A thousand enlightenments in one night, starting from being a menial apprentice.

Chapter 279 Great Perfection

Early in the morning, the guards near the East City Gate hunched their necks in the cold wind...

At this time, there were not many people entering and leaving the city gate, only a few people here and there.

Most of them were women from poor families, carrying baskets and digging some newly grown wild vegetables in the mountains. After all, it was the lean season of spring, and some families were already out of food.

Not far from the city gate, in a small teahouse at the entrance of an alley, Xie Daohan was wearing casual clothes and a felt hat that covered most of his face.

He ordered a pot of tea and a plate of peanuts and was drinking them slowly, glancing at the yamen runners at the city gate.

He was not supervising the guards of the city. He did not have the leisure to do that. He was sitting here waiting for Duan Rong to enter the city!

Not only did he wait here himself, but he also instructed Yang Zhen to go to Liu Lu to look for Duan Rong once a day to prevent Duan Rong from returning to the city through other gates!
Although Xie Daohan was investigating Duan Rong, he did not want to expose the matter before obtaining solid evidence to convict Duan Rong!

After all, Duan Rong has already achieved fame and honor, and now is a sensitive time for public disclosure. Although he has already locked in Duan Rong based on his experience and clues, all of these are his inferences. Without physical evidence, everything is empty.

If he couldn't kill Duan Rong with one bite, he would probably be counterattacked by the other party on the spot.

His top priority now is to obtain physical evidence that can convict Duan Rong, and Jie Daohan inferred that this physical evidence is very likely in Duan Rong's possession.

If Duan Rong didn't have it either, he would be ready to wipe Duan Rong out of this world without making a sound!
After all, more than half a year had passed since the case occurred, and it was not impossible that Duan Rong had cleaned up all traces.

For a powerful warrior in the True Qi realm like him, killing Duan Rong, a warrior in the Great Perfection of Inner Qi realm, can be said to be a death encounter. As long as Jie Daohan is careful and does not alarm others, he is confident that he can still do it!
If Duan Rong cannot be brought to justice, he doesn't mind avenging Jie Lei in another way!
Just as Xie Daohan was sitting in the teahouse with his felt hat drooping on his head, drinking tea, a fast horse from the Ministry of Public Administration came roaring past from the east city gate.

Xie Daohan looked up at the patch on the chest of the policeman riding on the black horse, his eyes flashing.

That is a military officer with a certain rank.

Although the messengers of the Ministry of Public Administration were responsible for delivering official documents, generally speaking, the documents that could go through the Ministry of Public Administration system were not ordinary routine documents!

Xie Daohan frowned and murmured, "The people from the Ministry of Public Security are here. Is there something big happening again?"

Xie Daohan's eyelids twitched and a bad premonition flashed through his mind.

Inside the cave of Wild Boar Mountain, Duan Rong sat cross-legged in the depths of the dark cave.

He sat alone in the dark without lighting a lamp.

The moment Duan Rong sat down cross-legged, he used a unique breathing method to hit the turning point of breathing and entered the spiritual sea of consciousness.

At this moment, Duan Rong was standing in the spiritual sea of consciousness, in the center of the black earth!
He looked up at the sky above his head, like a pilgrim looking up to his own god!
This sense of purity and sacredness naturally arose in Duan Rong's heart the moment he looked up at the sky!

At this moment, in the center of the endless sky, three celestial bodies were suspended. They were quiet and peaceful, shining brightly, and reflecting each other!
It was a milky white star body when the first level was achieved, and a crimson star body when the second level was achieved. The third star body, forming a horn with them, was exactly the star body that Duan Rong refined and condensed when he achieved the third level of the Taizang Sutra.

This star is translucent, like a large oval-shaped block of ice, but in the middle of this oval-shaped block of ice, there is a faint shadow of a toad...

Duan Rong looked up at the milky white star, the scarlet star, and the toad venom phantom star with a focused look, his gaze lingering on the toad venom phantom for a long time...

Duan Rong looked up for a long time until he became thoroughly familiar with the faint connection between the three stars and his own soul.

Duan Rong then suddenly turned his head and looked at the blood light "hiding" at the edge of the sky.

The true form of the Divine Art of Filthy Blood, which was lurking within his spiritual sea of consciousness, had always been a source of worry for Duan Rong!
The Taizang Sutra can restrain the Divine Art of Filthy Blood. Now that he has achieved the third level of the Taizang Sutra, the power of the Taizang Sutra should be even greater. He wants to try and see if he can use the power of the third level of the Taizang Sutra to get rid of this piece of blood!
Duan Rong's mind moved. He wanted to use his newly acquired soul technique - soul wave, to attack the blood light and see what effect it would have.

As Duan Rong's mind urged, the three suspended stars in the center of the endless sky suddenly began to rotate around each other rapidly!
The three stars were spinning around in an irregular manner, and gradually became dazzling...

As they revolve around, circles of space ripples spread out in the sea of spiritual consciousness!
Duan Rong's mind moved, and the ripples in space instantly gathered in a certain direction. The ripples were as dense as ripples, layer upon layer...

That direction is exactly the direction where the blood light of the Filthy Blood Divine Art is...

The ripples surged past, but the blood light continued to wriggle and tumble, as if it had no reaction...

Duan Rong realized after a brief reaction that the soul wave could not attack the existence in his sea of consciousness...

The sea of consciousness is the soul wave that is attached to the main body. It can only be emitted from the sea of consciousness and attack external creatures with souls.

Duan Rong understood this point, so he put away the Soul Wave and began to try other methods...

About an hour later, Duan Rong exhaled a breath of foul air and withdrew from his sea of consciousness. His forehead was covered in sweat, and in the darkness, his eyes looked bleak...

He tried all the methods he could, but there was still no way to deal with the blood...

That piece of blood light accidentally sneaked into his sea of consciousness because he devoured the spirit of the weapon.

But, now that it has penetrated, is it so easy to remove it?
The spiritual and bright sea of consciousness is the origin of his mind!
As the saying goes, it is easy to defeat the enemy in the mountains, but it is difficult to defeat the enemy in the heart!
Duan Rong wiped the sweat from his forehead, stood up from the stone bed, and walked slowly to the entrance of the cave.

The mountain breeze blew, and Duan Rong felt a cool breeze on his face. Although it was still chilly in spring, the valley under the cliff was shining with the warm light of the spring sun.

Duan Rong clasped his hands over the sun and glanced at it. It was about noon. His stomach began to growl. It seemed that his stomach was urging him to make a sacrifice.

Duan Rong moved his body and leaped up on the cliff like a swallow skimming the water.

After a few breaths, they arrived at the stream in the valley. There were a few small fish swimming in the stream. Duan Rong shook his head as he watched. The fish were fat in autumn, but now it was early spring after the thaw. After a winter, the fish in the river were all skinny and without any fat or water.

At this moment, a yellow shadow suddenly flashed in the forest. Duan Rong's heart moved, and he suddenly released his spiritual sense and swept over.

After achieving the third level of the Taizang Sutra, the coverage area of Duan Rong's first soul technique increased from 100 meters to 150 meters.

Duan Rong swept his spiritual sense over it and smiled slightly. The yellow shadow was a mountain deer foraging in the forest, eating moss and tender grass.

Duan Rong used his body to leap into the forest as fast as a ghost. The mountain deer was frightened by the whistling leaves and wanted to run away, but Duan Rong was already close to it. With a flash of cold light, the oxtail knife in his hand cut off the mountain deer's head. Duan Rong shook his elbow, and the blood on the oxtail knife flew out. He sheathed the knife, grabbed the two hind legs of the mountain deer, carried it on his back, and walked slowly to the stream.

Duan Rong gutted the mountain deer by the stream, skinned and cleaned it, and divided the venison into several large pieces.

It was early spring, and the temperature in the mountains was even colder, so the venison was not easy to spoil. Duan Rong put most of the venison at the entrance of the cave on the cliff to dry, and only took a venison front leg to roast on a big rock by the stream...

The flames were curling, the fragrance of pine branches was smoking the tender venison, the surface of the venison leg was roasted to a golden brown, and oil was sizzling...

Duan Rong took the deer leg off the fire, sliced off the top layer, and placed it on the large white stone at his feet. Then he put the rest of the deer leg back on the fire to roast...

Duan Rong picked up the roasted venison on the big white stone and put it into his mouth. It was crispy and tender at the same time. Duan Rong's cheeks were puffed up as he chewed vigorously. The aroma suddenly rose, and Duan Rong squinted his eyes in enjoyment...

After eating the venison, Duan Rong scooped up some water from the stream to drink, and looked at the fish swimming leisurely in the bright spring light, which was a real pleasure to watch...

Duan Rong was full and had gnawed a deer leg until only the bones were left. He rubbed his round belly and lay down on the sparkling white stone, taking a nap...

Duan Rong slept for less than an hour before he slowly woke up. He wiped the saliva from the corners of his mouth, cleaned his eyes, squatted by the stream, and washed his face with the cool water of early spring. He looked up at the early spring scenery of the mountains and forests, and suddenly he smiled warmly.

The next moment, Duan Rong suddenly jumped up like a monkey, and with a "swish", he drew out the oxtail knife from his waist. With a flash of cold light, he wielded the Five Tigers and Sheep Knife on a big rock beside the stream.

Duan Rong came to the Wild Boar Mountain for a retreat. In addition to practicing the third level of the Taizang Sutra, he also wanted to try to break through the last layer of his inner state that he had been trapped in for a long time, the state of great perfection.

After thinking about it for a while, Duan Rong already had an idea in his mind.

Breaking through the realm of great perfection in the inner breath realm should be related to the strength of mental power.

After he achieved the third level of the Garbha Sutra, his mental strength had reached a new level. Now was the time to break through to the state of Great Perfection!
Duan Rong had no one to ask for advice on how to break through to the state of Great Perfection, so he could only figure it out on his own!
He decided to use the most clumsy method, which was to constantly hone his knife skills!
Duan Rong believed that since the Five Tigers and Sheep Sword had achieved a certain balance in all aspects after years of improvement by Xiao Zongting, this sword technique was obviously the most suitable for trying to break through the state of great perfection!

He only needs to go one step further and break another layer of the Five Tigers and Sheep Sword that has already reached the subtle realm!
Duan Rong was practicing the Five Tigers and Sheep Swords over and over again by the stream in the valley!

The sun had already set a little, but his figure was still on the big rock by the stream, moving swiftly and dodging with the shadow of his knife flashing!
The sun has set, and night is spreading across the valley...

Duan Rong pursed his lips, a thin layer of sweat on his forehead, but he did not stop.

He was already very familiar with the Five Tigers and Sheep Knife, and he was still immersed in it, performing each move one by one...

The sun had set, the cold moon had not yet risen, and the valley was dark without a single ray of light. Only the gurgling water in the stream occasionally flashed a few dark and cold waves...

Duan Rong was in the darkness, his figure was bleak, dancing with his sword!

His eyes were shining, as he had adapted to the dark environment. Moreover, he had been fighting for several hours in a row, so he was very familiar with the grooves and patterns on the boulder under his feet. In the darkness, even without using his spiritual sense to cover it, he could walk as if on flat ground!
After several hours, Duan Rong not only did not fight faster, but slower. It was not because he was tired, but the more he fought, the less he could understand the moves.

He had always thought that he had completely understood this sword technique, every detail of it, and even the intention of every design by the predecessor who created this martial art and Xiao Zongting who improved this sword technique. Duan Rong thought he had completely seen through it!
However, beside the stream in this valley, in this dark night, after his mental strength broke through and he practiced this sword technique for several hours in a row, Duan Rong had a new feeling!
The knife seems to be more than just a knife. Wind, light, and shadow are all part of the knife.

Where the sword dances, heaven, earth and the sword become one!

The air, the wind, even the moisture in the wind, the fragrance of the mountains, the blade waving past, they are all friends of the blade...

Duan Rong suddenly closed his eyes in the darkness!
His sword moves were still as usual, and he was still practicing one move after another!

Duan Rong suddenly opened his other eye in the darkness. At that time, it was an eye that belonged to the knife. He seemed to be able to feel every delicate wisp of wind blowing across the knife, even more clearly than the feeling of it blowing across the pores of his skin...

Duan Rong closed his eyes and immersed himself in the emptiness. When he suddenly opened his eyes, the morning sun had risen from the east mountain, and the golden light was pouring into the valley...

Duan Rong was suddenly startled, and his whole body felt as if it were electrified. He had actually been fighting in the middle of nowhere for a whole night, but to him, only a few breaths had passed...

The moment Duan Rong opened his eyes, he felt a sharp pain in his soul!
Duan Rong understood that his mind was overly tired, but he was immersed in a state of emptiness and had not noticed it.

After the stabbing pain, Duan Rong's head felt numb. He did not dare to delay any longer, so he jumped into the cave, lay down on the stone bed deep in the cave, and fell asleep.

In the flower hall in the backyard of the county government office.

On the table in the flower hall, there was a simple table of food and wine, and only Shen Yanliu and Tang Wanhong were sitting opposite each other!

This is the first time that Tang Wanhong has stepped into the backyard of the county office since Shen Yanliu took charge of Xiangu County.

Usually, Shen Yanliu would go to Guyue Zhai to find him when there was something going on, but today, Shen Yanliu asked Qin Shuban to go directly to Guyue Zhai to call Tang Wanhong over.

Tang Wanhong was frightened and thought something big had happened!

He came in a hurry, but it turned out to be a great joyous event.

Tang Wanhong picked up a glass of wine and glanced at a piece of document on the desk not far away!
Tang Wanhong knew that the messenger from the Tongzhengshisi had just delivered it this morning. The document was Shen Yanliu's promotion order!

This year is the political examination year, and the examination will basically be completed in two months, January and February.

Years ago, Shen Yanliu closed the bloodbath case and hurriedly sent the closing documents to the government office because he was afraid of missing the political examination.

It seems that all the usual gifts and arrangements were not in vain. As soon as he passed the political examination, the promotion order came down. In this regard, we have to say that it was all thanks to Tang Wanhong!
Shen Yanliu was promoted to the Censor of Ruyang Prefecture and will take office today!

The Censor is in charge of the criminal affairs of a prefecture and holds great power. Shen Yanliu is usually demure, but at this moment he is a little carried away and can hardly hide his joy.

Tang Wanhong raised his glass and said, "Master, it is a double blessing! The young lady has just been promoted to a registered disciple of the sect, and you have been promoted. It is really a cause for celebration. I toast to you, Master!"

Shen Yanliu smiled and said, "Wanhong! You have made a great contribution! Come, let's drink this cup together!"

(End of this chapter)