Chapter 108: Mandala

Aside from the first layer of the Womb Treasury Sutra, starting from the second layer, one requires special medicines to assist in cultivation!

Moreover, although the first layer of the Womb Treasury Sutra does not require medicinal assistance to practice, it does require the construction of a Mandala!

The so-called Mandala must be constructed using sculptures or portraits!

It is the shadow of the gods!

Duan Rong had never devoured an Artifact Spirit related to sculpture, so he did not have the ability to sculpt divine statues.

However, his Painting Skill was already quite accomplished; he could construct this Mandala through portraits! In this regard, there was no need to rely on others!

It was just that once this Mandala was constructed, the target would be a bit too large!

His Womb Treasury Sutra was not passed down by a Sect, so he could not practice it openly; constructing a Mandala would be far too conspicuous!

It would undoubtedly greatly increase the risk of exposure!

However, the cultivation of this Womb Treasury Sutra could not proceed if the Mandala were abandoned!

Duan Rong lifted his head with a solemn expression, seeing that most of the pedestrians passing by on the street were walking in a hurry...

The tense atmosphere of the city-wide manhunt from a few days ago seemed to have passed; although the city gates were still being strictly inspected, people seemed to have adapted and were all busy with their own lives, and there was almost no sound of anyone discussing the matter in the streets or alleys anymore...

Duan Rong picked up the bowl, drank the soup base in one breath, wiped his mouth, and stood up!

"The matter of the Womb Treasury Sutra is not urgent; let's wait and see..."

Duan Rong thought as he walked, and soon returned to the Yuanshun Escort Agency.

Duan Rong walked to the Martial Arts Arena in the Middle Courtyard, reached out to the weapon rack, drew a blade, and silently recited, Spirit Reader!

He did not truly want to devour an Artifact Spirit; he was just reading the Artifact Spirit while passing by to check if his Mental Power had broken through!

Looking at the set of data that appeared before him, Duan Rong muttered to himself with an unmoved expression: "Mental Power is indeed still Level 1!"

This was also within Duan Rong's expectations!

After all, he had already calculated it in the mountains before; it would take more than half a month to digest eighty-one First Tier Tree Spirits, and only a few days had passed!

Duan Rong sighed slightly; the Womb Treasury Sutra could not be practiced, and his Mental Power level had not broken through, so the only thing he could practice now was the Bone Shrinking Technique!

Duan Rong decided to grind away at the Bone Shrinking Technique in the shortest possible time!

Once he had settled on his current situation and determined his goal, Duan Rong seemed to be full of energy again!

He walked quickly back to his dormitory, closed the doors and windows tightly, and began to practice the Bone Shrinking Technique!

In the cramped dormitory, Duan Rong kept performing various bizarre postures!

He did this to stretch and reshape the resilience of his own tendons, ligaments, and skin membranes!

This process was, in fact, extremely painful!

It could be called purgatory!

After nearly an hour of repeated stretching, Duan Rong suddenly bent and twisted his head, hands, and waist into bizarre postures...

His first goal was to fit himself into a wooden basin!

Duan Rong's entire body was already covered in sweat, and the pain in his tendons, bones, and skin membranes made his scalp tingle, as if he were being electrocuted!

Duan Rong had a fierce look in his eyes, his teeth clenched tight!

Duan Rong's body was twisted together, and every hour, he would twist it even tighter!

His body was like a spring, the more it was compressed, the tighter it became!

Moreover, for every bit he tightened, the pain increased geometrically!

Now, electric-like pain was radiating from Duan Rong's entire body!

And it was a continuous electric shock!

That pain kept crashing against Duan Rong's consciousness like a tide; Duan Rong did not know how much longer he could hold on—perhaps in another moment, he would be in so much pain that he would pass out!

It was long past lunchtime, but Duan Rong had finally managed to twist himself to this degree; once he let go, he would have to do it all over again!

Just then, a knock on the door suddenly sounded!

Duan Rong's heart skipped a beat, watching as his body twisted in the opposite direction like a spiral, expanding circle by circle...

After a few breaths, it returned to normal!

The knocking continued!

Duan Rong's gaze was like a blade; he stepped lightly and stood behind the side of the door, gripping his blade!

At this moment, a voice sounded outside the door. "Escort Duan, are you in?"

This voice was very familiar; it was the voice of the gatekeeper.

Duan Rong let out a breath of stale air; he was being a bit paranoid. Although the case had caused a huge stir, who could suspect an Apprentice Escort like him?

Duan Rong wiped his sweat, slid the bolt, reached out to open the door, and said with a smile: "Uncle Ma! I'm here. I was just practicing!"

The gatekeeper was stunned for a moment; he had almost left just now, but Duan Rong had suddenly opened the door. Seeing Duan Rong covered in sweat, with the front of his clothes almost soaked through, the gatekeeper believed Duan Rong's explanation a little, saying: "Oh, Escort Duan, someone has brought a calling card and invites you to their residence!"

"A calling card?"

The gatekeeper handed the red-skinned card in his hand to Duan Rong.

Duan Rong took it, opened it, and saw only eight short characters inside: Long heard of your great name, specially invited for a chat!

Moreover, the handwriting was sloppy, childish, and extremely ugly.

Duan Rong snorted coldly through his nose and wanted to refuse, but he saw two names at the bottom: Ximen Kankan and Jiang Qingyu.

He had met Jiang Qingyu once at Huaying Pavilion, but even so, at this time, Duan Rong did not want to engage in social interactions.

Duan Rong's eyes flashed as he looked at the gatekeeper and asked casually: "Who is this Ximen Kankan?"

Jiang Qingyu was the only son of Jiang Heng, the owner of the silk shop, yet this person named Ximen Kankan had actually placed his name before Jiang Qingyu's. Furthermore, he just felt that this name was very strange, almost not like a person's name at all.

The gatekeeper looked at Duan Rong with a strange expression and said: "Ximen Kankan is the son of Ximen Yong."

"Ximen Yong?"

"He is the big boss behind the three Raw Medicine Shops in this county!"

Duan Rong's expression changed slightly. This Ximen Kankan was actually the young proprietor of a Raw Medicine Shop.

Duan Rong immediately felt that it would be better to establish a connection with this lead!

He needed medicinal assistance to cultivate the second level of the Womb Treasury Sutra.

He remembered that the auxiliary medicine for the second level was something called Dragon Flame Fat; the name sounded very obscure, and it was clearly not an easy item to find!

If he could establish a connection with Ximen Kankan, it might be of some help in his search for the medicine.

"Where is the person who delivered the invitation?"

"They are waiting just outside the main gate!"

"Please tell them that I accept this invitation! Ask them to wait a moment; I will wipe off my sweat and change my clothes before coming out!"

As Duan Rong spoke, he closed the door, and the gatekeeper had no choice but to leave in low spirits.

Duan Rong washed his body, changed into a fresh set of clothes, and then walked out of the main gate of the Yuanshun Escort Agency.

Shi Liang, a Personal Attendant of the Ximen Family, was already standing by the carriage waiting outside the gate. When he saw a square-faced, swarthy youth wearing a short tunic and holding a red-covered invitation card walk out, he immediately stepped forward to greet him, bowed, and said, "Are you Escort Duan? My young master specifically sent me to pick you up and take you to the mansion."

Duan Rong nodded, looked the Personal Attendant over, and seeing that he looked decent and appeared sharp, he smiled and said, "Young Master Ximen is too kind. Lead the way, little brother."

Shi Liang walked quickly to the side of the stone lion, brought out the carriage, lifted the curtain, and said, "Escort Duan, please get in!"

Duan Rong strode over and stepped into the carriage; Shi Liang dropped the curtain and drove off!

With the clatter of horse hooves, the carriage swayed as it headed along West Street!

Duan Rong sat in the carriage and carefully examined the interior decorations.

The quality of the carpet's pile and the texture of the curtains were naturally top-notch, but the color and pattern of the carpet and the style of the curtains did not coordinate well together; they looked somewhat unnatural!

Unconsciously, Duan Rong began to compare the decorations of this carriage with those of the Xia Mansion carriage he had ridden in last time!

Although both used high-quality items, it was clearly a different style from the Xia family's way of doing things, where every detail revealed an air of nobility!

Thinking back to Ximen Kankan's unsightly handwriting, Duan Rong sat in the carriage, his eyes flickering as he muttered to himself, "I'm afraid this Ximen Family is a bunch of nouveau riche..."

(End of this chapter)