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

Chapter 350: The Years in the Mountains

Duan Rong and his companions came out of the Sutra Repository.

Ximen Kankan, Xiao Yu and Shen Mizhi only exchanged for the first level of the skills.

There are four levels of Qi Realm martial arts, and the exchange points for each level are different. The higher you go, the more expensive it is!

Duan Rong looked at the points needed to exchange for the skills and clicked his tongue slightly.

Fortunately, he obtained the martial arts realm directly by devouring the weapon spirit, otherwise, it would cost him a lot of contribution points just to exchange for the martial arts technique.

From then on, Xiao Yu, Ximen Kankan, Shen Mizhi and the other two often came to Duan Rong's hill to practice martial arts when they had free time.

Duan Rong would give them some pointers from time to time. At first, the three of them didn't take it seriously, but as time went on, they discovered that although Duan Rong's words were very brief, they often hit the nail on the head. If they could think deeply and understand them clearly, it would always be of great benefit to their practice.

Gradually, they all began to take the initiative to ask Duan Rong questions.

Duan Rong had unknowingly become their little teacher...

Because Duan Rong's understanding of martial arts was not at the same level as theirs, even if Duan Rong explained it repeatedly, it was a very simple and clear question, but the three of them still found it difficult to understand.

This drove Duan Rong crazy! He often felt as if he was helping elementary school students with their homework in his previous life.

In the blink of an eye, several months passed.

That day, Duan Rong told them that he knew a pharmacist who could help make pills, and they only needed to provide the raw materials.

After hearing this, the three of them looked at Duan Rong with strange eyes.

Shen Mizhi asked, "Why do we only need to provide the raw materials? If it's refined, won't the pharmacist take a cut?"

Shen Mizhi felt that what Duan Rong said didn't seem very reasonable.

Duan Rong said: "This pharmacist is a novice. He refines medicine for people purely for practice, and does not take any commission. However, there is no guarantee that he will be able to refine it successfully."

"There's no guarantee that it will be successful!" Shen Mizhi shouted.

Duan Rong nodded and said, "Yes, but I advise you to give it a try. From what I know, the success rate is quite high."

"Really?" Shen Mizhi was skeptical.

However, Xiao Yu and Ximen Kankan both suggested that they ask the pharmacist to help make a batch of Zhengyang Pills and give it a try.

After all, they both trusted Duan Rong more than Shen Mizhi.

Duan Rong handed them a prescription and asked them to go to the medicine pavilion to exchange the herbs.

Seeing that Xiao Yu and Ximen Kankan were both participating, Shen Mizhi also exchanged some herbs and handed them over to Duan Rong.

A few days later, each of them received a bottle of Zhengyang Pills.

The three of them were overjoyed.

Duan Rong specifically told them that this matter must not be leaked. If the pharmacist secretly made medicine for others, it would be against the sect rules. If it was reported to the sect, the pharmacist would be punished.

All three of them kept it in mind.

If the pharmacist is punished, this business opportunity will be cut off in the future. Where can they find such cheap Zhengyang Pills?

Xiao Yu asked: "Duan Rong, how do you know that pharmacist?"

Duan Rong smiled and said, "When Shang Xiangyu was alive, I was a medicine boy. We met once when I went to their mountain to deliver medicine."

Xiao Yu's eyes moved, but he didn't say anything.

Shen Mizhi looked at Xiao Yu and smiled, "Sister Xiao is asking you, is the pharmacist a man or a woman?"

Upon hearing this, Xiao Yu pinched Shen Mizhi's arm.

Shen Mizhi yelled exaggeratedly.

Duan Rong had refined the Zhengyang Pill many times and had almost never failed. Occasionally there would be some deviations, but they were just slightly lower quality and would not affect its use.

After several times, the three of them were already very confident in the pharmacist's level. They calculated that even if he made a mistake occasionally, they would still make a profit.

At noon that day, Duan Rong had just returned from Xia Honghua when he saw a figure walking towards him from a distance, coughing.

The figure looked like Old Man Qin, but his back seemed more hunched. The coughing sound started from a distance and never stopped all the way to Duan Rong.

Duan Rong had devoured the spirits of many of Gu Suxiu and Shen Ping's personal belongings in Xiangu County, and he also had some attainments in medical skills.

The cough of Old Man Qin clearly hurt the deep part of his lungs.

That was no longer a cough around the throat. The sound vibrated and clearly affected the humming of the lungs.

Old Man Qin looked at Duan Rong and asked, "Master Shang... ahem... haven't you come back yet?"

Duan Rong shook his head and looked at Old Man Qin with some worry.

"It's been... eight months... why hasn't he come back yet..." Old man Qin said intermittently while coughing.

Last time, Old Man Qin went to the Judgment and Rectification Division to find Yang Yi. Yang Yi probably remembered what Yang Sixuan said, that Old Man Qin was a relative of a historian from the Internal History Division, and he also asked the pharmacist to check the poisons and medicines in those cabinets, but found no clues.

Yang Yi did a favor and gave the remaining three bottles of Shui Zhongyue to Old Man Qin.

It was thanks to those three bottles of Water Moon that Old Man Qin managed to survive until this day.

Duan Rong felt a little reluctant.

The Moon in the Water was Shang Xiangyu's unique recipe. This medicine was quite suitable for old man Qin's symptoms, and could suppress his tuberculosis and let him live a few more years.

But Duan Rong still gave up the idea of prescribing medicine for Old Man Qin.

He made pills for Xiao Yu, Ximen Kankan, Shen Mizhi and others, and repeatedly told them to keep it a secret.

After all, Old Man Qin was an outsider to him. The risk was too great.

Duan Rong said, "If Shangshi comes back, I will definitely go to the lower house to tell you."

Old Man Qin said, "Thank you."

After saying this, Old Man Qin walked away coughing with a gloomy look in his eyes.

Two months later, one day Duan Rong was in the dense forest, guiding Ximen Kankan in practicing the air-splitting sword at a critical juncture. Ximen Kankan suddenly said that he had heard from their leader that Old Man Qin from the lower house had died.

"do you died?"

"Yeah. They say he's been dead for over half a month."

Duan Rong looked at the vast twilight. Old Man Qin's last desolate look flashed through his mind...

Although Duan Rong was quite sad about this incident, he quickly put it out of his mind...

That day, Duan Rong sat at the entrance of his cave, looking at the white valley in front of him.

The heavy snow was still falling densely from the gloomy clouds...

Snowing.

Heavy snow blocks the mountain!

This was not the first time he had seen such heavy snow since entering the mountains!
One does not know how many years have passed in the mountains. Before he knew it, he had been in the sect for three years!
Moreover, in three months, it will be the day for their assessment to become outer disciples!
Xiao Yu and Shen Mizhi were all training hard, but Duan Rong was not in a hurry. In three years, Duan Rong had already achieved the state of great perfection in the realm of true qi.

He picked up a dry branch and stirred the fire in front of him. He saw that the clay pot on the fire had begun to emit a faint white mist, and the faint aroma of wine had already rushed into Duan Rong's nose.

Duan Rong's nostrils twitched.

Yes, the clay pot warming on the fire was filled with wine.

This was brewed a few months ago by Ximen Kankan using fruits from the mountains.

Over the past three years, although Ximen Kankan didn't like practicing martial arts, he was always tinkering with all sorts of things. However, he still achieved the second level of the Qi realm a few months ago.

Xiao Yu and Shen Mizhi were obviously more diligent than Ximen Kankan, and Duan Rong also gave them a lot of guidance, but according to Duan Rong's observation, they were still a long way from achieving the second level of the True Qi Realm.

I have to say, practicing martial arts really depends on talent.

Xiao Yu and Shen Mizhi were also worried. If they couldn't achieve the second level of true Qi realm, it would be dangerous for them to advance to outer disciples.

Ximen Kankan had stopped practicing a few months ago because he had heard from their leader that it was generally not a problem for a disciple to advance to the outer sect after reaching the second level of the True Qi Realm.

Whenever Ximen Kankan has some free time, he would play around with Duan Rong every day.

Duan Rong had no time to pay attention to him, but he had stopped practicing martial arts in the past few months.

In the past few months, Duan Rong suddenly became fascinated with Jingzangyuan. He was not only fascinated by the martial arts secrets there, but also by the Taoist scriptures there.

Those things were all metaphysical tomes, covered in dust, rarely read. Perhaps it was because Duan Rong had received a good second-tier education in his previous life, often skipping classes and failing exams.

At least I graduated successfully.

In short, as he looked at these things, he gradually began to understand some of the meaning.

Duan Rong took the pottery jar off the fire and poured himself half a bamboo tube of hot fruit wine.

Duan Rong was drinking fruit wine while thinking about the contents of a Taoist book he read in the Sutra Collection Hall yesterday... Snow was falling outside the cave, and Duan Rong seemed to have realized something...

In the blink of an eye, it is already March, the snow has melted and spring has returned to the earth.

And this day is the day when Duan Rong and his friends will take the assessment to become outer disciples.

It was a close call.

For Duan Rong, being able to take part in this assessment was quite a bumpy journey.

Registered disciples who want to take the assessment need the approval of the lower house.

However, the House of Commons' approval requires a direct supervisor to give a review of the student's performance over the past three years, and to sign and seal it. Only then can the House of Commons issue an approval.

Duan Rong's direct manager is Shang Xiangyu.

But Shang Xiangyu had been away from the sect for more than two years and there had been no news. How could Duan Rong find him to make a comment, and even ask for his signature and seal?

Duan Rong told the steward of the lower house about his situation.

The person in charge said that he had just taken over the business after Old Qin's death and that this was the first time he encountered the assessment for registered disciples.

He didn't know how to deal with this situation.

At that time, the lower house was full of people who came to apply for review and approval, and the person in charge sent Duan Rong away with just one sentence.

Duan Rong was getting anxious when he suddenly had an idea and thought of Xia Honghua.

Duan Rong found Xia Honghua and explained the situation. Xia Honghua was very straightforward and wrote a comment for him, signed it and stamped it.

During the three years that Duan Rong was with her, he kept Xia Honghua's accounts clear, allowing her to receive rewards for three consecutive years.

It was for this reason that Xia Honghua helped Duan Rong with this matter.

Duan Rong took the comments signed and sealed by Xia Honghua and went to the lower house. He got the approval for the qualification review smoothly.

That morning, Duan Rong, Ximen Kankan, Xiao Yu, and Shen Mizhi took the sect's cloud certificate and review approval slip, and prepared to rush from Duan Rong's mountain to the assessment location.

There are three assessments in total.

The first assessment is held in a valley. Go south from the back of the hill where Guangluyuan is located. There are signposts along the way.

They came to the iron chain leading to Guangluyuan.

They suddenly discovered that the animal skin wrappings in the cave on the stone wall were gone.

Normally, there are so many animal skins in this cave that they can't be used up. Moreover, they will bring back the animal skins they took with them when they go out.

However, this day is the assessment day for registered disciples to advance to outer disciples, and the first assessment will be held from the back mountain of Guangluyuan.

As you can imagine, there are many people going to Guangluyuan. As a result, the animal skin wrapping belt is a bit tight.

They searched the cave in the nearby stone wall and found three animal skin straps.

Ximen Kankan's eyes dimmed, and he said, "You guys go ahead. I'll go back to Duan Rong's hilltop and bring back some animal skins."

Of the three, he was the only one who did not find the animal-skin strap.

Duan Rong suddenly smiled and slapped the animal skin wrap in Ximen Kankan's hand. "Here, this is for you."

Ximen Kankan was slightly stunned. "What for? Give it to me, what do you need?"

Xiao Yu also looked at Duan Rong suspiciously.

Duan Rong looked at the three of them, smiled brightly, and said, "I'll put on a show for you."

"Cloud cliff crosses!"

After Duan Rong finished speaking, he suddenly leaped out from the edge of the cliff like a big bird.

"what!"

Xiao Yu's eyes widened in shock, his whole body turned cold, and his expression looked as if he had been extremely frightened.

Duan Rong was in mid-air when his toes suddenly touched the iron chain hanging high above the valley. The chain shook violently at Duan Rong's touch. But Duan Rong, like a swallow skimming the water, counted and fell, and finally crossed to the other side of the cliff.

Xiao Yu's face turned pale and his heart almost jumped into his throat.

Duan Rong landed steadily on the other side and looked at the three people here with a smile.

Xiao Yu, Shen Mizhi, Ximen Kankan and the others were so shocked that they were speechless for a long time.

Duan Rong's martial art is called Yunya Liuxu Step, and he has already achieved the great perfection of the true Qi realm.

In fact, this is not the first time that Duan Rong has performed this light Kung Fu on the iron chain.

The first time he suddenly felt inspired to walk across the cliff on a tightrope was on that morning three months ago.

At that time, dense, heavy snow was falling between the sky and the earth.

There was a layer of white snow on the iron chain, and it was cold in the mountains. After a winter, a layer of ice had already formed on the iron chain.

But at that time, Duan Rong was as light as a swallow and walked across the rope.

The shaking iron chain shook off the silver-white snow, which fell to the bottom of the cliff like smoke.

At that time, Duan Rong was very excited and his eyes were full of joy, but it was a pity that he could not write poetry.

I tried to think for a long time but couldn't even come up with a doggerel.

At this time, it was early spring and the snow and ice had long melted, but the iron chain had been rubbed year after year and its surface was still extremely smooth. It was no less difficult for Duan Rong to walk across the chain than in winter.

Fortunately, this section of iron chain is not too long.

Xiao Yu barely recovered. Looking at Duan Rong's smiling face opposite her, her face looked extremely ugly.

Ximen Kankan was also frightened and stuck out his tongue.

Not to mention Xiao Yu, Shen Mizhi and the others, even if he had achieved the second level of True Qi Realm, he would not dare to step on the rope like Duan Rong did.

The iron chain was so smooth and unstable that if you were not careful, you would fall to the bottom of the valley. From such a height, you would be smashed to pieces.

Xiao Yu, Ximen Kankan and others crossed the iron chain and landed not far from Duan Rong.

Xiao Yu untied the animal leather strap tied around his waist and threw it at Duan Rong, angrily saying, "What are you trying to do? You missed a step and fell down. What should I do?"

Seeing that Xiao Yu was really angry, Shen Mizhi patted Xiao Yu gently with her bare hands and looked at Duan Rong complainingly, "You almost scared Sister Xiao away just now! Why don't you apologize now!"

Duan Rong smiled innocently, put the animal skin bundle into the stone cave beside him, and said, "I am not afraid of having to go back there again to get the bundle. What if I don't have enough time?"

"Okay, don't be angry!"

Looking at Duan Rong like that, Xiao Yu no longer felt angry. With Shen Mizhi comforting her, Xiao Yu's expression gradually improved.

Duan Rong knew in his heart that nothing would happen to him.

But he did scare Xiao Yu quite a bit, no wonder Xiao Yu was so angry.

A few people walked from the top of the Guangluyuan hill, through a dense forest, to the back mountain, and down the mountain road. After a while, they saw the intersection there. There was a wooden sign pointing to the south.

In fact, once you get here, you no longer need the wooden sign to point the way.

There were actually quite a few figures on the winding and rugged mountain road. A huge, discontinuous dragon could be seen among the shadows of trees and stone walls.

"So there are so many registered disciples!"

These registered disciples are scattered in every corner of this endless mountain, and only on this assessment day can they gather together.

Duan Rong and his companions had been in this mountain for three years. Although they often saw other registered disciples, they were all strangers and they seldom greeted them.

Ximen Kankan and his men work in various places and can get to know a few people.

Duan Rong stayed alone on the mountain where Shang Xiangyu was. Apart from Xiao Yu, Ximen Kankan and Shen Mizhi, he hardly knew any other registered disciples.

Looking at the crowds of people filling the mountain road, Duan Rong felt dazed. He seemed to have come to a scenic spot during holidays in his previous life. The mountain road was crowded with people...

(End of this chapter)