Chapter 321: One Night's Achievement

After returning from the Stone Workshop, Duan Rong stayed in his own cave, and no one came to look for him for the entire day.

It seems Pan Yong was right; over here, it is only when Shang Xiangyu needs to refine medicine that they, the Medicine Boys, need to do some preparatory work and get busy for a while.

At ordinary times, it is very leisurely.

Duan Rong did not go to see Shen Mizhi.

It was not that he did not want to go; although Shen Mizhi's position in his heart was clearly not as important as Xiao Yu and Ximen Kankan, the four of them had after all come out of Xiangu County together, and he and Shen Mizhi could also be considered to have some ill-fated connection.

But Shen Mizhi was at the Elder Council.

The Elder Council is the highest power hub of the Taiyi Sect; it is not a place that a Registered Disciple like him can just go to whenever he wants.

Over these past few days, Duan Rong had already gained a preliminary understanding of some of the Taiyi Sect's institutions.

Places like the Lower Courtyard, as well as the Weapon Workshop and Stone Workshop under the Taipu Hall, were managed very loosely, and many of the people inside were not even Martial Artists...

But the management of places like the Medicine Pavilion, the Guanglu Courtyard, and the Scripture Repository was much stricter; the people on guard and patrol were at least Martial Artists of the True Qi Realm or above, and although Duan Rong did not see them, he reckoned that these places must all have Martial Artists of higher realms sitting in command.

If the Medicine Pavilion, the Guanglu Courtyard, and the Scripture Repository were all like this, then the Elder Council could be imagined.

If Shen Mizhi were not the descendant of an official, she probably wouldn't have been able to go to the Elder Council to serve as a Maid, right?

Duan Rong sat cross-legged in the depths of the pitch-black cave; he did not light a lamp. The medicinal power of the Pill surged within his meridians. In the darkness, Duan Rong's brows were tightly furrowed; he controlled his Divine Sense to penetrate his own body, "internally viewing" the delicate changes in his meridians and dantian.

Within the Sect, using Divine Sense Projection carries a certain amount of danger.

But firstly, Shang Xiangyu's place is far away from all the core areas of the Sect, tucked away in a corner. Secondly, Duan Rong controlled his Divine Sense within his own body, trying his best not to let it project outward, so as to reduce the risk of being detected.

The reason Duan Rong did this was because he was truly stretched thin right now.

A single night of his cultivation would consume two Zhengyang Pills.

Yet for a normal Martial Artist who had just stepped into the True Qi Realm, the medicinal power of one Zhengyang Pill would be enough for them to refine for three whole days.

But because Duan Rong had first attained his realm through the Devouring Artifact Spirit, not only was his True Qi circulation efficiency higher, but his control over his True Qi was also more precise and delicate, which led to his speed of refining and absorbing medicinal power far exceeding that of Martial Artists of the same period.

The good side was naturally that his progress was faster, but the bad side was that it burned money even more. No, it burned points even more—Contribution Points.

Contribution Points are the hard currency within the Sect; worldly silver and money are simply waste paper inside the Sect.

Through the system of Outer Sect Disciples it has constructed, the Taiyi Sect keeps Qingzhou under a tight grip.

It can take or seize any resource in the secular world at will! There is absolutely no need for things like silver and money!

Duan Rong used his Divine Sense to penetrate his body, trying to find a way to increase the utilization rate of the medicinal power and reduce the dissipation of the medicinal power as it surged between his meridians...

Being a newcomer, he was completely in the dark regarding "increasing revenue," so he could only put more effort into "reducing expenditure"...

In the valley outside the cave, white mist surged, and the dim daylight passed through the gloomy clouds, descending upon the valley...

Duan Rong suddenly opened his eyes and exhaled a breath of turbid air. Refining two Zhengyang Pills in one night, while also exerting mental effort to control the medicinal power from dissipating, left his spirit extremely exhausted.

Duan Rong glanced at the feminine daylight filtering in from outside the cave, wrapped himself in a blanket, and fell into a deep, heavy sleep.

He did not know how long he slept; Duan Rong seemed to have had a very long dream.

In the dream, he dreamed of Xiao Yu one moment, and Lv Qingzhu the next.

In the dream, he did not know how it was, but Xiao Yu was cold-faced and ignored him, while Lv Qingzhu kept smiling at him...

After Duan Rong woke up, he felt a splitting headache. He picked the sleep from his eyes, got off the stone bed, and walked out of the cave.

Outside the cave, white mist rolled and dark clouds gathered; just looking at the sky, it seemed no different from early morning.

Duan Rong followed the cliff wall to the water source, washed his face with the mountain spring flowing down from the cliff, and then gulped down several mouthfuls of the cold, biting spring water into his parched throat.

Duan Rong sobered up. He returned to the cave, took two empty Sacks and a wooden bucket, and headed into the dense forest.

Duan Rong first went to the side of the pool in the dense forest and placed the wooden bucket and the empty Sacks on a large blue stone by the pool.

Then he darted into the dense forest and brought back a mountain chicken.

Duan Rong cleaned the mountain chicken and sat on the large blue stone to roast it.

While roasting the mountain chicken, Duan Rong's gaze swept from time to time over that seemingly small, secluded pool.

The water in this secluded pool was bone-chillingly cold. When Duan Rong was bathing that day, he had been curious about the depth of this pool, so he dove deep down, wanting to get to the bottom of it.

But even when Duan Rong had penetrated deep into the gloomy depths, where not a sliver of daylight could be seen, the undercurrents were still surging all around his body...

That dark bottom of the pool was like an abyss, swallowing everything, impossible to see the bottom...

For some reason, a great fear suddenly rose from the bottom of Duan Rong's heart.

That fear was so profound that he actually began to tremble deep underwater.

Duan Rong immediately turned his body around, kicked his legs upward, and swam toward the bright water surface.

After a long while, that inexplicable fear gradually dissipated from the bottom of his heart...

Duan Rong surfaced, his heart lingering with fear.

Deep at the bottom of the pool, his mind had clearly been shrouded by a sense of fear.

But what exactly had caused that fear to arise?

Was it merely because of the deep, bottomless darkness at the bottom of the pool?

Although Duan Rong did not know why that fear had arisen, he had experienced the reality and profundity of that fear.

At that time, if his Divine Soul had been even slightly weaker, he would likely have been swallowed by that endless darkness and sunk to the bottom of the pool...

Stay away from the bottom of that pool... Duan Rong secretly admonished himself.

Duan Rong finished the entire roasted chicken and sat on the large blue stone to rest for a moment. Then he got up, drew a bucket of clear water by the pool, and carried it to the herb garden he was tending.

Duan Rong looked at the mess of an herb garden before him and sighed slightly.

The Xuantu Vine likes the sun and is cold-resistant but not water-resistant.

The Frost-Hair Mugwort likes the shade and prefers a humid environment.

Duan Rong only poured a small amount of water onto the roots of the Xuantu Vine.

As for the places where the Frost-Hair Mugwort grew densely, he poured water directly until it was soaked through.

After Duan Rong finished watering, he carefully checked the growth of the various herbs.

He pulled out several poorly growing Frost-Hair Mugwort plants directly and threw them on the edge of the field.

These few Frost-Hair Mugwort plants were planted in the wrong spots; not only would they never grow into mature stalks, but they would also affect the growth of the Xuantu Vine nearby.

Duan Rong removed some weeds that had just sprouted and then left this medicinal garden.

Duan Rong arrived at a clearing in the dense forest; he sat cross-legged on a piece of bluestone beside the clearing, and the True Qi within his dantian instantly began to surge through his meridians...

Duan Rong's eyes suddenly snapped open, and with a *whoosh*, he drew the Minghong Saber.

In the clearing within the dense forest, Duan Rong began to perform his saber techniques, one stance after another.

Through the Devouring Artifact Spirit, Duan Rong had already acquired two True Qi Realm saber techniques.

One was the Ku Rong Ban Ruo Dao, and the other was the Whisk Mountain-Opening Saber.

For these two saber techniques, Duan Rong had directly attained the First Layer realm.

Duan Rong performed each of the two saber techniques three times and was already drenched in sweat; a look of deep contemplation appeared in his eyes.

The Ku Rong Ban Ruo Dao, as he understood it, was a saber technique that placed more emphasis on growth; the power of the First Layer was somewhat mediocre, but it was continuous and contained an internal cycle, so if his True Qi realm improved, its power would clearly increase greatly.

This was also the normal line of thinking for martial arts.

But this Whisk Mountain-Opening Saber was a bit bizarre.

The predecessor who created the technique, whether on a whim or because his brain short-circuited, had actually wanted to fuse delicate, refined strikes with reckless, aggressive attacks into a single saber technique.

Just for this First Layer, Duan Rong already felt it was somewhat incongruous; if it reached the later layers, Duan Rong highly doubted this saber technique would hold together.

At the very least, it would fail to live up to its name, and he feared that between the delicate refinement and the reckless aggression, one would have to be abandoned.

Although Duan Rong did not think highly of the later stages of this saber technique, he had to admit that the First Layer of this technique still had its merits; it had a sense of taking an unconventional path to win by surprise.

Although it was strenuous to perform, its power was indeed astonishing!

After finishing the two saber techniques, Duan Rong suddenly jumped up with the saber, the Blade Shadow flickering, shredding the tree canopy above his head, and then with his True Qi surging, a roll of the blade swept the fluttering fallen leaves into the air above the clearing.

Suddenly, the sky above the clearing was filled with a green rain, with shredded leaves flying everywhere!

Duan Rong suddenly flickered back and forth in the center of the clearing; one could see his waist twisting like a water snake, with dense shredded leaves falling beside him.

He moved back and forth through that green rain of shredded leaves, yet not a single leaf touched his body.

Only when the shredded leaves had fallen all over the ground did Duan Rong stop his movements, panting heavily.

He suddenly laughed at himself and said, "When performing this Hundred Flowers Misdirection Step, the posture is truly enchanting! If that kid Ximen Kankan saw this, he would definitely use it as a joke again..."

Duan Rong had practiced three martial arts in a row, and his consumption was already quite high, but he still performed the last leg technique—the Broken Monument Leg—three times before finally stopping.

Duan Rong was covered in sweat, his eyes listless.

He had only just stepped into the True Qi Realm, and he had already devoured four martial arts at once: two saber techniques, one lightness skill, and one leg technique.

He was not afraid of biting off more than he could chew, because he had attained the realm through devouring, which could be said to be fully mastered instantly.

However, after practicing four martial arts, he still felt a sense of chaos in his heart.

Duan Rong knew very well that the reason for this feeling of chaos was that he had not determined a main focus.

Just like when he was in the Inner Breath Realm, no matter how many martial arts he devoured, his main practice had always been the Five Tigers Flock of Sheep Saber.

But now, he had no idea what his main practice was.

Was it the Ku Rong Ban Ruo Dao? Perhaps, he was not sure.

However, Duan Rong was no longer in a hurry to figure out this problem.

After the exploration of the entire Inner Breath Realm, he was no longer a greenhorn when it came to cultivation.

He knew very well how to utilize his advantages.

Through the Devouring Artifact Spirit, he could directly obtain realms.

That is to say, as long as he achieved a certain realm in his internal True Qi, he could master any martial art in a single night.

Therefore, the chaos he felt was actually a form of maladjustment, a false impression, and a reliance on past cultivation experience; it was not worth mentioning at all!

After thinking this through, Duan Rong was immediately relieved.

Duan Rong wiped the sweat from his forehead with his sleeve, walked to a nearby tree branch, pulled down the two empty sacks hanging there, and spread them out in the center of the clearing.

With a flip of his hand, he gripped a brown Porcelain Bottle.

Duan Rong opened the stopper and sprinkled the Medicine Powder evenly over the two empty sacks, then Duan Rong leaped up onto the nearby tree canopy.

He lay diagonally on a branch, crossing his legs.

He knew without looking what the scene in the clearing of the dense forest was like now; all kinds of poisonous insects, snakes, and ants would crawl out, dense and numerous.

To avoid the discomfort induced by trypophobia, he simply did not look and took this opportunity to rest.

Duan Rong took a short nap on the branch before turning his head; he saw that in the clearing of the dense forest, there were two pitch-black piles with blurred edges...

Those were all gathered by the poisonous insects...

Duan Rong jumped down from the tree and filled two whole sacks with poisonous insects.

At this time, a faint twilight had already descended into the dense forest; Duan Rong carried the two sacks and walked hurriedly toward a certain part of the forest—once every three days, today it was time to feed the Black Blood Vine again.

When Duan Rong finished feeding the Black Blood Vine and walked out of the stone wall entwined with vines, the sky was already completely dark.

Duan Rong gripped the two empty sacks and flickered through the dense forest; he prepared to go to the pool in the forest to wash off the stench of sweat before returning.

Feeling refreshed, Duan Rong carried an empty wooden bucket, with the two empty sacks stuffed inside, and walked back to his cave.

Duan Rong placed the empty wooden bucket in the corner of the cave entrance, then walked straight to the stone bed and climbed up.

In the dark cave, Duan Rong's eyes were bright.

He climbed onto the stone bed, sat cross-legged, and slowly regulated his breathing; then, as he inhaled and exhaled, the True Qi began to surge through his meridians.

After a few breaths, Duan Rong flipped his hand and threw a Zhengyang Pill into his mouth.

He knew in his heart that this night would be another sleepless and tedious night of cultivation.

The days passed one by one like this; in this undisturbed cave, Duan Rong once again started a crazy cultivation mode of pushing himself to the limit.

Under the nourishment of the medicinal power of two Zhengyang Pills refined in one night, the True Qi in his body gradually condensed and grew stronger day by day, at a speed visible to the naked eye.

On the evening three days later, Duan Rong once again carried two bulging Sacks and walked into the depths of the cave where the Black Blood Vine was located.

Every time he walked into this cave, that damp, putrid stench made Duan Rong feel completely ill at ease.

Duan Rong held up a torch and walked to the edge of the damp, black rock layer; his gaze shifted, and he saw two deer hides lying there, bloody and clearly skinned not long ago.

It seemed that Chen Hu had already come to feed it blood-food.

Duan Rong set down one Sack and grabbed the other, and suddenly a black rain fell as the poisonous insects inside the Sack pattered down all around a Black Blood Vine.

Duan Rong threw away the empty Sack in his hand and, following the same method, sprinkled poisonous insects all around the other Black Blood Vine as well.

Duan Rong picked up the two empty Sacks and was about to leave; he already understood the feeding method of this Black Blood Vine—it would turn blood-food and poisonous insects into pus, absorb them through the vines into its body, and transform them into nutrients for growth.

The pus melted by the vines was extremely foul-smelling, and Duan Rong did not want to stay a moment longer, because he knew that the stench would soon begin to permeate the air...

Just as Duan Rong turned around, he suddenly frowned and stared at the top of one of the Black Blood Vines.

Duan Rong knew very clearly that each of these two Black Blood Vines had two fruits on its crown that shimmered with a faint cyan light.

But at this moment, one of the fruits on one of the Black Blood Vines was no longer shimmering with a faint cyan light, but was instead shimmering with a faint red light, and within that red light, there seemed to be black spots floating...

"Is this... ripened?"

Duan Rong was not sure if Chen Hu had seen that one of the fruits on the Black Blood Vine had ripened when he fed it the blood-food.

He decided that as soon as he got up tomorrow morning, he would inform Pan Yong of this matter.

This was something Pan Yong had instructed him to do before: if he discovered that the fruit of the Black Blood Vine had ripened, he must remember to tell him.

(End of this chapter)