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

Chapter 330: Taking Chestnuts from the Fire
Chen Hu's forehead was covered in cold sweat, and his body was trembling slightly...

Shang Xiangyu is going to kill him!

Chen Hu didn't expect that this day would come so soon!

He thought he had to wait until his three-year term was up and he could take the assessment?

At the moment when a cloud of blood mist spurted out from Yin Cong's chest, Chen Hu's most primitive desire to survive overwhelmed his fear of Shang Xiangyu.

His face was livid and his eyes were full of malice.

Chen Hu suddenly stretched out his hand to his waist and pulled it, and the nine-section steel whip fell off his waist and into his hand.

His body suddenly jumped up like a frightened rabbit in the grass. The moment he jumped up, he swung his right hand, and the nine-section steel whip in his hand jumped out like a snake out of a hole. The tail blade at the tip of the whip flashed with cold light, and at the moment Yin Cong fell to the ground, the tail blade of the whip brushed past Yin Cong's shoulder and suddenly stabbed towards the forehead of Shang Xiangyu who was standing behind him.

This is Chen Hu, who has the perfect timing!

However, this was not the opportunity to kill Shang Xiangyu, but a chance for him to escape.

The moment Chen Hu's nine-section whip left his hand, he leaped up, using his body skills to the extreme, and tried to head towards the entrance of the cave.

The moment Yin Cong fell to the ground, Shang Xiangyu felt a flash of cold light in front of his eyes, and saw the tail blade of the nine-section whip almost brushing Yin Cong's shoulder and shooting towards him.

Shang Xiangyu's eyes narrowed, and he suddenly raised his hand. White light shot out from his fingertips and pointed at the tip of the tail blade of the nine-section whip that Chen Hu swung over.

The moment the fingertips touched the cold blade, under the flash of white light, the tail blade of the nine-section whip actually cracked inch by inch, and at the same time turned into powder, exploding into a fist-sized ball of dust.

The entire nine-section whip was also sent flying backwards by a sudden burst of invisible force!
This is the strength of a warrior who has reached the great perfection of the Yuanqi realm!

Chen Hu's precisely controlled attack obviously forced out some of Shang Xiangyu's hidden power. The vitality of heaven and earth that exploded at this moment was obviously much more violent than when he killed Yin Cong!
But just as Chen Hu made the move, he saw a dark shadow flash before his eyes. It was Duan Rong, who was originally standing not far from him. He suddenly jumped up and kicked him sideways in mid-air.

Chen Hu didn't expect that Duan Rong would suddenly jump out and intercept him. His eyes were fierce and he flipped his hand and grabbed a dagger.

This dagger was the one he used to skin the black blood vine when feeding it blood. It was extremely sharp.

Chen Hu gripped the dagger tightly, infused his internal energy, and chopped at Duan Rong's kicking foot!
Chen Hu originally thought that there would be blood and flesh flying everywhere, and that Duan Rong's legs would be cut off.

But there was only a crisp sound of "ding" and the upper of Duan Rong's shoe exploded at the toe, revealing a golden tiger head on his toe.

It was the tiger-head kick that Duan Rong used when practicing the monument-breaking kick.

Duan Rong's kick, infused with his internal energy, caused Chen Hu to retreat violently.

Duan Rong's figure floated down, blocking Chen Hu's way to escape to the cave entrance.

Chen Hu took several steps back before he stopped, his face livid and his eyes as sharp as knives. "Duan Rong, you..."

Not only Chen Hu was shocked, but even Shang Xiangyu and Pan Yong, who were not far away, were looking at this place with some shock in their eyes.

Duan Rong met Shang Xiangyu's gaze and suddenly clasped his fists, saying, "Master Shang, I am willing to kill Chen Hu for you as a token of my loyalty! Duan Rong will remain loyal to Master Shang for the rest of his life, and will never waver!"

Shang Xiangyu just looked at Duan Rong expressionlessly when he heard this.

However, Pan Yong and Chen Hu's expressions changed!
Chen Hu's face flashed with coldness, and suddenly he laughed and said, "Duan Rong, do you think that if you use me as a stepping stone, Shang Xiangyu, that lunatic, will let you go? You are dreaming!"

Duan Rong's eyes turned stern, and he said, "Once a teacher, always a teacher. Whether to forgive or not is up to Master Shang, not you or me!"

After Duan Rong finished speaking, he drew out the Minghong Sword with a whoosh, and with a flash of his body, he slashed towards Chen Hu!

The moment Duan Rong's body swayed, Pan Yong's pupils suddenly shrank.

Duan Rong's movements at this moment were even more exquisite than he usually displayed.

Duan Rong was no longer holding back and was using almost all of his methods!
Chen Hu had lost his usual weapon, the Nine-Section Whip, and his fighting power was already damaged. At this time, Duan Rong used all his skills, including the Whisk, the Mountain-Splitting Knife, the Monument-Breaking Kick, and the Hundred Flowers Step, to beat Chen Hu back step by step.

Duan Rong's sword moves were powerful and wide, making it difficult for Chen Hu to hold the dagger in his hand. His knuckles were cracked and the weapon was about to slip out of his hand several times. But after a few moves, Duan Rong's sword moves suddenly became delicate, and he slightly tilted his sword to slash at the fingers holding the dagger with exquisite and swift movements.

Chen Hu was shocked and turned his hand to block, but at this moment, Duan Rong suddenly twisted his waist, raised his right leg, and kicked out suddenly, hitting Chen Hu in the heart and kicking him backwards.

Chen Hu was in mid-air, his body unbalanced, his internal energy disordered, and a large mouthful of blood spurted out like mist...

Pan Yong was originally standing beside Shang Xiangyu and had no intention of attacking. When he saw Chen Hu flying towards him, his eyes suddenly moved, and he reached behind his waist, and a soft sword clanged in his hand.

Pan Yong leaped into the air and stabbed at Chen Hu who was flying backwards.

At this time, Pan Yong wanted to take the opportunity to kill Chen Hu and not give Duan Rong the opportunity to surrender!

Duan Rong just displayed various martial arts in succession, including sword techniques, leg techniques, and body techniques. Not only was he frightened, he even noticed that Shang Xiangyu's expression changed slightly!
Chen Hu was in mid-air when he saw Pan Yong flying up and thrusting a sword towards his throat.

At this moment, he was in mid-air, his internal breathing was disordered, but he was unwilling to be killed.

Chen Hu tilted his body slightly and stabbed Pan Yong's wrist with the dagger in his hand.

The moment Pan Yong jumped up, the shadow of a plum blossom bloomed beside Duan Rong's hand, and three flying knives shot out from the shadow of the plum blossom!
When Pan Yong saw Chen Hu's dagger coming at him, he shook his soft sword. With a loud bang, the soft sword twisted like a snake and knocked the dagger out of Chen Hu's hand.

Chen Hu's internal energy was disordered at this time, and the dagger stabbed without any internal energy infusion, it was just a powerless empty move.

Pan Yong knocked Chen Hu's dagger away, but his soft sword's momentum did not decrease, still shaking like a spirit snake, and strangled Chen Hu's throat!

But at this moment, three flying knives shot from Pan Yong's side, silently and swiftly hitting him from the top, middle and bottom.

Pan Yong suddenly turned around, and the soft sword flew in front of him!

Just as Pan Yong knocked down the flying knife, Duan Rong leaped past Pan Yong, and the Minghong Knife in his hand, infused with his inner energy, slashed across Chen Hu's neck...

With a splash of blood, a headless corpse fell to the ground!
Duan Rong grabbed Chen Hu's head and floated down beside the corpse.

Pan Yong held the soft sword in his hand, his face grim, and sneered, "It seems that Junior Brother Duan Rong wants to kill me too!"

Duan Rong said, "I hope you can forgive me, Senior Brother! I threw the three flying knives to force you back. I didn't do it to steal the credit. I just didn't want to break my promise to Master Shang!"

When the incident first broke out, Duan Rong noticed that Pan Yong was standing beside Shang Xiangyu with a calm expression, and he did not suddenly become nervous like Chen Hu.

At that time, Duan Rong instantly understood that for some unknown reason, Shang Xiangyu wanted to kill them but not Pan Yong.

Duan Rong grabbed Chen Hu's head and walked to a place not far in front of Shang Xiangyu. He suddenly knelt down and placed the head on the ground in front of him. He clasped his fists and said, "This head is presented to Master Shang to show Duan Rong's sincerity!"

Shang Xiangyu stood there with his hands behind his back, his snow-white hair draped over his shoulders, and there was no expression on his face.

Duan Rong just knelt on the ground, motionless.

Pan Yong looked at Shang Xiangyu. Seeing that Shang Xiangyu hadn't spoken for a long time, his eyelids suddenly twitched, and with a flick of his soft sword, he thrust it towards Duan Rong's temple. "Duan Rong, do you think Master Shang can't see through your hypocritical behavior?"

Duan Rong saw Pan Yong's sword stabbing at him from the corner of his eye, but he remained kneeling on the ground, motionless.

He knew that Pan Yong's attack at this time was intended to force him to take action.

Seeing that the tip of the soft sword was about to pierce Duan Rong's temple, Duan Rong still knelt in front of Shang Xiangyu, motionless.

He was taking a chance. The only chance!
At this moment, Shang Xiangyu suddenly stretched out his hand, and a piece of broken porcelain flew out from between his fingers. It passed by and hit the root of the soft sword in Pan Yong's hand with a bang.

The soft sword flew backwards, and Pan Yong's mouth was shattered into a bloody mess.

At the moment the soft sword flew out, Duan Rong trembled all over. He knew he was not going to die. He had won the gamble!

At the moment the incident happened, he and Chen Hu both saw a glimmer of hope!
Everyone also tries their best to grab it!

But in Duan Rong's opinion, Chen Hu made the wrong choice from the beginning!
Shang Xiangyu is a warrior who has reached the great perfection of Yuanqi Realm, while they are all just entering Zhenqi Realm. They have no chance of escaping from Shang Xiangyu!

At that moment, Duan Rong decided to kill Chen Hu, accept the pledge of surrender, gain the trust of Shang Xiangyu, and fight for a glimmer of hope in another direction!
Duan Rong felt that the reason this road was not a dead end was that Pan Yong was standing next to Shang Xiangyu, and his expression was calm, with no intention at all.

Duan Rong didn't know why Shang Xiangyu wanted to kill them. Maybe it was because he used his own brother to make medicine and didn't want the matter to be leaked. There may be other reasons. Shang Xiangyu's behavior was so strange and evil that it was obviously impossible to judge by common sense.

Moreover, in that split second, Duan Rong had no time to think. His only thought was how to survive.
Between life and death, it's just a snap of the fingers!
The moment Shang Xiangyu flicked out the broken porcelain pieces, the outcome of the matter was already revealed.

Duan Rong knocked his head heavily on the ground again and said, "Thank you, Master Shang!"

"Stop pretending!" Shang Xiangyu suddenly said coldly.

Duan Rong's heart skipped a beat when he heard this. He looked up again and looked at Shang Xiangyu with deep eyes.

Shang Xiangyu looked at Duan Rong and said, "Duan Rong, I spared your life not because of your clever tricks."

As Shang Xiangyu spoke, his eyes swept over the gravel chips on Duan Rong's forehead, which were left there from when he kowtowed heavily to the ground just now.

"Shen Ping and I have a history, and you have some connections with him. I did this for his sake, and you are also a talent..." Shang Xiangyu paused for a moment and said, "It would be a pity to kill him!"

Duan Rong's eyes flickered. Shang Xiangyu had not yet returned Shen Ping's notebook to him.

After hearing Shang Xiangyu's words, Pan Yong's eyes suddenly flashed with hatred. He had been with Shang Xiangyu for many years, but this was the first time he heard Shang Xiangyu praise someone as a talent.

Shang Xiangyu looked at Duan Rong and said, "Get up!"

Duan Rong stood up with his fists clasped. He raised his hand and touched his temple. There was a faint line of blood there, which was caused by Pan Yong's soft sword that was bounced away.

Shang Xiangyu's eyes were deep. Although he said so, he knew very well in his heart that if Duan Rong had not acted so pretentiously, killed Chen Hu, and pledged his allegiance, he would not have let him go even if Duan Rong had a grudge against Shen Ping.

To be honest, when he decided to kill them just now, he completely forgot that Duan Rong and Shen Ping had a history.

After Duan Rong performed his moves repeatedly, he re-examined him and remembered Shen Ping.

As for how much role Shen Ping's matter played in his decision, he himself couldn't explain it clearly.

Shang Xiangyu suddenly flipped his hand and threw a small black porcelain bottle to Duan Rong.

Duan Rong immediately reached out and took it.

Duan Rong looked at the small black porcelain bottle in his hand, his eyes fixed.

Shang Xiangyu said, "There are ten pills in this bottle. Take one pill a month. They will be very beneficial for cultivation!"

Duan Rong looked at the porcelain bottle in his hand, pretending to be happy, but he was actually complaining in his heart.

Yin Cong had told him before that only Pan Yong could get the pills from Shang Xiangyu, and when Shang Xiangyu wanted to kill them just now, Pan Yong was the only one who was safe.

So, what is the elixir in this black porcelain bottle? It is obvious.

This elixir is obviously some kind of evil thing that can control people.

Moreover, it is estimated that this thing must be extremely difficult to refine, otherwise Shang Xiangyu would not be able to control only Pan Yong.

After weighing the pros and cons, he decided to keep me.

If, the number of people he controls is always only one.

So, if he keeps me, does that mean he will kill Pan Yong?

Just as Duan Rong was lost in thought, Shang Xiangyu suddenly said coldly, "Eat one!"

"Now?" Duan Rong was stunned.

Shang Xiangyu just looked at him coldly without saying anything.

Duan Rong hesitated for a moment before opening the porcelain bottle and carefully pouring out a black pill. The pill was only the size of a little finger, with a rough surface and an irregular shape.

Duan Rong swallowed the pill.

Shang Xiangyu looked at Duan Rong and saw that Duan Rong's throat rolled and seemed to have swallowed it.

Shang Xiangyu's figure suddenly flashed, and Duan Rong only felt a flash before his eyes, and Shang Xiangyu was standing beside him like a ghost.

Shang Xiangyu suddenly raised his hand, pinched Duan Rong's chin hard, and turned to the fire.

Duan Rong's mouth was wide open, and Shang Xiangyu looked into his mouth in the light of the fire.

"Tongue up."

Duan Rong did as he was told. Shang Xiangyu released his hand and said, "Eat one pill every thirty days. If you don't eat it or eat too much, you will die!"

Duan Rong looked ashen, but he still carefully put the porcelain bottle in his hand into the inner pocket of his lapel.

If he doesn't take it, he'll die! Ten pills, at least he can live for ten more months. I wonder if these pills are some kind of poison or something else?

In ten months, maybe he could find a way to get rid of the control this thing had over him.

Shang Xiangyu glanced at the alchemy furnace not far away. The furnace had basically cooled down by then. He looked at Pan Yong and said, "Go and take the blood pill out of the furnace."

Hearing this, Pan Yong walked over, looked at Duan Rong, and said, "Junior brother Duan Rong, come over here too and give me a hand."

Duan Rong followed Pan Yong, stepped over Yin Cong's body, and came to the alchemy furnace.

Pan Yong skillfully slid and opened the spring in the middle of the second layer of the furnace, and then the two of them moved the second layer of the furnace down together.

The moment the alchemy furnace was lifted up, a strong fragrance mixed with a strange smell of blood hit my face.

The smell even made Duan Rong feel a little intoxicated.

The two stood by the stove and looked inside. They saw more than thirty faint threads of light flashing in the dark bottom of the stove.

Pan Yong suddenly took out a long spoon and scooped up the light threads that were as sparkling as eyes from the bottom of the stove one by one.

Duan Rong was holding a white porcelain bottle and a small wooden spoon.

Every time Pan Yong dug one out, he would use a small wooden spoon to put it into the porcelain bottle in his hand.

The elixir was at the bottom of the furnace, flashing with a faint light, but the light disappeared as soon as it came out of the furnace.

Duan Rong looked at it intently and saw that the pill was round and red all over.

"Blood Pill?!"

Shang Xiangyu watched the whole process of the two people taking the pills. Thirty-six pills were put into two porcelain bottles.

(End of this chapter)