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

"I, Shang, am deeply grateful for your assistance, Your Excellency!"

Shang Xiangyu knelt down again. Ding Ze walked up to him, raised his hand to help Shang Xiangyu up, and said, "Pharmacist Shang, there's no need for such formalities."

Suppressing the greed in his eyes, Shang Xiangyu said, "Seeing the envoy is like the presence of the sect leader himself; the proper etiquette cannot be disregarded."

Ding Ze smiled and said, "This batch of Blood Devouring Pills is something the Sect Leader urgently needs for his cultivation. Now that we have them, I won't linger here any longer. Pharmacist Shang, see you another day!"

After Ding Ze finished speaking, he turned and walked out of the cave.

"Respectfully seeing off the envoy!" Shang Xiangyu called out. Seeing Ding Ze's figure emerge from the cave, he also went out. He found that the space outside the cave was empty, with no sign of Ding Ze.

Shang Xiangyu turned his head and glanced at the followers who were still kneeling on the ground. He said, "You have all worked hard these past few days. Go and rest."

Upon hearing this, the followers felt as if they had been granted a pardon. After kowtowing and thanking him, they pushed and shoved their way out of the cave. Many of them were already exhausted and their steps were unsteady.

After everyone left, Shang Xiangyu walked to a corner of the cave, pressed the huge black rock down again, and then pushed back the gushing lava.

The magma in the tunnel, having lost its replenishment, gradually dimmed.

Shang Xiangyu walked to the large rock not far from the medicine furnace, sat down cross-legged, let out a long sigh, and muttered to himself, "After waiting for so many years, I'm finally going to get the fourth level of the Filthy Blood Divine Art."

Ding Ze stepped out of the stone wall. In the darkness, he glanced up and then moved swiftly towards the other end of the village. He easily evaded the patrols along the way, jumped over the fence, and darted into the dark forest.

Ding Ze leaped among the rocks and forests, quickly emerging from the ravine, leaping over a pine tree on the mountaintop, and disappearing into the vast darkness of the night.

Shortly after Ding Ze's figure leaped over the mountaintop, the pine tree on the mountaintop suddenly trembled in the darkness, and the next moment, Duan Rong's figure appeared.

In the darkness, Duan Rong's eyes were clear and bright. He stared at the spot where Ding Ze's figure had disappeared, a cold glint flashing in his eyes.

After only a few breaths of hesitation, Duan Rong moved swiftly and set off in pursuit of Ding Ze's disappearance.

Based on the conversation between Ding Qinshi and Shang Xiangyu in the cave just now, it can be confirmed that the bottle of Blood Pills was offered to Fu Yi, the leader of the Filthy Blood Cult.

In other words, as long as he follows the trail of this Ding envoy, he can eventually find Fu Yi, who has disappeared in Qingzhou for many years.

Duan Rong hesitated slightly just now because there were still some risks involved.

Because Fu Yi cultivated the Filthy Blood Divine Art, he had already condensed a Blood Infant. Although the Blood Infant was not a Nascent Soul cultivator, its realm was basically equivalent to the late-stage Great Perfection of the Cavern Realm. At the very least, it could easily crush him, a mid-stage Cavern Realm cultivator.

If Fu Yi discovers his pursuit, it could put him in a dangerous situation.

However, Duan Rong ultimately decided to chase after him for two reasons.

The first reason is that he possesses supernatural powers, which are inherited from the divine and demonic imprint, namely the Bloodlight Divine Shadow Escape.

Moreover, he had reached the mid-stage of the Cave of Clarity Realm and cultivated the Embryo Sutra to the twenty-second level. Both his spiritual strength and cultivation level were sufficient for him to unleash the second-tier escape technique of Bloodlight Divine Shadow Escape, namely Divine Shadow Escape.

The second-tier divine escape technique, while consuming a great deal of spiritual energy, allows him to reach speeds comparable to those of a Nascent Soul cultivator. This means that within a hundred miles, he surpasses Fu Yi in speed. However, beyond a hundred miles, his spiritual strength might not be able to withstand the sustained use of the second-tier divine escape technique.

But Duan Rong felt that with a speed exceeding 100 li, even if he were discovered, it should be enough for him to escape.

In addition to that, there is a second reason.

That's due to the influence of the Fetal Treasury Sutra. Fu Yi must also possess the complete true teachings of the Fetal Treasury Sutra, but he's younger than Chu Wushang, and his cultivation of the Fetal Treasury Sutra is at most around the twelfth level. In other words, from the perspective of the Fetal Treasury Sutra, it would be very difficult for Fu Yi to discover him.

It was difficult to find him, and even if he were found, he had ways to escape. These conditions combined led Duan Rong to decide to follow that envoy Ding in pursuit.

Otherwise, following the trail of that Blood Spirit Mushroom, they would have already located several strongholds, including a branch headquarters and Shang Xiangyu's alchemy workshop.

These achievements alone were enough to severely damage the Bloodstained Cult, marking an unprecedented victory for the sect against the Bloodstained Cult in a century. Based on these accomplishments, he was already renowned within the sect, and even within the Elder Council, he was clearly superior to Yang Sixuan.

However, why Fu Yi betrayed the Taiyi Sect remained a lingering question for Duan Rong, and he longed to find out the reason if given the chance. Duan Rong always felt that there seemed to be some secret about Lü Yinlin hidden within it.

Although Ding Ze was at the fourth level of the True Qi Realm, he had almost nowhere to hide under Duan Rong's realm and divine sense lock.

Duan Rong followed him from a distance like a ghost. The two of them crossed two mountain peaks and arrived at an official road outside the mountain range.

A crescent moon hung upside down in the sky, and the official road was deserted in the night.

Ding Ze arrived at a field beside the official road and led out a black steed from a large beech tree. Under the moonlight, the horse's coat gleamed with a faint, cold light.

Ding Ze mounted the black steed and lashed its rump hard with the whip. The horse, in pain, reared up and galloped away along the official road. Ding Ze, of course, didn't notice a dark shadow following him like a shadow in the fields beside the road, several feet behind him…

Ding Ze rode his horse at full speed for three days, passing through two counties and one prefecture. Three horses died along the way, and at each place he went to a horse stable to pick out a new steed.

Late that night, Ding Ze was also galloping wildly on the official road, his whip occasionally lashing the horse's rump. The cold moon overhead was rounder than it had been three days ago, its cold light shining brightly on the deserted road.

The horse's snorting grew increasingly louder, and white foam began to drip from its mouth, yet Ding Ze continued to lash it relentlessly with the whip.

The horse galloped for a while longer, then its front legs suddenly snapped, causing it to fall sideways and crash onto the official road.

The moment the horse tilted, Ding Ze stepped on the stirrups and flew off to the side. He landed gracefully, glanced at the horse lying not far away, convulsing and foaming at the mouth, threw down the whip, and continued along the official road.

Under the cold, silvery moonlight, one could see faintly undulating mountains not far from the official road. They looked dark and seemed close, but as the saying goes, "looking at a mountain makes one's horse run itself to death."

Ding Ze moved at full speed, rushing past on the official road, much faster than when he was on horseback.

About an hour later, Ding Ze suddenly darted off the official road and plunged into a field.

Duan Rong stood in the shadows of the trees, gazing at the rolling mountains behind the field.

"Could it be that Fu Yi has been hiding in these mountains all along?"

Although this mountain is secluded, it is full of experts from various sects. In the past few decades, has no one discovered that he was hiding here?
With these thoughts in mind, Duan Rong darted into the wilderness like a ghost, following Ding Ze into the rolling mountains.

Upon entering the mountains, Duan Rong, with a thought, transformed the divine sense enveloping Ding Ze into a wisp of "divine sense thread" as delicate as mycelium.

He used only this wisp of "divine consciousness" to connect with Ding Ze. Because Duan Rong didn't know where Fu Yi was hiding in these rolling mountains, he enveloped Ding Ze with a large area of ​​divine consciousness. Although Ding Ze couldn't detect him, what if he alerted Fu Yi?

Therefore, Duan Rong only used a wisp of "divine consciousness" to connect with Ding Ze. This wisp of "divine consciousness" had a very limited range of detection; it could only sense the condition of Ding Ze's body, including his voice, but it could not know about the situation around him.

But this was the safest method, and Duan Rong could pinpoint Fu Yi's hiding place simply by observing Ding Ze's physical changes, including his voice. This was because Ding Ze would always kneel and kowtow before the sect leader.

Finding Fu Yi's hiding place while ensuring his own safety is Duan Rong's primary objective in pursuing Ding Ze. Everything else is secondary; the less involved, the safer it is.

For example, Duan Rong would not try to find out about Fu Yi's situation, because the danger level would increase exponentially if he tried to investigate Fu Yi.

Duan Rong and Ding Ze separated by more than a hundred feet, which was the critical range at which the "Divine Sense Thread" could detect clearly. After all, there was only one thread attached to the body, and if the distance was any greater, the detection and monitoring would become blurred.

Moreover, Duan Rong believed that the distance of a hundred zhang should be safe, meaning that if there were any unusual movements, he would have time to escape.

Duan Rong used a wisp of "divine consciousness" to lock onto Ding Ze, following him at a distance as they traversed the mountains and fields.

After leaping over several mountain ridges, Duan Rong stood on the shadowy figure of a boulder atop a mountain peak, watching Ding Ze dart into the valley below in the cold, silvery moonlight.

The fact that Ding Ze darted into this valley, surrounded by sheer cliffs, suggests that it was very likely Fu Yi's hiding place.

Duan Rong stopped pursuing, because Fu Yi was likely somewhere in this valley. He could simply use a wisp of "divine sense" tied to Ding Ze to investigate from afar.

Ding Ze had already disappeared into the shadows of the valley. Duan Rong, standing in the shadow of the boulder on the mountaintop, could no longer see him. He could only sense Ding Ze's physical condition through the "divine consciousness thread" tied to him.

Duan Rong stood in the shadow of the boulder when suddenly a thought struck him, and in an instant, a blurry divine figure appeared behind him.

The divine figure continued to expand, eventually reaching a height of over two zhang (approximately 6.6 meters). Although its outline was quite blurry, it still gave off a ferocious and imposing aura.

The second-tier divine ability of escape is triggered by this divine shadow.

Duan Rong summoned this divine shadow in advance so that he could escape immediately if danger arose.

Ding Ze ran wildly, constantly paying attention to his surroundings, but he naturally never noticed Duan Rong. At this moment, he was even more unaware that a wisp of "divine consciousness" was attached to him.

Ding Ze used his lightness skill to descend the cliff and quickly landed somewhere at the bottom of the valley. The valley was quite deep, and the moonlight slanted into it, only illuminating the middle of the cliff, where it seemed to separate yin and yang.

The bottom of the valley was pitch black.

Ding Ze stood there, and after his eyes adjusted to the darkness for a while, he could make out some things and then he saw a cave at the bottom of a cliff not far away.

Ding Ze walked slowly over, knelt down at the cave entrance, and called out, "Your subordinate Ding Ze greets the Master!"

A few breaths later, a deep, hoarse voice came from the depths of the cave. "Come in."

Ding Ze got up and slowly walked into the dark cave.

Deep within the cave, a dark figure sat cross-legged. Suddenly, the figure flicked its finger, and a force of law struck the stone wall, igniting the wick of an ever-burning lamp.

In the dim light of the fire, one could see a square-faced man sitting cross-legged deep in the cave. His skin was sallow, and his jawline was hard, giving him a sense of solemnity as if carved by a knife.

This man was Fu Yi. He had a thick beard on his chin and lips, and his hair was messy, which was due to his long-term ascetic practice and lack of time to take care of himself.

Ding Ze walked in slowly, and upon seeing Fu Yi, he knelt down again.

Fu Yi coldly asked expressionlessly, "Where are the Blood Devouring Pills?"

Ding Ze presented the porcelain bottle and said, "Pharmacist Shang has lived up to the sect leader's expectations and has refined nine top-grade Blood Food Pills in just one month. I have brought them here to present to the sect leader."

Upon hearing the words "superior grade," Fu Yi's eyes flickered slightly, and the porcelain bottle that Ding Ze was holding suddenly flew up and landed in his hands.

Fu Yi opened the porcelain bottle, sniffed it, and said, "Indeed, it's top-quality. Well done."

Ding Ze echoed, "Pharmacist Shang has indeed made a contribution." He was hesitating when he tried to find a way to bring up the matter of the fourth level of the Filthy Blood Divine Skill.

But at that moment, a thought struck Fu Yi, and suddenly, large patches of fine blood vessels oozed from the pores of his entire body...

The blood streaks, bright red and dripping with blood, exuded a strong aura of blood. They writhed like leeches, sprouting from his sleeves, the corners of his clothes, his hair, and even his ears and nostrils... Then they grew wildly like weeds, spreading across the nearby rock walls like vines in the blink of an eye...

Ding Ze's eyes flickered slightly; this wasn't the first time he'd seen something like this.

The next moment, as if the blood vessels had been peeled off Fu Yi's body, they intertwined and knotted on the rock wall above his head, forming a blood cocoon like a ball of fluff.

Then, the blood cocoon suddenly burst open, and a blood-red infant with its entire body crimson floated down and landed on Fu Yi's head.

This blood infant was as vivid as fresh blood, even its eyes were crimson, and it emitted a strong, pungent smell of blood...

The blood infant looked at Ding Ze with its crimson eyes, and Ding Ze's body involuntarily trembled.

Although it wasn't the first time he had seen a Blood Infant, the Blood Infant's eyes were like those of a demon. Coupled with the strong smell of blood and the Blood Infant's spiritual pressure, even Ding Ze, whose hands were covered in blood, was somewhat disoriented at this moment.

Duan Rong, who was in the shadow of a boulder on a mountaintop outside the valley, clearly felt Ding Ze's brief tremor.

Although he didn't know what Ding Ze felt or why he suddenly trembled, he knew that anything that could make Ding Ze, who was at the fourth level of the True Qi Realm, tremble was definitely extraordinary.

Moreover, he had clearly heard Ding Ze paying respects to the sect leader, and Fu Yi's hiding place had obviously been determined. Now was the time to evacuate.

With a thought, Duan Rong caused the wisp of "divine consciousness" to peel away from Ding Ze and quickly dissipate...

Just as that wisp of "divine consciousness" peeled away and dissipated, the blood infant suddenly let out a soft "Eh," a hint of doubt flashing in its blood-red eyes. Because just a moment ago, it had sensed an extremely subtle fluctuation of divine consciousness, which had vanished instantly.

The blood infant suddenly transformed into a blood shadow and shot out of the cave.

Almost simultaneously, on the mountaintop outside the valley, a strange red light suddenly flashed from the brow of the two-zhang-tall, blurry divine figure behind Duan Rong. The next moment, Duan Rong's figure vanished without a trace.

Almost the instant Duan Rong disappeared, the blood infant's figure hovered high in the sky above the mountaintop, its spiritual pressure spreading out and sweeping across the surrounding mountains and fields... (End of this chapter)