He hesitated for a moment and couldn’t help saying to Yang Yan, "Right! With the Immortal Cultivation Conference almost upon us, Elder Dugu and I have been discussing whether we should find a few disciples who already have half a foot stepped into the Foundation Establishment Stage, and use your method to help them break through successfully."

"After all, this time every sect is determined to win at the Immortal Cultivation Conference. The more people we have, the greater our chance of dominating the rankings."

When he said this, Lin An actually stared anxiously at Yang Yan, as if afraid he might say no.

After all, this was Yang Yan’s method. Out of respect, even though he was very eager to implement it, he still had to ask for Yang Yan’s opinion.

"Sure. If you need any help, please be sure to let me know. I will definitely do my utmost."

They hadn’t expected Yang Yan to agree so readily, much less to even offer his assistance; both of them were pleasantly surprised.

Yang Yan didn’t want to listen to too many of their flattering words, so he hurriedly took his leave.

As soon as he returned to Butcher Palace, Yang Yan ran into Senior Brother Lin Zimu.

After forcibly breaking through with Yang Yan’s help, Lin Zimu had also begun a lengthy closed-door cultivation.

His talent couldn’t compare to Xiaocao’s, but it was still far stronger than that of most others.

Moreover, because he had been cultivating for much longer, his current strength was still above Xiaocao’s.

However, after a period of exchanging pointers, Lin Zimu actually developed a sense of powerlessness. 𝙛𝒓𝓮𝙚𝔀𝒆𝒃𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝓵.𝙘𝒐𝒎

Xiaocao’s strength was advancing by leaps and bounds, racing ahead at lightning speed!

At this rate, surpassing him was only a matter of time.

He even had reason to believe that by the time of the Immortal Cultivation Conference, he wouldn’t even be sure he could last a hundred moves under Xiaocao’s hands.

So whenever he had even a little spare time, Lin Zimu would wait here for Yang Yan, hoping to receive his guidance and speed up his own progress.

As the Inner Sect’s senior brother of the Ancient Abyss Sect, he really couldn’t afford to lose too badly at the Immortal Cultivation Conference.

"Yang, I tried the method you taught me yesterday. But whenever I use this Drive Away the Wolf and Devour the Tiger move, I always feel my True Qi is insufficient and my strength falls short."

"I’ve pondered over it for who knows how long and still can’t find the reason, so I came to ask for your guidance, hoping to achieve a breakthrough."

Lin Zimu spoke sincerely.

He didn’t even want to sit opposite Yang Yan; instead, he remained standing there with a slight bow, properly and respectfully.

He looked just like a student about to listen to a teacher’s instruction.

In truth, though he addressed him as Brother Yang in words, in his heart he still regarded him as a founder‑master.

Not only because of the difference in seniority, but because Yang Yan’s unique insight had already thoroughly convinced him, making him willing to pay the respects of a disciple.

In fact, Yang Yan had long foreseen such a result, and he wasn’t pretentious enough to insist the other sit and talk with him as an equal.

He took the clear tea Gu Sheng had brought over, took a light sip, and then smiled as he explained:

"Do you feel that every time your breath reaches the Laogong Acupoint, it suddenly pauses for a moment, then returns to normal?"

Lin Zimu nodded quickly. "Exactly, exactly! Besides this Laogong Acupoint, it’s the same at the Jueque Acupoint."

As he spoke, he deliberately pointed at his chest.

That was exactly where the Jueque Acupoint was.

Yang Yan didn’t say anything more. He suddenly flicked his finger; before Lin Zimu could even react, he felt a numbness on his chest.

But the next moment, he froze.

After a full three breaths, he suddenly raised his right hand, opened his palm, brought it before his eyes and examined it carefully, his face full of disbelief.

"Zimu, now you can try to run that breath in reverse, driving it straight into Jueque."

Yang Yan reminded him with a smile.

At the same time, he lightly tapped the table, signaling to the slightly dazed Gu Sheng beside him to refill his tea.

Gu Sheng snapped back to himself and hurriedly complied.

Although Lin Zimu trusted Yang Yan completely, when he heard this he still couldn’t help but cast him a doubtful glance.

Yang Yan blinked slightly, nodded with a smile, then picked up the teacup in front of him and took a gentle sip.

Gritting his teeth, Lin Zimu calmed his mind and attempted to reverse his breath, starting from the Laogong Acupoint in his palm and running it along the Lesser Yang Heart Scripture upward.

At first he was still somewhat apprehensive.

After all, running the meridians in reverse was an extremely dangerous affair.

Even with his current strength, every step was full of peril.

A slight mistake could cause his meridians to fall into chaos.

In the mild case, he would be severely injured and see his cultivation regress.

In the worst case, he would die on the spot, doomed for eternity.

Yet once he tried it, Lin Zimu was utterly stunned.

He only felt that this process, which should have been extremely dangerous and difficult, was actually incomparably smooth and comfortable!

As his meridians were run in reverse, he felt as if his whole body was filled with inexhaustible power!

After he channeled his True Qi into the Jueque Acupoint, Lin Zimu followed Yang Yan’s instructions step by step, reversing this True Qi through a full Circulation within his body, combing through all his limbs and bones.

When he opened his eyes again, he suddenly realized that the bottleneck he had never managed to break through actually showed faint signs of loosening.

He was just about to say something to Yang Yan when he saw Yang Yan lightly wave a hand and speak first: "If you don’t mind, Zimu, you’d best stay here and continue to consolidate. If nothing unexpected happens, I believe you’ll be able to take another step forward in just three days!"

Lin Zimu cupped his fists to Yang Yan solemnly. "As the saying goes, great kindness cannot be repaid with mere thanks. Zimu will never forget the grace of your instruction, Yang."

Yang Yan said with a smile, "If you keep thanking me like this, then don’t bother coming again in the future."

"Hurry up and drink that tea and get to cultivating! Otherwise, as Inner Sect senior brother, you really will be outshone by Xiaocao."

Lin Zimu said nothing more, drained his cup in one gulp, and then headed straight for the cultivation room that had originally belonged to Yang Yan...

The moon was bright and the stars sparse as Yang Yan carried Star Night, carving countless marks into the mountainside!

These marks looked chaotic and disordered, but as their number increased, they faintly formed a momentum.

They seemed to be connected to each other, with countless currents of energy flowing over them, already taking on the air of a Spirit Array.

In truth, this was merely something Yang Yan had created on a whim after seeing that Recovery Array!

Yang Yan’s talent was unique, and he possessed a formidable capacity for learning.

Photographic memory was an everyday occurrence for him.

More importantly, he excelled at summarizing and distilling, able to pinpoint the most crucial parts.

For example, the Array before him was something he’d created himself after drawing on the essence of the meridian‑nurturing Array Elder Dugu and the others had jointly arranged earlier, combined with his own understanding of Arrays.

This matter was soon brought to Elder Dugu’s attention. Already harboring a fondness for Yang Yan’s talent, he immediately seized the opportunity and went to speak with Yang Yan, hoping to pass his legacy on to him.

As for nominal things such as master and disciple, he didn’t care in the least; he only wished for Yang Yan to inherit his entire Array Technique legacy and carry it forward—that would be enough to fulfill his remaining hopes.