Duan Rong pondered this and decided to return to the cave to cultivate immediately.
Just as he reached the inside of the cave and sat cross-legged, Pan Yong came looking for him again.
Duan Rong stepped outside the cave, looking at Pan Yong with a suspicious gaze.
Pan Yong said, "Junior brother, Master Shang happens not to be around. Shall we go tidy up Master Shang’s stone chamber together? What do you think?"
Duan Rong’s eyes shifted, and he said, "Senior brother has a good idea."
Pan Yong’s suggestion struck him just right.
The two of them then proceeded to tidy up the messy stone chamber of Shang Xiangyu.
It took over an hour to complete the tidying, resulting in a large burlap bag filled with discarded junk.
Duan Rong wiped the sweat off his forehead and raised the bulging burlap bag in his hand, saying, "Senior brother, I’ll take these discarded items out to dispose of them."
Pan Yong glanced at Duan Rong and said, "That would be helpful of you, junior brother."
Duan Rong then carried the burlap bag and walked outside.
Pan Yong watched Duan Rong’s back and thought to himself: Junior brother Duan Rong is certainly diligent in his work.
Duan Rong carried the burlap bag filled with discarded items directly back to his own cave.
He went deep into the cave, placed the bag on the ground, sat down, and reached into the bag to grab a chipped inkstone, muttering to himself, "Read Artifact Spirit."
In the dim cave, a set of data appeared before Duan Rong’s eyes; he had no time to examine the details and muttered, "Devour."
He wasn’t devouring one or two Artifact Spirits, but the entire bag full, so he had no time to inspect each one individually.
Next, Duan Rong pulled out a bald brush, followed by a featherless duster rod...
It took Duan Rong more than half an hour to devour all the Artifact Spirits from the bag.
His head felt swollen, as if stuffed with something, but he still struggled to put all the discarded junk back into the burlap bag.
He carried the burlap bag outside and tossed it into the misty valley outside the cave.
Only then did Duan Rong, with a groggy head, return to the cave, collapse onto the stone bed, and fall into a deep sleep until noon the next day.
During that sleep, he seemed to dream a long dream, wherein he comprehended the entirety of Shang Xiangyu’s life...
Upon waking, Duan Rong sat on the stone bed, and his eyes sparkled like stars in the dim cave.
"That... Shang Xiangyu has contracted an incurable disease?!"
"The Blood Spring Pill couldn’t cure it, only delay..."
"Then, where is he going this time, requiring more than half a year?"
Duan Rong jumped off the bed and paced back and forth in the cave.
"He must be seeking a way to treat his source exhaustion?"
"So, ... what could it be?"
Duan Rong suddenly felt a chill run through him as he thought of a possible destination for Shang Xiangyu, though the answer was shocking!
Over the following days, Duan Rong didn’t groom himself, remaining secluded in the cave and relentlessly cultivating.
Until that morning, after a night of arduous cultivation, despite the brightening sky, he still sat cross-legged on the stone bed, refining the lingering medicine power within his meridians. Then he suddenly heard Pan Yong calling him from outside the cave.
Duan Rong frowned, stepped off the stone bed, and walked slowly outside.
Upon seeing Duan Rong, Pan Yong was slightly taken aback. In just a few days, Duan Rong’s appearance had drastically changed; he looked exhausted and haggard, with bloodshot eyes, a stubbled face, and messy hair.
Pan Yong asked, "Junior brother, what have you been doing inside the cave these past days? Why do you look like this?"
Pan Yong only knew that Duan Rong had been secluding himself in the cave recently and hardly venturing out, unaware of his disheveled state.
Duan Rong touched his prickly stubbled chin and lazily replied, "I’ve been researching a Martial Arts skill these past days, so no need to be surprised, senior brother."
Pan Yong’s eyes shifted, recalling the formidable skills—leg technique, saber technique, body technique—Duan Rong had mastered when he killed Chen Hu.
It seemed this person was a martial arts enthusiast, capable of comprehending multiple Martial Arts, practicing in tandem.
Pan Yong chuckled and said, "Junior Brother, you really are fierce!"
"Junior Brother, it’s like this. I’ve taken a task at Guanglu Institute to earn Contribution Points. For the next five days, I’ll be away during the day. If anything comes up, leave a note at my cave entrance, and I’ll see it when I return."
Duan Rong said, "Don’t worry, senior brother. There shouldn’t be any issues. If anything arises, I’ll inform you."
Pan Yong said, "That’s good. While you’re here, be mindful of the happenings on the mountain. Master Shang instructed to watch the portal carefully before he left."
Duan Rong inwardly criticized Pan Yong’s nagging, but still nodded in agreement without showing any emotion.
After finishing speaking, Pan Yong turned and went along the cliff.
Watching Pan Yong finally walk away, Duan Rong breathed a sigh of relief.
Duan Rong’s eyes focused as he stealthily followed Pan Yong from a distance. He hid behind a rock until he saw a figure disappear into the mist along the iron chain.
Only then did he turn his head suddenly towards the direction of Shang Xiangyu’s stone chamber.
As Duan Rong entered Shang Xiangyu’s stone chamber, his Divine Sense immediately expanded.
Under Divine Sense’s coverage, everything was visible, penetrating walls and ceilings.
Duan Rong’s eyes suddenly sparked as he focused on a certain area beside the stone bed.
Duan Rong walked over and crouched down.
Under Divine Sense’s coverage, he "saw" a hidden compartment there.
That day, while cleaning and organizing the room with Pan Yong, he had already used external Divine Sense to investigate the room and discovered this hidden compartment. He dared not use Divine Sense when Shang Xiangyu was present. However, with Shang Xiangyu away and this location being quite secluded, occasionally using Divine Sense posed minimal risk.
Only at that time, with Pan Yong present, despite discovering the hidden compartment, he couldn’t take any action.
In recent days, Pan Yong had remained on the mountain, so Duan Rong also didn’t dare investigate Shang Xiangyu’s stone chamber.
But today, Pan Yong’s departure offered him the opportunity.
Duan Rong penetrated with Divine Sense, quickly discovering the mechanism for the hidden compartment.
He climbed onto the stone bed, where a stone pillow connected to the bed seemed integrated.
When Duan Rong reached the pillow, he forcefully twisted the inner part of the stone pillow, causing it to slightly tilt before bouncing back into place.
Simultaneously, Duan Rong heard a rumbling sound from the corner of the stone bed.
Duan Rong jumped off the stone bed and saw that a stone slab in the corner had shifted, slightly protruding, which he then pried open.
He found a dark space before him.
The inside of the stone bed turned out to be hollow.
Duan Rong took a lantern and crawled inside the stone bed.
Though the inner space of the stone bed was considerable, it was otherwise empty.
Except for a few books.
Duan Rong retrieved the books, sitting at the table.
The top book was "Five Poison Gu Insect Technique," with yellowed pages indicating its age.
Seeing the title, Duan Rong felt a wave of disgust. The Insect Gu Shang Xiangyu used on him came from this technique.
Inside the "Five Poison Gu Insect Technique" book was a wax-yellow Human Skin Scroll, which Duan Rong unfolded, reading "Nine Nether Great Treasure Technique."
Duan Rong’s eyes jumped; he had assimilated several Artifact Spirits from objects near Shang Xiangyu, piecing together much of Shang Xiangyu’s story.
He knew Shang Xiangyu’s source-exhaustion resulted from cultivating the "Nine Nether Great Treasure Technique."
The technique was evidently extremely dangerous and must not be lightly touched.
Duan Rong set the book aside, revealing beneath it several notebooks containing Shang Xiangyu’s alchemy and cultivation insights over the years, with many areas documented in detail.
"This person seems akin to Shen Ping, fond of summarizing methods and theories, sharing a peculiar habit..."
Duan Rong gathered Shang Xiangyu’s four notebooks and noticed Shen Ping’s notebook, left to him, was also among the stack of books.
Duan Rong took Shen Ping’s notebook.
Beneath this stack of books were five more books, which Duan Rong thoroughly examined, growing increasingly shocked.
All five books were related to the Filthy Blood Sect and Filthy Blood Divine Skill.
After devouring and assimilating the Artifact Spirits from the discarded items, Duan Rong had already speculated about Shang Xiangyu’s intentions, and now, the sight of these five books confirmed his suspicions.
Shang Xiangyu had left the Taiyi Sect to join the Filthy Blood Sect.
He intended to cultivate Filthy Blood Divine Skill.
Because only Filthy Blood Divine Skill could cure his source-exhaustion!