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

Chapter 425 Black Jade Pool

The two of them entered the narrow stone door and walked into a low space.

As soon as he walked in, Duan Rong felt waves of cold air coming at him. The cold air seemed to be able to penetrate his vital energy and seep into his bones. Even though he had already achieved the realm of vital energy, he couldn't help but shiver at this moment.

After reaching the Great Perfection of True Qi Realm, warriors are no longer afraid of worldly cold, let alone Duan Rong who has achieved the Yuan Qi Realm. He has not known what cold is for a long time.

Lu Geng had already taken out a fire starter and lit a candle on the stone wall beside the door.

The dim candlelight instantly filled the small and dark stone chamber. In the center of the floor of the stone chamber, there was a dark pool. Wisps of chilly air, almost visible to the naked eye, were rising from the mouth of the pool.

Lu Geng said: "This is the Black Jade Pool!"

"Black Jade Pool?"

"Yes!" Lu Geng stared at the pitch-black pool before him and continued, "This is made of cold marrow ice jade, and it's as black as ink. The cold energy within the black jade pool can lock up the heaven and earth energy contained in the flesh and blood of the Yuan Beast, preventing it from dissipating."

In the candlelight, Duan Rong's eyes flickered.

Lu Geng suddenly leaned over and took out a long object from the corner of the wall. He said to Duan Rong, "This is a black jade box. You can carry it with you!"

Duan Rong looked at the black jade box, but his eyes jumped. He had seen this thing before!

Lu Geng continued, "When we're on a mission, we usually use this black jade box to carry some Yuan Beast flesh and blood on us for quick recovery. In the secular world, Yuan Qi is thin and difficult to replenish. Therefore, carrying Yuan Beast flesh and blood in the black jade box is particularly important. Sometimes, the amount of Yuan Beast flesh and blood we carry can even turn defeat into victory and reverse the situation in battle."

Listening to Lu Geng's words, Duan Rong's eyes were filled with longing.

He suddenly remembered the bloody battle he and Xiao Yu encountered when they returned to Xiangu County after three years as registered disciples.

At that time, Jiang Zhe and several other inner disciples of the sect also came to the scene to help fight against Wei Ziyang, the chief altar envoy of the Filthy Blood Sect.

Jiang Zhe and his men used a round-robin method to besiege Wei Ziyang. When they were recuperating, they took out the long black jade box in front of them.

Duan Rong still remembers that what they swallowed was something like candied haws.

Now, Duan Rong finally knew what it was. What they swallowed was the flesh and blood of the Yuan Beast. It was just shaved into small pieces and corroded by the cold energy in the black jade box. It did look a bit like a candied haws.

Duan Rong threw a claw, a tail, and a blood bag into the black jade pool, and the two walked out. The narrow stone door slowly closed behind them, trapping the gloomy cold air into the small and cramped space.

Lu Geng led Duan Rong to a corner of the secret training room, where they saw a box next to a cushion covered with dust and cobwebs, and an old whisk on top of the box.

When Lu Geng opened the box, dust immediately rose up, choking him and causing him to cough several times.

Duan Rong also came over and looked into the wooden box, only to see that it was filled with a lot of things.

Lu Geng took out those things one by one and placed them in front of Duan Rong. Then he pointed to a scroll and said to Duan Rong, "This is the Book of Exotic Beasts. Basically, all the various Yuan Beasts in the Dark Forest are recorded here."

"This is a geomancy map, but it's quite old and outdated. Regarding the water sources, valleys, directions, and falling points, there's nothing wrong with it. However, the habitats of the various Yuan beasts have long since migrated and changed, and they no longer look the same."

Duan Rong asked, "Is the map in Senior Brother Wu's hand new?"

"His photo is the result of our years of exploration and gradual updates." Lu Geng said with a smile, "If you want to see it, you can also borrow it from Senior Brother Wu."

Duan Rong said: "I just asked casually."

Lu Geng held up a black key and said, "This key is the key to the stone door that leads us to the Dark Forest."

Duan Rong's eyes flickered, and he asked, "Can I enter the Dark Forest alone?"

Lu Geng said, "In principle, inner disciples can enter and exit the Dark Forest freely. However, I've already taken you on a trial this time. The Dark Forest still has many dangers, and we're not going very deep this time. The two-legged python is ferocious, but it's still a low-level Yuan Beast. Going deeper into the Dark Forest, there are still mid-level and high-level Yuan Beasts."

This was the first time that Duan Rong heard about the grade classification of Yuan Beasts from Lu Geng.

It turns out that the two-legged python is still a low-level beast.

A low-level Yuan beast was so ferocious that it took two cyclone-level masters to kill it. It was hard to imagine how terrifying the mid-level Yuan beasts and even the high-level Yuan beasts were.

Lu Geng continued, "Before, when Senior Sister Fan and Senior Brother Wu were away for something, Wang Yue and I would go in as well, but we never went deep. We stayed near the Green Light Grass and hunted some small Yuan Beasts. Junior Brother, I still have a warning for you: never go into the Dark Forest alone. Even if Senior Sister Fan and Senior Brother Wu aren't with you, at least come with me and Wang Yue."

Duan Rong said, "Brother Lu, don't worry. I will never go there alone."

"Just remember it, Junior Brother." Lu Geng said, "Don't blame me for being long-winded. Junior Brother, you act strangely, so I can't help but give you a few more instructions."

"No way? Senior brother is willing to teach me because he considers me as his brother. How could Duan Rong not know what is good for him?" Lu Geng patted Duan Rong on the shoulder and said, "Little Junior Brother, you are right. We are from the same school, so we are brothers."

During their trip to the Dark Forest, Lu Geng could naturally see that Fan Hongjiao's attitude towards Duan Rong was quite different, and this must have been partly due to Zhu He's guidance. This junior fellow was extremely talented, and clearly held a great deal of importance in Zhu He's heart. It would be best if he could make friends with him sooner rather than later.

He has been coming to Yunfu Peak for more than seven years.

Wu Shidao was a thoughtful and thoughtful person, and Fan Hongjiao was deeply trusted. Their positions were unshakable. While the others were direct disciples, they were merely cannon fodder. For example, if Wang Yue couldn't break through to the third level this year, he would become a discarded pawn, and all his resources would be drastically reduced.

He was no exception. Although he had barely broken through to the fourth level a month ago, he was still struggling on the brink of life and death. If he couldn't break through to the Cyclone Realm within four years, he would be abandoned. Moreover, the situation was even more complicated now, with the arrival of a talented junior apprentice.

Although Lu Geng didn't say it, one can imagine the great pressure he felt in his heart.

After Lu Geng left, Duan Rong put the things back into the boxes. He then looked at the dusty training room, dusted off the cushion next to it, and sighed, "How many years has it been since anyone has been here? It's like an abandoned warehouse."

Duan Rong walked out of the training room with the key. He walked to the back of the first floor hall and handed the key to the servants, saying, "This is the key to the training room next to Senior Brother Lu. Do you know which one I'm talking about?"

The servant said respectfully, "I know, sir! It is the one on the eastern side of the remaining three training chambers."

Duan Rong nodded and said, "I'll clean it up for you. Don't change the items inside. You can get me new cushions, but don't throw away the old ones! I can use them!"

"Yes, sir!" The servant looked at Duan Rong and answered respectfully, but he was a little puzzled. Why would this new sir make such an odd request? He replaced the old one with a new one, but he still refused to throw it away. He had served many people before, but this was the first time he had encountered such a situation. It was really hard to understand.

"Perhaps this gentleman has some quirks..." Duan Rong had already left, but the servant was still thinking to himself.

After Duan Rong finished explaining, he returned to his room in the pavilion, ordered some food and had a hearty meal.

In the dark forest, although he did not take any action, he was always worried and frightened, which consumed a lot of his energy. Moreover, climbing up from deep underground along the cracks almost exhausted his physical strength.

After Duan Rong had his fill, he lay down on the bed and took a nap.

When I woke up, I found it was already dark and silent outside. It was obviously late at night. Only the faint sound of insects could be heard, which made the endless mountains even more quiet.

Duan Rong turned over and got out of bed. He slept for quite a while.

He simply washed up and took advantage of the night to come to the back of the hall on the first floor of the pavilion.

In the darkness of the night, candles were lit high, but there was only one servant on duty at night.

Duan Rong glanced at him and asked, "Are you alone?"

The servant replied, "My Lord, there are two people on duty at night, and the other one has gone in for business."

Duan Rong hummed lightly and asked, "Is the secret training room ready?"

The servant respectfully placed a key in front of Duan Rong and said, "It's all packed."

Duan Rong took the key and said, "Open the wooden door. I want to go in."

"Yes!"

As the carved wooden wall in front of him opened to both sides, Duan Rong slowly walked into the cave.

As soon as Duan Rong came out of the cave and entered the stone chamber where the statue of Acala stood, he saw a servant walking out of a stone door with a wooden tray in his hand.

When the servant saw Duan Rong, he was slightly startled, then he immediately bent down and respectfully called him "Sir".

Duan Rong's eyes moved and he asked, "What are you doing here?"

The servant replied, "Send some food to Lord Fan."

Duan Rong uttered an "oh," glanced at the stone gate through which the servant had emerged, and turned away. He remembered that Fan Hongjiao had previously mentioned that he would be in seclusion for a few days.

The servant stood there bent over, and only straightened up and walked out after Duan Rong turned around and left.

Duan Rong walked into his own secret room for training and found that the room had been completely renovated. Two new and old cushions were placed next to each other against the wall, and all the old objects in the room had been wiped clean.

Duan Rong walked over slowly, picked up an old whisk, and said to himself, "Read the spirit of the weapon!"

(End of this chapter)