Chapter 225: The Dragon Whale and the Harvest, Level Breakthrough! (8k)

Above the ice layer, a golden great sword spun rapidly, with cloud-white halos flowing along its blade's edge; the sword tip emitted sword qi like a drill, boring down at high speed.

"Crack-crack-crack~" Ice shards splattered in all directions.

Once the sword tip pierced through the ten-meter-thick ice layer, it immediately ceased its rotation.

Long Xiao simultaneously controlled four golden swords, positioning them at the four cardinal directions—east, south, west, and north—relative to himself as the center point, each two hundred meters away from their master.

The next second, the sword bodies trembled slightly, and the white halos on their blades shifted into a jagged, flowing pattern.

This golden sword, having just served as a drill, now switched roles to become a cutting machine, beginning to slice horizontally.

"Long Xiao's treasure swords are really enduring work they shouldn't have to do," Zhao Xing laughed.

"I never imagined sword cultivators would one day be reduced to laborers," Xia Jing felt some halo in his heart shatter.

Sword cultivators, once so lofty, have now become far too down-to-earth!

"His speed is indeed fast," Ji Ji Ziyun said. "If it were me, a spellcaster, I certainly wouldn't be as fast as him."

The ice was too thick; here, magical effects were simply inferior to physical ones.

Even if Zhao Xing came, he had no spells capable of quickly breaking the ice.

Among spells for melting ice, fire was the best.

Old Zhao's Heavenly Fire was only at the mid-stage perfection level; melting an ice layer over ten meters thick was nothing short of a fool's dream.

If he came, he would likely just have straw men use tools to slowly chip away at it.

The mountain cat also followed alongside one of Long Xiao's swords, scratching at the ice with its paws.

Crack-crack-crack-crack~ Very quickly, the mountain cat dug out an ice hole.

However, it seemed to have no sense of direction; it drilled down and then popped out from the other side.

"Meow?" The mountain cat, resembling a gopher, soon created several ice holes on the originally smooth ice surface.

"Aotian, hurry inside the house; I'll get you some fish to eat soon," Zhao Xing said. He had obsessive-compulsive tendencies and couldn't stand seeing the smooth ice surface messed up.

Long Xiao's cuts were so perfectly square, block by block, looking utterly satisfying.

Having a few crooked, untidy holes on top would simply torture someone with obsessive-compulsive tendencies to death.

"Meow~" The mountain cat panted, then quickly ran back into the small hut nearby.

"Long Xiao, keep the noise down when you cooperate with Brother Ji to move the broken ice later; there are quite a few fish schools below, don't scare them away," Zhao Xing shouted.

"Understood."

The one on the ice surface was Zhao Xing's true body.

He had a total of eighteen Myriad-Method Straw Men; nine were serving as bodyguards for Ji Zixuan and Murong Xue, while the other nine accompanied his true body.

Currently, at a depth of one thousand meters beneath the sea, three straw man avatars were observing the underwater situation.

The roots of the Azure Sea Cloud Vine had already grown down to three thousand meters and continued to spread further underwater.

However, by this time, growth had slowed considerably due to Old Chen's High-Grade Strong Foundation Method.

Every five hundred meters along the roots, a section became extremely thick, looking from afar as if a lump had bulged out.

The internal space also expanded, covering over a thousand square meters, as if three villas had grown underwater.

Zhao Xing pierced through six layers of vine walls and opened several skylights in different directions on the outermost layer.

He first tossed out several pearl orbs, then sealed them with mirrors from the Qilin Flying Boat.

Afterwards, he lay inside the Cloud Vine, using the Heaven's Eye Technique and the Five Elements Observation Method to observe the seabed below.

"Gurgle~"

A bubble of air rippled as it rose.

Then a three-meter-long fish with purple scales, its head emitting a faint golden light and shaped like a long blade, swam past.

Immediately, a school of fish followed, swimming past the roots of the Cloud Vine.

"So many big fish," Zhao Xing thought, his heart itching; he really wanted to loose a volley of arrows.

However, his tools were not yet complete, and firing would easily startle the fish school, so he abandoned the idea.

"Once the Azure Sea Cloud Vine takes root on the seabed, we can explore the bottom and see if there are any treasures."

If we can reach the seabed, the Divine Step Protection can be put to good use.

If we can touch the earth veins, we can channel their power through the Divine Step Protection; then we can attempt to search for treasures on the seabed.

The spiritual beauty of the Eternal Night Sea is not limited to fish alone!

The sword cultivator breaks the ice while the spellcasters cooperate to move the ice blocks, lifting them piece by piece and transporting them elsewhere, thus avoiding startling the fish schools.

Afterwards, Ji Ji Ziyun would set up the Ice Well Formation, ensuring the excavated ice surface would not refreeze for some time.

The entire project took only half an hour.

This was mainly because Long Xiao cut quickly, and Ji Ji Ziyun found it easy to set up the formation.

"Splash~"

The seawater flowed; within a short while, fish shadows swept by, emerging to breathe.

"We haven't even laid the bait yet, and there are already fish?" Ji Ji Ziyun's face lit up with joy. "Looks like we chose the right spot... Zhao Xing, shall we start laying the bait?"

He was already somewhat impatient.

"Good." Zhao Xing immediately flew to the Warm Flower Pavilion and retrieved a Water Immortal plant.

The Water Immortal belonged to the lotus family and genus; its seed pods were small, but its petals were exceptionally large.

After sinking to the seabed, the blue petals instantly became even more crystalline, and the petals began to disturb the cold energy in the water, radiating ripples outward to form a domain.

The fish school was immediately guided, beginning to rush toward the Water Immortal's domain.

Once inside the Water Immortal's domain, the fish school became reluctant to leave and began seeking mates to breed.

Zhao Xing then scattered a bucket of Fish-Eating Grass seeds.

After the gray-green seeds entered the water, their shells rapidly decomposed, beginning to release a scent.

"Gulong~ Gulong~"

The bubbles on the water's surface increased, clearly indicating fish had arrived.

Ji Ji Ziyun was highly excited: "So many… Hahaha, Qilin'er, quick, cast the line!"

At this moment, Xia Jing bore the burden of fishing; all five fishing rods were entrusted to him, hoping his novice aura would continue to work, so he gritted his teeth and began casting the Shen Luo fishing rod.

Then he cast the Huang Long fishing rod, the Tian Di fishing rod…

But when he cast the third fishing rod, Xia Jing froze.

Because with the first two rods, the moment they hit the water, the lines snapped taut instantly, and the rods bent violently.

The bubbles beneath grew thicker, as if boiling.

"Hualaa~"

A half-meter-long arrowfish, shimmering with Jin Guang, leapt from the sea.

"Paa~" It landed directly in Xia Jing's fishing basket.

Xia Jing: "…"

Ji Ji Ziyun: "…"

"Paa~" Three more fish leapt from the sea and thudded into the basket.

"Hualaa~"

"Hualaa~"

"Hualaa~"

What followed was uncontrollable.

Hundreds of fish leapt from the sea; the basket was already overflowing.

The rest fell onto the ice, wriggling.

"Gulong~" Xia Jing swallowed hard.

"Zhao Xing, is this… normal?"

He didn't quite understand, but was deeply stunned.

"I…" Zhao Xing hesitated. "It seems I scattered too much Fish-Devouring Grass."

He studied it closely, cross-referencing the observations from the Ten Thousand Methods Grassman below, and quickly confirmed it.

Indeed, the baiting was excessive!

The fish below had gone mad!

"Fish-Devouring Grass exerts a fatal allure on fish life; fifth-rank is called Fish-Feeding Grass, sixth-rank is 'Devouring'—they will frantically devour, charging without regard for anything."

"Water Immortal controls the fish population's reproduction, forcing them into mating season early, making them unwilling to leave this area."

"Food and lust have both been arranged perfectly." Zhao Xing took a deep breath. "The two derivative strains from Shangluo Academy are too potent."

In his past life, where had Zhao Xing ever used such premium bait?

He'd instinctively tossed out a whole bucket.

Also, the fishermen were different.

Zhao Xing and Xia Jing both had Yan-4 Qi Fortune; Long Xiao's fortune was no worse, already near Yan-4 from Yan-3.

Ji Ji Ziyun and Chen Shijie also had Yan-3, though their fortune pillars were slightly weaker—but even Chen Shijie, the weakest, had reached Yan-3.

The combined fortune of the five people caused the underwater fish population to far exceed the number Zhao Xing had observed beneath the Bi Hai Yun Teng roots.

Add to that his excessive baiting, and now it was completely out of control.

"Hurry up and pick up the fish, what are you standing there for?" Chen Shijie, upon emerging, was overjoyed—no need to fish, just pick them up, wasn't that perfect?

"We're rich!" After a moment of stunned silence, Ji Ji Ziyun and Long Xiao also broke into smiles and began collecting fish.

This haul was far bigger than anything they'd caught before.

The smallest were half a meter long; the largest already exceeded three meters!

"All are Fish Spirit Essences!"

At first, Xia Jing had been reluctant—he'd only just begun to take interest in fishing and still disliked eating fish—but what was this now?

Jumping straight into the basket? An insult!

But as the fish kept coming, Xia Jing's nausea faded.

Because there were too many!

Since Spirit Essences triggered sudden heart surges, Xia Jing now trembled with excitement.

Excitement overcame his aversion to fish—even beginning to pick them up with his hands!

"Pat-pat-pat~"

Across the entire water surface, fish leapt everywhere; in the blink of an eye, hundreds had jumped onto the ice.

In fifteen minutes, nearly a thousand!

"How much bait did you even throw in? Why so many?" Chen Shijie ran over, stunned by the scene.

"I tossed it all in."

"Huh?" Chen Shijie said. "Do you even know how to bait?"

"I'm not planning to fish anymore." Zhao Xing pointed, and a storm of gang wind instantly formed over the sea. "What's the point of fishing anymore?"

"Absorb!"

"…"

Chen Shijie scolded bitterly: "Scoundrel! Zhao Xing, you're the worst of all fishermen! Not a shred of technique!"

As he spoke, he activated his own tornado.

The fish that had leapt onto land were only a small fraction.

But the things sucked up by the dragon's water vortex were far more numerous.

A rain of fish instantly began to fall from the sky.

"Oh-ho-ho~" Long Xiao screamed in delight, excited like a child. "Ao Tian, eat quickly, eat as much as you want!"

"Meow-woof!" The mountain cat was equally excited, sniffing one fish and gnawing on another.

Biting one, clawing at another, it wished to collect them all.

Mine, mine, they are all mine!

But a quarter of an hour later, the situation suddenly changed.

"Damn, these fish are actually attacking people!" Long Xiao flailed in panic as he was suddenly attacked by five fish with wings and spiky mouths.

"Pfft~ Splash~" Zhao Xing's heart suddenly skipped half a beat.

"Brother Zhao, could there be something big down there?" Ji Ji Ziyun had been excited at first, but gradually noticed something was wrong. "Why are these fish jumping onto the ice with all their might?"

"Let me see." Zhao Xing immediately controlled the Ten Thousand Methods Straw Man to look into the seabed.

"Boom!" The Azure Water Cloud Vine was suddenly struck by something; its roots shook violently, and the vine wall was pierced through three or four layers.

Splash~

Water rushed in, crashing against the fifth layer of the vine wall.

Zhao Xing immediately cast a spell to seal the breach.

By the time he activated his Heaven Eye to observe, a blurry black shadow swept past his view.

The shadow was twenty or thirty meters long; Zhao Xing could see fifty or sixty Saber-Tooth Black-Scale Sharks swimming toward the Water Immortals ahead.

Each one was seventy or eighty meters long! And they shimmered with a spiritual, exquisite light!

"Sure enough, something big has arrived. If we can take down one, it will be a supreme tonic! Brothers, prepare..."

Before Zhao Xing could finish speaking, something suddenly seized his heart and gave it a vicious squeeze.

Even his original body gasped for breath, unable to speak.

From the perspective of the Ten Thousand Methods Clone beneath the seabed, his vision was suddenly blocked by a white expanse.

Golden and white stripes moved upward.

After waiting ten breaths, his vision finally cleared.

Zhao Xing immediately realized what had just passed by.

"It, it actually..."

Zhao Xing's scalp went numb.

A colossal creature appeared before him; its tail fin alone was three or four hundred meters long!

Its pale belly shimmered with golden patterns; the view had been blocked by it just now!

Rows of scale-spikes lined its dorsal fin, each one twenty or thirty meters long.

"Moo~"

A desolate sound, as if from ancient times, rose from the seabed into the roots of the Azure Water Cloud Vine.

Then Zhao Xing saw the colossal creature open its massive mouth and swallow the Saber-Tooth Black-Scale Sharks that had just swum past.

"Dragon Whale, it's a Dragon Whale!"

"Run quickly!"

Zhao Xing's scalp exploded; the Gale Wind danced wildly as he immediately swept up the fish baskets on the ice, including the people and the cat.

Without a word, he dragged them all toward the direction of the Wen Hua Shed.

"What are you doing..."

Long Xiao, who had been picking up fish with great enthusiasm, suddenly felt an indescribably dangerous intuition explode in his mind.

He voluntarily accelerated, quickly pulling Chen Shijie along.

Xia Jing's reaction was equally swift; he immediately activated the Azure Dragon Movement Technique, accelerating along Zhao Xing's Gale Wind.

The mountain cat grabbed the slower-reacting Ji Ji Ziyun and stepped upon Lei Ting to move through the Gale Wind.

The ice surface suddenly calmed down.

Two breaths later.

"Boom!"

"Crack crack crack"

The water surface exploded, and the surrounding ice layers were also shattered.

The ice surface Long Xiao had expanded instantly doubled in size!

A massive whirlpool appeared on the sea surface; all the Yuan Qi and matter around it were pulled into the whirlpool and crushed.

In the next instant, a giant mouth swallowed the ice surface, the seawater, and the fish all at once!

It revealed half its body, yet even that half resembled a mountain.

Its black-golden scales shone brilliantly under the light.

Its leap was like a mountain rising from the seabed; after devouring its prey, it plunged forward again.

"Boom!"

The ice surface was smashed open once more, sending up a giant wave hundreds of meters high!

"Heavens~" Ji Ji Ziyun's face turned pale. "It's a, a Dragon Whale!"

"A Dragon Whale, this big?!" Xia Jing's eyes went blank; he had forgotten to feel nauseous, replaced by severe thalassophobia.

"Old Chen, hold the waves!" Zhao Xing shouted. "The Wen Hua Shed is behind us; it cannot be destroyed."

"Understood." Chen Shijie reacted quickly.

The two cast spells together to protect the Wen Hua Shed behind them.

The waves surged endlessly; Chen Shijie and Zhao Xing held the ceremonial staffs.

Facing a hundred-meter-high wave, they joined forces to raise a cloud-qi domain, enveloping the Wen Hua shed.

The cloud-qi layers rose like mountain peaks.

Confronting the colossal wave, the light barrier stood like a reef, immovable amidst the surge.

"Whoosh~"

A few minutes later, the waves finally subsided.

The Dragon Whale vanished without a trace.

Everyone breathed a collective sigh of relief, all feeling as though they had survived a calamity.

"A Dragon Whale! I never expected the Extreme Night Sea to harbor such a massive one." Chen Shijie remained deeply stunned. "Its size exceeds that of an ordinary Dragon Whale by a hundredfold!"

Zhao Xing said, "The Dragon Whale contains spiritual essence far superior to ordinary fish. It devours fish everywhere, consuming who knows how much spiritual essence, thus growing ever stronger."

"Fortunately, your warning came in time," Ji Ji Ziyun said, still trembling with fear. "Otherwise, we would have been swallowed in a single gulp, utterly unable to escape the Dragon Whale's 'Sky-Swallowing Vortex'."

"Meow!" Ao Tian Miao waved a paw. That truly scared the cat to death!

Fortunately, the Dragon Whale lunged forward, and after swallowing, swam onward.

Zhao Xing and the others flew in the opposite direction.

They reacted quickly, distancing themselves from the area the Dragon Whale devoured; otherwise, disaster would have been certain.

"The Way of Fortune: once, twice, thrice, and then it exhausts itself." Zhao Xing's expression also turned grim. "We have been so fortunate that we forgot the most basic principle."

For over ten consecutive days, fortune had been with them, with not a shred of peril.

Now, at last, a stroke of misfortune had erupted.

Zhao Xing calculated with his fingers: "No wonder the result earlier was Nine-Two. Kan signifies danger; seeking small gains yields small gains."

"So it manifests here."

"This is my negligence," Zhao Xing reflected. "I nearly caused everyone to be swallowed by the whale."

"Brother Zhao, what kind of talk is that?" Xia Jing frowned. "Do brothers only share good fortune?"

"Yes, Zhao Xing," Ji Ji Ziyun added. "This is not your fault, and you warned us in time."

Chen Shijie and Long Xiao said nothing; they held no blame for Zhao Xing. Brotherhood resides in the heart; no words are needed.

"We have not gained nothing," Ji Ji Ziyun pointed to the fish behind them. "Although we did not gather them all, there are still one or two thousand here."

"You are not a deity, nor omniscient and omnipotent; do not be so harsh on yourself."

Though spoken thus, Zhao Xing still reflected deeply.

The treasure-hunting journey had been too smooth; the Five-Finger Heavenly Fate had also broken through to the high stage, causing his vigilance to wane, so he even overlooked the basic principles of fortune, or was confident he could avoid it.

"Fate is unpredictable and profound. Although this time we escaped danger with a scare, henceforth we must remain vigilant even in safety."

After reflecting in his heart, Zhao Xing felt his understanding of the Five-Finger Heavenly Fate and the Great Expansion Gazing Art had deepened several degrees.

"Enough, let us divide the fish." Chen Shijie sensed Zhao Xing's emotions had returned to normal and knew he had recovered.

"First, let us check the losses," Zhao Xing said.

"Very well."

Chen Shijie entered the Wen Hua shed. Although some ice blocks had collapsed inside, the structure remained intact overall.

However, the foundation had developed some cracks. Yet, since the ice layer was thick enough and the Dragon Whale did not lunge in that direction, it merely cracked; the ten-plus-meter-thick ice layer did not completely fracture.

The Wen Hua shed suffered little damage.

"The fishing rods are gone," Long Xiao said. "All five rods are missing; we do not know if the Dragon Whale swallowed them or if the waves swept them away."

Given the situation at that moment, who cared about fishing rods? Everyone was busy gathering fish.

"Swallowed," Zhao Xing said with closed eyes. "Swallowed into the Dragon Whale's belly."

"How do you know?" Long Xiao asked.

"Did you do it on purpose?" Ji Ji Ziyun was stunned. "Sixth-stage fishing rods are all custom-made; the Seven-Star Hooks have positioning functions. Even if the line snapped, one could locate them via positioning. You swept away even the fish baskets; there is no reason you would not take the rods."

"Correct." Zhao Xing nodded. Such on-the-spot reaction, as a high-level player, he certainly possessed.

"You have designs on the Dragon Whale? With our meager strength?"

"I cannot do it," Zhao Xing smiled. "But someone can. Even if there is no opportunity, the worst that happens is the loss of five fishing rods."

"Anyway, we do not need fishing rods to eat the fish."

"That is true." Ji Ji Ziyun looked at the fish lying on the ground. "These fish were either picked up or scooped up; none were hooked."

"Nonsense!" Xia Jing roared. "I clearly caught a whole basket of fish earlier! Cousin, are you ignoring it because I caught more than you? Because my skill is better than yours?"

"Qilin'er, do you call that skill?" Ji Ji Ziyun sneered. "The fish were jumping into your basket themselves."

"Little Jar, you push your luck too far!"

"Scoundrel, you..."

Ji Ji Ziyun was about to say something when Zhao Xing interrupted: "Brother Xia, stop pretending."

"You want to argue with Brother Ji, then pretend to be offended and leave, refusing to eat this fish?"

Xia Jing's expression became somewhat awkward: "Is it that obvious?"

"My Life Soul has opened the Heavenly Eye; did you think I was joking with you?"

Zhao Xing was also somewhat speechless. At the critical moment of dividing the fish, Xia Jing was starting to back down.

Just how much do you hate eating fish?!

"Actually, I am not afraid; I just wanted to wait for you all to eat some first..." Facing the gazes of the others, Xia Jing's voice grew weaker and weaker.

"Alright, then can I eat less?"

"You practice the Gluttonous Eating Method; can you possibly eat less? Huh?"

"Then can we light a fire, set up a stove, heat oil in a pot, and cook it? You surely have preparations on your Qilin Flying Boat?"

"I did consider that earlier." Zhao Xing pointed at the Wen Hua Pavilion, "but now the Qilin Flying Boat has been dismantled; where would the stove burn oil?"

"Besides, Old Chen and I are not cooking masters. If we mishandle the spiritual essence contained in this, cooking it will cause most of its effect to dissipate."

"Do you intend to squander a heavenly treasure?"

"Stop chanting, stop chanting... I'll eat!" Xia Jing said resentfully. "Ever since the supply training when we were paired together, I knew sooner or later this would happen... damn it, what sin have I committed!"

"A true man sheds blood, not tears. Eat!"

"..."

On the Ice-Breaking Tower Ship, Pei Yuanchang was tallying the fishing catch and discussing with his strategist.

Suddenly, a subordinate burst in without even announcing his presence, looking hurried and anxious.

"Young Master, Young Master! Something major has happened!"

"Rushing about like this, what kind of decorum is that?!" Pei Yuanchang shouted. "Do you not see Mr. and I are discussing serious matters?"

"Do not act so in the future. Speak, what is it?"

The subordinate said nothing more, directly took a Mirage Pearl from his chest, and began playing the recorded image.

"Young Master previously instructed me to monitor Agricultural Commissioner Zhao's side to prevent any accidents."

"This subordinate has been watching from a distance; this is the recording from two quarters of an hour ago."

Pei Yuanchang immediately raised his head to look at the image projected within the Mirage Pearl.

What was recorded was exactly the scene of Long Xiao cutting the ice layer and moving ice blocks.

At first, it seemed normal.

But when Zhao Xing transplanted the Water Immortal into the water and scattered a bucket of Fish-Devouring Grass seeds,

it gradually became wrong.

"What is happening? Why are so many fish appearing?" Pei Yuanchang was stunned.

The following scenes shocked him even more.

He saw the fish jumping directly into the fish basket beside Xia Jing, with even more fish leaping onto the ice surface.

Before long, Zhao Xing and Chen Shijie simply used the method of the Dragon Drinking Water to swirl the fish up from the water.

It rained fish in the sky!

"What?!"

Pei Yuanchang jumped up with a snap.

The strategist beside him was also extremely surprised.

"How could there be such a large school of fish in this area? This..."

Pei Yuanchang was simply dumbfounded.

His group of so many people, after half a day, produced only about a thousand jin.

Although their efficiency increased later on, yet... his entire ship's crew still could not match Zhao Xing's efficiency.

Just by visual estimation, at least one hundred thousand jin of fish had been brought up!

"H-how did he do it?" Pei Yuanchang suspected he was seeing an illusion.

He and his side worked themselves to death, while Zhao Xing over there just scattered some seeds and directly brought up one hundred thousand jin?

Is there any justice in the world?

The subordinate had no words to reply; you ask me how it was done, how could I possibly know?

I was just recording!

"Young Master, this subordinate does not know what technique Agricultural Commissioner Zhao used, but it must be inseparable from his Wen Hua Pavilion."

"Furthermore, Young Master, please continue watching; something major happens later!"

Pei Yuanchang finally came to his senses, restrained his emotions, and sat down again.

But immediately, his heart trembled, and he stood up again!

"Dragon Whale!"

"It is actually a Dragon Whale of such size?!"

Pei Yuanchang could no longer sit still.

He immediately rushed out the door.

"Young Master, Young Master!"

The strategist hurriedly rose to chase after him, but just as he was about to leave, he stopped his steps.

"This matter must be kept secret and must not be leaked."

"Yes." The subordinate understood.

Having said that, he also left the Tower Ship and flew toward Zhao Xing's direction.

"Ugh~"

Xia Jing covered his stomach with one hand and leaned against the doorframe, vomiting.

But he could not vomit anything out; the Seven-Layer Gluttony Method is rare even among Fifth-Rank cultivators.

He had only eaten the essence of the fish meat, which was fully digested upon entering his stomach; what was left to vomit?

"Brother Long, cover the Qilin Child's mouth and nose; do not let him vomit!" Ji Ji Ziyun said solemnly. "We must help him break this strange habit."

"Hahaha." Zhao Xing and Chen Shijie laughed loudly; my cousin is indeed ruthless.

"Alright." Long Xiao spat out a fish bone and pretended to go grab him.

"You rascal, do not come over!" Xia Jing waved his hand. "C-can you eat as much as I can?"

"I have already eaten over three thousand jin!"

Xia Jing truly felt like crying but had no tears.

These four are utterly inhumane!

Seeing they had the Gluttonous Devouring Method, after deboning and removing the organs, they ate first, calling it "testing for poison with the Gluttonous Devouring Method"!

So, he ate the most!

In less than an hour, he had eaten over three thousand jin, over three thousand jin!

"Perhaps we shouldn't make things difficult for Brother Xia; it isn't easy for him either," Zhao Xing said, squinting.

"What good person are you pretending to be?" Xia Jing said angrily. "Just now, you fed the most!"

"Meow!" The mountain cat waved its paws in agreement.

Even this cat hasn't eaten as much as him!

"Hahaha."

Zhao Xing stopped teasing Xia Jing and buried his head in devouring the fish.

The fish flesh contained spiritual essence of various kinds.

Since the quantity was sufficient.

He picked and chose what to eat.

Now, he had already absorbed a considerable amount of Water Fortune.

"Catch a few more times, refine the Water Fortune, then gather the spiritual essences of Metal, Wood, and Earth fortunes, and breakthrough will be possible. The Eternal Night Sea offers a complete opportunity to gather them all."

"If I can also swallow that Dragon Whale..."

Zhao Xing's gaze burned with intensity.

The Dragon Whale was one of the greatest benefits of the Eternal Night Sea.

In his past life, he had only heard of it, never truly eaten its flesh.

"Even if I can only eat a few pieces of meat and obtain a few drops of pure blood, perhaps my Hou Transformation Method could begin internal cultivation a bit sooner."

The internal cultivation of the Seventy-Two Hou Transformations; if he began practicing it, he could transform into the divine beast, the Soaring Snake!

This could resolve some of Zhao Xing's deficiencies in close combat.

Of course, once preparing to begin internal cultivation, breaking through to the Fifth Rank would be most appropriate.

The current Zhao Xing was already nearing the completion of the Tian Gang realm.

Although his official rank remained Junior Sixth Rank, his realm had reached the late stage of Tian Gang.

The Gathering Yuan had reached the forty-eighth stage!

"Eat and refine a few more, and I can reach the forty-ninth stage of Gathering Yuan; that would be the completion of the Tian Gang realm."

Over two thousand fish; the small ones weighed seven or eight jin each, and the large ones over five hundred jin!

The fish Zhao Xing swept up were all high-quality goods.

"The fiftieth stage is the Fifth Rank Pure Yuan realm; however, the threshold from the forty-ninth to the fiftieth stage cannot be crossed merely by eating the fish here."

Although the quantity was large, after deboning and removing the organs, not much of what remained was useful to eat.

Furthermore, breakthroughs in Gathering Yuan require 'Yuan Qi Spiritual Essence.' The fish here, however, are of many varieties.

Zhao Xing was already Sixth Rank; the higher the realm, the less useful ordinary spiritual essences became.

Once Gathering Yuan climbed to the forty-ninth stage, if one wished to break through to the fiftieth stage, ordinary fifth-stage Yuan Qi Spiritual Essences had very little effect; only the sixth stage brought obvious progress.

Of course, this refers only to quantity; the Pure Yuan realm also involves shaping the Dharma Body, comprehending the Dao, and cultivating spells, all of which must keep pace; it is simply that this breakthrough process requires a vast amount of Yuan Qi as a foundation to support it.

"I have already reached the completion of the Tian Gang realm," Long Xiao suddenly said. "Gathering Yuan has reached the forty-ninth stage."

"Oh? Congratulations," Ji Ji Ziyun said. "Then I shall stop eating and leave it for Brother Long. You are a Sword Cultivator; to shape a Pure Yuan Sword Body at the fiftieth stage, who knows how much Yuan Qi accumulation you will need."

"Young Master, you need not be so polite," Long Xiao said. "Even if I ate all the Yuan Qi Spiritual Essence here, I would not reach the fiftieth stage; I would need a hundred times more."

"I have also reached the completion of the Tian Gang realm, with Gathering Yuan at the forty-ninth stage," Chen Shijie said, slowing his pace of eating fish.

"What a coincidence," Zhao Xing said, clapping his hands and tossing away the fish bones in his hand. "I have reached it too."

"Does this mean I don't need to continue eating?" Xia Jing asked. "I reached the completion of the Tian Gang realm long ago."

"Your Five Elements Water Fortune has not yet been fully absorbed," Zhao Xing observed Xia Jing's Fortune Pillar. "You can eat a bit more; besides, it's no fun for Brother Ji to eat alone."

"Yes, shall we accompany Brother Ji and eat a bit?" Long Xiao fanned the flames.

"Get out of here!" Xia Jing seethed with hatred in his heart.

"Someone is coming," Chen Shijie suddenly looked outside. "It is Pei Pei Yuanchang."

"He's come sniffing out the scent," Long Xiao said. "We just made our harvest, and he arrived."

"I'll go see him," Zhao Xing stood up. He didn't mind that Pei Pei Yuanchang was watching his side.

This was Pei Pei Yuanchang's territory himself; it was normal for Pei Pei Yuanchang to keep an eye on his actions here; if something unexpected happened, how could he explain it to Liu Tianning?

Once Pei Pei Yuanchang was invited into the warm bamboo shed, his eyes immediately went wide.

In just a few hours, all five of them had reached the completion of the Tian Gang realm!

Xia Jing had even eaten until he was sick!

Looking down again, "Ho, what a sight."

Even the mountain cat had reached the completion of the Tian Gang realm!

Despite this, there were still many live fish left!

"Brother Zhao! This time you have... had a great harvest!"

"I was just about to send some to Brother Pei," Zhao Xing said, pointing to two large fish baskets and smiling. "I haven't had the chance yet."

"The fish were caught by you; this elder brother is not here to rob you," Pei Pei Yuanchang shook his head, indicating refusal.

Although he was curious how Zhao Xing managed to catch so many fish, he would not bring it up.

Otherwise, it would carry the suspicion of taking advantage of a situation to bully others and expecting repayment for a favor.

Pei Pei Yuanchang would not do such a thing.

He has already reached the peak of the Fifth Rank; these few fish are merely for his subordinates or to offer as a favor.

"Then Brother Pei has come to..."

Pei Yuanchang spoke with a hint of anticipation: "I have come only to ask about the whereabouts of that Dragon Whale."