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

Since the spirit of the deity statue with four thousand years of incense offerings before him could not be devoured for the time being, Duan Rong had a thought and appeared above the river like a ghost.

He glanced at the rushing river below, and in the next instant, he appeared beside a temple on the west bank of the river, a kilometer away.

When Zhou Can and Ma Genshan saw Duan Rong suddenly appear, they immediately knelt down and bowed.

Duan Rong asked, "Where is that mountain god statue that has been worshipped for a thousand years?"

Upon hearing this, Ma Genshan raised his hand and pointed to a mountain ridge on the opposite bank of the river, illuminated by the moonlight, and said, "It's at the foot of that mountain. Tongbai County is a place where mountains and rivers are intertwined, and there are many mountain god temples, but that one is the oldest, with a history of a thousand years."

Duan Rong looked in the direction Ma Genshan pointed and saw that the mountain ridge looked like a cow's spine under the moonlight. He then grabbed Zhou Can and Ma Genshan and flew towards that mountain ridge.

Duan Rong, carrying the two of them, hovered in the night sky above the side of the mountain ridge. Below the ridge were villages and fields. Ma Genshan was beside Duan Rong. Suddenly, he pointed to the foot of a certain mountain and said, "It's right there."

This place is in the shade of the mountains, where the moonlight cannot reach, but in the darkness, there are indeed mottled, dim yellow lights.

Duan Rong wrapped the two men up and darted toward the light. Landing, he glanced up and saw that it was indeed a mountain god temple built against the mountain. Duan Rong left Zhou Can and Ma Genshan behind and stepped into the mountain god temple, where a simple and unassuming statue of the mountain god stood behind an old incense table.

He glanced at the statue, then walked over and gently placed his hand on it, thinking to himself, "Reading the spirit."

Immediately, a data panel appeared before his eyes.

Artifact: Stone statue of the mountain god

Spirit Rank: 19
Absorption Requirements: Host's mental strength is at level 19 (met)

Devouring effect: Nine hundred years of incense offerings (perfectly comprehend the profound meaning of the passage of time and the changing of the world).

Duan Rong stared at the data panel before him, his brow twitching slightly. "Perfect Realm?! Nine hundred years of incense offerings?!"

He was already a cultivator at the Cave-Nether Realm, and he had no interest in artistic conception, even a perfect artistic conception.

Duan Rong sighed and pulled his hand off the mountain god statue. This guy from Ma Gen Mountain brought up three statues, and two of them had problems.

The statue before him had been offered incense for a thousand years, yet it was only nine hundred years old. Although the age of a statue could inevitably deviate over a thousand years, Duan Rong was still somewhat annoyed.

He walked out of the mountain god temple and slowly approached Zhou Can and Ma Genshan. In the dim light of the temple, both men could see that Duan Rong's expression was grim and solemn. Ma Genshan's heart skipped a beat; this mountain god temple was recorded in the county annals—surely something couldn't have gone wrong?

Duan Rong glanced at him and said, "This mountain god statue has been worshipped for nine hundred years. On Magen Mountain, there is only one city god statue that has been worshipped for two thousand years. If there are any more problems, the Guanhe River and Tongbai Mountain will be your burial ground."

Ma Genshan's face turned ashen instantly, and a deep fear welled up in his eyes.

Zhou Can's expression was also somewhat unpleasant. He clasped his hands and said, "My lord, I have failed to manage my subordinates properly and am guilty of negligence."

Duan Rong didn't say anything, but swept the two of them up and disappeared from the spot, flying towards the dark city not far away.

While searching for Ma's tofu above the city walls, Duan Rong had already used his divine sense to scan the City God Temple in the southern suburbs.

The three figures suddenly appeared under a large locust tree. In the dappled moonlight, a temple could be seen not far away.

Duan Rong asked, "Is it this City God Temple?"

Ma Genshan replied, "Yes, sir, this is the place."

Duan Rong's figure vanished suddenly, like a ghost. The next moment, a dark shadow appeared in the City God Temple, whose doors were tightly closed.

Unlike the Dragon King Temple and Mountain God Temple in the suburbs, the City God Temple in this city has a temple keeper and closes at night.

Even though the City God Temple was closed, a small, ever-burning lamp still burned before the incense table. Duan Rong slowly walked around the incense table and came to the City God statue behind it. He placed his hand on the statue and thought to himself, "Read the spirit of the artifact."

Artifact: Stone statue of the City God

Spirit Rank: 21

Absorption requirements: Host's mental strength is at level 21 (met).

Absorption effect: Two thousand years of incense offerings (initial understanding of the complex laws of time).

Duan Rong's gaze lingered briefly on the two thousand years of incense offerings and his initial understanding, then he thought to himself, "Devour!"

Under the big locust tree outside the City God Temple, Ma Genshan felt very frightened. He turned his head to look at the street, which was shimmering with a dim light under the moonlight.

Zhou Can glanced at him and said, "Don't even think about escaping. You've seen what the adults are capable of."

Ma Genshan breathed a sigh of relief. He had really been thinking about it just now, and with two statues of gods having flaws, he couldn't help but feel apprehensive.

Just as Ma Genshan regained his composure, Duan Rong suddenly appeared.

Under the moonlight, the figure appeared sinister and held the power of life and death. The moment Ma Genshan saw the figure, it was as if he had seen the King of Hell, and his knees went weak.

Duan Rong said, "There's nothing wrong with this statue."

Upon hearing this, Ma Genshan felt as if he had been granted a pardon and wiped the cold sweat from his forehead.

Duan Rong looked at the two men and said, "This matter in Yuanyang Prefecture is now over. The investigation of the statue is a secret. If either of you dares to divulge a single word, I will personally eliminate you."

Duan Rong's tone was calm and his voice was not loud, but in the cold moonlight, Zhou Can and Ma Genshan felt a chill run down their spines. Just as they were about to reply, Duan Rong's figure had already disappeared like a ghost.

Ma Genshan's teeth chattered, and he asked in a trembling voice, "Sir... has he left?"

Zhou Can said, "They must have left."

In the moonlight, the two looked at each other, fear welling up in their eyes.

For Duan Rong, the matter of Yuanyang Prefecture was indeed over. In Yuanyang Prefecture, only Xiangu County and Tongbai County had statues of deities that had been worshipped for over a thousand years; the other counties had statues that had been worshipped for only a few hundred years.

Duan Rong's figure suddenly appeared outside Tongbai County, and then transformed into a black light, shooting into the depths of the rolling Tongbai Mountains under the cold moonlight.

He had just devoured a spirit that had been burning incense for two thousand years, so he planned to digest and absorb the spirit deep in the desolate Tongbai Mountains before heading to the next prefecture.

Duan Rong's figure hovered in front of a cliff, with a primeval forest of jagged rocks under the moonlight behind him. With a slight movement of his eyes, he used the power of law to carve a stone cave in the cliff.

Large shards of stone turned into dust and drifted in the night wind.

Duan Rong entered the stone cave and sat cross-legged in the deepest part, where he remained for more than a month.

Late that night, though there was no moon, the strange rocks in the valley still emitted a faint white light in the darkness. Deep within a cave on the cliff face, Duan Rong suddenly opened his eyes in the darkness.

In just over a month, the spirit of the City God statue, which had absorbed two thousand years of incense offerings in the City God Temple in Tongbai County, has been fully digested and absorbed.

Although the data panel showed that both the one-thousand-year-old incense and the two-thousand-year-old incense represented a preliminary understanding of the complex laws of the moon, Duan Rong discovered, after comparing the two instances of absorption and digestion, that the two-thousand-year-old artifact spirit was still different.

The spirits of artifacts from two thousand years ago not only possess a more complex and diverse array of laws, but their understanding of these laws has also deepened somewhat. Although it is still a preliminary understanding, it is more profound than the law power contained in the spirits of incense offerings from one thousand years ago.

Although he had only devoured two divine artifact spirits, Duan Rong had already vaguely sensed a trend.

The longer the incense burns on an artifact, the more complex and profound the laws it contains. In other words, it gains in both depth and breadth.

Duan Rong only hesitated for a moment before getting up, transforming into a streak of black light, and shooting into the night sky.

Over the past month, more than 20 of the 79 laws within his mind have been deepened to varying degrees. Duan Rong was very much looking forward to seeing where his cultivation would ultimately lead as he continued to absorb them.

What changes will occur in his Insightful Cave? Can he truly use it to directly condense a Nascent Soul and advance to the Nascent Soul Realm?
Qingzhou, in the southwest, is a Miao village.

Yuanyang and Ruyang are both located in the southeast of Qingzhou, and there aren't many statues of gods there that are over a thousand years old. But Duan Rong soon discovered that the Miao villages in the endless mountains of southwest Qingzhou contained many ancient statues of gods.

However, the endless mountains in the southwest are filled with miasma, and the Miao villages live in an ancient and primitive way with little contact with the outside world. Therefore, Zhu He's secular intelligence network did not extend to this area.

Duan Rong had no choice but to search for himself in this endless mountain range.

The reason Duan Rong entered the Miao village, shrouded in miasma and dense jungle, was because Xu Ge, the head of the intelligence system in the neighboring Hongdu Prefecture, saw Duan Rong searching for statues of gods over a thousand years old. Xu Ge told Duan Rong that the Miao tribe had a long-standing tradition of worshipping gods. Who knows how many ancient statues of gods are hidden deep within these endless Miao mountains?

After hearing Xu Ge's words, Duan Rong quickly sneaked into the jungle of the Miao village to conduct an on-site investigation.

The trees here are terrifyingly tall, and there are venomous snakes and insects everywhere. The miasma that permeates the area is even more frightening. The local tribes have lived here for a long time, but they have their own way of surviving.

However, these things meant nothing to Duan Rong, who had reached the Cave-Ming Realm. Nevertheless, he remained very cautious in this place. Strictly speaking, although this Miao Village was a prefecture, it was not part of the Taiyi Sect's territory. This area bordered the Taiyi Sect, the Tianyan Sect, and the Shenyi Sect, making it a no-man's-land.

None of the three sects occupy this area. Firstly, the area is plagued by miasma, and the Miao tribes have lived here for generations, their language and customs being different from outsiders. Secondly, it serves as a buffer zone between the three sects to avoid constant disputes. Even so, conflicts of interest frequently arise among the three sects, and without this buffer zone, the conflicts would only intensify.

Duan Rong had been lying in wait in these deep mountains for more than half a year. Just as Xu Ge had said, there were indeed many ancient statues deep in these endless mountains, which were not only well preserved, but also worshipped by incense offerings from generation to generation.

To Duan Rong, the endless mountains and their dense, miasma-filled forests were like an inexhaustible treasure trove.

On this day, Duan Rong sat cross-legged on the branches of a towering pine tree. Before entering the Miao village's jungle, he had never known that pine trees could grow so tall.

Suddenly, a red-spotted venomous snake, as thick as an arm, appeared above Duan Rong's head, flicking its tongue and raising its head high before lunging at him. The snake's entire body was stretched straight by the rushing head, like an arrow!
Suddenly, a spear flew out and pinned the venomous snake to the branch above Duan Rong's head! At this moment, a bright and beautiful Miao girl walked over, pulled out the trembling spear, picked up the venomous snake, and put it into the bamboo basket at her waist. She glanced at Duan Rong, who was sitting there motionless, and a hint of curiosity flashed in her eyes.

The girl's name was Ayi. Ayi's parents contracted a strange disease and died from boils all over their bodies. The people in the tribe said that Ayi was an unlucky person and was cursed by the gods, and that they would burn her to death.

Ayi had just lost her parents and dared not resist, allowing her tribesmen to tie her to the fire.

The fire was already lit, but Ayi didn't look at the terrifying flames; instead, she gazed tearfully at the sky above. She could see her mother's face in the sky.

Just then, Duan Rong happened to pass by and, unable to bear it any longer, saved Ayi.

The tribesmen watched indifferently as Ayi was engulfed by the flames. Suddenly, without warning, Ayi flew up and transformed into a black streak, disappearing into the depths of the jungle.

At this, all the tribesmen panicked, thinking they had angered the gods. They immediately knelt down in front of the fire and kowtowed repeatedly.

Since then, Ayi has been following Duan Rong. Every time Duan Rong meditates to digest the spirits, she will protect him from the poisonous snakes and insects.

In Ayi's eyes, Duan Rong was a god.

Duan Rong did not explain this point, not because he did not want to, but because he and Ayi could not communicate and he could not explain it.

The two stayed together in the jungle for half a year.

That day, Duan Rong suddenly opened his eyes on that branch.

Ayi was peeling snakeskin when Duan Rong suddenly opened his eyes, startling her, because Duan Rong usually wouldn't get up for a month after sitting down.

But this time, it seemed like only a few hours had passed before he opened his eyes.

Ayi immediately stopped what she was doing and looked at Duan Rong with concern, afraid that something had happened to him.

Although Duan Rong opened his eyes, he seemed not to see Ayi's gentle gaze, his eyes only deep and darting as he pondered his own questions.

This time, he devoured the spirit of a divine statue that had been worshipped for a thousand years, but the complex and varied laws of time contained within that spirit completely dissipated, not a single trace entering his acupoint.

Moreover, Duan Rong was certain that there were more than ten kinds of scattered law powers, all of which corresponded to the law powers within his cavern.

"If it responds, why can't it absorb it?!" A flood of doubts arose in Duan Rong's mind. (End of Chapter)