I Can Devour Spirits

Duan Rong slept very deeply this night.

In this night’s dream, all he saw were the various backs of Shen Ping, weaving through...

At times, he saw him grinding medicine...

At times, he saw him putting various herbs into the stone pot to boil and occasionally stirring with a dagger...

At times, he saw him practicing peculiar methods to process some rare herbs...

When Duan Rong awoke from the dream, he stared blankly at the rugged rock ceiling of the cave, a familiar feeling suddenly surged in his heart...

It was as if he had truly lived in this cave for twenty years.

Duan Rong turned his head to look around, bright as snow at the cave entrance, the sky had already brightened completely.

He climbed out of bed, staring blankly at the cave before him, that strange sense of familiarity resonated everywhere...

Duan Rong vaguely understood that this was because he had absorbed too much of Shen Ping’s essence.

After digesting it all, he had almost imprinted many things from Shen Ping’s soul, even some deep-seated trenches, due to Shen Ping’s obsession with the art of medicine and poison, and his understanding of this art had countless connections with the various things in this cave.

And all these things were absorbed by Duan Rong.

”Is it possible?” Duan Rong’s expression was full of astonishment.

Because, at this time, he even felt Shen Ping’s perception of the various items in the cave, those things were used quite handily, while those they wanted to replace they could not find suitable ones, thus had to manage with them.

Duan Rong walked to the stone table in the middle of the cave.

On the stone table, there were over ten ceramic bottles, varying in size and color; these were the medicines and poisons Duan Rong organized yesterday.

Standing in front of the stone table, Duan Rong could immediately identify what kind of medicine or poison each ceramic bottle contained, clearly understanding its nature and purpose.

Duan Rong picked up one of the ceramic bottles because the impression was that it contained Corpse Rot Poison.

He took the ceramic bottle, opened the stopper, and immediately smelled a familiar nauseating rotting odor.

”Corpse Rot Poison!” Duan Rong closed the stopper, but the faint stench still lingered in the air.

Duan Rong’s gaze swept over those ceramic bottles, reviewing the information in his mind related to the contents of the bottles.

There were only two types of medicines, the rest were poisons, almost every kind of poison was available, but there was no Happiness Poison.

Though using poison was not a commendable method, the old man Shen was fascinated by this path yet had his own boundaries; apparently he disdained Happiness Poison for being too base and scorned using it.

Looking at those ceramic bottles, Duan Rong once again returned to the cave entrance, picked up yesterday’s notebook, and started reading it again.

Upon reading, Duan Rong couldn’t help but laugh.

The knots he couldn’t untangle yesterday, today, they became as clear as viewing his own heart, heart and text resonated, and it became immediately apparent.

Not only was the meaning of the text completely understood, but even the thoughts between details were transparently clear.

Those ambiguities melted away like ice, flowing like springs.

Even why they were vague, why they were repeatedly wordy, and why some brushed over quickly, Duan Rong understood completely.

Yesterday, Duan Rong spent several hours reading just two pages, full of suspicions, hard to comprehend. But now standing at the cave entrance, he flipped through the notebook swiftly.

Within moments, the thick notebook had been read in full, and fully understood too.

Or rather, he wasn’t understanding it from reading the notebook; he already knew it, the notebook was merely a clumsy annotation of what was already inside him.

Duan Rong couldn’t help but sigh, realizing he shouldn’t have read the notebook yesterday. If self-taught, it may have taken him ten years without understanding everything.

Yet after absorbing the Artifact Spirit, overnight, everything became clear, and there was still more!

”Truly enlightened in one night!” Duan Rong closed the notebook, unable to help but marvel.

As he closed the notebook, Duan Rong’s stomach suddenly growled, followed by a surge of hunger.

He then realized he hadn’t eaten much yesterday, managing to stay hungry till now.

However, here in Wild Boar Mountain, if he wanted to eat, he would have to do it himself.

Duan Rong licked his lips, having not been here for many days, he started to miss the wild flavors of Wild Boar Mountain.

He prepared to head into the forest to find something to satisfy his hunger, but as he was about to leave the cave, his gaze suddenly froze, turning towards the stone table by the cliff wall in the middle of the cave.

Duan Rong walked to the stone table and grabbed a ceramic bottle with his sleeve, then swiftly exited the cave and arrived at the cliff.

He entered the forest, about to release his Divine Sense when suddenly a black shadow flashed from the tree branch beside him; it was a venomous snake lunging towards him.

At the moment the shadow came, Duan Rong waved his sleeve and a faint white mist wafted over the approaching shadow.

The snake, as thick as two fingers, was shrouded in the mist, and it fell limp onto Duan Rong’s shoulder...

Although the snake seemed to be in a coma, it lay as motionless on Duan Rong’s shoulder like a dead object...

He grabbed the black-spotted snake from his shoulder, feeling its cold slipperiness in his touch.

Smiling, Duan Rong said, ”Snake, today I’ll take you to fill my stomach.”

After absorbing the Artifact Spirit, Duan Rong already knew that the white mist Shen old man left while leaving yesterday was a kind of anesthetic.

This anesthetic had strong sedative effects that rendered one unconscious upon inhalation but caused no substantial physical harm. Within hours, one could wake naturally.

Thus, walking through the forest, the snake and insects that fell yesterday were all gone.

Perhaps, when the drug wore off, those little fellas woke up and dispersed.

He picked some branches, sat on a large green stone on the cliff edge, used a flint to ignite a fire, and began to roast the snake meat.

Before long, the snake, cut into three segments and skewered with pine branches, sizzled and dripped oil, the aroma wafting...

Seeing it’s cooked, Duan Rong blew on it and took a bite.

The burning snake meat entered his mouth, and Duan Rong chewed with a slurp; it surprisingly tasted good...

In his previous life, Duan Rong was born in the north where he had never eaten snake meat. Unexpectedly, upon eating it for the first time, he found it so delicious.

After eating all three segments, with food in his belly, satisfaction surged from his mouth and stomach. Duan Rong wiped the oil from his mouth and swiftly vanished from the cliff, once again entering the cave.

Returning to the cave, he sat cross-legged at the entrance, continuing to flip through the notebook.

After about half an incense stick of time, he finished reading the three notebooks Shen Ping left behind.

Duan Rong closed the last notebook, his eyes flashing brightly.

Though the notebooks were densely recorded, some parts overlapping disorderedly, reading them was effortless.

Rather than merely reading, it was verifying what he already knew. Because, the contents recorded in the notebooks were originally already inside him...

Still, reading these three notebooks had an impact, running through the most important parts of Shen Ping’s insights that he digested and absorbed.

At this moment, Duan Rong’s heart was clear and bright...