Chapter 347: Joyful Gathering

After Ximen Kankan finished roasting it, he grumbled and came into the cave to call Duan Rong.

But he saw Duan Rong sleeping like a dead pig; Ximen Kankan pushed him up, let go, and he slid right back down.

Ximen Kankan walked to the cave entrance and tore a dripping-wet chicken leg off the roasted chicken.

Holding the chicken leg, Ximen Kankan walked to the stone bed and waved the fragrant chicken leg in front of Duan Rong's face.

Yet he saw that Duan Rong was still fast asleep, showing no reaction at all.

"What did you do to be able to sleep like this? I've been smithing all day, and I don't even sleep like that!"

Ximen Kankan patted Duan Rong's face, then pinched Duan Rong's nose, but Duan Rong had no reaction.

After fussing for a while and seeing he couldn't wake Duan Rong up at all, he had no choice but to give up, biting into the chicken leg as he went out.

At this moment, inside Duan Rong's clear Spirit Sea, in the southeast area of the Black Earth, the ground was covered with all sorts of weapons: sabers, Swords, hooks, maces, bows and Arrows...

A dense, vast expanse of them, like a graveyard of sabers and Swords.

On every single weapon, wisps of black mist were emerging in fine threads...

Those emerging wisps of black mist all merged into the faint mist that was permeating and churning within this space...

After Ximen Kankan was full, he went to find a few acquaintances in the Weapon Workshop and chatted for a while before returning to the cave to sleep.

The stone bed was not spacious to begin with, and Ximen Kankan was fat; once he fell asleep, he tossed and turned, squeezing Duan Rong until his whole body was pressed against the stone wall.

Duan Rong hadn't eaten, so Ximen Kankan had eaten a bit too much that night. In the second half of the night, his foul farts were like a chain-fire cannon, popping non-stop...

But under the repeated assault of Ximen Kankan's foul farts and snoring, Duan Rong still slept like a dead pig.

When the sky was just beginning to brighten, Duan Rong suddenly opened his eyes in the deep, dark cave.

By this time, Ximen Kankan's foul farts had long since stopped, but the snoring was still very loud.

Duan Rong was squeezed by Ximen Kankan's large buttocks against the stone wall, unable to even move.

But Duan Rong did not care at all; his eyes were as bright as stars, and at this moment, in his clear Spirit Sea, in the southeast area of the Black Earth, all the various weapons that had originally been stuck there had disappeared...

And above the Cangqiong there, the phantom images of various weapons floating about had suddenly increased by nearly double...

Duan Rong knew that those faint, cloud-like, ethereal weapon phantoms suspended in the sky at the southeast Cangqiong were all the remnants of the Spirit Tools after being digested and absorbed.

Duan Rong, pressed against the stone wall, had flashing eyes.

He had devoured so many Spirit Tools, and in a single night, he had actually digested and absorbed them all completely.

His speed in digesting and absorbing Spirit Tools had clearly undergone a massive, transformative improvement.

"It must have to do with achieving the eleventh level of the Womb Treasury Sutra," Duan Rong thought to himself.

At this time, his Mental Power level had already reached level twelve, and the strength of his Divine Soul was no longer what it used to be.

To use food as an analogy, this was equivalent to his stomach not only becoming larger, but his ability to digest food also improving.

With the tide rising to lift the boat, he had actually digested and absorbed that entire vast expanse of Spirit Tools in just one night.

To be honest, this speed still scared Duan Rong a little.

He had originally estimated that it would take at least a day or two of sleep to digest and absorb them all.

"It seems I still underestimated the power of level twelve Mental Power."

Duan Rong sighed, then struggled to squeeze out of the narrow gap between Ximen Kankan's fat body and the stone wall. He resentfully twisted Ximen Kankan's nose and said, "Look at how you've squeezed me?! I really want to sit on your face."

But Ximen Kankan was sleeping soundly and didn't hear Duan Rong's scolding; he only stopped snoring for a breath when Duan Rong twisted his nose.

Duan Rong jumped off the bed. Borrowing the faint morning light cast in from the cave entrance, he saw a half-eaten roasted chicken on the Stone Table beside the stone bed.

Duan Rong knew that was what Ximen Kankan had left over, and since it had been sitting out all night, it was already cold.

But he wasn't picky; he picked up the half-roasted chicken and sat at the cave entrance to finish it.

After Duan Rong finished eating, he wiped the grease from his mouth, stood up, and walked back toward the cave where the discarded weapons were piled.

After the sky was completely bright, Ximen Kankan woke up from the stone bed. He wiped the drool from the corner of his mouth, picked at his eye boogers, and looked around, discovering that Duan Rong was no longer in the cave.

"This kid, did he leave?" Ximen Kankan struggled to sit up and muttered, "He didn't even say a word to me before leaving."

Ximen Kankan could faintly hear the noise outside; clearly, most of the people in the Weapon Workshop were up. He stuck his butt out as he climbed off the bed, groggily taking a wooden basin and towel to go wash his face outside.

After washing up, he returned to the entrance of his cave and suddenly froze, seeing a pile of freshly spat-out chicken bones at the entrance.

Ximen Kankan walked into the cave, put down the wooden basin in his hand, and turned his head to look at the Stone Table, only to see that the large half of the roasted chicken he had left last night to have for breakfast was gone.

As soon as he thought about it, he knew Duan Rong had gotten up and eaten it.

Ximen Kankan didn't mind; he had eaten quite a lot last night anyway, so it wasn't a big deal not to eat this morning. He turned his feet and prepared to head to the smithing cave.

Just as Ximen Kankan reached the vicinity of that cave entrance and was greeting a few coworkers, his eyes suddenly shifted, and he looked toward the direction of the cave where the discarded weapons were piled not far away.

Ximen Kankan's figure paused, and he suddenly turned and walked toward that place. He had a faint feeling in his heart.

He passed through the pitch-black corridor and saw a ball of firelight not far ahead. In the firelight was a figure, occasionally bending over in front of a pile of discarded weapons, and from time to time throwing weapons behind him.

Ximen Kankan walked over, looked at Duan Rong who was busy there again, and his expression suddenly turned somewhat ugly.

"Can't you just let that pile of junk go?"

Hearing this, Duan Rong turned his head and saw Ximen Kankan behind him, looking at him with a strange expression.

He could see the worry in Ximen Kankan's eyes.

Duan Rong immediately understood that his behavior indeed did not look like that of a normal person. It was no wonder Ximen Kankan would look at him with such eyes.

Duan Rong threw the weapon in his hand behind him, patted Ximen Kankan on the shoulder, and said, "You don't need to look at me like that, I am seriously normal."

Ximen Kankan glanced at him and said, "A white horse is not a horse; 'seriously normal' is not normal."

Duan Rong said, "I'm telling you, I'll be staying here for a few days. I know you think it's strange, but..."

As Duan Rong spoke, he suddenly deepened his tone, and his expression became solemn, with no trace of his usual joking manner.

"First, Kankan, you have to believe me, I definitely have my reasons for doing this. Second, I really haven't gone crazy."

Since Duan Rong was prepared to devour here for a few days, he had to pacify Ximen Kankan.

Ximen Kankan blinked his eyes and stared blankly at Duan Rong for a while, seeing that Duan Rong's gaze was clear and lively, clearly not possessed by demons.

Ximen Kankan finally became convinced of one thing: Duan Rong was doing something he could not understand.

"Fine. As long as you haven't gone mad, that's good. If you want to mess around with this junk, then go ahead."

Seeing that Ximen Kankan seemed to have accepted this strange thing he was doing, Duan Rong patted his shoulder and continued to bend down to begin devouring the Artifact Spirits.

Seeing that the time to start work was approaching, Ximen Kankan left Duan Rong and went to the cave where they forged iron to report for duty.

After Ximen Kankan finished his shift, he looked into the cave where the discarded weapons were piled, only to see that the entire cave was pitch black without a single spark of light; clearly, Duan Rong had already left.

Ximen Kankan walked back to his own cave, only to find that Duan Rong was already sprawled on the stone bed, sleeping like a dead pig.

Ximen Kankan stood by the stone bed, looking at Duan Rong, and muttered to himself, "Is this guy really okay?"

Although Duan Rong had given him a set of excuses that morning to reassure him, the worry in his heart had not dissipated. Ximen Kankan sighed and walked out of the cave on his own.

That evening, Ximen Kankan specially saved a roast chicken and placed it on the Stone Table inside the cave.

When he woke up the next morning, the roast chicken was already gone, and Duan Rong was over in that cave again, fiddling with those broken weapons; this time, Ximen Kankan only took a distant look and did not go over to disturb Duan Rong.

Five days passed in this manner.

Duan Rong did this every day, and the worry in Ximen Kankan's heart grew with each passing day.

Although Duan Rong would eat the wild game he left for him every day, for five consecutive days, Duan Rong had been covered in a foul stench, his hair was disheveled, and his eyes were red.

Because he disliked the smell on Duan Rong, Ximen Kankan had already started sleeping on the floor two days ago.

On this day, Ximen Kankan's three-month training period finally ended.

The instructor in charge of their group gave him quite a high evaluation, saying he was firm, bright, patient, and clever.

Ximen Kankan did indeed get along quite well with these people at the Weapon Workshop. Occasionally, he would clown around and tell a joke to amuse everyone, which livened up the atmosphere and eased their fatigue.

After finishing the training period, Ximen Kankan was quite excited. From now on, he could arrange his own time. As long as he completed the work assigned to him by the instructor each month, it would be fine.

Ximen Kankan had been feeling excited, but as soon as he stepped out of the cave, his face immediately became worried.

He walked to the cave where the discarded weapons were piled, and sure enough, he saw a familiar figure amidst the firelight, bending down from time to time, with the clanging sound of blades falling occasionally ringing out behind him.

Ximen Kankan sighed. "This guy..."

Although Ximen Kankan was very worried, he did not go over to disturb Duan Rong; his eyes suddenly darted, as if he had thought of something.

An hour later, Ximen Kankan brought Xiao Yu and Shen Mizhi with him into this cave.

It turned out that Shen Mizhi had also just finished her three-month training period today.

The rules in the Elder Council were even stricter, and the Nanny in charge of them was very severe. For even a small mistake, she would punish them at every turn. Before the three-month training period ended, they were not allowed to step out of the mountain peak where the Elder Council was located.

And the Elder Council was a forbidden area of the Sect; Registered Disciples like Duan Rong were not allowed to enter at will. Shen Mizhi also knew this situation, so as soon as her training period ended, she immediately went to find Xiao Yu.

And when Ximen Kankan went to find Xiao Yu, Shen Mizhi had only just arrived at Xiao Yu's place not long before. After Ximen Kankan gave an exaggerated account, Xiao Yu rushed over in a hurry.

Ximen Kankan brought Xiao Yu and Shen Mizhi to stand behind Duan Rong, not far away.

Although it was only a back view in the firelight, Xiao Yu recognized Duan Rong at a glance. It was just that his hair was as messy as grass, and his clothes were wrinkled.

"There, right there," Ximen Kankan said, pointing his chin toward the back figure.

They saw Duan Rong bending down from time to time, pulling out blade after blade from the pile of discarded weapons in front of him, only to clench them in his hand for a breath's time before throwing them behind him.

He repeated this over and over, tireless.

"He... what is he doing?" A flash of suspicion also crossed Shen Mizhi's eyes.

"It's already been five days!" Ximen Kankan said. "He seems to have said that he is talking to those weapons."

"Ah?!" Shen Mizhi's mouth opened into an 'O' shape.

Xiao Yu's eyes turned red instantly.

Xiao Yu walked slowly behind Duan Rong and called out in a trembling voice, "Duan Rong."

Duan Rong had just clenched a blade in his hand when he suddenly heard Xiao Yu's familiar voice. He turned his head, looked at Xiao Yu, and his eyes lit up with joy as he said, "Why are you here?"

Xiao Yu stared blankly at Duan Rong, seeing his haggard face and withered appearance, with a piece of straw stuck in his messy hair from who knows where.

Xiao Yu walked over, sniffed, and reached out to pick the straw from Duan Rong's head. Looking at his bloodshot eyes, her heart suddenly felt sour, and she almost cried out.

Xiao Yu suppressed her emotions and asked, "Duan Rong, what are you doing?"

Duan Rong was stunned for a moment, then saw Ximen Kankan and Shen Mizhi behind Xiao Yu, both looking at him with the same expression.

Duan Rong smiled, then suddenly threw the blade in his hand away and said, "Forget it. I'm not doing it anymore."

In fact, this was already his sixth day devouring the Artifact Spirits of these discarded blades.

He had devoured so many Artifact Spirits, but the highest tier was only Second Tier, corresponding to the True Qi Realm Fourth Layer in martial arts.

Let alone a Twelfth Tier Qi Cyclone Realm Artifact Spirit, in these five or six days, he hadn't even encountered a Qi Refining Realm Artifact Spirit.

He had devoured so many Artifact Spirits without encountering a single Qi Refining Realm one; this was likely no longer a matter of probability, but rather due to some reasons he had yet to fathom.

Moreover, he could fob off a thick-skinned guy like Ximen Kankan, but looking at Xiao Yu's concerned and worried eyes, he couldn't quite handle it.

Duan Rong threw away the blade, touched Xiao Yu's face with his dirty hand, and said, "It's fine, don't worry."

Seeing that Duan Rong's speech and actions were still normal and not as mad as Ximen Kankan had described, the worry in Xiao Yu's heart had mostly vanished.

Duan Rong turned his head to look at Shen Mizhi and said, "Yo, Miss Shen, you finally decided to come down from the Elder Council? I thought you had forgotten about us poor wretches?"

Shen Mizhi's face flushed with urgency at Duan Rong's words, and she pulled on Xiao Yu, saying, "Sister Xiao, look at him, when have I ever been like what he said?"

Xiao Yu rolled her eyes at Duan Rong and said, "Don't talk nonsense. The Nanny at the Elder Council doesn't let her come down the mountain until the training period ends."

Shen Mizhi held Xiao Yu's arm, looked at Duan Rong, and said, "Did you hear that? Don't talk nonsense!"

"Fine!"

Duan Rong smiled and drawled.

He suddenly reached out with both hands, draping them over the shoulders of Xiao Yu and Ximen Kankan, while looking at Shen Mizhi, saying, "It's rare that we're all together again. Let's go, I'll take you to tour my territory."

Ximen Kankan said, "Your territory?! Do you still think this is Xiangu County?"

"We are just this big here," Ximen Kankan said, reaching out and pinching his own little finger in front of Duan Rong.

"That's you!" Duan Rong said. "I am the mountain king now, you know?"

"Mountain your sister, I'm still a local emperor, aren't I?" Ximen Kankan was clearly very indignant at Duan Rong bragging here.

Duan Rong glanced at Ximen Kankan, not wanting to continue arguing with this idiot, so he softened his tone and said, "Let's go. Just consider it going over to my place for a stroll, is that alright?"

Ximen Kankan said, "That sounds like something a human would say."

And so, Duan Rong brought Xiao Yu, Ximen Kankan, and Shen Mizhi to that mountain peak of Shang Xiangyu.

Duan Rong jumped off the iron chain and waved his hand, saying, "Stroll wherever you like. You can use everything on this mountain as you please."

Then Duan Rong took them for a tour, and Xiao Yu, Ximen Kankan, and Shen Mizhi were surprised to discover that there wasn't a single shadow of a person on this mountain, and it was completely silent, without a single noisy sound.

"Is there no one on this mountain?" Ximen Kankan asked.

Duan Rong said, "Of course, I told you, I am the mountain king here."

"From now on, you are the second-in-command," Duan Rong said, pointing at Ximen Kankan, then he pointed at Shen Mizhi and said, "You are the third-in-command."

Then Duan Rong stopped and did not point at Xiao Yu.

Xiao Yu was stunned for a moment and said, "Then what about me?"

Duan Rong said, "You are the bandit's wife."

Xiao Yu's face turned red, and she stretched out her fist to hit Duan Rong; Duan Rong immediately jumped away, and the two of them began to chase each other playfully.

Ximen Kankan and Shen Mizhi watched from the side, feeling quite envious.

Ximen Kankan glanced at Shen Mizhi and said, "Do you want to be the bandit's wife?"

Shen Mizhi rolled her eyes at him, looked at the white mist rolling over the edge of the cliff, and said, "If you jump down from here, I will."

Ximen Kankan took a look at the cliff, snorted through his nose, and said, "Who are you trying to fool? Don't you dream about it. If I jump down from here, wouldn't you become the second-in-command?"

Upon hearing this, Shen Mizhi giggled.

(End of this chapter)