He cast the Spirit Eye Technique again and swept his gaze over the surroundings.
The reef-strewn waters remained calm.
No cultivators. No demon fish.
He took out a second Qi-Replenishing Pill.
Swallowed it.
Refined it.
Six breaths later, the spiritual energy in his body had fully recovered.
A feeling of fullness flowed through every limb and bone.
Wang Mengde opened his eyes and let out a long breath of stale air.
He felt refreshed, without a trace of fatigue left.
Out of habit, Wang Mengde cast the Spirit Eye Technique and scanned the area.
Once he was sure nothing was amiss, he looked at the Azure Jade Ghost Carp piled high on the skiff.
Thirty-seven fish.
More than seven thousand Spirit Stones.
This one trip had brought in far more than his total income over the past several years.
But there was little joy on Wang Mengde's face.
He had killed four people on this voyage.
He had wanted to kill Zhao Youming and Zhou Lie for a long time.
But Qin Xiangnan was someone he had thought he could trust as a friend.
Wang Mengde took a deep breath and pressed down the thoughts churning in his heart.
That was simply how the cultivation world worked.
For the sake of resources, even fathers, sons, wives, and children might stab one another in the back, let alone friends.
There was no point dwelling on it.
He looked at the Azure Jade Ghost Carp again.
More than seven thousand Spirit Stones were enough to make too many people green with envy.
On Rosy Cloud Island, most cultivators at the Fourth Layer of Qi Refinement earned only a few hundred Spirit Stones a year.
Seven thousand Spirit Stones would take them more than a decade to earn.
Even cultivators at the Fifth and Sixth Layers of Qi Refinement would covet that sum.
Some might even take a desperate gamble for it.
The cultivation world had never lacked people willing to risk their lives for Spirit Stones.
He had learned that today.
This fortune could not be brought into the open.
At least, not all at once.
Fortunately, he had Qin Xiangnan's storage bag.
Wang Mengde pulled the gray bag from his robe.
It was palm-sized, drab, and utterly unremarkable.
He took a deep breath, sat cross-legged, and held the storage bag in his hand.
Spiritual energy flowed slowly into it.
He began refining it.
Qin Xiangnan's spiritual-sense imprint still lingered on the bag and had to be erased bit by bit.
That would take time.
As Wang Mengde refined the bag, he kept casting the Spirit Eye Technique out of habit to scan his surroundings.
Every few breaths, he swept the area again.
Out on this vast sea, he could never let down his guard.
Time passed little by little.
About half an hour later, the storage bag in Wang Mengde's hand trembled slightly, and a mysterious connection arose in his mind.
He had refined it successfully.
He sent his spiritual sense inside.
A hazy gray space appeared before him, roughly one meter on each side.
A few things lay scattered within.
More than fifty Spirit Stones.
Over four hundred grains of Spirit Sand.
Several sets of clothes.
A dozen or so talismans.
Wang Mengde swept his spiritual sense over them and identified the talismans.
Five Golden Arrow Talismans, three Ice Spike Talismans, four Lightbody Radiance Talismans, and four Wind Blade Sky-Splitting Talismans.
There were also five small bottles.
One held two Essence-Nourishing Pills.
Two held eight Qi-Replenishing Pills between them.
The other two held five healing pills between them.
A faint smile touched Wang Mengde's lips.
Qin Xiangnan had built up quite a stash.
He withdrew his spiritual sense and set the storage bag aside.
Then he began counting the other belongings of the four men.
Apart from what was in the storage bag, Qin Xiangnan had three talismans tucked inside his robe: two Golden Arrow Talismans and one Lightbody Radiance Talisman.
His money pouch held more than fifty grains of Spirit Sand.
On Zhao Youming, he found six talismans: one Golden Astral Armor-Piercing Talisman, two Golden Arrow Talismans, one protective talisman, and two Lightbody Radiance Talismans.
His money pouch held one Spirit Stone and more than thirty grains of Spirit Sand.
On Zhou Lie, he found four talismans: two protective talismans, one Golden Arrow Talisman, and one Lightbody Radiance Talisman.
His money pouch held forty-six grains of Spirit Sand.
On Sun He, he found four talismans: one protective talisman, one Golden Arrow Talisman, and two Lightbody Radiance Talismans.
His money pouch held thirty-three grains of Spirit Sand.
By the time Wang Mengde finished counting, his eyes were gleaming.
Together with the Flying Sword worth several hundred Spirit Stones and the storage bag worth several hundred more, these belongings came to over a thousand Spirit Stones.
With a surge of spiritual energy, he shredded the four men's money pouches.
He took Qin Xiangnan's clothes out of the storage bag, tore them to pieces with another surge of spiritual energy, and tossed them into the sea.
Then he put all the talismans, pills, and Spirit Sand into the storage bag.
Next came the fish.
After twenty-nine Azure Jade Ghost Carp, the storage bag was full.
He could not squeeze in one more.
Wang Mengde looked at the eight Azure Jade Ghost Carp that remained.
Eight fish were worth more than sixteen hundred Spirit Stones.
That was a fortune in itself.
Wang Mengde stuffed them beneath the pile of ordinary sea fish.
He channeled spiritual energy into the skiff, and it slowly sailed out of the reef-strewn waters.
As he sped along, he kept casting the Spirit Eye Technique out of habit to scan the area.
Suddenly, a line of small golden text appeared in his mind.
"Spirit Eye Technique +1"
Wang Mengde absorbed the insight that had surfaced in his mind.
Then he turned his spiritual sense inward.
[Destined One: Wang Mengde] [Fate: Heaven Rewards Diligence (Success Is Certain)] [Qi Refinement Cultivation: Third Layer of Qi Refinement (371/400)] [Physical Cultivation: First Layer of Body Tempering (83/100)] [Cultivation Formulas: Luan-Phoenix Harmony Formula, Third Layer (371/400); True Myriad Beast Taming Formula, First Layer (752/1000)] [Techniques: Spirit Eye Technique (Peak Mastery) 252/3200; Fishing Technique (Peak Mastery) 150/3200; Entwining Silk Technique (Peak Mastery) 190/3200; Water Arrow Technique (Perfection) 953/1600; Water Escape Technique (Minor Accomplishment) 2/200]
Wang Mengde scanned the panel, a keen light flickering in his eyes.
For more than a year, he had trained day and night without pause.
The Spirit Eye Technique, Fishing Technique, and Entwining Silk Technique had all reached Peak Mastery.
The Water Arrow Technique had also reached Perfection. One more step would bring it to Peak Mastery.
Half a month ago, he had caught more than a dozen demon fish at the Second-Level Lesser Demon stage and sold them for over five hundred Spirit Stones. He had immediately bought the Water Escape Technique.
He had trained relentlessly for half a month, day and night, and finally brought the Water Escape Technique to Minor Accomplishment.
The only thing he was unhappy with was how quickly his cultivation was advancing.
Too slowly.
Fortunately, this trip had yielded a rich haul.
Once he returned, he would sell the Azure Jade Ghost Carp in batches, trade them for pills and Spirit Stones, and devote himself fully to cultivation.
Wang Mengde propelled the skiff onward, speeding west.
About fifteen minutes later, another stretch of reefs appeared ahead.
Wang Mengde cast the Spirit Eye Technique and looked all around.
He made sure there were no cultivators or demon fish nearby.
He brought the skiff to a stop, gathered the spiritual energy within him, and cast the Water Escape Technique.
He leaped into the water, slipping beneath the surface as silently as a swimming fish.
The seawater was cold, but it did not affect him in the slightest.
He darted through the water and reached the base of a massive reef in the blink of an eye.
From his robe, he took the Flying Sword he had seized from Qin Xiangnan.
He swung it and dug into the bottom of the reef.
Soon, he had carved out a hole about three feet deep.
Wang Mengde tucked the Flying Sword into the storage bag.
Then he placed the bag in the hole.
He pushed sand and stones into the hole with both hands until it was filled.
Then he hauled over a rock and set it atop the filled hole.
The rock weighed a good hundred pounds and blended into the surrounding reef, leaving nothing out of place.
Wang Mengde memorized its location.
He cast the Water Escape Technique again and shot upward like a swimming fish.
Splash!
He broke the surface and landed steadily on the skiff.
Spiritual energy circulated through his body, shaking the seawater off him in an instant. It dispersed as a cloud of mist.
He set the skiff in motion.
Another half hour later, he finally returned to Rosy Cloud Pier.
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