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

Chapter 523 Phosphor Filaments and Divine Weapons

Duan Rong entered the pavilion, into Zhu He's room.

After he paid his respects, Zhu He raised his hand, placed something on the table, and gently pushed it toward him.

Duan Rong stared intently and saw that it was the dew-drinking cicada that had been taken down from Wuliang Cliff.

Zhu He said, "In the past five or six days, I have refined this Dew-Drinking Cicada again. It can now be used three times. Please keep it safe!"

Upon hearing this, Duan Rong felt a slight warmth in his heart.

Zhu He actually spent five or six days refining the Dew-Drinking Cicada, replenishing the two times he had consumed it while at the Divine Cloud Palace. It seems that Zhu He must have been feeding the cicada with the power of laws every night these days, and to refine it in such a short time must have required a lot of mental and physical exertion.

Duan Rong stared at Zhu He for a moment before clasping his hands and saying, "I will never forget the kindness of my master in protecting me!"

Duan Rong had been worried about Xiao Qiwu, the person who was plotting against him, but with the protection of the Dew-Drinking Cicada, he finally had another way to save his life.

“You are from Yunfu Peak. If I can’t even protect you, I will lose face!” Zhu He said, pointing to another chair not far from the table. “Duan Rong, sit down. I have something to discuss with you.”

"Yes, Master!" Duan Rong took the Dew-Drinking Cicada, carefully put it away, and then sat respectfully in the chair.

Zhu He looked at him and asked, "What are your plans for dealing with Xiao Yu?"

Upon hearing this, Duan Rong's eyes flickered slightly.

In fact, he had already considered this matter last night while he was making love with Xiao Yu in the cultivation chamber. After all, he had abducted Xiao Yu from the tower forest, which violated the sect's ironclad rules. Allowing Xiao Yu to frequently enter and leave the pavilions on Yunfu Peak would inevitably have some negative impact. The rumors about this matter would also be frequently remembered by people because of Xiao Yu's presence.

This would be bad not only for him and Xiao Yu, but also for Yunfu Peak.

Zhu He solemnly brought up this matter to him at this time because he had this thought in mind.

Duan Rong said, "When I was a disciple, I followed Shang Xiangyu, a pharmacist from the Medicine Pavilion. He later disappeared. He has a mountain in a remote place, and Xiao Yu and I are quite familiar with that place. I plan to build a villa on that mountain using local materials, and Xiao Yu and I will live there permanently from now on."

Duan Rong thought that as long as Xiao Yu lived in seclusion on that mountain, people would forget about the matter after a while.

Seeing Duan Rong's reply, Zhu He knew that he had understood his meaning, so he smiled faintly and said, "That's very good! There are a few historians in the Inner History Bureau who are quite good at construction. I will ask Wu Shidao to select a few people for you. Since you are going to build one, build a proper villa. If I have some free time, I can stay there for a few days."

Duan Rong smiled and said, "Then thank you very much, Master!"

Zhu He smiled and waved his hand.

At this moment, the master and disciple were of one mind and got along very well.

Zhu He's eyes suddenly lit up, and he asked, "You've left the Myriad Manifestations Cave, but you haven't gone to see the Ancestor yet, have you?"

Duan Rong replied, "Reporting to Master, not yet!"

Zhu He said, "Go quickly! Don't keep the Ancestor waiting!"

Duan Rong replied, "Yes, Master!"

Zhu He knew that Chu Wushang must have reported Duan Rong's situation at the Myriad Manifestations Cave to the Ancestor yesterday. The Ancestor had arranged for Duan Rong to suffer three blows from the God-Slaying Whip and be imprisoned in the Myriad Manifestations Cave; he must also want to know about Duan Rong's condition.

After taking his leave from Zhu He, Duan Rong returned to the dense forest in the mountain valley.

Ximen Kankan had already eaten until his belly was round and was chatting and laughing.

Shen Mizhi sat there, occasionally making sarcastic remarks at him.

Only Xiao Yu was staring at the extinguished fire, idly brushing a few chicken wings with honey from time to time. The extinguished fire was just enough to keep them warm.

Ximen Kankan glanced at the chicken wings, swallowed hard, and said, "Who knows when Duan Rong will be back? I think I should just eat those chicken wings."

Xiao Yu rolled her eyes at him and said, "How many have you already eaten? Are you still going to eat? Aren't you afraid of bursting your stomach?!"

Ximen Kankan snorted and said, "How many?! You tore off the wings of every single one! You know how to pick out the good parts, don't you?!"

As the two were talking, a gust of wind suddenly rose, and with the falling leaves, Duan Rong was already standing beside Xiao Yu, smiling at her.

Xiao Yu's eyes lit up with joy, and she said, "You're back! Did your master find something?" Xiao Yu thought that since she returned so quickly, the conversation must have gone quite smoothly.

Duan Rong laughed and said, "It's nothing. I was thinking about the honey-roasted chicken. If I hadn't come back soon, I wouldn't have been able to eat it."

Xiao Yu laughed and said, "Well! I left you eight wings, and brushed them with honey several times."

Duan Rong glanced at Xiao Yu, reached out and took it. Looking at the large, golden wings, his appetite was immediately whetted.

He remembered that he had only caught four pheasants in total, and all eight wings were here. It seemed that Xiao Yu had saved the best parts for him.

Duan Rong glanced at Ximen Kankan's greedy eyes, tore off three golden-brown chicken wings from the bamboo in his hand, and handed them to Xiao Yu, Shen Mizhi, and Ximen Kankan one by one, and said with a smile: "Sharing is worse than enjoying alone. It's a bit boring for me to eat alone. Why don't you eat with me?"

This was exactly what Ci Kankan wanted, so he immediately jumped up and took the large chicken wing that Duan Rong handed over.

The four sat in the woods, eating chicken wings and chatting.

Duan Rong took this opportunity to tell them about his plan to build a villa on the mountain where Shang Xiangyu lived.

The three of them were naturally delighted to hear this.

They often felt like guests on Yunfu Peak, constantly feeling uncomfortable. If they could have a villa on Shang Xiangyu's mountain, that would be perfect.

Duan Rong said, "Master will send a few skilled construction supervisors to help us build this villa. We'll go check out the place first, and you can think of any requests you have in advance so we can discuss them with the supervisors when they arrive."

Ximen Kankan jumped up and said, "What are we waiting for?! Let's go now!"

Duan Rong laughed and said, "Why are you in such a hurry? That hill isn't going to disappear!"

Ximen Kankan's eyes darted around, and he said, "Building a house! It sounds like it's quite fun."

Duan Rong smiled slightly, thinking to himself: Well, this kid is taking it to heart again.

Urged on by Ximen Kankan, Duan Rong hadn't even finished his chicken wings before the four of them set off.

They were very familiar with the mountain where Shang Xiangyu lived, and after crossing several cable cars, they arrived at the mountain.

Ximen Kankan said, "When building this villa, we need to consider the water source. I think we should clear out a clearing in the dense forest not far from that pool."

Duan Rong nodded and said, "This is a very good idea. The trees felled in the dense forest can be used locally as timber for building the villa."

Soon, the four of them arrived in the dense forest.

After watching for a while, Xiao Yu looked up at the sun above the clouds and said, "When building a villa, the orientation and feng shui location are also important. But we don't know much about this. Let's wait for those supervisors to arrive before discussing the specific location."

Duan Rong nodded, and smiled slightly as he looked at Xiao Yu's worried expression.

Duan Rong said, "I'll leave this matter to the three of you. Once those supervisors arrive tomorrow, you can coordinate and discuss it."

Xiao Yu was slightly taken aback and asked, "Then what are you going to do?" She felt that it was better to let Duan Rong make the decision on such an important matter as building a villa.

Duan Rong smiled and said, "I have other things to do. You are the mistress of the house, so you take care of the two of them."

When Xiao Yu heard the words "mistress," her heart stirred slightly. This was a term used on Blue Star, and there was no such title in this world. However, Xiao Yu was clearly pleased to hear it and turned a blind eye to Duan Rong's hands-off management.

Ximen Kankan was always interested in these kinds of trivial matters, so he was naturally willing to follow Xiao Yu's lead. Shen Mizhi, on the other hand, was indifferent. Duan Rong looked at Xiao Yu and said, "I need to go to the Ancestor's place. I might stay in the deep valley for a few days. The three of you should come up with a rough plan for the villa. We can discuss it in detail when the historians arrive tomorrow."

Xiao Yu looked at Duan Rong with some worry. She already knew that Duan Rong was currently cultivating by the side of the sect's patriarch.

It was naturally because Duan Rong was exceptionally talented and valued by the sect that he was treated this way, but this often made her feel uneasy. She always felt that if she made a wrong move while following such a person, she might be killed.

Xiao Yu said, "My husband, please be careful while you are with the Ancestor. I hope you remember that no matter when, I will be waiting for you to come home."

Duan Rong looked into Xiao Yu's affectionate eyes, touched her face, smiled slightly, and said, "I understand."

"I'm leaving!" Duan Rong waved to Ximen Kankan and Shen Mizhi, glanced at Xiao Yu, and then suddenly took off on the wind, flying out of the dense forest and heading in a certain direction.

Duan Rong did not go directly to the deep valley where the patriarch lived in seclusion, because he had something to take care of before going there.

In fact, even if Zhu He hadn't reminded him, he was already preparing to go see Lü Yinlin.

Lu Yinlin had arranged for him to suffer three blows from the God-Slaying Whip and then imprison him in the Myriad Manifestations Cave. This arrangement was quite elaborate. Now that he had left the Myriad Manifestations Cave, Lu Yinlin would surely test him.

However, Duan Rong still had some things to prepare to deal with Lü Yinlin's scrutiny.

He had actually thought about these things during the few days he was in the Myriad Manifestations Cave, but after he came out of the cave, he had to appease Xiao Yu first before he could do his own thing.

Duan Rong soared through the sky like a great eagle, riding the wind. When he reached a certain spot in the dense forest, he suddenly descended and stopped in front of a cliff.

Inside this cliff is where Shang Xiangyu once refined medicine.

The moment Duan Rong stopped there, his divine sense was suddenly released.

While using his divine sense to clear the way, he pushed aside the layers of vines tangled in front of the cliff and crawled into the stone cave behind the vines.

At the entrance of the stone cave, there were still many torches. Duan Rong picked one up and lit it with a tinderbox.

Guided by both torches and his divine sense, Duan Rong slowly walked deeper into the cave.

Walking through this familiar yet somewhat unfamiliar stone cave, many memories flooded my mind.

Back then, everyone around Shang Xiangyu except him died. It's unknown whether Shang Xiangyu himself is alive or dead now.
Duan Rong followed the intricate network of strangely shaped stone tunnels and arrived at a cave.

In the center of this cave is a huge medicine furnace.

This is the same furnace that Shang Xiangyu used to refine the Blood Spring Pill years ago. After using that batch of Blood Spring Pills to prolong his life, he left the Taiyi Sect and disappeared without a trace.

Duan Rong walked to the huge medicine furnace, reached out and touched its surface. Although the memories were vivid, the touch of his hand felt very unfamiliar.

Duan Rong stuck the torch in his hand into the stone wall, then walked to a corner deep in the cave, where a huge, heavy black jade stone was pressed against the ground.

Duan Rong's cultivation level was now vastly different from before. With a gentle touch, he lifted the incredibly heavy black jade stone, and then gurgling magma gushed out from beneath it, flowing along the tunnel...

Several tunnels, like a net, gather the hot, bright lava beneath the huge furnace in the center of the cave.

As lava flowed in, the temperature inside the cave rose sharply.

The bright, scalding lava reflected off Duan Rong's face, making it appear red.

He stood there, looking at the medicine furnace in the center of the cave. In just a few breaths, the bottom of the furnace had begun to glow red from the scorching lava.

Suddenly, he rose into the air within the cave, and with a single hand, his vital energy surged, and he opened the lid of the medicine furnace.

Duan Rong hovered at the mouth of the medicine furnace and suddenly took out something wrapped in animal skin from his clothes.

Inside was something unknown, wrapped in a round animal hide, about the size of a human head.

Duan Rong suddenly poured the contents of the animal hide into the red-hot medicine furnace.

The animal hide was opened, poured out, and shook.

The animal hide contained a pile of whitish powder.

This whitish powder is his frost-patterned phosphorescent crystal knife.

Inside the Myriad Manifestations Cave, Xiao Qiwu used the power of laws to smash the knife into powder with a single palm strike.

Duan Rong collected all the powder and led it out of the Myriad Manifestations Cave.

Initially, he collected the powder to avoid leaving evidence inside the Myriad Manifestations Cave. However, as he repeatedly contemplated the cloud-like imagery at the center of his brow, which was a fusion of hundreds of complex and varied artistic conceptions within the Myriad Manifestations Cave, he found that the powder was not the source of any evidence.

He realized that the knife, as a weapon, could no longer unleash the full power of the cloud formation's artistic conception.

Moreover, swords are also unsuitable; all eighteen weapons, such as axes, halberds, hooks, and forks, are merely superfluous and cumbersome.

During his days in the Wanxiang Cave, Duan Rong repeatedly deduced and finally understood: all weapons in the world have their shortcomings and strengths; what seems like a weapon's advantage is actually a self-inflicted loss of agility.

Humans are the most intelligent of all beings. The most powerful, skillful, versatile, and free-flowing thing in the world is human hands!
To abandon the skill of the hands and use the advantage of weapons is truly a topsy-turvy and chaotic situation!
Human hands are the most powerful weapons in the world!
After pouring the powder from the Frost-Patterned Phosphorus Crystal Blade into the medicine furnace, Duan Rong covered the furnace and flew down to a secluded corner of the cave.

He sat cross-legged in that corner, extending his divine sense to encompass the inside and outside of the cave. One strand of his divine sense even penetrated the medicine furnace, probing the state of the phosphorus crystal powder inside.

The scalding, bright lava shone brilliantly, gushing forth and continuously gathering and flowing through the large pit beneath the medicine furnace...

As time passed, the heat waves inside the cave intensified, and after an hour, the phosphorus crystal powder in the medicine furnace finally showed signs of melting.

At this moment, the temperature inside the cave had risen to a terrifying level. If Duan Rong hadn't used the spiritual energy of heaven and earth to envelop his body, he probably wouldn't have been able to withstand it.

Another hour and a half later, the phosphorus crystal powder inside the medicine furnace finally melted completely.

Duan Rong had been using his divine sense to probe the situation inside the medicine furnace. Suddenly, he flew up and pushed with his palm, causing a surge of spiritual energy to open the lid of the furnace, releasing a burst of heat. The visible shockwave rose up and, upon reaching the top of the cave, instantly shattered several rocks there.

Duan Rong sat cross-legged in mid-air near the mouth of the medicine furnace where the heatwave had dissipated. In the intersecting tunnels beneath the cave, magma was still surging and gathering, and the fiery magma reflected off Duan Rong's entire body, like the setting sun.

Duan Rong activated his divine sense, and suddenly a ball of scalding liquid the size of a human head slowly floated out from the mouth of the medicine furnace, hovering there and rolling on its own.

He stared intently at the still-rolling mass of hot fluid, which was molten phosphorus crystals.

Duan Rong frowned slightly, and with a thought, the hot liquid the size of a human head suddenly split in two.

Then Duan Rong closed his eyes tightly and frowned. At the same time, a wisp of liquid was drawn out from one of the hot fluids.

The liquid strands were only slightly thicker than a hair, and once pulled out, they floated there. Then, one strand after another was pulled out...

With Duan Rong's current spiritual attainment, manipulating the molten phosphorus crystal and drawing it into threads would not be too difficult.

As Duan Rong manipulated it, more and more liquid threads appeared, and then these liquid threads actually began to intertwine...

Duan Rong's brows furrowed even more tightly; even his spiritual progress found the process somewhat sluggish and difficult.

A full hour later, two gloves woven from liquid silk floated before Duan Rong's eyes—phosphorus silk gloves!

At this moment, a small clump of molten phosphorus crystals, about the size of a fist, remained at the mouth of the medicine furnace.

Duan Rong's eyes flickered, and the remaining small clump of molten phosphorus crystals suddenly scattered like fireworks, followed by droplets that floated around Duan Rong.

As Duan Rong activated his divine sense, those suspended droplets transformed into countless liquid flying needles!
Phosphorescent silk gloves and phosphorescent crystal flying needles—these are the brand-new weapons that Duan Rong has created for himself!
(End of this chapter)