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

Chapter 334 Leaving
The next few days were peaceful.

Except for the two hours he spent every day with Xia Honghua to do the accounting, Duan Rong spent the rest of the time practicing madly without slacking off for a single moment.

At noon that day, Duan Rong had just returned from Xia Honghua and was about to start practicing when he suddenly heard Pan Yong calling him outside the cave entrance.

As soon as Duan Rongfang walked out of the cave, Pan Yong said with a serious face: "Junior brother, Master Shang is looking for us. Let's go over."

After Pan Yong finished speaking, he turned and walked along the cliff.

Duan Rong frowned slightly. He wondered what Shang Xiangyu was going to do next.
But as the saying goes, when you live under someone's roof, you have to bow your head.

Although he knew that Shang Xiangyu was looking for them and it might be no good, he still had no choice but to follow Pan Yong and walked over closely.

The two of them walked one in front and one behind, crossed the stone fence on Shang Xiangyu's side, and came to the large platform.

Shang Xiangyu was standing on the edge of the platform with his back to them, looking up at the vast mist in the endless mountains.

Duan Rong's eyelids twitched slightly. Shang Xiangyu had actually changed into a brand new plain silk robe and even tied up her hair.

Ever since Duan Rong came, Shang Xiangyu has been wearing the same wrinkled and shabby Taoist robe, but he has never changed it.

Is this... a change of temperament?

Duan Rong was surprised and felt that something was going to happen.

Pan Yong walked to a place not far behind Shang Xiangyu, clasped his fists, bowed his head, and shouted.

"Mr. Business."

Duan Rong, who was beside Pan Yong, also shouted softly.

The two men stood with their fists clasped, but Shang Xiangyu did not look back for a long time. He looked at the mountains, white fog, and dark clouds in front of him, his eyes deep and distant.

Just as Pan Yong was hesitating whether to shout again, Shang Xiangyu suddenly sighed, then turned around and looked at the two of them.

Duan Rong glanced at Shang Xiangyu, his eyes moved slightly. Shang Xiangyu's expression was calm, and his face seemed to be faintly rosy, which was completely different from his initial pale and somewhat scary expression.

Shang Xiangyu suddenly said, "Master is going on a long journey, and it will probably take more than half a year before he can return to the mountain. During this time, you must practice diligently in the mountains and take good care of yourselves."

Pan Yong and Duan Rong were both stunned when they heard this. None of them had expected that Shang Xiangyu would suddenly go on a long journey. And it seemed that he was traveling alone, without either of them.

Pan Yong hesitated for a moment and said, "Master Shang, you have been out for so long. Is there anything you want me to do?"

Shang Xiang said, "Nothing much. You have followed me for many years. Just do your daily tasks. I will discuss the rest when I come back."

"Yes." Pan Yong said.

"Alright. For a cultivator, there is no need to be polite. I am leaving as your master."

After Shang Xiangyu finished speaking, he flicked his sleeves, turned around, and walked away along the cliff...

The two men stood there, staring at Shang Xiangyu's figure in a daze as he disappeared in the vast white fog and they had not yet come to their senses.

Neither of them expected that Shang Xiangyu would just leave as soon as he said he would.

Duan Rong asked tentatively, "Brother, where did Master Shang go?"

Duan Rong felt that Pan Yong had followed Shang Xiangyu the longest, and it was really too strange that Shang Xiangyu left so suddenly and had been gone for more than half a year.

Pan Yong said, "Master Shang didn't tell me, so how would I know? Well, Junior Brother, you and I just need to follow Master Shang's instructions, practice diligently, and be careful."

After Pan Yong finished speaking, he turned and left.

Duan Rong stood there, his eyes flickering and his thoughts churning.

When Shang Xiangyu left, he felt as if a huge stone pressing on his heart had been removed.

According to Shang Xiangyu himself, he would be out of the mountains for more than half a year this time, which gave him plenty of time to make some adjustments.

He had to think carefully about whether to continue to stay in Taiyi Sect or take advantage of this period of time to get out of Shang Xiangyu's control. After all, although Shang Xiangyu had been away for more than half a year, there would always be a day when he would come back.

However, this matter is not urgent. He can use this time to find out how the registered disciples come out of the mountain and how to get the approval from the lower house.

And even if he wanted to leave, he had to say goodbye to Xiao Yu and Ximen Kankan properly and explain some things to them before he could leave.

Otherwise, Xiao Yu and Ximen Kankan might look for him all over the world.

And before leaving, you have to digest the resources that need to be digested.

For example, Duan Rong has already studied the auxiliary medicines in the Taizang Sutra. The auxiliary medicines from the fourth level onwards seem to come from alien species in the space-distorted world.

That is to say, once he leaves the sect, it will be almost impossible for him to find the auxiliary medicine for the Taizang Sutra. These things are not circulated in the secular world at all.

So, before he left, did he have to accomplish the fifth level of the Garbha Sutra?

There is a black blood fruit on the two black blood vines deep in the cave. It is the auxiliary medicine for the fifth level of the Taizang Sutra, and it is almost ripe.

This place is remote, Shang Xiangyu lives alone on a mountain. He has everything ready, he can just kill Pan Yong, loot all the resources here, and then leave.

When Shang Xiangyu comes back, even if he is furious, the world is so big, where can he find him?

When Duan Rong thought of this, he decided to practice even more madly and improve himself during the next period of time.

After all, the biggest obstacle to all his plans was actually Pan Yong.

He had already used his spiritual sense to check Pan Yong's Dantian, and it seemed that the power of his true energy was slightly better than his. It would be best if he could make up for this shortcoming before taking action, so as to avoid any accidents due to lack of strength.

Duan Rong thought so and decided to go back to the cave to practice immediately.

But just as he entered the cave and sat cross-legged, Pan Yong came to find him again.

Duan Rong walked out of the cave and looked at Pan Yong with suspicion.

Pan Yong said, "Brother, Master Shang is not here. How about we go and clean up Master Shang's stone chamber together?"

Duan Rong's eyes moved, and he said, "Brother, this is a very good idea."

Pan Yong's idea was exactly what he wanted.

The two of them then carefully cleaned up Shang Xiangyu's messy stone chamber.

It took more than an hour to finish cleaning up, and a large sack of discarded debris was collected.

Duan Rong wiped the sweat from his forehead, picked up the bulging sack in his hand, and said, "Brother, I'll take these discarded items out and throw them away."

Pan Yong glanced at Duan Rong and said, "Then I'll trouble you, Junior Brother."

Duan Rong then picked up the sack and walked out.

Pan Yong looked at Duan Rong's back and thought to himself: Junior Brother Duan Rong is a man who works without sparing any effort.

Duan Rong took the sack full of discarded debris and went straight back to his cave.

He walked to the depths of the cave, put the sack on the ground, and sat on the ground. Then Duan Rong took out a chipped inkstone from the sack and said to himself, "Read the spirit of the tool."

In the dark cave, a set of data appeared in front of Duan Rong. Duan Rong had no time to look at the specific content of the data, so he said inwardly: "Swallow."

Because he didn't want to swallow one or two weapon spirits, he wanted to swallow the whole sack of weapon spirits. He didn't have the time to check them one by one.

Then, Duan Rongyou took out a bald brush, and then a hairless whisk...

It took Duan Rong more than half an hour to devour the sack of weapon spirits. His head was swollen, as if it was filled with something, but Duan Rong still struggled to put the discarded debris on the ground back into the sack.

He carried the sack, walked out of the cave, tied the sack, and threw it into the valley outside the cave where white fog was rolling.

Duan Rong then returned to the cave in a daze, fell on the stone bed, and fell asleep instantly. He slept until noon the next day.

This sleep seemed to have been a very long dream for him. In the dream, he seemed to have experienced Shang Xiangyu's entire life...

After waking up, Duan Rong sat on the stone bed. In the dark cave, his eyes sparkled like stars.

"This...Shang Xiangyu actually has an incurable disease?!"

"Blood Spring Pills can't cure it either, they can only delay the symptoms..."

"So where is he going this time? Why is he going to spend half a year?"

Duan Rong jumped off the bed and paced back and forth in the cave.

"He must be looking for a way to cure his source-draining disease?"

"So, what is it?"

Duan Rong suddenly felt a chill all over his body. He thought of a possible destination of Shang Xiangyu, but the answer was too shocking!
In the next few days, Duan Rong did not comb his hair, but practiced hard in the cave.

Until the early morning of that day, Duan Rong practiced hard all night. Seeing that the sky was already bright, he still sat cross-legged on the stone bed, refining the remaining medicinal power of the pills in his meridians. At this moment, he suddenly heard Pan Yong calling him outside the cave.

Duan Rong frowned, got off the stone bed, and walked slowly out of the cave.

When Pan Yong saw Duan Rong, he was slightly stunned. It had only been a few days since they last met, but he saw that Duan Rong's appearance had changed drastically. Not only did he look tired and haggard, his eyes were bloodshot, but he also had a scruffy beard and messy hair.

Pan Yong asked, "Brother, what have you been doing in the cave these days? Why did you become like this?"

Pan Yong only knew that Duan Rong had been staying in the cave these days and seldom went out, but he had no idea that he had become so slovenly.

Duan Rong stroked his unshaven and prickly chin and said lazily, "I have been studying a martial art these days, so there is no need to make a fuss, Senior Brother."

Pan Yong's eyes moved, and he remembered that Duan Rong had used many powerful methods to kill Chen Hu, including leg techniques, sword techniques, and body techniques, and he was proficient in everything.

It seems that this person is a martial arts fanatic, which is why he can comprehend many martial arts and practice them simultaneously.

Pan Yong smiled and said, "Junior brother is indeed very capable!"

"Junior brother, it's like this. I've accepted a mission to earn contribution points in Guangluyuan. I won't be here during the day for the next five days. If you have anything to do, you can leave a note at the entrance of my cave. I'll see it when I come back."

Duan Rong said, "Brother, don't worry. Nothing should happen. If anything does happen, I will let you know."

Pan Yong said, "That's good. Junior brother, you are here alone, so you should pay attention to the movements on the mountain. Master Shang told me to be careful when he left."

Duan Rong secretly complained about Pan Yong's nagging, but he still nodded in agreement calmly.

After Pan Yong finished speaking, he turned around and walked along the cliff.

Duan Rong watched Pan Yong finally walk away and secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

Duan Rong's eyes fixed, and he followed Pan Yong from a distance. He hid somewhere on the rock wall until he saw a figure sliding along the iron chain into the vast fog.

Only then did he suddenly turn his head and look in the direction of Shang Xiangyu's stone chamber.

The moment Duan Rong walked into Shang Xiangyu's stone chamber, his spiritual consciousness was instantly released.

Under the cover of divine consciousness, everything can be seen clearly, passing through walls and roofs.

Duan Rong's eyes suddenly moved, and he stared at a certain spot on the side of the stone bed.

Duan Rong walked over and squatted down.

Under the cover of his spiritual consciousness, he "saw" that there was a secret compartment there.

That day, he and Pan Yong cleaned the room and used their divine sense to explore the room and found this secret compartment. When Shang Xiangyu was around, he didn't dare to use his divine sense at will, but Shang Xiangyu was not around and this place was very remote, so it was not risky for Duan Rong to use his divine sense occasionally.

But at that time, Pan Yong was present, so even if he found the secret compartment, he couldn't do anything.

In the past few days, Pan Yong has been on the top of the mountain, and he did not dare to explore Shang Xiangyu's stone chamber at will.

But Pan Yong's departure that day gave him a good opportunity.

Duan Rong used his spiritual sense to penetrate and investigate, and soon discovered the location of the secret compartment.

He climbed onto the stone bed, on which there was a stone pillow, which seemed to be connected to the bed.

Duan Rong crawled to the stone pillow and suddenly used force to bend the inner end of the stone pillow. The stone pillow tilted slightly and then bounced back to its original position.

At the same time, Duan Rong heard a loud bang in the corner of the stone bed.

Duan Rong jumped off the stone bed and saw that there was a stone slab protruding slightly in the corner. Duan Rong grabbed the top of the stone slab and pushed it hard, and the stone slab opened.

All I saw was a dark hole in front of me.

The inside of this stone bed is actually hollow.

Duan Rong took a candle and went inside the stone bed.

Although the space inside the stone bed was not small, there was nothing inside.

Just a few books.

Duan Rong took out the books and sat down in front of the desk.

The book on top was the Book of Five Poisonous Insects. The pages of the book were yellowed, and it was obviously very old.

Duan Rong felt sick when he saw this name. The insect poison that Shang Xiangyu had put on him was obviously from this technique.

Inside the book on the Five Poisonous Insects Technique, there was actually a yellowish human skin scroll. Duan Rong unfolded it and saw the words "Nine Netherworlds Great Tibetan Technique" written on it.

Duan Rong's eyes jumped. He had devoured many spirit objects from Shang Xiangyu's surroundings. With a lot of information gathered, he had already understood a lot about Shang Xiangyu.

He knew that Shang Xiangyu's source of essence was exhausted due to his practice of the Nine Netherworlds Great Hidden Art.

This technique is obviously an extremely dangerous method and should never be touched lightly.

Duan Rong took the book away and saw several notebooks underneath. They were all Shang Xiangyu's experiences in alchemy and cultivation over the years, and many parts were recorded in great detail.

"It seems that this person is just like Shen Ping, who likes to summarize methods and theories and has the same quirk..."

Duan Rong took Shang Xiangyu's four notebooks and saw the notebook that Shen Ping left for him, which was also placed in the stack of books by Shang Xiangyu.

Duan Rong also took away the notebook left by Shen Ping.

There were actually five more books at the bottom of the stack. Duan Rong looked at the covers one by one and became more and more frightened.

These five books are all about the Filthy Blood Cult and the Filthy Blood Divine Art.

Duan Rong had already guessed Shang Xiangyu's thoughts after he had devoured and digested the discarded debris. Now that he had seen these five books, his thoughts were further confirmed.

Shang Xiangyu left Taiyi Sect to join the Wuxue Sect.

He wants to practice the Divine Art of Filthy Blood.

Because only the Divine Art of Filthy Blood can cure his origin depletion disease!
(End of this chapter)