txolops Chapter 001 The Fish-Chasing Boy
Chapter 001 The Fish-Chasing Boy
The moon's light bathes the sky, its vast shadow floats in the heavens. The spirit of the mountains swallows Mount Hua, its long flow traverses a hundred rivers. A thousand layers of surging waves roll, ten thousand layers of towering billows crash. No fishing lights flicker on the shore, only egrets sleep on the sandbars. Vast and boundless, it resembles the sea, stretching as far as the eye can see.
……
As the third watch of the night passed, a bright moon hung high in the sky, its silvery light spilling across the 800-mile-long Tongtian River.
"Young boy, young boy, don't be lazy and sleepy. Chase the fish away, so that every net will come back empty-handed..."
Near the east bank, a fishing boat bobbed gently on the waves. The fisherman, in his thirties, dressed in a short brown robe, stared at the water and muttered to himself.
He repeated it three times, then with a splash, he threw the entire pig's hind leg into the water.
The pig leg sank slowly with a gurgling sound. Suddenly, a dark shadow more than three feet long swept across the bottom of the water, its eyes blood red. It was a red-eyed carp.
[The fish-chasing boy received a small amount of sacrificial meat as an offering, and gained 1 experience point!]
As the beep sounded, the red-eyed carp gently swayed its tail and swam towards the depths of the water.
In the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, the red-eyed carp swam back again, a green waterweed tied to its tail like a long whip, driving a group of fish that were two or three hand spans long.
Upon reaching the fishing boat, the red-eyed carp opened its mouth and expelled a ring-shaped bubble towards the school of fish. The bubble quickly expanded, encircling the fish within it.
The air inside the ring acted like a barrier, causing the fish to dart about in all directions, but they couldn't break through for a while.
Trapping the school of fish, the red-eyed carp swam to the upper layer of the school and looked up.
"...Got it!"
On the fishing boat, the fisherman, who had been lying on the gunwale and staring intently at the water, suddenly saw two red lights appear underwater by the moonlight, and his face immediately lit up with joy.
The fishing net, which had already been prepared in his hand, was forcefully thrown out, spreading out in a perfect circle in mid-air, and then with a whoosh, it went straight to the location of the red light.
The fishing net sank and was quickly pulled in tight. The fisherman wrapped the rope around his wrist and pulled back with both hands alternately. The net got heavier and heavier with each pull, and his smile grew even wider.
Whoosh!
Finally, the fishing net was pulled out of the water and thrown heavily into the fish hold, which immediately filled it with lively grass carp and bass, each about two or three hand spans long, their silvery-gray scales shimmering in the moonlight.
"This one net alone is worth more than a whole day's work for me!"
Looking at the boat full of fish, the fisherman was overjoyed and quickly bowed to the water.
"Thank you, fish-herding boy. Thank you, fish-herding boy."
The fish hold was full, and the fisherman hummed a song as he rowed his oars slowly toward the east bank.
[Drive away a school of fish for a fisherman, fulfilling the duty of a fish-driving boy once, experience points +1!]
Below the water's surface, the notification sounded again.
The red-eyed carp ignored it, flicked its tail, and swam back to the bottom of the water.
A whole pig's hind leg was stuck in the soft, rotten mud. Several small fish were pecking at it, but when a large red-eyed carp came over, they scattered and fled.
The red-eyed carp ignored the small fish, circled the pig's leg, opened its mouth wide, and swallowed it bit by bit from the thinner end, managing to swallow the entire pig's leg whole.
The pig's leg was quite thick and sturdy; even though it was over three feet long, it was so stretched that it couldn't move for the time being.
The red-eyed carp floated quietly in the water for about fifteen minutes before swishing its tail, a hint of joy appearing in its eyes. The pig's leg from earlier had been refined by him, bone and all, and transformed into cultivation power.
"At this rate, he can reach two hundred years of cultivation within ten years."
Every night, fishermen offer blood sacrifices, which increases cultivation speed by more than tenfold.
Li Yue felt a surge of joy, and then, with a sudden thought, a crumpled booklet appeared in his mind.
The yellowed cover bears three ancient seal characters: Yin Si Lu.
The first page of the Yin Si Lu (淫祀简) shows a child waving water plants, accompanied by information.
Fish-chasing boy
Rank: Ninth Rank (Miscellaneous God)
Level: lv9 (737/900)
Supernatural Power: Water-Splitting Circle
Ritual implement: Fish-driving whip
Rule: Only appears at night.
--------------
I'm still less than 200 experience points short; I should be able to accumulate enough in a few more nights.
When you reach level ten, you will awaken another supernatural power and be able to unlock a higher-level divine office.
Whoosh!
Full of energy, Li Yue flicked his tail and swam again toward the spot on the water where fishing lights were visible.
As the full moon slowly moved across the sky, Li Yue was busy all night, only resting at sunrise.
I drove schools of fish for the fishermen more than ten times and received their offerings more than ten times, gaining a total of nearly thirty experience points.
In addition, consuming blood-based foods such as pigs and sheep will increase one's cultivation level.
Deep underwater, amidst a vast expanse of lush aquatic plants, Li Yue floated quietly, resting. For him, this was home.
Exhausted from a night's sleep, Li Yue finally managed to rest around noon.
It flicked its tail and swam straight toward the surface of the water.
It was the hottest time of day, and the 800-mile-long Tongtian River was bathed in golden light. Li Yue quietly poked his head out, his fish snout opening and closing in the air, inhaling and exhaling the intense essence of the sun.
The essence of the sun enters the abdomen, like a stream of scorching magma, but it is not agonizing; on the contrary, it is extremely comfortable, dispersing and dissolving into various parts of the body, slowly nourishing.
Sizzle!
Like being burned by a raging fire, under the tempering of this sun's essence, Li Yue's body became more and more solid, and seemed to have grown a little more.
After absorbing the essence of the sun for an hour on the surface, which was about the limit for the day, Li Yue finally dived back to the bottom of the water.
They hid deep in the water plants, preparing to rest until nightfall.
"Brother Carp".
Suddenly, a string of bubbles rose from among the water plants, and amidst the calls, a nearly three-foot-long spotted mandarin fish with sharp, erect fin spines swam in.
They easily found Li Yue, who was hiding deep in the mountains.
"Sister Mandarin Fish".
Li Yue responded, but then glanced at the other person's physique.
However, after a month apart, the spotted mandarin fish had grown considerably larger and was now almost as big as him.
For these little demons who have just entered the Spirit Awakening stage, physique often represents their cultivation level and strength.
Given its rapid growth, the spotted mandarin fish must have consumed a considerable amount of blood and goat food during this time.
"What brings you here today?"
Turning his gaze away, Li Yue asked a question that seemed casual.
The spotted mandarin fish originally lived in the Eastern Ocean. Two years ago, it was chased by a group of aquatic creatures from the Eastern Ocean who were also at the Qi Awakening stage, and fled all the way to this 800-mile-long Tongtian River.
She was injured at the time, and it was Li Yue who saved her. After she recovered, he helped her settle down in the Tongtian River, and the two fish spirits then addressed each other as brother and sister.
"I don't come here without a reason. My younger sister has come to see my brother today to search for stones together."
"Stone? What do you need that for?"
"Brother, haven't you heard? This year marks the thousandth birthday of that old turtle with the bald head. To celebrate, he's going to rebuild his ancestral water palace. As long as you contribute the building materials, you can exchange them for food."
"Is that so?"
Li Yue hesitated for a moment, then nodded.
"Stones for blood food, how can we miss such a cheap deal? Let's go together."
"That's exactly right."
With an excited cry, the mandarin fish flicked its tail and swam away from the water plants.
Li Yue swayed his body to keep up.
Next, a carp and a mandarin fish were seen constantly churning the mud and sand at the bottom of the river with their mouths, searching for stones that could be used to build a mansion.
After about the time it takes for an incense stick to burn, the fish's mouths were almost worn out before they each found a piece of stone, carried it in their mouths, and headed straight for the old turtle's water palace.