"Oh? Junior Brother Chu, which outer sect female disciple have you taken a fancy to?"
Lin Gu took the talisman, and instantly recognized that it was the very one he had sold to Chu Ran. He then raised his eyebrows and asked with a teasing grin.
The news that Chu Ran had been running around asking for a cure for his poison, only to later give up on himself and linger around the female servant disciples, had long since reached his ears.
The spirit stones outer sect female disciples asked for were far more expensive than those the female servant disciples expected.
Lin Gu assumed that Chu Ran had been driven to the end of his rope, and was now trying to get a taste of outer sect female disciples.
Chu Ran ignored Lin Gu's teasing and made up an excuse.
"These past few days, I've gone through quite a few ancient texts, and found that there is a forbidden art in the Forbidden Arts Hall that can suppress the snake poison in my body. That's why I want to give it a try there."
The Forbidden Arts Hall housed countless forbidden arts, and Lin Gu, who was only at the sixth level of Qi Refining, had barely stepped foot inside the hall a handful of times, so there was no way he could verify every single one of the forbidden arts there.
Chu Ran was confident that this excuse would work.
Besides, his snake poison had vanished for no apparent reason, and he had to give the outside world a plausible explanation.
Sure enough, a look of surprise crossed Lin Gu's face. "The Forbidden Arts Hall actually has a forbidden art that can cure poison? Then I wish Junior Brother Chu every success."
Whether Chu Ran lived or died mattered little to Lin Gu.
But if Chu Ran died, he would lose a pretty good customer, which was a bit of a pity.
He then changed the subject. "I'll give you two spirit stones for each of these low-grade, middle-tier Black Fire Talismans that I buy back from you."
Chu Ran cursed inwardly. He had paid three spirit stones for each of these talismans in the first place, just over a month ago. The talismans were still in perfect condition, yet Lin Gu was making a total of three spirit stones off him with this resale.
Chu Ran forced a bitter smile onto his face and softened his tone a little. "Senior Brother Lin Gu, can you make it a little higher? Look at me, I'm a dying man..."
Lin Gu pretended to hesitate. "Fine, fine. Since we have a history of doing business together, I'll take all three of these low-grade, middle-tier talismans off your hands for a total of seven spirit stones."
Seven spirit stones, plus the five he already had in hand, added up to twelve.
It was still a pretty big loss, but right now, he badly needed the spirit stones.
"Thank you, Senior Brother Lin Gu."
The two of them quickly wrapped up the transaction. Chu Ran tucked the twelve spirit stones away and turned to head toward the Forbidden Arts Hall.
The Forbidden Arts Hall was built in a narrow mountain crevice, protected by layers of formations that were said to be able to withstand a single strike from a Golden Core cultivator.
There were also quite a few Foundation Establishment cultivators standing guard in the shadows. Chu Ran could feel several faint strands of divine sense sweep over his body.
Chu Ran was in no hurry. He waited right outside the Forbidden Arts Hall, and when there were less than two hours left until midnight, he finally stood up and walked toward the hall's entrance.
It was already deep at night, and no one was coming in or out of the Forbidden Arts Hall.
At the entrance of the formation, the disciple in charge of registration was an inner sect disciple at the late stage of Qi Refining.
He was dressed in a gray Daoist robe, had a cold look on his face, and was sitting behind a stone table, flipping through a register.
When he saw Chu Ran walking over, he looked up, and a flicker of surprise passed through his eyes.
A mere outer sect disciple at the fourth level of Qi Refining, coming to the Forbidden Arts Hall?
When cultivating forbidden arts, the higher one's cultivation level was, the more skilled one's control over spiritual power would be, and the faster one's cultivation progress would be.
Normally, only disciples at the late stage of Qi Refining would come to the Forbidden Arts Hall to practice forbidden arts.
Even among those late-stage Qi Refining disciples, most would stop to think carefully about whether they could afford the spirit stones needed.
A fourth-level Qi Refining disciple coming to the Forbidden Arts Hall was no different from handing over spirit stones to the sect for nothing.
Chu Ran walked up, bowed respectfully to the inner sect disciple, and said, "Greetings, Senior Brother."
The inner sect disciple said with a blank face, "Are you here to learn forbidden arts?"
"Yes, that's right."
Chu Ran took out eleven spirit stones and held them out with both hands to the inner sect disciple.
"Senior Brother, I wish to learn forbidden arts for three days. This is my first time here, and I don't understand many of the rules. I hope you can give me some guidance."
No matter where he was, it paid to be mindful of social niceties. One spirit stone could save him far more trouble than the value of the stone itself.
Sure enough, when the inner sect disciple saw the eleven spirit stones, the coldness in his eyes faded, and a smile spread across his face.
He slipped one of the spirit stones into his sleeve, and his tone became much warmer.
"What kind of forbidden art does Junior Brother want to learn?"
Chu Ran had already prepared his answer. "I want to learn forbidden arts that are powerful and easy to pick up."
The inner sect disciple continued. "The difficulty of a forbidden art varies from person to person. How long did it take you to get the Heaven Demon Mind Method to the initial entry stage?"
Chu Ran replied, "Two months."
A flash of disdain crossed the inner sect disciple's face.
The Heaven Demon Mind Method was a cultivation technique created by the Heaven Demon Ancestor. Every new disciple who joined the sect could get a copy of it.
This technique was not only powerful, it could also temper far stronger physical vitality and blood than ordinary techniques. The sect even had the complete chapters of the technique that spanned from the Qi Refining stage all the way to the Golden Core stage, which was why almost every disciple in the Heaven Demon Sect used this technique as their foundation for cultivation.
It had taken Chu Ran two whole months to get the Heaven Demon Mind Method to the initial entry stage, which meant his comprehension skills were just average.
Someone with that kind of aptitude coming to learn forbidden arts was doomed to get nothing done in three days.
But since he had accepted the benefits from Chu Ran, he couldn't be stingy with his answers.
The inner sect disciple thought for a moment and then said, "Junior Brother can choose the Blood Demon Body Burning Art. It is a supporting forbidden art for the Heaven Demon Mind Method, so it will be twice as easy for you to learn it."
"After you cast it, your blood and vital energy will boil, and your physical strength will increase by twenty percent. After the effect wears off, you will only be weak for a day before you fully recover. With your aptitude, you can reach the initial entry stage in about half a month."
Chu Ran shook his head. A mere twenty percent boost to his physical strength was nowhere near enough. "Senior Brother, I'm slow-witted, and I don't have many spirit stones. I can't afford to waste half a month... are there any other recommendations?"
The inner sect disciple said again, "On the second floor of the Forbidden Arts Hall, there is a forbidden art called Heaven Crippling Kick. You use medicinal power to make your right foot atrophy, gathering all your power into that foot, so its power far exceeds that of spells of the same rank. You can master the basics of it in seven days."
Chu Ran still shook his head.
This forbidden art required him to keep his calf in an atrophied state for a long time, but his golden finger would forcefully reset his physical condition every midnight.
As soon as midnight came, his atrophied right foot would return to normal. He would have to use the medicine to make it atrophy again, only to have it reset again. He would never be able to master that art.
The inner sect disciple recommended several other forbidden arts one after another, including Blood Shadow Escape, Soul Devouring Claw, and Heaven Demon Self-Destruct Technique.
None of them satisfied Chu Ran. They were either not powerful enough, or would take far too long to learn.
The inner sect disciple was annoyed that Chu Ran kept turning down every option. He held onto his last bit of patience and asked, "Junior Brother, have you made enemies with someone?"
Chu Ran could hear the impatience in his tone, and knew he couldn't keep picking and choosing any longer.
He let out a sigh, a bitter look appearing on his face.
"To be honest with you, Senior Brother, I once had a Dao companion, but a dog thief took her away from me. That dog thief is at the fifth level of Qi Refining, and I don't have the strength to fight back. I refuse to accept this humiliation, so I came to the Forbidden Arts Hall to learn a forbidden art, so I can kill that villain."
As he said this, he clenched his fists unconsciously. "That dog thief and I can never coexist. I swear I will not be a human until I kill him."
The inner sect disciple was stunned for a moment, and he seemed to be able to feel the burning fury in Chu Ran's words.
After a short pause, he spoke slowly, a hint of sympathy in his voice. "It turns out Junior Brother is a man deeply wronged in love. Senior Brother does have one more method to recommend."
Chu Ran solemnly cupped his fists in salute. "Please tell me, Senior Brother. No matter what price I have to pay, I will learn it."
"In the innermost section of the three-tiered inner chamber, there is a forbidden art called the Burning Origin Technique. It requires consuming one's lifespan to forcefully raise one's cultivation level for a short period of time, and it is exceptionally easy to learn. If one masters its second layer, expending thirty years of lifespan can boost one's cultivation to the fifth layer of Qi Refining."
Thirty years of lifespan!
The average lifespan of a Qi Refining stage cultivator is roughly 120 years.
To raise one single realm, one has to burn through a full quarter of their entire life. No cultivator would ever cast such a forbidden art that erodes their own foundation unless they were pushed to absolute desperation and had no other path left.
And this, perfectly aligns with what Chu Ran wants.
He has a golden finger on his side. Every day at the midnight hour, his physical state is forced to reset. Would the lifespan he consumed be replenished as well?
No matter what, he has to give it a try.
All the other forbidden arts can only increase one's strength by at most 30 to 40 percent. The fifth layer of Qi Refining, on the other hand, is several times more powerful than the fourth layer of Qi Refining.
"Thank you for telling me, Senior Brother!"
That inner sect disciple saw that not only was Chu Ran not afraid, he even wore a look of joy on his face. His sympathy for Chu Ran's predicament grew even stronger in his heart. He did not try to dissuade Chu Ran any further, and tossed a glowing jade slip over to him.
"This jade slip will stay lit for three days. You must exit within those three days, otherwise you will not only face sect punishment, but also have to pay extra spirit stones as compensation."
"The Forbidden Arts Hall is made up of one stone chamber after another. The name of the forbidden art is marked on the outside of each chamber, and the cultivation method of the corresponding forbidden art is placed inside. If the formation of a stone chamber is activated, it means the forbidden art inside is being studied by someone, and you must not disturb them."
Chu Ran thanked him again, "Thank you, Senior Brother."
With that, he took the jade slip and stepped into the Forbidden Arts Hall.