Chapter 335: Departure

The following few days were peaceful.

Aside from spending two hours every day balancing accounts for Xia Honghua, Duan Rong spent all his remaining time training frantically, without a moment of slack.

At noon that day, just as Duan Rong had returned from Xia Honghua's place and was preparing to begin his training, he suddenly heard Pan Yong calling him from outside the cave entrance.

As soon as Duan Rong stepped out of the cave, Pan Yong said with a solemn expression, "Disciple, Master Shang is looking for us. Let's go over."

After Pan Yong finished speaking, he turned and headed along the cliff face.

Duan Rong frowned slightly. He wondered what kind of trouble Shang Xiangyu was looking to stir up again.

But as the saying goes, when one is under another's roof, one must bow one's head.

Although he knew that Shang Xiangyu likely had no good intentions in calling for them, he still had no choice but to follow behind Pan Yong, trailing closely.

The two of them, one after the other, crossed the stone fence on Shang Xiangyu's side and arrived at the large platform.

They saw that Shang Xiangyu was already standing with his back to them at the edge of the large platform, gazing out at the vast, misty fog within the Endless Great Mountains.

Duan Rong's eyelids twitched slightly; Shang Xiangyu had actually changed into a brand-new, plain-colored silk robe, and even his hair was tied up in a bun.

Ever since Duan Rong had arrived, Shang Xiangyu had always worn that same wrinkled, slovenly Daoist robe and had never changed it.

Was this... a change in temperament?

Duan Rong felt surprised in his heart, sensing that something was about to happen.

Pan Yong walked to a spot not far behind Shang Xiangyu, then cupped his hands, lowered his head, and called out.

"Master Shang."

Duan Rong, standing at Pan Yong's side, also followed suit and called out in a low voice.

The two stood there with cupped hands, but Shang Xiangyu did not turn around for a long time; he looked at the mountains, white mist, and dark clouds before him, his gaze deep and distant.

Just as Pan Yong was hesitating whether to call out again, Shang Xiangyu suddenly let out a long sigh, then turned around to look steadily at the two of them.

Duan Rong glanced at Shang Xiangyu, his gaze shifting slightly; Shang Xiangyu's expression was peaceful, and his face even seemed to have a faint, ruddy glow, completely different from the deathly pale, somewhat frightening complexion he had when they first met.

Shang Xiangyu suddenly said, "Your master is going on a long journey and estimates it will take more than half a year to return to the mountain. During this time, you two must remain in the mountain, train diligently, and keep a close watch on the household."

Upon hearing this, Pan Yong and Duan Rong were both stunned. Neither of them had expected that Shang Xiangyu would suddenly go on a long journey. And it seemed he was acting alone, taking neither of them with him.

Pan Yong pondered for a moment and said, "Master Shang is going away for so long so suddenly. Are there any matters you need to entrust to us?"

Shang Xiangyu said, "No particular matters. You have followed me for many years; just do what needs to be done daily. As for the rest, we shall discuss it when I return."

"Understood," said Pan Yong.

"Very well. Those who practice the Dao need not stand on ceremony. I am off."

After Shang Xiangyu finished speaking, he flicked his sleeves, turned around, and headed along the cliff face...

The two stood there, merely watching Shang Xiangyu's figure disappear into the vast white mist, still not having come to their senses.

Neither of them had expected that Shang Xiangyu would leave just like that.

Duan Rong asked tentatively, "Senior Brother, where has Master Shang gone?"

Duan Rong felt that Pan Yong had, after all, spent the most time with Shang Xiangyu, and Shang Xiangyu's sudden departure—and for over half a year at that—was truly too strange.

Pan Yong said, "Master Shang didn't say, so how would I know? Very well, Disciple, you and I just need to follow Master Shang's instructions, train diligently, and keep a close watch on the household."

After Pan Yong finished speaking, he actually turned and left as well.

Duan Rong stood there, his eyes flickering, his thoughts churning.

With Shang Xiangyu gone, he felt as if a great stone that had been pressing on his heart had been lifted away.

According to what Shang Xiangyu himself said, this trip out of the mountain would take over half a year. This gave him plenty of time to maneuver.

He needed to carefully consider whether to continue staying at the Taiyi Sect or to take this opportunity to break free from Shang Xiangyu's control once and for all. After all, even though Shang Xiangyu would be gone for over half a year, there would eventually come a day when he returned.

However, there was no rush for this; he could take this time to first carefully figure out how a Registered Disciple could leave the Sect and how to obtain the approval slip from the Lower Courtyard.

Moreover, even if he were to leave, he would need to properly bid farewell to Xiao Yu and Ximen Kankan and settle some matters with them before he could go.

Otherwise, Xiao Yu and Ximen Kankan might end up searching the whole world for him.

Furthermore, before leaving, he still needed to digest the resources that should be digested.

For instance, the auxiliary medicines for the Womb Treasury Sutra; Duan Rong had already studied them, and the auxiliary medicines for the fourth level and beyond seemed to all come from strange creatures in the world of spatial distortion.

That meant that once he left the Sect, it would be almost impossible to find the auxiliary medicines for the Womb Treasury Sutra again. These things were simply not circulated in the secular world.

In that case, before he left, should he also achieve the fifth level of the Womb Treasury Sutra?

There was still one Black Blood Fruit on the two Black Blood Vines deep in the cave, which was the auxiliary medicine for the fifth level of the Womb Treasury Sutra, and it was almost ripe.

This place was remote, and Shang Xiangyu lived alone on this mountain peak. Once he had everything prepared, he could very well kill Pan Yong, loot all the resources here, and then leave.

When Shang Xiangyu returned, even if he were furious, the world was vast—where would he go to find him?

Thinking of this, Duan Rong decided to train even more frantically during the coming period to improve himself.

After all, the biggest obstacle to all his plans was, in fact, Pan Yong.

He had already used his Divine Sense to examine Pan Yong's dantian, and the strength of his True Qi seemed to be slightly superior to his own. It would be best if he could bridge this gap before taking action, so as to avoid any accidents due to insufficient strength when the time came.

Thinking this way, Duan Rong decided to return to the cave immediately to train.

But just as he arrived in the cave and sat down cross-legged, Pan Yong came to find him again.

Duan Rong walked out of the cave, looking at Pan Yong with a suspicious gaze.

Pan Yong said, "Disciple, since Master Shang happens to be away, why don't we go and tidy up Master Shang's stone chamber together?"

Duan Rong's eyes shifted, and he said, "Senior Brother's idea is excellent."

This idea of Pan Yong's was exactly what he had hoped for.

The two of them then carefully tidied up Shang Xiangyu's chaotic stone chamber.

It took a full hour or more to finish, and they ended up clearing out a large sack of discarded debris.

Duan Rong wiped the sweat from his forehead, lifted the bulging sack in his hand, and said, "Senior Brother, I'll take this discarded debris out and throw it away."

Pan Yong glanced at Duan Rong and said, "Then I'll trouble you, Disciple."

Duan Rong then picked up the sack and walked out.

Pan Yong watched Duan Rong's back and thought to himself: Disciple Duan Rong is certainly not one to spare effort when it comes to work.

Duan Rong led the way with the sack full of discarded debris and returned directly to his own cave.

He walked to the depths of the cave, placed the sack on the ground, and sat down on the floor himself; then, Duan Rong grabbed an inkstone with a chipped corner from the sack and thought to himself, "Spirit Reader."

In the dim cave, a set of data floated before Duan Rong's eyes; Duan Rong had no time to look at the specific content of the data and thought to himself, "Devour."

Because he was not going to devour one or two Spirit Tools, he was going to devour the Spirit Tools in that entire sack; where would he find the time to look at them one by one?

Next, Duan Rong took out a bald writing brush, followed by a hairless, bare-handled horsetail whisk...

It took Duan Rong a full hour to finish devouring the Spirit Tools in the sack.

His head felt swollen, as if it had been stuffed with something, but Duan Rong still struggled to put the discarded debris scattered on the floor back into the sack.

He picked up the sack, walked out of the cave, tied the mouth of the sack shut, and threw it into the valley outside the cave where white mist rolled.

Only then did Duan Rong return to the cave with a dizzy head, collapse onto the stone bed, and fall into a dead sleep instantly; he slept until noon the next day before waking up.

In this sleep, he seemed to have had a very long dream; in the dream, he felt as if he had experienced the entire half-life of Shang Xiangyu...

After waking up, Duan Rong sat on the stone bed in the dim cave, his gaze flickering like stars.

"This... the condition Shang Xiangyu has is actually an incurable disease?!"

"The Blood Spring Pill cannot cure it either, it can only delay it..."

"Then where did he go this time when he went out? It actually requires spending more than half a year?"

Duan Rong jumped off the bed and paced back and forth in the cave.

"He must be looking for a way to treat his disease of source exhaustion?"

"Then,... what could it be?"

Duan Rong suddenly felt a chill all over his body; he thought of a possible destination for Shang Xiangyu, but this answer was too shocking!

Over the next few days, Duan Rong did not comb his hair or wash his face, staying holed up in the cave to cultivate bitterly.

It was not until this morning, after Duan Rong had cultivated bitterly for a night and saw that it was already broad daylight, that he remained sitting cross-legged on the stone bed, refining the residual medicinal power of the Pill in his meridians; just then, he suddenly heard Pan Yong calling him from outside the cave.

Duan Rong frowned, got off the stone bed, and walked slowly to the outside of the cave.

As soon as Pan Yong saw Duan Rong, he could not help but be slightly stunned. It had only been a few days, yet he saw that Duan Rong's appearance had changed drastically; not only was his face full of exhaustion and haggardness, his eyes were bloodshot, but his face was also covered in stubble, and his hair was very messy.

Pan Yong said, "What has Disciple been doing in the cave these past few days? Why have you become like this?"

Pan Yong only knew that Duan Rong had been holed up in the cave these past few days and rarely went out, but he did not know that he had become this sloppy.

Duan Rong touched his stubbly, somewhat prickly chin and said lazily, "I have been studying a martial art these past few days; Senior Brother need not be surprised."

Pan Yong's expression shifted; he then remembered the many formidable methods Duan Rong used when killing Chen Hu—leg techniques, blade techniques, and movement techniques, all with great Proficiency.

It seemed this person was a martial arts fanatic, which was why he could comprehend multiple martial arts and cultivate them simultaneously.

Pan Yong smiled and said, "Disciple is truly vigorous!"

"Disciple, it is like this. Senior Brother accepted a task to earn Contribution Points at the Guanglu Courtyard. For these five days, I will not be here during the day. If Disciple has anything to do, you can leave a note at the entrance of my cave. I will see it when I return."

Duan Rong said, "Senior Brother, rest assured. There shouldn't be anything. If there really is something, I will inform Senior Brother."

Pan Yong said, "That is good. Disciple, being here alone, you must pay attention to the movements on the mountain. When Master Shang left, he instructed to keep a close watch on the household."

Duan Rong grumbled about Pan Yong's nagging in his heart, but he still nodded in agreement without changing his expression.

After Pan Yong finished speaking, he turned and left along the cliff wall.

Duan Rong watched Pan Yong finally walk far away and let out a sigh of relief.

Duan Rong's gaze tightened, and he followed far behind Pan Yong. He hid in a spot on the rock wall until he saw a figure slide into the vast fog along the iron chains.

Only then did he suddenly turn his head and look toward the direction of Shang Xiangyu's stone chamber.

The moment Duan Rong walked into Shang Xiangyu's stone chamber, his Divine Sense was instantly released.

Under the Divine Sense Envelopment, he could see through walls and over roofs, with every detail appearing clearly.

Duan Rong's gaze suddenly shifted, staring at a spot on the side of the stone bed.

Duan Rong walked over and squatted down.

Under the Divine Sense Envelopment, he "saw" that there was a secret compartment there.

That day, when he and Pan Yong were cleaning and tidying the room together, he had already used his external Divine Sense to investigate the room and discovered this secret compartment. When Shang Xiangyu was present, he dared not use his Divine Sense at will, but with Shang Xiangyu away and this place being very remote, the risk of Duan Rong occasionally using his Divine Sense was not great.

It was just that at the time, Pan Yong was present, so even if he had discovered the secret compartment, it was not convenient for him to make any moves.

And for these past few days, Pan Yong had also been on the mountain, so he did not dare to casually come to Shang Xiangyu's stone chamber to investigate.

But today, with Pan Yong gone, it gave him the perfect opportunity.

Through the penetration of his Divine Sense, Duan Rong soon discovered the mechanism of the secret compartment.

He climbed onto the stone bed; there was a stone pillow on the stone bed that seemed to be integrated with the bed itself.

Duan Rong climbed to the stone pillow and suddenly pushed hard on the inner end of it; he saw the stone pillow tilt slightly, and then it sprang back to its original position.

At the same time, Duan Rong heard a loud "Boom—" from the corner of the stone bed.

Duan Rong jumped off the stone bed and saw that in the corner, a stone slab had become misaligned and was slightly protruding; Duan Rong grabbed the top of the stone slab and pulled hard, and the stone slab opened.

He saw a pitch-black hole before him.

The interior of this stone bed was actually hollow.

Duan Rong took a Candle Lamp and crawled into the interior of the stone bed.

Although the space inside the stone bed was not small, there was nothing inside.

There were only a few books.

Duan Rong took the books out and sat in front of the desk.

He saw that the one on top was the Five Poisons Gu Insect Art; the pages of this book were yellowed, obviously very old.

When Duan Rong saw this name, he felt a wave of nausea in his heart. The Insect Gu that Shang Xiangyu had planted in him clearly came from this art.

Inside the book of Five Poisons Gu Insect Art, there was actually a wax-yellow human skin scroll tucked away; Duan Rong spread it out and saw written upon it: Nine Nether Great Treasury Art.

Duan Rong's eyes jumped; he had devoured the Spirit Tools of many things around Shang Xiangyu, and with much information converging, he already understood many things about Shang Xiangyu.

He knew that Shang Xiangyu's condition of source exhaustion was caused by practicing this Nine Nether Great Treasury Art.

This art was clearly an extremely dangerous method, and one must absolutely not touch it lightly.

Duan Rong moved the book aside and saw that underneath were several notebooks. They were all notes on alchemy and cultivation that Shang Xiangyu had made over the years, and many places were recorded quite exhaustively.

"It seems this person, like Shen Ping, likes to summarize methods and theories, possessing the same kind of quirk..."

Duan Rong took Shang Xiangyu's four notebooks and saw that the notebook Shen Ping had left for him had also been placed by Shang Xiangyu inside this stack of books.

Duan Rong moved the notebook Shen Ping had left behind aside as well.

At the very bottom of this stack of books, there were actually five more books; Duan Rong looked at the covers one by one, and the more he looked, the more alarmed he felt.

These five books were all about the Filthy Blood Sect and the Filthy Blood Divine Art.

Duan Rong had already guessed Shang Xiangyu's intentions after devouring and digesting the Spirit Tools of those discarded miscellaneous items, and now, seeing these five books, it further corroborated what he had thought in his heart.

Shang Xiangyu was leaving the Taiyi Sect to join the Filthy Blood Sect.

He wanted to practice the Filthy Blood Divine Art.

Because only the Filthy Blood Divine Art could cure his condition of source exhaustion!

(End of this chapter)