Chapter 504 - 224: Hourglass
Senior Brother Yun, at the Fifth Realm, had a chance of escaping from Master Xuan.
’Even though I don’t specialize in Divine Sense, if I reached the Fifth Realm, I’d probably have a chance of escaping from a Sixth Realm expert like Ji Ai Old Ghost—the kind of opponent even my own Master couldn’t defeat, right?’
’And if it were just their War Gang Avatar, I might even be able to fight and win!’
...In terms of foundation, Qin Fang mused, he shouldn’t be any worse off than Senior Brother Yun.
And he cultivates Divine Sense... ’and now, so do I.’
For a moment, Qin Fang’s thoughts ran wild.
Finally, he took a deep breath.
’Seclusion!’
’I have to go into seclusion!’
At this thought, he rose and headed straight for his Master’s residence.
Only to find that his Master wasn’t there...
’He probably went to the Ancient Well,’ Qin Fang guessed. ’A month has passed, and who knows if there have been any new developments.’
However, judging from the state of the Sect, the likelihood of new developments was low.
With this in mind, Qin Fang decided to just make a trip to Guiyuan Hall.
Xile was at Guiyuan Hall. Upon seeing Qin Fang, it immediately scampered over, panting happily at him.
...It hadn’t seen Qin Fang for quite a while either.
The last time Qin Fang left, he hadn’t brought it along.
And after he returned, he went straight into Meditation for a month...
...But in retrospect, not bringing it along was the right decision.
’Otherwise, that day at the Ancient Well, if Xile had been there, it might have been in danger.’
’...Master’s War Gang Avatar could barely protect me alone, and the avatar was even destroyed.’
This showed that the threat from within the Ancient Well was even greater than that of Ji Ai Old Ghost last time.
’If Xile was there, Master might not have been able to protect it.’
Stroking Xile’s head, Qin Fang thought, ’This time... I won’t bring it either.’
’Although bringing Xile along could indeed save me some stamina...’
’But with the Three Religions causing trouble outside, danger could appear at any moment.’
’I have Master’s War Gang Avatar, so it won’t be a big problem for me.’
’But if I bring Xile, and the crisis exceeds a certain level... if Master can’t fully protect us both, he would definitely abandon Xile to save me.’
...Qin Fang understood the principle of choosing the lesser of two evils.
So it was better to just let it stay in the Sect.
Anyway, it was practically the Mascot of Guiyuan Valley now, even more popular than he was. Some of the female disciples, in particular, fed it every day... just for a chance to ride on its back for a lap around Guiyuan Valley.
...Regarding this, Qin Fang certainly wasn’t so petty as to forbid others from riding Xile... as long as Xile itself was willing.
Just like Xiao Qi and Qinghe back then...
So, it had only been two months since he’d last seen it...
And Qin Fang felt that Xile seemed to have gotten a whole size fatter.
Qin Fang petted Xile for a while, then let it go play by itself and entered the main hall.
He saw Fan Zhengchu.
...Even if his Master wasn’t here, he still had to inform a sect elder that he was leaving.
Qin Fang understood this bit of etiquette.
Seeing Qin Fang, Master Fan was stunned for a moment, then let out a light breath and said, "I heard from your Master Zhou that you’ve already chosen a Spiritual Sense Leaf Skill? This past month, have you felt the dangers of the Spiritual Sense Leaf Skill?"
Hearing this, Qin Fang gave a wry smile, nodded, and sighed, "Yes, it’s far more dangerous than I imagined..."
’A single session of Meditation lasted a whole month.’
’How could that not be dangerous?’
Hearing Qin Fang say this, Fan Zhengchu smiled and nodded gently. "It’s good that you know the danger... Typically, during one’s first Meditation and Contemplation, it’s very likely to lose all concept of time. Neither your Master nor Master Zhou reminded you, precisely so you could experience the danger for yourself..."
Hearing Fan Zhengchu say this, Qin Fang’s wry smile deepened... It was just as he’d imagined.
’These elders... they did it on purpose!’
’Still... for them to not even mention that a single Meditation could last a month, that’s a bit much.’
He grumbled inwardly.
"So, how long was your first Meditation? Three days? Or five?"
Fan Zhengchu asked with a smile, "You must have been scared when you woke up and found three or five days had passed, right?"
But Qin Fang was dumbfounded.
’Three days?’
’Five days?’
’I went a whole month!’
’Wait a minute...’
’Don’t tell me... for their first Meditation, without a reminder, other people only last three to five days?’
After a moment of shock, Qin Fang asked hesitantly, "Master Fan, is the first Meditation usually just three to five days?"
"Mm."
Master Fan nodded slightly. "Now you know the danger of the Spiritual Sense Leaf Skill, right? Once you enter Meditation, you become completely immersed and even forget the passage of time. And the stronger your Divine Sense, the longer your Meditation will last in the Late Stage... it can go up to ten-plus days, a month, several months... Some of the old ancestors in the Celestial Martial Hall even go into Meditation for three to five years at a time. That’s a common occurrence."
"When your concept of time gets so muddled, it’d be a miracle if your Spirit didn’t have problems."
Fan Zhengchu sighed.
Qin Fang: "..."
’Forget it. I’d better not tell Master Fan my first Meditation lasted a whole month.’
’...No wonder Master and the others didn’t say anything.’
’So they figured three to five days wouldn’t be too big of a deal.’
’This must be the result of my Divine Sense receiving that huge boost...’
Qin Fang thought to himself.
"Here, carry this with you from now on."
As he was thinking, he saw Master Fan hand him an object.
He looked. It was an Hourglass.
The Hourglass was very small, only about the size of a palm. It contained fine, blue sand that looked dreamlike and fantastical.
"This item is called the ’Divine Summoning Hourglass.’ It has an Array carved into it. Its main effect is... when the sand from one side has completely flowed to the other, it will activate the Array and emit a clear chime. One full cycle of the Hourglass takes exactly twenty-four hours... When you hear this sound, you’ll know how much time has passed outside."
Master Fan handed the Hourglass over.
"Even during Contemplation, you can’t be completely absorbed... You must leave a sliver of your attention on guard. This way, although it might affect the effectiveness of your Contemplation... it can greatly reduce the danger."
Master Fan warned him earnestly.
Qin Fang was stunned, then a warm feeling washed over his heart...
’The sect elders... they’re truly good to me.’
He had just been trying to think of a way to remind himself of the passage of time.
He never expected that Master Fan had already thought of it for him.
"Thank you, Master Fan."
Qin Fang respectfully accepted the Hourglass.
"Mm, from the looks of it... are you planning to go out again?" Master Fan asked.
Qin Fang nodded. "Yes, I’m planning to go out for a bit."
"Fine. You have your own opportunities, so I won’t pry... Go on, and be careful."
Master Fan didn’t say much more. He just nodded in agreement.
Qin Fang bowed respectfully, bid farewell to his master, and left the main hall, soaring into the sky.