Chapter 221 - 220: Dao Fishing (2)
Lord Zhao channeled a burst of his Qi directly into the scripture scroll. The Void Refinement runes instantly ignited, flaring with a blinding white light that swallowed the scroll whole.
The fabric of reality in the courtyard violently tore open.
There was no sensation of falling, only a sudden, suffocating pressure that pressed against their eardrums and their souls. The light shifted from blinding white to pitch black, and then, violently, to an explosion of cosmic color.
When the light faded, the courtyard was gone.
They stood upon a smooth, glass-like shore formed from iridescent midnight-blue stone, its polished surface shimmering faintly beneath their feet, cool and strangely weightless against their soles.
The expanse of the Exotic Realm was ethereal, majestic, and unfathomably wide. It felt exactly like standing completely unshielded in the vast expanse of the starry sky. Above them, below them, and stretching out in every conceivable direction was a tapestry of infinite, glittering constellations and swirling cosmic dust, so vast that for a moment even Lin Yuan felt the faint, unfamiliar sensation of his own insignificance.
But the most breathtaking feature of the realm was directly in front of them.
A colossal, roaring waterfall of pure, liquid starlight poured down from the heavens above. It had no visible origin, emerging seamlessly from the void, and it crashed with a deafening, yet oddly soothing roar into a great, boundless sea that stretched out to the horizon. The water of the sea was not water at all, but liquid nebula, swirling with galaxies of violet, gold, and deep blue, each color bleeding gently into the next like ink dropped into still water.
"It is magnificent," Bai Qingyue breathed, her eyes reflecting the infinite stars of the realm, wide with an almost childlike wonder she rarely allowed herself to show. "It feels as though we are standing on the very edge of creation."
"It is the void," Lord Zhao said, his voice echoing strangely in the expansive space. He immediately stepped toward the edge of the glassy bank, raising his wooden rod. "We have exactly ten minutes before the spatial pressure crushes us. Cast your intent, Daoist Lin. We must not waste a second."
Lin Yuan walked to the edge of the bank. He did not possess a physical fishing rod. He didn’t need one.
He raised his right hand, pointing his index and middle fingers toward the great starry sea. He channeled his Thunder Rain Dao Intent, manifesting a long, shimmering line of Qi. With a flick of his wrist, he cast the spiritual line deep into the swirling liquid nebula.
Beside him, Bai Qingyue lacked the cultivation to form a spiritual line. Lord Zhao, anticipating this, withdrew a second, smaller wooden rod from his spatial ring and handed it to her.
"Focus your mind on the water, Lady Bai," Lord Zhao instructed gently. "Do not seek the fish. Let the fish seek your fortune."
Bai Qingyue took the rod, grasping it with both hands, and lowered the empty hook into the cosmic sea, her expression settling into calm, patient concentration.
For the first few minutes, the Exotic Realm was filled only with the deafening roar of the waterfall.
Lin Yuan stood perfectly still, his Dao Heart anchoring him against the immense pressure of the void. He extended his intent into the sea, offering both the raw power of Thunder and the nourishing essence of Rain.
Nothing.
His spiritual line remained entirely slack. The Great Dao within this sea was utterly indifferent to his might.
He glanced to his left. Lord Zhao was sweating slightly, his face contorted in deep concentration, his knuckles white as he gripped his rod. But his line, too, remained perfectly still.
"What fortune," Lord Zhao muttered bitterly under his breath. "More than three hundred years in a row. The Dao truly ignores the desperate."
Lin Yuan felt a flicker of amusement, but it was quickly overshadowed by a sudden, violent sound.
SNAP!
The wooden rod in Bai Qingyue’s hands violently bent entirely in half, the tip plunging straight down toward the swirling liquid nebula.
"Yuan!" Bai Qingyue cried out, nearly being pulled out of her wheelchair by the sheer, sudden force on the other end of the line.
Lin Yuan moved with instantaneous, blinding speed. He dropped his own spiritual line and flashed to her side, his hands immediately closing over hers on the bending wooden rod.
"I have it," Lin Yuan grunted, his Rank 10 Ancient Beast Body flexing as he pulled back against the impossible weight.
Lord Zhao dropped his rod completely, rushing over, his eyes wide with absolute shock. "She hooked one! By the Heavens, she actually hooked one! Pull, Daoist Lin! If it snaps the line, the fortune is lost forever!"
Lin Yuan widened his stance, digging his boots into the surface. The physical strength required was staggering. It felt as though he had hooked a literal mountain that was fighting to drag them into the void.
"Heave!" Lin Yuan commanded.
With a roar of exertion, channeling his spiritual energy into his arms, Lin Yuan violently yanked the rod upward. Lord Zhao grabbed the center of the rod, adding his own strength to the pull. Bai Qingyue held on with everything she had, her arms trembling from the strain, refusing to let go even as the force threatened to tear the rod from her grip entirely.
The surface of the cosmic sea exploded.
A geyser of liquid starlight erupted into the air, drenching all three of them in glittering droplets that dissolved into motes of light before they could even hit the ground, and from the depths of the nebula, a massive creature was hauled onto the glassy bank.
It was a fish, but it defied mortal logic. It was over ten feet long, its scales forged from what looked like pure bronze, etched with swirling runes that glowed with a pale, ghostly light. Its eyes were pools of liquid gold, radiating an ancient, terrifying sentience.
The massive fish hit the bank, thrashing violently, its bronze scales chiming like temple bells against the stone.
Lord Zhao fell backward, scrambling away from the creature, his face completely drained of blood. He pointed a finger at the thrashing beast, his hand shaking so badly it took him a moment to find his voice again.
"An Ancestral Fish..." Lord Zhao gasped, his voice cracking with sheer awe.