I Can Devour Spirits

Chapter 207: Bearing the Load Over the Cliff

Duan Rong carried a large chest, trekking through the mountains and forests. With such a heavy chest on his shoulders, performing the Cloud Serpent Step became quite laborious.

Duan Rong simply started striding along, just as he had done that day with Shen Ping when they entered the mountains, crossing ridges and peaks.

By the time dusk fell, Duan Rong finally reached the cliff above the cave’s stronghold.

At this moment, the sunset glow was like a vast red veil, covering the valley before him, giving the mountains, rivers, and streams a hazy yet beautiful allure.

Duan Rong removed the heavy chest from his shoulder and wiped the fine sweat off his forehead.

Only then did Duan Rong open the chest and, in the twilight, tally the contents inside.

The lower half of the chest was filled with neatly stacked gold ingots—eighty ingots in total, each weighing twenty taels.

On top of the gold ingots were piled numerous jewels, corals, tortoiseshells, clams, agates, and similar items.

In this world, such treasures were rare and hard to come by; they were even more valuable than gold.

"It seems the Quan family’s entire fortune is here," Duan Rong couldn’t help but exclaim, then picked up a few stacks of large-denomination silver notes from the top and roughly counted them—altogether, they amounted to as much as forty thousand taels.

With this, the six thousand taels registration fee for Ximen Kankan at year-end was no longer a problem at all.

Duan Rong had originally planned to make several trips to the casino and find time to craft a few unique spring palace paintings for Ximen Kankan’s sake, but now it seemed all that effort could be spared.

In the upcoming days, all he needed to do was focus on martial arts practice!

Then, Duan Rong leapt off the cliff. As soon as his body dropped, he drew the Cow Tail Saber, infused it with his inner breath, and drove it into the hard rock face; his form dangled there, his toe kicked a particular spot on the rock wall, instantly showering stone shards as he kicked a pit open.

Duan Rong then pulled out the Cow Tail Saber, causing his body to drop abruptly. He drove the blade into the rock wall once more, kicking out another stone pit.

Then, he moved downwards in order, kicking out a row of stone pits from the top of the cliff to the mouth of the cave.

These were the footholds Duan Rong created by kicking the rock wall to bring the large chest into the cave.

Even though he had achieved the Minor Success Realm of the Cloud Serpent Step, without the footholds, it would be impossible to carry such a heavy chest down the cliff face.

After kicking out the footholds, Duan Rong returned to the top of the cliff. He hefted the heavy chest onto his shoulder and suddenly leapt down from the cliff.

As Duan Rong began to fall, he pointed his toe on the first foothold, his body pausing momentarily before dropping again...

In this way, Duan Rong lightly tapped his toes, pausing continually, descending along the rock face until he finally leapt into the cave.

Landing at the cave entrance, Duan Rong was already drenched in sweat. Although it was only a short distance, Duan Rong realized his exertion had been considerable.

Duan Rong’s gaze flickered suddenly, for he found this was even more exhausting than stance training.

Descending from the cliff along the rock wall not only required bearing a load but also maintaining body balance.

Repeating this climb up and down the rock face from the cliff top seemed like an even more intense cultivation method than stance training.

Reflecting briefly, Duan Rong realized he was not only employing the Cloud Serpent Step Body Technique to maintain balance between the cliffs but was also consuming a considerable amount of his inner breath due to the excessive weight and the act of dropping from the cliff.

However, this cultivation method set high requirements—not only must you possess a Lightweight Body Technique, for otherwise, balancing on the rock face would be impossible, but the weight also needed to be substantial, as insufficient weight wouldn’t result in significant expenditure.

The essence of cultivation is the repeated depletion and renewal of inner breath, renewing after depletion, cyclically and monotonously.

Each round of depletion and renewal imperceptibly strengthens the inner breath, accumulating over time to show progress.

If you can deplete it faster while simultaneously using medicinal aids for quicker renewal, the cultivation of climbing inner breath could naturally accelerate!

Nevertheless, Duan Rong had no time to delve into this issue now; he could only put this newly discovered method aside for further study later.

Duan Rong hoisted the chest, placing it deep within the cave, and then put in a few large-denomination silver notes from his lapel pocket before exiting the cave and heading down the mountain.

Leaving Wild Boar Mountain, Duan Rong traveled through the official road overnight, heading straight for Xianggu County.

Just as the sky brightened, Duan Rong entered the East City Gate, exhausted.

After grabbing some breakfast by the street, Duan Rong returned to the Yuan Shun Escort Agency and inquired about the latest news from the gatekeeper Ma Wentao. Fortunately, nothing had happened at the agency while he was away for those two days.

Returning to Liu’s House, Duan Rong first washed off the dust by the large water jar, then climbed onto the bed naked and fell asleep wrapped in a blanket.

Duan Rong didn’t wake until noon from this sleep.

After waking, Duan Rong freshened up quickly, ate lunch at the escort agency’s mid-courtyard dining hall, then went to purchase some everyday gifts from the street shops before heading to Xiao Zongting’s courtyard.

Entering the rear hall, Duan Rong found Xiao Zongting quietly sipping tea. Xiao Yu, dressed in a verdant water-green gown, was arranging flowers by a table. She glanced at Duan Rong, then turned to her room without a word.

Duan Rong was accustomed to Xiao Yu’s reaction. He glanced at the vibrant roses in the vase on the table before placing the items he brought on it.

Xiao Zongting signaled with a glance, and Duan Rong took a seat opposite him, engaging in casual conversation.

After chatting for a while, Duan Rong moved his sleeve, placing a porcelain bottle on the table between them.

Duan Rong said, "Elder Xiao, this is from Elder Shen before he left."

"He’s returned to the mountains?" Xiao Zongting glanced casually at the bottle, indifferent.

In his eyes, when Duan Rong said Shen Ping left, it must mean he returned to the mountains after healing. Besides, their last squabble, where Shen Ping mocked his limp, still lingered unresolved.

Duan Rong said, "Elder Shen has left Xianggu County to roam about, tending to ailments and helping others in the remaining years of his life."

Hearing this, Xiao Zongting suddenly paused, looking at Duan Rong in shock.

Duan Rong continued, "Inside this bottle are medicines Elder Shen personally concocted. They counteract various poisons and provide relief for certain acute conditions."

Xiao Zongting’s gaze turned complex as he eyed the bottle. He hadn’t expected his old friend to leave like this, especially when they parted on such unpleasant terms.

"Old fool, had I known you were leaving, why would I not have let you win that one?" Xiao Zongting murmured, stroking the bottle, sighing deeply.

Observing Xiao Zongting’s sorrow over his friend’s departure, Duan Rong offered some comfort, chatting on various topics, but seeing Xiao Zongting’s downcast spirit, he took his leave.

Upon leaving, Duan Rong casually took a yellow rose from the vase, which contained seven or eight blooms.

Smelling the fragrant rose in his hand, Duan Rong walked out of Xiao Zongting’s courtyard.