Chapter 204: Bloodbath

Duan Rong decided not to continue staying in this cave.

He should return.

After all, he was an Escort of the Yuanshun Escort Agency; if he did not return for a long time and an escort mission were to arise, he would be punished for his absence.

Of course, except for very rare emergency situations, an Escort Team would generally give notice two or three days in advance, so that the Escorts and Escort Runners could settle their household affairs; after all, going out on an escort mission meant being away for over a month, which was not a short amount of time.

Duan Rong decided to return immediately for an even more important reason: after devouring and digesting the Spirit Tool in the cave, and finishing the three notebooks left behind by Shen Ping, he already had a train of thought. He could solve the problem of drug permeability that had been troubling him regarding the circulation of his Internal Breath.

As long as this problem was solved, his Internal Breath cultivation speed could climb significantly.

If so, achieving the Inner Breath Realm Fourth Layer before March of next year should not be a problem.

With the realm of the Inner Breath Fourth Layer, participating in the Taiyi Sect's selection examination for Registered Disciples would be basically a sure thing.

Of course, in fact, right here in this cave, Duan Rong could have prepared a medicinal soup with strong permeability.

The types of herbs in the cave were very complete, and even if something were missing, Duan Rong could easily search for it in the mountains himself; with his current understanding of the medicinal properties and growth environments of herbs, finding them was no longer a difficult task for him.

However, he did not have time to waste in the mountains; he had not quit his job, he was not a free man, and his contract was still at the Yuanshun Escort Agency.

Duan Rong pondered for a moment and found that most of the things in the cave did not need to be brought along; as for the notebooks and medical books, he had already absorbed them into his mind by devouring the Spirit Tool.

As for the various medicinal materials, they were all available at the Raw Medicine Shop; although it would cost some silver, this bit of silver was no longer anything to him now.

Duan Rong walked to the Stone Table in the middle of the cave, looked at the dozen or so Porcelain Bottles on the Stone Table, and his gaze flickered slightly.

He reached out, picked two from the Porcelain Bottles, and tucked them into his sleeves.

Duan Rong turned around by the table and swept his gaze across the cave.

Duan Rong discovered that although the cave was filled with a dazzling array of items, the most precious thing in Shen Ping's life was actually his insights into the Medical Path and Poison Path; although these insights were mostly completed in this cave, if Duan Rong did not have the ability to devour the Spirit Tool, he would not have been able to obtain them easily.

And once he had obtained the most precious things, the other miscellaneous items were clearly dispensable. Even the poisons and medicines on this Stone Table could be refined by Duan Rong himself, it would just take some effort.

Duan Rong's figure flashed, he exited the cave, and stood upon the cliff.

Following that, he unleashed his Cloud Snake Step, leaping and galloping through the mountain streams and old forests, whistling away like a mountain demon...

The great curtain of heaven and earth, the boundless mountains and wilderness; Duan Rong unleashed his Cloud Snake Step with all his might, and there was even a faint sign of a breakthrough...

When Duan Rong suddenly stopped his figure and stood at the foot of a certain mountain in the Wild Boar Mountain Range, a flash of realization had already dawned in his heart; just now, he had inadvertently added some insights from the Great Accomplishment realm into his Cloud Snake Step, and after a bout of execution, he had actually broken through the Cloud Snake Step to the Small Success Realm.

This was the first time he had broken through and elevated a martial art by a small realm not through devouring a Spirit Tool, but through his own cultivation and insights, and it was even a Lightness Skill that was very difficult to practice.

Duan Rong recalled that the origin of this whole process actually stemmed from a sense of discomfort when he executed the Cloud Snake Step.

After all, he already possessed blade techniques at the Great Accomplishment realm; after reaching the Great Accomplishment realm, his perspective was different, and he could gradually discover some shortcomings when executing the Cloud Snake Step.

Usually, it might just be a fleeting thought that he wouldn't pay attention to, but here in the Wild Boar Mountain Range, executing it across the vast and boundless mountains and wilderness, the awkward shortcomings flashed repeatedly, and Duan Rong subconsciously began to try to correct them; he didn't expect that as he adjusted, he suddenly broke through...

However, Duan Rong understood that the Cloud Snake Step he had now broken through to the Small Success Realm was definitely inferior to the Small Success Realm technique of this Lightness Skill itself.

After all, he was self-taught and had broken through by accidentally fumbling around; Duan Rong even felt that this breakthrough seemed to have a certain element of luck.

But in fact, this process was because Duan Rong had devoured so much and seen so much that, having accumulated to a certain degree, many of his understandings had undergone a qualitative change.

Even a person who had practiced a blade technique to the Great Accomplishment realm could absolutely not have as profound an understanding as Duan Rong.

Because it was fundamentally impossible for anyone to be proficient in so many blade techniques alone.

And the terror of this change was something the current Duan Rong had not yet truly understood.

However, this trip to Wild Boar Mountain clearly had many gains; Duan Rong was in a great mood for a moment and walked toward the nearby village with light steps.

As Duan Rong walked, his face suddenly turned as cold as frost.

Although he was still some distance from the village at this time, from the wind blowing over, Duan Rong smelled the scent of blood, and it was a thick, lingering scent of blood...

Duan Rong's relaxed body suddenly tightened, his gaze shifted, and his Divine Sense was released, instantly enveloping a radius of one hundred meters.

Duan Rong's expression was cold and stern, his figure flashed, and he rushed toward the village.

Duan Rong stood outside the courtyard of a farmhouse at the east end of the village; at his feet was the severed head of an old woman, her white hair disheveled and her face covered in blood; in her already turbid eyeballs, the terrifying expression from before her death still remained...

And in the courtyard, there were three more brutally murdered corpses, their states of death miserable and nauseating.

Duan Rong stood there, the thick scent of blood rushing straight into his nose like rust, and his whole body was trembling!

He was trembling, not because of fear! Nor was it the nausea that used to strike after killing in the past!

He was trembling because he was furious!

The Divine Sense he released enveloped a radius of one hundred meters centered on him.

Within the area covered by his Divine Sense, there were only corpses, not a single living soul!

Naked women with bruised necks, children who had been decapitated or cut in half at the waist...

A land of Shura, a purgatory on earth!

"Someone is slaughtering the village!"

Who... blood-washed this village...? Like slaughtering pigs and dogs, they killed everyone in the entire village!

Duan Rong's fists were tightly clenched, his knuckles faintly turning white.

If you have not seen those corpses with your own eyes, you will never be able to understand the feeling in Duan Rong's heart at this moment.

When a rabbit dies, the fox mourns; how much more so for humans?

The people of a village, honest farmers who had no strength to truss a chicken! They were all killed like pigs and dogs.

The surging emotions of anger and hatred mixed together, like a tidal wave, crashing against Duan Rong's heart wave after wave...

At this moment, his killing intent was steaming!

Duan Rong suddenly flashed his figure and rushed toward Qin Laohan's house.

Duan Rong stood in front of the fence courtyard of Qin Laohan's house; on a sharpened wooden stake of the fence, a thin, black, and short corpse was impaled.

That was Qin Laohan's grandson—Hei Wa.

He had been grabbed by someone and smashed into this sharpened wooden stake like a ball.

The bloody wooden stake pierced through Hei Wa's chest, some internal organs were still hanging on the tip of the stake, Hei Wa's chest was covered in blood, and bloodstains flowed over his protruding ribs...

He hung there, his limbs dangling emptily, his head tilted back powerlessly, his already dilated pupils looking as if they were staring at Duan Rong...

(End of chapter)