Chapter 334: Not Necessarily Burying You

In the darkness, Duan Rong fished out the small Porcelain Bottle from the inner pocket of his robe, gently opened the stopper, and poured a round, slippery object into his palm.

Duan Rong hesitated for a moment before putting that slippery object into his mouth.

The method for using the Green Pupil recorded in the scriptures was to swallow it directly.

It was fortunate that he was in the dark where he could see nothing; otherwise, Duan Rong would have had some mental reservations about swallowing an eye whole.

As the Green Pupil entered his mouth, an extremely strange taste spread across his tongue.

Duan Rong immediately swallowed hard, his throat making a "gulp" sound that seemed quite loud in the silent darkness.

"What's wrong with you?" Xiao Yu, who was on the stone bed, stirred.

Duan Rong swallowed his saliva and said, "Nothing. Go to sleep."

"Mm."

Xiao Yu gave a soft "mm," lay on the stone bed, and watched quietly in the darkness toward the place where Duan Rong's voice had just come from.

Although she could see nothing in the pitch-black depths of the cave, she knew that Duan Rong was right there.

Xiao Yu watched for a while, and sleepiness gradually welled up; her eyes grew tired, fluttering open and shut, and she slowly drifted off to sleep...

Meanwhile, Duan Rong had already entered his Spirit Sea of Spiritual Clarity.

The thin mist that had originally filled the entire space had now settled onto the surface of the Black Earth.

Duan Rong sat cross-legged in a layer of milky-white mist that reached his neck, his hands forming seals, his mouth murmuring incantations as rapid as a sudden downpour.

As Duan Rong formed the seals and chanted, the phantom images of four divine statues gradually emerged between the heaven and earth all around him.

Those divine statue phantoms stood upon the earth and supported the sky, towering and majestic; the moment they appeared, Duan Rong felt a powerful pressure from their Divine Soul.

Once Duan Rong finished the incantation, he stood up from that layer of milky-white mist and looked at the divine shadows standing tall in his Spirit Sea.

Judging solely by their size, these four divine shadows were no different from when he used portraits to construct a Mandala.

But this time, the divine shadows projected into the Spirit Sea of Spiritual Clarity were even more detailed and realistic.

Although they were still phantoms, they were clearly more substantial and solid.

Duan Rong stood there and looked up at the Cangqiong; he saw that in the center of the Cangqiong, three glowing Star Bodies and a patch of rolling blood-colored star clouds stood in opposition.

Duan Rong's gaze shifted, and he lowered his head. He glanced at the southwest direction of the Black Earth, and with a thought, his figure suddenly vanished from where he stood. Almost simultaneously, without any warning, he appeared at the edge of that sea of Tree Spirit light shimmering with a faint green glow.

This was a new method of movement within the Spirit Sea of Spiritual Clarity that Duan Rong had discovered.

As long as he moved his mind, he could appear at any position within the Spirit Sea, regardless of distance; the moment his thought flickered, he had already arrived at any location.

Duan Rong looked at the vast sea of green light before him, which was entirely composed of the fourth-rank Tree Spirits he had devoured.

Within Changliu Mountain, ancient trees were the most abundant, and Duan Rong often devoured some while practicing or walking.

Even when he was not practicing the Womb Treasury Sutra, his Spirit Sea was still digesting the Tree Spirits, slowly increasing his Mental Power.

Duan Rong looked at the sea of Tree Spirit light before him; the vast expanse of green, ghostly light was quite spectacular.

He estimated that these Tree Spirits were enough for him to directly achieve the fourth level of the Womb Treasury Sutra; after all, these were all fourth-rank Tree Spirits.

Duan Rong moved his mind, and his figure vanished once more. He suddenly appeared in the center of the Cangqiong, suspended between the three glowing Star Bodies and that patch of rolling blood-colored light.

There was no telepathic connection between that patch of rolling blood-colored light and Duan Rong.

Yet Duan Rong could clearly sense the faint but real connection between those three glowing Star Bodies and himself.

Duan Rong looked at the blood-colored light rolling and flickering like a nebula not far to his side, a flash of complexity in his eyes.

This blood-colored light was the origin of the Filthy Blood Divine Art. This thing seemed to be beyond his control, unlike the Star Bodies condensed by the Womb Treasury Sutra, which maintained a telepathic connection with him.

Yet, it was precisely this blood-colored light that had saved him twice.

Once when killing Fan Yuanhai, and another time when eliminating the Insect Gu that Shang Xiangyu had planted in him.

Duan Rong moved his gaze away from the patch of rolling blood-colored light, held his breath, and sat cross-legged in the void.

He began to form seals and chant, entering the state of practicing the fourth level of the Womb Treasury Sutra.

As Duan Rong formed the seals, a rumble of thunder sounded above the void, and lightning shot from the eyes of the four divine shadows...

Several hours later, the original sea of Tree Spirit light had dissipated by more than half, leaving only a dozen or so Tree Spirits in the corner, still emitting a faint green, ghostly light...

And Duan Rong sat cross-legged in the void, his face weary.

Not far to his side, a Star Body was suspended.

That Star Body emitted a pale green, cold light, and in the center of the Star Body, the phantom of an eye flickered nimbly...

In the void, Duan Rong suddenly opened his eyes; after several hours of arduous practice, the fourth Star Body had been condensed.

Duan Rong looked at the four suspended Star Bodies before him, glowing and reflecting each other, and a faint joy welled up in his heart.

The four Star Bodies once again occupied the central position of the Cangqiong, while the nebula of rolling blood-colored light retreated to a remote corner of the Cangqiong.

"It seems that after achieving the fourth level, the Womb Treasury Sutra has once again gained the upper hand over the Filthy Blood Divine Art," Duan Rong thought, his eyes flickering.

This result put Duan Rong's mind somewhat at ease. Although the Filthy Blood Divine Art had saved his life twice, he had always harbored wariness toward this technique, feeling it was a hidden danger.

Now, seeing that patch of blood-colored light retreat once again to a remote location within his Spirit Sea, the worry in his heart finally dissipated a little.

Duan Rong moved his mind and exited the Spirit Sea.

The moment he exited the Spirit Sea, a wave of immense fatigue washed over his Divine Soul, nearly knocking Duan Rong down.

In order to achieve the fourth level in one go, Duan Rong had clearly overdrawn his Divine Soul.

In the darkness, he could hear Xiao Yu's peaceful breathing.

Duan Rong struggled to get up, crawled onto the stone bed, and lay down beside Xiao Yu.

The moment he lay down, he fell into a dead sleep.

Duan Rong did not know how long he had slept before he was suddenly shaken awake by Xiao Yu.

"Duan Rong, Duan Rong..." Xiao Yu called to him softly.

Duan Rong opened his leaden eyelids. "What is it?"

"It's time for you to go!" Xiao Yu's voice seemed somewhat shy. "In another hour, it will be dawn."

Duan Rong turned over to sleep facing inward and muttered, "Then I'll leave when it's bright."

"No," Xiao Yu said. "Leaving when it's bright... it doesn't look good."

"What's... not good about it?"

Xiao Yu was silent for a moment, but Duan Rong suddenly understood what Xiao Yu meant.

If he walked out of Xiao Yu's cave when it was bright, who knew how many people would see him.

Duan Rong struggled to sit up, sighed, and said, "Alright then."

Duan Rong hugged Xiao Yu's shoulders and prepared to leave.

In the darkness, Xiao Yu suddenly said, "I'll see you off."

The two walked out of the cave together. It was just before dawn, the darkest time of the day. They walked along a row of caves, neither of them speaking.

They reached a corner; once they turned out from here, they would not be far from the fence of the Stone Workshop.

Duan Rong stopped and said, "Let's stop here."

"Mm."

Xiao Yu gave a soft hum. In the darkness, she silently watched Duan Rong's shadow.

Duan Rong suddenly stepped closer and lowered his head to kiss Xiao Yu.

In the darkness, Xiao Yu closed her eyes, stood on tiptoe, and met Duan Rong.

The two embraced and kissed in the darkness for a while.

A long time later, Duan Rong touched Xiao Yu's cheek, turned, and left.

Xiao Yu stood there, watching Duan Rong's shadow until it disappeared around the corner, before turning to head back to the cave.

Her heart was filled with a certain emotion at this moment. There was a faint sorrow in that emotion, but Xiao Yu knew very well that the core of that emotion was a kind of real happiness.

It was something that was nourishing her life.

A warm, uplifting force. At this moment, she wanted to live a little longer; it seemed she wanted to prolong something... Survival, for her, had already become a different kind of experience.

Duan Rong returned to the hillside where Shang Xiangyu was; the sky was still pitch black.

The moment he walked into his cave, his eyes suddenly flickered.

Because on the ground at the cave entrance, a fairly large stone was pressing down, and he had almost tripped over it.

Duan Rong took out a Fire Folder, blew on it to produce a faint flame, and shone it; he saw that under the stone, there seemed to be a piece of paper pressed down.

Duan Rong took the paper, walked into the cave, and used the Fire Folder to light the Candle Lamp on the Stone Table.

By the flickering candlelight, Duan Rong looked at the paper in his hand.

He saw that there was only one line of text on the paper: Disciple, tomorrow people from the Ruling Sect Justice Division will come to inquire, please do not go out. Pan Yong.

Duan Rong folded the paper and pressed it under the Candle Lamp.

He was not worried about this matter; the people from the Ruling Sect Justice Division coming was just a formality, and besides, Shang Xiangyu would handle it.

In fact, he had not intended to go out anyway.

After achieving the fourth level of the Womb Treasury, he had gained another Soul Technique—Soul Piercing Needle!

Soul Piercing Needle, like the Divine Soul Wave, was a Divine Soul attack, but its power and lethality were much greater than the Divine Soul Wave.

But there were also limitations and troubles.

The Divine Soul Wave was an attack he could unleash at any time, driven by his thoughts.

But the Soul Piercing Needle was different; it required him to use the secret techniques of the Womb Treasury Sutra to condense a Soul Piercing Needle and store it within his Divine Soul space.

Only then could he launch an attack.

Moreover, with his current Divine Soul strength, he could only condense one Soul Piercing Needle.

Duan Rong studied it slightly and discovered that the condensation of this Soul Piercing Needle was actually quite cumbersome.

But Duan Rong had a deep appreciation for the power of Divine Soul attacks; whether it was killing Xie Daohan or killing Fan Yuanhai, if he hadn't had Divine Soul attacks, he would never have succeeded.

Since the Soul Piercing Needle was a more powerful Divine Soul attack than the Divine Soul Wave, even if it was cumbersome, he had to condense it as soon as possible.

Divine Soul attacks were secretive and strange, and they attacked a person's most fragile Divine Soul.

With a Divine Soul attack combined with a killing move, as long as the opponent was not too strong, usually one wave could harvest them.

Since he couldn't go out anyway, Duan Rong would use this time to condense the Soul Piercing Needle.

For the entire morning, Duan Rong stayed in the deep cave, researching the problem of condensing the Soul Piercing Needle.

It wasn't until around the Shen period in the afternoon that Pan Yong's voice suddenly sounded outside the cave.

Deep in the dark cave, Duan Rong suddenly opened his eyes, jumped off the stone bed, and walked slowly out of the cave.

Outside the cave, standing beside Pan Yong, was a man in his early thirties, wearing a clean, washed moon-white Daoist robe, his hair tied with a wooden hairpin.

This person's expression was calm and waveless, his gaze sharp and restrained, looking Duan Rong up and down.

Pan Yong smiled: "Disciple Duan Rong. This is Manager Yang from the Ruling Sect Justice Division. He will ask you some questions; you just need to tell him the truth."

Yang Yi cupped his hands slightly toward Duan Rong and said: "I am Yang Yi, dispatched by the Ruling Sect Justice Division to investigate the alchemy furnace explosion here."

Duan Rong also cupped his hands in return, but did not speak.

Pan Yong said: "Manager Yang, then you two talk, I won't disturb you."

As Pan Yong said this, he turned and left.

Once Pan Yong left, Yang Yi immediately put away his stiff expression and smiled: "Young Friend Yang, I've been asking questions all morning and am a bit thirsty. I wonder if I could ask Young Friend Yang for a cup of water?"

Duan Rong smiled: "Please, Manager Yang."

His gaze swept across Yang Yi's face; he knew Yang Yi's intentions. This person likely regarded him as the breakthrough point to uncover the truth about the furnace explosion.

When Pan Yong was there, he was rigid and formal; once Pan Yong left, he became easygoing.

The two walked slowly into the cave.

Duan Rong lit the Candle Lamp.

From a black pottery jar, he poured two bamboo tubes of water. One bamboo tube for Yang Yi, and one bamboo tube for himself.

Yang Yi drank more than half of the clear water in the bamboo tube in one breath, then looked at the candle lamp and said with a smile, "Little Friend Yang, do you not like to light a lamp while inside the cave?"

Duan Rong said, "I like to cultivate in the darkness."

Yang Yi nodded noncommittally, his gaze sharpening as he asked, "Little Friend Duan, how were the relations between Chen Hu and Yin Cong usually? Was there any conflict?"

Duan Rong's gaze flickered slightly, and he knew what Yang Yi was asking about.

The two of them were both pressed under the pill furnace, and Yin Cong's feet were still wrapped in Chen Hu's Nine-Section Whip.

Duan Rong said, "Steward Yang, I am a Registered Disciple from this year. Having just arrived not long ago, I am not very clear on how their relationship was."

Yang Yi's pupils constricted; he could tell that Duan Rong was also a fellow who could not be swayed.

Yang Yi asked Duan Rong a few more questions, but there was not a trace of expression on Duan Rong's face, and all his answers were airtight.

Yang Yi's originally easygoing face quickly turned cold and rigid. "Little Friend Duan, may I see your Sect Cloud Token?"

Duan Rong took out the Sect Cloud Token and handed it to Yang Yi. Yang Yi took it, examined it carefully by the candlelight, and only then returned it to Duan Rong with an uncertain look in his eyes.

Yang Yi knew that even if he continued to ask, he would not be able to get anything out of him, so he stood up from the stone chair and said, "Then let's stop here for today. If I have any questions, I will inevitably have to trouble Little Friend Yang again."

Duan Rong said, "Steward Yang, please do not be so formal. I will certainly tell you everything I know."

Yang Yi looked at Duan Rong's smiling face, the muscles on his own face twitched, and he flicked his sleeves and left.

He had originally thought that since Duan Rong was a newly entered Registered Disciple, he might be able to interrogate something out of him, but it turned out this kid was even more slippery than Pan Yong; when speaking those lukewarm, perfunctory words, his natural expression was such that even he felt inferior.

"I've truly stumbled into a thief's den!"

Yang Yi cursed inwardly, his heart already prepared to go back and close the case.

Shang Xiangyu was an Inner Sect Disciple, and a Pharmacist at that; without solid evidence, he could not be dealt with at all.

After Yang Yi left, Duan Rong acted as if nothing had happened and continued to study the condensation of the Soul Piercing Needle.

At noon the next day, Pan Yong came to find Duan Rong again, saying that the Ruling Sect Justice Division had already given word that the case of the exploding furnace had been closed.

Pan Yong had come to call him to go to the cave where the alchemy took place to dispose of the corpses of Chen Hu and Yin Cong.

The two of them arrived at the crimson cave once again.

After the magma had extinguished, the interior of the cave was quite cold and damp.

It had only been two days, but the corpses of Chen Hu and Yin Cong were already covered in lividity and emitting waves of foul stench.

The two of them used a sack to scoop them up, carried the two corpses to a remote corner of the dense forest, and buried them.

Pan Yong used wooden boards to set up a crude tombstone for each of them.

This mountain area had a large forest, and Pan Yong did not know where he had buried Tang Zhu's corpse either.

Pan Yong looked at the two graves in front of him and suddenly said, "Disciple, if one day Senior Brother also dies, you don't need to set up a monument for me."

"I'm afraid I'll vomit from down below."

Duan Rong said, "So Senior Brother also knows that you are disgusting. Rest assured, Senior Brother. I don't have that much leisure time. To tell you the truth, I might not even bury you."

Upon hearing this, Pan Yong stood there and laughed with a "Jie jie jie" sound.

(End of this chapter)