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

Chapter 669 This sect must be firmly under my control.

"Duan Rong is only cultivating the twenty-second level of the Womb Sutra, so there's nothing seriously wrong with him."

As he spoke, Lü Yinlin looked at Chu Wushang and Wei Yan and said, "You two stay here and protect him. If he wakes up, tell him to come see me immediately."

"Yes, Ancestor!" Wei Yan immediately clasped his hands in response.

"Yes," Chu Wushang replied calmly.

At that moment, under the moonlight, Lü Yinlin's figure suddenly turned into a bluish shadow and vanished without a trace.

Upon seeing Lü Yinlin leave, Wei Yan knelt down again with a thud, choking back tears as he cried out, "Disciple Wei Yan respectfully bids farewell to the Ancestor!" He knew that with Lü Yinlin's departure, he would never see him again in this life.

It took Wei Yan a while to calm down. He wiped his nose, sat cross-legged on the edge of the altar, and stared intently at Duan Rong.

Since the patriarch had entrusted him with the task of protecting Duan Rong, he had to fulfill his duty once he accepted the order.

Chu Wushang's eyes flickered. He hadn't expected that Wei Yan, who was usually so lazy, would be so unusually bright and alert. Chu Wushang glanced at Duan Rong, who stood motionless like a stone statue in the moonlight, and then sat down cross-legged on the other side of the altar.

In truth, seeing how dutifully Wei Yan was protecting Duan Rong, Chu Wushang was already reluctant to stay any longer. Although Wei Yan was lazy, he was still a powerful expert at the Cave-Ming Realm, and protecting Duan Rong should not be a problem.

But when the patriarch left, he was given a warning, so even if he was unwilling, he had to stay here.

And so, the moon set and the stars shifted in the valley, and the days passed one by one.

Chu Wushang had already sat cross-legged and entered a meditative state. Only Wei Yan was still staring intently at Duan Rong. Although he hadn't slept for many days and his eyes were bloodshot, he still stubbornly kept his eyes open.

On this clear day, as the morning light illuminated the valley, Chu Wushang suddenly opened his eyes; he had actually been asleep during the night.

He stretched and stood up, examining Duan Rong for a moment. He found him to be the same as before, breathing steadily and with a serene expression. Then, Chu Wushang transformed into a streak of black light, flew out of the valley, and picked some wild fruits in the dense forest before returning.

After guarding this valley for several days, I couldn't help but feel my throat was dry, so I went to get some fruit to moisten it.

Before long, they returned to the altar with wild fruits in their baskets.

Biting into a juicy fruit, Chu Wushang glanced at Wei Yan, who was sitting cross-legged at the other end. He saw that Wei Yan looked haggard and his eyes were bloodshot.

Chu Wushang then threw a fruit over.

The fruit hit Wei Yan in the chest and rolled to the ground.

Wei Yan glanced at it, picked it up, wiped it on his clothes, and took a bite.

Chu Wushang looked at him and said, "The ancestor asked us to protect him, how could you act like this? Look at how you've been these past few days, that kid is still breathing steadily and has a peaceful face, but you've worn yourself out to the point of being neither human nor ghost."

Wei Yan mumbled something in his mouth, spat out the fruit pit, and said, "I must do what the ancestor instructed me to do. If he shows any unusual behavior, I must be able to detect it immediately."

Looking at Wei Yan's haggard and focused appearance, Chu Wushang said, "Fine, never mind."

After eating a few fruits, he sat down cross-legged again.

The sun and moon alternate.

On this day, a cool moonlight bathed the valley. Chu Wushang looked at the moonlight on the altar and suddenly sighed. He turned his head and saw that Duan Rong was still sitting there cross-legged. Except for two dry grass clippings stuck to his head, he was almost unchanged.

Chu Wushang looked at Wei Yan opposite the altar and asked, "How long has this kid been sitting like this? I've been counting for more than twenty days."

Wei Yan said, "It has been twenty-three days since dawn today."

Chu Wushang stared blankly at Duan Rong, whose face, covered in dust, was made to shine brightly by the moonlight.

He was initially just curious about how quickly Duan Rong had mastered the Womb Treasury Sutra. Duan Rong was progressing through the valley, one level every few days. He had assumed Duan Rong would clear all the levels, but he was clearly wrong. It seemed that mastering the twenty-second level of the Womb Treasury Sutra was not easy.

Thinking of this, Chu Wushang suddenly flipped his hand and grabbed a scroll of yellowed animal hide manual.

This is his complete secret manual of the Garbhadhatu Mantra.

Chu Wushang opened the manual and, under the cool moonlight, looked at the scriptures on the twenty-second floor.

The text of the Garbhadhatu Sutra is about the gradual practice of the path.

In other words, there is a connection between each level. And many cultivation methods, including the function of hand mudras, can only be truly understood through actual practice.

Therefore, for Chu Wushang, let alone the twenty-second layer of scripture, he would have difficulty comprehending even the twenty-first layer.

Chu Wushang looked at it for a while, but felt completely confused, so he had no choice but to put it away again. He also knew that the text of the Womb Treasury Sutra could only be understood by practicing and contemplating it within the sea of ​​spiritual consciousness.

Meanwhile, within his spiritual sea of ​​consciousness, Duan Rong sat in the center of the black earth, looking up at the sky.

At this moment, twenty-one radiant stars were orbiting the clear, glassy body in an eerie manner...

Two of the celestial bodies are intertwined in the form of twin stars, and in this form they slowly rotate around the clear, glassy body...

After more than twenty days of arduous training, Duan Rong finally mastered the Forty-Nine Transformations of the Divine Soul.

He can already control twenty-one celestial bodies, making them revolve around the Clear Glass Body according to various variations of the Forty-Nine Transformations of the Divine Soul...

Each of these different forms indicates that Duan Rong's soul has undergone some kind of change, hence the name "Forty-Nine Transformations of the Soul".

And in this intertwining of spiritual changes, the seeds of nightmares can be woven.

But at this moment, Duan Rong was not so much interested in weaving the Nightmare Seed, but what he was most concerned about was whether he had been infected with the Nightmare Seed by Lü Yinlin.

Through his cultivation of the twenty-second layer of the Womb Sutra, he already knew that even if a Nightmare Seed was planted, it would take several years for the Nightmare Seed to mature, ferment, and slowly seep into the depths of the soul.

He didn't stay by Lü Yinlin's side for long; in other words, even though the Nightmare Seed had been planted in him, it hadn't matured yet.

Duan Rong has now thoroughly mastered the Forty-Nine Transformations of the Divine Soul. If there is a mature Nightmare Seed among these transformations, he can sense it.

Because the Nightmare Spawn resides in a person's soul space, it is not a parasitic relationship, but a symbiotic and integrated relationship that gradually becomes indistinguishable from one another.

Therefore, in the soul space inhabited by mature Nightmare Species, due to symbiosis, a subtle soul wave vibration often emanates.

This soul wave is very subtle and not easy to detect, but it can be sensed within the forty-nine transformations of the soul.

However, if a nightmare seed has been planted but is not yet mature, it is not easy to investigate. One must search every corner of the soul space very carefully.

Because it's impossible to determine where the nightmare seed was planted, we can only investigate slowly.

After Duan Rong thoroughly understood the Forty-Nine Transformations of the Divine Soul, he confirmed that he did not have a mature Nightmare Seed. He immediately began to search his Divine Soul Space to see if any immature Nightmare Seeds had been planted there.

Thirty-three days later.

In the cold moonlight, Wei Yan finally couldn't hold on any longer. He looked at Chu Wushang and said in a hoarse voice, "Keep an eye on him, I'm going to take a nap."

Chu Wushang said, "I thought you could hold on forever."

Wei Yan said, "I don't know how much longer... I can't take it anymore..."

Just then, Duan Rong suddenly opened his eyes, his eyes sparkling like moonlight.

Duan Rong opened his eyes and saw Chu Wushang and Wei Yan standing guard on either side of the altar. He was slightly taken aback and laughed, "What? Are you two seniors afraid I'll run away?"

Chu Wushang looked at Duan Rong and asked, "Duan Rong, have you already completed the entire Womb Sutra?" Wei Yan, his eyes bloodshot, also stared blankly at Duan Rong.

Duan Rong smiled slightly, but did not answer Chu Wushang's question. Instead, a thought crossed his mind.

The next moment, a large number of fluorescent lights suddenly appeared in the valley that was originally bathed in the cold moonlight.

Those tiny specks of light, like fireflies in the mountains at night, flickered on and off.

But what appeared at this moment was not a small patch of fireflies, but a dense array covering the entire valley, as if the Milky Way had fallen into this valley.

Fireflies, flickering endlessly throughout the valley, illuminated the entire valley, emitting a bluish-green glow.

"What is this!?..." Wei Yan's entire face was illuminated in green, and he was utterly astonished, looking like a ghost.

Chu Wushang's eyes widened in shock. "The ultimate form of Yinghuo!?"

The valley is filled with fireflies so densely that each one could transport a person into a dreamlike state. There must be tens of thousands of fireflies in this valley.

It seems that what the scriptures say is true; the ultimate state of Mars can indeed induce thousands of people to dream!
In the blink of an eye, an entire city can fall.

Moreover, even within sects, once someone unleashes the ultimate form of Yinghuo, only those cultivators at the Dongming Realm who have mastered the power of laws can resist it; all disciples below the Dongming Realm will be trapped in the illusion!

The defenses of this endless mountain range crumbled instantly.

Duan Rong's mind stirred again, and the countless fireflies that filled the valley began to swirl and rise, spiraling upwards from the valley towards the sky...

That eerie scene, like a spiritual river, rose between heaven and earth...

A pillar of firefly light, emitting a bluish glow, gradually rose between heaven and earth.

The moment the pillar of light took shape, it vanished mysteriously, as if it had never existed.

Chu Wushang and Wei Yan both withdrew their gazes, turned their heads, and stared blankly at Duan Rong.

As Chu Wushang and Wei Yan looked towards the azure ghost river in the sky, it slowly transformed into a pillar of light and then dissipated. At that moment, Duan Rong had already used his Forty-Nine Transformations of Divine Soul to examine Chu Wushang.

After Duan Rong mastered the twenty-second level of the Womb Treasury Sutra, his divine sense underwent a qualitative change. He could use his divine sense to probe Chu Wushang, but Chu Wushang could not perceive him at all.

After examining Chu Wushang, Duan Rong confirmed that Chu Wushang had not been infected with the Nightmare Seed.

It should be noted that Chu Wushang had been following Lü Yinlin for hundreds of years and was considered Lü Yinlin's most trusted confidant. Lü Yinlin entrusted many important matters and secrets to Chu Wushang.

However, Chu Wushang was not implanted with the Nightmare Seed.

A deep look of contemplation flashed across Duan Rong's eyes.

Just then, Wei Yan suddenly said, "Duan Rong, the Ancestor instructed that if you wake up, you must go to see him immediately."

Chu Wushang originally wanted to ask Duan Rong a few more questions about the Womb Sutra, but since Wei Yan had already spoken, he had to stop talking.

Duan Rong's eyes flickered, and he asked, "Has the Ancestor been here?"

Chu Wushang said, "You sat here cross-legged for a full thirty-three days without moving. I was worried about you, so I called the Ancestor to come and check on you."

Duan Rong responded with an "oh," his eyes flickering slightly.

He suddenly thought of a question: the secret manual of the Womb Sutra contains a soul technique that can turn people into puppets by weaving a nightmare bell. Wouldn't it cause panic if such a complete manual were passed down like this?
For example, after he figured out what the manual meant, his first reaction was to check whether he had been infected with the nightmare seed.

Duan Rong was thinking this when he suddenly thought of a possibility. He looked at Chu Wushang and said, "Mr. Chu, may I borrow your secret manual of the Womb Treasury Scripture for a look?"

Chu Wushang frowned and said, "Don't you have one? Why do you need to see mine?"

Duan Rong asked, "Mr. Chu, can you understand the scriptures on the twenty-second level?"

Chu Wushang said frankly, "I've only reached the twelfth level, so naturally there are many details I don't understand."

Duan Rong said, "How about I explain it to Mr. Chu?"

Chu Wushang's eyes flickered slightly; he really wanted to know what the twenty-second layer of scripture meant.

Wei Yan suddenly became serious and said, "The Ancestor said that once you wake up, you should go see him immediately."

Duan Rong said, "I know, it won't make a difference if it's just a little while longer."

Chu Wushang had already spread out his animal hide manual, and Duan Rong leaned over and looked down intently.

He couldn't help but feel a pang of surprise. Sure enough, Chu Wushang's beast-hide manual didn't contain any description of the Heart-Eating Seed at all; instead, it directly obliterated the existence of this soul-devouring technique.

Duan Rong pointed to the scriptures and explained the forty-nine transformations of the divine soul on the twenty-second level to Chu Wushang!
He was told that these changes were changes in the state of his soul.

In other words, the first twenty-one layers of the Womb Sutra all increase the strength of the soul, while only the twenty-second layer of the Womb Sutra does not increase the strength of the soul, but rather the various changes in the state of the soul.

Chu Wushang listened with a mixture of understanding and disbelief, but he was still quite impressed.

After Duan Rong finished his explanation, he suddenly stood up and said with a smile, "Alright, Mr. Chu. I'm leaving now. Thank you both for protecting me."

After Duan Rong finished speaking, he bowed to Chu Wushang and Wei Yan, then transformed into a black streak and shot out of the valley.

The moment he flew out of the valley, he was still thinking that his and Chu Wushang's complete Womb Sutra were actually different.

The book in his hand was clearly the true complete Womb Sutra, while Chu Wushang's book had the Soul Devouring Seed technique removed.

Their sutras were all personally taught by their ancestor, Lü Yinlin. Why did Lü Yinlin do this?
In the cool moonlight, Duan Rong arrived at the entrance of Lü Yinlin's cave.

He stood motionless at the entrance of the cave. It was the dead of night, and if the ancestor did not call him, he would stand there until dawn.

A few breaths later, Lü Yinlin's deep voice came from the depths of the cave. "Come in."

Upon hearing this, Duan Rong stepped inside.

He walked into the depths of the cave and knelt down before Lü Yinlin, who was sitting by the stone table, saying, "Disciple Duan Rong pays respects to the Ancestor!"

"Get up."

Upon hearing this, Duan Rong stood up. Lü Yinlin glanced at him and asked, "Have you already mastered the Forty-Nine Transformations of the Divine Soul?"

Duan Rong replied, "Yes."

Lu Yinlin said, "Then you should have already checked. Neither you nor Chu Wushang have been implanted with the Nightmare Seed."

Duan Rong's eyelids twitched, feeling as if his secret thoughts had been exposed.

Lu Yinlin smiled and said, "To be honest, I have indeed woven quite a few Nightmare Seeds over the past thousand years. There are also many of my puppets on various mountains in this sect."

"If that weren't the case, do you think I would truly be content to stay in this secluded valley, living a life of quiet seclusion and detachment from worldly affairs?"

"I am the patriarch of this sect, and this sect must be firmly controlled in my hands."

(End of this chapter)