I Can Devour Spirits

Chapter 208: The Great Stone Coffin

Duan Rong returned to Liu’s House, took paper and pen, and sat inside the pavilion.

He began to brainstorm, focusing on solving the problem of medicinal permeability.

Duan Rong first used the basic single prescription for the Fourth Level of the Inner Breath Realm given by Xiao Zongting and began adding and adjusting!

From time to time, he would write something on the paper, only to cross it out after a moment’s thought.

Duan Rong pondered deeply, occasionally picking up a bright yellow rose beside the stone table to sniff. The fragrance of summer roses refreshed his mind, alleviating the tedium of deep thought.

Duan Rong repeatedly deliberated inside the pavilion until dusk, finally settling on a plan.

Looking at the paper filled with scribbles and notes, Duan Rong smiled gently, feeling eighty percent confident that the formula would work!

He folded the paper neatly and tucked it into his breast pocket. Glancing at the sky, with dusk approaching, the Huaying Building was likely open.

When Shen Ping left, he left behind three bottles of medicine, one of which was for Hu Huanhuan.

Duan Rong arrived at Huaying Building just shortly after it had opened.

He handed the bottle to Hu Huanhuan, conveying Shen Ping’s intentions and his final words.

Hu Huanhuan listened quietly, her eyes losing their luster instantly.

Duan Rong knew that the relationship between Shen Ping and Hu Huanhuan was far more complex than that of ordinary lovers. Unsure of how to console her, he quickly took his leave after speaking.

After leaving Huaying Building, Duan Rong went to the Herbal Shop to buy the herbs needed for brewing medicinal soup, carrying twelve large and small bags back to Liu’s House.

Upon returning, he did not immediately begin brewing, as he was still waiting for ingredients from the slaughterhouse’s morning market.

He placed the bags of herbs inside the house and began a standing meditation in the courtyard, lasting until midnight before going to bed.

Early the next morning, with the sky barely bright, Duan Rong woke up.

After washing in the courtyard, he bought a few buns on the street and ate while heading toward the slaughterhouse market in South City.

At the market, he bought fresh cow’s blood, a newly skinned bloody dog hide, and some animal innards.

Carrying these bloody items, he returned to West Main Street and bought a large earthenware pot from a porcelain shop at the corner.

He cradled the pot, placed the items inside it, and returned to Liu’s House.

Back at Liu’s House, he set about brewing the medicine.

First, he cleaned the bloody items, boiled herbs, then lit a fire in the makeshift stove in the yard, placing the pot on it.

When the water in the pot boiled, Duan Rong added the cleaned dog hide, letting it stew over high heat...

As the herbs finished boiling, Duan Rong poured both the steeped herbs and their liquid into the pot of stewing dog hide.

After simmering for an hour, adding water several times, he watched as the medicinal soup changed color. Then he added the cow’s blood and animal innards.

After boiling a few more herbs, he poured their brew into the nearly ready pot.

Two more hours passed, and the medicinal soup in the pot became quite viscous. Yet, it emitted a faint green color, slowly bubbling... its appearance was rather eerie...

"Can this stuff really be drunk?"

Furrowing his brow, Duan Rong hesitated, looking at the soup.

Even though he had devised the plan through a deduction process after devouring the Artifact Spirit and absorbing Shen Ping’s medical insights and extensive knowledge,

and his every step closely followed the deductions, there should theoretically be no problem.

But eyeing the eerie soup in the pot, he dared not drink it.

After hesitating for a long time, Duan Rong felt it was a waste not to try, given the effort involved.

He had to test the medicinal effects.

Using a wooden spoon, he scooped a little of the greenish soup, encouraging himself for quite a while before finally drinking it.

Prepared for the worst, he planned to take one of Shen Ping’s leftover pills in case of poison to stabilize it before detoxifying himself.

With his current expertise in Poison Dao, unless it was First Grade Red, he could even detoxify the once deemed incurable Corpse Rot Poison.

Despite reassuring himself, Duan Rong’s mind uncomfortably flashed the scene of Pan Jinlian feeding Wu Dalang arsenic when the soup neared his mouth.

As the soup entered his stomach, Duan Rong immediately began practicing the Complete Round Pile Skill in the courtyard, projecting his Divine Sense, penetrating his body to scrutinize the soup’s effect, particularly its solution to the permeability issue in Inner Breath circulation.

A quarter of an hour later, Duan Rong suddenly opened his eyes, a delighted look on his face.

"Never judge a soup by its appearance!"

He approached the pot, gulping down three more spoonfuls, then resumed practicing the Complete Round Pile Skill.

While standing in the skillful stance, with his Divine Sense projected outward, penetrating the body, he continued observing the Inner Breath circulation situation within his meridians.

The medicinal permeability issue was entirely resolved.

Even the finest meridians could be penetrated by the drug force, continuously feeding into the Inner Breath.

An hour later, Duan Rong ceased his practice, gauging that the greenish soup had boosted his Inner Breath cultivation speed by nearly one-third!

Far more astounding than he’d expected!

After an hour, the three spoonfuls of soup were almost fully used up in his body. Duan Rong went to the kitchen, retrieved a large black clay bowl, and filled it with the soup, drinking it all in one go.

Then, returning to the courtyard, Duan Rong continued a frantic session of standing meditation until midnight.

Sweating profusely, yet with a joyful heart, he stripped off his clothes, doused himself with cool well water, and scrubbed himself with soapwort.

After a cool bath to dispel the heat, he lay down and slept deeply.

Over three consecutive days, Duan Rong continued this intense standing meditation until he finished the entire pot of green soup, sensing a slight increase in his Inner Breath strength.

He then brewed another large pot of soup...

One morning, at around 7 to 9 a.m., under a clear sky with a gentle breeze.

Thirteen miles north of Xianggu County, beneath a steep cliff of Gu Mountain.

True to its name, Gu Mountain stood isolated, a solitary peak distinct from Wild Boar Mountain’s continuous range!

With steep cliffs east, north, and west, only the south slope was gentle.

Apart from occasional visitors to the south slope, the other sides remained deserted.

Especially the north face of this cliff, incredibly steep, evoking the cries of birds and the wails of apes!

At this moment, Duan Rong stood on the cliff, gazing upward, resolute against the sheer cliff!

With a sudden draw of the Cow Tail Saber, he leaped, channeling Inner Breath, slicing off an entire protruding rock below the cliff.

The saber, sharp and driven by aggressive Inner Breath, carved a smooth separation from the granite, neatly detaching a considerable rock from the mountainside.

Then, Duan Rong, with agile steps and flitting form, used the Cow Tail Saber, infused with Inner Breath, to navigate around the rock, moving up and down.

Before long, he had shaped the large rock into a coffin-like rectangular block.

Gazing at the massive stone coffin before him, Duan Rong sheathed his saber, his eyes flickering with complex emotions.