Chapter 6: Horned Serpent
“I know—you were selected from a fishing village as an immortal seed, so you feel some reluctance…” Senior Brother Ye in blue robes sneered.
“But think about it—without us immortal masters, where would mortals come from? Without us guarding the sea islands, these ants would have long become fodder for demonic beasts. Not to mention, we bestow spiritual grain so that all the people may eat their fill. What immense merit is this? A mere blood sacrifice is nothing more than a tiny flaw in flawless jade—it does not affect the greater picture…”
The young man surnamed Ye spread his hands.
“Moreover… these ‘horned serpents’ possess a trace of Flood Dragon bloodline. After breaking through to the second tier, they have a far greater chance of nurturing a demon core—and that is the primary material for refining a Foundation Establishment Pill! Without them, how many second-tier demonic beasts would our Azure Sea Sect have to slaughter deep in the demon sea just to get lucky enough to obtain a single second-tier demon core? What about the Dao paths of so many Qi Refining disciples in our sect? Junior Brother Zhang, if you oppose this, you are opposing the greater interests of the Azure Sea Sect. Even if your master is a Foundation Establishment cultivator, he won’t be able to protect you!”
Junior Brother Zhang could only fall silent, watching Senior Brother Ye form seals with both hands, murmuring incantations under his breath.
As magical power surged, a strange blood talisman was activated and fell into the horned serpent on the hillside.
The horned serpent struggled incessantly, but its strength was insufficient.
It was merely a newly advanced demonic beast, equivalent to an early-stage Qi Refining cultivator. How could it possibly be a match for Senior Brother Ye, who was at mid-stage Qi Refining?
What was more, there was also a ‘Demon-Controlling Talisman’ specially designed to suppress bloodlines.
At once, the ferocity in its eyes rapidly faded, replaced by a trace of docility. “Hahaha, good little snake. Come with us.”
Senior Brother Ye laughed loudly and flew away on his Green Leaf artifact.
Amid the gusting wind, Junior Brother Zhang’s voice could still be faintly heard: “All one hundred and eight islands—can they all succeed?”
“Junior Brother, you’re overthinking it. Even with the medicinal wine we deliberately have the villagers brew, plus the assistance of martial artists’ qi and blood, it would already be incredible if two or three out of ten succeeded… Most of our sect’s disciples will return empty-handed. And once they become demonic beasts, if they’re released to roam freely, it becomes difficult for them to advance to the second tier. They must be brought back to the sect and assisted by the ‘Dragon-Transformation Pool’ to have any hope at all… And this is with horned serpents that possess Flood Dragon bloodline. For ordinary demonic beasts, advancing to the second tier is equivalent to our cultivators establishing their foundation—an insurmountable chasm.”
“Then I heard that after the Sea Dragon King’s Birthday, there’s also the strange spectacle of Ten Thousand Fish Paying Homage… So it turns out those half-demon Treasure Fish sense a breakthrough opportunity and come to contend for it?”
“Hahaha, Junior Brother, you truly are gifted—able to infer from one example! After all, since those mortals feed the snakes with their own bodies, we have to give them some benefits in return, otherwise how could it continue year after year…”
……
Dawn had arrived.
Fang Qing pushed aside a stone and emerged from the underground burrow where he had hidden the previous night.
This burrow was naturally used to mislead others.
Last night, after leaving the altar area, he had immediately dug three feet into the ground to hide himself. Then, relying on the omnipresent ability of the Dao-Birth Pearl, he returned to the Land of Ancient Shu and slept soundly.
“Wait… what is this?”
Just as he was about to leave, a chill of cold sweat suddenly broke out on his forehead.
Outside the burrow where he had hidden, there was now a strange ‘tunnel track’.
Within the track lingered an unusual fishy stench that, after prolonged smelling, even felt faintly rich and fragrant.
Fang Qing followed the track for a few more steps and arrived at Coiling Dragon Pool, where he saw devastation everywhere.
Numerous offerings lay scattered and overturned.
Wine jars were shattered, and the medicinal wine inside had vanished without a trace.
The strongmen were in the same state.
On the ground, he picked up several fragments of shattered blue scales that gleamed dazzlingly under the sunlight.
“So hard!”
With just a slight test, Fang Qing knew that he definitely could not break these scales.
“Among those strongmen, there were experts… Unfortunately, in the end, I was still the one who survived.”
He shook his head, then looked again at the track, which was thicker than a water bucket by a full circle, and roughly understood what had happened. “A snake trail… a demonic snake?”
“If it was a snake-type demonic beast, mortal martial artists would stand no chance at all.”
“And it even discovered my hiding place last night, which means this snake demon has excellent tracking and detection abilities… If I myself truly hadn’t been on the island, I’d likely be dead for sure… Old Man Zha, you owe me a huge favor.”
As Fang Qing muttered to himself, the first ray of morning sunlight finally illuminated the waters of Coiling Dragon Pool.
Splash!
A vast expanse of shimmering light rippled like surging ocean waves.
But it wasn’t waves—it was the backs of fish.
Countless large fish crowded together, forming the spectacular scene of Ten Thousand Fish Paying Homage!
“This pool… must have a waterway connecting it to the sea… otherwise there wouldn’t be so many sea fish…”
Fang Qing murmured, his gaze suddenly sharpening as he precisely caught sight of several variant species among the massive school of fish.
One of them had scales red as fire—it was a Treasure Fish, the Red-Scaled Bream!
Another had a third eye growing on its forehead—it was a Three-Eyed Bream.
“Little Azure Dragon, Many-Treasures Fish, Autumn-Slaying Saberfish, Golden-Tailed Grouper…”
Fang Qing swallowed, feeling that Old Man Zha’s teachings about Treasure Fish were far too limited—he could barely recognize them all.
“Hurry!”
His eyes turned slightly red as he immediately rushed to the edge of the pool and dove headfirst into the water, forcibly ‘squeezing’ into the tide of fish, his face filled with the joy of a bountiful harvest.
Fang Qing’s swimming skills were average. Still, after learning for several months, he could barely manage.
The key was that within the fish tide, he was completely carried along by the flow.
He paddled with all his might, closing in on several Treasure Fish.
‘This consumes far more stamina than swimming…’
Fang Qing felt pain in every part of his body when suddenly—out of the corner of his eye, he caught a flash of crimson!
“Red-Scaled Bream!”
He struck like lightning, both hands turning crimson as he precisely seized that streak of red.
Slippery! Hard!
What followed was a surging, tremendous force that made Fang Qing almost believe he had grabbed not a fish, but an ox!
Even though he was extremely careful, the sensation underwater was ultimately different from that on land.
The crimson bream gave a violent struggle and instantly broke free from the restraints of Red Sand Hand, merging back into the fish school.
“Damn it… again!”
Fang Qing immediately turned around and reached for another Little Azure Dragon…
……
“Quick… faster! Maybe we can still catch Ten Thousand Fish Paying Homage!”
Old Man Zha was mixed in with the crowd, and as soon as he landed on the island, he ran straight toward Coiling Dragon Pool.
There was shame on his face, but also anticipation.
That young man… hopefully he had survived.
Ruan Seven was also mixed in with the crowd, but his thoughts were far heavier.
When everyone arrived at Coiling Dragon Pool, they saw the altar in complete disarray.
The ten thousand fish in the lake had already dispersed, leaving only a single youth, drenched from head to toe, still holding a Little Azure Dragon in his hands.
“Fang Qing?!”
Old Man Zha’s voice was filled with joy.
Ruan Seven’s face, on the other hand, was dark as storm clouds—especially when he failed to see his own younger brother, his expression looked as though it could drip water.
“Pretty good luck—not only did you survive, you even caught a Little Azure Dragon…”
Fang Qing lifted the green sea fish in his hand and smiled broadly, revealing white teeth. “Just in time to take it back and give Zhu’er an extra meal…”
……
Dahua Fishing Village.
Fang Qing glanced at the sky, preparing to eat.
The main meal was still the same kind of seaweed cakes, occasionally supplemented with some dried fish.
Just then, Old Man Zha walked in, holding a large blue-and-white porcelain bowl. “Fang Qing… sigh, this old man has nothing to say. This is ‘Azure Dragon Soup’. Quite a few precious medicinal ingredients were added. Drink it…”
Fang Qing accepted it, a smile appearing on his face. “Uncle Zha, you’re too polite. This was already agreed upon earlier—how could I covet Zhu’er’s things?”
“She has her share. Too much would be more harm than benefit… If you drink the Azure Dragon Soup, you’ll gain at least three years of cultivation. You’ll even be able to survive on your own out at sea…”
Old Man Zha then took out a money pouch, inside which were several Silver Shells. “Take these as travel funds. If you’re not selected, leave this place… Ruan Seven suffered a hidden loss this time. This old man is worried he’ll come looking for trouble.”
“Thank you.”
Seeing Old Man Zha’s expression, Fang Qing did not refuse and accepted the Azure Dragon Soup.
The soup was mainly fish broth, with some roots and stems added.
The taste was very ordinary.
He frowned and drank it all.
Before long, a warm current rose in his lower abdomen.
“Drink it in!”
Fang Qing clenched his fists and immediately assumed a stance, cultivating Red Sand Hand.
Once! Twice! Three times!
The constraint of full-body soreness that normally appeared after two hours did not show up at all this time.
It was as if he had broken through some kind of shackle, practicing Red Sand Hand over and over without regard for hunger or sleep…
By the time he came back to his senses, the moon was already high in the sky.
“So strong!”
Fang Qing looked at his hands, which had returned to simplicity and become fair and delicate. “The current me could beat several of my previous selves… Is this the effect of a Treasure Fish? According to Uncle Zha, it’s worth three years of cultivation?”
With a thought, the force of Red Sand Hand instantly transformed into Primordial Qi, then further converted into the power of Thousand-Catties Drop.
At this moment, Fang Qing could sense that his Primordial Qi had already grown to about half the size of a grain of rice.
“Thousand-Catties Drop!”
As he activated it, his thighs thickened, and under his feet it felt as though the wind was being born.
Thousand-Catties Drop was a clumsy technique, but once cultivated to depth, it instead transformed toward agility.
With a single thought, his body shot out like a wisp of smoke, directly rushing out of Old Man Zha’s house and arriving at a deserted reef shore.
After entering a reef cave half-surrounded by seawater, Fang Qing connected with the Dao-Birth Pearl and returned to the Land of Ancient Shu.
……
Inside the mountain cave.
Looking at the two Treasure Fish whose gills had been pierced, bodies tensed into half-bows yet still lively and vigorous, Fang Qing nodded in satisfaction. “Worthy of being half-demons—their vitality truly is tenacious… Of course, my fish-binding technique also deserves credit.”
This opportunity was rare, so naturally he had not caught only one Treasure Fish. The remaining two had been transferred here.
“Sigh… how long has it been since I last ate grilled fish.”
Fang Qing sighed, took out his filleting knife, and first dealt with the Three-Eyed Bream.
The most valuable part of this Treasure Fish was the third eye on its brow, which had eye-brightening effects.
Fang Qing sliced off a piece of pale, semi-transparent fish meat.
After thinking about it, he found he still couldn’t get used to raw fish, so he roasted it over fire. When he ate it, there was a faint numbing sensation.
“This Three-Eyed Bream… the warm current after eating it actually surged up to my head… It’s quite different from the earlier Azure Dragon Soup…”
After a while, he patted his stomach and then looked at the final Golden-Tailed Grouper.
This Treasure Fish somewhat resembled an Eastern Star Grouper, except its tail was golden.
After thinking it over, Fang Qing cut off its tail and fish head and stewed a pot of fish soup.