Duan Rong and Yin Cong chatted a bit along the way, then went their separate ways.
Duan Rong walked along the cliff, but instead of returning to his cave, he made a turn into the dense forest.
He walked to a hidden spot deep in the forest, at a secluded piece of bluestone.
Duan Rong sat cross-legged on the bluestone, pretending to cultivate.
After a while, once he was sure there was no one around, he suddenly jumped off the bluestone, dug a hole beneath it, and buried the small green porcelain bottle.
After finishing, Duan Rong then returned to his cave.
Although he had obtained this auxiliary medicine, he couldn’t immediately start cultivating.
Duan Rong had long thought about this matter; cultivating the Fetal Concealment Scripture here in Shang Xiangyu was too dangerous, because constructing a Mandala for the cultivation would easily be noticed.
However, Duan Rong had already planned a place to cultivate the Fetal Concealment Scripture.
That place was at Xiao Yu’s, where there were statues of the Four Great Kings at his Stone Workshop.
Of course, the four divine statues in the cave where Xiao Yu lived might be a bit too large for Duan Rong.
The divine statues in the Mandala, when cultivating the Fetal Concealment Scripture, would project into the Sea of Consciousness.
The projection of stone statues in the Sea of Consciousness would exert far more pressure than those from paintings.
This is because the mediums are different, and the cultivation technique corresponds with them, resulting in variations in the descending divine power.
Duan Rong felt that with his current Divine Soul strength, he might not be able to withstand the pressure of the divine shadow from the half-human-height stone statue.
However, at Xiao Yu’s, there were also many smaller statues, and he only needed Xiao Yu to bring over four of them.
Moreover, the Stone Workshop where Xiao Yu was located was under the jurisdiction of the Imperial Stable Hall.
Like the Lower Courtyard, many people in the Imperial Stable Hall weren’t even Martial Artists.
Therefore, cultivating the Fetal Concealment Scripture at Xiao Yu’s should be much safer than in Shang Xiangyu.
However, evidently, it wouldn’t work these days. Upcoming tasks needed handling with herbs, followed by a second round of alchemy. Only after this busy period could he find an opportunity to go to Xiao Yu’s to cultivate the Fetal Concealment Scripture.
Recalling the incident of the furnace explosion during the first alchemy session, Duan Rong felt apprehensive about the second time.
"Hopefully, nothing unexpected will happen again..."
Duan Rong sighed and then sat cross-legged on the stone bed in the darkness.
Duan Rong sat in meditation, channeling True Qi. After a few breaths, he flipped his hand and swallowed a Yang Pill.
After ingesting the pill, its surging power slowly spread, pouring into his meridians.
Duan Rong focused his introspection, controlling the fusion of the drug’s power with the True Qi...
In the following days, Pan Yong, Chen Hu, Duan Rong, and Yin Cong began processing the herbs at the large platform.
The herbs this time were basically the same as last time, so although Tang Zhu was absent, the progress in processing was not significantly affected.
On the evening of the fourth day, as dusk was about to fall, they prepared to call it a day.
Pan Yong tallied the remaining herbs, estimating that they could finish processing by the next day and start the alchemy that night.
On the morning of the fifth day, as Duan Rong crossed the stone fence to the corner of the large platform, Pan Yong, Chen Hu, and Yin Cong were already sitting there.
Duan Rong had just sat down on a small stool when Yin Cong clicked his tongue at him. When Duan Rong looked over, Yin Cong nodded towards the opposite side of the platform with his chin.
Duan Rong squinted and looked; a section of the platform typically frequented by the "fool" appeared empty.
Yet, only an iron chain lay there, the iron hoop that was originally encircling the "fool’s" waist had also been opened and thrown on the ground.
Duan Rong’s expression shifted, "Where’s the fool?"
Yin Cong chuckled oddly, "Who knows? It was like this when I arrived this morning."
Pan Yong, with a stern expression, said, "Mind your own work. Don’t meddle in other matters."
Duan Rong glanced at Pan Yong’s expression, which sparked a subtle reaction.
He had a feeling Pan Yong knew where the fool had gone.
By afternoon, the herbs that needed to be processed were completed.
Pan Yong, after taking stock, smiled despite his slightly fatigued expression, "Finally, we’ve completed everything. Everyone can go rest for two hours, and tonight we’ll follow Master Shang into the cave for alchemy."
With that, everyone dispersed.
Duan Rong returned to his cave, doing nothing but sitting there and closing his eyes for rest.
Who knows what might happen during the alchemy at night, so Duan Rong prepared to adjust himself to a peak state, ready to handle any unforeseen events.
After resting well, Duan Rong went to the forest, caught a wild chicken, and roasted it at the cave entrance.
Once he was full and refreshed, he sat beside the fire at the entrance, polishing his Minghong Saber.
As time drew near, Duan Rong sheathed his saber, stood up, and headed to the alchemy site in the forest.
When Duan Rong entered the forest, he saw from afar Chen Hu’s figure and purposely slowed down to widen the gap between them.
When Duan Rong stepped into the massive alchemy cave, several blazing torches had already been lit on the crimson stone walls.
The enormous crimson cave was illuminated as bright as day.
Shang Xiangyu sat cross-legged on a platform, clad in his wrinkled, shabby Daoist robe, his entirely white hair draped behind him, his face calm, eyes closed.
By the cave entrance nearby, Pan Yong and Chen Hu were already standing there; as Duan Rong entered, they both glanced at him.