I Can Devour Spirits

Pan Yong and Old Qin went together to Shang Xiangyu’s stone chamber.

Pan Yong walked to the low cabinet in the corner, took out a black key from his pocket, squatted down, and opened the copper lock on the lower level of the cabinet.

A pair of rather thick Black Iron Gates opened, revealing a shelf in the middle, dividing the space into two levels.

Pan Yong rummaged through the jars and bottles on the upper level, finally grabbing a porcelain bottle, stood up, and handed it to Old Qin nearby.

Old Qin had already been impatiently standing behind Pan Yong, peering into the cabinet. As soon as he saw Pan Yong hand over the porcelain bottle, he immediately grabbed it, removed the stopper, and took a sniff.

Smelling the unique fragrance of the Moon in the Water, a trace of intoxication flashed in his eyes.

Old Qin put the porcelain bottle into his sleeve, looked up with a doubtful expression, and asked Pan Yong, ”I heard from Duan Rong that Master Shang has gone out this time and won’t be back for half a year or more?”

Pan Yong was taken aback by his words and replied, ”Yes, that’s what Master Shang said when he left.”

”Then how many bottles of Moon in the Water are left? Will they be enough for me until Master Shang returns?”

Pan Yong replied, ”Old Qin, I think you’ll need to control your usage. Including the bottle in your hand, there are only four bottles of Moon in the Water left. It’s uncertain exactly when Master will return, so better to use them sparingly to be safe.”

Old Qin’s face immediately turned a bit grim. ”This... What should I do? Pan Yong, you’ve been with Master Shang for a while; do you know how to make it?”

There was a begging tone in Old Qin’s voice.

Pan Yong coldly shook his head.

Shang Xiangyu only ever let him handle miscellaneous chores and never allowed him to touch real alchemy and medicine preparation.

The last bit of Old Qin’s hope shattered, his eyes dimmed instantly. He furrowed his brows, murmuring, ”Then it’s only two months per bottle, I might cough blood again. Ah... I hope this old life of mine can last until Master returns...”

Two months per bottle, four bottles make eight months, Old Qin thought, by then Shang Xiangyu should return.

Pan Yong stood at the cave entrance, watching Old Qin walk away.

He didn’t leave but turned back into Shang Xiangyu’s stone chamber, once again approaching the low cabinet in the corner.

Pan Yong squatted down and pulled the closed cabinet door open with a tug.

After taking the Moon in the Water for Old Qin earlier, he hadn’t locked it.

Pan Yong squatted there with a heavy expression, rummaging through the jars and bottles on the lower level, finally pinching a small purple porcelain bottle from the innermost section, clutching it in his hand.

Pan Yong glanced at the slender-necked, round-bellied purple porcelain bottle in his hand, his expression inexplicably cold and somewhat terrifying...

He carefully placed the porcelain bottle into his pocket, locked the cabinet door, and walked out of the stone chamber.

In the dark depths of the cave.

Duan Rong sat cross-legged in the darkness, his brows tightly knit.

Operating True Qi, refining the medicinal power, consumed mental energy deeply, especially as he sat still for a whole day. Truly, without madness, no life.

Yet, after this period of relentless training day and night, the True Qi in his Dantian had noticeably thickened, although there was still a considerable distance from achieving the True Qi Realm First Level. According to Duan Rong’s estimation, it was almost on par with Pan Yong’s level of True Qi.

He planned to endure another three to four days of training, then find an opportunity to make a move on Pan Yong.

Duan Rong was concentrating his Divine Soul, refining the residual medicinal power of the Yang Pill he swallowed in the morning, when suddenly, Pan Yong’s voice echoed from outside the cave.

Duan Rong’s brow slightly furrowed, heaved a light sigh, then stopped the operation of True Qi, got off the stone bed, and walked out of the cave.

Duan Rong stood at the entrance of the cave.

In the gloomy sky filtering down through the cracks in the leaden clouds, Pan Yong looked at him with a smile and said, ”This morning, Old Qin came to fetch medicine. He mentioned, junior brother, you are looking withered and haggard. He told me, as your elder brother, to look after you well.”

”The old man’s words made me quite ashamed...”

Duan Rong stood there, staring blankly at Pan Yong, not knowing for a moment what he was up to.

Pan Yong paused briefly, looked at Duan Rong, and continued, ”Junior brother, since you entered the mountain, senior brother hasn’t cared for you enough. After Tang Zhu’s unexpected death, we haven’t even had a decent hot meal together. Today, senior brother specially prepared a few dishes, come, try my cooking.”

As he spoke, Pan Yong tugged at Duan Rong’s sleeve.

Duan Rong stood there, still not understanding his intent.

Why was Pan Yong doing this?

Invite him for a meal to bond with him?!

Seeing Duan Rong still unresponsive, Pan Yong added, ”Junior brother, it’s not that I’m reprimanding you, to train so arduously daily requires a strong will, but you also need to eat something. Drinking only clear water every day, even an iron body can’t endure that.”

Duan Rong’s eyes flickered as he looked at Pan Yong and said, ”Thank you for your concern, senior brother.”

”Then let’s go, junior brother.” Pan Yong said as he began to walk forward.

Duan Rong blinked and followed him.

Pan Yong, seeing Duan Rong follow, finally relaxed.

Following behind Pan Yong, Duan Rong’s mind was racing.

He reviewed in his mind all the events since Shang Xiangyu left these few days.

He suspected whether he had exposed any flaw, letting Pan Yong guess his intentions.

After much consideration, the only anomaly seemed to be his constant seclusion in the cave for intense training.