Fishing

Deep within the Heavenly River lies a secluded spot at the junction of two deep water areas. To the left is a dark, deep valley, and to the right is a gentle river ridge. The water flows here, forming a natural whirlpool. The concentration of Spiritual Energy in the surrounding area is significantly higher than elsewhere, but due to the complex terrain, few cultivators are willing to venture here.

Lin Ming then sat down cross-legged on the Golden Dragon Token once more.

He gently trembled his long, slender fingers, and instantly, Spirit Seal appeared from his fingertips.

He flicked his fingers repeatedly, and the Spirit Seal shot out as if it had been released, quickly merging into the void.

Each Spirit Seal emitted an extremely subtle hum upon entering the void, like a seed being buried in the soil.

In just a few breaths, a Spirit Formation appeared in front of Lin Ming.

The Spirit Formation floated above the river. It had no offensive power; its only function was to gather the scattered Spiritual Energy in the surrounding area into the array, like an invisible funnel that sucked in Spirit Qi from all directions.

Zi Yan squatted at the bow of the boat, looking at the Spirit Formation. After tilting her head and examining it for a moment, she asked, "What are you planning to do with this?"

As Lin Ming continued to imbue the spirit Spirit Formation Spirit Seal, he explained, "During my previous observations, I discovered that each Heavenly River Spirit appears in a place where Spiritual Energy is abundant and concentrated within the Heavenly River. Clearly, these Heavenly River Spirit instinctively go to these places rich in Spiritual Energy, because their instincts drive them to continuously absorb Spiritual Energy to strengthen themselves."

After a pause, Lin Ming's fingers flew across the air as he fired out more than a dozen Spirit Seal, reinforcing the structure of the Spirit Gathering Formation.

"In that case, I won't need to painstakingly search for the Heavenly River Spirit anymore. I can create a place abundant with Spiritual Energy and then lure those Heavenly River Spirit to come here on their own."

At this point, a smile appeared on Lin Ming's lips, and a glint of light flashed in his dark, unfathomable eyes.

"This is my idea: set up a fishing net, and the fish will naturally be the Heavenly River Spirit."

Zi Yan's eyes lit up upon hearing this. She clapped her hands and said, "Great idea! This way we don't have to chase after them one by one; we can just wait for them to come to us."

But then she seemed to remember something, and her brows furrowed slightly.

"However, a fishing net must contain bait to attract fish. Although your Spirit Gathering Formation can gather Spiritual Energy, is it enough to serve as bait?"

Lin Ming smiled slightly, and Spirit Seal condensed again at his fingertips, then shot into the Spirit Gathering Formation and quickly merged into it.

A continuous stream of Spirit Seal shot out, and a rudimentary Spirit Formation array quickly took shape.

The Spirit Seal burst forth from his hands in a deluge, like countless butterflies fluttering into the void, gradually forming the outermost layer of the Spirit Formation.

This setup took Lin Ming a considerable amount of time, as he needed to set up far more than just a Spirit Gathering Formation.

The Spirit Gathering Formation is merely bait. But if you only have bait without a fishing net, it's all for naught.

Therefore, he set up a complete Grandmaster-level Spirit Formation outside of this, the Three Essence Devouring Nether Formation.

Lin Ming's ten fingers flew swiftly, one Spirit Seal after another pouring out from his fingertips, like a colorful meteor shower falling into the void.

The Spirit Seal were nestled together in layers, each resonating with the surrounding Spirit Seal, and the Spiritual Runes connecting them were like an extremely intricate spider web.

The process of setting up the formation was extremely slow and meticulous. A thin layer of sweat appeared on his forehead, but his fingers remained as steady as a rock, without the slightest tremor.

As the last Spirit Seal merged into the void and began to resonate with the surrounding Spirit Seal, the entire formation trembled violently, illuminating itself with a soft light before slowly receding and returning to calm.

Lin Ming breathed a sigh of relief. He lowered his hand, looked ahead, and a smile appeared on his lips.

Although this place appears peaceful, he has turned it into a den of dragons and tigers.

The Three Essence Devouring Nether Formation is a true grandmaster-level array. With the amplification of Spiritual Energy within the Heavenly River, even Earth Sovereign being would be utterly defeated if they stepped into it.

"Let's see if it works," Lin Ming said calmly.

His voice carried a calm, eager anticipation, like an old fisherman casting his net into the water, waiting to see when the fish would swim in.

Upon hearing this, Zi Yan's eyes lit up with anticipation. She sat Cross-legged in the boat, her hands supporting her chin, her purplish-gold eyes fixed on the Spirit Formation, like a cat crouching at the entrance of a hole waiting for a mouse to emerge.

Lin Ming flicked his finger, and a beam of spiritual light shot out from his fingertip, accurately entering the innermost Spirit Gathering Formation.

The Spirit Formation trembled violently and was then fully activated.

Instantly, light emanated, and a suction force burst forth, spreading in all directions from the Spirit Gathering Formation, like an invisible hand stirring the river water.

Splash!

The surrounding Heavenly River Water suddenly rippled. Visible Spiritual Energy surged forth, and the Spirit Mist was drawn from the river waters in all directions, converging towards the Spirit Gathering Formation array like a flock of sheep being driven.

Because the Spiritual Energy within the Heavenly River is so vast, the effect of this Spirit Gathering Formation is exceptionally good.

In just a few breaths, the river water within the Spirit Gathering Formation began to show signs of condensing into fragments of Spiritual Energy.

The fragments of crystal were about the size of grains of sand, crystal clear, like sugar frosting compressed to its limit slowly settling in the array.

A vast expanse of Spirit Mist emanated from it, enveloping the entire Spirit Formation in a hazy, milky-white fog.

The Spiritual Energy there was clearly purer and more abundant than in other parts of the Heavenly River, like a pot of rich, simmered spiritual soup, its aroma filling the air.

Lin Ming nodded slightly as he watched this scene. The fishing net and bait had been successfully set; now it was time to see if the fish would take the bait.

If that doesn't work, he can only resort to the most primitive but also the least efficient method.

The two then sat quietly on the Golden Dragon Token. Lin Ming then set up a Spirit Formation around them to conceal his Spiritual Energy fluctuations. The Spirit Formation was like a transparent film that enveloped the two Golden Dragon Skiff, isolating their aura from the surrounding river water, so as not to be detected by the Heavenly River Spirit and thus prevented them from being ambushed.

After arranging everything, the two of them, like two stones sunk to the bottom of the water, quietly waited for their prey to arrive.

Time passed slowly. The depths of the Heavenly River were silent, with only the occasional sound of waves rippling in the air.

The river flowed gently beneath their feet, and the distant Spirit Mist surged and dispersed within the formation; everything appeared peaceful and serene.

But just then, the river ahead began to move strangely.

The sound of the river water rippled more rapidly than before, and a ray of light appeared in the distance, like a moving star in the river.

Then it floated over quickly, at an incredible speed, like a pebble launched from a slingshot.

Upon seeing this, joy immediately welled up in Lin Ming and Zi Yan's eyes, for that beam of light was none other than a Heavenly River Spirit.

Zi Yan straightened her back immediately, her purple-gold eyes shining like two lamps. Her lips moved but no sound came out, for fear of startling her prey.

The Heavenly River Spirit arrived rapidly, its light flickering erratically, seemingly heading straight for the Spirit Gathering Formation with great urgency.

It swayed across the river, quickly appearing at the outermost edge of the layers of Spirit Formation. Then its speed suddenly slowed down, like a traveler slowing down when they smelled the aroma of food.

It hovered around the outer edge of the Spirit Formation, its surface slowly rippling with Spiritual Runes, as if sensing something.

Lin Ming's heart skipped a beat. This Heavenly River Spirit seemed to have sensed a strange fluctuation of Spiritual Energy in the surrounding river water.

The Heavenly River Spirit lingered outside the Spirit Formation, appearing somewhat hesitant.

It circled outside the formation, drifting several feet to the left and then stopping, then drifting several feet to the right and then stopping again, like a mouse circling a mousetrap, clearly smelling the aroma of food inside, yet instinctively feeling that something was wrong.

The powerful Spiritual Energy emanating from the Spirit Gathering Formation was like the most delicious food to it, making it extremely eager for it.

Its surface light flickered on and off, at a faster frequency than before, as if the "hunger" and "vigilance" within its simple intelligence were fighting.

The Heavenly River Spirit lingered for a while, but its simple intelligence ultimately prevented it from giving up the temptation before it.

It circled the Spirit Formation twice more, but ultimately, its hunger overcame its faint sense of vigilance.

It charged in headfirst, like a rabbit that finally couldn't resist pouncing on the bait, crashing into the Spirit Gathering Formation.

Buzzing.

It lingered within the Spirit Gathering Formation, frantically devouring the extremely powerful Spiritual Energy within.

The ball of light spun rapidly within the array, its surface Spiritual Runes flashing wildly as if activated, growing brighter and brighter, like a star being ignited.

A buzzing vibration emanated from it, seemingly extremely cheerful, like a fish rolling around in a pond.

It greedily absorbed the Spiritual Energy that had condensed into fragments of light, growing brighter and stronger with each wisp of light it devoured.

As the Heavenly River Spirit joyfully absorbed the Spiritual Energy, smiles appeared on the faces of Lin Ming and his companion.

The fish finally took the bait.

Zi Yan clenched her fists, her lips curled into a wide smile, and said in a low voice, "Gotcha, gotcha! Quick, close the net!"

He looked even more excited than if he had caught it himself.

Lin Ming nodded slightly, and a ray of spiritual light quietly gathered at his fingertips, aiming at the trigger node of the Three Essence Devouring Nether Formation Array.

It's time to close the net.

Boom!

As soon as Lin Ming had a thought, he saw that the hidden Spirit Formation outside the Spirit Gathering Formation suddenly erupted.

The Spiritual Runes patterns that had been dormant in the void suddenly lit up at that moment, their light bursting out like a giant net being suddenly tightened.

Instantly, Spirit Formation patterns appeared, transforming into layers of Spirit Formation that enveloped the Spirit Gathering Formation.

The Three Essence Devouring Nether Formation was like a giant beast that had finally opened its mouth. The Spiritual Runes lit up and intertwined to form a dazzling yet dangerous light curtain, completely sealing off the entire area.