Preparation

The fish in the river were a pack of starving ghosts. After switching rods, it was not long before another fish took the bait. Wang Daoyuan's fishing rod was made of spirit wood, its line woven from spirit silkworm silk, and its hook forged from a kind of spirit iron. Though none of it had been refined by an Artifact Refiner, the materials themselves were already immensely sturdy, so there was no need to worry about them snapping.

The moment the fish bit, Wang Daoyuan raised his rod. His hand suddenly sank, and another Clear River Carp was flung ashore.

Wang Daoyuan was somewhat surprised. Such a precious spirit fish, yet it had so little backbone—it could not resist a few grains of spirit rice.

At the sight, the onlookers could no longer hold themselves back. Quite a few began making simple fishing rods and hooks on the spot.

After catching two fish, Wang Daoyuan waited another half an hour and reeled in several more Pseudo Spirit Fish, but no more Clear River Carp took the bait. He then packed up his rod and returned to his cave dwelling, leaving countless cultivators fishing along the bank.

After returning to his cave dwelling, Wang Daoyuan sent his divine sense into the Spirit Pearl Space. In the spirit rice field, he dug a pit two zhang square, used a Rain Transformation Talisman, and quickly filled it with rainwater. He placed the Clear River Carp and Pseudo Spirit Fish he had caught into the pool, then withdrew his divine sense from the Spirit Pearl Space.

Not long afterward, Ninth Great-Uncle Wang Zhide came to his cave dwelling.

Wang Daoyuan's cave dwelling was small enough to take in at a glance. When Wang Zhide did not see the Clear River Carp, he asked, "Where is the Clear River Carp?"

Wang Daoyuan replied, "I put it in—"

Before he could finish, Wang Zhide interrupted him. "Do not say it aloud. It is best if no one but you knows where it is. Just make sure the fish does not die."

"Rest assured, Ninth Great-Uncle. The Clear River Carp is absolutely safe. It will not die." Wang Daoyuan patted his chest in guarantee.

Wang Zhide sighed. "Our Wang Clan is still too weak. We may not be able to keep the Clear River Carp this time. Prepare yourself mentally. When the time comes to hand it over, do not be reluctant. Otherwise, the entire Lineage will suffer with you."

Wang Daoyuan was somewhat puzzled. "Since it concerns the Lineage's interests, of course I will not be reluctant. I simply do not understand. Is the Clear River Carp truly so important that our Lineage cannot swallow it whole?"

Wang Zhide gave a bitter smile. "If this had been three hundred years ago, it would not have mattered even if you stewed those two Clear River Carp directly. But now, Clear River Carp have not appeared for more than two hundred years. These two may be the last ones left.

"The Clear River Carp itself is not worth all that much. Eating it can strengthen one's physique, consolidate one's foundation and nurture one's vitality, heal hidden injuries, and the like. Moreover, it is only useful to Foundation Establishment Cultivators and those below.

"What is valuable is not its practical value, but its utterly useless flavor. Speaking of deliciousness, not to mention Qingli Commandery—even in the entire Zhao Kingdom, among all manner of fine foods, those that can compare to Clear River Carp can be counted on one hand.

"The Three Great Sects were not particularly reputable Righteous Sects to begin with. After replacing the Zhao Family, they became extravagantly indulgent. To flaunt their status, they often threw away fortunes on scraps of worthless iron, let alone Clear River Carp, a supreme delicacy already famed far and wide.

"It is said that more than two hundred years ago, the last Clear River Carp was auctioned off among several Golden Core Cultivators and ultimately sold for the sky-high price of one hundred thousand Spirit Stones. Now that these two fish have reappeared after more than two hundred years, could their price possibly be low? These two fish are worth at least over a hundred thousand Spirit Stones. Such an enormous sum is not something our tiny Wang Clan can swallow."

"I have already sent word to the clan head. How this will be handled next depends on the Lineage's decision. Our task is to prevent anyone from snatching the Clear River Carp. Wealth moves the heart. A prize worth more than a hundred thousand Spirit Stones is enough to make the vast majority lose their minds."

After hearing Ninth Great-Uncle's words, Wang Daoyuan remained silent for a long while before saying, "Ninth Great-Uncle, do you have a Spirit Beast Bag? It need not be anything advanced. It only needs to hold two fish."

Wang Zhide asked doubtfully, "What do you need a Spirit Beast Bag for?"

Wang Daoyuan smiled mysteriously. "When falsehood becomes truth, truth becomes false; when truth becomes false, falsehood becomes truth."

A look of understanding appeared on Wang Zhide's face. He removed a bag from his waist. It looked no different from an ordinary storage bag. "This is a low-grade Spirit Beast Bag. Take it and use it.

"You must be careful. If the Clear River Carp cannot be kept, then so be it. It was windfall wealth to begin with. If it is lost, treat it as though you never caught it. Your life is your own. Once it is gone, it can never be found again."

Wang Zhide took out another storage bag. "These are the Talismans I promised you last time: three Low-grade Second-order Golden Blade Talismans, one Low-grade Second-order Earth Armor Talisman, and one Second-Order Mid-Grade Divine Movement Talisman. Remember to repay me the Spirit Stones and Contribution Points. Use them well. So long as you do not encounter Foundation Establishment Cultivators, they can keep you alive. There are also several Tier One High-Grade Talismans inside. Keep them for protection.

"You should come to my cave dwelling as well. It has a Defensive Formation, so it will be safer."

Wang Daoyuan shook his head. "It would be useless. By your account, the Clear River Carp is worth so much that there will certainly be quite a few Foundation Establishment Cultivators coming to seize it.

"The formations around the shops and cave dwellings are no more than a sheet of paper in the eyes of Foundation Establishment Cultivators. The two of us cannot stop them either.

"Whether we can repel the enemy depends on whether I can fool them."

Wang Zhide sighed and turned to leave.

Wang Daoyuan accepted the Talismans. Unlike the yellow Talisman Paper used for First-order Talismans, these Second-order Talismans all used purple paper. Purple Talisman Paper's ability to bear spiritual power was more than a notch and a half greater; otherwise, it could not withstand the spiritual power of Second-order Talismans.

The power of a Second-order Talisman when activated was said to rival a single strike from a Foundation Establishment Cultivator. With so much spiritual power poured into the Talisman Paper, if the paper were not strong enough, it would collapse outright.

The runes of Second-order Talismans were also far more complex, though they still shared many similarities with First-order runes of the same type. First-order runes were more like simplified versions of Second-order runes.

He carefully placed these Second-order Talisman Papers inside the thatched hut in the Spirit Pearl Space, ensuring that he could take them out for use at any time.

It was still morning, and the sky was early. Even if someone wanted to seize the Clear River Carp, they would not act in broad daylight. Besides, many cultivators were still fishing along Qingxi and both banks of the Qingli River. No one knew whether more Clear River Carp might be caught, so there was no need to risk breaking into the Wang Clan's shop to rob it.

While no one had come to rob him yet, it was best to make more preparations. Though he had Second-order Talismans as trump cards, more preparation was always better. Who knew how many desperate outlaws would be drawn by Clear River Carp worth over a hundred thousand Spirit Stones?

Wang Daoyuan took out Talisman Paper and Spirit Ink and began attempting to refine Tier One High-Grade Talismans.

Refining Tier One Mid-Grade and low-grade Talismans did not place much demand on divine sense, but they could only be activated with spiritual power. Refining Tier One High-Grade Talismans, however, required divine sense to be infused into them. Talismans refined in this way could be activated by divine sense without being held in one's hand. So long as they were within the range of one's divine sense, they could be activated, making their use far more concealed.

An ordinary Talisman Master could attempt to refine Tier One High-Grade Talismans once his success rate in refining Tier One Mid-Grade Talismans reached sixty percent. Wang Daoyuan had reached that level even with an Inferior Talisman Brush, so he was fully qualified to attempt Tier One High-Grade Talismans.

Wang Daoyuan calmed his mind and focused his spirit, making preparations before formally drawing Talismans. He intended to refine a Tier One High-Grade Illusory Cloud Talisman. This was a Water Attribute Talisman that could release a mass of mist lasting half an hour. Cultivators who entered it would fall into an illusion.

Anyone bold enough to come rob him would at least be in the Late Stage of Qi Condensation. In a direct confrontation, Wang Daoyuan had no chance of victory. It was more reliable to use an illusion to stall the enemy. Once the enemy fell into the illusion, he could use offensive Talismans to kill them.

Tier One High-Grade Talismans were much harder to refine. He needed to pour both spiritual power and divine sense into the Talisman Brush at the same time, ensuring not only that the power was injected evenly, but also that the two forces did not clash.

Before beginning, he first took out the Tier One High-Grade Talismans Ninth Great-Uncle had sent him and studied them carefully, observing how Ninth Great-Uncle drew the runes and handled the conflict between divine sense and spiritual power.

Only after half an hour did he begin refining. Even so, he failed twice in a row before finding a trace of the right feeling. It was not until his seventh attempt that he successfully refined his first Illusory Cloud Talisman.

He then struck while the iron was hot and refined two more Illusory Cloud Talismans, using a total of ten sheets of Talisman Paper. He wanted to continue, but neither his divine sense nor spiritual power allowed it. Without relying on external items to restore them, his limit was merely ten Tier One High-Grade Talismans per day.

Three completed Talismans from ten sheets of paper meant his success rate had not reached forty percent. He could not yet be considered a true Tier One High-Grade Talisman Master.

By then, night had fallen. Those seeking to seize the Clear River Carp could appear at any moment, so he had to quickly recover his condition. No matter how much preparation he had made, it would all be in vain if he could not hold himself up.

Wang Daoyuan took two more Pseudo Spirit Fish from the Spirit Pearl Space, placed them in a basin of water, and put them into the Spirit Beast Bag.

He then pledged allegiance to the Spirit Beast Bag and hung it at his waist.

Spirit Beast Bags could also be pledged allegiance to, though it was generally not very useful. Cultivators of the same level could break it open in the time it took to burn half an incense stick.

If the cultivator's cultivation was far higher than his own, they could resolve it in less than the time it took to drink half a cup of tea.

But that brief time, less than it took to drink half a cup of tea, was immensely valuable to Wang Daoyuan's plan.

After a robber seized the Spirit Beast Bag, they would not dare linger for the time it took to drink half a cup of tea and verify whether it was real or fake on the spot.

After making every preparation, he swallowed a Clear Spirit Pill to restore his divine sense and sat in meditation to recover both divine sense and spiritual power.