Azure Silk and Travel Expenses Weave a Net, Demonic Traces Frequently Appear Near the Spirit Reef

"Sky Wind Sword Qi."

Fu Xiangfeng performed the newly refined Heavenly Wind Nine Revolutions Sword Scripture. Streams of azure vortexes unfolded on the water's surface.

BOOM--

Water exploded. Dozens of demonic fish were swept into the sky by the gale. Sword light crisscrossed, killing them one by one.

"Little Sixth, has my sword qi reached the introductory level?"

"Sword Qi Scattered and Not Condensed. The purity is more than a notch below. Although Wind Qi Formless, it's soft like fluff. How can it be used to kill enemies? It's only good for dealing with the small fish and shrimp in the water."

Heng Hua critically assessed, his gaze fixed on the fish corpses on the water's surface.

The fish corpses were more or less entwined with Dragon Qi, clearly related to the battle thirty years ago.

Heng Hua pondered, "Thirty years ago, three great flood dragons led a million water demons to attack Panlong Island. Although they were all slaughtered by the Old Master, the Dragon Blood they scattered brought convenience to the nearby aquatic creatures. I'm afraid the next Demon Tide will be another troublesome affair."

In the waters near Panlong Island, the Fu family could still manage to clean up. But further away, the Fu family's reach was limited.

"Hey--I say, do you want to try your hand?"

Xiang Feng suddenly pushed him.

"You've been on the island for a long time, you probably don't have much actual combat experience? These demonic fish are perfect for practicing."

"Practicing?"

Thinking of his battles against those water demons in the Dragon Transformation Pool, Heng Hua nodded.

"It's time to try the true demonic water creatures outside."

His divine sense spread out. The changes in the water within a hundred-zhang radius entered Heng Hua's mind.

"One, two, three..."

Heng Hua counted the demonic fish lurking underwater.

Because the Yanlong Waters were freshwater, the demonic fish were mainly minnows, carp, perch, and the like.

"Unicorn Flower Carp. Weakness is the Forehead Five-star Horn."

"Crimson Fire Black Perch. The flaw is the line between its eyes."

"Wave-leaping Tooth Fish. Weakness is the spine below the second fin."

Heng Hua recalled the weaknesses of various demonic fish in his mind. He slowly raised his right hand.

Xiang Feng stood to the side and suddenly remembered something. He turned his head and asked Xiang Yu, who was walking up behind him, "What kind of magical treasure does your young master usually use?"

Xiang Yu looked at Heng Hua, who was cultivating and casting spells, and said with a strange tone, "Young master usually just plays with the Mysterious Fire Sparrow Feather Fan left by the master. He himself... doesn't refine magical treasures."

Magical treasures are divided into four grades: Magic, Treasure, Spirit, and Immortal.

Theoretically, Heng Hua, as a Foundation Establishment Realm cultivator, could craft Treasure-grade artifacts. However, Heng Hua disdained refining magical treasures, as it would take time away from his studies and spell practice. He simply used the Mysterious Fire Fan left by his father as his weapon.

The Mysterious Fire Fan is a Spirit-grade artifact. It doesn't need daily refinement; just placing it above the Langhuan Pavilion allows it to automatically absorb Sun Moon Essence, which is very convenient.

"Uncle's fan." Xiang Feng knew that the fan was indeed a top-tier fire-attribute Spirit artifact. But the Yanlong Waters, and even the Donglai Ten Thousand Islands, were very rich in Water Spirit Qi, making the artifact's effectiveness on water poor.

Therefore, the Golden Core Cultivators in the clan disliked this fan, so they let Heng Hua's father, who was at the Mysterious Embryo Cultivation realm, wield it.

"Has he sparred with anyone before? What is he good at?"

Xiang Yu thought for a long time, his expression subtle, "Young master cultivates in the library and has never fought with anyone. As for what he's good at... he... he seems to..."

"Forget it, I understand."

Xiang Feng turned his head and looked at Heng Hua again.

Azure silk threads emerged from Heng Hua's fingertips and were cast into the water.

"Thousand Strands Silk."

The silk threads entered the water and with a gentle flick, the water surface turned blood red, and fish corpses floated to the surface. The wounds on their bodies were very small, merely the weak points being lightly cut by the silk threads, while the rest of their bodies remained intact.

Xiang Feng was surprised, "What kind of technique is this? It looks like he's condensing magical power into silk threads? Puppetry Art?"

"I saw it in an ancient book. Hundreds of years ago, a cultivator was fishing for dragons on the water. But the specially prepared Five-colored Sky Spider Silk broke. He had no choice but to use magical power as silk thread. Later, he wrote this spell in a book. According to the book, if one masters this path, 'Thousand Strands Silk' can evolve into another famous Daoist technique."

"What Daoist technique?"

"Heavenly Net and Earthly Net."

"The one that claims 'Under one net, even immortals and demons cannot escape'?"

"Yes."

Heng Hua spread his right hand, his five fingers loosely clasped. The silk threads emerging from his fingertips intertwined, forming a crude spider web. Let alone catching insects, even small fry could slip through.

"Go."

With a gentle push, the "spider web" flew into the distance.

A nine-foot-long big fish was trapped by the azure net.

Heng Hua clenched his palm into a fist, and the azure silk instantly closed, cutting the big fish into uniform chunks of meat.

"My understanding of Daoist magic isn't deep, so 'Heavenly Net' can only trap these lesser demons."

Though he said that, this experiment gave Heng Hua a deeper understanding of his Creation Yuan Convergence Technique.

The consumption for performing Daoist magic was less than before, yet its power was no less.

Heng Hua mused, 'Currently, the total amount of Creation True Qi is comparable to the Evergreen True Essence of a Foundation Establishment Cultivator. And the techniques performed with Creation True Qi are stronger than with the original Evergreen True Essence. The drawbacks of dispersing my cultivation and re-cultivating have been completely compensated for.'

The meat chunks cut by Heavenly Net drifted with the waves, passing by the spirit boat.

Xiang Feng stared at the meat chunks, seeing the cuts were even and smooth, the grain clearly visible.

"Little Sixth, are you skilled in Daoist magic?"

"It's not a matter of skill. The books in the Langhuan Pavilion, any secret techniques, Daoist magic, or sword arts recorded within, I can perform. But—"

"Is it limited to just being able to perform them? Knowledgeable in a Hundred Schools means you're not proficient in any single one. When you performed 'Thousand Strands Silk', I timed you. Five finger snaps, too slow."

"I'm aware of this flaw."

Thousand Strands Silk is not a complex technique. It merely condenses True Essence Magical Power into threads, which are then manipulated by divine sense.

Most cultivators, after practicing diligently, can use it skillfully within three finger snaps. Experts who have meticulously studied this path and are adept at controlling True Qi and magical power can activate it in an instant.

But Heng Hua couldn't.

Admittedly, he understood the principle of casting. But he needed to first recall the casting techniques for Thousand Strands Silk, and then clumsily perform it with his hands.

As Heng Hua self-deprecatingly put it, a giant in thought, a dwarf in action.

His body couldn't keep up with his brain.

"This was to be expected. While others practiced Qi cultivation and meditation, I was reading. While others practiced swordplay, I was reading. While others studied Daoist magic, I was still reading. It's precisely because I used the time that ordinary cultivators spend on actual combat and practice to read that I can learn three thousand Daoist techniques."

Heng Hua extended his hand, a chilling coldness emanating from his right hand.

Mysterious Yin Cold Heart Palm, an offensive technique performed by Foundation Establishment Cultivators.

The next moment, the coldness transformed into flames. It was another offensive technique of Foundation Establishment Cultivators, Mysterious Flame Curse.

Following that, Heng Hua sequentially performed elemental Daoist techniques and secret arts of wood, wind, lightning, metal, earth, and so on in his hand.

Finally, with a gentle flick, all his True Qi dissipated.

Fu Xiangfeng watched Heng Hua's movements, contemplating, 'The various Daoist techniques and secret arts are operated at will, demonstrating the all-encompassing nature of his magical power. It's just a bit slow.'

"Alright, Third Brother. You don't need to ponder me anymore. My combat skills are weak, which is why I need an expert like you to support me. Let's hurry on our way."

"Then, where exactly is your friend? According to this route, it seems you're heading towards the Central Region?"

"Hmm, it's relatively close to the Central Region, but it's barely considered our eastern territory."

Bang--

In the distance, a pillar of water shot up into the sky. Mist swirled, and the vast water surface gave off steam. It then formed a water tornado, emitting a yellow treasure light.

Heng Hua's eyes flickered, and he mused, "Spiritual Qi Treasure Vortex? Is the Immovable Reef emerging?"

Water demons lurking underwater in the distance all moved towards the water tornado.

Xiang Feng said joyfully, "No wonder there are so many water demons here. So they sensed the Immovable Reef emerging. Little Sixth, want to go take a look?"

"It's a fortunate encounter, of course, I must see the world."

The water was as deep and dark as ink. A spiritual qi vortex with a diameter of a hundred zhang was rapidly expanding. At the center of the vortex, a reef flashing with treasure light was slowly rising.

On the distant water surface, a colorful boat shaped like a phoenix stopped to observe.

"It really is the Immovable Reef. Judging by its appearance... it seems like a magical treasure is emerging?"

Heng Hua stared underwater, calculating with his fingers: "I remember that beneath this water region was once the mountain gate of Yu Feng Dao. A thousand years ago, Five Profound Wind Spirit Island sank into the water. It must be close to the time it floats up?"

Yanlong Waters is one of the Thirteen Water Regions of Donglai Ten Thousand Islands. And these thirteen water regions, fifteen hundred years ago, were originally a grand scale Divine Continent Vast Land.

After the land and sea war, the Divine Continent sank to the bottom of the sea. Various cultivators barely protected their own mountain gates, which transformed into islands on the water's surface.

As time flowed away, some islands sank and fell, while some submerged mountains and rivers re-emerged as islands.

With these ups and downs, the marvel of the Thirteen Water Regions came to be.

"I remember Grandfather mentioning that Yu Feng Dao was skilled in the Gangfeng Secret Art," Xiang Feng recalled information about Yu Feng Dao, his interest piqued.

"Little Sixth, what treasure do you think will be under the Immovable Reef?"

The Immovable Reef is the initial seed nurtured by a spiritual vein. Only reefs possessing spiritual veins and spiritual roots can float in the Donglai Water Realm.

As time flowed away, the spiritual roots on the reef gradually grew into spiritual veins, and the reef transformed into a Spirit Islet, then a Spirit Island. Finally, it was upgraded to an Immortal Island or Immortal Continent.

According to the elders of the Fu family: above Buxian Continent is the true Divine Continent Vast Land, the former appearance of Donglai Continent back then.

Of course, the oldest elder of the Fu family was born after the Battle of Fuzhou. Therefore, what they said was merely hearsay.

"Judging by the scale of the spiritual qi, it shouldn't be some top-tier Spirit Artifact. But something like a Treasure Artifact requires cultivators to refine it day and night, so it's impossible for it to exist underwater for a thousand years. It should be Spirit Artifact Fragments from Yu Feng Dao, which have achieved something after a thousand years of nurturing."

Heng Hua looked at the water demons in the distance.

Fish demons at the Qi Refining level could not yet shapeshift. They were merely schools of enormous Fish Kings acting as leaders, leading their respective schools to wait there.

"These fish demons are also here for Immovable Reef. There should be a Foundation Establishment Realm water monster leading them. Third Brother, you go to Immovable Reef to search for treasures. I'll deal with them."

Xiang Feng hesitated, "Can you... do it? By the way, you've always been in the library, how are your aerial maneuvering skills? Don't fall into the water halfway."

"My surname is Fu, and I know the Wind Riding Art."

Without waiting for Xiang Feng to say more, Heng Hua formed the "Wind Riding Art Seal" with his left hand and leaped into the sky.

A gentle breeze swirled around him, carrying Heng Hua towards the group of water demons.

Puchi— Puchi—

Sensing the approaching cultivator, the fish demons spat water columns at Heng Hua. They were as thin as thumbs and as thick as bowls, exuding a sinister demonic aura and chilling cold.

Heng Hua smiled slightly, a feather fan appearing in his hand.

Before he could even wave it, a cold chill surged from behind him.

"Mysterious Nether Ice Seal Technique."

Xiao Yu drifted over, a cold, sinister, dark blue gas emerging from his sleeve, freezing all the fish demons on the water surface.

"Why are you here?"

Heng Hua stopped in mid-air, looking at Xiao Yu, who was elegantly treading on the waves towards him.

The "Water-Treading Flower Step" that Xiao Yu practiced was something Heng Hua had seen in an ancient text. It was originally a method used by a cultivator to train his maidservant.

It allowed one to tread on water and move like a flower, making their posture elegant and their movements more agile and swift.

"Young Master is not skilled in combat, so I was worried."

"They are just a few water demons. If I can't even defeat these, then my decades of cultivation would have been in vain."

Bang—

While they were speaking, a black shadow shot out rapidly from beneath the ice. A violent and overbearing demonic aura swept towards Heng Hua and Xiao Yu...

Addendum:

Travels in Canglan: In the 825th year of the Tianyi Calendar, I traveled to Yan Water and fished for dragons with a golden rod. However, the line broke, so I used my spiritual power as a line and caught five flood dragons.

The Golden Dragon has a bland taste, not as good as its kin, the Carp Dragon.

The Snake Flood Dragon's meat is like that of a pheasant, inferior to dragon species.

The Green Flood Dragon is suspected to have attained sentience from water grass; it doesn't taste good.

The White Flood Dragon's true body's origin is unknown, but its liver is like that of a true dragon; it's delicious.

The Purple Flood Dragon is an Electric Eel that transformed into a dragon. Its meat is chewy and suitable for grilling.

Following this is a cultivation secret method, "Thousand Strands Silk."