"That was a bit rash!"
With his backpack on his back, Su Mu hurried away. Once he reached the foot of the mountain, he had no intention of lingering and promptly left the area.
The tremors caused by the Dragon Vein turning over had brought the authorities straight here. Su Mu had not anticipated that.
Now that the authorities had come this time, he feared that guiding the Dragon Vein again would inevitably draw them over.
And the more often it happened, the more seriously the authorities would take it. They might even use Skynet to pinpoint him.
At that thought, Su Mu immediately felt a headache coming on.
In Su Mu's plans, he would eventually make contact with the authorities, but certainly not now.
At the very least, he would only approach the authorities once he could protect himself. That would give him some sense of security.
Fortunately, he had wiped down the table earlier, so he probably had not left any fingerprints or anything behind.
With that in mind, Su Mu took a roundabout route to a nearby county town, then found a hotel and checked in.
When Su Mu opened his eyes again, he had already returned to the cultivation world.
He lifted the curtain. Beside him, Yu Shan was still sipping his drink.
"Feeling a little tired? Shall we stop for a rest in a bit?"
Hearing the movement, Yu Shan turned to look at Su Mu and asked with a smile.
But before Su Mu could answer, Yu Shan continued on his own, "There's a cold pool a little farther ahead, with a kind of fish whose flesh is tender, fresh, and sweet. Let's rest there, and we can catch a few fish to satisfy our cravings while we're at it."
Su Mu was speechless. The man was craving food himself, yet he had actually asked whether Su Mu was tired.
Still, since he had put it that way, Su Mu could only nod.
After a moment's hesitation, Su Mu asked softly, "Fellow Daoist Yu, might you have a Secret Method that can conceal one's form?"
Su Mu wanted to go in and guide the Dragon Vein, but he also needed to avoid the authorities. After considering it for a while, he decided to get a Cultivation Method that could turn him invisible.
Yu Shan found the question rather strange. "Conceal your form? Such Secret Methods are common in the cultivation world, but they aren't particularly useful, since Divine Sense can easily detect someone who's invisible. There are some Law Treasures with good invisibility effects that can also block detection by Divine Sense, but those are all quite expensive."
Hearing that, Su Mu quickly shook his head. "I only need to be unseen by mortals!"
"In that case, I do have one."
Yu Shan did not ask what Su Mu wanted the Secret Method for. It was nothing valuable anyway, so there was no harm in giving it to him.
He rummaged through his Storage Bag, then tossed a Jade Slip to Su Mu. "This was part of the spoils I obtained after fighting some cultivators to the death a while back. You can have it."
"How could I simply ask for your belongings, Fellow Daoist Yu? How much does this Secret Method cost? I'm willing to pay in silver."
Su Mu hurriedly took out some gold. He was unwilling to take the other man's things for nothing.
Seeing his earnest gaze, Yu Shan smiled. "Very well."
With that, he took a piece of gold from Su Mu's hand.
"Well, I'd also like to buy another Secret Method from you, Fellow Daoist. One that can lower body temperature without any harmful consequences."
Invisibility alone was not enough. He also had to evade thermal imaging.
"Your requirements really are rather peculiar. But the Secret Method I gave you can already lower body temperature. Otherwise, this invisibility spell would be far too useless. Even without Divine Sense, someone could sense that there was an extra person nearby."
The banana leaf beneath Yu Shan shifted slightly and flew downward.
It flew extremely fast, yet his words still reached Su Mu's ears clearly.
Su Mu was immediately delighted. This Secret Method really did seem quite wondrous; it already fulfilled that requirement.
The two flew downward and arrived before a pool a short while later.
Though called a pool, it was unusually large, almost the size of a small lake.
"This counts as a pool too?"
Su Mu glanced around, somewhat speechless.
Back on Earth, this would have been called a lake, wouldn't it?
"Of course."
As Yu Shan spoke, he took out a fishing rod and sat right down, his face full of anticipation as he began fishing.
Seeing this, Su Mu sat down beside him, but he took out the Secret Method he had just received and began studying it.
Its requirements were not high. The little Spiritual Power Su Mu possessed was enough to practice it, but the duration of his invisibility depended on his Spiritual Power. He estimated he could only remain invisible for half an hour before becoming visible again.
Still, that was enough for Su Mu.
While Su Mu studied the Cultivation Method, Yu Shan beside him began looking rather unhappy.
"Why aren't they biting?"
Yu Shan looked at the fishing rod, which had shown no movement for quite some time, and began to grow restless.
"Here, little brother, you try fishing for a bit. Catching these Spirit Frost Fish takes a little luck. Yours might be better than mine."
Yu Shan scratched his ears and cheeks beside him, craving the fish in the cold pool immensely. Unfortunately, the fish did not seem interested in his hook.
Hearing him, Su Mu opened his eyes, coming out of his contemplation. He glanced at the cold pool before him, his lips twitching as he spoke.
"Well, Fellow Daoist, I've never fished before. I'm afraid I won't be able to catch these fish either."
Judging by the other man's behavior, these fish were clearly something quite extraordinary.
The problem was that Su Mu knew nothing about fishing, let alone catching fish in this world.
"No matter. Give it a try. They say humans possess the greatest spirituality and are blessed with the Fortune of heaven and earth. Perhaps you'll be able to catch some."
Yu Shan paid no heed to his words and simply thrust the fishing rod into Su Mu's hands, making him try.
As the two spoke, several streaks of traveling light suddenly appeared in the distance.
Su Mu's gaze was immediately drawn over. Not far from them, an old Daoist settled into place and began fishing with a rod in hand.
Farther away, several other figures looked as though they had been sitting there for quite some time. They seemed to be here to fish as well and had probably arrived while Su Mu was studying the Secret Method.
When Su Mu looked up again, he suddenly noticed that the moon in the night sky shone as brightly as a jade platter. Its clear radiance spilled down, making the place resemble an immortal paradise in the mortal world.
"Why have so many anglers suddenly shown up?"
Su Mu murmured to himself.
"Because today is the sixteenth, the perfect time to catch Spirit Frost Fish. They're a kind of spirit fish. Eating them offers tremendous benefits, sharpening the hearing and sight and cleansing the body. They're most effective for infants."
"These fish are a favorite among the offspring of many cultivators. A single one can sell for ten Spirit Stones. Most importantly, they're so delicious that once you've tasted them, you never forget them."
Hearing him, Yu Shan casually glanced at the distant anglers, finding nothing strange about them.
Understanding dawned on Su Mu. These fish must be extremely delicious, or Yu Shan would not have been so unable to forget them.