Spirit Rhinoceros Grass

Kou Xiang'er was quick and efficient. Before long, she returned from the secret vault and presented a jade box with both hands.

He Sheng took the jade box and gently lifted the lid. A crisp, refreshing fragrance of grass and wood immediately rushed into his face.

Inside the box lay a plant that was translucent pale blue from stem to leaf, about an inch long. Its leaves were slender as willow brows, seven in total, arranged in a spiral.

Most miraculous of all, beneath the glow of spiritual light, the tip of every leaf seemed to have condensed a drop of silver radiance, making it look quite wondrous.

"Sixth Miss said that this Spirit Rhinoceros Grass must grow beside a pool with a spirit vein, absorbing spiritual energy and moonlight for sixty years before it can mature."

Kou Xiang'er introduced it softly from the side.

"This grass can permanently raise one's comprehension by a slight amount. Sixth Miss said it is an exceedingly rare treasure for those cultivating Technique Divine Abilities or Artifact Divine Abilities."

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Technique Divine Abilities?

Artifact Divine Abilities?

"Kou Xiang'er previously mentioned something called Fate Divine Abilities. It seems the words 'Divine Ability' are far from ordinary."

He Sheng continued asking a question or two, but Kou Xiang'er did not understand either. She had merely heard the terms in passing.

He Sheng committed the two names to memory, then looked again at the Spirit Rhinoceros Grass in his hand and nodded in satisfaction.

What he wanted was a permanent increase in comprehension, not some fleeting enlightenment born from a sudden flash of inspiration.

"Whether I used the clepsydra to cultivate the Clear Ripple Water Control Art or secret arts such as the Soul Imprint Art, comprehension had always been a crucial factor. I had to believe myself a genius in that path to gain additional insights.

And what was a genius, if not someone with high comprehension?

In other words, comprehension is the key to triggering additional insights!"

He Sheng knew that if his conjecture was true, comprehension could be called critically important.

With that thought, He Sheng sent Kou Xiang'er away and placed the translucent Spirit Rhinoceros Grass into his mouth.

The Spirit Rhinoceros Grass melted the instant it entered his mouth. There was no majestic medicinal power as he had expected, only a cool, refreshing breath that slid down his throat into his abdomen. It then transformed into faint starlike motes of light, silently merging into his limbs and bones before finally charging straight into his sea of consciousness.

"Hmm?"

He Sheng's brows lifted slightly. The sensation was not intense. There was neither a heaven-and-earth-shattering transformation nor an explosion of spiritual light that brought sudden enlightenment.

Yet he could clearly feel that the faint layer of "sluggishness" in his mind had been lightly wiped away by a trace.

It felt like a dusty mirror stand being polished a little brighter. Although the world reflected within had not changed, the mirror's surface itself had become clearer.

"So this is the effect of a slight increase in comprehension."

That cool breath gradually dispersed, and the sensation in his body returned to calm.

"It is time to test the effects of comprehension as I planned."

With a thought from He Sheng, his consciousness gathered on the minus sign behind the Clear Ripple Water Control Art.

Whoosh...

The value of the Clear Billows Water Control Art, which had already reached the realm of Transcendent Mastery, began to plummet wildly. In the end, it returned to zero and became:

[Technique]:

[Clear Ripple Water Control Art (Beginner): 0/100]

(Total cultivation time: one day)

In an instant, He Sheng felt the countless insights regarding water arts in his mind recede like a falling tide.

That feeling of blending as one with the water vapor between heaven and earth vanished completely. The once-lively Subtle Ripple Intent Realm was gone without a trace, and he became once more a beginner who only half understood water arts.

At the same time, the universal cultivation time within the clepsydra increased sharply.

[Current total available cultivation time: twenty-two years, two months, twenty-seven days]

He Sheng did not pause. His consciousness focused once more on the plus sign behind the Clear Billows Water Control Art.

Whoosh!

As an endless stream of cultivation time was poured in, a vast amount of cultivation information appeared.

[After a year of bitter cultivation, your Clear Billows Water Control Art has improved greatly. You marvel at your extraordinary talent in the path of water arts.]

Just as before, once he cultivated to the pinnacle of Transcendent Mastery, the Clear Billows Water Control Art could advance no further.

During that time, aside from the Water Transformation Realm, the Subtle Ripple Intent Realm, and the "exceptional art—Water-Gathering Break," he gained no new insights.

"Could I have guessed wrong? Does comprehension have no tangible effect?"

Amid his doubts, He Sheng carefully examined the information displayed in the water droplet.

[Clear Billows Water Control Art (Transcendent Mastery): 1000/1000]

(Total cultivation time: sixteen years, nine months, seventeen days)

"If I remember correctly, the time it took to cultivate to this point before should have been seventeen years, four months, and twenty-two days.

Now the time has been shortened... by seven months and four days.

That means increasing comprehension has an immediate effect. From what I can see, it is at least equivalent to a multiplier on cultivation time!"

He Sheng calmed himself and calculated carefully before murmuring:

"If comprehension corresponds to a cultivation-time multiplier, then assuming the effect remains constant, I can quantify my previous comprehension as sixty-two. If the Spirit Rhinoceros Grass only increased it by one point, then my current comprehension is sixty-three.

That happens to match the shortened cultivation time perfectly!"

He Sheng had originally thought that increased comprehension would bring new insights, yet he had not expected it to directly shorten his total cultivation time.

"This is good too. Even if it only raises comprehension by the tiniest bit, the effect is still obvious."

He Sheng immediately tried the same thing with his other cultivation methods.

After recultivating the Flesh Rebirth Art, he saved ten days.

The Soul Imprint Art, meanwhile, saved nineteen days.

However, the Clear Billows Water Origin Art did not change in the slightest.

"Can comprehension only shorten the cultivation time of [Techniques]? Does it have no effect on [Methods]?

Or is my sample size too small?"

Since he was currently still within the Lower River Branch, He Sheng naturally did not dare roll everything back completely. He only rolled back to Foundation Establishment Early Stage to test it, but there was not the slightest change.

"Once this matter is settled, I need to find a peaceful place and properly study the clepsydra."

He Sheng also began considering what came next. At present, he had no intention of taking over the He Family.

For one thing, Ye Shaochen's direct threat still existed. He did not want to be cultivating one day only for the other man to block him on Long Sun Mountain with a sword in hand.

For another, the He Family was truly far removed from the immortal cultivation lineage he had imagined. Unless he poured tremendous effort into reforming it, who knew when it would explode into another disaster.

But changing it was by no means something that could be accomplished overnight. It would require enormous effort.

If that was the case, would it not be better to spend that time and energy on his own cultivation?

Thinking of future cultivation matters, He Sheng flipped his palm and took out two jade slips, both obtained from Wu Feng's storage pouch.

One was the <Heavenly Peak Mountain Artifact Refining Essentials>, while the other was the Divine Artifact Treasure Vase Forging Method.

The former was the artifact-refining inheritance Wu Feng carried, while the latter was a secret divine-sense method that could only be cultivated with the aid of artifact refinement.

"It is time to seriously consider where I should cultivate in the future. After all, only by settling down can I study artifact refinement."

He Sheng was now a Foundation Establishment Great Perfection cultivator. His foremost task was to forge the embryonic form of a Dharma treasure. In his possession was a third-rank treasure material gifted by the Star-Backed Black Turtle: Cold Soul Mystic Crystal Stone.

As long as his artifact-refining skill improved, he could truly begin this matter.

But the prerequisite for everything was naturally a stable cultivation environment.

"When I send Kou Xiang'er to Primordial Mist Immortal City later, I must investigate it carefully."

Since he would not return to the He Family, he could only change his identity and become a Rogue Cultivator. He naturally could not remain in the Silver Sand River region, for its resources were far too limited. Without the support of a lineage, he could not even secure a second-rank spirit vein.

"Perhaps..."

Just as He Sheng was pondering, his divine sense stirred slightly.

It turned out that the divine sense he had spread under the reinforcement of the Subtle Ripple Intent Realm had detected a Foundation Establishment cultivator heading toward Lower River Market, already several miles away.