Actually, there are over five hundred Contribution Points on Shang Xiangyu’s Star Disc, but he doesn’t dare to use it for exchanges here.
With Xia Honghua, it’s because they commonly use Shang Xiangyu’s Star Disc to exchange for medicines, which has become routine.
However, if he takes Shang Xiangyu’s Star Disc to the registered disciples to exchange pills, he is just looking to expose himself.
While Shang Xiangyu’s Star Disc cannot be used, using Pan Yong’s Star Disc to exchange for six bottles of Yang Pill is normal, and no one would suspect anything.
He placed those six bottles of Yang Pill into the waist pouch, then walked out of the Medicine Pavilion’s gate.
After exiting the gate, he tried to walk normally, slow-stepping toward the path along the cliff’s edge.
He jumped from the Iron Chain and returned to Shang Xiangyu’s mountain peak.
After jumping from the Iron Chain, he looked up to see the layers of clouds in the sky, appearing more ominous than when he had left.
The moment his feet touched the mountain peak, his figure flickered, and he moved quickly along the cliff like a specter.
He tread on the mountain rocks and darted into the dense forest, where the light had already dimmed.
Entering the depths of the forest at a secret location, he unleashed his Divine Sense urgently, confirming there was no one around before digging a pit and burying the pouch from his waist.
After covering the pit with nearby dry leaves and ensuring nothing looked unusual, he left.
He arrived at the pond in the forest, flipping his hand to hold two Star Discs—Shang Xiangyu’s and Pan Yong’s.
Without blinking, he tossed both Star Discs into the bottomless pond.
Though Shang Xiangyu’s Star Disc still had over five hundred Contribution Points, it was a bit wasteful. However, since he had already exchanged the auxiliary medicines up to the eleventh layer of the Fetal Concealment Scripture, exchanging further would only increase the risk of exposure unreasonably!
Both Star Discs made a splash as they fell into the pond, sending water droplets into the air. He turned to leave, gathering dry wood and igniting it on a large boulder nearby.
With the flames dancing in the dusk, he took out Pan Yong’s Sect Cloud Scroll and the approval slip from Elder Qin at the Lower Courtyard, throwing them into the fire.
The fire devoured them quickly, reducing them to ashes.
At that moment, he tore off his own face with a ripping sound.
In the firelight, Duan Rong’s face appeared cold like frost.
The mask was made from melted wild peach gum, stuck to his face, and tearing it off caused Duan Rong’s whole face to ache.
He threw the mask into the fire in front of him.
Then, crouching down, he used a dry stick to lift the mask and watched as the flames engulfed it.
The face twisted in the flames, turning dark, releasing oils, and emitting a burnt smell.
Duan Rong stood up only when the face had turned to black ash.
As he stood, his joints crackled, and his stature expanded by half a head, with broader shoulders.
Pan Yong’s clothes appeared small on him now, exposing his navel.
Duan Rong stripped off his clothes, throwing them into the fire to burn.
By this time, dusk had fallen, and the forest was dark. Duan Rong walked naked into the nearby pond.
The cold water made him shiver.
He washed thoroughly in the pond, and afterward, dripping wet and naked, he walked back to his cave.
Inside the cave, Duan Rong dried off with a towel, changed into his own clothes, and sat at the cave entrance. In the darkness, he watched the swirling black mist with deep, flickering eyes.
He went over the day’s events again, ensuring no obvious oversights, before finally exhaling in relief, as fatigue overcame him.
From killing Pan Yong to dealing with the loose ends in the forest, he had been tightly focused, with his mind in high gear throughout.
Now that he paused, fatigue swept over him.
Yet Duan Rong struggled to stand.
It was not yet time to rest.
Though Pan Yong’s traces had vanished from this world.
However, the Black Blood Fruit and the auxiliary medicines exchanged from the Medicine Pavilion, for the Fetal Concealment Scripture’s sixth to eleventh layers, were still incriminating.
He needed to completely consume these items before anyone started searching.
He had gotten Elder Qin’s approval at the Lower Courtyard for Pan Yong’s ten-day leave, saying he needed to visit Divine Cloud Prefecture.
Ten days later, by rule, Pan Yong would need to cancel the leave with Elder Qin.
About that time, Elder Qin might notice something amiss, but could delay reporting for a while. If Pan Yong remained absent, Elder Qin would report to the sect.
That’s when investigators would begin probing.
Duan Rong’s safest bet was to consume all incriminating evidence within ten days.
Even if investigators arrived, there wouldn’t be any traces left.
Achieving the Fetal Concealment Scripture’s fifth to eleventh layers within ten days was no small task, leaving no time to rest.
Duan Rong walked along the cliff to Shang Xiangyu’s cave, entered the stone chamber, and took out a black key to open the cupboard.
He retrieved the Black Blood Fruit he had stored there, then locked the cupboard before exiting the stone chamber.
Back in the forest, he approached a stout beech tree, placed his palm upon it, and silently commanded: "Read Artifact Spirit."
Instantly, data emerged in the dim forest before Duan Rong.
Artifact: Stout Beech Tree (Tree Spirit 213 years)
Artifact Spirit Tier: Tier Five
Devouring Requirements: Host’s Spiritual Power Level 5 (Satisfied)
Devouring Effect: Timelessness in the Mountains (Can enhance host’s spiritual power)
Gazing at the data panel flickering in the dark, Duan Rong thought: "Devour."
Last time, while cultivating the fourth layer of Fetal Concealment Scripture at Xiao Yu’s, the Tree Spirit in the Sea of Consciousness had nearly depleted, necessitating replenishment within the forest.
In the dark forest, Duan Rong’s figure flashed like a phantom, pressing his palm onto towering trees.
An hour or so later, the Tree Spirit Light Sea within the Sea of Consciousness was full, leaving no additional room for devouring.
Stopping devouring, Duan Rong’s eyes flickered with fatigue.
Now, filling the Tree Spirit Light Sea had become much faster than when he was at Wild Boar Mountain.
Initially, at Wild Boar Mountain, his Spiritual Power was only Tier One, allowing him to devour only Tier One Tree Spirits.
He had to scan numerous Ancient Woods to barely find one suitable for devouring.
However, now his Spiritual Power had reached Level Five, enabling him to devour Tree Spirits from Tier One to Tier Five much faster than before.
At that moment, a rustling sounded from the shrubs at his feet.
Duan Rong’s eyes jumped, and his Divine Sense shot across; the next moment, he moved swiftly as a phantom, emerging from the rustling brush, clutching a wild catch.
It was a pheasant with its neck snapped by him.
Having not eaten for days, he decided to sate his hunger since he would soon undertake more physical labor, requiring some sustenance.
By the pond, Duan Rong plucked and cleaned the pheasant, roasting it on a nearby boulder.
Once fully cooked, Duan Rong picked it up and left, consuming the pheasant entirely as he walked.
Holding a torch, Duan Rong entered the cave of the Black Blood Vine, swallowing the last of the pheasant’s neck, bone, and all.
This was the place Duan Rong chose for cultivating the Fetal Concealment Scripture.
The cave where the Black Blood Vine resides was in the heart of the mountain.
It was the most secretive spot on this peak.
Moreover, the caves within were as intricate as spider webs, making it difficult for intruders without guidance to locate the Black Blood Vine.