Chapter 352: Unknown Years in the Mountains

Duan Rong and the others emerged from the Scripture Repository.

Ximen Kankan, Xiao Yu, and Shen Mizhi had all only exchanged for the First Layer of the cultivation technique.

Martial arts of the True Qi Realm consist of four layers in total, and the exchange points for each layer are different. The further one goes, the more expensive it gets!

Duan Rong looked at the points required to exchange for the technique and clicked his tongue slightly.

It was fortunate that he had obtained his martial arts realm directly by absorbing an artifact spirit; otherwise, just exchanging for this technique would have cost him quite a few Contribution Points.

From then on, Xiao Yu, Ximen Kankan, and Shen Mizhi would often come to Duan Rong's hilltop to practice martial arts whenever they had leisure time.

Duan Rong would occasionally offer them a pointer or two. At first, the three did not pay much attention, but as time passed, they discovered that although what Duan Rong said was very brief, it often hit the mark; if they could ponder and comprehend it deeply, it was always of great benefit to their cultivation.

Gradually, they all began to take the initiative to ask Duan Rong questions.

Without realizing it, Duan Rong had become their little teacher...

Because Duan Rong's understanding of martial arts was already on a different level than theirs, the three often found it difficult to understand even after he repeatedly explained what were, to him, very simple and clear questions.

It made Duan Rong feel quite frantic! He often had the illusion that he was tutoring elementary school students with their homework, just like in his past life.

In the blink of an eye, another few months passed.

This day, Duan Rong told them that he knew a Pharmacist who could help refine pills, provided they only supplied the raw materials.

Upon hearing this, the three all looked at Duan Rong with strange expressions.

Shen Mizhi said, "Why only supply the raw materials? If it is refined successfully, wouldn't that Pharmacist take a cut?"

Shen Mizhi felt that what Duan Rong said did not seem very reasonable.

Duan Rong said, "This Pharmacist is a novice. He refines medicine for people purely to practice his skills, so he doesn't take a cut. However, there is no guarantee that it will definitely be refined successfully."

"No guarantee of success!" Shen Mizhi exclaimed.

Duan Rong nodded and said, "Yes, but I advise you to give it a try. As far as I know, the success rate is quite high."

"Is that so?" Shen Mizhi was half-believing and half-doubting.

However, Xiao Yu and Ximen Kankan both said they would let that Pharmacist help refine a batch of Zhengyang Pills to give it a try.

When it came down to it, the two of them trusted Duan Rong more than Shen Mizhi did.

Duan Rong then handed them a prescription and told them to go to the Medicine Pavilion to exchange for the medicinal herbs.

Seeing that Xiao Yu and Ximen Kankan were both participating, Shen Mizhi also exchanged for the herbs and handed them all to Duan Rong.

A few days later, each of them received a bottle of Zhengyang Pills.

The three were naturally overjoyed.

Duan Rong specifically instructed them that this matter must not be leaked; for a Pharmacist to refine medicine for others privately violated the Sect rules, and if it were reported to the Sect, that Pharmacist would be punished.

The three of them kept this in mind.

If that Pharmacist were to be punished, this channel would be cut off in the future, and where else would they find such cheap Zhengyang Pills?

Xiao Yu said, "Duan Rong, how did you get to know that Pharmacist?"

Duan Rong smiled and said, "When Shang Xiangyu was here, I was a Medicine Boy, and I got to know him when I went to deliver medicine to their hilltop one time."

Xiao Yu's gaze flickered, and she did not speak.

Shen Mizhi looked at Xiao Yu and smiled, saying, "Sister Xiao is asking you, is that Pharmacist a man or a woman?"

Upon hearing this, Xiao Yu pinched Shen Mizhi's arm.

Shen Mizhi let out an exaggerated cry.

Duan Rong had already refined those Zhengyang Pills many times and had almost never failed; occasionally there were some deviations, but it was only that the quality was slightly poorer, which did not affect their use.

After several times, the three were already very confident in that Pharmacist's level, and calculating it, even if they occasionally had a failed batch, they were still coming out ahead.

This day at noon, just after Duan Rong returned from Xia Honghua's place, he saw a figure walking over from afar while coughing.

Looking at that figure, it seemed to be Qin Laotou, only his back seemed even more hunched, and that coughing sound had not stopped all the way from the distance until he reached Duan Rong.

Duan Rong had absorbed the Devouring Artifact Spirits of many of Gu Suxiu's and Shen Ping's personal belongings in Xiangu County, and he also had quite a bit of expertise in medical arts.

That coughing sound from Qin Laotou was clearly injuring the depths of his lung lobes.

That was no longer a cough from around the throat; the vibration of the sound was clearly affecting the resonance of his lung lobes.

Qin Laotou looked at Duan Rong and asked, "Master Shang... *cough cough cough*... has not returned yet?"

Duan Rong shook his head, his gaze looking at Qin Laotou with some worry.

"It has already been... eight months... why hasn't he returned yet..." Qin Laotou said intermittently while coughing.

Last time, when Qin Laotou went to the Ruling Sect Justice Division to find Yang Yi, Yang Yi perhaps recalled what Yang Sixuan had said—that this Qin Laotou was a relative of a History Supervisor in the Inner History Department—and he had also let a Pharmacist examine the poisons and medicines in those cabinets, but no clues had been found.

Yang Yi then did a favor and gave the remaining three bottles of Water Moon to Qin Laotou.

It was relying on those three bottles of Water Moon that Qin Laotou had managed to hold on until this day.

A trace of unbearable pity welled up in Duan Rong's heart.

That Water Moon was Shang Xiangyu's unique formula. This medicine was quite suited to Qin Laotou's symptoms and could suppress his consumption, allowing him to live for a few more years.

But Duan Rong still dismissed the idea of preparing medicine for Qin Laotou.

When he refined pills for Xiao Yu, Ximen Kankan, and Shen Mizhi, he had to give them a thousand warnings to ensure they kept it a secret.

And to him, Qin Laotou was, after all, an outsider. The risk was too great.

Duan Rong said, "If Master Shang returns, I will definitely go to the Lower Courtyard to tell you."

Qin Laotou said, "Thank you."

After saying this, Qin Laotou walked away with a desolate look, coughing as he went.

Two months later, one day while Duan Rong was in the dense forest guiding Ximen Kankan on a point regarding the Splitting Sky Saber, Ximen Kankan suddenly said that he had heard from their supervisor that Qin Laotou of the Lower Courtyard had died.

"He died?"

"Mm. They say he has been dead for more than half a month."

Duan Rong looked at the vast twilight; the desolate look in Qin Laotou's eyes at the end flashed through his mind...

Although this matter made Duan Rong feel quite wistful, he soon cast it to the back of his mind...

On this day, Duan Rong sat at the entrance of his cave, looking at the vast white valley before him.

Goose-feather-like heavy snow was still falling densely from the gloomy cloud layer...

It was snowing.

The heavy snow had sealed the mountains!

This was not the first time he had seen such heavy snow since entering the mountains!

One loses track of years in the mountains; without realizing it, he had already been in the Sect for three full years!

Moreover, in another three months, it would be the day of their examination to advance to Outer Sect Disciples!

Xiao Yu and Shen Mizhi were both intensifying their cultivation, but Duan Rong was not anxious. In three years, Duan Rong had already achieved the Great Perfection of the True Qi Realm.

He picked up a withered branch and poked the fire in front of him. Seeing the clay pot perched on the fire, it had already begun to emit a faint white mist, and a light aroma of wine had already drifted into Duan Rong's nose.

Duan Rong's nostrils twitched.

Not bad; the clay pot warming on the fire was indeed filled with wine.

This was something Ximen Kankan had brewed a few months ago using fruits from the mountains.

Over the past three years, although Ximen Kankan did not like to practice martial arts and was always tinkering with all sorts of messy things, he had still achieved the Second Layer of the True Qi Realm several months ago.

Xiao Yu and Shen Mizhi were clearly more diligent than Ximen Kankan, and Duan Rong had not spared any effort in guiding them, but according to Duan Rong's observations, they were still quite a distance away from achieving the Second Layer of the True Qi Realm.

It must be said that when it comes to practicing martial arts, one really has to rely on talent.

Xiao Yu and Shen Mizhi were also anxious in their hearts; if they could not achieve the Second Layer of the True Qi Realm, it would be somewhat dangerous to try and advance to Outer Sect Disciples.

As for Ximen Kankan, he had stopped practicing months ago. Because he had heard from their supervisor that achieving the Second Layer of the True Qi Realm usually meant there would be no problem advancing to Outer Sect Disciple.

Once Ximen Kankan was idle, he would tinker with going here and there to play with Duan Rong every day.

Duan Rong had no time to pay him any mind, though he himself had also stopped practicing martial arts for the past few months.

Over these past few months, Duan Rong had suddenly become obsessed with the Scripture Repository; he was not obsessed with the martial arts Secret Manuals inside, but rather with the Daoist Canons there.

Those things were all metaphysical classics, covered in dust, and rarely flipped through by anyone.

Perhaps it was because in his past life, Duan Rong had received a good second-tier education of skipping classes every day and failing exams.

At the very least, he had graduated successfully.

In any case, as he read these things, he gradually began to find some flavor in them.

Duan Rong took the clay pot off the fire and poured himself half a Bamboo Tube of the piping hot fruit wine.

As Duan Rong drank the fruit wine, he thought about the contents of a Daoist Canon he had read in the Scripture Repository yesterday... Outside the cave, white snow drifted, and Duan Rong seemed to have gained some insight...

In the blink of an eye, three months had passed; the white snow dissipated, and the earth returned to spring.

And this day was the day Duan Rong and the others were to participate in the examination to advance to Outer Sect Disciples.

It was a close call.

Being able to participate in this examination had been quite a struggle for Duan Rong.

Registered Disciples participating in the examination required an approval slip from the Lower Courtyard.

But the Lower Courtyard's approval slip required one's direct supervisor to provide an evaluation of the Registered Disciple's status over the past three years, and it had to be signed and stamped. Only then could the Lower Courtyard issue the approval slip based on that.

Duan Rong's direct supervisor was Shang Xiangyu.

But Shang Xiangyu had already left the Sect for more than two years without a trace; where was Duan Rong to find him to provide an evaluation, let alone get it signed and stamped?

Duan Rong told the supervisor of the Lower Courtyard about his situation.

That supervisor said that after Lao Qin died, he had only just taken over this mess, and this was his first time encountering a Registered Disciple examination.

In this situation, he also did not know how to handle it.

At the time, the Lower Courtyard was full of people coming to handle approval slips, and the supervisor dismissed Duan Rong with a single sentence.

Duan Rong was anxious, and he suddenly had a flash of inspiration, thinking of Xia Honghua.

Duan Rong found Xia Honghua and explained the situation. Xia Honghua was very straightforward; she wrote the evaluation for him, and she also signed and stamped it.

During the three years Duan Rong was with her, he had balanced Xia Honghua's accounts clearly, allowing her to receive rewards for three consecutive years.

It was for this reason that Xia Honghua helped Duan Rong get this matter done.

Duan Rong took the evaluation signed and stamped by Xia Honghua to the Lower Courtyard and very smoothly obtained the qualification approval slip.

This morning, the four of them—Duan Rong, Ximen Kankan, Xiao Yu, and Shen Mizhi—brought their Sect Cloud Tokens and approval slips, preparing to head from Duan Rong's mountain peak to the examination location.

There were three rounds of examinations in total.

The location for the first round of the examination was in a valley; one had to walk south from the back mountain of the peak where the Guanglu Courtyard was located, and it was said there were signposts along the way.

They arrived at the iron chain leading to the Guanglu Courtyard.

They suddenly discovered that there were no more Beast Skin Wraps in the stone holes on the cliff wall.

Usually, there were more than enough Beast Skin Wraps in these stone holes, and there was a system of taking and returning; the Beast Skin Wraps they took over would be brought back when they returned.

However, this day was, after all, the examination day for Registered Disciples to advance to Outer Sect Disciples, and the location for the first round of the examination started from the back mountain of the Guanglu Courtyard.

It was easy to imagine that many people were going to the Guanglu Courtyard. Because of this, the Beast Skin Wraps were in short supply.

The few of them searched all the holes in the nearby cliff wall and only found three Beast Skin Wraps.

Ximen Kankan's expression dimmed, and he said, "You all go ahead first. I'll go back to Duan Rong's mountain peak and get some Beast Skin Wraps."

Among the three, only he had not found a Beast Skin Wrap.

Duan Rong suddenly smiled and slapped the Beast Skin Wrap in his hand into Ximen Kankan's hand. "Here, take this one."

Ximen Kankan was slightly stunned. "What are you doing? If you give it to me, what will you use?"

Xiao Yu also looked at Duan Rong with suspicious eyes.

Duan Rong looked at the three of them, smiled brightly, and said, "I'll perform a trick for you all."

"Cloud Cliff Horizontal Crossing!"

After Duan Rong finished speaking, his figure suddenly became like a great bird, leaping out from the edge of the cliff.

"Ah!"

Xiao Yu's eyes were startled, her whole body turned cold, and her complexion looked as if she had received a great fright.

While in mid-air, Duan Rong suddenly tapped his toes onto the iron chain hanging high over the Empty Valley; under that single tap from Duan Rong, the iron chain began to sway violently. Yet, like a swallow skimming the water, Duan Rong rose and fell several times, truly crossing over to the opposite side of the cliff.

Xiao Yu's face was deathly pale, her heart almost leaping into her throat.

Duan Rong landed steadily on the opposite bank, smiling as he looked at the three people on this side.

Xiao Yu, Shen Mizhi, and Ximen Kankan, however, were so shocked they could not speak for a long time.

This Lightness Skill of Duan Rong's was called the Cloud Cliff Willow Catkin Step, and it had already reached the Great Perfection of the True Qi Realm.

This was actually not the first time Duan Rong had performed this Lightness Skill on the iron chain.

The first time he was suddenly seized by a burst of inspiration and crossed the cliff by stepping on the chain was on that morning three months ago.

At that time, dense, goose-feather-sized snowflakes were still falling between heaven and earth.

A layer of white snow had fallen upon the iron chain, and because the mountain was cold and damp, after a winter had passed, a layer of ice had long since formed on the chain.

But at that time, Duan Rong was as light as a swallow, stepping across the chain.

The swaying iron chain shook off the silver-white covering, and the accumulated snow scattered like smoke toward the bottom of the cliff.

At that moment, Duan Rong's heart was soaring and his eyes were filled with joy, but unfortunately, he did not know how to compose poetry.

After struggling for a long time, he couldn't even squeeze out a piece of doggerel.

At this time, it was already early spring, and the accumulated snow and thin ice had long since melted, but because the iron chain was rubbed year after year, its surface remained extremely smooth; for Duan Rong to cross the chain like this, the difficulty was in no way inferior to that of winter.

But fortunately, this section of the iron chain was not too long.

It took a while for Xiao Yu to recover, and looking at the grinning Duan Rong on the opposite side, her expression was extremely ugly.

Ximen Kankan was also so frightened that he stuck out his tongue.

Not to mention Xiao Yu and Shen Mizhi, even if he had achieved the Second Layer of the True Qi Realm, he would not dare to cross the chain like Duan Rong.

That iron chain was so smooth and unstable; if one were slightly careless, one would fall into the ten-thousand-foot-deep valley, and at such a height, falling down would mean being smashed to pieces.

Xiao Yu, Ximen Kankan, and the others crossed the iron chain and landed not far from Duan Rong's side.

Xiao Yu untied the Beast Skin Wrap from her waist, flung it at Duan Rong, and said angrily, "What are you showing off for?! If you had missed your step and fallen, what would you have done?"

Seeing that Xiao Yu was truly angry, Shen Mizhi gently patted Xiao Yu with her fair hand while looking at Duan Rong with reproach, saying, "You almost scared the soul out of Sister Xiao just now! Hurry up and apologize!"

Duan Rong smiled foolishly, put the Beast Skin Wrap into the stone cave beside him, and said, "I was afraid that if I went back there again to get the wrap, there might not be enough time."

"Alright, stop being angry!"

Looking at Duan Rong's appearance, the anger in Xiao Yu's heart could no longer be sustained, and with Shen Mizhi soothing her on the side, Xiao Yu's expression slowly improved.

Although Duan Rong knew in his heart that he would not have an accident.

He had indeed frightened Xiao Yu quite a bit, so it was no wonder Xiao Yu was so angry.

The group passed through a dense forest from the mountain peak of the Guanglu Courtyard, walked to the back mountain, and followed the mountain path down; before long, they saw a wooden sign standing at the intersection there, pointing toward the south.

Actually, once they reached this point, there was no need for that wooden sign to point the way at all.

On the winding and rugged mountain road, there were unexpectedly many figures; amidst the shadows of trees and stone walls, one could see a huge, intermittent dragon-like line.

"So there are this many Registered Disciples!"

These Registered Disciples were scattered in every corner of these Endless Great Mountains, and only on this assessment day could they gather in one place.

Duan Rong and the others had been in these mountains for three years, and although they often saw other Registered Disciples, everyone was a stranger, and they rarely greeted each other.

Ximen Kankan and the others could recognize a few people from working in various places.

Duan Rong, however, stayed alone on that mountain of Shang Xiangyu, and apart from Xiao Yu, Ximen Kankan, and Shen Mizhi, he knew almost no other Registered Disciples.

Looking at the flow of people filling the mountain road at this moment, Duan Rong could not help but feel a moment of trance; it was as if he had arrived at a tourist attraction during a holiday in his previous life, with the mountain road crowded with a sea of black heads...

(End of this chapter)