My Arts Evolve When Perfected

Not all waters were the same. On this massive lake with no visible shore, there was an island of moderate size, where a Cultivator from another land sat on a platform, fishing.

He had the appearance of a young man with slightly curly, medium-length hair. A mark of paired, colorful butterflies adorned the center of his forehead. His brilliant green eyes were as mesmerizing as jade. With his fair complexion, thin lips, and gentle disposition, he resembled a carefree young lord just returned from Jiangnan.

It was none other than the Dream Demon, one of the Ten Great Demon Marshals under [辰]. During the battle of Gao Yuan City, he had controlled a Dao Entry Realm Grandmaster, causing no small amount of trouble for the city.

Now, as a Cultivator who had come from another Great Realm, he had entered the Dragon Spirit Secret Realm and was currently fishing.

’Heh heh, it seems the task Emperor [辰] gave me isn’t too difficult. I caught the very first fish, so I guess you could say the entire Secret Realm is already under my control.’

After Venerable Zuo Xuan swept through the entire Blue Star, Emperor [辰] led all the talented members of the Demon Race at the Peeping Dao Realm and above to activate a Teleportation Array, crossing the void to arrive in this Primordial Great World Community.

Over a hundred Demon Race prodigies, including himself and the other newly appointed Ten Great Demon Marshals, stayed in various Great Realms to pursue their Cultivation according to Emperor [辰]’s arrangements.

According to the Primordial Great Realm’s base time coordinates, ten years had already passed, and he had successfully cultivated to the Half-Step Fusion Realm!

’To be able to follow Emperor [辰] is truly the fortune of three lifetimes. This great path is so smooth, with almost no obstacles. As long as I follow the Emperor’s command and obtain the Dragon Spirit Fish, I’ll have a great chance of advancing to the Fusion Realm. By then, I’ll be a powerhouse in my own right!’

In his moment of pride, the Dream Demon casually reeled in another Fish of One Life that glowed with a dazzling purple-gold light. With a tap of his fingertip, countless paired, colorful butterflies flew out, transforming into a strange river that enveloped the purple-gold fish.

SWOOSH...

In an instant, the fish’s Life Force withered away. It turned into a streak of light, was devoured, and then fed back into the Dream Demon’s body. He licked his lips, savoring the subtle increase in his soul’s aura, a pleased look on his face.

As a Demon Race prodigy specializing in the path of nightmares and personally groomed by Emperor [辰], he practiced complete Cultivation Techniques left behind by powerhouses who had once reached the Unity Realm.

Furthermore, his very physical body had been personally enhanced by Emperor [辰]. This path of cultivation was completely unobstructed; all he needed was some time and resources to reach a very high Realm.

However, the Fusion Realm was a great test of Talent. Even with Emperor [辰] personally giving sermons on the Dao, he was currently stuck at the Half-Step Fusion Realm, finding it difficult to advance.

In the end, he either had to achieve his own enlightenment or obtain a rare Treasure of Heaven and Earth like the Dragon Spirit Fish.

’Even though many experts have entered the Secret Realm this time, there probably isn’t a single one whose soul is as compatible with this place as mine. If I just wait it out, the Dragon Spirit Fish will be mine and mine alone.’

With a smile, the Dream Demon channeled his soul once more, took a slight breath, and cast his line.

Among the Ten Great Demon Marshals, his Cultivation Technique was extremely special. His personal soul level had completely surpassed the Dao Entry Realm. Even if he were attacked by a Fusion Realm expert who didn’t specialize in the soul path, he still had a chance of survival.

In other words, the strength of his Soul Body was comparable to that of a low-tier Fusion Realm expert, a level of power that would rank him in the top six thousand.

Of course, this alone wasn’t enough for him to compete for the Dragon Spirit Fish against other Fusion Realm or even higher Harmonization Realm experts. The most crucial thing was the wisp of Dragon Race bloodline aura that Emperor [辰] had bestowed upon him.

This was the Dragon Spirit Secret Realm, after all. The most compatible thing here was, of course, the bloodline of the Dragon Race!

Just think about it: across the boundless heavens and countless worlds, besides the great Emperor [辰], where else could one find the bloodline of the Dragon Race?!

This was the source of his confidence!

’With that wisp of Dragon Race bloodline aura from Lord Emperor [辰], any fish will be attracted to my soul. I only need to expend a minuscule amount of soul to hook a Fish of One Life. Fishing is a piece of cake.’

Muttering to himself, the Dream Demon hooked another Purple Goldfish and quickly absorbed it, reveling in the process.

Time flowed by unknowingly. The sky in this Secret Realm grew subtly brighter. As more and more fish were caught, more and more souls dissipated from this world forever.

Of course, the Dream Demon was aware of this. He had heard some speculations about the rules of this place from [辰], and the stone monument behind him even had a record of it.

However, he didn’t know the specific details of the changes. He wasn’t from the Yin Yang Great Realm, so he wasn’t wearing a mask and couldn’t access the Yin Net...

Meanwhile, Jiang Qiu was also fishing tirelessly. When he discovered that Snow’s soul bait wasn’t being consumed by the Fish of One Life at all, he heaved a great sigh of relief and continued fishing with a relaxed heart.

He even went so far as to cut down a bamboo stalk for Snow. She sat on the fishing platform—right by his feet—her bare feet dangling in the air. With a lift of her fair hand, two purple-gold Fish of One Life leaped out of the water, tracing a graceful arc through the air.

"Ehehe, Senior Brother, look! Two fish took the bait!"

She nudged Jiang Qiu’s leg, then cheerfully picked up the fish to absorb them. The Life Force from the fish transferred into both of their bodies.

’I don’t know why, but even though we’re using the exact same soul bait, Snow is just much better at fishing than I am. Sometimes she even gets three fish biting at once, scrambling over each other to get to her hook.’

’But at least these fish aren’t consuming any of our souls, so that’s a good thing.’

Jiang Qiu accepted it all with a smile. He ruffled her hair and praised her, "You’re still the best."

Life as a fisherman was just that simple and unadorned. On average, a fish would take the hook every few breaths. Jiang Qiu and Snow continuously absorbed the Fish of One Life that existed in these waters.

A humming fluctuation burst forth from this patch of water like a gushing spring, its spectrum propagating out in continuous waves. However, with so many people catching fish at the moment, it didn’t seem particularly conspicuous and was quickly drowned out.

Before they knew it, Jiang Qiu and Snow had absorbed several thousand Fish of One Life. They could no longer feel the threat of the Secret Realm Law at all. In fact, their souls were so full that Jiang Qiu was having trouble digesting any more.

Fortunately, Snow could still digest more; her Dragon Maiden physique was like a bottomless pit.

"Forget it. Snow, you go ahead and fish for a while. I’m going to check the Yin Net for any important information I might have missed." Setting down his fishing rod, Jiang Qiu ruffled Snow’s hair again and closed his eyes to focus. "Looks like there actually is something..."

"Everyone has probably realized by now that fishing consumes a huge amount of soul. The souls we expend are fed back into this Secret Realm, which then gives birth to new Fish of One Life, continuously generating Life Force.

Most Dharma Realm cultivators’ souls were drained dry before they even had a chance to serve as bait. The only ones still active now are those at the Peeping Dao Realm and above.

Even among the Peeping Dao Realm experts, too many have fallen into a coma due to excessive soul damage..."

Jiang Qiu frowned. ’Have that many people died already?’

’I didn’t feel a thing.’