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

Chapter 436: People are not as good as before
On the top of Yunfu Peak, inside the pavilion.

In Duan Rong's room.

The table was filled with dishes and wine cups, and he and Liu Shushan sat opposite each other.

Liu Shushan was eating voraciously at this moment, without even looking up, like an old sow diving into the trough.

Duan Rong had already eaten his fill. Looking at Liu Shushan's eating habits, he smiled slightly and started drinking.

Duan Rong drank a glass of rice wine, shook his head slightly, and sighed: "Go slowly, no one will snatch it from you!"

"Hmmm..." Liu Shushan was gnawing on a chicken leg while picking up the braised pork in the bowl, not caring about his eating manners.

Duan Rong could also understand Liu Shushan. After all, Liu Shushan had been locked up in Tallinn for more than half a year, while he only stayed in Tallinn for one night before being released.

Liu Shushan has always been quite steady, but the way he eats now makes one imagine how hard and boring life is in the tower forest.

It's like this in just half a year. If he were locked up in Tallinn for two or three years, wouldn't he be driven crazy?
As Duan Rong thought about this, he couldn't help but think of Xiao Yu again.

He felt depressed, so he drank cup after cup of rice wine down his throat.

Duan Rong was drinking when Liu Shushan suddenly held his hand. He burped and said with a greasy smile, "Brother Duan, how can you drink like this? You don't even eat a bite of food?"

Duan Rong smiled and said, "Where is the food? You've eaten all the dishes!"

Liu Shushan also laughed. He had indeed cleared the table of dishes. He smiled awkwardly and said, "I was greedy for too long and lost control. I'm sorry to make you laugh, Brother Duan. But I still have the wine. Come, Brother Duan, I'll toast you a glass."

The two clinked glasses and drank.

Liu Shushan looked at Duan Rong, his eyes moved, and he said, "Brother Duan, I think you seem to be worried."

Duan Rong sighed and said, "Shushan, you have been in the Tower Forest for more than half a year, so you must be very clear about it. Any inner disciple who enters the Tower Forest must never leave the Tower Forest unless he achieves the Great Perfection of the True Qi Realm. This is the iron rule of the sect."

Upon hearing this, Liu Shushan's eyes suddenly darkened, and he said in a low voice: "During the half year I was in the Pagoda Forest, seven or eight skeletons were carried out and buried on Tiefeng Mountain. The sect built the Pagoda Forest, which can indeed help people break through, but it is too cruel."

"Seven or eight skeletons..." Duan Rong drank another glass of wine with a sad look on his face. He didn't know how long Xiao Yu could last. Two years? Three years? Or five years?

Liu Shushan glanced at Duan Rong and said, "Brother Duan, you have never been in there. You don't know. It is so tiring in there."

As Liu Shushan spoke, a hint of fear flashed in his eyes.

Duan Rong asked with a slightly trembling voice: "How are they?"

Liu Shushan said: "Kankan and Shen Mizhi are fine, they have both broken through the third level of the True Qi Realm, especially Kankan, who is expected to break through the fourth level soon. However, the great perfection after breaking through the fourth level is the most difficult to achieve."

Duan Rong nodded and asked, "What about Xiao Yu?"

"This..." Liu Shushan hesitated to speak. He looked at Duan Rong and seemed reluctant to say it.

The more Liu Shushan said this, the more Duan Rong felt like he was being pricked by a needle. "It's okay, Shushan, just tell me what you are saying. I have learned some information from Instructor Yao."

Liu Shushan said, "Actually, on the day I left the tower, Xiao Yu asked me to bring you a message."

Duan Rong's eyes widened immediately after hearing this, and he asked, "What did you say?"

Liu Shushan said: "She said she had a premonition that she might never be able to leave this pagoda forest in her lifetime. She might be buried on Tiefeng Mountain in the future. She said...she asked you to forget her...and...she also asked you to treat Xiaoqi well..."

Upon hearing this, Duan Rong crushed the wine cup in his hand. At that moment, a cold light flashed in his eyes!
After a while, Duan Rong shouted, "Isn't it just a tower forest? At worst, I can kidnap her!"

Upon hearing this, Liu Shushan immediately made a gesture to keep quiet, looked towards the door and said, "Brother Duan, don't talk nonsense! This is Taiyi Sect! If you really dare to do this, how can the people from the Zongzheng Judgment Department let you go?"

Duan Rong also knew that this topic was not convenient to discuss in depth, so he did not bring it up again.

The two chatted for a while, and when it was getting dark, Liu Shushan returned to the training camp on Tiefeng Mountain. After all, in two days, he would go to Cuiwei Peak to pay homage to the ancestors of the past generations in Taiyi Pavilion.

After Liu Shushan left, Duan Rong sat there alone. He wanted to pour wine again, but found that the wine pot was empty. He called the servant and brought him another jar of wine.

Duan Rong held the jar of wine and drank it all up before he lay down on the bed and fell asleep.

After waking up, it was already the next morning. After the hangover, Duan Rong felt a splitting headache.

However, between being drunk and waking up, he already had the answer about Xiao Yu.

There is no way he would give up Xiao Yu!
If a man watched his wife trapped in Tallinn and turned into bones, how could he have the face to live in this world?
However, this cannot be done recklessly, he also has to consider the consequences!

First, the defense inside and outside of Tallin is tight, but judging from the blow that was sent flying at the edge of the dense forest in the valley yesterday, the warriors guarding Tallin should all be in the Cyclone Realm.

First of all, in terms of cultivation, he must be able to ensure that he can rescue Xiao Yu from Tallinn.

Duan Rong was thinking like this when his eyes suddenly froze.

He thought of one thing. The defense forces inside and outside Tallinn might be recorded in detail by the Internal History Department. If he could see these records, he would be able to know both himself and the enemy. In this way, the success rate would be greatly increased.

But no matter what, he had to break through the cyclone realm first.

Secondly, he had to consider the consequences. Even if he succeeded in robbing Xiao Yu, how to deal with the aftermath was also a big problem.

Duan Rong felt that he could not solve this problem, and that he had to rely on Zhu He. However, if Zhu He was willing to help him, there was a prerequisite, that is, he had to have made great contributions to Zhu He, and coupled with his talent, Zhu He would be likely to protect him.

Only when he has made achievements and got into trouble will Zhu He cover him up.

There will definitely be punishment, but it shouldn't be his life!
And as long as Xiao Yu can be rescued, it is worth the punishment!
Once Duan Rong made up his mind, he immediately devoted himself to hard training. The sooner he could break through, the sooner he could rescue Xiao Yu and reunite with his wife.

Ten days later, Duan Rong suddenly opened his eyes in the secret room. He calculated briefly and found that according to the date, Liu Shushan had already paid homage to Taiyi Pavilion.

Moreover, this kid was one of the few who crossed the red line during the test in the Valley. There should be elders and old men who would accept him as a disciple.

According to the schedule, he had been a disciple for seven or eight days. When he left that day, he said that he would come to find him after he became a disciple. Now several days have passed, and there is no sign of him. I hope nothing unexpected has happened.

Duan Rong thought so and left the secret training room.

The worship ceremony in Taiyi Pavilion and the apprenticeship in Longyu Hall were both hosted and organized by the Internal History Department. If Liu Shushan had already become an apprentice, the Internal History Department must have a record of it.

Duan Rong was already Zhu He's direct disciple. He went directly to find Shi Jian on Yunfu Peak and checked the records of that day.

As expected, Liu Shushan had already succeeded in becoming a disciple! He also became the direct disciple of the elder of the Elders' Hall.

However, when Duan Rong saw the name of the elder who accepted Liu Shushan as his disciple, his brows slightly furrowed.

Liu Shushan actually took Ge Rushong as his teacher!

Duan Rong suddenly remembered the generous conditions Ge Rushong offered him when he became his apprentice in Longyu Hall.

No wonder Liu Shushan didn't come to see him after seven or eight days. Maybe it wasn't because of something that delayed him, but because he had a grudge. After all, in the Elders' Council, Ge Rusong had always been against Zhu He.

Now, one of them has Zhu He as his master, and the other has Ge Rusong as his master. Can they still be friends like before?
Duan Rong thought about it and decided to go find Liu Shushan. Maybe Liu Shushan was just delayed by something. After all, they were friends who had shared life and death. Even if they were in different camps now, it would be okay to meet and have a drink.

Besides, when he first became a disciple, he was choosing both martial arts and weapons, and maybe Liu Shushan was the same.

It’s better to meet in person and figure it out.

Duan Rong left Yunfu Peak and went to Qingling Peak where the Tongzhengshisi was located.

He came to a pavilion, showed the sect's cloud certificate and token to the servant there, and said, "Please inform them that I am here to visit Liu Shushan."

The servant bowed respectfully and went upstairs to pass the message.

Duan Rong stood there, looking at the scenery on Qingling Peak leisurely.

Although Qingling Peak is not as tall and misty as Yunfu Peak, it is lush and green, full of spiritual energy, and has a unique appearance.

Not long after, the servant came down from the pavilion and walked towards Duan Rong.

He walked up to Duan Rong, bowed, and handed him a folded page of paper, saying respectfully, "Sir, this is what our Lord Liu told you to do. You will understand once you read it."

Duan Rong's eyes moved slightly, he took the note and opened it.

All I saw was written on it: We each serve our own master and it is inconvenient for us to meet.

The signature only has four words: Shushan Baiyan.

Duan Rong looked at the note and saw that it was written in Liu Shushan's familiar handwriting. He smiled dumbly and turned away.

Duan Rong walked to the valley, and with a shock of vital energy in his palm, the piece of paper in his hand turned into powder and drifted away in the wind.

Just figure out the answer.

This guy is quite straightforward.

After all, this moment is the other moment.

Duan Rong couldn't help but think of his previous life.

Two people may have been good friends in high school. But after not seeing each other for many years, they met at a bidding meeting and became competitors. At this time, no one would show mercy and would resort to all kinds of disgusting means.

This kind of thing has nothing to do with Blue Star or this world.

Because, this is human nature!
In fact, Duan Rong did not blame Liu Shushan. He just chose the option that he thought was more beneficial to him.

But after this trip, I'm afraid their old friendship has also been scattered like those pieces of paper.

Duan Rong had put the matter aside when he returned to the secret training room on Yunfu Peak. He once again devoted himself wholeheartedly to the boring training.

One day more than two months later.

In the secret room for training, Duan Rong sat cross-legged on a cushion, the energy in his Dantian swirling in disorder, like a tangled ball of hemp.

Duan Rong's brows were tightly knitted together, as if he was in great pain. Layers of cold sweat had already oozed out of his forehead.

This process lasted for nearly half an hour. Several times, he couldn't help but groan due to the collision of the breath in his dantian and the tearing pain from his dantian.

Half an hour later, the chaotic and rolling air mass gradually stabilized.

The original vital energy in Duan Rong's dantian condensed and settled again, and at this time the original vital energy had become more condensed and stronger.

Duan Rong raised his head and exhaled a long breath, and a faint whistling sound came from his throat.

The fourth level of Yuanqi Realm was finally achieved.

The fourth level of the Yuan Qi Realm is an important juncture in the Yuan Qi Realm, and it is also a very difficult level to achieve, with many subtle difficulties.

Even though Duan Rong was already very familiar with all the delicate checkpoints, he still felt a little dangerous just now.

If a practitioner has never experienced this, I wonder how long it will take to prepare before he dares to try a breakthrough.

Even so, it is rare to be able to break through successfully on the first try.

Duan Rong wiped the sweat from his forehead, smiled slightly, and said to himself: "I was a little impatient! Fortunately, I have absorbed many martial arts and am familiar with many situations. Otherwise, it would have been a bit dangerous just now."

Duan Rong secretly warned himself that it would be better for him to practice naturally, as being impatient and anxious would easily lead to deviations.

In order to rescue Xiao Yu as soon as possible, he should calm himself down instead of being crazy and forcing a breakthrough. This time he was lucky enough to escape without any danger, but he might not be so lucky next time.

Duan Rong had hardly had any rest in the past two months, and he was now covered in sweat, so he left the secret training room and went to the bathing room on the top floor to take a thorough bath. Then he ordered some food and had a hearty meal.

After Duan Rong had eaten his fill, he drank some tea while picking the meat residue between his teeth with a toothpick.

Suddenly, he frowned and remembered something.

Duan Rong immediately moved the teacup away and took out the ancient feng shui map from the cabinet.

On this map, he had copied down a lot of important information from Wu Shidao's animal skin map. Among all the copied information, the most detailed one was about the Black Fire Lotus.

Duan Rong opened the map at this time and wanted to see the information about the Black Fire Lotus.

When he took a look, he found that it was consistent with what he remembered.

According to the records on the animal skin map that Wu Shidao had, the seeds of the black fire lotus should have matured by now.

Duan Rong sat there, looking at the location of the Black Fire Lotus marked on the map, his eyes flickering.

If you don't go pick lotus seeds now, once you miss the ripening season of the black fire lotus seeds, you will have to wait until this time next year.

He might be able to wait, but Xiao Yu might not.

After all, by picking the seeds of the Black Fire Lotus, he would be able to quickly achieve the twelfth level of the Taizang Sutra. Not only would his mental strength be raised to a higher level, but he would also be able to reach the second level of martial arts in the Cyclone Realm.

The second level of the cyclone realm will contain even more powerful artistic conception.

The improvement of his artistic conception can greatly improve his strength in a short period of time.

Moreover, he has now achieved the fourth level of Yuan Qi Realm and has acquired a certain degree of self-protection ability in the Dark Forest. Coupled with the help of spiritual detection and the soul illusion Yinghuo, although the fire toads and fire weasels guarding the Black Fire Lotus are somewhat difficult to deal with, he still has a great chance to pick the seeds of the Black Fire Lotus and retreat safely.

(End of this chapter)