A thousand enlightenments in one night, starting from being a menial apprentice.

"You've reached the Cave-Nether Realm?" Lin Youjian's usually composed face showed surprise as he stared at Duan Rong and asked.

Duan Rong smiled and said, "Didn't Senior Lin already see it with his divine sense?"

Duan Rong naturally sensed Lin Youjian's divine sense penetrating his dantian, but he did not conceal the state of his dantian with his divine sense. Instead, he allowed Lin Youjian to see the cave of enlightenment within his dantian.

Lin Youjian looked at Duan Rong, his eyes flashing.

She and Liu Su personally led the team when Duan Rong and his group entered the Divine Demon Ruins. She knew very well what realm Duan Rong was at that time.

In just one year, Duan Rong actually reached the Cave-Ming Realm.

How is this possible?!

Let alone when he cultivated to the Great Perfection of the Qi Cyclone Realm.

Back then, she spent over ten years in seclusion within the talisman array chamber to condense her Daoming (a spiritual energy cultivation technique). But this guy condensed his Daoming in less than a year.

She had just used her divine sense to examine Duan Rong's dantian, and the black light surging within its inner core was brimming with vitality. This indicated that what he had condensed was a growing inner core.

Lin Youjian's thoughts were in turmoil, while Jiang Hanyan looked at Duan Rong and Lin Youjian with utter confusion. She hadn't understood their conversation at all, and couldn't help but think to herself, "What does 'achieving the Cave-Ming Realm' mean? Who achieved the Cave-Ming Realm? Didn't Master achieve the Cave-Ming Realm a long time ago?"

Jiang Hanyan didn't even consider Duan Rong. The Cave of Enlightenment Realm is the threshold between mortal and saint. Her master had spent more than ten years in seclusion in the talisman array chamber before successfully condensing the Cave of Enlightenment Realm. Her master was already the second genius of the Taiyi Sect in two hundred years.

Seeing the master and disciple standing there in a daze, Duan Rong realized that he had already borrowed the items and it was no longer safe to stay here, lest things change. He clasped his hands and said, "Senior Lin, Senior Sister Jiang, I will definitely return these three divine herbs within two months. Consider this a favor I owe to Tianzhu Peak. Farewell!"

After Duan Rong finished speaking, he gestured and immediately swept up the three black jade boxes on the table. Like a ghost, they passed through the wall not far away and disappeared.

Jiang Hanyan's eyes suddenly widened, staring like copper bells. Duan Rong simply passed through the wall and disappeared; this was a method her master often used when visiting her.

At that moment, the question her master, Lin Youjian, had asked Duan Rong earlier flashed through her mind again: "You've reached the Cave-Piercing Realm?!"

At the time, she didn't understand. Now, she finally understands.

It was Duan Rong who achieved the Cave-Ming Realm!?

Jiang Hanyan's heart was pounding like a tidal wave crashing against the shore.

At this moment, Lin Youjian looked at the spot where Duan Rong had disappeared and couldn't help but sigh, saying, "He's not even twenty-five years old yet, and he's already condensed such a promising Cavern... and he succeeded in condensing it within a year... This world actually has such a monstrous talent..."

As Lin Youjian spoke, he sighed three times in a row.

At that very moment, she suddenly decided that she would no longer compete with Zhu He.

Zhu He's junior brother, Gu Daoling, has already reached the Great Perfection of the Cave-Ming Realm, while his disciple, Duan Rong, seems even more monstrous than Gu Daoling. It's estimated that the next sect patriarch will be born from one of these two.

Whichever of the two becomes the sect's patriarch will greatly benefit Zhu He's status within the Taiyi Sect. Moreover, Zhu He does indeed possess the talent to govern the sect and regulate Yin and Yang. Lin Youjian is usually arrogant, but at this moment she has decided not to make things difficult for Zhu He within the Elders' Council.

She originally didn't want Zhu He to interfere too much in her affairs of the Ministry of Justice, but now it seems she has no choice but to submit.

Lin Youjian turned his head and looked at Jiang Hanyan behind him.

Jiang Hanyan noticed her master's gaze and then spoke the words she had thought of later. "Master, Brother Duan saved me many times in the ruins of gods and demons. Those three divine herbs were given to Brother Duan voluntarily."

Lin Youjian said, "That's not how you settle accounts. The ruins are the ruins, and the Nine Provinces are the Nine Provinces. Inside the ruins, you are fellow disciples who depend on each other for life and death. Once you leave the ruins, the accounts will be settled. If he doesn't return those three divine herbs by the due date, remember to go and urge him to return them."

Jiang Hanyan said, "But...but, Master, I've already promised Brother Duan..."

Lin Youjian stared at Jiang Yanhan, paused for a few moments, and then said, "Hanyan, let me remind you. That kid already has two wives, and his affair with Lü Qingzhu has already spread throughout the sects of the Nine Provinces, causing quite a stir. You'd better not have any ideas!"

"Master, I didn't..." Jiang Hanyan's face flushed red, and she said with a flustered look in her eyes.

"There is no best!" Lin Youjian saw Jiang Hanyan's reaction and shouted coldly before disappearing.

After Lin Youjian left, the panic in Jiang Hanyan's eyes subsided. She sat down at the table in a daze, looking at the tea set that Duan Rong had just drunk from. For some reason, her expression suddenly became somewhat sorrowful...

After leaving Tianzhu Peak, Duan Rong transformed into a streak of black light and returned to the Lü family residence.

He was gone for more than ten days without even saying goodbye. He only said he was going out for a short while, and I never expected that he would not return for another ten days.

When he returned, Xiao Yu acted as if nothing had happened, still greeting him warmly with a smile.

Duan Rong took a sip of ginseng tea, but Shen Mizhi walked in. Looking at Duan Rong, she asked, "Didn't you say you were going out for a while? Why haven't you been home for over ten days? Xiao Yu keeps asking me about it!"

Xiao Yu was holding Qian'er and playing with Duan Rong when Shen Mizhi suddenly came in. She asked a question like a clueless child. She was afraid that Duan Rong would be angry, so she glared at Shen Mizhi anxiously.

Duan Rong simply smiled faintly and said, "You, a mere guard, are trying to tell me what to do? Can't I be held back by something?"

In fact, Duan Rong did not expect that after listening to the ancestor Lü Yinlin explain the four steps of the Cave of Clarity cultivation, he would stay in Chu Wushang's thatched hut for more than ten days.

These were all impromptu decisions.

Xiao Yu immediately picked up Qian'er and stood up, pulling on Shen Mizhi's sleeve, saying, "Go and see, the blankets that Xiao Qi hung out to dry this morning should be dry by now, go and take them in."

Shen Mizhi then walked out.

Xiao Yu turned around with Qian'er in her arms, but Duan Rong had already stood up, looked at her, and said, "I went to the other courtyard to say hello. I'll be going to the secret chamber to cultivate these next few days and won't be staying at home."

Xiao Yu was taken aback upon hearing this, then squatted down and said, "Yes, my husband."

Duan Rong stepped out of the hall and out into the courtyard.

He arrived at Lü Zhongtang's place, and the steward Han Chengli immediately led him to the study to see Lü Zhongtang.

The two sat down in the study, and Han Cheng personally served tea and snacks.

After the two chatted about everyday matters, Duan Rong suddenly said, "Father-in-law, I would like to cultivate the Womb Treasury Sutra in the secret chamber these next few days."

Within the Lü family mansion, there are several secret chambers specifically built for cultivating the Womb Treasury Sutra, each containing statues of varying sizes. The Womb Treasury Sutra's secret chambers are quite secluded and shrouded in talismanic arrays, which is why Duan Rong specifically brought this up when he visited Lü Zhongtang.

Lu Zhongtang's eyes flickered, and he said, "Of course."

He stood up, went to the bookshelf behind the desk, and reached into a porcelain vase adorned with winter plum blossoms. From the bottom of the vase, Lü Zhongtang pulled out a rusty ruler, returned, and handed it to Duan Rong. Duan Rong respectfully accepted it, saying, "Thank you, Father-in-law!"

Lü Zhongtang said, "No need for thanks. I've already made up my mind. From now on, I'll hand over all the things in the Lü family mansion to you. I'll think about anything else that needs to be done and then hand it over to you at a later time."

Duan Rong smiled and said, "Father-in-law, I am busy with cultivation and have neither the mind nor the skill to deal with these matters. Why don't you leave it to Qingzhu?"

Lu Zhongtang smiled and said, "Don't even think about shirking your responsibilities. I'm handing it over to you, and who you hand it over to is your business."

The two then chatted about recent events concerning the Eight Sects of Kyushu. Lü Zhongtang spoke highly of Zhu He's various actions since taking over as sect leader.

After chatting for a while, Duan Rong got up to say goodbye and left the study.

He went to Li Baoyue's place to see Shen'er, played with him for a while, and then left the courtyard and went to the secret room under the rockery.

Lu Qingzhu was also diligently cultivating in her secret chamber, but Duan Rong did not disturb her. He merely glanced at her before passing through her chamber like a ghost and arriving at the secret chamber where the Fetal Treasury Scripture was being cultivated, which was shrouded in a talisman array.

At this moment, Duan Rong stood in a cramped secret room. He slowly walked to a stone wall, took out a array ruler, and tapped it on the stone wall in front of him.

Immediately, a ripple of light appeared before his eyes, creating an oval-shaped, narrow void, which Duan Rong then stepped into.

The next moment, he found himself in a rather tall, secret room.

The ceiling height of this secret chamber far exceeds that of ordinary secret chambers. On the surrounding stone walls are four lifelike statues, each about two people tall, with ferocious faces. These are the statues of the Four Great Kings.

There are four secret chambers with rune arrays here, and this one has the largest statue.

Duan Rong then sat cross-legged on a futon in the center of the stone chamber. With a flick of his sleeve, three black jade boxes appeared in a row in front of him.

He picked up the black jade box in the middle and gently opened it. The moment the box was opened, wisps of cold air, visible to the naked eye, appeared in the air above the box. Looking closely, he saw that inside the box was an ice sculpture of a plant.

With a thought, the ice sculpture of the plant slowly floated up from the black jade box and hovered in front of him.

The next moment, the ice sculpture on the surface of the divine herb suddenly melted at a speed visible to the naked eye, and then a bright green divine herb with a faint silver light appeared in front of Duan Rong's eyes, as if it had just been picked.

"Silver-edged grass!?"

Silver-edged grass is an auxiliary medicine for cultivating the fourteenth level of the Womb Sutra.

With a thought, Duan Rong activated the power of the law once again.

In the blink of an eye, the fresh, emerald-green silver-edged grass withered and dried up at a speed visible to the naked eye, eventually turning into dust and falling off in specks.

As the silver-edged grass disappeared, a drop of emerald-green liquid, shimmering with a faint silver light, was seen floating in the air.

Duan Rong pointed his finger, and the drop of liquid split into three drops, one of which flew into his mouth.

The moment the droplet entered his mouth, Duan Rong began rapidly forming hand seals...

Two days later, Duan Rong, who was sitting cross-legged in the center of the secret room, suddenly opened his eyes. The three drops of emerald green liquid that had been floating in front of him were all gone.

In just two days, he had already mastered the fourteenth level of the Womb Treasury Sutra. If Chu Wushang knew this speed, he would probably be so angry he'd vomit blood.

Duan Rong mastered it in just two days; if it were him practicing, it would probably take him thirty years.

“As the levels increase, cultivating the Womb Treasury Sutra consumes more and more of the tree spirit!” Duan Rong said, his eyes flickering slightly.

The sea of ​​tree spirits he devoured was completely exhausted after he only cultivated it to the fourteenth level. Moreover, those were ancient tree spirits that he had devoured within the Endless Mountains, trees that were thousands of years old.

Duan Rong then stood up from the futon, because the tree spirit in his sea of ​​light had been completely exhausted, and he needed to replenish the tree spirit in order to continue cultivating the fifteenth level of the Womb Sutra.

He walked to a wall, took out a ruler, tapped it, and left the secret room.

Duan Rong transformed into a streak of black light and shot out of the Lü family mansion. It was the dead of night, but Duan Rong had already reached the Cave-Ming Realm. If he didn't want to be discovered, the guards around the mansion would not be able to find him.

In the gloomy night, he darted like a shooting star into the depths of the endless mountains.

In the pitch black, he suddenly disappeared into a dense forest and stepped onto the bare branches of an ancient tree with sparse twigs.

He has now reached the Cave-Ming Realm, and can quickly discover ancient trees over a thousand years old even in a dense forest.

Duan Rong then placed his palm on the bare branch and thought to himself, "Reading the spirit."

A set of data appeared before his eyes, glowing faintly in the darkness.

Object: Ancient cypress (1200 years old)

Spirit level: Tier 12.

Absorption requirements: Host's mental strength is at level twelve (met).

Devouring effect: Experience the passage of time (can increase the host's mental strength).

“Twelve hundred years...twelfth rank…” Duan Rong glanced at the data panel that appeared and thought to himself, “Devour!”

The next moment, the data panel in front of them shattered and disappeared.

Duan Rong's figure then vanished...

As the morning sun illuminated the valley, the ancient cypress tree, which had lived for 1,200 years in the endless mountains, had its originally sparse branches drooping, as if it had lost its vitality.

This ancient cypress will soon wither and die completely.

Ancient trees, thousands of years old, are inherently fragile. Once their spirit is devoured, their bodies will quickly wither and die...

Duan Rong worked tirelessly all night, and the Tree Spirit Sea was fully replenished. The entire Tree Spirit Sea was filled with ancient trees that were thousands of years old, shimmering with a rich, eerie light.

He sat cross-legged on the futon in the center of the secret chamber and began cultivating the fifteenth level of the Womb Sutra. (End of Chapter)