Chapter 512 227: Changes
Embarrassment flickered in his eyes.
He opened his mouth, as if wanting to say something more.
But when he saw the distant look in Wen Suxin's furrowed brows, the words wouldn't come out.
In the end, he could only force a smile. "This... I was being presumptuous."
He took a deep breath and cupped his hands toward Qin Fang. "Junior Brother Qin, I've... caused a disturbance today. Farewell."
With that, he turned to leave.
Qin Fang suddenly called out, "Senior Brother Yan, you forgot your treasure."
Yan Chen froze. He looked back and saw the open Jade Box on the table... Inside, a piece of translucent, crimson Jade Marrow lay quietly, a golden flame flowing within it.
...It was clearly the 'Fire-Departing Jade Marrow' he had just mentioned.
He hesitated. Part of him wanted to leave it behind, but seeing Wen Suxin's distant gaze, he knew it would be useless.
He could only give an awkward smile, walk over to put away the Jade Box, and cup his hands once more before leaving without another word.
His retreating figure looked rather pathetic.
Once he was far away, Qin Fang rubbed his nose, looked at Wen Suxin, and said, "Senior Sister... being so direct... is that really okay?"
Wen Suxin let out a soft sigh, her expression softening. She shook her head gently. "He has come several times, and his words have grown increasingly out of line. If I didn't make things clear, I'm afraid it would only become more troublesome later..."
After speaking, she paused, looked directly at Qin Fang, and asked with a smile, "Do you think it was improper?"
Qin Fang stared blankly at his radiant and captivating Senior Sister, who was looking right at him. He suddenly jolted, instinctively avoiding her gaze, and coughed dryly. "No, not at all! Senior Sister, you were amazing..."
Qin Fang felt his ears inexplicably begin to burn. He quickly said, "Senior Sister, I brought some more Bee Meat and honey... you must have finished what I gave you before, right?"
He hurried over to his bundle and began fumbling through it, searching for the honey and Bee Meat.
His Senior Sister stared, taken aback. Seeing Qin Fang suddenly become so busy, she let out a light laugh, her gentle eyes twinkling.
Hearing his Senior Sister's laughter, Qin Fang felt a bit of sweat on his forehead, and his heart seemed to beat a little faster.
...and he became even busier.
After a good while, his Senior Sister chuckled. "Look at you, being so clumsy... I'll get it myself."
She walked over. Qin Fang's body stiffened slightly, an awkward smile on his face.
His Senior Sister pulled a tube of Bee Meat and a tube of honey from the bundle, her eyes crinkling into a smile. "You know, after a year without it, I really have missed this Bee Meat..."
Qin Fang gave a dry laugh. "If you like it, Senior Sister, I'll bring you more in the future..."
His Senior Sister turned to glance at him, and Qin Fang instinctively averted his gaze.
His Senior Sister laughed softly and began to eat the Bee Meat.
For some reason, she felt very happy.
"You were gone for over a year this time. It seems your gains were quite substantial?"
Perhaps it was because she was eating the sweet and delicious Bee Meat, but her features relaxed completely as she smiled and questioned Qin Fang.
Qin Fang let out a light breath, then smiled. "It was alright... I've reached the Condensing Realm."
His Senior Sister's hand paused, and she looked at Qin Fang in surprise. "You've broken through again?"
Qin Fang deliberately gave a smug chuckle. "Yeah. Impressive, right?"
"Impressive..."
His Senior Sister exclaimed in amazement, "You've only been a disciple for six years, right? You've broken through two major stages in a row... Is it possible you face no barriers in your cultivation?"
She looked at Qin Fang with a strange expression.
...After all, the path of cultivation was filled with hurdles at every step.
Especially when it came to Breaking Through.
Every time a Martial Artist attempted to break through, it was a monumental challenge.
Although most of the barriers within the True Essence Realm couldn't compare to the difficulty of 'pushing open the Divine Gate'...
But...
That was only a relative comparison!
Take her, for example. Breaking from the First Realm to the Second Realm, and from the Second Realm to the Third Realm... she had failed two or three times for each.
'It had taken her more than ten years in total to get from the True Species Realm to the Condensing Realm. And for that, I was highly praised by our Master for my exceptional Talent.'
'But this junior brother of mine...'
Even she was a little stunned.
Qin Fang knew his own situation, so for now, he could only chuckle smugly. "Right? Your junior brother has been hailed as the number one Talent in the Sect in a hundred years... you think a tiny little barrier like this could stop me?"
He deliberately acted very proud.
Sure enough, his Senior Sister froze for a moment, then burst out laughing and shot him a look.
"I know you're impressive... but don't get arrogant. The path of cultivation gets harder the further you go... To be honest, your promotions have been so smooth that it actually worries me a little."
As she spoke, she frowned slightly. "You must always maintain a heart of reverence. You can't underestimate Breaking Through just because your early cultivation has been smooth... The further you go, the greater the price of failure. It could even cause irreparable damage... Understand?"
Hearing his Senior Sister's warning, Qin Fang smiled. "Senior Sister, don't you know me by now? Don't worry, I get it."
Only then did his Senior Sister nod.
Then, Qin Fang, feeling a little curious, asked about what had been happening in the Sect over the past year.
While eating the Bee Meat, his Senior Sister gave him a general summary.
...To put it simply, because of the Ancient Well he had discovered, the Sect placed great importance on it and immediately contacted the sects from the surrounding prefectures for assistance.
...The Nanming Li Fire Sect from Yanfang Prefecture was one of them.
There was also the Bihai Cloud Palace from Yunyao Prefecture, the Ten Thousand Valleys Songtao Sect from Thousand Peaks Prefecture, and so on...
A total of five or six sects.
Of course, many people from the Golden Rainbow Sword Sect came as well.
Then Qin Fang understood what they were looking for...
"Within the Sect, the belief is that the Ancient Well might not be the true core... Otherwise, if it were the core, there would definitely have been some masters from the Three Religions assigned to guard it, no matter what. But as it turns out, there weren't. So, during this time, the experts from all the sects have been searching for the location of that core."
"Unfortunately, more than a year has passed... Not only have we failed to find a single trace, but even the Three Religions seem to have vanished without a trace... If not for the very real filthy, deathly resentment emanating from the Ancient Well, I'm afraid everyone would have thought we were just overthinking things."