I Can Devour Spirits

Chapter 689: Chapter 425: Rigorous Cultivation (Part 2)

It’s really quite magical, isn’t it!?

Duan Rong thought so, as he popped a piece of “candied hawthorn” into his mouth.

As soon as it entered his mouth, Duan Rong immediately wrapped the “candied hawthorn” with Heaven and Earth Primordial Qi, to prevent the Yin Cold Qi it contained from freezing his internal organs.

Once the “candied hawthorn” was swallowed, it was wrapped by the Heaven and Earth Primordial Qi in the Dantian, and the ice covering gradually melted, revealing the Primordial Beast Flesh inside.

At this moment, Duan Rong activated his cultivation technique and began to refine the piece of flesh.

As he refined it, the extremely pure Heaven and Earth Primordial Qi contained within that piece of Primordial Beast Flesh was gradually released.

The purity of the Heaven and Earth Primordial Qi and its affinity with the body suddenly startled Duan Rong.

After advancing to the Primordial Qi Realm, Duan Rong had already cultivated several times. In Changling Mountain, the Heaven and Earth Primordial Qi was indeed rich. But richness and purity are two different concepts.

Richness refers to quantity, but purity refers to quality.

At this moment, the extremely pure Heaven and Earth Primordial Qi gushing forth in the Dantian like a spring, Duan Rong immediately began to absorb it through his breathing technique.

Duan Rong had already gained his realm directly by devouring the Artifact Spirit, and his operation, breathing, absorption, and refining skills were extremely proficient, even the most gifted cultivator would need at least half a year to reach such a level.

Nonetheless, with such proficiency, there was still about ten percent of the Heaven and Earth Primordial Qi gushing from the Dantian that he could not absorb, which then dissipated.

Duan Rong sat cross-legged on the meditation mat, feeling a pang of pain.

If other cultivators knew Duan Rong thought this way, they would be greatly astonished, as some dissipation during absorption and refining is unavoidable, and achieving only ten percent dissipation like Duan Rong is possible only with extreme mastery of the cultivation technique.

However, Duan Rong was unwilling to accept this. Suddenly flipping his hand, he placed two porcelain bottles in front of him; these were the Bone Marrow Ash of High Rank Primordial Beast that Zhu He gave him when he first entered Yunfu Peak a few days ago.

Duan Rong opened the cork of one of the bottles, gently sniffed it, and found it odorless.

Then he gently shook the bottle, feeling that it contained some kind of viscous liquid.

Duan Rong then tilted his head back, pouring a drop from the bottle’s mouth, revealing a dense gray liquid.

As the dense gray liquid went down his throat, Duan Rong swallowed it down, and instantly his whole body trembled as if shaken by a sieve.

His internal organs, Dantian, and meridians surged with a burning pain, and in an instant, Duan Rong’s face turned ashen, with a look of terror in his eyes.

He focused his mind, using his Divine Sense to introspect his body.

Under Divine Sense Investigation, everything was revealed, and he quickly discovered that he was not poisoned.

Relieved, Duan Rong continued to operate his cultivation technique, inhaling and exhaling; and now the difference was clear, for the extremely pure Heaven and Earth Primordial Qi gushing forth in the Dantian was entirely absorbed and refined without a single bit dissipating.

If anyone knew about this situation happening to Duan Rong in this cultivation chamber, they would consider it a miracle.

A cultivator who had just advanced to the Primordial Qi Realm a few days ago could actually achieve no dissipation at all.

Of course, this was under the enhancement of the Bone Marrow Ash of the High Rank Primordial Beast.

This Bone Marrow Ash can permanently increase the cultivator’s affinity with Heaven and Earth Primordial Qi, but such permanent enhancement results are minimal, like peeling silk from a cocoon.

However, swallowing a drop of Bone Marrow Ash increases the affinity considerably for several hours, and only gradually decreases afterwards.

Duan Rong frantically operated his cultivation technique, swallowing a candied hawthorn every hour or so.

It should be noted that this is not temporary adjustment and refining, but the operation, absorption, and refining of cultivation, where every refined thread ultimately becomes part of the Original Primordial Qi in the Dantian, which is the true cultivation realm. It’s a meticulous process of grinding water!

For someone like Duan Rong, who just entered the Primordial Qi Realm, to swallow one candied hawthorn per hour, such a cultivation speed is almost at some extreme, incomparable.

While it’s said that Spiritual Power greatly affects cultivation by enabling delicate control and higher efficiency in absorption, breathing, and refining, Duan Rong was proficient and harmonious right from the start!

After this day, Duan Rong practiced laboriously daily, as if he were addicted to cultivation.

At first, things were fine, but after half a month, Lu Geng and Wang Yue began to mumble, and after a month, even Fan Hongjiao and Wu Shidao were a bit worried and visited Duan Rong several times.

Fan Hongjiao reminded him to balance work and rest, as although hard cultivation is good, overexertion can lead to setbacks.

Duan Rong repeatedly agreed verbally, but continued his intense practice daily without stopping.

In truth, they completely failed to understand; and it’s correct because for them, cultivation takes a significant toll on the mind.

At the Primordial Qi Realm, the processes of absorption, breathing, and refining are exceedingly complex, and many elements are intertwined, so after an hour of practice, one’s Divine Soul would be exhausted.

Only after long, enduring practice did they become familiarized, and by then, they progressed to the next stage, and the challenging path began anew.

But Duan Rong was proficient from the start, with little to no drain on the Divine Soul, making it simply a physical task.

Because of this, he could train tirelessly day and night, causing Fan Hongjiao and Wu Shidao to watch in trepidation, fearing anything might happen to Duan Rong, leading Zhu He to hold them accountable.

On this day, Duan Rong looked at the empty Black Jade Pool, feeling dejected. He was on the verge of achieving the First Level of the Primordial Qi Realm, and the energy and flesh from the Black Jade Pool were exhausted.

Wasn’t it Wu Shidao who told him it would last half a year? It’s only been a month, and it’s gone.

What Wu Shidao meant was for a normal individual, and even when he reached the Primordial Qi Realm a few days ago, those Primordial Beast Flesh pieces were enough for him for half a year. As he considered Duan Rong to have an extraordinary talent, he underestimated it, only saying half a year.

But Duan Rong, this rascal, consumed it all in a month.

Now that it’s gone, a solution is needed. As with previous cultivation challenges.

The issues earlier were about medicine supplements and pill remedies; now it’s about Primordial Beast Flesh. The essence remains the same.

However, the only source of Primordial Beast Flesh is the Dark Forest.

Should I make a trip down there?

Duan Rong had thought about this long before; he could still manage to venture into the Dark Forest.

If his cultivation consumption was fast, it was impractical to expect Fan Hongjiao or Wu Shidao to accompany him into the Dark Forest once a month.

This issue had to be resolved on his own.

The Dark Forest must be visited.

But before going, he needed to obtain Wu Shidao’s Geomancy Map and conduct a thorough study and preparation.

On this day, Duan Rong arrived in front of the building where Wu Shidao’s room was located. Before coming, he had already asked Wang Yue and knew Wu Shidao was inside.

Duan Rong gently knocked on the door and called, “Senior Brother Wu!”

A moment later, the door opened.

Wu Shidao looked at Duan Rong with deep eyes.

Duan Rong, who had spent the past month practicing frenetically in the Cultivation Chamber, appeared with tangled hair, looking worn out.

“Junior Brother, your diligent practice is commendable, but everything in moderation…”

Duan Rong replied, “Senior Brother, I know. I’ve come because I want to borrow your Geomancy Map of the Dark Forest.”

“What do you want to do?” Wu Shidao looked at Duan Rong nervously, fearing he was up to something again.

Duan Rong said, “Nothing! I’ve been tired from cultivation recently and wanted to study the Dark Forest to refresh my mind. I happened to remember you have a Geomancy Map, so I wanted to borrow it for a look. If it’s inconvenient, never mind.”

“It’s convenient! Why wouldn’t it be?” Wu Shidao laughed.

Fan Hongjiao had already discussed Duan Rong several times with him. Fan Hongjiao’s idea was that at least every month, Duan Rong should take a few days of rest, instead of staying in the Cultivation Chamber all the time. If persuasion didn’t work, they were ready to adopt more stringent measures.

Now, hearing that Duan Rong wanted to voluntarily stop cultivation and change his focus, it essentially resolved a major problem for Wu Shidao and Fan Hongjiao, not to mention the Geomancy Map, which all direct disciples had access to.