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

"The Garbhadhatu Mandala?!"

Duan Rong could sense from the name that this technique had a deep connection with the Womb Realm Sutra. His eyes flickered, and he asked, "Is the soul-binding secret technique of the Womb Realm Mandala of the Dharma Aspect Sect more powerful than the Womb Realm Sutra?"

After all, it's the original technique, so it should be even more powerful.

Lu Yinlin said, "The Garbhadhatu Mandala actually only has 21 layers. Tens of thousands of years ago, after the founder of the sect obtained this technique from the Faxiang Sect, he deduced and removed the Buddhist techniques from it. Then, based on these 21 layers, he created the 22nd layer of the Divine Soul Technique. This is the complete Garbhadhatu Sutra."

"The reason why our sect's Garbage Sutra is so difficult to cultivate is that it was originally created by Master Ci'en by combining Buddhist techniques. After removing the Buddhist techniques, even the most brilliant and talented founder could only manage to patch it up."

Duan Rong's eyes widened in disappointment. "This Garbhadhatu Mandala only has 21 layers?"

He didn't care at all whether it was difficult to cultivate or not; the key was that it was only level 21, which was just like the Womb Sutra! The ancestor had talked for so long, but it was all for nothing.

Lu Yinlin naturally understood the meaning behind Duan Rong's words, and said, "The Faxiang Sect also has another secret technique for the soul."

"There's another secret technique for the soul?!" Duan Rong's eyes, which had dimmed, lit up instantly. This was exactly what he wanted to grasp.

Lu Yinlin said, "That's right. Otherwise, even if all the experts from the Nine Provinces gathered at the Faxiang Sect, could they really force Master Ci'en to hand over his cultivation technique?"

Duan Rong's face showed a look of astonishment as he asked, "Master Ci'en has gathered at the Faxiang Sect from all over the Nine Provinces to pressure him?!"

Lu Yinlin nodded and said, "Although the matter of Master Ci'en creating the Divine Soul Technique was kept secret, it was gradually known to the other seven sects over time. Wei Ya, the founder of Qingyang Sect, then contacted the other sects and joined forces with the founders of the seven sects to besiege Master Ci'en of Faxiang Sect. At that time, Lan Rushui, the founder of Taiyi Sect, was also among them."

As Duan Rong listened to these dramatic events from tens of thousands of years ago, he couldn't help but ask, "Who won and who lost between the Seven Sect Masters and Master Ci'en?"

Duan Rong originally thought that Master Ci'en had lost, which was why he handed over the soul cultivation technique of the Womb Realm Mandala. However, Lü Yinlin said, "Master Ci'en fought against seven opponents and did not lose."

Duan Rong felt a surge of emotion.

No wonder that for millennia, the Faxiang School has dominated the Western Regions, and no matter how the seven schools rose and fell, none dared to set foot across Yanmen Pass. The profound understanding of the Faxiang School can be glimpsed simply from the realm of Master Ci'en.

Lu Yinlin continued, "Although Master Ci'en was not afraid of the siege by the seven patriarchs, he still passed on the secret technique of the soul of the Garbhadhatu Mandala to the seven patriarchs in order to quell the conflict. After obtaining the Garbhadhatu Mandala, the seven patriarchs dispersed."

Duan Rong said, "Master Ci'en has a broad mind and foresight. The Divine Soul Secret Technique is derived from the remnant of the Divine Soul. If the Faxiang Sect monopolizes this Divine Soul Technique, I'm afraid there will be no peace for ten thousand years."

Lu Yinlin looked at Duan Rong and nodded with satisfaction, saying, "That's right. Master Ci'en saw this point, which is why he passed on the Womb Realm Mandala to the founders of various sects. The founders of each sect removed the Buddhist techniques from it, combined it with their own techniques, and re-examined it, thus creating the soul techniques of each sect. Although they are different, they are all still within the framework of the Womb Realm Mandala."

Duan Rong said, "But Ancestor, you just said that the Dharma Aspect Sect has another secret technique for the soul."

Lu Yinlin said, "The reason why Master Ci'en was willing to hand over the Garbhadhatu Mandala is because the Faxiang School has an even more powerful secret technique of the soul, the Great Vajra Mandala."

"The Great Vajra Mandala?!" Duan Rong repeated the name, a cold glint flashing in his eyes. "Even more powerful?!"

Lü Yinlin said, "The Garbhadhatu Mandala has 21 layers. But this Great Vajradhatu Mandala is said to have 28 layers."

"Twenty-eight layers?!" Duan Rong calculated, which was seven layers more than the Fetal Treasury Scripture. If each layer could increase his spiritual power level, he could currently devour the spirit of a divine statue that had been burning incense for three thousand years. With seven more layers, he could devour the spirit of a divine statue that had been burning incense for ten thousand years. If he could obtain the cultivation technique, reaching the Nascent Soul Realm should be a piece of cake.

Lu Yinlin said, "Later, the patriarchs of various sects also heard about the Great Vajradhatu Mandala. They knew that Master Ci'en had kept it hidden. However, firstly, even though the seven of them joined forces to besiege him, they failed to defeat Master Ci'en. Secondly, although Master Ci'en had kept it hidden, he also handed over the 21-layer Garbhadhatu Mandala. So the matter was settled and no one asked about it again."

Duan Rong's eyes flashed, and he suddenly asked, "May I ask, Ancestor, besides Master Lingji, does the Dharma Aspect Sect have any other Nascent Soul Realm experts?"

Duan Rong also knew that Master Lingji was the only Primordial God Realm cultivator in the Nine Provinces, and thus the number one person in the Nine Provinces. But did the Dharma Aspect Sect have any other experts?
Duan Rong's question revealed his intention to steal the cultivation technique, a fact that Lü Yinlin was well aware of. However, his earlier words were actually intended to dissuade Duan Rong from such a thought. Lü Yinlin glanced at Duan Rong and said, "Besides Master Lingji, the Dharma Aspect Sect also has two Nascent Soul Realm experts."

"There are two more Nascent Soul Realm experts!?" Duan Rong's face showed a look of astonishment. If the Dharma Aspect Sect had such strength, wouldn't it be able to sweep away the Seven Sects and unify the Nine Provinces if it wanted to?

Lu Yinlin said, "Master Huizhao and Master Daorong are both much older than Master Lingji. It's just that Master Lingji's brilliance is too great, and the Faxiang Sect is located on the western border, so people often overlook their existence."

Lu Yinlin looked at Duan Rong and continued, "Although the Great Vajra Realm Mandala has twenty-eight layers, this divine soul secret technique is deeply integrated with Buddhist cultivation methods. Even if you obtain this secret technique, you will not be able to cultivate it. Duan Rong, I advise you not to have any thoughts about it."

Duan Rong said, "Thank you for your guidance, Ancestor. I understand."

Lu Yinlin nodded. In his opinion, the Faxiang Sect was full of experts, and even if Duan Rong obtained the Great Vajra Mandala, he still couldn't master it without practicing Buddhist techniques. Duan Rong should give up.

When Duan Rong walked out of the secluded valley where his ancestor Lü Yinlin lived, he was indeed feeling somewhat conflicted.

His advantage in stealing cultivation techniques lies in the fact that he can obtain them by devouring the spirits of artifacts, a method that is both secretive and feasible.

This is why, after learning about the Great Vajra Mandala on the 28th floor, he asked the patriarch Lü Yinlin how many masters were in the Dharma Image Sect.

The problem now is that even if one could obtain the cultivation technique by devouring the spirit of an artifact, the spirit containing this secret technique must be a closely guarded secret of the sect. How could one enter without being detected by the experts of the Dharma Aspect Sect?

Leaving aside the many other experts, the spiritual power of Lingji, Huizhao, and Daorong must be far superior to his. They could see through his realm at a glance. If they were to rashly infiltrate the Faxiang Sect, they might not return!
But even knowing that the Faxiang School has the cultivation methods he wants, he would never be willing to give them up.

"It seems that this matter requires further consideration and a gradual approach."

Duan Rong decided to first gather some information about the Faxiang Sect and learn more about it before making any decisions, since he didn't really know much about this sect that was located on the far western border.

However, before that, he had to go to the Court of Imperial Sacrifices.

Although he entered the Elder Council and became the deputy director of the Judgment and Judgment Division, he has completely become a hands-off manager for more than a year, and has not even shown his face, which is really a bit too much.

Duan melted into a black light and headed towards Iron Stone Peak.

He entered the Imperial Clan Court building like a ghost and appeared in his deputy chief's room. As soon as Duan Rong appeared, he saw Ximen Kankan sitting in a grand chair behind a desk, his legs propped up high on the desk, holding a scroll of bamboo slips in his hand, humming a little tune as he read.

Duan Rong coughed lightly and said, "Kankan."

The two legs that had been swaying stopped abruptly, and a head popped out from behind the stretched bamboo scroll. The head was startled for a moment, and then it exclaimed, "You, you still know how to come back?"

Ximen Kankan immediately stood up, threw down the bamboo slip, and jumped in front of Duan Rong. With his hands behind his back, he circled around Duan Rong with a strange look in his eyes, sizing him up.

Duan Rong asked, "What are you doing?"

Ximen Kankan said, "I just don't understand. You just became the deputy commander, how could you just walk away and not show your face for over a year? Is that something a human being would do?"

Duan Rong was speechless for a moment. Ximen Kankan was clearly using different methods to insult him.

However, at this point, he had no choice but to refrain from fighting back or arguing back. After all, he had left Ximen Kankan and Shen Mizhi here to fend for themselves while he made a quick getaway. Moreover, he had been gone for more than a year. If it weren't for the unexpected turn of events with the spirit of the Devouring God Statue, he might still be in the Miao village jungle right now.

Duan Rong asked, "Why are you the only one here? Where is Shen Mizhi?"

Ximen Kankan said, "Shen Mizhi has advanced to the Yuanqi Realm. She's been working on cases with Yang Yi recently."

Duan Rong asked, "Shall we work on cases with Yang Yi?"

“That’s right,” Ximen Kankan said. “You haven’t shown your face for over a year. The two of us have been here like useless people every day. Chief Yang saw that Shen Mizhi’s cultivation level was quite good, and it was a waste to keep her around, so he transferred her to do the work. He only left me, a useless person, here to guard the place.”

As Ximen Kankan spoke, he kept sighing to himself.

Duan Rong said, "Kankan, you've suffered so much!"

Ximen Kankan said, "Stop pretending."

Duan Rong laughed and said, "I'm back now! Why dwell on the past?"

Ximen Kankan also laughed and said, "That's because I'm holding on to it. The sect leader said that as soon as you come back, he'll let you see him. You just need to be able to give the sect leader an explanation."

As Ximen Kankan spoke, he sat back down in the armchair behind the desk and crossed his legs again.

Duan Rong touched his nose; he really did need to go see Zhu He.

He originally thought that this trip might allow him to directly achieve the Nascent Soul Realm, but he didn't expect that after achieving the mid-stage of the Cave of Enlightenment Realm, the spirit of the divine statue, which had been worshipped for three thousand years, would be useless.

Now that I'm back, I should go and have a good talk with Zhu He.

With a thought, Duan Rong vanished from the spot like a ghost.

Ximen Kankan sat there with his legs crossed. After a while, seeing that Duan Rong remained silent, he peeked out from behind the bamboo slips and saw that the hall was empty; Duan Rong was no longer there.

At that moment, Zhu He was reviewing documents on Yunfu Peak when Duan Rong, with a scan of his divine sense, appeared directly in the room.

Zhu He glanced at him, immediately put down the documents, and stared at him with eyes as sharp as knives, asking, "Tell me, where have you been for the past year or so? Do you still want to be the deputy director of the Court of Imperial Clan Affairs?"

It's no wonder Zhu He was angry. He had defied the majority opinion in the Elder Council and appointed Duan Rong as the Deputy Director of the Court of Judgment and Clan Affairs. However, Duan Rong left on his first day in office and was gone for more than a year. This incident caused Zhu He to lose face in the Elder Council.

Duan Rong said, "Master, please don't press me for an answer. Now that I'm back, I will naturally give you an explanation regarding the matter with the Court of Imperial Clan Affairs."

Zhu He's face still showed anger as he continued, "Speaking of the task from the Judgment Department, Yang Sixuan dumped the matter of the Blood Filth Sect on you like a hot potato, and you just took it? The sect has been investigating the Blood Filth Sect matter openly and secretly for many years, but there are still no results. Originally, I was going to use this task to put pressure on Yang Sixuan, but you just took it on directly."

Duan Rong could sense that Zhu He was getting angrier and angrier, so he said, "Master, rest assured, I have been investigating for more than a year and there are some traces of the Filthy Blood Sect."

"Is that so?" Zhu He raised an eyebrow; he had never doubted Duan Rong's abilities.

Zhu He's eyes flickered, and he suddenly said, "Over the past year or so, I've also received some intelligence from spies, saying that you're investigating some kind of idols in various places. To be honest, I haven't figured out what kind of scheme this is."

Duan Rong felt a chill run down his spine. He had instructed his spies not to leak the information about his investigation of the statue, but the news still reached Zhu He.

There's no way around it; that intelligence system was built by Zhu He himself, so how could he not have a backup plan? Even if Fan Yuan is in direct contact with him, he probably has his own spies in various prefectures as well.

This is what you call a perfect combination of orthodox and unorthodox methods, ensuring absolute safety.

Since he's using Zhu He's intelligence network, he can't be afraid of Zhu He finding out his whereabouts. There are no secrets that stay hidden forever.
Duan Rong smiled and said, "I have my own reasons for investigating the statue. Master, rest assured, I have been negligent for the past year. However, now that I have returned, I will not let you down, neither in the Court of Judgment nor in the Council of Elders."

"Good! I'm glad to hear that!" Zhu He said with a relieved smile. Zhu He knew that since Duan Rong had said this, he would never lie to him.

In fact, Zhu He was also aware that he had somewhat pressured Duan Rong to help him seize power from Yang Sixuan in the matter of deciding the position of deputy director of the Imperial Clan Court.

He could understand Duan Rong's initial resistance, but now that Duan Rong had spoken, Zhu He felt reassured and said, "Duan Rong, do it your way. I won't interfere."

"Yes, Master." Duan Rong clasped his hands and said, "Then this disciple will take his leave."

Zhu He said, "Go."

Duan Rong bowed to Zhu He. As he bowed deeply, his figure vanished like a ghost. (End of Chapter)