Chapter 488: Reflections and Reality

It was already nightfall when Duan Rong returned to Yunfu Peak.

Deep within the mountains, where thick fog permeated the air, faint sounds of insects could still be heard ringing out in the night.

Duan Rong returned to his room inside the pavilion, first using a towel to brush the dust off his body, then washing his face, before calling for some food and drink and sitting down at the side table to eat.

Having rushed all the way back, he was already so hungry his chest was pressed against his back, and he devoured the food like a whirlwind.

Just as Duan Rong was eating with relish, he suddenly caught sight of two figures walking into the doorway; with his mouth stuffed full of food, he turned his head to see that it was Wu Shidao and Wang Yue who had entered.

Duan Rong was just about to stand up, but was pressed back into his seat by Wang Yue, who had slipped inside.

Wang Yue said with a grin, "Little Disciple, sit! You are a great hero this time!"

Pinned there by Wang Yue, Duan Rong chewed and swallowed the food in his mouth before smiling and saying, "Senior Brother Wu, Senior Brother Wang, you two are certainly well-informed. I had only just arrived, and you were already here."

Wang Yue said, "Nonsense! Little Disciple, we knew you were coming back, so we specifically calculated the days to wait for you!"

"Is that so?" Duan Rong said. "Sorry to have troubled you, Senior Brothers!"

Wu Shidao smiled and said, "Little Disciple, these past few days, Master has not stopped praising you!"

"That's right!" Wang Yue chimed in. "Little Disciple, how are you so formidable? You took down Taihe Tower without making a sound!"

Duan Rong said, "Not at all? You two Senior Brothers need not overpraise me! In truth, it was all Master's strategic planning; I was merely running errands."

Wang Yue's eyes darted, and he said, "Little Disciple, let me make a deal with you: next time you go on a mission, speak to Master and let me go along with you to act as your assistant."

As Wang Yue spoke, he actually began to knead Duan Rong's shoulders. "Little Disciple, consider it your Senior Brother begging you!"

He knew full well that his situation on Yunfu Peak was poor, and he wanted to bask in Duan Rong's reflected glory.

When news of Li Shensi's mysterious death reached Yunfu Peak, Wang Yue had been quite impressed by Duan Rong's ingenious schemes and imagination; after the subsequent events at Taihe Tower and the downfall of Ge Rusong were revealed, Wang Yue was even more deeply impressed.

Duan Rong shrugged his shoulders, slipped out of Wang Yue's grasp, and smiled, "Senior Brother, you're making me feel strangely ticklish."

Wang Yue said, "Little Disciple, you must remember what I said!"

"This..." Duan Rong changed the subject, saying, "Sigh! Why haven't I seen Senior Sister Fan?"

Wu Shidao said, "Senior Sister Fan has not been on the peak these past few days."

"Oh, is that so?" Duan Rong's gaze flickered.

Wu Shidao said, "Right. Little Disciple, Master is still waiting for you in his room. He likely has something to instruct you on."

"Oh. Then I will go pay my respects to Master first. I'll chat with you two Senior Brothers later." As Duan Rong said this, he stood up, gave a slight cupped-fist salute to Wu Shidao and Wang Yue, and left the room.

Wang Yue watched Duan Rong leave the room with a hesitant look, ultimately failing to continue the previous topic.

After Duan Rong left, Wu Shidao glanced at Wang Yue and said, "Junior Brother Wang, you certainly know how to cling to a powerful figure at the right time, don't you?"

Wang Yue sighed and said, "Senior Brother, please don't mock me. I am also doing this for survival."

Wu Shidao's expression dimmed, and he said, "Everyone has their own way of surviving; I would not dare to mock you recklessly. But the Little Disciple's position on Yunfu Peak has already far surpassed Senior Sister Fan and myself. If you want to stand by his side, you must first weigh your own worth. Even if he were willing to take you, do you think Master would agree?"

Wang Yue's heart suddenly cleared. Although Wu Shidao's words were cruel, they were the truth.

If Zhu He had already determined in his heart that he was a discarded pawn, then if Duan Rong were to take him along, Zhu He might instead think that Duan Rong could not see the situation clearly.

No wonder the Little Disciple wanted to change the subject just now. Since Master is already unwilling to waste resources on me, how could the Little Disciple go against Master's orders?

In the end, he had just been overthinking things!

Wang Yue's expression was sorrowful as he said, "Senior Brother, you are right."

In a secluded room within the Yunfu Peak pavilion.

This room was very simple, like the room of a mountain hunter; there was only a wooden bed, and on the bed, besides a bamboo-strip cooling pillow, there was nothing else.

The tables and chairs in the room were also simple and archaic, without any ornamentation.

Here, Zhu He sat before a square wooden table, looking at Duan Rong before him.

After Duan Rong paid his respects to Zhu He and stood up, he swept his gaze around, his heart quite surprised by Zhu He's ascetic, simple lifestyle.

There were no decorations in the room, save for a piece of work hanging by the window that was both calligraphy and painting.

Through the Devouring Artifact Spirit, Duan Rong was quite proficient in calligraphy and painting, but for a moment he could not tell what it was, so he looked at it a few more times.

After looking for a while, he finally saw what it was.

It was a character! It was the character for "blade" in seal script! It was just twisted and curved, as if it were some ancient, profound symbol.

That blade character with its twisted and curved strokes seemed to fill the entire space, as if it were permeating the space between heaven and earth...

In an instant, Duan Rong seemed to be drawn in by those twisted strokes, unable to help but look deep into them; he felt as if he were enveloped by that character, and the twisted strokes, in Duan Rong's eyes, actually began to writhe, and before long, they transformed into Blade Shadows and blade light filling the sky...

Duan Rong's whole body turned cold, cold sweat broke out, and the next moment, the Blade Shadows and blade light suddenly vanished without a trace...

In this instant, a strange glint flashed in Zhu He's eyes!

Duan Rong felt as if in a daze that the Blade Shadows and blade light filling the sky no longer existed, and he seemed to see mountains, rivers, and the galaxy—not looking in the normal way, but looking down from some kind of starry eye...

From the formations of the mountains, rivers, and the galaxy, he actually saw one hidden "blade" character after another...

The flow of rivers, the trajectories of moving stars, and the towering of mountains all seemed to be wielding blade techniques...

And trapped in this feeling, Duan Rong could not even sense his own existence; he felt as if he had transformed into a void.

And at this moment, the Qi in his dantian actually began to circulate on its own, beyond his control.

Just then, Duan Rong heard a light "cough."

That sound pulled him back to reality in an instant; he suddenly felt his own body and felt his own breathing. At that moment, it was as if he had flashed out from a void.

Duan Rong stood there with a look of astonishment, unable to recover for a long time.

Zhu He said, "This is a piece of calligraphy that your Junior Uncle Gu Daoling gave to me several years ago."

Duan Rong looked at Zhu He, then could not help but glance at the calligraphy, murmuring, "It is Junior Uncle Gu's calligraphy..."

Zhu He said, "When he gave me this character, he once instructed me to contemplate it more, saying it might be of help to my cultivation. At the time, I did not pay it much mind; I brought it back, looked at it a few times, and put it away in a chest. It was only this time, when setting the trap to destroy Ge Rusong outside Shenyun Prefecture, that I learned my Junior Disciple had already advanced to the late stage of the Dongming Realm, so after I returned, I found this piece of calligraphy again and hung it here."

Gu Daoling was already a great cultivator in the late stage of the Dongming Realm; the calligraphy he obtained was naturally no small matter, and Duan Rong, upon viewing it just now, had almost lost his true self.

Zhu He looked at Duan Rong and said, "I have been observing it every day these past few days, but I have had no particular insights. Yet you, upon viewing it just now, seem to have gained something!"

Duan Rong said with an awkward expression, "Disciple does not seem to have gained anything either, it was merely a bit startling."

"A shock?!" A flash of doubt crossed Zhu He's eyes as he asked, "Why are you shocked?"

Duan Rong said, "This disciple does not know."

In truth, this character by Gu Daoling already contained the Celestial Phenomena Dao he had realized; he gifted this character to Zhu He in hopes of inspiring his cultivation.

However, the Law that Zhu He had realized was diametrically opposed to Gu Daoling's, with no point of intersection, so he felt nothing despite observing it for a long time.

Duan Rong, on the other hand, had devoured many Artistic Conceptions. When he looked at the "Blade" character that contained the Law of Celestial Phenomena, the Artistic Conceptions deep within his Divine Soul related to the celestial river of stars were suddenly all mobilized in an instant.

At that moment, the mountains, rivers, and star rivers he saw were all echoing the Law of Celestial Phenomena contained within Gu Daoling's character.

And in that instant, Duan Rong was actually undergoing a fusion of Artistic Conceptions in a way he himself could not understand.

This fusion was interrupted by Zhu He's light cough and ultimately remained unfinished.

At this moment, Duan Rong was still in a daze, having no idea what had happened.

Seeing Duan Rong's blank expression, Zhu He sighed and said, "Forget it, let's not worry about that."

As Zhu He spoke, he flicked his sleeve, and two Porcelain Bottles appeared on the square wooden table in front of him.

Duan Rong's eyes lit up suddenly.

These Porcelain Bottles were definitely for him; whatever Zhu He gave was surely good stuff. Moreover, looking at the appearance of the bottles, they did not seem to be Bone Marrow Gray Matter.

Duan Rong was looking at the two Porcelain Bottles on the wooden table with curiosity and anticipation.

Zhu He did not introduce the two bottles directly, but instead took a stack of yellowed animal skins from his lapel. Zhu He spread the stack of animal skins on the wooden table—there were three in total—and looking at Duan Rong, he said, "These are three supreme arts of the Qi Cyclone Realm. I have specially selected them for you. You may observe them carefully and choose one to study."

Duan Rong's expression shifted. "Supreme arts of the Qi Cyclone Realm?!"

Zhu He said, "Now that we have returned to the mountain, you must tighten your training. It is time to make some preparations for advancing to the Qi Cyclone Realm."

As Zhu He spoke, he handed the three waxen-yellow animal skins to Duan Rong.

Duan Rong took them and, by the light, looked curiously at the animal skins in his hands, seeing only dense text and illustrations upon them.

Zhu He pointed to the two Porcelain Bottles and said, "Inside this bottle is the bile of a Mid-Tier Beast, the Fire Scale Python. When you advance to the Qi Cyclone Realm, the Qi Cyclone you form will have such immense spiritual pressure that your dantian may struggle to bear it for a moment, making it inevitable that your dantian will tear; therefore, you need medicine to repair the dantian. This Fire Scale Python bile is considered top-tier medicine. Ordinary medicine for repairing the dantian often leaves hidden injuries, which usually require years of subsequent nourishment to fully recover. However, this Fire Scale Python bile can deeply repair the dantian at the time of use, leaving almost no hidden injuries."

After finishing, Zhu He pointed to the other Porcelain Bottle and said, "Inside this bottle is a drop of Essence Blood from a High-Tier Beast."

Duan Rong said in astonishment, "A High-Tier Beast!?"

A High-Tier Beast has already mastered Law Power and is an existence nearly equivalent to a cultivator of the Dongming Realm.

Zhu He said, "Correct! The pure Origin Qi contained within this drop of Essence Blood far exceeds that of the Beast Meat in the Dark Forest. It will be of great benefit to the stabilization of your realm after you advance to the Qi Cyclone Realm!"

After finishing, Zhu He pushed the two Porcelain Bottles toward Duan Rong, and Duan Rong put the two bottles away.

Zhu He looked at Duan Rong and said, "I have said that I would not let you exert yourself in vain; I will certainly support your cultivation with all my might. Three supreme arts, two bottles of spiritual medicine—how is that?"

Duan Rong looked at the animal skins and Porcelain Bottles in his hands, smiled slightly, and said, "It's about right!"

Upon hearing this, Zhu He nearly vomited blood. He glanced at Duan Rong and thought to himself: I have bled heavily, and all I get in return is a 'about right' from this brat!?

However, he did not want to quibble with Duan Rong over these trifles, so he said, "Tomorrow you must go to the Elder Council to recount the case; go back and get some rest early."

Duan Rong's expression shifted, and he asked, "Regarding the recounting of the case tomorrow, I wonder if Master has any words of instruction for this disciple?"

Zhu He looked at Duan Rong and said, "The ins and outs of this case were witnessed by Yang Sixuan and Sect Master Chu. The case is ironclad; you need only state the facts as they are, no need to worry!"

Hearing this, Duan Rong felt at ease in his heart and said, "Then Master, this disciple takes his leave!"

"Hmm!"

Duan Rong held the Porcelain Bottles and animal skins and walked out of the room. As he was about to leave, he could not help but glance once more at the strange blade character hanging by the window.

He was almost certain that the strange blade character handwritten by Gu Daoling must contain some obscure mystery, only that even Zhu He had not yet glimpsed its essence.

He actually wanted to see, if he were to use a Spirit Reader, what level of Spirit Tool that character was.

However, Zhu He was sitting right there; if he were to rashly walk over and place his hand on it to explore, it would be far too strange.

More importantly, Duan Rong concluded that he definitely could not devour the Spirit Tool of this character.

At a single glance, he had nearly lost his true self; how could he devour and digest such a Spirit Tool?

Since he knew he could not devour it, why be impatient?

Curiosity killed the cat. To do strange things purely to satisfy curiosity, and in front of one's Master, would be highly unwise!

Duan Rong suppressed the curiosity in his heart, returned to his room, lay on the bed, and by the orange light, looked at the animal skins in his hands.

For the three supreme arts Zhu He had chosen for him, he had already devoured their Spirit Tools and obtained the complete sets of cultivation methods.

Duan Rong lay there, flipping the three stacked animal skins back and forth.

He understood that he needed to choose one supreme art to serve as his primary cultivation method for the Qi Cyclone Realm. But which one to choose?

While flipping through the cultivation methods on the animal skins in his hands, Duan Rong mobilized the memories in his Divine Sense regarding the three methods.

After a while, Duan Rong suddenly stopped his gaze on a certain waxen-yellow animal skin in his hand. At the very top of that animal skin was written: Mountain River Moon Shadow Blade.

The name of this supreme art sounded quite ordinary, and Duan Rong had not paid it any mind at first.

However, as he mobilized the details of the memories in his Divine Sense regarding this method, he gradually focused his attention on it.

This Mountain River Moon Shadow Blade was derived into a blade art from the reflections of mountains, rivers, and stars and moons in the water.

It is the so-called 'a thousand rivers have water, a thousand rivers have moons.'

There is only one moon, but the moon shadows are countless, changing in a thousand ways!

Moreover, this method contained not only the shadows of stars and moons but also the shadows of mountains and rivers.

The reason Duan Rong lingered on this supreme art was actually related to the strange experience he had had not long ago in Zhu He's room while observing Gu Daoling's strange blade character.

At that moment, after the sky-filling blade light and Blade Shadow suddenly vanished, he had clearly seen mountains, rivers, and star rivers performing the blade art.

Unlike this Mountain River Moon Shadow Blade, although it had only been for a split second, Duan Rong was certain that what he had experienced at that moment were the physical entities of the mountains, rivers, and star rivers performing the blade art, whereas this Mountain River Moon Shadow Blade used the reflections of mountains, rivers, and stars and moons to perform the blade art.

"Reflection and entity! One void, one solid!"

Duan Rong always felt that between this void and solid, there might exist some kind of connection. Perhaps the reason he was able to perceive and realize the entity in that split second was related to his having devoured this blade art that used reflections. It was the connection between void and solid that allowed him to fall into a certain experience while observing Gu Daoling's strange blade character. It seemed to be a resonance between Artistic Conceptions!

"So-called, is a reflection not just a phantom of the entity in the ripples of water? Although it is not the entity, from a certain angle, it is also a part of the entity."

"If there were no moon in the sky, how could there be a Water Moon?"

Duan Rong had already decided that his primary cultivation technique would be this Mountain River Moon Shadow Blade.

Once the choice was made, the sleepiness that had been suppressed by his focus surged up; Duan Rong tucked the sallow animal hide under his pillow, turned over, and was fast asleep. He still had to go to the Elder Council tomorrow to report on the case!

(End of chapter)