Fish Dragon

Yu Ci truly felt the anger of a Core Formation cultivator, but it still wasn't enough to stop him. Even if he couldn't see, even if he had no fixed place, he could still vibrate his throat and speak clearly, "Master Yu, please name your price!"

The bloody sunset suddenly dispersed, as if a heavy burden had been lifted. The sudden shift in weight made Yu Ci's body sway, but he only swayed for a moment before continuing to stand outside the pavilion, his gaze refocused on the old Daoist's face, as if he had merely been momentarily distracted.

From beginning to end, his gaze never fell upon Jin Huan. As for Manager Lu, who had already pressed close to him, almost ready to strike, he was completely ignored.

He hadn't reached his limit yet!

With Jin Huan's cultivation level, he should have been able to exert absolute suppression over Yu Ci, but that was based on a fundamental disparity in spirit and physique. And now, although Yu Ci still had an unbridgeable gap to Jin Huan's peak Core Formation realm, what permeated his body was the pure and orthodox "Innate One Qi." While it might still be inferior to Jin Huan's mastery, there was no qualitative difference!

He didn't know what Jin Huan's expression was like now, but the old Daoist before him seemed lost in thought. After a slight pause, the old Daoist spoke, "The 'Yi Mu Ju Ling Tang' is a secret recipe of our Li Chen Sect, specially transferred to Bai Ri Mansion for the purification of herbs. All Fish Dragon Grass obtained from this soup should belong to Bai Ri Mansion. If anyone else brings it for trade, our sect will not accept it!"

This response truly gave Bai Ri Mansion a lot of face. Not to mention Jin Huan, Lu Yang outside the pavilion showed a smile. Taking another step forward, the two young men also reacted, flexing their muscles, ready to teach this deserving Daoist an unforgettable lesson.

Yu Ci, however, remained unmoved. He took out the stone box he had prepared long ago, held it up with one palm, and extended it forward. Lu Yang, who was about to grab him, was surprised by Yu Ci's sudden action, which made it seem as if he himself was trying to snatch something away. He was momentarily stunned.

During this pause, Yu Ci spoke again, "These thirteen stalks of Fish Dragon Grass were dug out by me from the cliffs deep within Sky Rift Valley, at great effort and expense. They are naturally grown and nurtured by heaven. What does this have to do with Bai Ri Mansion?"

"Oh?" The old Daoist's white eyebrows twitched, genuinely surprised. "Not cultivated, but naturally formed?"

Yu Ci grinned, "Genuine as can be!"

The old Daoist's seemingly cloudy old eyes swept over him, nodding slightly. Without regard for Jin Huan's expression beside him, he nodded and said, "If they are truly naturally grown and nurtured, then you can certainly name your price... Bring them here for me to see!"

Yu Ci stepped forward. With this step, he realized that resisting the rage of a Core Formation cultivator was not as easy as he had imagined. His stamina had been almost completely drained in the previous moment, and he was now nearly exhausted. He felt as if he were stepping on cotton as he walked on the broken stone path, unable to find solid ground.

His true condition could not be hidden from others, and the two young men behind him were eagerly anticipating his embarrassment. Yu Ci himself, however, paid it no mind. He took a deep breath and walked past Lu Yang. Lu Yang only needed to raise his hand and strike to take his life, but that palm was never delivered.

Yu Ci entered the pavilion and still remembered to nod to Jin Huan beside him, just as he had when entering the temple on the mountain path. Jin Huan glanced at him coldly and then lowered his eyes to focus inward, giving no response and allowing no one to see his expression. However, the temperature around the small pavilion rose again.

Smiling once more, Yu Ci bowed to the old Daoist and placed the stone box on the table, next to the other two boxes.

As the box was opened, Yu Ci clearly felt four gazes, like golden snakes of lightning, darting over. Then he looked inside, and in the next moment, the air in the pavilion completely solidified.

Inside the stone box, it was empty.

There were no thirteen stalks of Fish Dragon Grass as Yu Ci had claimed, not even a single blade of wild grass! At this moment, Yu Ci's mind was as blank as the box.

"Heh!"

It was Jin Huan laughing. With just this single laugh, the temperature inside and outside the pavilion rose another level. In Yu Ci's eyes, the surrounding air was distorted by the high temperature, and perhaps in the next moment, his opponent would personally reach out and twist off his head.

Yu Ci suddenly came to his senses. He didn't know why the Fish Dragon Grass in the stone box had vanished, nor did he expect to be in such a desperate situation. However, none of this stopped his thoughts from racing. With things having reached this point, regretting or considering the consequences was meaningless. He simply turned to look at Jin Huan, staring at the man who had controlled Juebi City for over a hundred years, calculating in his heart:

If he suddenly drew his sword, could he carve a mark on this fellow's face before dying?

Just then, someone exclaimed beside his ear, "Dao Worm!"

Yu Ci abruptly turned his head and saw the old Daoist slowly standing up, his eyes fixed on the stone box, his expression so focused that it was impossible not to look along with his gaze.

The temperature inside and outside the pavilion dropped sharply.

Yu Ci's gaze was fixed on the inside of the stone box. He saw it: in the crevice formed by the bottom and inner wall of the box, a thread-like worm was hidden there, swaying its head and tail, slowly emerging from the shadow. It was like an excessively slender earthworm, wriggling on the bottom of the box.

This worm seemed to be enjoying the attention it was receiving, or perhaps it found the small box too confining. It swayed its body, whose head and tail were indistinguishable, and then, carried by a gust of wind that had just blown into the pavilion, it floated up and moved in the air.

"Fish Dragon!" The old Daoist's lips, hidden by his snow-white beard, squeezed out two more words, but they were different from before.

The moment the old Daoist spoke again, Jin Huan's gaze shifted, fixing on his face. The sharpness of his eyes was no less than when he faced Yu Ci.

The old Daoist, however, seemed completely oblivious. His gaze was fixed on the floating worm for a while before turning to Yu Ci and asking, "Young man, is this Fish Dragon for sale?"

Yu Ci suppressed the excitement of regaining something lost, as well as the absurdity of the herb turning into a worm. He calmed himself, nodded, and said, "Of course it's for sale. What is the price?"

The old Daoist smiled and held up three fingers: "Three hundred merit points!"

Yu Ci's heart surged, and an unprecedented sense of relief spread through his body. But before he could respond, someone outside the pavilion couldn't help but cry out.

The one shouting was Jin Chuan. The young man, accustomed to a life of luxury, was understandably a bit hot-tempered when faced with an unexpected turn of events. "How is that possible? What our Bai Ri Mansion painstakingly accumulated over more than ten years is not even as much as this one worm? Could it be that you..."

Before the word "harboring" could be uttered, Jin Huan shot him a cold glance, cutting off his next words.

"Is that how you speak to an immortal? Kneel!"

Jin Chuan feared his grand-uncle in the pavilion the most. He immediately knelt on the ground without a word. Lu Yang in front quickly moved aside, and Kuang Yanqi beside him also retreated a little, not daring to plead for him for the moment.

Jin Huan did not want to waste his energy on these side issues. After Jin Chuan knelt, he casually pushed the young man aside and shifted his gaze back, saying sternly, "Senior Brother Yu, I have always admired your discerning eye, but this matter concerns the 'exclusive authority' of our Bai Ri Mansion and your sect. I must get to the bottom of it!"

Although he said he wanted to "ask," his posture suggested that "interrogate" should probably be added before it.

The old Daoist paid no mind. "Of course, I will give Master Jin a clear explanation."

After speaking, he turned towards Yu Ci and smiled, "It has been a long time since I've seen a young man capture a 'Fish Dragon.' Even if you used trickery, it's still not simple... Please sit."

Yu Ci's mood had already adjusted. Watching the old Daoist and Jin Huan exchange words, he found it quite interesting. When the old Daoist invited him to sit, he didn't hesitate. After a polite gesture, he sat on the stone stool at the table, naturally turning his body sideways to face the old Daoist, presenting his back to Master Jin.

Lu Yang and the others outside the pavilion were dumbfounded.

Yu Ci didn't care about that. His principle in dealing with people was: since he had already offended them, and there was no room for reconciliation, it was best to offend them to death directly. In any case, backing down now wouldn't make Master Jin feel merciful and spare him.

After taking his seat, he cupped his hands again and said, "Please, Master Yu, enlighten me."

He had snatched Jin Huan's words. Yu Ci felt a heat on his back, but he paid it no mind, as if he had completely forgotten the Core Formation cultivator behind him who could end his life with a single gesture.

Seeing his demeanor, the old Daoist's cloudy old eyes curved slightly, then he stroked his beard and smiled:

"Master Jin, when the mountain gate transferred the 'Yi Mu Ju Ling Tang' to you, we also mentioned this matter of the Fish Dragon. Perhaps many years have passed, and your memory has become hazy?"

These words seemed to offer Jin Huan a way out, but the sarcasm within them seemed to be more pronounced.

Jin Huan managed to stay calm, saying, "Perhaps he was busy with affairs and forgot. It would be good if Senior Brother could remind me again."

The old Daoist glanced at him, then suddenly sighed and said, "Alright, I will explain it one more time."

Perhaps Yu Ci misunderstood, but the old Daoist's tone, directed at the Mansion Lord Jin, seemed to carry more of a sense of emotion and... pity?

No one could fathom the old Daoist's thoughts. He truly began from the very beginning, aiming for thoroughness:

To speak of the Fish Dragon, we must go back to the Shrimp Whisker Grass. All things in heaven and earth are born from qi, and each possesses its own 'nature.' The Sky Rift Valley, connecting two realms, causes various qi to clash. The plants and beasts within often possess incredible 'natures.' The Shrimp Whisker Grass is one such example. This grass has peculiar roots, making it difficult to absorb earth qi for survival. It must parasitize on trees. However, once grown, its unique roots make it highly sensitive to its own kind, often absorbing the life force of its fellows to nourish itself. After absorbing to a certain extent, the Shrimp Whisker Grass undergoes a transformation, becoming Fish Dragon Grass, at which point its value greatly increases.

"Once the Fish Dragon Grass takes form, influenced by its innate 'nature,' it continues to absorb the life force of its own kind, slowly transforming its essence. When it undergoes another transformation, it evolves from a spirit of grass and wood into a spirit of flesh and blood... This is an unparalleled evolution, akin to a butterfly emerging from its cocoon, yet far surpassing it. At this point, the Fish Dragon Grass transforms into a Fish Dragon, breaking free from the limitations of plant life. It roams freely between heaven and earth, absorbing the essence, blood, and spiritual energy of all things, naturally generating and possessing an infinite lifespan. Although its individual strength is not great, it is a rare spiritual entity in the world!

The gazes of the people converged in the void, focusing on the insect that was still happily wriggling. Those present were all individuals with keen eyesight. They could all see that although the insect was as fine as a thread, the dense, patterned scales on its body shimmered with the glow of life. There was no way to tell that this had been transformed from thirteen 'medicinal' herbs.

"In legends, when this Fish Dragon has devoured enough of its own kind and finds a certain opportunity, it might truly leap through the dragon gate, transforming into the body of a celestial dragon and soaring through the four seas amidst the clouds... Of course, that is merely a legend."

The old Daoist spoke slowly, unhurriedly, with a kind of infectiousness that penetrated the heart. Yu Ci found himself drifting away, imagining how wondrous the process of plant life transforming into flesh and blood, and then ascending to become a true dragon, would be.