Surrounding and Killing the Dragon Fish

In the early hours of the tenth day, dawn had yet to break.

Inside the thatched hut, Yu Tunzhou sat cross-legged on the bed. The cyclone around him had begun to take shape, already a foot across, steadily drawing the surrounding pure Qi toward him at its center.

With the Dragon Fish never stopping, Yu Tunzhou had struggled to keep up. At last, on this day, he had deduced the Spark Instruction to the verge of the sixth layer.

Now, he was pushing against the final barrier, his inner Qi moving at his will as it circulated along the Great Spirit Courtyard route to its utmost.

And at that very moment.

The barrier to the sixth layer finally gave way. Vast inner Qi surged through his meridians like a flood bursting through a dam, rushing wherever it pleased. The inner Qi rooted in his Dantian instantly doubled, blazing like a leaping spark.

The cyclone surrounding Yu Tunzhou doubled in size as well!

After successfully breaking through to the sixth layer, Yu Tunzhou did not stop. He pressed on to challenge a higher number of Refining the True cycles.

Refining the True had forty-nine cycles. When his Spark Instruction was at the fifth layer, he had already been able to endure nine.

He had tested it these past few days. The sheer "overbearing" force of inner Qi that had passed through nine cycles had nearly doubled the force of his blows!

The only drawback was that building up the force took too long, making it difficult to use in combat.

Now that he had broken through to the sixth layer, he wanted to test a new limit.

As his inner Qi repeatedly circulated through the Great Spirit Courtyard, it was like crossing one mountain after another, each cycle surging with greater force than the last. The Blood Qi throughout his body also surged like the tide, building layer upon layer.

The tenth cycle, the eleventh cycle...

Yu Tunzhou's expression remained normal.

But when his inner Qi continued onward like a flood dragon coursing through water, charging into the twelfth cycle, his Blood Qi abruptly surged more violently, and a metallic sweetness welled up in his throat.

He forced it down and continued pushing through the twelfth cycle!

As a warmth spread through him, Yu Tunzhou opened his eyes, his face slightly pale.

In the world of his Primordial Spirit, Little Black swam about joyfully, a fraction larger than at the beginning. It was all thanks to the Great Spirit Courtyard nourishing his spirit and the sustenance from entering meditative trance these past days.

It worked, but it was too slow.

If he wanted to grow quickly, he would still have to count on the immortal fortune at the end of the month!

Yu Tunzhou coughed softly twice, his face pale and bloodless.

Breaking through to the sixth layer of the Spark Instruction had been perilous, but had caused no serious harm.

Only with the Great Spirit Courtyard, even after adding the Shendao Acupoint to dispel most of the dryness and lessen the backlash from his Blood Qi, his current body still struggled to withstand the intensity of twelve cycles.

Although he had broken through to twelve cycles this time, it had also caused some internal shock.

Using his Primordial Spirit to perceive and carefully inspect his body, Yu Tunzhou confirmed that, aside from slight damage to his meridians and some internal shock, there was nothing else amiss.

Judging by his rate of recovery, a day's rest would have him more or less recovered by evening.

He circulated the Spark Instruction again. The cyclone centered on him had now reached two feet, over half a meter across. It howled like a great whale drawing in water, almost devouring the surrounding pure Qi.

Just as Xie Linchuan had said, once he reached the sixth layer, the power of the Spark Instruction had risen to an entirely new level.

This layer was also the pinnacle of an ordinary Lower Vehicle Qi Ingestion Method.

A sudden thought occurred to Yu Tunzhou-

When he circulated his inner Qi through the Great Spirit Courtyard, could the surging Qi and Blood, building in layers like the tides, also be converted into force behind his blows?

Unfortunately, he had no time to test that idea for now.

The following morning.

Yu Tunzhou descended the mountain and saw Ao Xiyu waiting by the river at its foot, having arrived ahead of time.

The girl's palm-sized face was expressionless. When she saw him, she managed to pull up the corners of her mouth in something resembling a smile.

Yu Tunzhou shook his head inwardly. She might as well not have smiled.

When Ao Xiyu saw Yu Tunzhou's slightly pale face, her pupils contracted. A thought flashed through her mind: This guy really is cultivating the Spark Instruction. Is he already close to his limit?

Before long, Cao Jianjia and Xie Linchuan arrived one after the other.

Yu Tunzhou gave Xie Linchuan a slight nod, signaling that he had broken through to the sixth layer.

Xie Linchuan also noticed Yu Tunzhou's complexion, and his heart sank slightly. Did I push Brother Yu to break through to the sixth layer, making him rush too much and injure himself?

Cao Jianjia frowned when she saw Yu Tunzhou, but said nothing.

Seeing that everyone had arrived, Ao Xiyu spoke.

"I've investigated these past few days. There's an abandoned stone bridge upstream, with a shallow stretch beside it. Xie Linchuan and I will go set the trap there shortly."

"That beast has every advantage in the water. We have to restrict its movements first."

"Troublesome as that beast is, as long as we seize the slightest opening and expand it without limit, our strength and preparations will let us kill it easily!"

Yu Tunzhou and the other two nodded their agreement.

Xie Linchuan then headed upstream along the river with Ao Xiyu.

Cao Jianjia said in a cool voice, "I need to go back and nurture my Sword Qi to prepare for tonight. Watch yourself tonight. Don't die. There's been another problem with my vegetable garden lately; I'll ask you about it afterward."

Without waiting for Yu Tunzhou to respond, Cao Jianjia turned and left, leaving him with only the sight of her back.

Yu Tunzhou went to the riverside. The water shimmered, and he could faintly sense a savage presence lurking deep within it.

He did not know how tonight's battle would unfold.

After nightfall, the mountain wind swept over the wilds, carrying the damp chill of grass and trees.

For the first time in a while, Yu Tunzhou opened his door at night.

He glanced to either side, and only after confirming that nothing was amiss did he step outside.

According to Xie Linchuan and the others, the nighttime restriction had been lifted the day before yesterday.

He followed the winding mountain path down with nimble strides. The backlash from forcibly breaking through to twelve cycles in the early hours had nearly healed, though his face was still slightly pale.

Before long, he reached the upper reaches of the river. The water flowed more slowly here, and moonlight scattered flecks of silver across its surface.

Xie Linchuan and Ao Xiyu had already arrived.

Seeing him, Xie Linchuan came over and said in a low voice, "Don't push yourself later. Just lure it over, and then you can withdraw. Leave the rest to us. Ao Xiyu came well prepared-she even brought out the South Sea's 'Dragon-Capturing Net.' It's an imitation, but it's more than enough to restrain a Dragon Fish that's begun to amount to something. I was wondering why she was so confident."

The Dragon-Capturing Net?

Yu Tunzhou was puzzled. Why is it called that? Is she capturing herself?

Not far away, Ao Xiyu gestured for Yu Tunzhou to come over.

When Yu Tunzhou reached the shallows, the girl spoke.

"These shallows are open. Stand in the middle later. Once that beast is drawn over by you and gets stuck in the mud, Xie Linchuan and I will strike from the sides and use a secret treasure to restrict its movements."

At that, Ao Xiyu gave him a long look, a hint of concern in her voice.

"I hope you really can lure that thing here. I'm a little worried now about whether it will willingly enter these shallows."

Yu Tunzhou looked out over the area and could more or less understand Ao Xiyu's concern.

If it were a person who saw him standing in these shallows in the middle of the night, they would never fall for it so easily.

Ao Xiyu added, "The beast's vital point is between its eyes. As long as we can restrain it, Jianjia's Fallen Blossoms can break through its false dragon scales and kill it on the spot, even while concealing its brilliance."

Yu Tunzhou suddenly voiced the question on his mind. "Aren't you a dragon girl? With your bloodline, can't you intimidate it into submission?"

Ao Xiyu fell silent for a moment, then shook her head. "My bloodline isn't pure, and the one who created that beast had a bloodline far superior to mine. Otherwise, this thing couldn't have been reborn to such an extent. Give it another thirty years, and it might even grow dragon bones."

Just then.

They all looked in the same direction.

A white figure emerged from the darkness. It was Cao Jianjia.

The long sword in her hand still kept its power concealed, but the three of them could sense a fierce Sword Qi, like thunder lying dormant, ready to erupt at any moment.

Yu Tunzhou gazed at the long sword, his expression grave. He sensed a powerful danger from it.

Ao Xiyu reminded her, "Jianjia, rein in your presence a little."

"All right." Cao Jianjia nodded, found a rock with a clear view, and stood on it, closing her eyes to rest. The presence around her grew increasingly subdued.

"Let's begin," Ao Xiyu said succinctly, retreating behind the collapsed stone bridge not far away.

Xie Linchuan was already waiting there. He nodded to Yu Tunzhou from a distance.

Yu Tunzhou stepped into the shallows. Sand and stones lay uneven beneath his feet, and the cold river water rose past his ankles.

He entered a meditative trance in an instant and visualized Little Black. The water fortune and workings of Qi in the river beneath him immediately stirred, beginning to converge on him like countless rivers flowing into the sea.

Time passed bit by bit.

A glimmer of gold flashed through Ao Xiyu's eyes. Following a barely perceptible undercurrent, she found the figure swimming upstream from below. Enormous as it was, it moved without a sound, stirring only a faint undercurrent.

It stopped ten meters from the shallows and ventured no farther. The sight made Ao Xiyu's heart sink.

The part of her plan she had worried about most had come to pass!