Red-Scaled Dragon Carp

Jing Qian waited in silence.

The note stated it clearly: the Dragon Gate Grass Ball could attract Red-Scaled Dragon Carp within a radius of three thousand li.

At such a distance, he was afraid he would have to wait quite a while.

Yet contrary to his expectations, after only the time it took to burn a stick of incense, before he had even eaten a few bites of crab meat, a streak of gold and crimson shot straight over from the distance.

The streak of gold and crimson revealed its form—a strange carp no larger than a palm.

Its bearing was graceful, its body alternating between gold and crimson, while four barbels hung beneath it, each longer than its body.

After arriving, the little carp dove headfirst into the Dragon Gate Grass Ball and began gobbling it down. For a time, it was drenched in the ball's power, unable to digest it all. In the end, it simply lay down and fell asleep.

To be honest, this was the first time Jing Qian had ever seen a fish sleeping!

Through the Void Realm, he could clearly see white Magic Power radiance swirling around the carp's entire body.

Only along its spine was there a faint trace of purple.

In terms of strength, although this fish was also at the White Fang tier, it had no advantage in size, and its Destiny Essence did not appear particularly robust.

Jing Qian sensed no threat from it whatsoever.

Thus, he acted at once.

A figure suddenly appeared directly beneath the Dragon Gate Grass Ball.

He wrapped both arms around it and gathered the grass ball into his embrace.

Then, the two thin threads that had long been lying in ambush inside the grass ball abruptly tightened, binding the Red-Scaled Carp tightly and leaving it unable to break free.

The next second, both the figure and the fish vanished completely from where they had been.

Within the Void Realm, Jing Qian used the power of space to effortlessly suppress the Red-Scaled Dragon Carp's resistance, then held it before his face for a careful inspection.

The fish was unexpectedly soft!

The scales covering its body felt like smooth, tender tofu. A light squeeze nearly made them split open.

Moreover, unlike the stickiness and fishy odor of ordinary fish, this one exuded a unique, fragrant aroma that made Jing Qian's appetite surge!

Following his instincts, he brought the carp to his mouth and gently bit off a grain-of-rice-sized piece of one of its barbels.

In an instant, the barbel melted the moment it entered his mouth, transforming into a stream of pure energy that nourished his flesh.

Jing Qian felt that both his spirit and his body had received a trace of precious strengthening!

After experiencing it for himself, he reached a conclusion.

This carp was neither poisonous nor harmful. It could be eaten!

Without further hesitation, he treated the palm-sized carp like a slice of taiyaki and swallowed it in two or three bites.

This time, a vast tide of pure energy erupted from within him, filling both his body and mind.

A burst of clear light flashed before Jing Qian's eyes, occupying his entire consciousness. He lost all perception of the outside world!

He did not know how long had passed before he finally awoke from the process.

It was as though he had been facing the sea, sleeping deeply in the spring breeze as it brushed his face. His body and mind felt utterly refreshed!

His body had undergone an even greater change. It had quietly grown another half a chi, surpassing four chi in height.

With a leap of his consciousness, Jing Qian stood before his Destiny Stele and examined the personal information displayed upon it:

Host: Jing Qian

Lifespan: 1/150 years

Destiny Essence: 4.11 (White Fang)

Destiny Pattern: Sumeru (Golden Root), Sewing Souls and Weaving Spirits (Azure Wing)

Just from eating one fish, his Lifespan had directly surged by six years!

Even his White Fang Destiny Essence had inexplicably increased by an entire unit!

He finally understood why someone would use a treasure of the Azure Wing tier to lure a White Fang-tier carp.

The flesh of this Red-Scaled Dragon Carp could actually increase Lifespan!

It was inevitably an exceedingly valuable treasure!

Looking beyond the Safe Zone, he saw that the Red-Scaled Dragon Carp's spirit had entered this place as well.

It was merely much smaller in form. If it had not been bouncing around energetically on the ground, Jing Qian might have overlooked it!

He raised his hand and shot out a thread, pulling the little fry over and pressing it against the outer membrane of the Safe Zone.

Then he leaned forward and swallowed it whole once more.

He suddenly realized that this Destiny Stele Space was perfectly suited for squeezing the spirits of aquatic creatures dry!

Once they left their underwater environment, the strength of any aquatic creature would inevitably decline.

That made harvesting their spirits far easier.

It was certainly not like that Snow Woman across the way, whose Dharma Form covered her body and radiated bone-piercing cold. Jing Qian could not break through her defenses and had no desire to approach merely to get beaten.

This fry-like Dragon Carp spirit only brought him a 0.1 increase in Destiny Essence—hardly worth mentioning.

What was valuable was the unique cluster of memories within it, which contained an innate secret art originating from the Red-Scaled Dragon Carp's bloodline:

Dragon Travel Technique!

The name of this secret art sounded impressive, but in reality, it was a peculiar technique for manipulating currents and enhancing one's swimming speed.

It was also one of the roots behind the Dragon Carp's astonishing swimming speed.

Although Jing Qian did not possess a fish's body, he was currently living by the sea and would have plenty of opportunities to enter the water.

Although he lacked the corresponding Destiny Pattern and could not fully execute this secret art, he could still use its knowledge to adjust his swimming posture and borrow the force of the currents, reducing resistance in the sea and making himself more agile. Its uses were considerable.

Jing Qian was extremely satisfied with what he had gained!

The Red-Scaled Dragon Carp was truly a wonderful thing—one could never have too many.

He returned to the Void Realm and continued staring at the Dragon Gate Grass Ball, waiting for a new harvest.

There could not possibly be only one Red-Scaled Dragon Carp within a three-thousand-li radius of sea, could there?

Sure enough, before long, another streak of crimson-gold tore through the ocean current at incredible speed and plunged headfirst into the Dragon Gate Grass Ball, gobbling it down ravenously.

To Jing Qian's surprise, this Dragon Carp was more than twice as large as the one he had eaten earlier, reaching the length of an adult's arm.

With a fish this size, it could probably prolong his life by twenty years, right?

Its value would undoubtedly multiply several times over!

Jing Qian patiently waited for the Dragon Carp to finish eating the grass ball and, like the previous one, fall asleep on its own.

But this large fish clearly had greater stamina. It withstood the infusion of Magic Power and devoured a third of the grass ball without showing any sign of falling asleep.

Jing Qian did not dare appear rashly. If the Dragon Carp transformed into golden light in the water, he would not even be able to touch its edge.

A precious opportunity lay before him, but if his strength was insufficient to seize it, then the opportunity would quietly slip away between his fingers!

The Dragon Carp was extraordinarily nimble and sensitive. It had been frantically devouring the grass ball, but in the next second, it suddenly transformed into golden light again and swam toward the distance.

Its speed far exceeded the limits of Jing Qian's understanding, just like a bolt of lightning underwater.

Yet a streak of black light shot out from the side, blocking the golden light's path, halting it in its tracks before attacking the Dragon Carp.