Fish Dragon

Yu Ci truly felt the fury of a Core Formation cultivator. Yet even that could not completely stop him. Even blinded, even with nowhere to stand firm, he could still vibrate his throat and speak clearly: "Master Yu, name your price!"

The blood-red sunset abruptly faded, as though a burden of ten thousand jin had been lifted away in one stroke. The sudden shift from crushing weight to lightness made Yu Ci sway, but only sway. He remained standing outside the pavilion, his gaze refocusing on the old Daoist's face, as though he had merely lost focus for a moment.

From beginning to end, his eyes never fell on Jin Huan. As for Manager Lu, who had already closed in on him and was practically about to strike, Yu Ci ignored him completely.

He had not yet reached his limit!

Given Jin Huan's cultivation realm, he should have been able to suppress Yu Ci absolutely. But that depended on an all-around gap in both spirit and flesh. Now, though Yu Ci remained separated from Jin Huan's peak Core Formation realm by a distance that could not be bridged, what suffused his body was pure and orthodox Innate Qi. It might still fall short of Jin Huan's refinement, but there was no qualitative difference!

He did not know what Jin Huan's expression looked like, but the old Daoist before him seemed thoughtful. After a brief pause, the old Daoist spoke. "Yi Mu Ju Ling Tang is the exclusive formula of our Li Chen Sect. It was specially transferred to Bai Ri Mansion to purify medicinal herbs. All Fish Dragon Grass produced through this soup belongs to Bai Ri Mansion. If others bring it here for trade, our sect will not accept it!"

This response truly gave Bai Ri Mansion considerable face. Not to mention Jin Huan, Lu Yang outside the pavilion smiled and stepped forward again. Even the two young men understood what was happening, rubbing their fists and ready to give this punchable Daoist a lesson he would never forget.

Yet Yu Ci's expression did not change. He simply took out the stone box he had prepared long ago, held it up on one palm, and extended it forward. Lu Yang had intended to seize him, but Yu Ci's sudden gesture made it seem as if Lu Yang were about to step up and snatch another man's belongings. For a moment, he froze.

Taking advantage of that opening, Yu Ci spoke again. "These thirteen stalks of Fish Dragon Grass were dug from the cliffs deep within Sky Rift Gorge after I poured in painstaking effort. They were born of heaven and raised by earth. What do they have to do with Bai Ri Mansion?"

"Oh?" The old Daoist's white brows rose. He was genuinely surprised. "Not catalyzed, but naturally formed?"

Yu Ci grinned. "Genuine goods at a fair price!"

The old Daoist's seemingly cloudy eyes swept over him. He nodded slightly, then nodded again without caring about Jin Huan's expression. "If they were truly born of heaven and raised by earth, then naturally I can name a price... Bring them over and let me see!"

Yu Ci stepped forward. Only then did he realize that resisting the fury of a Core Formation cultivator was not as easy as he had imagined. In that brief instant just now, his strength had nearly been squeezed dry. He was now close to collapse, and as he walked over the gravel path beneath his feet, it felt like stepping on cotton, unable to find solid ground.

He could not hide his condition from others. The two young men behind him eagerly awaited the sight of him making a fool of himself. Yu Ci himself did not care. He took a deep breath and walked straight past Lu Yang. Lu Yang needed only to raise a hand and strike with his palm to take Yu Ci's life, yet that palm never came down.

Yu Ci entered the pavilion and still remembered to nod toward Jin Huan, just as he had when entering the temple on the mountain path. Jin Huan swept a cold glance over him, then simply lowered his eyes and guarded within, offering no response and revealing no expression. Still, the temperature around the small pavilion rose again.

With another smile, Yu Ci saluted the old Daoist, then placed the stone box upon the table beside the other two boxes.

The box opened. Yu Ci clearly felt four gazes strike like golden serpents and lightning flames. Then he looked inside as well. The next moment, the air within the pavilion froze completely.

The stone box was empty.

There were no thirteen stalks of Fish Dragon Grass Yu Ci had mentioned—not even a blade of roadside weed! In that instant, Yu Ci's mind became as blank as the inside of the box.

"Heh!"

Jin Huan was laughing. He laughed only once, yet the temperature inside and outside the pavilion rose by another level. In Yu Ci's eyes, the air around them had already warped beneath the heat. Perhaps in the next instant, the other man would personally strike and twist off his head.

Yu Ci suddenly came awake. He did not know why the Fish Dragon Grass in the stone box had vanished without a trace, nor had he expected to be driven into such a desperate corner. But none of that stopped his thoughts from turning. Things had reached this point. Regret and consideration of consequences no longer had any meaning. He merely turned to look at Jin Huan, staring at this formidable man who had controlled Juebi City for over a century, calculating inwardly:

If I suddenly draw my sword, before I die, can I carve a line across this bastard's face?

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

Yu Ci jerked his head around and saw the old Daoist slowly rise to his feet. The old man stared fixedly at the stone box, so utterly absorbed that one could not help following his gaze.

The temperature inside and outside the pavilion plummeted.

Yu Ci fixed his eyes on the stone box. He saw it. In the angled crack where the bottom of the box met its inner wall, a thread-thin insect was hiding. It swayed its head and tail, then slowly swam out from the shadows. Like an excessively slender earthworm, it wriggled across the bottom of the box.

The insect seemed to enjoy the gazes fixed upon it—or perhaps it found the cramped box too confining. Its body, with no discernible head or tail, swayed once more. Then it rode a faint breeze that had just blown into the pavilion and floated up, swimming through the empty air.

"Fish Dragon!" From between the old Daoist's lips and teeth, concealed by his snow-white beard, came two more words. Yet they differed from before.

The instant the old Daoist spoke again, Jin Huan shifted his gaze and fixed it on the old man's face. His eyes were no less sharp than when he had faced Yu Ci.

Yet the old Daoist seemed entirely unaware. He kept his gaze on the floating insect for quite a while before turning to Yu Ci and asking, "Young man, is this Fish Dragon for sale?"

Yu Ci suppressed both his excitement at recovering what he had lost and the absurd feeling of medicinal herbs turning into an insect. He steadied himself and nodded. "Naturally, it is for sale. What price would you offer?"

The old Daoist smiled and raised three fingers. "Three hundred merit points!"

Yu Ci's heart surged. An unprecedented sense of relief spread through his entire body. But before he could respond, someone outside the pavilion could not help crying out.

The one who shouted was Jin Chuan. The young man had been pampered all his life, and it was only natural that his temper flared when faced with such a sudden turn of events. "How is that possible? Bai Ri Mansion has painstakingly accumulated for over ten years, yet it is not worth as much as this one bug? Could it be that you..."

Before he could say the words "showing favoritism," Jin Huan cast a cold glance his way, cutting him off.

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

Jin Chuan feared this grand-uncle in the pavilion most of all. Without a word, he dropped to his knees. Lu Yang quickly stepped aside, while Kuang Yanqi beside him retreated somewhat as well. For the moment, neither dared plead for him.

Jin Huan had no intention of wasting his attention on such a side issue. Once Jin Chuan had knelt, he cast the young man aside and shifted his gaze back. In a deep voice, he said, "Senior Brother Yu, I have always admired your discerning eye. However, this matter concerns the exclusive rights between my Bai Ri Mansion and your honored sect. I must ask for a clear explanation!"

He said he wished to "ask," but judging by his posture, the word "interrogate" ought to be placed before it.

The old Daoist did not care in the least. "Naturally, I must give Mansion Lord Jin a clear explanation."

Having said that, he turned toward Yu Ci and smiled. "It has been a long time since I have seen a young man capture a Fish Dragon. Even if you used a trick, it was no simple feat... Please, sit."

Yu Ci had already adjusted his mood. Watching the old Daoist and Jin Huan cross words, he found it quite interesting. Since the old Daoist invited him to sit, he did not stand on ceremony. After raising his hand in salute, he seated himself on the stone stool before the table, naturally turning half his body to face the old Daoist and presenting the back of his head to Mansion Lord Jin.

Lu Yang and the others outside the pavilion stared in astonishment.

Yu Ci paid them no mind. His creed for dealing with people was simple: since he had already offended someone and there was no room to turn back, then he might as well offend them to the bitter end. In any case, yielding now would not make Mansion Lord Jin merciful enough to spare him.

After sitting down, he cupped his hands again. "Master Yu, please enlighten me."

He had stolen Jin Huan's line. Yu Ci's back immediately grew hot, but he did not care at all, as though he had completely forgotten the Core Formation cultivator behind him, who could kill him with a raised hand.

Seeing him behave this way, the old Daoist's cloudy eyes curved slightly. Then he stroked his beard and laughed.

"Mansion Lord Jin, when the sect transferred Yi Mu Ju Ling Tang to you, it also mentioned this matter of the Fish Dragon. Has it been so many years that your memory has grown hazy?"

These words seemed to offer Jin Huan a way down, yet the mockery hidden within them appeared even stronger.

Jin Huan remained composed and merely said, "Perhaps I have been too occupied with affairs and forgotten. It would be good for Senior Brother to remind me once more."

The old Daoist looked at him, then suddenly sighed. "Very well. I shall tell it once again."

Perhaps Yu Ci had misunderstood, but in the old Daoist's tone, what he felt toward Mansion Lord Jin seemed to be more than mere emotion and... regret?

No one could guess the old Daoist's thoughts. He truly began from the beginning, seeking to explain every detail.

"To speak of the Fish Dragon, one must begin with Shrimp Whisker Grass. All things beneath heaven and earth are born from received qi, and all things have their own nature. Sky Rift Gorge connects two realms, where all kinds of qi collide. The plants, trees, birds, and beasts within mostly possess unimaginable properties. Shrimp Whisker Grass is one example. Its roots are unusual. It cannot absorb earth-qi to sustain itself and must parasitize trees. Yet after it matures, those unusual roots make it especially sensitive to its own kind, and it often feeds on the life force of its kin to nourish itself. After feeding to a certain point, Shrimp Whisker Grass sheds its mortal form and exchanges its bones, becoming Fish Dragon Grass. Its value then rises greatly.

"After Fish Dragon Grass takes shape, influenced by its innate nature, it likewise feeds on the life force of its own kind and slowly transforms its nature. When it sheds its mortal form and exchanges its bones once again, it changes from a spirit of vegetation into a spirit of flesh and blood... This is an evolution beyond compare, like a butterfly breaking from its cocoon, yet far surpassing it. At that point, Fish Dragon Grass becomes a Fish Dragon, escaping the limits of vegetation. It roams freely between heaven and earth, absorbs the vital blood and spiritual qi of all things, forms naturally, and possesses an endless lifespan. Though its own strength is not great, it is still a rare spiritual creature of heaven and earth!

Everyone's gazes converged in the air, focused on that insect which still swam about in boundless delight. Those present all possessed keen eyes and could see that although the insect was as thin as a strand of hair, the dense scale patterns on its body shone with the luster of life. No matter how they looked, they could not believe it had been transformed from thirteen stalks of medicinal herbs.

"In legend, once this Fish Dragon has devoured enough of its own kind and encountered some opportunity, it may truly leap through the Dragon Gate, transform into a heavenly dragon, and ride the clouds across the four seas... Of course, that is only a legend."

The old Daoist spoke slowly, neither hurried nor unhurried, with a naturally compelling power that entered the heart. Yu Ci could not help but let his thoughts drift afar, imagining how wondrous it would be for vegetation to become flesh and blood, then rise once more into a true dragon.