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

Chapter 336 Aconitum Cream

Pan Yong and Old Man Qin came to Shang Xiangyu's stone chamber together.

Pan Yong walked to the low cupboard in the corner and took out a black key from his inner pocket. He squatted down and opened the copper lock on the bottom layer of the cupboard.

A pair of rather thick black iron doors opened, revealing a partition in the middle, dividing the space into two levels.

Pan Yong rummaged through the layers of bottles and jars on top before he picked up a porcelain bottle in his hand. He stood up and handed it to Old Man Qin who was not far away.

Old man Qin had been standing behind Pan Yong and looking into the cupboard impatiently. When he saw Pan Yong handing over the porcelain bottle, he immediately grabbed it in his hand, opened the cork and took a sniff.

When he smelled the unique scent of moonlight in the water, a hint of intoxication flashed in his eyes.

Old Man Qin put the porcelain bottle into his sleeve, raised his head, looked at Pan Yong with a suspicious expression, and asked, "I heard from Duan Rong that Master Shang will be out for more than half a year before returning to the mountain this time?"

Pan Yong was stunned when he heard this, and said, "Well, that's what Master Shang said when he left."

"Then I wonder how many bottles of Shui Zhong Yue's potion are left? Is it enough to hold me over until Master Shang returns to the mountain?"

Pan Yong said, "Master Qin, I think you should control the amount you use. Including the bottle in your hand, there are only four bottles of Shui Zhong Yue left. Shang Shi said half a year, but I don't know when we can return to the mountain. It's better to save some, to be safe."

Old Man Qin's face suddenly turned ugly. "This... what should I do? Pan Yong, you have been following Master Shang for so long, are you good enough for this?"

There was a hint of begging in Old Man Qin's tone.

Pan Yong shook his head with a grim expression.

Shang Xiangyu only let him take charge of miscellaneous tasks and never let him get involved in the actual refining and preparation of medicines.

The last bit of fantasy of Old Man Qin was shattered. His eyes dimmed instantly. He frowned and murmured, "Then I can only drink one bottle every two months. I might cough up blood again. Sigh... I hope I can live until Master Shang comes back..."

One bottle every two months, four bottles would be eight months. Old man Qin thought that by that time, Shang Xiangyu should be back.

Pan Yong stood at the entrance of the cave and watched Old Man Qin walk away.

He did not leave, but turned back to Shang Xiangyu's stone chamber and walked to the low cabinet in the corner again.

Pan Yong squatted down and pulled open the closed cupboard door.

He had just given the Moon in the Water to Old Man Qin and had not locked the door at all.

Pan Yong squatted there with a serious look in his eyes. He rummaged through the bottles and jars on the lower level. Finally, he picked out a small purple porcelain bottle from the innermost part and held it in his hand.

Pan Yong glanced at the purple, thin-necked, round-bellied porcelain bottle in his hand. For some reason, his expression turned gloomy and scary...

He carefully put the porcelain bottle into his inner pocket, then locked the cupboard door and walked out of the stone chamber.

Deep in the dark cave.

Duan Rong sat cross-legged in the dark, his brows furrowed.

Circulating the Qi and refining the medicinal power was very exhausting, not to mention sitting there for a whole day like him. He was really crazy or alive.

However, after practicing hard day and night in the past few days, the true qi in his dantian has obviously become much thicker. Although there is still a long way to go before he can achieve the first level of the true qi realm, according to Duan Rong's estimation, the level of true qi is not much different from Pan Yong's.

He planned to practice hard for another three or four days, and then look for an opportunity to attack Pan Yong.

Duan Rong was concentrating his mind and refining the remaining medicinal power in his meridians from the Zhengyang Pill he swallowed in the morning. At this moment, Pan Yong's voice suddenly sounded outside the cave.

Duan Rong frowned slightly, let out a sigh of relief, stopped the circulation of his true energy, got off the stone bed, and walked out of the cave.

Duan Rong stood at the entrance of the cave.

In the gloomy light leaking through the leaden clouds, Pan Yong looked at him with a smile and said, "This morning, Old Man Qin came to get medicine. He said that you looked haggard and gaunt. He also asked me, as your senior brother, to take good care of you."

"This old man's words make me feel ashamed..."

Duan Rong stood there, staring at Pan Yong blankly, not knowing what he was singing about.
Pan Yong paused for a moment, glanced at Duan Rong, and continued, "Junior brother, since you entered the mountain, I have not shown enough concern for you. After Tang Zhu's accidental death, we haven't had a good hot meal. Today, I specially prepared a few dishes. Come, come and try my cooking."

As Pan Yong spoke, he actually pulled Duan Rong's sleeve.

Duan Rong stood there, still not coming to his senses.

He really didn't understand what Pan Yong was trying to do.

Treating people to a meal to keep in touch?!

Seeing that Duan Rong hadn't responded yet, Pan Yong continued, "Junior brother, I'm not saying anything bad about you. You can practice so hard every day, so your heart must be strong. But you have to eat something. Even a body of iron can't stand drinking water every day."

Duan Rong's eyes flickered as he looked at Pan Yong and said, "Thank you for your concern, Senior Brother."

"Then, junior brother, let's go." Pan Yong said as he walked forward.

Duan Rong blinked and followed.

When Pan Yong saw Duan Rong following him, he finally felt relieved.

Duan Rong followed behind Pan Yong, but his thoughts were in turmoil.

He went over in his mind what had happened in the past few days since Shang Xiangyu left.

He was somewhat suspicious, wondering if he had revealed some flaws and Pan Yong had guessed his thoughts.

Duan Rong thought about it and found nothing wrong. The only abnormality was probably that he stayed in the cave every day to practice hard.

Could it be this abnormality that aroused Pan Yong's vigilance?
Or does this guy, seeing that Shang Xiangyu has left, really want to have a good relationship with me?
Duan Rong couldn't figure out Pan Yong's thoughts for a while, but he had already seen that Pan Yong was a man who would not do anything without profit. He must have some purpose in doing this.

As Duan Rong walked, he released his spiritual consciousness, penetrating Pan Yong's body...

It's better to be careful in everything.

Pan Yong led Duan Rong into his cave.

Duan Rong had been here for so long, but this was the first time he entered Pan Yong's cave.

As soon as Fang came in, Duan Rong was slightly startled.

Pan Yong's cave was surprisingly well organized. There were almost all kinds of things there. He even saw a bronze mirror on a stone table inside.

Duan Rong's eyes suddenly focused, and he saw something hanging in the cave.

"Is this... a hammock?"

The hammock was a net woven from vines, hung in the cave with two long nails.

Pan Yong saw Duan Rong staring at the hammock and said, "The stone bed is too hard. I'm not used to sleeping on it. This hammock will make it more comfortable."

Duan Rong glanced through the cave, and was impressed by this guy, who could live such a refined life here.

Pan Yong smiled and said, "Junior brother, if you like it, I will make one for you later."

Duan Rong said, "That's not necessary. Senior brother is very skillful."

Pan Yong laughed, pointed to the stone table next to him, and said, "Junior brother, please take a seat!"

Duan Rong looked intently and saw four white porcelain plates on the stone table, with a porcelain bowl on each plate.

Duan Rong and Pan Yong then sat down at the stone table.

Pan Yong picked up the four bowls one by one and said with a smile, "It's just four dishes. It's a bit shabby to entertain you, fellow apprentice."

"Brother, you're welcome."

Duan Rong's eyes lit up slightly, he smelled a scent.

Pan Yong took a set of bowls and chopsticks and placed them in front of Duan Rong and himself.

Then he enthusiastically introduced the four dishes on the table to Duan Rong. "This is fried chicken. This is braised rabbit meat. This is steamed fish. And this, Junior Brother, these are mushrooms I picked in the mountains. I boiled them and mixed them with shredded ginger and minced garlic..."

"Come, Junior Brother, try it."

Pan Yong smiled, used his untouched chopsticks to pick up some chicken nuggets and mushrooms for Duan Rong, and then started eating.

Pan Yong ate for a while and suddenly looked up, only to see Duan Rong still sitting at the stone table, just looking at him expressionlessly without even picking up the chopsticks.

"Junior brother, why don't you eat? Is it because it doesn't suit your taste?"

Duan Rong sighed and suddenly asked, "Brother, how did you know that I wanted to kill you?" Pan Yong was stunned, then laughed and said, "Brother, don't tell such a cold joke. Why would you kill me for no reason?"

Duan Rong glanced at Pan Yong and said, "Brother, have you noticed that after you opened the bowl, a faint mint scent floated in the air?"

"A faint mint smell? Is that true?" Pan Yong sniffed his nose and indeed smelled a faint mint smell. "This is..."

Pan Yong looked at Duan Rong with suspicion in his eyes.

Duan Rong said, "Brother, you don't have to look at me like that. Did you create this smell?"

"I made it?" Pan Yong's eyes became even more puzzled. "I don't have any mint here?"

Duan Rong suddenly asked, "Brother, do you know that Master Shang has a poison called Wutou Frost?"

The moment the three words "wutou frost" came out of Duan Rong's mouth, Pan Yong's expression finally changed. His face looked a little ferocious, and there was a flash of disgust in his eyes.

"How do you know about Aconitum Frost? As far as I know, this is a unique poison of the Shang Master, and few people know about it."

Duan Rong sneered.

He devoured the discarded debris from Shang Xiangyu over the years. When it comes to understanding Shang Xiangyu, who can compare with him?

Duan Rong did not answer Pan Yong's question. "Brother, you know that the aconite frost is odorless and tasteless, and its toxicity is extremely strong. Even a warrior at the Qi realm would find it difficult to suppress its toxicity. But you don't know that this aconite frost has some special properties?"

Pan Yong's mind moved. "Some kind of characteristic? What characteristic?"

Pan Yong looked at Duan Rong with flickering eyes. He felt that Duan Rong was being mysterious.

Duan Rong glanced at the plate of cold mushrooms on the stone table and said, "That's the smell of mint when the aconite frost meets ginger."

Pan Yong's eyes narrowed. It would have been better if Duan Rong hadn't said anything. Once he did, he did feel that the mint smell around the plate of cold mushrooms seemed to be stronger.

He originally thought that Duan Rong was being mysterious. He guessed that he was poisoning him, so he deliberately mentioned the name of the aconite frost to deceive him.

But now, he doesn't think so.

There was no mint in his cave, and there was no mint in his four dishes. But now he did smell the mint, and it came from the dish of cold mushrooms.

If what Duan Rong said was true, how did he know about the properties of Wutou Cream? I have been with Master Shang for so long, but I didn't know that Wutou Cream had such properties. How did Duan Rong know about it?
Pan Yong looked at Duan Rong with fear in his eyes. Only then did he realize that Duan Rong was far more terrifying than he had imagined!
At this time, Duan Rong had already stood up. He looked at Pan Yong with a grim expression and said, "Brother, you guessed right. I want to kill you! I was planning to wait a few more days. Since you have seen through me, now is the time!"

As Duan Rong spoke, he drew out the Minghong Sword with a loud bang, and with a flash of his body, he slashed towards Pan Yong.

Pan Yong was also prepared. He flew backwards in an instant. In mid-air, he pulled his right hand from his waist. With a loud noise, his soft sword flashed in front of him. The sword light was so bright that it was dazzling.

The cave was cramped, but both of them had extraordinary physical skills. In the cave, they fought back and forth, and in a short breath, they had already exchanged several moves.

Duan Rong's palms were shaking slightly. Although he had devoted himself to practicing, it was just a last-minute effort. When it came to the end, his true energy was still inferior to Pan Yong's.

Duan Rong's whisk-splitting machete is sometimes delicate and exquisite, and sometimes fierce and powerful. When attacking, it often makes people feel overwhelmed and difficult to cope with.

But Pan Yong's soft sword almost protected his whole body tightly, and Duan Rong's powerful attack was easily blocked by him.

The two men fought for a while and then went their separate ways.

Both of them clenched the weapons in their hands. Not only did Duan Rong feel a dull pain in the knuckles, but Pan Yong also felt the same pain in the knuckles.

Pan Yong looked at Duan Rong not far away and sneered. "Junior brother, if you want to kill me, I'm afraid it won't be that easy."

Duan Rong smiled and said, "Of course. But I still have to kill you. Because, Senior Brother's life is useful to me."

Although Duan Rong was smiling, his eyes flashed with clear and seriousness. Pan Yong's heart trembled slightly. He realized that Duan Rong would kill him at all costs.

"Junior brother, if you really kill me, how will you explain it to Master Shang when he comes back?" Pan Yong looked at Duan Rong and asked sternly.

Duan Rong sighed slightly and said, "Brother, Master Shang will not come back."

"What nonsense are you talking about!" Pan Yong said angrily.

Duan Rong said: "Senior Brother, you have been with Master Shang for a long time, so you must have noticed that Master Shang's hands are old and wrinkled. And his silver hair..."

"Master Shang, he was poisoned. He has already forced the poison out, only some of the poison remains."

Duan Rong sneered, "He has suffered from the disease of essence exhaustion."

"The disease of source exhaustion?" Pan Yong's eyes were fascinated, as if he had thought of something.

Duan Rong said: "Yes. This disease is incurable!"

"Medicine is ineffective?" Pan Yong's eyes began to wander. Various signs from the past made him feel that what Duan Rong said was the truth.

Duan Rong said: "The pills he made can only alleviate the spread of symptoms. Moreover, the first furnace exploded, and he used his own brother's blood to barely make the second furnace. But he has no blood relatives in the world, and there will never be another furnace of Blood Spring Pills."

Pan Yong's eyes moved, and he said, "Since there won't be another batch of Blood Spring Pills, where can he go if he leaves?"

Duan Rong's eyes flickered, but he pursed his lips and remained silent. He didn't want to tell Pan Yong about the Dirty Blood Skill.

Pan Yong could see that Duan Rong didn't want to talk. His eyes suddenly focused, and he finally understood why Duan Rong wanted to kill him. "Master Shang will not come back, and we are all poisoned by insects. Junior brother wants to steal my medicine for the poisonous insects so that he can live a few more months. Then he will find a way to find a way to cure the poison. Is that right or not?"

Pan Yong suddenly flipped his left hand and grabbed a porcelain bottle in his hand. "If you make another move, I will crush this porcelain bottle immediately."

Pan Yong stared at Duan Rong, with the inner energy in his left palm surging, ready to burst the porcelain bottle in his hand at any time. The porcelain bottle contained the poisonous insect pills.

"I want to say that I am not poisoned by the insect, Senior Brother, do you believe me?"

Pan Yong sneered and said nothing. He naturally didn't believe it. In the red cave where the elixir was made, he saw Duan Rong swallow the insect poison pill with his own eyes.

At this moment, Duan Rong suddenly looked at Pan Yong with pity, and then slashed at him with a knife.

Pan Yong felt a chill all over his body. Duan Rong's look just now stung him, and he attacked directly without any hesitation. "Could it be...he really wasn't poisoned by the insect?! How is this possible?!"

The moment Duan Rong moved, Pan Yong crushed the insect pill in his hand. Under the surge of true energy, the porcelain bottle and the pill turned into powder and became a small ball of black mist.

The two fought together again.

Duan Rong knew that it would be difficult to defeat Pan Yong without using his spiritual power.

He glanced at Pan Yong, whose sword flashed in front of him, and said, "Brother, when you get there, give Yin Cong, Chen Hu and the others good advice. After all, we are all in the same boat, and we are all just puppets of Shang Xiangyu."

Pan Yong raised the corner of his mouth and sneered, "Brother, you are right. I think you should go and lead the team."

As Pan Yong spoke, he suddenly turned up his sleeves and grabbed the spring of a cold iron box with one hand. He was about to raise his hand to press down on Duan Rong.

The moment he grabbed the cold iron box, Duan Rong's spiritual sense had already swept over it. Before Pan Yong could raise his hand, the soul spear in Duan Rong's soul space suddenly shot out!

The soul attack is mysterious and unpredictable, and its speed is as fast as the sky. The moment it is launched, it will hit the target!

Just as Pan Yong was about to raise his hand, he suddenly felt a burst of severe pain in his head!
He trembled all over as if someone had pulled out a muscle, then he hugged his head with a scream, and the iron box of hidden weapons and the soft sword in his hands all fell.

But at this moment, Duan Rong had already slashed with his sword, the killing move of the Kuruo Prajna Sword, and the true energy surged in.

At the moment when Pan Yong was holding his head and screaming, Duan Rong beheaded him with a knife.

Pan Yong's screams echoed in the cave along with his flying head...

At the moment when the scream stopped, Pan Yong's consciousness no longer existed, and at this time the severed head fell on the hammock net...

Duan Rong held the knife and sniffed his nose. He not only smelled blood, but also a strong stench of feces and urine...

Duan Rong looked carefully and saw a wet mark on the crotch of Pan Yong's headless body lying on the ground beside him.

"This……"

Pan Yong was stabbed by the soul-piercing needle and instantly became incontinent.

Duan Rong's eyes flashed with surprise.

Duan Rong expected that the power of the Soul Thorn should be greater than the Soul Wave, but he did not expect it to be so strong.

Surprisingly, Pan Yong was stabbed so hard that he became incontinent.

Although the process of condensing this Soul Thorn was quite complicated, its power was so violent that it really shocked Duan Rong.

(End of this chapter)