Chapter 526 - 232: Meteor?
Seated cross-legged upon a water surface as vast as an Abyss, Qin Fang was immersed in his cultivation. His increasingly condensed True Essence coursed through his body, refining away the violent and ’Sharpness’ aspect of this world’s Primordial Power.
This ’Sharpness’ aura didn’t vanish after being refined away. Instead, like tiny motes of light, it merged into Qin Fang’s dark True Essence, causing it to grow even more condensed... and undergo some other strange, inscrutable changes.
Qin Fang had, of course, long since noticed this change, but he wasn’t entirely clear on its significance.
’The Heavenly Gang Secret Realm offers immense benefits for Condensing Gang. But the true advantages only manifest after one attains Divine Techniques...’
Qin Fang mused to himself.
His master had once said that absorbing the special power of the Heavenly Gang Secret Realm would make the ’seed’ of one’s Divine Techniques more powerful, allowing them to obtain even stronger Divine Techniques upon reaching that realm.
...Divine Techniques, according to his master, were also a type of Leaf Skill.
However, they were a type of Leaf Skill that required no cultivation.
Rather, it was a kind of ’Innate Leaf Skill’ bestowed by Heaven and Earth based on a Martial Artist’s individual circumstances!
They were typically extremely powerful and perfectly suited to the Martial Artist themselves.
...Qin Fang was now rather looking forward to seeing what sort of changes this ’special substance’ merging into his True Essence would bring after he reached the realm of Divine Techniques.
...After all, his master had said that while many entered the Secret Realm, it contained different ’environments.’ This led to vast differences in the substances people absorbed... and ultimately, the Divine Techniques they manifested were all unique.
A moment later, a soft DING brought Qin Fang back to his senses.
He let out a soft breath. The Primordial Power within his body was almost fully refined, so he opened his eyes.
Casually flipping the Divine Summoning Hourglass over, Qin Fang stood up. He then lightly traced a line on a nearby bamboo tube with his finger, leaving a mark.
’That makes 558 marks... It’s been a year and a half...’
’But that’s just the time I’ve been keeping track of myself. In reality, it’s probably been even longer... I wonder when I’ll be able to get out...’
Qin Fang gazed at the carved marks on the bamboo tube, then looked up at the vast expanse of brilliant stars.
...According to his master, the person who stayed the longest had been inside for three years... and after leaving the Secret Realm, one also had to wait three years before re-entering...
Three years, in both cases.
...Could there be some connection between them?
His mind wandered.
After a moment, he stood up and took a deep breath. His figure began to blur, one moment lunging forward, the next retreating. Flickering afterimages of True Essence appeared everywhere, making his form hazy and indistinct.
...This was precisely Mirror Flower Water Moon.
He had already reached the Minor Achievement stage in the Third Layer of Mirror Flower Water Moon.
However, his progress was very slow... After all, without the Wind-Chasing Spirit Medicine to aid him, he simply couldn’t get any faster.
At times, his progress would even stagnate completely.
...Auxiliary medicines were simply too important for cultivating Leaf Skills.
Otherwise, under the effect of the Eternal Dao Fruit, he could indeed continue to cultivate... but the efficiency would be abysmal. He might only progress a tiny bit every few days...
Then again, it wasn’t like he had anything else to do here. He couldn’t just meditate all day, lest his body get rusty. He needed to move around from time to time.
...Although he didn’t plan on going too far, moving about and practicing his Leaf Skills nearby was also a way to relax his mind and spirit.
As he was practicing, Qin Fang suddenly froze. He realized... his surroundings seemed to have gotten brighter.
In fact, it was growing steadily brighter.
A thought suddenly struck him, and he whipped his head up to look.
The next moment, his eyes widened in astonishment...
Among the myriad stars, one was slowly growing larger in his field of vision...
It was...
"A meteor?!"
He was a bit dumbfounded.
Then he saw the meteor growing larger and larger, its speed indescribably fast, trailing a long tail as it headed right for him!
Almost instantly, Qin Fang’s figure flickered. He appeared in front of his bundles, swiftly packed everything up, and then stared intently at the meteor in the sky...
...’This thing... it can’t be coming for me, can it?’
...’But, isn’t this a Secret Realm? What’s the deal with a meteor suddenly falling from this world’s sky, and apparently heading in my direction?!’
As Qin Fang stared at the meteor with rapt attention, the wind suddenly began to howl, its roar growing deafeningly loud.
In the next instant, a bone-chilling cold washed over Qin Fang, accompanied by a sensation like his skin was being scraped by blades!
Holy shit!
’A meteor falls, and now the strongest wind shows up?’
Qin Fang gasped, hastily circulating his True Essence to try and resist...
The result...
...was, of course, completely useless.
He could sense, however, that there was a difference. Over a year ago, against that other wind, his True Essence had been completely ineffective, treated as if it were nothing.
Now, as he circulated his True Essence, it seemed to have at least some minor effect... barely managing to alleviate some of the stinging pain.
This time, he didn’t dare try to absorb this wind. Instead, his eyes remained glued to the ever-expanding meteor in the sky...
After staring intently for what felt like an eternity, Qin Fang suddenly let out a breath of relief...
...’It’s not coming straight for me.’
As the thought crossed his mind, the meteor flashed past, several hundred meters overhead, and shot away behind him.
Its long, trailing tail brightly illuminated the otherwise pitch-black Abyss.
But as the meteor passed, Qin Fang felt the wind around him erupt in a frenzy.
He heard a series of soft tearing sounds as his skin was sliced open, drawing blood!
Greatly alarmed, Qin Fang frantically circulated his True Essence, trying to fight back.