I Can Devour Spirits-Chapter 110: Divine Soul Skill Originating from the Western Regions
Duan Rong didn’t want to admit it, but seeing that the ink was still wet, he couldn’t deny it even if he wanted to, so he nodded and said "yes."
This acknowledgment was all it took for Ximen Kankan’s expression to change instantly!
He placed the painting on the small table, supported Duan Rong, and pushed him to sit on the Grandmaster’s Chair!
Then, Ximen Kankan actually knelt down in front of Duan Rong and started kowtowing!
He kowtowed so forcefully that the floor tiles resounded with dull thuds!
Duan Rong was taken aback and immediately stood up to support Ximen Kankan, saying, "Young Master Ximen, there’s no need for this! Just give me the potion."
"Master Duan Rong! Don’t stop me! Not doing this would be inadequate to express the surge of my feelings!"
Duan Rong held onto Ximen Kankan, their eyes met, and Duan Rong saw a hint of fanaticism in Ximen Kankan’s eyes!
It was a kind of pure faith that could only be seen in the eyes of religious devotees!
Duan Rong finally understood that Ximen Kankan had a kind of faith towards lust, a worship of carnal desires!
Ximen Kankan shook off Duan Rong’s hand and continued to kowtow, prostrating as he said, "Master! Thank you for allowing me to experience the wonders of the world!"
Ximen Kankan kowtowed several times more before standing up, tears actually glistening in the corners of his eyes!
Duan Rong was greatly astonished!
Only then did Ximen Kankan walk to a cabinet in the corner, retrieved a key from his waist, opened the cabinet door, and took out a gourd, which was only palm-sized!
Ximen Kankan handed the gourd to Duan Rong, saying, "This is the potion!"
Duan Rong took the potion and tucked it away!
Ximen Kankan suddenly took out a stack of silver notes from his bosom, saying, "This is my monthly salary, totaling twelve thousand taels! Consider it the silver coins for purchasing this painting, and I hope the Master will grant me this painting!"
As he spoke, Ximen Kankan glanced at the painting placed on the small table!
"Young Master Ximen is so passionate about this item! There’s no need for silver coins, the potion as an exchange is sufficient!"
"No way!" Ximen Kankan said decisively, "We agreed beforehand! As long as you can produce something better than my erotic painting, the potion is yours for the taking!"
"But now, I want to keep this painting, this is the second transaction! Master, don’t refuse, this amount of silver coins compared to this painting is like a firefly compared to the bright moon, not worth a sneer!"
Seeing Ximen Kankan’s firm attitude, Duan Rong had no choice but to accept the silver notes. From that stack of notes, he pulled out a one thousand taels note and handed it back to Ximen Kankan, saying, "You can’t give me your entire monthly salary, you must leave some spending money for yourself!"
Ximen Kankan waved his hand, saying, "No need! I still have a few hundred taels of pocket money! I’ll invite Jiang Qingyu for a bet when I have some free time, and this month’s expenses will be covered!"
"Master, I won’t keep you any longer! I want to go into seclusion and study this painting carefully!"
"Oh, alright! Then I won’t disturb you! Take your time studying it!" Duan Rong said with some embarrassment in his expression, tucked away the silver notes, and quickly left.
After Duan Rong left, Ximen Kankan closed the courtyard door, stayed alone in the snow-covered dwelling, and stared intently at the painting he held!
In the candlelight, Ximen Kankan’s round face was actually filled with tears!
"A masterpiece! A world-class masterpiece! Light of humanity! So wonderful! So wonderful..."
When Duan Rong stepped out of the West Gate Mansion once more, West Main Street was already illuminated by colorful lights, the night as fluid as water, and the lanterns like stars.
Duan Rong walked hurriedly along West Main Street for a while, then turned into an alley, walking through the dim alley under the cover of night, his eyes sharp as blades!
Duan Rong walked to the courtyard of his former abode, opened the door and slipped inside, quickly latched the door behind him, and swiftly walked into the inner room!
As soon as Duan Rong entered the inner room, his body moved like a gecko, climbing along the wall onto the beam!
With a flicker, Duan Rong left a shadow as he stood in a corner of the beam, crouched down, and removed a wooden cover to retrieve a Human Skin Scroll from the hidden compartment!
Holding the Human Skin Scroll, Duan Rong’s figure suddenly swooped down like a great bird!
He took out a flint to light the oil lamp in the inner room!
Under the dim glow of the oil lamp, Duan Rong took scissors and cut out the relevant part of the first layer of the cultivation technique from the Human Skin Scroll!
Then he retrieved the Sachet given to him by Xiao Baijiao from inside his robe, tucked the part of the first layer’s cultivation technique inside, and pressed it under the herbal contents!
Thereafter, Duan Rong moved once again, returning the remaining Human Skin Scroll to the hidden compartment!
Having finished all this, Duan Rong left the courtyard and hurriedly headed towards the Yuan Shun Escort Agency!
Neither lunch nor dinner had Duan Rong bothered to eat, buying two flatbreads from a street vendor to satisfy his hunger on the way!
Returning to Yuan Shun Escort Agency, Duan Rong passed through the Martial Arts Arena, heading straight back to his dormitory!
Arriving back at the dormitory, Duan Rong locked the doors and windows tightly, lit the oil lamp, and then sat on the small stool, retrieving the Sachet from his attire to take out the Human Skin Scroll!
With both hands clamping the Human Skin Scroll, Duan Rong began to read the first layer of the cultivation technique with focused attention, word by word!
"To cultivate the Fetal Concealment Scripture, one must enter the Sea of Consciousness!"
"And to enter the Sea of Consciousness, a combination of a spell, a Dharma Seal, and a special Breathing and Exhaling Technique is required!"
Expressing a solemn concentration, Duan Rong’s gaze flickered, and it took him nearly an hour to silently memorize the spell, Dharma Seal, and Breathing and Exhaling Technique in the cultivation technique!
Duan Rong lifted his head, knowing that now, to cultivate the Fetal Concealment Scripture, the final procedure was to commence constructing the Mandala!
"The Mandala is composed of the Divine Statues of the Four Great Kings!"
"The Four Great Kings are: Unmoving Bright King, Walking Vajra King, Vajra Yaksha King, Horse-headed Vajra King."
"These Four Great Kings appear in an angry form, looking hideous!"
Duan Rong adjusted his small stool, moving it to the front of the easel. On the Human Skin Scroll were the depictions of the four great Kings, constructing the Mandala was best done with sculptures, tapestries second, paintings least favorable!
According to the cultivation technique, the medium used could affect the speed of cultivating the Fetal Concealment Scripture!
And among sculptures, towering sculptures were considered top-tier, yielding the fastest cultivation speed!
Duan Rong, of course, didn’t have those conditions and could only construct a simple Mandala using paintings as a medium!
Duan Rong, holding a brush, started on the easel to paint the Divine Statues of the Four Great Kings!
Mandala, a phonetic transliteration from Sanskrit, can tell that this Divine Soul Technique of the Taiyi Sect is indeed derived from the Buddhist Sect—Dharma Image Sect!
The Nine Provinces Eight Sects, with the Cyan Sun Sect, dominating two provinces’ territory, was the world’s number one sect!
Among the other seven sects, the only one that could vaguely rival the Cyan Sun Sect was the Dharma Image Sect, sitting on the rich lands of Yongzhou and guarding the gateway to the Western Regions!
Yongzhou is rich, but the Western Regions is a desert, known as the Moheyan Desert.
The Dharma Image Sect’s countless ascetics have been arduously cultivating in the flowing sands for years, caring not about world affairs!
Also due to the Dharma Image Sect’s non-involvement in worldly matters, for thousands of years, a confrontation with the Cyan Sun Sect has never occurred, hence both strong sects can live in peace!
But regarding the Divine Soul Skill, there has always been a saying, which is—The Divine Soul Skill originates from the Western Regions!
Duan Rong painted each of the Four Great Kings’ depictions on sheets and laid them on the bed to dry!
Then, he took out the potion obtained from Ximen Kankan, pouring it into a ceramic basin, the potion contained an unknown substance, exuding a faint fragrance!
Duan Rong dipped a brush into the black potion and started smearing it on the Unmoving Bright King’s painting!
He wouldn’t, like Ximen Kankan, turn the painting into unsightly graffiti, but after some deep consideration, transformed the image into a Mountain and River Map.
The body of the Unmoving Bright King became the main peak, its shoulders the side peaks, and the cross-legged legs formed a lake, complemented by forests and streams in the blank spaces!
A bold and vast Mountain and River Map concealed the depiction of the Divine Statue!
This was the Hidden Mandala that Duan Rong had conceptualized!
