Chapter 24
Agong, who had visited the lake for the first time in a while after piercing through the thin fog, could not hide his excited heart.
Although he had never once succeeded in fishing at the lake, the situation was different this time.
In one of Agong's hands was the fishing rod Tonglin, which had been wonderfully transformed, although he didn't know how it had gotten better, and he also had the properly learned Heavenly Demon Hand.
The time of resentment, when he could only watch Tongtian catch fish from the lake with his mouth watering, was now all over.
'Why is it so cold...'
The surface of the lake, which exuded a chilling energy, reflected Agong and Tongtian coldly like an ice mirror.
"This must be your first time during the cold spring period."
Tongtian, as if he had noticed Agong's curiosity, took a step forward, took his place, and continued his explanation.
"This lake periodically switches between a cold spring and a hot spring. That's why I named this lake the Cold-Warm Lake."
"I see."
Agong naturally took a seat next to Tongtian.
As he sat close to the lake, a chill that made the hair on his skin stand on end was in the air.
"This master originally fished even during the cold spring period, but it might be a little difficult for you."
"Now that I've learned the Heavenly Demon Hand, I can do it well too."
Agong, who was full of confidence, soon understood the meaning of Tongtian's words.
This was because something hideous was being pulled out of the fishing line that Tongtian had cast first.
Splash! Splash!
The fish that were originally caught in the lake were large and boasted a great size, as if they had lived for decades. But the momentum of the fish that was now making a splash and not being easily pulled out was clearly different from the ones that had been pulled out like minnows by Tongtian's hand before.
Swoosh!
"Ugh! A s-snake!"
What was caught on Tongtian's fishing line was a water snake larger than a person.
With its shiny scales and venomous red eyes...
The sight of it thrashing and splashing in the water was as tremendous as if it were a small flood dragon, but Tongtian, holding the fishing rod, did not even bat an eye.
"During the cold spring, the strange power of the Hermit's Valley becomes even stronger, and all sorts of strange creatures are caught in the lake, so you must be especially careful when fishing."
Swoosh!
"Aaaah!"
Agong, avoiding the huge water snake that had been caught on the fishing line and had soared high into the sky, moved his position in an instant.
The moment the water snake struggled on the ground and tried to escape back into the water, Tongtian stretched out his hand and instantly skinned the water snake.
Thwack!
"Ugh..."
Tongtian, who had crushed the head of the struggling water snake, which had been skinned alive, with his fishing rod in one go, beckoned Agong with a gesture.
"Why are you avoiding it?"
"Well..."
"If you plan to take prey from the Hermit's Valley, it is something you should naturally do."
"To this extent?"
"Then did you think there was a noble way to hunt?"
"But..."
"Your going hunting is no different from declaring that you will take the life of a beast. It is the law of nature that even a mere creature does its best to live, and you will not be able to handle it with a weak heart."
When Agong couldn't answer, Tongtian pushed the dead water snake's corpse into the cold spring.
"There is no such thing as an inner core in a water snake of this size, so there is no need to search its body. The meat is also highly poisonous and cannot be eaten, so it is best to throw it away. If you just leave it here, creatures that have smelled the blood will flock to it, so throw it into the lake."
"Th-then there's no need to catch it."
"Instead, the leather is extremely hard and is perfect for materials for protective armor and the like."
Looking at the snake skin that had been peeled off whole, Agong made a bitter expression.
He regretted that if he had known he would be taking something like that, he would have brought a large cloth or a carrier instead of a basket.
"Now you try to catch one."
"Yes..."
Agong, like Tongtian, dipped his line into the lake without attaching any bait or hook.
Plop!
'Please let me catch a fish, not a snake. Please...'
"Heavenly Demon Hand."
"Yes."
As he became a master and disciple, Agong, who was tense at Tongtian's stern voice, inwardly thought that the past was happier, and at the same time, he concentrated his mind and circulated the Nine Gates True Scripture.
As his whole body was filled with energy from the circulated internal energy, Agong immediately grabbed the fishing rod with the technique of the Heavenly Demon Hand and shook it.
The internal energy flowing through the eight extraordinary meridians faintly descended through Tonglin and along the end of the fishing line.
The Heavenly Silkworm Silk, the fishing line of Tonglin, was indeed an artifact, and even without the injection of internal energy, it was as sharp as a sword. But when internal energy was injected, its hardness became dozens of times stronger, and when he operated the Heavenly Demon Hand with his fingertips and wrist, it rummaged through the water like a needle.
Tug! Tug!
Agong felt a thrilling excitement in his spine at the sensation of something touching his fishing line.
He had finally felt the bite of a fish for the first time since he had started fishing at the lake.
"Yah!"
Agong displayed the Heavenly Demon Hand and tried to catch what had bitten in one go.
Slice!
With a chilling sensation of piercing something, a rough splash arose in the lake.
Splash! Splash!
"U-ugh!"
A stronger resistance than Agong had thought was felt at his fingertips.
He had thought it would be easy to pull, as Tongtian had pulled it lightly as if pulling a feather, but if he had lifted the fishing rod without learning martial arts, it was a tremendous force that would have pulled Agong into the lake instead.
Agong, at the considerable resistance, exerted all his internal energy and pulled the fishing line at once.
Swoosh!
What floated to the surface of the water, scattering water, was a huge carp emitting a silver glow.
"Wow! Ugh!"
Agong, in his joy, tried to catch the flapping carp, but he was startled and dropped it on the ground.
It was not an ordinary carp, but it had one more eye in the middle of the carp.
"Hoho, it's good for a first catch, but you've caught a creature whose time is regrettable."
Tongtian, seeing the size of the carp that Agong had caught, shook his head as if it were a pity.
"Master, the fish has three eyes."
"It's called a Three-Eyed Ice Fish. It's a spiritual creature that is originally only occasionally found in the ice palace outside the world."
"A spiritual creature?"
At the words 'spiritual creature', the disgusting carp seemed a little better to Agong.
"But it was caught too early, so it won't be of much help in cultivation."
"Then you can just let it go."
"Since it has already been touched by human hands, its life is over. Take it and boil it thoroughly to nourish your body."
The still-flapping Three-Eyed Ice Fish was so strong that it did not easily go into the basket.
Moreover, the three eyes of the Three-Eyed Fish that he had barely caught seemed to be glaring at Agong.
As Agong hesitated, Tongtian said,
"What are you doing?"
"It's not going into the basket well."
"You brat. It won't go in unless you cut off its breath."
Agong could tell that Tongtian, who had once talked about the life of a prey, was deliberately creating this situation.
If he couldn't even do this one thing, how could he hunt the beasts of the Hermit's Valley?
Agong hardened his heart and took the carp's breath away in one go with the Heavenly Silkworm Silk of Tonglin.
"That's enough."
As Agong carefully put the dead Three-Eyed Ice Fish into his basket, Tongtian reeled in his fishing rod and stood up from his seat.
"Are you leaving already?"
"We will be going to another place now. You can also fish alone from now on."
Even at Tongtian's words that he could visit the lake alone and fish, Agong strangely did not feel happy.
As they left the lake, the fog soon began to thicken.
Agong, even in the unpleasant smell, followed Tongtian well so as not to lose him.
"To live is to kill something."
Tongtian, knowing that Agong was concerned about what had just happened, quietly threw out a word.
"I know that."
As Agong retorted, Tongtian let out a light laugh.
"You brat, the ultimate of life is to take and take to achieve the ultimate state. If you can become stronger and survive, you must take and absorb everything."
"I think I've heard that before."
"Who told you such a thing?"
"Old man Hongjun said something similar before. That the martial arts of the righteous path are about subtracting, and those of the demonic path are about filling."
It was very rare for Hongjun to discuss swordsmanship with someone or give teachings.
Tongtian, at the words that Hongjun had talked to Agong about matters related to martial arts, listened with curiosity.
"Hmm... were there any other words?"
"That this guy and that guy are the same."
"Hahaha! What an arrogant and haughty old man!"
Tongtian burst out laughing at Agong's answer.
As if his laughter contained internal energy, the fog that was enveloping the surroundings scattered, and Agong was able to confirm his location.
"Where is this...?"
Looking around, he saw that he had climbed quite high, and a steep cliff was spread out.
The cliff was still foggy, so he couldn't gauge its height, but something like an unpleasant stench was blowing on the gentle wind.
"This is the prison of the Hermit's Valley."
"A prison?"
"In the Sea Isle Sect, it is also called a grave site."
Whether it was a prison or a grave site, it was an ominous name to no end.
Agong couldn't understand Tongtian's intention in bringing him here.
"Those who cannot withstand the rules of the Sea Isle Sect or cause trouble have their tendons cut and are thrown here."
Although Tongtian was speaking calmly, it was a truly chilling thing to hear.
"If I do something wrong, will I be thrown here too?"
"Hoho, it would not be enough even if you practiced for decades to enter the Sea Isle Sect."
Although it meant he was not qualified, Agong inwardly felt relieved and looked down.
Even though he had practiced martial arts and his eyesight had improved considerably, he couldn't see what the bottom was like and what was there at all.
"Then are there people who have returned from there?"
"If they had their original martial arts, what would be so difficult? But since their tendons were cut and their dantians were destroyed before they were thrown, they must have become food for the beasts."
The conclusion was that although he didn't know how many people had been thrown there, not a single one had returned.
"The path is not that difficult, so I will go out to meet you at the entrance in three days."
"What?"
"If you don't want to get hurt, you must use your lightness skill well."
"Huh?"
Agong, who was looking down at the bottom of the cliff, felt something push his butt with a gentle voice. And he soon found himself plummeting towards the ground at a terrifying speed.
"Whoa, whoa, whoa!"
As soon as Agong realized that he was falling down the cliff, he, more quickly than ever before, raised the internal energy of the Nine Gates True Scripture and kicked the wall of the cliff with his legs, which were going down as if rolling.
Thwack!
As the tips of his legs tingled and his falling speed slowed down for a moment, without even having time to think about anything else, he twisted his body by stepping on a protruding part of the cliff with the Nine Palaces Divine Steps.
Swoosh!
If he stopped his lightness skill even a little, his body would tilt again and his falling speed would increase.
Agong, in his haste, repeatedly rolled his feet and used the Nine Palaces Divine Steps, riding the wall of the narrow cliff.
Thwack! Thwack! Thwack!
Perhaps thanks to the desperate lightness skill he was displaying to live, Agong, who was sliding down the wall, injected a large amount of internal energy into the Tonglin he was holding in his hand at a tremendous speed.
Ping!
As soon as he felt the touch of Tonglin, which had become as stiff as a pole, Agong forcefully drove it into the wall.
Thwack!
Thanks to Tonglin, which was stuck in the wall, his falling speed slowed down, and Agong, covered in dust, was barely able to reach the bottom.
"What on earth is this..."
He couldn't think of anything else in such a sudden situation.
"Are you out of your mind!"
Even at Agong's furious cry, no answer was heard.
When he came to his senses, his legs were throbbing and pain was rushing in.
Looking up at the sky, it was so full of fog, like a cloud, that he couldn't see well. Now that he saw it, this place was closer to a huge pit than a cliff.
He couldn't even dare to climb up this place, whose height he didn't know.
"Ugh..."
Looking at the bottom, the arrows and snacks that Agong had kept in his possession were scattered all over, and the tail of the Three-Eyed Ice Fish was sticking out about halfway from the basket at his waist, as if it had been shaken so much.
After gathering the scattered arrows and the snacks that were messy with dirt, Agong looked around, but there was nothing that could give him hope.
Only the stench in the surroundings, where the light did not reach well, and the things rolling on the ground...
Thump.
"Gasp. Aaaah..."
There were only skulls.
(End of Chapter)