I Can Devour Spirits

Duan Rong and his companions emerged from the Scripture Repository.

Ximen Kankan, Xiao Yu, and Shen Mizi only redeemed the First Level of the cultivation technique.

There are four levels of Martial Arts in the True Qi Realm, and the contribution points for each level are different. The further you go, the more expensive it gets!

Duan Rong glanced at the points needed to redeem the cultivation technique and clicked his tongue softly.

Luckily, he directly obtained his level in the Martial Arts Realm by devouring the Artifact Spirit. Otherwise, just redeeming the cultivation technique would have cost him a lot of contribution points.

From then on, whenever Xiao Yu, Ximen Kankan, and Shen Mizi had free time, they often came to practice martial arts on Duan Rong’s mountain.

Duan Rong would occasionally offer them some guidance. Initially, the three didn’t pay much attention, but as time passed, they realized that although Duan Rong’s words were brief, they often hit the mark. If they pondered deeply, they always found great benefits in their practice.

Gradually, they began to actively ask Duan Rong for guidance.

Unconsciously, Duan Rong became their little mentor...

Because Duan Rong’s understanding of martial arts was already beyond their level. Therefore, what seemed very simple and clear to Duan Rong often left the three puzzled despite repeated explanations.

This made Duan Rong quite exasperated! He often felt as if he were helping elementary students with their homework in his previous life.

In the blink of an eye, several months passed.

One day, Duan Rong told them he knew a pharmacist who could help make pills, only the raw materials were needed.

The three listened and looked at Duan Rong with strange expressions.

Shen Mizi asked, ”Why only provide the raw materials? If the pill is made, doesn’t the pharmacist take a share?”

Shen Mizi found Duan Rong’s words somewhat unreasonable.

Duan Rong replied, ”This pharmacist is a novice. He makes pills for practice and doesn’t take a share. However, there’s no guarantee that the pills will be successfully made.”

”No guarantee of success?!” Shen Mizi exclaimed.

Duan Rong nodded and said, ”Yes, but I advise you to give it a try. From what I know, the success rate is quite high.”

”Really?” Shen Mizi was skeptical.

However, Xiao Yu and Ximen Kankan both said they’d like the pharmacist to help make a batch of Yang Pills and give it a try.

Ultimately, the two trusted Duan Rong more than Shen Mizi did.

Duan Rong then handed them a prescription, asking them to go to the Medicine Pavilion to exchange it for herbs.

Seeing that Xiao Yu and Ximen Kankan were involved, Shen Mizi also exchanged herbs and handed them all to Duan Rong.

A few days later, they each received a bottle of Yang Pills.

The three were overjoyed.

Duan Rong specifically instructed them not to disclose the matter, as the pharmacist secretly making pills was against the sect’s rules, and if the sect found out, the pharmacist would be punished.

The three made sure to remember this.

If the pharmacist were punished, this opportunity would be lost, and where else could they find such cheap Yang Pills?

Xiao Yu asked, ”Duan Rong, how did you meet that pharmacist?”

Duan Rong smiled and said, ”When Shang Xiangyu was around, I was a medicine boy. I met the pharmacist once when delivering medicine to their mountain.”

Xiao Yu’s gaze shifted slightly, but he said nothing.

Shen Mizi, looking at Xiao Yu, laughed, ”Sister Xiao is asking if the pharmacist is male or female?”

Upon hearing this, Xiao Yu pinched Shen Mizi’s arm.

Shen Mizi exaggeratedly yelled out.

Duan Rong had already prepared the Yang Pills many times and had almost never failed. Occasionally, there were minor errors, but it was only a slight drop in quality and didn’t affect their use.

After several times, the three were quite confident in the pharmacist’s skills. Even if there was a rare failure, they still came out ahead.

That noon, Duan Rong had just returned from Xia Honghua when he saw a figure coughing while approaching from a distance.

It seemed to be Old Qin, but his back was even more hunched over, and the coughing hadn’t stopped since he came from afar and continued until he was right in front of Duan Rong.

In Xianggu County, Duan Rong had devoured many Artifact Spirits from Gu Suxiu and Shen Ping’s personal effects, giving him some proficiency in medicine.

Old Qin’s coughing was clearly from damage deep in the lungs.

It wasn’t a throat cough. The sound’s resonance indicated it was affecting the lungs.

Old Qin asked Duan Rong, ”Has Master Shang... cough cough... not returned yet?”

Duan Rong shook his head, looking at Old Qin with some concern.

”It’s been... eight months... why hasn’t he returned...” Old Qin coughed and spoke intermittently.

The last time, Old Qin went to the Judgement and Rectification Department to find Yang Yi, who might have remembered Yang Sixuan mentioning that Old Qin was a relative of a historian from the Internal History Department, and a pharmacist checked but found no clues about the toxins and medicines in the cabinets.

Yang Yi did a favor by giving the last three bottles of Moon in the Water to Old Qin.

It was because of those three bottles that Old Qin lasted until now.

Duan Rong felt a twinge of pity in his heart.

Moon in the Water was Shang Xiangyu’s secret formula. The medication suited Old Qin’s symptoms and could suppress his consumption disease, allowing him to live a few more years.

But Duan Rong dismissed the idea of preparing medicine for Old Qin.

When he made pills for Xiao Yu, Ximen Kankan, and Shen Mizi, he had to remind them repeatedly to keep it secret.

But to Duan Rong, Old Qin was still an outsider, and the risk was too great.

Duan Rong said, ”If Master Shang returns, I will definitely go to the Lower Courtyard to inform you.”

”Thank you,” said Old Qin.

After that, Old Qin walked away, coughing and looking desolate.

Two months later, one day, while Duan Rong was in the dense forest guiding Ximen Kankan through a checkpoint in the Sky-Cleaving Saber technique, Ximen Kankan suddenly said he had heard from their supervisor that Old Qin from the Lower Courtyard had passed away.