Chapter 553 241: Inheritance
'However, this kind of "injury" is different from the one caused by the Spiritual Sense Leaf Skill.'
'The "injury" from the Clone Leaf Skill is actually more like a massive drain... exhaustion. But the injury from the Spiritual Sense Leaf Skill is real damage.'
'It's like someone who hasn't slept for several days and nights. When they finally fall asleep, it's like they've fallen into a coma... but that's obviously not the same as a coma caused by a severe head injury.'
'Even if their symptoms are similar at a certain stage—both manifesting as a "coma"—the underlying causes are different.'
'With the former, you just need to sleep it off to recover.'
'But with the latter, you have to actually heal the injury to recover.'
Qin Fang mused as he controlled his avatar, letting it fly in the air for a moment. The avatar then instantly returned to the main hall and re-entered his body.
...A True Gang Avatar is pure energy, so it can pass through most obstacles.
However, it cannot pass through an Array made of Pure Primordial Power.
'It's quite convenient. Once it's successfully condensed, it won't be consumed while inside my body. When I want to use it, all it takes is a single thought, and this True Gang Avatar can emerge...'
Qin Fang sensed the subtle changes in the True Gang within his body.
'Time to continue.'
'Right now, my True Gang Avatar can't even fully solidify into a humanoid form. It doesn't even qualify as a Mind-Residing Avatar, and it can only travel within a hundred meters of my body... According to the description, even a Mind-Residing Avatar can travel up to ten kilometers away...'
Like a child who'd found a beloved toy, Qin Fang immediately resumed absorbing the Yan Gang Stone. He had to cultivate the Divine Gang Mysterious Shadow to First Level Perfection as quickly as possible.
Day by day, time slipped away.
Qin Fang fully settled back into a normal routine.
He first recorded the Fourth Layer of the Profound Nether True Water Scripture into the panel, then slowed his cultivation pace. Of course, it wasn't really a choice. Outside the Secret Realm, he could only cultivate for a short period after midnight, so his progress was naturally slower.
Every few days, he would practice the Spiritual Sense Leaf Skill, continuing to absorb the special substance from the Concentrating Iron Heart Jade to make the Illusion and Reality Shift of his Divine Sense more fluid.
This led Qin Fang to lament once again... cultivating his Divine Sense took up an immense amount of time. An entire day could slip by if he wasn't careful.
He even got another Divine Summoning Hourglass from his martial uncle to ensure he wouldn't lose his sense of time again.
...After six years in the Secret Realm, he'd had more than enough of that feeling.
Next came his other various Leaf Skills... at which point he discovered he was out of money.
The more Leaf Skills he cultivated, the more supplementary materials he needed to exchange for.
Now, he had added the Yan Gang Stone, a notorious sink for contribution points... and even Qin Fang was completely tapped out.
Cultivating all his Leaf Skills to their peak in a short period was impossible. He could only prioritize the most useful ones.
After much consideration, Qin Fang chose two: Mirror Flower Water Moon and the Nine-Layered Abyss Water Armor.
The Third Layer of Mirror Flower Water Moon, which was also its final layer, corresponded to the Condensing Gang Realm.
Now, when Qin Fang used Mirror Flower Water Moon, his figure would transform into a flowing streak of light, moving with an elegant and spiritual grace.
With a single thought, he could leave several afterimages in the air, making it difficult to distinguish the real from the illusory, like something from a dream.
As for the Nine-Layered Abyss Water Armor, its very "material" had changed from True Essence to True Gang, increasing its defensive power by an untold amount.
A single layer was now far stronger than all nine layers had been before.
And he was still adding more layers on top of that.
'Once I reach nine layers...' Qin Fang estimated, 'I probably won't be utterly defeated by a single blast of that Ji Ai Old Ghost's Profound Light again.'
Under these circumstances, his contribution points were naturally insufficient.
Qin Fang posted teaching tasks again. He had basically taken Mirror Flower Water Moon as far as it could go, so he chose to teach Abyss Water Armor instead.
...The complexity of a Body Protection Leaf Skill was also quite high.
Besides, it was a skill that was always in high demand.
Qin Fang's reputation as a Famous Teacher Within the Sect was already firmly established. When he offered an entry-level class, over two hundred disciples signed up immediately.
...Though it was nothing compared to the explosive popularity of his Mirror Flower Water Moon classes back then...
But even a mosquito has meat on its bones, right?
What's more, a hundred thousand contribution points... That was almost equivalent to his entire year's fixed stipend. That was hardly a mosquito, was it?
In this way, spring passed into autumn. In the blink of an eye, half a year had gone by.
Feeling the distinct changes of the seasons and the cycle of day and night, the sense of dislocation Qin Fang had felt after his six years in the Secret Realm finally faded away completely.
One day at noon, he was, as usual, calling out names to provide guidance on the entry-level Abyss Water Armor.
As he went down the list.
"Xu Nianzhen..."
He called out the name, pausing for a moment in surprise.
A pretty young woman answered, her voice a mixture of respect and excitement, and she trotted over from the edge of the crowd in the square.
Qin Fang looked up and saw a face that was at once unfamiliar and yet somewhat familiar.
...It was Xu Nianzhen, who had taken the Martial Arts Examination in the same year as him.
She had also been one of the twelve ranking disciples.
She had entered the Sect at the same time as him. Had it been... ten years already?
The thought of ten years passing sent even Qin Fang into a daze.
'So much time has passed without me even realizing it...'
Xu Nianzhen hadn't changed much compared to ten years ago, though her aura was stronger... Clearly, she had successfully pushed open the Divine Gate and stepped into the True Essence Realm.
As she looked at the Qin Fang before her, a complex mix of emotions surfaced in Xu Nianzhen's eyes.
...They had clearly entered the Sect together, yet their current statuses Within the Sect were as different as heaven and earth.
Her own aptitude wasn't weak; otherwise, she would never have become one of the twelve ranking disciples that year.
But within the vast Heavenly Gang Wuji Sect, it was nothing special.
Thus, even now, she was still just an Inner Sect Disciple... provisionally assigned under an Elder of the Jinghong Lineage.
Yet Qin Fang—the very same person whose status had been so far beneath hers back at the Post House—had risen meteorically. Not only had he become a Hall Master's True Inheritance disciple long ago, but his subsequent accomplishments had made his name renowned throughout the entire Heavenly Gang Wuji Sect.