Chapter 551 240: Clone
As for anything else... Qin Fang had no need for it at the moment.
That included the Leaf Skill of the Li Fire Nature. After some thought, he decided against getting it.
After leaving the Scripture Pavilion, Qin Fang headed straight for Guiyuan Valley.
The moment he arrived, a behemoth pounced on him.
Qin Fang froze and immediately shouted, "Stop!"
But the creature paid him no mind, its large, warm tongue instantly slobbering all over him!
Qin Fang: "..."
He growled through gritted teeth, "Xile!!"
...It was indeed Xile, whom he hadn't seen for six years!
Hearing Qin Fang's exasperated voice, it just panted happily, its tongue lolling out...
Xile seemed to have grown even bigger.
It was nearly ten meters long now.
And... it had gotten a lot fatter!
...In the past, Qin Fang would have found Xile's size terrifying.
But after witnessing the massive, kilometers-long body of that great fish, Xile... didn't seem so big anymore.
Xile was overjoyed, rubbing against him and licking him nonstop.
Finally, with a sigh of resignation, Qin Fang could only pat its head again.
This only made it happier.
"Senior Brother."
"Senior Brother Qin."
Many disciples from Guiyuan Valley saw Qin Fang and hurried over to greet him respectfully.
Qin Fang smiled and nodded at them in return.
"You've all taken good care of Xile... It feels like he's put on a lot of weight."
Qin Fang said with a laugh.
The disciples all laughed.
Xile tilted its head, panting happily with its tongue out.
Qin Fang took a rare moment to play with him for a while.
Which made him so happy he was beside himself with joy.
After playing for a little while, Qin Fang went to find his senior sister and Master Fan. He wanted to ask where he could obtain Yan Gang Stone.
This wasn't the first time Qin Fang had seen Master Fan since his return. Master Fan had visited him while he was recovering from his injuries.
So, he naturally knew a few things about Qin Fang's current situation.
Hearing his question, Master Fan laughed. "You've got some nerve. As Hall Master Guiyuan's True Inheritance, you don't even know what resources our own hall manages?"
"Huh?" Qin Fang blinked.
His senior sister gently explained from the side, "Although Yan Gang Stone is an ore, its main purpose is for cultivation, so it can also be considered a type of 'medicine'... That's why it's managed by the Hundred Herbs Courtyard."
Understanding dawned on Qin Fang.
He then said, a bit sheepishly, "Well, it's not like I've ever had to deal with it before..."
Master Fan just smiled and shook his head.
They chatted for a few more moments before Qin Fang took to the air, heading for the Hundred Herbs Courtyard.
When the Elder of the Hundred Herbs Courtyard heard the reason for Qin Fang's visit, he didn't make a fuss and simply asked how much he wanted to exchange.
Qin Fang inquired about the price.
The answer was just as he'd expected. Because Yan Gang Stone could extend the duration of True Gang, even many Elders who had already mastered the Condensing Gang Scripture still used it. As a result, supply truly couldn't meet demand.
Therefore, not only was the price exorbitant...
...but everyone was also subject to a quota.
The quotas were determined by the total amount of ore mined each year.
In other words... he could only exchange for his allotted amount of Yan Gang Stone for the year.
Any amount beyond that...
...they wouldn't give it to him, even if he had the contribution points.
After all, everyone needed this stuff.
And it was incredibly scarce.
Qin Fang felt a little dazed hearing this.
'Have I, without realizing it, started dealing with high-level cultivation resources?'
Take True Essence Pills, for example. He could buy as many of those as he wanted.
It was the same for all sorts of other supplementary medicines.
This 'Yan Gang Stone'... was the first Treasure he had come across that was subject to a 'quota'.
...However, as the Hall Master's True Inheritance, Qin Fang's quota was naturally quite high.
It was only one tier below that of the Sect Leader and the Six Hall Masters.
"What's my quota?"
Qin Fang asked the Hundred Herbs Courtyard Elder curiously.
"As the Hall Master's True Inheritance, your quota is quite high... Based on this year's output, you have a quota of seventy jin for the year."
The Elder said with a gentle smile.
"Seventy jin? That's it?" Qin Fang blinked.
The Elder stared in surprise for a moment, then shook his head helplessly. "You have to understand, an ordinary Inner Sect Disciple at the Condensing Gang Realm only has a quota of ten jin this year. An Elder's True Inheritance only gets twenty jin. We Elders are a little better off, but we only get fifty jin... and you have a full seventy. The Hall Masters themselves only get a hundred jin... and you think that's a small amount?"
Qin Fang was taken aback. 'Even a Hall Master only gets a hundred jin?'
"Alright... so what's the price?"
"Since it's a rationed resource, there are no discounts. It's ten thousand contribution points per jin... and that's the same price for everyone, including the Hall Masters."
"Ten thousand per jin?!"
Qin Fang's eyes went wide with shock. "It's that expensive?"
"There's nothing to be done about it. Yan Gang Stone is incredibly useful to anyone who has mastered the Condensing Gang Scripture... These are the Sect's rules."
The Elder said with a helpless shrug.
Qin Fang was speechless.
He checked his Identity Token. 'I've still got about eight hundred thousand contribution points.'
After a moment's thought, he sighed. "Fine, fine... I'll take my whole quota for the year."
This Yan Gang Stone was very important; it could significantly increase the resilience and duration of his True Gang.
It was also essential for cultivating the 'Divine Gang Mysterious Shadow'.
Not getting it wasn't an option.
He might as well go all in.
The Elder wasn't surprised. After all, who in the entire Sect didn't know how adept Qin Fang, the Hall Master's True Inheritance from the Guiyuan Lineage, was at earning contribution points?
Soon enough, Qin Fang received seventy jin of Yan Gang Stone.
At first glance, the Yan Gang Stone resembled limestone and looked rather fragile.
Its surface was coarse, making it look no different from a common rock on the roadside.
But within the stone, streaks of light swam about like threads, instantly giving the object a mystical quality.
The seventy jin of Yan Gang Stone came in four large, unevenly sized chunks.
Qin Fang transferred the contribution points, bid farewell to the Hundred Herbs Courtyard Elder, and carried the Yan Gang Stones—which had cost him a steep seven hundred thousand contribution points—back to Linyuan Peak to figure out how to use them.
Back at Linyuan Peak, Qin Fang moved the stones into the main hall.