Chapter 854: The Expert Angler
Chapter 854: The Expert Angler
Zhong Shentong's seven-colored divine light made him virtually invincible against cultivators of the same realm. He could even wear down and ultimately kill cultivators like his Senior Brother Zhang.
The *Life and Death Profound Technique* he practiced was an exceptionally mysterious art. It was said that when cultivated to its apex, one could achieve a miraculous state where life and death coexisted, attaining a unique form of immortality.
Practicing this technique would awaken and infinitely amplify a cultivator's instinctive fear of death.
It could take a cultivator like Zhong Shentong, who was inherently lazy, and transform him completely in the face of death, filling him with an incredible drive to act.
"In the original timeline, Zhong Shentong wouldn't have broken through until he was on the brink of death from old age."
"But now he's reached Foundation Establishment ahead of schedule..."
"What happened?"
The worst of the mutated Immortal-Mortal Miasma had already passed, so Li Fan was certain that wasn't what had forced the breakthrough.
However, his main body was still occupied with devouring the Five Elements Great Cave-Heaven and couldn't be disturbed.
This time, the task of observing Zhong Shentong would fall to his clone, Ji Shaoli.
"He's only just broken through to the Foundation Establishment stage, and he hasn't had time to comprehend his seven-colored divine light yet. Subduing him with my Golden Core cultivation..."
"...shouldn't be a problem," Ji Shaoli mused to himself.
Still, to be on the safe side, the clone made thorough preparations.
Between the Foundation Establishment and Nascent Soul stages, a cultivator armed with enough treasures bought with contribution points could easily ignore cultivation gaps and crush their opponent.
Not to mention, his own cultivation was a full stage higher. Thus, Ji Shaoli wasn't overly concerned.
Following the intelligence he had gathered, Ji Shaoli used a teleportation array to arrive at a desolate hill on the northwestern border of Yongyun Prefecture.
On the hill stood a slightly dilapidated temple, where Zhong Shentong lived in seclusion.
"Previously, this Zhong Shentong was just an ordinary old man. Though a stroke of luck brought him half a scroll of the *Life and Death Profound Technique*, he had made no progress in his cultivation. It wasn't until his life was nearly over that the immense pressure forced him to break through his shackles and finally reach the Qi Refining stage."
"Even after reaching the Qi Refining stage, he again lacked the motivation to cultivate, content to simply live out the rest of his days in this small temple."
"Logically, he should have waited until his life was once again at its end before breaking through. But now, he's done it ahead of schedule..."
"And what was his Foundation Establishment Wonder?"
Ji Shaoli didn't reveal himself. Instead, he concealed his aura and began to observe from a distance.
Inside the temple, besides Zhong Shentong, there was a young acolyte who looked to be about eight or nine years old.
Outrageously, all the chores inside the temple—cleaning, starting fires, cooking—could have been handled instantly with spells.
But Zhong Shentong insisted on having the young acolyte do everything by hand.
The young acolyte was exceptionally lovely, with large, bright eyes that seemed to speak volumes. Yet she worked without complaint, handling her chores with a nimble efficiency. Her practiced movements were not at all like those of a child.
While the acolyte managed everything in perfect order, Zhong Shentong merely sat by a pond in the temple's backyard, fishing.
After calling out to him a few times with no response, she had no choice but to bring the prepared meal over to him.
"Master, it's time to eat," the young acolyte said in a high, childish voice.
"Shh, don't scare away your master's fish."
The young acolyte pouted and started eating by herself.
Just as the acolyte was about to finish her meal, Zhong Shentong's expression suddenly shifted. "A bite!"
He yanked the rod, but what he reeled in wasn't a fish.
Instead, it was a cluster of green light.
Zhong Shentong looked disappointed, but he still reached into the green light and felt around for a moment.
After a moment, he pulled out a disc-shaped artifact that appeared to be rusted.
Zhong Shentong examined it briefly, shook his head, and casually tossed it to the young acolyte.
The acolyte, seemingly long accustomed to this, caught it deftly. "What is it this time, Master?"
"A Fire Disc. It can create a flame. Now you won't need to use talismans to start the fire anymore," Zhong Shentong said languidly.
He put away his rod and began to wolf down his food.
After reaching Foundation Establishment, one no longer needed to eat like a mortal.
But Zhong Shentong seemed to savor it, feasting with great relish.
In just a few moments, he had devoured everything on the table.
"I'm going to take a nap. Don't disturb me unless it's absolutely urgent," Zhong Shentong instructed as he stood up, humming a little tune.
"I know, I know," the young acolyte replied, sounding a little helpless.
Once snores echoed from inside the temple, the young acolyte finished cleaning up the leftovers and returned to the edge of the pond.
She produced a fishing rod from somewhere and, imitating her master, began to fish as well.
But even after a long while, there was not the slightest stir.
The young acolyte couldn't help but feel dejected.
"Master says that only the sincere of heart can fish up treasures from this pond. I've been trying for years, but I've never caught anything."
"Darn it..." Unwilling to give up, she cast her line one more time.
The result was the same. The end of her line remained empty.
Only then did the young acolyte accept her fate, leaving the pond with her head hung in disappointment.
A short while later.
Ji Shaoli slowly materialized.
"Interesting," he murmured, his expression unreadable as he stared at the pond.
After setting up a simple illusion around the area, he began to carefully examine the small pond.
Under the scrutiny of his divine sense, it was indeed nothing more than an ordinary pond.
It was no more than three meters deep, and about ten meters long and wide.
The view within the pond was completely unobstructed.
Aside from some fine floating debris, there were no fish living in it at all.
If he hadn't just witnessed Zhong Shentong pull a cluster of green light from this very pond...
...Ji Shaoli would have been completely deceived.
Since he couldn't discern any mystery from the outside, Ji Shaoli simply flew down and submerged himself in the water, attempting to uncover the pond's secret.
But...
Even after entering the water, it still felt no different from an ordinary pond!
Returning to the bank, Ji Shaoli pondered for a moment before taking out some materials from his storage ring and fashioning a fishing rod.
Imitating the master and disciple, he began to fish.
He sat upright by the water's edge, holding his breath and focusing his mind.
He cast his line!
But still, nothing changed.
Ji Shaoli sat motionlessly for a long time. A faint feeling that something was amiss prompted him to reel in his line.
"This pond clearly has something mysterious about it, yet I can't perceive it..."
"Could it be that this pond only recognizes Zhong Shentong?"
After a moment of thought, Ji Shaoli dismissed this idea.
If that were true, the young acolyte wouldn't have even tried.
"The sincere of heart..."
"What does it mean to be sincere of heart?"
Fishing was not unfamiliar to Ji Shaoli.
Both before his transmigration and during his years as the Grand Preceptor of the Great Xuan Kingdom, he would often go fishing whenever his mind was troubled.
He held a firm belief in never going home empty-handed, always waiting patiently until a fish took the bait before returning with satisfaction.
But ever since he began cultivating, he had never again indulged in such a relaxing activity.
"Sincere of heart..."
Ji Shaoli seemed to have an epiphany.
This time, he once again sat down by the pond.
He no longer thought about uncovering the pond's secrets.
He just wanted, purely and simply, to make a catch!
"Hah!"
With a solemn expression, Ji Shaoli forcefully cast his line.
The next moment, the scene before his eyes transformed!
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