Now, watching the blood light retreat once more to a remote part of the Consciousness Sea, his worries finally dissipated somewhat.
Duan Rong focused his mind and withdrew from the Consciousness Sea.
At the instant of leaving the Consciousness Sea, an immense fatigue of the Divine Soul hit him, almost knocking Duan Rong over.
To achieve the Fourth Layer in one go, Duan Rong was clearly overspending his Divine Soul.
In the darkness, he could hear Xiao Yu’s peaceful breathing.
Duan Rong struggled to get up, climbed onto the stone bed, and lay beside Xiao Yu.
The moment he lay down, he fell into a deep sleep.
Duan Rong wasn’t sure how long he slept until Xiao Yu suddenly shook him awake.
"Duan Rong, Duan Rong..." Xiao Yu gently called him.
Duan Rong opened his leaden eyelids. "What’s up?"
"You should go now!" Xiao Yu’s voice had a hint of bashfulness. "In another hour, it’ll be daylight."
Duan Rong turned over, facing inward, muttering: "Then I’ll leave when it’s light."
"No way." Xiao Yu said, "Leaving in daylight... doesn’t look good."
"What’s... not good looking?"
Xiao Yu was silent for a while, but Duan Rong suddenly understood her meaning.
If he left Xiao Yu’s cave in daylight, who knows how many people would see?
Duan Rong struggled to sit up, sighed, and said: "Alright then."
Duan Rong embraced Xiao Yu’s shoulder, preparing to leave.
In the darkness, Xiao Yu suddenly said: "I’ll walk you."
They walked out of the cave together, and it was just before dawn, the darkest time of day. They walked along a row of caves, neither speaking a word.
They reached a corner where turning out led close to the Stone Workshop’s fence.
Duan Rong stopped and said: "Let’s stop here."
"Okay."
Xiao Yu softly agreed, silently watching Duan Rong’s shadow in the darkness.
Duan Rong suddenly stepped closer, lowering his head to kiss Xiao Yu.
In the darkness, Xiao Yu closed her eyes, standing on tiptoe, welcoming Duan Rong.
They embraced and kissed in the dark.
After a long time, Duan Rong touched Xiao Yu’s cheek and turned to leave.
Xiao Yu stood there, watching Duan Rong’s shadow disappear around the corner, then turned back towards the cave.
Her heart was filled with a certain emotion, with a faint sorrow, but Xiao Yu knew that the core of that emotion was a genuine happiness.
It was something nourishing her life.
A warm and uplifting force, at this moment she wanted to live longer, as if wanting to extend something... survival had become a different experience for her.
Duan Rong returned to Yang Yi’s hilltop, the sky still shrouded in darkness.
As he entered his cave, his eyes suddenly lit up.
Because at the entrance, a sizable stone was pressed to the ground, almost tripping him.
Duan Rong took out the flint, blew out a faint flame and examined it, seeing a piece of paper under the stone.
Duan Rong took the paper, walked into the cave, and used the flint to light the candle on the stone table.
Gazing at the paper in the flickering candlelight, Duan Rong saw only one line written: Brother, tomorrow the Judgment and Rectification Department will come to inquire, please do not leave. Pan Yong.
Duan Rong folded the paper, pressing it under the candlestick.
He wasn’t worried about this matter; the arrival of the Judgment and Rectification Department was merely a formality. Moreover, Shang Xiangyu would handle it.
Actually, he hadn’t planned to go out.
After achieving the Fourth Layer of Fetal Concealment, he acquired another Divine Soul Technique — the Divine Soul Needle!
Like the Divine Soul Wave, Divine Soul Needle is an attack on the Divine Soul, but its power and lethality are far greater than the Divine Soul Wave.
Yet, it comes with its own restrictions and challenges.
Divine Soul Wave can be activated at any time with a thought.
But the Divine Soul Needle requires the use of the secret technique from the Fetal Concealment Scripture to condense a Divine Soul Needle stored in the Divine Soul Space.
Only then can it be unleashed.
Moreover, with his current Divine Soul strength, he can only condense one Divine Soul Needle.
Duan Rong briefly studied it, discovering the condensation of the Divine Soul Needle was surprisingly intricate.
However, having deeply felt the power of Divine Soul attacks, whether in killing Jie Daohan or Fan Yuanhai, he couldn’t have succeeded without them.
Since Divine Soul Needle is even more potent than Divine Soul Wave, despite its complexity, he must quickly condense it.
Divine Soul attacks are secretive and strange, targeting the most vulnerable aspect of a person, their Divine Soul.
Combining Divine Soul attacks with killing moves usually ensures a swift victory unless the opponent is exceptionally strong.
With no reason to go out, Duan Rong could use this time to condense the Divine Soul Needle.
The whole morning, Duan Rong was in the depths of the cave, studying the problem of condensing the Divine Soul Needle.
Until around 3 p.m., Pan Yong’s voice suddenly echoed outside the cave.
Duan Rong, deep inside the dark cave, abruptly opened his eyes, leapt off the stone bed, and walked out of the cave.
Outside, next to Pan Yong, stood a man in his early thirties, wearing a clean moon-white Daoist robe, hair bound with a wooden hairpin.
The man’s face was steady, his gaze lively yet restrained, inspecting Duan Rong.
Pan Yong smiled and said: "Brother Duan Rong. This is Steward Yang from the Judgment and Rectification Department. He wants to inquire about a few matters, just answer him honestly."
Yang Yi slightly cupped his fist towards Duan Rong and said: "I’m Yang Yi, appointed by the Judgment and Rectification Department to investigate the alchemy explosion here."
Duan Rong returned the gesture but remained silent.
Pan Yong said: "Steward Yang, you two can chat, I won’t intrude."
With that, Pan Yong turned and left.