My Arts Evolve When Perfected

Without much hesitation, Jiang Qiu grabbed the bamboo fishing rod and sat on the fishing platform to begin fishing. There was no need to explore the vast expanse of land behind him; he had already scanned it and detected no signs of life. It appeared immeasurably wide, with almost no particularly tall mountain peaks.

According to speculation on the Yin Net, the only living creatures still active in this Dragon Spirit Great Realm were all underwater. If you wanted to obtain enough treasures, you had to get them from there as well.

However, ordinary Soul Bodies couldn’t enter the depths of the water directly. Previously, an expert at the Peak of Dao Entry Realm, relying on his profound soul foundation, had ventured deep into the water, only to die violently less than ten meters in.

This violent death was apparently a true one—not the kind where dying simply lets you exit the Secret Realm. No, he was truly and utterly dead!

His soul simply disintegrated, its essence feeding back into the entire Secret Realm.

Given the circumstances, Jiang Qiu had no desire to act rashly or explore the Secret Realm at random. He would leave the task of gathering information to the other Cultivators.

’This world is never short on geniuses who dare to explore, anyway. They are the true pioneers, the brave souls who dare to charge ahead and risk it all!’

DING. Another popular Yin Net notification popped up.

"Everyone, pay close attention! Soul Bodies are not permanent. If we don’t catch enough fish to absorb the Life Force they contain, we will dissipate and never be able to return to our physical bodies..."

’I wonder where they got that information.’ It probably came from the stone tablets. There were quite a few of them on the island’s shore—beacons of guidance left behind.

The stone tablets stood like tombstones along the endless coastline, inscribed with messages of varying lengths—all records of previous visitors’ explorations of the Dragon Spirit Secret Realm.

Evidently, it wasn’t just people from the Yin Yang Great Realm who had been here; others had come before. Perhaps, just like in the Northern Boundary, there had been many generations of Chosen Ones, none of whom had managed to complete their final mission.

Here, that mission was naturally to obtain the Dragon Spirit Fish.

As he was thinking, he suddenly noticed [Snow] squatting by the water’s edge, hugging her knees. Her finger tapped the surface lightly, sending faint ripples spreading out to infinity. "[Snow], don’t go in the water. It’s dangerous," he said. "Keep an eye on the info on the Yin Net. This Dragon Spirit Secret Realm is deathly still. One wrong move and we could both perish."

This was no exaggeration. Ever since entering the Dragon Spirit Secret Realm, he had lost all connection to the Outer Realm, unable to even sense his own physical body. The feeling of danger was magnified immensely, and he couldn’t afford a single moment of carelessness.

Now, people were even saying that you would die if you didn’t eat fish. This undoubtedly raised the stakes. No one dared to gamble on surviving if they couldn’t catch a fish.

"Jiang Qiu, there are lots of fish in the water, but they aren’t biting your hook," [Snow] said, her eyes narrowed as she observed the water. She seemed to possess a pair of spiritual eyes that could pierce its depths. "Can you really catch anything this way?"

"I don’t even have any bait..." Jiang Qiu muttered, his brow furrowing. "You can see the fish?"

He couldn’t see any fish in the water; in fact, he could barely see the water itself. It felt as absurd as fishing in pure ink.

The water clearly reflected the night sky, yet it revealed nothing of what lay beneath. It was as if a black lid sealed it off completely, and no one knew what sights the depths held.

’It wasn’t as if no one had gone in to take a look...’

"Holy crap, I’m in the water! Three meters down, my vision suddenly cleared! It’s glittering like a palace down here, with all kinds of Gold Fish swimming around! The Spirit Charm is ridiculously powerful! Even a Peeping Dao Realm expert could eat one and not have to worry about Life Force for a long, long time!"

"What, someone else actually dared to go in? Bro, how are you doing? You still alive?"

"I’m great, it’s fine. As long as you don’t go too deep, you’ll be o-.... (User has gone offline)"

"Tsk, that’s horrifying. Don’t go in the water. Whatever you do, DO NOT go in the water. It seems like it can dissolve our souls! Once the pressure builds to a certain point, you dissolve in an instant!"

Learning from the mistakes of others, Jiang Qiu certainly wasn’t about to rely on his superior Soul Strength to explore the water, nor would he let [Snow] do so.

After all, his soul and [Snow]’s were practically one. If her soul were to dissolve, he would undoubtedly suffer a grievous injury. Moreover, he would be unable to make any further progress in his Hundred Ghosts Dao, and his personal power would even regress.

Even if the water truly held mountains of gold and silver, Treasures of Heaven and Earth, and Gold Fish, he would never risk entering it... ’But are there really Gold Fish in there?’

Gazing at the boundless, ink-black ocean, Jiang Qiu felt a cold sweat prickle his back. He felt like he was in the Death Realm searching for a living ghost. It was absurd.

Here, there was almost no sense of time, nor any sense of coordinates. Most people on the Yin Net hadn’t been able to find anyone else, either.

Another portion of the users hadn’t made a peep, so it was uncertain if they were even present.

’The idea of a glittering golden palace in such a bizarre place is just too absurd,’ Jiang Qiu thought. ’I suspect they were deluded right before they died. In reality, there’s nothing in the water. It was all just an illusion.’

’Even if Gold Fish really exist, there would only be a few scattered about. It’s impossible that they’d be swimming in shimmering schools for a dying person to see.’

"I can see them. A moment ago, a fat, round fish passed by your hook. But it didn’t see any bait, so it shook its little head and leisurely swam away."

"Huh?"

Hearing this, Jiang Qiu put down his fishing rod and slowly stood up. He walked to [Snow]’s side and peered into the water with her. But even after trying every technique he knew, he couldn’t make out anything unusual on the viscous, ink-like surface of the ocean.

’This is truly strange. My Soul Realm is a whole High Realm higher than [Snow]’s, so how come I can’t sense anything at all?’

"You haven’t fallen under some kind of Illusion Technique, have you?"

He placed his hand on [Snow]’s shoulder, the soft touch steadying his nerves. "This water is as black as ink. How could you possibly see anything?"

"But Jiang Qiu, I really can see them," [Snow] said, tilting her head up. Beneath her mask, her two shining eyes looked especially eerie. Specks of some unknown, firefly-like substance drifted upward around them, casting a faint glow upon her mask. "And I can feel it... If I don’t eat a fish soon, my soul is going to disintegrate..."

HISS—

A chill shot through Jiang Qiu’s Spirit Body. An irresistible aura of death inexplicably brushed past his Celestial Spirit Acupoint, as if the very Laws of this Secret Realm were issuing a warning.

’Not eating fish really means death.’

"The stone tablet said to use a soul for bait. Where am I supposed to find a soul?"

Jiang Qiu shook his head. He hadn’t wanted to fish with an empty hook, but with no other options, he had to at least try.

"Jiang Qiu, you and I are both Soul Bodies. How could we possibly be short on souls?" [Snow] tilted her head, her eyes filled with immense confusion as her slender right index finger pointed toward the water. "I can already feel it. The fish in here will bite as long as there’s bait. They’re not picky."