Duan Rong withdrew from the Sea of Consciousness.
In the dark cave, he opened his eyes.
Duan Rong stood up, and even in the darkness, he was keenly aware of the positions of the four divine statues around him.
Suddenly, he infused True Qi into his palms and shattered the four stone statues, patiently grinding each broken stone block into powder.
At the instant when all four divine statues were ground into powder, he smiled wearily in the darkness.
All traces had been eradicated.
Even if someone traced from Pan Yong’s path or from Shang Xiangyu’s lead, they wouldn’t find any evidence pointing to him.
Moreover, he was just a registered disciple who had joined the sect a little over a month ago—who would suspect him?
Duan Rong walked out of the cave, his steps slightly staggering, his body and mind utterly exhausted.
These past days, his heartstrings had been taut, and as he achieved a layer of the Fetal Concealment Scripture each day, the later it became, the heavier the fatigue of the Divine Soul felt.
Especially tonight with the Eleventh Layer, the last half-hour, he almost gritted his teeth to endure.
Duan Rong struggled back to his cave; as soon as he reached the depths and fell onto the stone bed, he slept like the dead.
Duan Rong slept for a full day and night.
When he emerged from the cave, it was already the Si hour of the next day.
He took a wooden basin and a black pottery jar, and went to the mountain spring on the cliff to wash his face and fill the jar with fresh water to bring back.
Duan Rong returned to his cave, poured himself a bamboo tube of fresh water, and sat at the mouth of his cave holding the tube.
As he drank the fresh water, he watched the valley ahead filled with white mist.
At this moment, there was no trace of relaxation on his face; instead, it was cold and penetrating, and his clear eyes gleamed with a chilling light.
He slept for a long time, had many dreams, and recalled many things.
He remembered the first time he killed was in a narrow alley on Antique Street in Xianggu County. That time, the expressions of those people dying nearly scared him.
Then came the second time; by then, he was no longer afraid, just felt nauseated.
Then came the third time, the fourth time...
Until he killed Chen Hu and Pan Yong, he could no longer remember how many times he had killed.
And his heart had long turned as cold as iron, without any fluctuation!
Life was like grass, everyone’s life was just a stepping stone!
But was it really so?
He vaguely remembered that in his past life on Blue Star, although he was a corporate slave, exhausted from exploitation, he would still occasionally park his car upon seeing injured stray cats and dogs, taking them to pet hospitals for treatment.
But now, he was a man whose hands were soaked in blood!
His heart had become as cold and sharp as the Minghong Saber at his waist.
This was a world of slaughter, and he too had become a person of slaughter.
Just like in his past life, stepping out of campus, struggling in society, becoming mercenary, hypocritical, full of lies, even deceiving himself in the end.
Ultimately, everyone becomes the person they despise. No matter where, it’s the same.
At this moment, Duan Rong fully accepted his own coldness and carnage, just as he had once accepted his own mercenary and hypocrisy in a moment in his past life.
Duan Rong suddenly lifted his cold eyes, looking towards the distant mountain peaks, shrouded and revealed between the rolling white mist. He recalled reading a poem by someone named Mu Dan in his past life:
"Though life is weary, I must pursue. The thicket of thoughts entwines me, the brightness of good and evil flickers on my heart."
So, what is his pursuit in this realm? Like in his past life, pursuing a life of prosperity?
No, this realm is no longer his past life. He has also ceased to be the Duan Rong of his past life.
Just then, a crane’s call came from the valley ahead.
At this moment, Duan Rong’s eyes held a mix of coldness and fervor. His true intent was clear at that moment; he wanted to see the view from the highest point in this realm.
He didn’t have the opportunity in his past life, but perhaps he could in this life!
If the path to the highest place was paved with mountains of corpses and seas of blood, then he would cut his way through!
He abhorred slaughter, but to glimpse the view from the highest point, he could endure this abhorrence!
This was his obsession! It was also his desire!
Duan Rong’s true intent now clear, he placed the empty bamboo tube at the cave entrance, then stood up and strode towards the dense forest.
He was preparing to cultivate in the dense forest.
Previously on this mountain, he always cultivated in the depths of the cave because Shang Xiangyu and Pan Yong’s threats and oppression made him feel that the darkness deep within the cave gave him a sense of security.
Now, his crisis had been completely resolved.
He could cultivate in the bright forest in the daylight.
Although Duan Rong advanced rapidly, achieving the Fifth Layer to the Eleventh Layer of the Fetal Concealment Scripture in just a few days,
he had yet to cultivate the Divine Soul Technique accompanying the Fetal Concealment Scripture.
Now, he planned to study the newly emerged Divine Soul Technique.
First was the Divine Soul Needle. From being able to condense just one, he could now condense three, storing them in the Consciousness Space.
Duan Rong had personally witnessed the power of the Divine Soul Needle.
Three Divine Soul Needles might surpass any hidden weapon in the world.
Divine Soul attacks are formless and eerie, far beyond comparison with shaped hidden weapons.
Therefore, Duan Rong intended to first condense three Divine Soul Needles.