I Can Devour Spirits

Chapter 46: Chapter 46: Soma Flower

Xiao Zongting walked straight into the main room of the backyard.

Duan Rong also carried the bag of potion, crossed the threshold, and stood at the doorway.

The east and west sides of the main room each connected to a room, with curtains hanging down.

At this moment, a faint yellow light was projecting from beneath the curtains on the eastern side, casting a slanted patch of light at Duan Rong’s feet.

That was Xiao Baijiao’s boudoir!

Duan Rong seemed to catch a whiff of a faint fragrance!

In the darkness, Xiao Zongting reached out for a flint, flicked it open, blew on it a few times, and then used the bright flame to light the candles.

The yellow light quickly filled the main room!

Xiao Zongting snuffed out the flint, limped to a Grandmaster’s Chair, and looked at Duan Rong with an angry expression, ”Bring the medicine!”

Xiao Zongting exuded an aura of killing intent, and though angry, possessed the power to startle a hundred beasts with a lion’s roar.

Duan Rong was slightly taken aback, obediently placing the potion bag on the redwood carved flower table beside Xiao Zongting’s Grandmaster’s Chair.

Xiao Zongting opened the potion bag, separating each herb and placing them on the table.

The more he placed, the darker his expression became.

Finally, Xiao Zongting put a small packet of brown-black powder to his nose and sniffed, then he became furious, ”What the hell is this tiger-wolf potion?!”

Xiao Zongting glared at Duan Rong with murderous eyes. ”Come here!”

Duan Rong walked over timidly, like a startled quail.

Suddenly, Xiao Zongting bent down and pressed hard on Duan Rong’s lower abdomen, then raised his hand to press between Duan Rong’s breasts, asking, ”Do these two spots hurt?”

”The Shenque Acupoint doesn’t hurt, but there’s a slight dull pain at the Shanzhong Acupoint,” Duan Rong answered with concern.

At this moment, he realized that the potion might be problematic, hence he honestly told Xiao Zongting about his symptoms.

Xiao Zongting was slightly surprised that this kid knew the human acupoints so accurately.

Shenque is at the Dantian, while the Shanzhong Acupoint is where the chest meridians intersect.

Ever since Duan Rong devoured the Artifact Spirit of the silver needle left behind by Gu Suxiu, he had already become thoroughly familiar with the human meridians and acupoints!

But at this moment, Xiao Zongting wasn’t focused on this; hearing Duan Rong’s answer soothed his dark expression slightly.

”Who gave you the formula?”

”I bought some miscellaneous books at Antique Street, and one of them recorded this formula in the back. I saw it was just right for the Inner Breath Realm Second Level, so I gathered the medicine to try it.”

”What audacity! I thought it was some Jianghu Sorcerer who gave it to you? Turns out it’s just from a miscellaneous book! Who among the decent people writes books?”

Growing angrier the more he spoke, Xiao Zongting glanced at Duan Rong and asked, ”Even if you wanted to use this formula, couldn’t you have brought it to me first?”

Duan Rong looked at the ground and hesitated, ”The Second Miss was so ill, how could you have the time to manage anything else? Besides, I don’t know anyone else!”

Upon hearing this, Xiao Zongting’s anger subsided more than half.

Being the Chief Tutor, he had anticipated that Duan Rong would reach the First Level of Inner Breath in a few days, which is why he gave him the Second Level’s secret manual, but he forgot to give him the formula for it.

On one hand, his mind was troubled at the time; on the other, he thought even if he gave Duan Rong the formula, he had no money to buy medicine.

This Inner Breath Second Level supplement isn’t something an Apprentice Escort Master, earning three silvers a month, can afford.

He was actually considering applying for a separate cultivation allowance for Duan Rong, but Xiao Baijiao’s situation left him without time to spare.

Ultimately, this was also his dereliction as the Chief Tutor.

”How many doses of this medicine have you taken?”

”Just one dose.”

”When did you take it?”

”At the hour of Yin, three days ago.”

Xiao Zongting nodded, continuing, ”How many hours did you practice standing each day these past three days?”

”Nine hours.”

Xiao Zongting’s face showed no emotion, but his heart was greatly shaken!

Such a potent potion, yet Duan Rong’s Dantian was unharmed. Naturally, it was because he only took one dose, but more importantly, the fierce cultivation after taking the medicine had neutralized its overwhelming power, preventing prolonged pressure on the Dantian!

Xiao Zongting understood that it was due to Duan Rong’s intensive cultivation that his Dantian was fortunately preserved.

Still, he didn’t expect Duan Rong to be so extreme, practicing standing for nine hours every day!

And this was based on the premise that he went out to paint for an hour each day, an absolute human machine!

Xiao Zongting’s gaze shifted from initial anger to astonished admiration.

Gifted, obsessed with martial arts, and practicing diligently to the point of madness!

To have such a disciple is a lifelong comfort for this old man!

Xiao Zongting, his doubts gone, pointed at the herbs on the table, speaking to Duan Rong in a calm tone, ”This Bear Gall Powder, Blood Ginseng, and Huang Jing, are all renowned herbs to stimulate Dantian’s potential.”

”Each on its own greatly benefits a Martial Artist’s cultivation.”

”However, using these three herbs together in such large amounts isn’t to unleash the potential of the Dantian, but to destroy it!”

Hearing the words ”destroy the Dantian,” Duan Rong’s heart chilled suddenly!

He recalled that in his self-narrative, Guan Yun also said he had been poisoned, leading to the destruction of his Dantian.

Having his own Dantian destroyed, he painstakingly compiled a book, including a formula designed to ruin others’ Dantian!

It was downright antisocial behavior!

”Malicious! A disgusting maggot!”

Duan Rong cursed inwardly, so angry that his dark face flushed red. ”Elder Xiao, is my Dantian destroyed?”

”Fortunately, there’s no problem! You only took one dose of the medicine, and frenziedly cultivated, keeping the Dantian at the edge of its endurance. But even with such intense cultivation, three consecutive doses of this would surely ruin the Dantian!”

Upon hearing that his Dantian was intact, Duan Rong’s suspended heart finally settled.

”Why then does my Shanzhong Acupoint in the chest have a slight dull pain?” Duan Rong asked with genuine worry.

”Meridians after all are more fragile than the Dantian, and the Shanzhong Acupoint is a confluence of many delicate meridians. Such potent medicine may have slightly injured some of the finer meridians.”

”Can they recover?”

”As long as you stop taking this medicine, they will slowly heal on their own. Those fine meridians don’t participate in the operation when cultivating the Inner Breath Realm, they were overwhelmed only because the medicinal power was too strong.”

The anxious expression on Duan Rong’s face finally eased.

It seemed like this was a close call.

Lesson learned!

At this point, Xiao Zongting picked up a withered brown flower stalk from the herbs, ”This medicinal herb is Somnolence Flower, not cheap either.”

”In medicine, this flower can revitalize the spirit!”

”But using two stalks at once isn’t just about revitalizing the spirit. Such a large amount makes the heart race and makes one lose the ability to feel the pain in the Dantian meridians!”

”The heart racing wildly?” Duan Rong recalled his feelings from two days ago.

”This potion that destroys the Dantian is diabolically concocted. The one who consumes it would feel the strong medicinal power and mental vigor, with no sensation of meridian tearing and Dantian stress!”

”This Guan Yun, no wonder he used an alias. Truly, this is damned! The bastard nearly had you tricked!”

In his heart, Duan Rong fiercely cursed.