Kong Yao

"What the hell is all this?"

This Fish Trap was full of River Sand, mixed with some tiny shrimp. Forget any big catch—even a slightly larger fish was nowhere to be seen.

Su Mu gathered up the Fish Trap and dumped out all the River Sand inside, releasing the little shrimp as well.

He planned to weave a few more Fish Traps and cast a wide net.

Su Mu found a type of vine by the shore. It was pale purple, soft in texture and highly pliable, perfect for weaving cages.

Using the Mat Weaving Method and a dozen or so purple vines, he quickly wove five Fish Traps.

It had to be said that Su Mu was truly skilled at handicrafts. The weave was tight, the framework sturdy, and they looked quite presentable.

Carrying the five Fish Traps, Su Mu returned to the shallow waters from before. He rolled up his trouser legs and waded to where the silk grass grew thickest. Places like that were usually where fish liked to gather.

With practiced ease, he set down all five Fish Traps. Once he was done, Su Mu went back to his other tasks.

The next day.

Su Mu rose early and headed to the silk grass waters to see whether there would be a big catch today.

The first Fish Trap was the same as yesterday, full of River Sand and shrimp. What a disappointment.

When he lifted the second trap, he found a tattooed spicy strip. Sure enough, once you set a Fish Trap, you were bound to catch water snakes!

This water snake was far too ordinary, so Su Mu released it.

The third and fourth traps were empty, with nothing inside.

Only the last trap remained. Su Mu lifted it nervously, only to find it still full of mud and River Sand.

Damn it! Was he going to come up empty-handed again??

Just then, Su Mu noticed movement in the mud. There was something inside!

He carried it ashore. After dumping out the mud, he found a round, pancake-shaped mollusk resembling an octopus, curled into a ball.

An octopus?? No, it didn't look like an octopus.

After examining it carefully, he realized it was a Kong Yao! Kong Yao was also called Boss Fish, Plowshare Fish, Pot Lid Fish, or Tiger Color.

They generally inhabited sandy bottoms in colder sea regions, often burying themselves shallowly in the sand with only their eyes and spiracles exposed. They hid during the day and came out to forage at night.

Su Mu knew quite a bit about fish, so he quickly identified it from its characteristics.

This Kong Yao was roughly forty centimeters long and twenty centimeters wide. Normally, Kong Yao had brownish-yellow bodies, but this one was purplish-red.

For some reason, Su Mu found this Kong Yao especially pleasing to the eye and decided to form a contract with it.

Form a contract?

"Yes."

With a thought from Su Mu, he and the Kong Yao instantly established a mental connection.

The Kong Yao, which had been trembling in fear a moment ago, sent Su Mu a friendly impression the next.

Su Mu placed the Kong Yao in the water. "Go on. If you find any good treasures, bring them to me."

Once he finished speaking, the Kong Yao remained where it was, somehow looking a little dazed.

It looked like it wasn't very bright.

The Kong Yao stayed still for several seconds, as though confirming something, before finally sinking slowly to the riverbed.

Although he had not caught anything big today, contracting a Kong Yao meant it was not a wasted trip.

Su Mu buried the Fish Traps in the water again.

There were plenty of treasures and precious fish in this river. Naturally, Su Mu had to make use of them.

Congratulations, you repaired a breach in the river channel. Favor Points +50

Congratulations, you saved a fish tangled in aquatic grass. Favor Points +10

Congratulations, you helped a stranded turtle. Favor Points +15

Congratulations, today was another peaceful day without incident, with calm winds and gentle waves. Due to your meritorious guard duty, you received extra Favor Points! Favor Points +100

His luck was quite good today. A full three hundred Favor Points had arrived.

Su Mu, who was repairing a breach along the riverbank, sensed a mental impression and headed toward a stretch of water downstream.

When he reached the shore, he saw the Kong Yao floating blankly on the river surface.

After Su Mu arrived, the Kong Yao flipped over. Clamped in its mouth was an emerald-green sapling.

"Is this your greeting gift for me?"

Su Mu took the emerald-green sapling and examined it from top to bottom.

What kind of sapling grew in a river?

He brought it to his nose and smelled a peculiar fragrance. The scent filled his nostrils, and in an instant, he felt refreshed and clear, every inch of his body incomparably invigorated.

Su Mu's eyes lit up.

A good treasure! The observant Su Mu noticed a bloody hole about a centimeter deep on the Kong Yao's left abdomen, so he used Favor Points to treat it.

Spend 20 Favor Points for treatment?

"Yes."

The next moment, the bloody hole began to heal.

Feeling the changes in its body, the Kong Yao seemed to become dazed again. Its pair of pitch-black eyes stared at Su Mu.

"Go play."

Only after Su Mu spoke did it slowly leave.

Holding the emerald-green sapling, Su Mu returned to the stone house. Having learned from the previous few times—

He decided not to boil it in water. Instead, he would swallow it whole and slowly refine it afterward.

After swallowing it in one bite, he sat cross-legged on the ground and began meditating.

The next moment.

Su Mu's face turned red from strain. No matter how he circulated his cultivation technique, he could not digest the emerald-green sapling. Worse still, it seemed to have begun growing inside his stomach!

A wave of nausea hit him, and he spat out the sapling.

The instant it landed on the ground, it burrowed into the soil. It took only three seconds.

The sapling had already taken root and begun to grow!

In just one shichen, it had grown taller than Su Mu himself.

The next day, when Su Mu woke up, he discovered a willow tree in front of his stone house! Its trunk was thick enough for one person to wrap their arms around, and it stood three meters tall. Its broad canopy covered Su Mu's entire stone house, while emerald willow branches glowing faintly green draped downward.

In just one night, it had grown from a willow sapling into a towering tree! This willow tree seemed to possess intelligence, as one willow branch lowered itself before Su Mu.

The next moment, the willow branch snapped off by itself and fell into Su Mu's hand.

He gripped the willow branch tightly and discovered that it contained incomparably vast energy! Without using any cultivation technique, Su Mu lightly lashed a shield before him with the willow branch.

Clang—

A shattering sound rang out, and Captain America's Shield, which had been incomparably sturdy, instantly split into two halves!

He had won this shield in a lottery some time ago and had tested it himself. Its defensive power was extraordinarily high, yet it had been shattered so effortlessly. Its power was obvious! Most importantly, he had not used any spiritual power at all. It was just an ordinary flick of the wrist.

"Perfect as a weapon."

Su Mu looked at the willow branch in his hand, delight shining in his eyes.

Suddenly, the willow tree lowered another branch before Su Mu.

Something was growing on this willow branch.

"What the hell is this?"