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

Chapter 333 I Don’t Have to Bury You

In the darkness, Duan Rong took out a small porcelain bottle from his inner pocket. He gently opened the stopper and poured a round, slippery object into his palm.

Duan Rong hesitated for a moment, then put the slippery thing into his mouth.

The method of using Qingtong as recorded in the scriptures is to swallow it directly.

Fortunately, it was dark and he couldn't see anything. Otherwise, Duan Rong would have some psychological concerns if he had to swallow an eye directly.

When Qingtong entered his mouth, an extremely strange taste emerged between his mouth and tongue.

Duan Rong immediately swallowed hard, with a gurgling sound in his throat. In the silent darkness, the sound seemed a little loud.

"What's wrong with you?" Xiao Yu moved on the stone bed.

Duan Rong swallowed and said, "It's okay. Go to sleep."

"Ah."

Xiao Yu hummed, lay on the stone bed, and looked quietly at the place in the darkness where Duan Rong's voice had just come from.

Although she couldn't see anything in the depths of the dark cave, she knew that Duan Rong was there.

Xiao Yu watched for a while, and gradually became sleepy. Her eyes opened and closed tiredly, and she slowly fell asleep...

At this time, Duan Rong had already entered the spiritual sea of consciousness.

The thin mist that originally filled the entire space has now settled on the surface of the black earth.

Duan Rong sat cross-legged in a layer of milky white mist that reached his neck, with his hands in seals and muttering spells as fast as a rainstorm.

As Duan Rong formed seals and chanted incantations, the shadows of four statues gradually emerged between the surrounding heaven and earth.

The phantom of the statue stood tall and majestic, and as soon as it appeared, Duan Rong felt a powerful spiritual pressure.

After Duan Rong finished casting the spell, he stood up from the milky white mist and looked at the divine figure towering into the sky in his sea of consciousness.

Judging from the size of these four divine figures, there is not much difference from the ones he used to construct the mandala with his portraits.

But this time, the divine shadow projected into the spiritual sea of consciousness was even more delicate and realistic.

Although it is still a phantom, it is obviously thicker and more solid.

Duan Rong stood there, looking at the sky above his head. He saw three shining stars and a blood-red, rolling blood nebula standing opposite each other in the center of the sky.

Duan Rong's eyes moved and he lowered his head. He glanced at the southwest direction of the black land. With a thought, his figure suddenly disappeared from the spot. Almost at the same time, he appeared at the edge of the sea of tree spirit light that was flashing with a green glow without any warning.

This is Duan Rong's newly discovered way of moving within the sea of consciousness.

As long as he had a thought, he could appear at any location in his sea of consciousness. It had nothing to do with the distance. He would arrive at any location the moment his mind wandered.

Duan Rong looked at the vast sea of green light in front of him. The sea of light was filled with the fourth-level tree spirits he had devoured.

The most abundant thing in Changliu Mountain is ancient trees. Duan Rong often devours some when he practices martial arts or walks.

Even when he was not practicing the Taizang Sutra, his sea of consciousness was digesting the tree spirit and slowly increasing his mental strength.

Duan Rong looked at the sea of tree spirit light in front of him, a large area of green light, quite spectacular.

He estimated that these tree spirits were enough for him to directly achieve the fourth level of the Taizang Sutra. After all, these were all fourth-level tree spirits.

Duan Rong's mind moved, and his figure disappeared again. He suddenly appeared in the center of the sky, suspended between the three shining stars and the rolling blood light.

There was no telepathy between the rolling blood and Duan Rong.

But Duan Rong could clearly sense the faint but real connection between him and the three shining stars.

Duan Rong looked at the blood light that was rolling and flickering like a nebula not far from his side, and a complex look flashed in his eyes.

This blood light is the origin of the Filthy Blood Divine Art. This thing seems to be out of his control, unlike the star body condensed from the Taizang Sutra, which has a spiritual connection with him.

But it was this blood that saved him twice.

He killed Fan Yuanhai once, and eliminated the insect poison that Shang Xiangyu had given him again.

Duan Rong shifted his gaze away from the rolling blood, concentrated his mind and held his breath, sitting cross-legged in the void.

He began to make hand seals and gestures, entering the state of practicing the fourth level of the Taizang Sutra.

As Duan Rong formed a seal, thunderous sounds rang out in the sky, and the eyes of the four divine figures flashed with lightning...

After a few hours, the original sea of tree spirit light had dissipated by more than half, leaving only a dozen tree spirits in the corner, emitting a green glow...

Duan Rong sat cross-legged in the void, looking tired.

I saw a star floating not far from his side.

The star was emitting a cold, pale blue light, and in the center of the star there was a shadow of an eye, flickering swiftly...

In the void, Duan Rong suddenly opened his eyes. After several hours of hard practice, the fourth star body had condensed.

Duan Rong looked at the four floating stars in front of him, shining brightly and reflecting each other, and a faint joy arose in his heart.

The four stars once again occupied the most central position in the sky, while the nebula with rolling blood light retreated to a remote corner of the sky.

"It seems that after achieving the fourth level, the Taizang Sutra has once again surpassed the Divine Art of Filthy Blood." Duan Rong thought with a twinkling eye.

This result made Duan Rong feel relieved. Although the Dirty Blood Divine Art saved his life twice, he was always wary of this art and felt it was a hidden danger.

Now, watching the blood light retreat to a remote location in his sea of consciousness again, the worries in his heart finally dissipated a little.

Duan Rong's mind moved and he withdrew from the sea of consciousness.

The moment he exited the sea of consciousness, his soul felt a huge sense of fatigue, which almost knocked Duan Rong down.

In order to achieve the fourth level in one go, Duan Rong had obviously overdrawn his soul.

In the darkness, he could hear Xiao Yu's peaceful breathing.

Duan Rong struggled to get up, climbed onto the stone bed, and slept next to Xiao Yu.

As soon as he lay down, he fell asleep instantly.

Duan Rong didn't know how long he had slept when he was suddenly woken up by Xiao Yu.

"Duan Rong, Duan Rong..." Xiao Yu called him softly.

Duan Rong opened his leaden eyelids. "What?"

"You should go now!" Xiao Yu's voice sounded a little shy. "In another hour, it will be dawn."

Duan Rong turned over and went to sleep, mumbling, "Then I'll leave at dawn."

"No." Xiao Yu said, "Leaving after daybreak... won't look good."

"What's... not good-looking?"

Xiao Yu was silent for a while, but Duan Rong suddenly understood what Xiao Yu meant.

At dawn, he walked out of Xiao Yu's cave. He wondered how many people would see him.

Duan Rong struggled to sit up, sighed, and said, "Okay then."

Duan Rong hugged Xiao Yu's shoulders and prepared to leave.

In the darkness, Xiao Yu suddenly said, "I'll take you there."

The two walked out of the cave together. It was just before dawn, when the sky was darkest. They walked along a row of caves, neither of them speaking.

They walked to a corner, and after turning out here, they were not far from the fence of the stone archway.

Duan Rong stopped and said, "Let's stop here."

"Ah."

Xiao Yu hummed lightly, and in the darkness, she silently stared at Duan Rong's shadow.

Duan Rong suddenly took a step closer and lowered his head to kiss Xiao Yu.

In the darkness, Xiao Yu closed her eyes, stood on tiptoe, and walked towards Duan Rong.

The two kissed in the dark.

After a long time, Duan Rong touched Xiao Yu's cheek and turned away. Xiao Yu stood there, staring at Duan Rong's shadow, which disappeared around the corner, and then turned back to the cave.

At this moment, her heart was filled with a certain emotion. There was a hint of sadness in that emotion, but Xiao Yu knew very well that the core of that emotion was a kind of true happiness.

It was something that nourished her life.

A warm and positive force. At this moment, she really wanted to live longer, as if she wanted to continue something... Survival was already a different experience for her.

When Duan Rong returned to the hilltop near Shang Xiangyu, it was still dark.

The moment he walked into his cave, his eyes suddenly moved.

Because there was a large stone on the ground at the entrance of the cave, he almost tripped.

Duan Rong took out a fire starter, blew out a faint flame, and saw that there seemed to be a piece of paper under the stone.

Duan Rong took the paper down, walked into the cave, and lit the candle on the stone table with a fire stick.

Under the flickering candlelight, Duan Rong looked at the paper in his hand.

There was only one line of words on the paper: Junior Brother, someone from the Zongzheng Division will come to question you tomorrow, please don't go out. Pan Yong.

Duan Rong folded the paper and placed it under the candle.

He was not worried about this matter. The people from the Judgment Bureau were just going through the motions, and he had Shang Xiangyu to deal with it.

In fact, he had no plan to go out.

After achieving the fourth level of Taizang, another soul technique became available - Soul Thorn!

The Soul Thorn, like the Soul Wave, is a soul attack, but its power and lethality are much greater than that of the Soul Wave.

But there are also limitations and troubles.

The soul wave is an attack that can be launched at any time by stimulating his thoughts.

But the Soul-Devouring Thorn is different. He needs to use the secret technique of the Taizang Sutra to condense a Soul-Devouring Thorn and store it in the Soul-Devouring Space.

Only in this way can you launch an attack.

Moreover, with his current soul strength, he can only condense one soul thorn.

Duan Rong studied it briefly and found that the condensation of this Soul Thorn was quite complicated.

But Duan Rong could be said to have a deep understanding of the power of spiritual attacks. Whether it was killing Jie Daohan or Fan Yuanhai, he would never have been able to succeed without spiritual attacks.

Since the Soul Thorn is a more powerful Soul attack than the Soul Wave, even if it is complicated, he must condense it as soon as possible.

Attacks on the soul are secretive and strange, and they attack the soul, the most vulnerable part of the human body.

The soul attack is combined with the killing move, and as long as the opponent is not too strong, it can usually be defeated in one wave.

Since he couldn't go out anyway, Duan Rong just used this time to condense the Soul Spear.

Duan Rong spent the entire morning in the deep cave, studying the problem of condensing the Soul Thorn.

It was not until around 3 p.m. that Pan Yong's voice suddenly sounded outside the cave.

Deep in the dark cave, Duan Rong suddenly opened his eyes, jumped off the stone bed, and slowly walked out of the cave.

Outside the cave, next to Pan Yong, stood a man in his early thirties, wearing a clean, moon-white Taoist robe and his hair tied with a wooden hairpin.

The man's face was calm, his eyes were smart and restrained, looking Duan Rong up and down.

Pan Yong smiled and said, "Junior Brother Duan Rong, this is Manager Yang from the Judgment and Rectification Department. He asked you something, just tell him the truth."

Yang Yi bowed to Duan Rong and said, "I am Yang Yi, and I have been appointed by the Judgment and Rectification Department to investigate the explosion of the medicine furnace here."

Duan Rong also clasped his fists in return, but did not speak.

Pan Yong said, "Manager Yang, you guys chat, I won't disturb you."

Pan Yong said this and turned and left.

As soon as Pan Yong left, Yang Yi immediately put away his serious expression and said with a smile: "Friend Yang, I have been asking questions for the whole morning and I am a little thirsty. I wonder if I can ask you for a glass of water?"

Duan Rong smiled and said, "Manager Yang, please."

His eyes swept across Yang Yi's face. He knew what Yang Yi was thinking. This person probably regarded him as a breakthrough point to uncover the truth about the furnace explosion.

When Pan Yong was around, he was very serious, but as soon as Pan Yong left, he became easy-going.

The two walked slowly into the cave.

Duan Rong lit the candle.

From a black pottery jar, he poured two bamboo tubes of water, one for Yang Yi and one for himself.

Yang Yi drank most of the water in the bamboo tube in one breath, then looked at the candle and said with a smile: "Young friend Yang, don't you like to light the lamp when you are in the cave?"

Duan Rong said: "I like to practice in the dark."

Yang Yi nodded without comment, his eyes fixed, and asked, "Friend Duan, what is the relationship between Chen Hu and Yin Cong like? Are there any conflicts?"

Duan Rong's eyes moved slightly, and he knew what Yang Yi was asking.

Both of them were pressed under the alchemy furnace, and Chen Hu's nine-section whip was still wrapped around Yin Cong's feet.

Duan Rong said, "Manager Yang, I am this year's registered disciple. I just arrived not long ago, so I don't know much about their relationship."

Yang Yi's pupils shrank. He could see that Duan Rong was also a stubborn guy.

Yang Yi asked Duan Rong a few more questions. There was no expression on Duan Rong's face, and all his answers were flawless.

Yang Yi's originally easygoing face quickly hardened. "Friend Duan, can I see your sect's cloud certificate?"

Duan Rong took out the sect's cloud certificate and handed it to Yang Yi. Yang Yi took it, looked at it carefully in the candlelight, and then returned it to Duan Rong with an uncertain look.

Yang Yi knew that he would not get any results even if he continued to ask, so he stood up from the stone chair and said, "That's all for today. If I have any questions, I will have to trouble you, Young Master Yang."

Duan Rong said, "Don't be polite, Manager Yang. I will tell you everything I know."

Yang Yi looked at Duan Rong's smiling face, the muscles on his face twitched, and then he turned away.

He originally thought that Duan Rong was a newly registered disciple and perhaps he could interrogate him to find out something. However, this kid was even more cunning than Pan Yong. He spoke those bland and polite words with such a natural expression that even he felt inferior to him.

"We have stumbled upon a den of thieves!"

Yang Yi cursed inwardly and was mentally prepared to go back and close the case.

Shang Xiangyu is an inner disciple and also a pharmacist. Without solid evidence, there is no way to deal with him.

After Yang Yi left, Duan Rong continued to study how to condense the Soul Thorn as if nothing had happened.

At noon the next day, Pan Yong came to see Duan Rong again and said that the Ministry of Justice had sent a letter that the case of the furnace explosion had been closed.

Pan Yong came to call him to go to the elixir cave together to deal with the bodies of Chen Hu and Yin Cong.

The two came to the red cave again.

After the magma died out, the cave became quite cold and damp.

It had only been two days, but the bodies of Chen Hu and Yin Cong were already covered with corpse spots and emitted a foul stench.

The two men put the two bodies in sacks and carried them to a remote corner of the dense forest and buried them.

Pan Yong used wooden boards to erect a simple tombstone for each of them.

There is a big forest on this hill, and no one knows where Pan Yong buried Tang Zhu's body.

Pan Yong looked at the two graves in front of him and suddenly said, "Brother, if I die one day, you don't have to erect a tombstone for me."

"I'm afraid I'll throw up down there."

Duan Rong said: "So, Senior Brother also knows that he is disgusting. Don't worry, Senior Brother. I am not that free. To be honest, I may not even bury you."

Upon hearing this, Pan Yong stood there and laughed.

(End of this chapter)