Chapter 688 - 425: Bitter Cultivation

Duan Rong looked at the data panel that appeared before him, shook his head, and threw the old duster in his hand back to its original place.

A mere Artifact Spirit that hadn’t reached any tier, he wasn’t interested in devouring it at all.

Duan Rong continued to examine the old items in the cultivation chamber one by one, and the results were all the same. He placed a paperweight back on the stone table, his eyes flickering slightly. There were seven cultivation chambers here, yet the number of direct disciples at Yunfu Peak had never reached seven.

The cultivation chamber he was in now might not have been entered by anyone since its construction. Although it was dusty and the artifacts were old, no one had entered, so there were no Divine Soul Marks left to corrode the Artifact Spirit within, making it impossible for the spirit to grow.

As Duan Rong thought about this, his brow suddenly furrowed.

He immediately rose from the stone pedestal, shaped like a waist drum in front of the table, and walked slowly out of the cultivation chamber. He stood silently at the stone gate entrance, looking toward the statue of the Unmoving Bright King not far away.

At this moment, there was an unexpected heaviness in Duan Rong’s gaze. His eyes locked tightly on the statue of the Unmoving Bright King, which stood as tall as two people, and he walked up to it.

Duan Rong gently placed his palm on it and thought to himself, "Read the Artifact Spirit."

Then, in the dim space of the stone chamber, a data panel emitting a faint glow suddenly appeared before his eyes.

Looking at the data, Duan Rong’s breathing hitched slightly. His guess was correct.

The statue of the Unmoving Bright King indeed contained the cultivation technique of the Fetal Concealment Scripture.

Artifact: Unmoving Bright King Stone Statue

Artifact Spirit Tier: Tier Ten

Devouring Requirements: Host’s Spiritual Power Level 10 (Satisfied)

Devouring Effect: Thirteenth Layer of Fetal Concealment Scripture (Incomplete), Fourteenth Layer of Fetal Concealment Scripture (Incomplete), Fifteenth Layer of Fetal Concealment Scripture (Incomplete)

Seeing the word "Incomplete" in the last line of the data panel, Duan Rong’s brow became tightly knitted. He carefully inspected the statue of the Unmoving Bright King, confirming it was completely intact, without the slightest crack.

After a brief moment of consideration, Duan Rong understood the reason behind this.

The fact that the statue contained the Fetal Concealment Scripture’s cultivation technique indicated that someone had once used it to cultivate the Thirteenth, Fourteenth, and Fifteenth Layers of the Fetal Concealment Scripture.

However, the cultivation of the Fetal Concealment Scripture required four statues to form a mandala, which meant this statue was just one-fourth of the whole.

The technique naturally accounted for only one-fourth as well.

"Devour!" Duan Rong quietly commanded, and the data panel before him wavered and dissolved, vanishing into thin air.

Still, to find the complete cultivation technique for the Thirteenth to Fifteenth Layers of the Fetal Concealment Scripture, he needed to locate the other three matching statues. It seemed he would have to find an opportunity to ask Fan Hongjiao and Wu Shidao why this statue was here and where the other three had gone.

However, this wasn’t an urgent matter, as he hadn’t even completed the Twelfth Layer of the Fetal Concealment Scripture yet. For now, the fastest way to enhance his power was to advance his primordial energy realm.

After devouring the Artifact Spirit of the Unmoving Bright King statue, Duan Rong returned to his cultivation chamber.

Wu Shidao had mentioned that the claw and the tail would suffice for half a year of cultivation. Duan Rong decided to devote himself to rigorous cultivation in this chamber for a while. Being a direct disciple of a sect elder meant he had ample resources and excellent treatment. Everything was ready for him; he only needed to focus on cultivation.

Duan Rong walked to a corner of the chamber and gently turned the beast head there.

A narrow stone gate on the stone wall opened suddenly.

A burst of Yin Cold Qi spread out, making the small gate seem like the entrance to a ghost domain, chilling to the bone.

Duan Rong walked cautiously inside, focusing his attention on the Black Jade Pool in the center of the ground. He saw that the claw and the tail within it had turned into rigid ice sculptures.

With a flash of the saber, Duan Rong used his Frost Patterned Phosphor Crystal Saber to carve off a piece of Primordial Beast flesh. Extending his hand, he opened a long, black jade box.

In mid-air, the saber flashed ethereally, and seven or eight thumb-sized pieces of meat fell into the black jade long box, arranged meticulously, without disorder.

Duan Rong placed the cover back on the black jade box and turned to leave.

The black jade box in his hand was indeed chilling, and he drew a thin layer of Heaven and Earth Primordial Qi from his dantian to wrap his hand, but by the time he walked from the small stone chamber to the futon, which wasn’t far, the Yin Cold Qi had already penetrated the Qi, leaving his palm icy cold.

Sitting cross-legged, Duan Rong immediately put down the black jade box. Looking at his right palm, he saw a thin layer of frost had formed on it.

Duan Rong maneuvered the remaining Heaven and Earth Primordial Qi in his dantian, circulating it through the meridians in his palm. Only after a few breaths did the thin frost slowly melt away.

This Yin Cold Qi was truly formidable; no wonder it could seal the Heaven and Earth Primordial Qi contained within the Primordial Beast flesh.

Duan Rong opened the black jade box in front of him. As the box opened, visible tendrils of cold air slowly wafted out and dispersed.

Inside the box, the contents had already frozen into pieces like icy candied hawthorns.

Looking at the "candied hawthorns" in front of him, Duan Rong’s eyes flickered.

Originally, he thought that upon reaching the Primordial Qi realm, he’d encounter more complex alchemy techniques.

He didn’t expect that there would be no need for alchemy at all, reverting directly to the most primitive "eating raw meat and drinking blood" approach.