"No, of course not."

"You have a trick up your sleeve," the elder stated.

"Yes, and this trick are connected to what I'm about to ask of you, Elder. After all, I did impress you by fighting that abomination, right?"

"Indeed. What do you want? As long as it's not forbidden or too troublesome, I can grant your request."

Liu Xing nodded. In the end, what he needed was power. While he was already strong, stronger than most people in his realm, he wanted to advance further. His gun allowed him to do so as long as there were many adversaries, and this empire was now full of them.

"What I want is either a cultivation method, a treasure, a talisman, or anything that will allow me to cultivate while moving."

After hearing this, both the elder and the prince raised their eyebrows.

"A peculiar request," the elder commented.

"Couldn't you get something like that from your own sect? After all, you're from the Purple Moon Sect. Our greatest cultivation scriptures, methods, and techniques come from your sect," the prince added.

Liu Xing smiled bitterly. "A sect, whether great or not, is similar in some ways. Everything there comes at a price. And as it happens, I'm quite broke."

His sect points, to this day, were still in the negative, which saddened him. At the very least, he could console himself with the fact that he now had a spatial bag and quite a lot of spirit stones.

The elder pinched his chin. "I assume this would help us deal with the situation?"

"Of course."

If he could get something to cultivate while moving, then this nightmare empire would be the best place for him. He would cull those abominations one by one, using their beast cores to kill others as well as advance his cultivation. Who knew? Perhaps when this conflict was over, he would be a mighty Core Splitting cultivator who could fight evenly with Sun Refining cultivators.

His heart hammered as he waited for Elder Yang Zhaoyan's answer. Did he have something like that? Would one of his milestones to becoming stronger be achieved right here and now?

The elder pinched his chin, then stood up. "Follow me."

Liu Xing and Prince Yang Jinyan stood up and followed him. The two of them were led to a wall in the meeting hall, where a golden statue was carved into the wall. When the three of them stood there for about a second, a part of the wall slid to the side, revealing a long dark hallway with a light shining at the end of it.

As the elder stepped inside, Liu Xing and Prince Yang Jinyan followed. As he entered, Liu Xing felt the air around him change, becoming warmer. While not as drastic, it felt like stepping out of an air-conditioned room onto a hot, scorching road.

"Barrier," Liu Xing muttered.

He glanced to the side, seeing that even the prince's eyes were searching around, as if he also didn't know about this hallway. A smooth grinding sound could be heard, and when he turned his head, he saw the wall closing behind them.

"I didn't know about this place. Where does this hallway lead, Elder?" the prince asked.

"My own treasury."

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"You have your own treasury in the clan compound?" the prince asked, surprised.

The elder wore a sad smile. "It formerly belonged to us, the elders, but since I'm the only one left, all of this is mine."

Liu Xing saw the elder mutter something, but his ears couldn't catch anything even when they were so close. The elder's lips were also kind of blurry for a second, as if he was trying to conceal something. But Liu Xing understood that this trick wasn't to hide anything important. After all, while he couldn't hear what the elder said or read his lips, the elder's eyes conveyed what he felt inside. If Liu Xing was right, the elder probably muttered something along the lines of, "This is all mine, not that I want it."

Soon they arrived at a quite large treasure hall. There were three large doors in front of them. The center door was the largest, a double door made purely of gold. The left door was smaller and as shiny as silver, and the right door looked like it was made of bronze.

"It's actually perfect timing," the elder said while turning his head to the prince. "Prince, you're the Yang clan leader now. It's not official yet, but everyone already thinks so. I do too. After all, while I'm an exceptional cultivator with talent, I'm not fit to be a leader—you are. But your strength isn't where it needs to be yet, so use this treasury as you see fit. However, I advise that before you use it to strengthen our clan, use it first to strengthen yourself." He pointed to the golden gate. "Go there."

The prince clenched his fist until his knuckles turned white. There was fire in his eyes, a burning resolve that marked him as a man who would never back down. He nodded resolutely and walked toward the golden doors. The doors opened automatically, and a blinding yellow light shone out. After the prince stepped inside, the doors closed, leaving Liu Xing alone with the elder.

The elder then began to walk toward the bronze gate. The gate opened, and he beckoned Liu Xing inside.

The inside of the room was actually smaller than Liu Xing had thought. From where he stood to the edge of the room was only about twenty steps. Shelves full of books and scrolls stood and split this little room into several parts, making him think that this little library felt cozy.

On one side of the room, there was a display case of armor, weapons, and trinkets like hairpins, necklaces, belts, and many more. Each of them shiny, and he could feel qi emanating from them.

The elder beckoned him to a mannequin that only had a torso and neck. Hanging from this white mannequin's neck was a necklace made from white stone. The elder took the necklace and showed it to him.

"This necklace is mine. It's called the Solar Stone Necklace."

A treasure that he assumed would be given to him. With a heart full of anticipation, Liu Xing hoped with all his might that this necklace had the ability he was looking for.

"I don't have anything that matches exactly what you want. After all, cultivating while moving isn't as efficient. This necklace is capable of siphoning qi from around its user, but its efficiency is terrible. It's more like a toy than a real treasure."

Liu Xing observed the necklace. It actually looked quite clumsily made. The white rock wasn't entirely circular or smooth. It looked like someone had found a smooth rock from a river, painted it white, and tied it with a little chain. Still, while the elder said this was a toy, it still qualified to be called a treasure. The problem was whether this necklace could solve his problem.

The answer was probably not.

After all, this treasure could only absorb qi from the environment, and cultivation meant absorbing qi into one's body and then into one's consciousness. He suspected that this treasure only functioned to absorb qi into the body. Which meant he would still need to meditate to insert this qi into his consciousness.

"You look disappointed," the elder said. "Luckily, this isn't the only thing I'm going to give you."

The elder then moved to one of the shelves. He riffled through some books and finally got his hand on a little blue scroll that looked ancient, with dust and little tears here and there, ink smudges, and cobwebs.

The elder gave it to him, and Liu Xing dragged a chair over, sat down, and read the scroll.

"This scroll describes a meditation method called the Flowing Meditation Method." The elder put his hands behind his back. "Long ago, there was a farmer family on the edge of our empire. All of the family members, though few in number, had a hint of qi in them, making them stronger than normal mortal families." The elder had a hint of a smile in his eyes, as if reminiscing about a fond memory. "The reason for that was this method."

Liu Xing nodded. The story of farmers cultivating while tending their farms was actually really familiar to him. After all, while he mostly read Chinese web stories, there were many westerners who had the same taste as him, and they too tried to write xianxia stories. One of them was about a cultivator who decided to quit being a cultivator and become a farmer instead.

Liu Xing smiled, remembering the story, but then he centered his mind and tried to focus.