The Black Dragon Fish

Beneath the water, a sinister, obscure sense of danger silently slipped into the range of Yu Tunzhou's Primordial Spirit perception.

His Primordial Spirit on alert, Yu Tunzhou hesitated no longer. He grabbed the unconscious Dragon Fish and rushed ashore.

"Senior brother! You caught it!" Still holding her fishing rod, Dingguang gazed at the Dragon Fish in Yu Tunzhou's hand with delight, showing no sense of the danger she had faced when she nearly fell into the water.

Yu Tunzhou raised a hand and gave her a crisp knock on the head. It felt excellent.

Dingguang clutched her head with both hands, her little face miserable as she begged for mercy.

Yu Tunzhou tossed the Dragon Fish into a basket he had prepared beforehand. For the moment, he let Dingguang off and looked gravely into the river.

Not far away, the girl was also standing by the river, her gaze burning as she stared unblinkingly into its depths. Even her breathing seemed to have grown quieter.

A vast, dense shadow had spread across the river, which had once been clear to the bottom. The schools of Dragon Fish that had gathered and scattered were nowhere to be seen. Only deathly silent water flowed on the surface, where even the slightest ripple seemed out of place.

"Senior brother, what a huge fish!" Dingguang stared at the boundless black shadow beneath the water, her little mouth falling open in shock.

Yu Tunzhou watched the shadow in the river.

It was a huge fish, black as ink from head to tail. Its scales were close-set and thick, gleaming with a cold, dark light. Its eyes were golden, and it lurked silently beneath the surface, looking at the three people on the bank.

Yu Tunzhou could even see it sizing them up.

This thing... could it have become a spirit?!

After holding their gaze for a moment, the great black fish silently retreated, vanishing from sight without so much as raising a ripple.

Yu Tunzhou stared at the spot where the black fish had disappeared, bewildered. Could that fish have been a Dragon Fish too?

"How long would it take to eat all that...?" Dingguang murmured beside him.

Yu Tunzhou couldn't have agreed more. How nourishing would that be?!

Light footsteps approached from the side. The girl came up to them and spoke in a clear, cool voice, without beating around the bush:

"Want to cooperate?"

"Cooperate on what?" Yu Tunzhou turned and looked at her warily.

He had crossed paths with her more than a dozen times while traveling between the town and the mountain these past days, but this was the first time she had spoken to him.

"You saw it just now. That Dragon Fish has grown into a formidable creature. If it weren't in this grotto-heaven, it would have long since shed its mortal body and transformed." The girl raised her brows. "Dragon Fish already help with Qi Ingestion. If we work together to take it down, the ninth layer of Qi Ingestion will be ours for the taking. The tenth won't be difficult either, and we might even have a chance to go further!"

Yu Tunzhou was silent for a moment. "How do you plan to take that thing down? It's probably become a spirit, and I'd guess those scales are nearly as tough as armor."

It would have been a lie to say he wasn't tempted, but Yu Tunzhou also knew to act within his means.

The other Dragon Fish had fainted outright at the sight of him. Only this one had dared to seek him out.

If they actually fought underwater, he would be no match for it.

"This is Luofu Grotto-Heaven. Aside from those stationed here, all birds and beasts, as well as those of us taking part in the Dao struggle, are limited to the Qi Ingestion Realm." The girl's voice was clear and brisk, without a trace of hesitation. "As long as we're all in the Qi Ingestion Realm, we can join forces and kill it."

Yu Tunzhou considered this for a moment. "Why ask me to cooperate?"

"Because you have something on you that can draw it over," the girl said calmly. "I've been fishing for it here for a long time, but it's more intelligent than I expected. It won't take the bait at all."

Had he been the one who drew the big fish over?

Understanding dawned on Yu Tunzhou in an instant. It was the water fortune's Qi movement!

He had drawn on the water fortune's Qi movement in the river, and that was what had attracted the black fish.

"Don't you know Xie Linchuan of the Xie Household? Call him over," the girl said calmly. "This fish is too big for the two of us to swallow."

Yu Tunzhou suddenly asked, "You knew where that black fish was before you entered the town?"

The girl was silent for a moment before nodding. "My ancestors brought it into being, intending to leave it as a prize for their descendants, but it grew beyond their expectations."

Yu Tunzhou stared at the surface of the lake and thought for a moment. "The people stationed here by the various households won't interfere in this, right?"

"Of course. The Dao struggle has already begun!"

"Fine, we can work together," Yu Tunzhou said decisively. "Let's set a time. I'll bring Xie Linchuan, and we'll agree on how to divide the spoils before discussing how to cooperate."

"Tomorrow, at this time, right here." The girl's tone left no room for argument. "I'll bring a friend too."

With that, she turned and left, acting swiftly and decisively. She didn't even leave her name.

Yu Tunzhou picked up the fish basket and took Dingguang back up the mountain.

On the way.

"Why didn't you let go when I told you to? If you'd really been dragged into the river to feed the fish, even the Buddha couldn't have saved you."

"That wouldn't happen. I pray to the Buddha every day." The little monk pressed her palms together and chanted, "May the Buddha bless this little monk with peace and smooth sailing today too."

"Heh."

Yu Tunzhou rapped her on the head again.

"Stay away from that river from now on. This was my fault. I shouldn't have let you fish alone."

As he said this, a question suddenly occurred to Yu Tunzhou.

Why had the Dragon Fish taken the bait when Dingguang was fishing?

Once they reached the mountain.

Yu Tunzhou put the Dragon Fish in a water vat.

Dingguang stood on tiptoe and leaned over the rim, wiping away her drool. She looked up and asked, "Senior brother, can we eat fresh fish today?"

Yu Tunzhou rubbed the little monk's bald head. "You made a great contribution. I'll make you spicy fish tonight."

Dingguang's eyes lit up. With a cry of "I'm going to pick some chilies," she dashed off toward the vegetable garden in the back.

Yu Tunzhou stayed where he was, standing in front of the vat until the Dragon Fish recovered its vigor and swam about, stirring up quite a commotion in the water.

Seeing this, Yu Tunzhou visualized Little Black in the world of his Primordial Spirit.

The next moment, the Dragon Fish, which had been full of life, darted to the bottom of the vat. Even after reaching the bottom, it kept ramming itself against it desperately, until it knocked itself unconscious.

Seeing this, Yu Tunzhou nodded. As expected, it was because of the inner form of his Primordial Spirit.

It seemed his Little Black had a powerful suppressive effect on Dragon Fish.

After confirming this.

He turned and left.

That evening, he sliced up the fish and made a spicy fish dish. It wasn't exactly authentic, but compared with the salted fish they had eaten before, it was a leap in quality. Dingguang hissed and panted from the heat as she ate, but still refused to put down her chopsticks.

Yu Tunzhou cooked a salted fish separately for himself and didn't compete with Dingguang for hers.

While practicing the Qi Ingestion Method that night, Yu Tunzhou discovered that his cultivation speed had risen another level after he opened up his Primordial Spirit perception.

At this rate...

Counting tonight, he would break through to the fourth layer in another two days. That was undeniably fast!

He compared his current speed with the time it had taken him to get through the previous layers and worked out that breaking through to the seventh layer before the end of the month was no longer a problem. He might even reach the eighth!

Although he had fallen more than a week behind the others, with his True Intention at ten-tenths and the help of Dragon Fish, he had a chance to overtake them!

"If I want to reach the tenth layer before the end of the month..."

Yu Tunzhou murmured.

He had to take down that black Dragon Fish that had become a spirit!

The next day.

Yu Tunzhou went down the mountain alone, found Xie Linchuan, and explained why he had come. The two headed for the river outside town.

When they reached the river, Yu Tunzhou was astonished to find that, besides the girl from yesterday, there was also an "old acquaintance"-Cao Jianjia, carrying a sword.

As soon as they met, Xie Linchuan fixed his gaze on the strange girl. His brows gradually knitted, and he snapped his fan shut with a clap, tapping it lightly against his palm as he spoke slowly:

"Are you from the South Sea or the West Sea?"

The girl met his gaze and lifted her head. "Has the Northern Plains Xie Household lost the ability to recognize its own allies?"

Xie Linchuan opened his fan and smiled. "So you're a noble lady from the South Sea."

"My name is Ao Xiyu. I'm thirteenth in my family. You can call me Thirteenth Sister," the girl said indifferently.

Xie Linchuan glanced at Cao Jianjia and chuckled. "There's no need for introductions between us. But before we cooperate, I have a question: since my brother here is the only one who can lure that black Dragon Fish out, why should we cooperate with you?"

The atmosphere instantly grew tense, like drawn swords and bent crossbows.

Ao Xiyu looked at him and said calmly, "Because I'm the only one who knows its vital weakness, and how to make the most of its value afterward. The sword in Jianjia's hand can break through its false dragon scales."

Xie Linchuan's smile remained unchanged. "In that case, we do have something to discuss. But before that, let us see what the thing looks like."

Cao Jianjia held her sword and sneered. "Xie, I understand why we need Yu Tunzhou, but what use are you?"

Xie Linchuan's expression didn't change. "My use is that Brother Yu would never cooperate with the two of you alone. Otherwise, I'm afraid you'd devour everything he had and disown him when it was over."

Ao Xiyu said indifferently, "Enough nonsense. Sorry for the trouble, Brother Yu, but please lure that fellow over first so we can see what we're dealing with."

Yu Tunzhou pulled Xie Linchuan over to the river and said in a low voice, "That woman's surname is Ao, and she's from the South Sea. Could she be a dragon girl too?"

"Too?" Xie Linchuan asked in surprise. "You've met the one from Dongting?"

"Mm."

"There are only two dragon clans among the forty-nine households, and you've run into both of them in the past two days?"

Xie Linchuan frowned. Although everyone was in the town and it was only a matter of time before they met, he still found it somewhat strange. He murmured to himself:

"Could it be the blessing of Heavenly Peng Daoist Temple's fortune?"

"Is it really true that fortune converges in this grotto-heaven?"