

"That girl Meng You is quite talented," Yanjin nodded. "At least more talented than I was back then."

"Yanjin, you're the same age as me. My two children have already ascended Yuanchu Mountain and are about to become demon slayers, yet you're still alone," Meng Chuan teased. "Do you have anyone in mind? When do you plan to marry?"

"Being alone is fine," Yanjin calmly replied. "I enjoy solitude; I don't like crowds, they're too noisy!"

The two drank and ate, chatting until midnight before Meng Chuan finally departed.

Late into the night.

Yanjin stood at the entrance of his cave-dwelling, watching Meng Chuan depart amidst the heavy snow.

"He's gone again," Yanjin said. He closed the door to his cave-dwelling, returned to his quiet room, and retrieved the wooden box from his storage pouch. Looking at the ice lotus within the box, Yanjin softly whispered, "Meng Chuan, thank you."

When Meng Chuan returned to his own cave-dwelling, he saw Xue Feng, hidden in the darkness, standing at the entrance.

Xue Feng stepped out from the shadows.

"He accepted it?" Xue Feng asked, looking at Meng Chuan.

"Yes," Meng Chuan nodded.

"That's good, that's good," Xue Feng said with a sigh of relief. "Remember to keep it a secret. If he ever finds out it was from me, he'll definitely return it."

"I'll keep it a secret," Meng Chuan nodded. "You two are blood brothers, yet you act like this..."

"Sigh, it's mainly because of my father's temper. The Xue family owes my brother a great deal," Xue Feng sighed, then continued, "Thank you for this. I'll take my leave now; I must return to my stationed city immediately."

Meng Chuan nodded, watching Xue Feng depart.

The next morning.

Meng Chuan went to the Treasure Pavilion to visit Elder Yi.

"Junior Martial Brother Meng," Elder Yi said with increased warmth, ushering Meng Chuan into a tea room.

"Have some tea."

Elder Yi sat cross-legged and poured a cup of tea for Meng Chuan.

"I've come to request all the Black Iron Tomes and Heaven-grade ultimate techniques of the Lightning lineage," Meng Chuan stated. "I'd like to examine all of them. Oh, and I won't need 'Heart Intent Saber' or 'Heaven and Earth Roaming Dragon Saber'."

"Oh?" Elder Yi hesitated. "Junior Martial Brother Meng, are you sure you want all of them? Yuanchu Mountain has a long history, and the number of Heaven-grade ultimate techniques in the Lightning lineage is vast."

"All of them," Meng Chuan affirmed.

"Alright," Elder Yi said, standing up. "I'll go retrieve them. Please wait here."

After a brief wait, by the time Meng Chuan had finished his cup of tea, Elder Yi had returned to the tea room.

"There are a total of eight Black Iron Tomes for the Lightning lineage on Yuanchu Mountain. Since you don't need 'Heart Intent Saber' or 'Heaven and Earth Roaming Dragon Saber,' these are the remaining six." Elder Yi placed six plain black iron plates, without any writing or illustrations, onto the table. With another wave of his hand, stacks upon stacks of black books appeared beside them, their sheer number astonishing.

"These are the Heaven-grade ultimate techniques of the Lightning lineage," Elder Yi stated solemnly. "Heaven-grade ultimate techniques are typically at the Law Domain level, with only an occasional move or two reaching the Grotto-Heaven realm. Therefore, they weren't extravagantly passed down using 'Fallen Star Iron.' The number of transmissions is naturally limited. Each use depletes it, and after ten or twenty uses, the book loses its profound essence for transmission."

"Therefore, viewers must be very cautious," Elder Yi said, looking at Meng Chuan. "It's best not to look unless absolutely necessary. Only look when it's essential! After viewing... if you master the technique in the future, you also have an obligation to transcribe a new original for transmission."

Meng Chuan nodded.

Original transmission copies were extremely valuable.

"These are the Heaven-grade ultimate techniques of the Lightning lineage that still contain profound essence for transmission, totaling three hundred and twenty-two volumes. Here are another six hundred and nineteen Heaven-grade ultimate techniques of the Lightning lineage that have lost their profound essence and contain only pure textual descriptions and illustrations." Elder Yi waved his hand again, and another large pile of books appeared beside the first.

"By the way, why do you suddenly want to examine so many ultimate technique texts?" Elder Yi asked, puzzled. "These texts are all unique and varied, and many aren't aligned with your cultivation path."

"I'd like to look at all of them," Meng Chuan said with a slight smile.

After observing the purple lightning, drawing the 'Fifteen Forms of Lightning,' and gaining his own understanding of lightning, he would only extract the parts he desired from 'Heart Intent Saber' and 'Heaven and Earth Roaming Dragon Saber.' His current goal was to absorb the wisdom accumulated by generations of human predecessors, laying a solid foundation for his future cultivation.

Only by standing on the shoulders of those who came before could one see further.

"Alright, since you wish to examine them, you are permitted to do so," Elder Yi said, pointing to the six Black Iron Tomes. "These six include spear combat methods, hammer techniques, movement techniques, sword arts, and more. However, none of them are saber techniques like the ones you cultivate. Yuanchu Mountain does not possess the original 'Lightning World-Slaying Saber'."

Meng Chuan nodded.

Whether he used a saber or not was not a major concern.

The core lay in the techniques utilized by the Lightning lineage.

"These texts are far too important; many are unique copies belonging only to Yuanchu Mountain," Elder Yi explained. "I'll arrange a courtyard for you within the library building. You can rest and study these ultimate techniques there. Please return them all to me once you're finished."

"Don't worry," Meng Chuan nodded, understanding that this represented the accumulation of countless years for a sect.

Ultimate techniques.

These truly formed the core of a sect.

These original Heaven-grade ultimate techniques would lose their profound essence for transmission after being studied ten or twenty times. If disciples were allowed to practice them freely, the legacy of these ultimate techniques could completely vanish with just a few dozen practitioners. Therefore, learning them was usually subject to various restrictions, and efforts were made to ensure that later generations could master them and write new original copies, allowing the lineage to be passed down through generations.

With a wave of his hand, Meng Chuan stored all the ultimate techniques.

"Elder Yi, please lead the way," Meng Chuan said with a smile.

"Actually, studying too many ultimate techniques isn't always a good thing," Elder Yi muttered as he walked ahead. "It's best to focus on what you're skilled in. Looking at too many techniques that aren't closely related to your path can sometimes lead to confusion."

Meng Chuan said nothing. In his view, these ultimate techniques were all 'resources,' vital 'resources' that would allow him to advance within the Lightning lineage.