Chapter 563: Origami Secret Art

"Good."

"Druids truly live up to their transcendent lineage… they can adapt to any system!"

"While I cultivate the Green Wood Art, I'm simultaneously gaining Druid experience…"

Fang Xing smiled faintly.

He knew he had many ways to gain Druid experience—planting trees, hunting, communicating with animals and plants… any interaction with nature could potentially increase his Druid experience.

But unfortunately… the current environment didn't allow it; he couldn't possibly plant a forest near his own shed.

Feeding rats and sparrows daily was already the limit.

Fortunately, absorbing the essence of plants and trees was also a form of cultivation—and it granted experience at an astonishing rate!

"Good… if I keep this up, within ten days or half a month, I'll surely break through to Druid Level 2 and obtain the 【Wild Shape】 skill. Then, the sea will be wide enough for fish to leap, the sky high enough for birds to fly…"

After circulating the art once more and sensing fatigue throughout his body, Fang Xing understood the principle of balancing exertion and rest.

He did not resume the Green Wood Art, but turned his gaze to the 【Origami Secret Art】.

The Blood Shadow Sect was famed throughout the outer lands for its two secret arts: 【Shadow Puppets】 and 【Origami】.

The 【Origami Secret Art】 here, of course, was not the complete text, but merely the most basic introductory stage.

Even so, it was bizarre and extraordinary, making Fang Xing's eyes brighten slightly.

"The Origami Art can be performed with ordinary paper… but it's best to use special paper, such as human-skin paper or blood paper…"

"This copy of the Origami Secret Art records three techniques: 【Paper Crane】, 【Paper Soldier】, and 【Paper Kite】…"

"The true advanced techniques—【Paper Armor】, 【Paper Beast】, 【Paper Man】, 【Paper General】, 【Paper Litter】, 【Paper Double】, 【Spiritual Illusion Paper House Realm】, and others—are entirely absent."

"And…"

Fang Xing pondered further, his expression turning grave: "To cultivate the Origami Art, one must still sacrifice lifespan… even cultivators are no exception; they merely lose less lifespan than mortals due to the nourishment of their spiritual energy."

"Moreover, using 'blood paper' can offset part of the lifespan loss."

"The most sinister aspect of the Origami Art is that even a mortal, if willing to sacrifice blood and lifespan, can forge a 【Paper Crane】 or 【Paper Soldier】…"

"And for a cultivator seeking to drastically boost the combat power of their paper creations, the best method is… to sacrifice even more lifespan and blood."

"Moreover, paper creations forged from one's own blood and life force lose immense power when controlled by another…"

"Thus, the more advanced a cultivator becomes in the Origami Art, the shorter their lifespan becomes… though reaching the ninth level of Qi Sensing and breaking into the Dao Foundation stage grants at least a hundred years of added life, experts of the Blood Shadow Sect's Origami lineage rarely live past a hundred…"

"I strangely feel this Origami Art suits my Druid's 【Immortal Longevity】 talent… but to truly master it, I'll need to reach Level 15 and obtain the 【Ageless Body】 talent first—otherwise, where would I get so much lifespan to waste?"

"That vendor had ill intentions… is he trying to make me die faster? But I've always liked to swallow the sugar coating and throw the bomb back."

Fang Xing studied the Origami Secret Art in detail.

After all, he was a reincarnated cultivation master; his insight and experience remained intact.

After a little thought, he still discerned the flaws and weaknesses of ordinary paper men and paper beasts.

"Even creations made from 'blood paper' are still paper at their core… though they resist corruption, crimson dragon energy, and malevolent qi, water and fire remain their natural enemies… they may endure slightly longer, but cannot be maintained indefinitely…"

"Thus, paper birds occasionally patrol the sky… but there can never be 【Paper Fish】 constantly swimming in the rivers…"

"And…"

Fang Xing turned to the 【Paper Soldier Technique】; though it cost lifespan, it could immediately boost combat power.

Since entering Qi Sensing Level One, his lifespan consumption when forging blood paper or cultivating the Origami Secret Art was far less than that of ordinary people.

Perhaps he could cultivate one as a means of self-defense?

Paper cranes were primarily used for communication and surveillance; paper kites for riding.

Of the three techniques, the one most suited to him was still the 【Paper Soldier Technique】.

"The so-called Paper Soldier is 'cutting paper into soldiers'—using paper to forge daggers, long swords… after sharpening, their sharpness far surpasses the so-called 'divine weapons' of the mortal martial world…"

"This is also a technique that can continuously ascend—such as equipping paper men with paper weapons and paper armor to increase combat power and defense."

"In later stages, one can emulate sword cultivators' flying swords, striking with lightning speed to kill… and due to their lighter, thinner nature, they move even faster, though their damage and penetration are somewhat lacking…"

"To cultivate the Origami Art, one must first train the hands. Here is a training method called 【Tenfold Hands】, with the saying: 'Even if you possess the perfect pair of hands, you still cannot fold a sheet of white paper.' The 【Tenfold Hands】 has five stages: Double-Perfect Hands, Tenfold-Perfect Hands, Hundredfold-Perfect Hands, Thousandfold-Perfect Hands, Ten-Thousandfold-Perfect Hands… only upon reaching the 'Hundredfold' stage does the success rate of crafting paper soldiers become acceptable; otherwise, it's merely a waste of blood paper…"

"Feels like it won't be accomplished overnight…"

"Of course, according to the usual nature of the Origami Secret Art, if your Double-Perfect Hands level is too low and the folding is about to fail, you can perform a blood sacrifice—using your own blood and lifespan to forcibly increase the success rate…"

After reading through the entire text, Fang Xing confirmed that the Origami Secret Art was a legitimate, sinister external path—designed solely to drain the cultivator's lifespan!

…

Half an hour later.

Chirp-chirp!

A sparrow suddenly flew to Fang Xing's side and began chirping frantically.

Fang Xing opened his eyes and sensed the sparrow's anxious emotion: "Someone's coming…"

He rolled over and sat up, moving to the door.

Through the crack, he saw a shadow stealthily approaching.

"Squeak!"

Fang Xing focused his mind, and a rat suddenly darted wildly onto the man's body.

"Ah!"

The man, already guilty and nervous, was startled.

"What's that? Get off!" His shouts and commotion stirred several nearby wooden huts.

"Who is it?"

"It's the middle of the night! Can't you let people sleep?"

A chorus of disgruntled cries rose from the paper slaves, some lighting candles.

"Disturbing our sleep at this hour! Pah…"

Fang Xing joined in, shouting loudly.

A short distance away, several paper slaves clustered around a man in the center.

The man was muscular but his steps were unsteady; a black mole adorned his lip, with a single hair growing from it.

At this moment, he yanked harshly at the hair on the mole: "Enough—call Old Four back… we've blown our cover; there's no chance tonight!"

"I know."

One of his subordinates immediately went to call him.

This book was recently updated in ##!! Updated!

Xing San stared toward Fang Xing's wooden hut: "You're sure this kid went to the market?"

"Of course, Big Brother. Since he got whipped, he's been going to the paper mill constantly—I'd guess he's hoarded at least this much…"

A youth with a triangular eye extended his right hand, holding up five fingers, licking his lips: "If we hit him this time, we'll save ourselves how much lifespan…"

Xing San's eyes flickered.

Lifespan! That was real, tangible life!

He gritted his teeth: "We steal and extort—only managing to live a few extra months compared to other paper slaves… we must carve out a path within this time!"

Xing San had once been a local tyrant, shrewd and cunning, and a gang leader.

But the Blood Shadow Sect didn't care about wealth or status when abducting people; to cultivators, mortals were just crops in the field—cut one crop, wait a while, and another would grow.

Thus, even though Xing San had intelligence, skill, strength, and courage… without cultivation talent, he was merely a slave in the Blood Shadow Sect!

No matter how brilliant his talent or how cunning his schemes, without talent, he had no talent!

Now, he could only barely survive by stealing and extorting blood paper from his fellow slaves.

And in Xing San's view, this failure was simply due to his subordinate's mishap—he blamed bad luck, never once suspecting Fang Xing.

…

In the blink of an eye, several more days passed.

Inside the wooden hut, Fang Xing formed a seal with his hands, cultivating the 【Double-Perfect Hands】.

Though his Qi Sensing Level One spiritual energy was weak, it was still spiritual energy.

Now, nourished by this energy, his hands had become less rough, with faint signs of old calluses fading and pale, tender flesh emerging.

Huh-huh!

Fang Xing exhaled slowly and glanced casually at his status bar:

【Name: Fang Xing】

【Age: 16/24】

【Class: Druid Level 1】

【Realm: Qi Sensing Level One】

【Talent: Nature Affinity】

【Skill: Tenfold Hands (Beginner 28/100)】

…

"The essence of plants and trees truly is wood-elemental qi—after breaking into Qi Sensing Level One, it granted me four more years of lifespan… I can now forge a few sheets of blood paper, pretending I'm still working hard to complete my quota…"

But Fang Xing had no intention of surrendering the blood paper—he planned to use it himself to cultivate the 【Cut Paper into Soldiers】 technique.

"And… has the Tenfold Hands become a skill already?"

Fang Xing's face lit up with joy; though this wasn't his true self's divine artifact and couldn't forcibly boost proficiency or breakthroughs,

being able to directly observe his exact state at every moment, knowing precisely where to improve, was already excellent.

"My Tenfold Hands are currently at Beginner level, in the 'Double-Perfect Hands' stage—paper folding success rate is very low…"

"But if I'm willing to sacrifice lifespan, forging a single 【Paper Soldier】 won't be difficult."

After thinking it through, Fang Xing picked up the paper Laowang and left the shed, heading toward the paper mill.

Plop!

This time, when he plunged his hands into the pulp pool, he felt something different.

Though still slightly painful, it was far milder than before.

'Indeed, becoming a cultivator and possessing the Double-Complete Hands grants a degree of resistance.'

'But if one stays too long in the valley, it draws attention from above... Blood Shadow Sect is filled with powerful figures; even unrest within can be easily crushed, so they have the confidence...'

Fang Xing skillfully lifted the net, pressed the pulp, and laid it out to dry...

By evening, he felt the quality of this sheet of finished 'Blood Paper' surpassed all his previous work.

(End of Chapter)