Inheritance

"It's fine, it's fine. As long as I use that Mysterious Scroll to revert them back into spiritual materials and keep practicing, it'll be alright."

Ning Fa consoled himself inwardly. Thinking of the Mysterious Scroll, a smile began to appear on his lips.

With this Secret Treasure in hand, he could repeatedly refine pills without the slightest worry.

But he soon learned that he had been far too naive.

When he unfurled the Mysterious Scroll again, it showed no reaction whatsoever. No matter what Ning Fa tried, nothing appeared on it.

Ning Fa stood there, dumbstruck.

After a long while, his lips twitched as he arrived at two possible explanations.

First, the Mysterious Scroll might have a certain cooldown period. After being used once, it needed some time before it could function again.

Second, a pill had to at least reach the stage of a Failed Pill, or come close to taking shape as a pill, before the Mysterious Scroll could revert it.

Neither possibility boded well for Ning Fa.

If the Mysterious Scroll's cooldown was only a few hours, that would be manageable. But if it needed several days or even longer after each use—

Its effect would still defy the heavens, but it would not be enough for him right now. After all, he had only one month.

If it was the second reason, that would be equally troublesome. This was already his last batch of spiritual materials, and he did not have a single spare spirit stone to buy more.

Ning Fa furrowed his brow deeply and decided to wait a while longer, hoping it was the first reason—and that the cooldown would not be too long.

Yet even by the next morning, after waiting in bitter anticipation, Ning Fa still could not activate the Mysterious Scroll again.

Ning Fa cursed inwardly, but he also knew time was pressing. He could not wait any longer. He had to get spirit stones to buy the spiritual materials for Essence Replenishing Pills.

He would first try to refine this pill into a Failed Pill, then test the Mysterious Scroll again.

"As long as I have five more batches of materials for Essence Replenishing Pills, I should be able to refine a Failed Pill."

Ning Fa muttered under his breath, though his brows remained tightly drawn.

One batch of spiritual materials needed to refine an Essence Replenishing Pill cost ten spirit stones. He felt he would need at least five batches to ensure that he could refine an Essence Replenishing Pill into a Failed Pill. In other words, he still needed nearly fifty spirit stones.

For low-level cultivators, fifty spirit stones were already a huge sum, let alone Ning Fa, who did not have even one spirit stone on him.

Ning Fa searched through his memories, considering whether there were any other ways to obtain spirit stones.

On Ning Fa's branch of the family, his father, Ning Zhiyuan, had one elder sister and three brothers, and his father ranked third.

Other than Ning Fa's eldest aunt and fourth uncle, who were full siblings, the rest were merely cousins from collateral lines. The other siblings of the same branch who lacked Spiritual Roots could be disregarded.

Their branch had produced a Foundation Establishment Cultivator more than three hundred years ago. It had once flourished and was considered a direct branch of the Ning Clan.

The Ning Clan had a rule: if any branch produced a Foundation Establishment Cultivator, that branch would automatically become a direct branch, enjoying treatment and status far above those of the other collateral branches.

But if, after that Foundation Establishment Cultivator fell, their branch failed to produce another Foundation Establishment Cultivator within three generations, its direct-branch status would automatically be revoked and it would become a collateral branch.

After that Foundation Establishment Ancestor fell, by the time Ning Fa's father's generation came around, their direct-branch status had long been revoked, and they had become a collateral branch.

If they wished to become a direct branch again, aside from producing another Foundation Establishment Cultivator within their branch—

There was another way: placing in the top two at the Heir Selection Tournament held by the clan every ten years.

But in the more than six hundred years since the Ning Clan's founding, it had grown to over four hundred cultivators. There were only eight direct branches, while collateral branches numbered as many as forty or fifty.

Trying to seize one of the top two places among so many collateral branches—the difficulty was plain to imagine.

In truth, Ning Fa's father's generation had possessed excellent cultivation aptitude. His father had Three Spiritual Roots and a mid-grade Spiritual Root aptitude. Moreover, due to a fortuitous encounter, he had advanced to Late Qi Condensation before even reaching twenty.

Like Ning Huarong, his strength exceeded that of others at the same level. The clan valued him greatly and believed he had a chance of reaching Foundation Establishment.

His third uncle, Ning Hongye, possessed a Dual Spiritual Root and a High-grade Spiritual Root aptitude, one even better than that of ordinary High-grade Spiritual Roots.

At only fifteen, he had advanced to Late Qi Condensation, directly breaking the Ning Clan's record for the youngest Late Qi Condensation cultivator and drawing the attention of the entire clan.

Then Ning Fa had tested positive for a Lightning Spiritual Root. Back then, their branch had been riding high in boundless glory.

The clan publicly acknowledged that they would surely produce a Foundation Establishment Cultivator and return to being a direct branch. It was even highly possible that they would produce multiple Foundation Establishment Cultivators.

But what followed could only make one sigh at the fickleness of life.

First, Ning Fa's genius third uncle, Ning Hongye, disappeared without a trace after going out to travel seven years ago. There had been no news of him ever since.

Then, during the previous family competition for direct-branch status, Ning Fa's father, who had been widely believed to have a strong chance of claiming it, narrowly lost to his opponent in the semifinal round and regrettably missed out on a direct-branch seat.

Next, Ning Fa was confirmed to possess an Incomplete Lightning Spiritual Root and was abandoned by the clan.

Finally, three years ago, just as the Ning Clan and the Qian Family went to war, Ning Fa's parents fell into an ambush set by the Qian Family and both perished.

In just a few short years, their branch had gone from boundless glory to its current impoverished state. Ning Fa was even about to become someone else's dual-cultivation cauldron.

Ning Fa shook his head and stopped dwelling on these vexing matters. Instead, he considered how to obtain spirit stones from his two uncles and aunt.

After searching his memories again, Ning Fa finally recalled that his former self actually had a substantial inheritance.

Before his death, his father Ning Zhiyuan had been no insignificant figure. He had already cultivated to the peak of the Qi Condensation realm.

He was also capable and shrewd, wielding considerable status and influence within the clan, so he naturally did not lack spirit stones.

He had long ago purchased a shop in the clan's internal marketplace, Jinchang Island Market.

Although the shop was not large and sat in a relatively remote location,

As the Ning Clan's strength rapidly rose, Jinchang Island Market had also grown increasingly prosperous, making its shops more and more valuable.

Even that small shop could now easily be sold for a high price, and it was the sort of property that could not be bought even with money.

After Ning Zhiyuan died, Ning Fa's former self naturally inherited ownership of the shop.

By rights, with such a sizable inheritance, if Ning Fa's former self had smashed the cauldrons and sunk the boats, selling the shop in exchange for a large sum of spirit stones

To buy spiritual materials and practice pill refinement, he might truly have had a chance to pass the clan's alchemist examination.