Chapter 1381: Sweeping the Entire Great Marsh (Seeking Monthly Votes, Combined Issue)

"Red bass, one hundred and seventy-four; horned gills, eighty-nine; 'Tiger-head spotted, one hundred twenty-three, how could there be so many......"

"Here there is Golden Phoenix Immortal, there Silver Bass! Wait, Heaven Eye Azure! There actually is Heaven Eye Azure, top-grade goods."

"Low-grade, medium-grade, high-grade, all present! All present!"

Seven-colored rosy light pierced the water surface, wandering and illuminating the central courtyard water area, Long Gong Plaza, emitting a hazy, variegated glow, as if a giant pearl were buried beneath the water, with sturgeon and Jiang Tun circling the radiance, driving fish schools, adjusting range, dragon-people and shark-people scattering to capture, intermittently shuttling back and forth, continuously delivering to beneath the fire trees and silver flowers.

The treasure fish were registered and recorded, awaiting placement on trays, still leaping.

Beneath the orange-red coral trees, queued dragon-people, dragon-women, shark-people, shark-women received and held porcelain trays, stepping out from the treetops. They strode forward, ascended the three thousand steps, entered the Long Gong Hall where the river waters had been drained, raised the porcelain trays to display left and right, inquired of the myriad kings their manner of eating, then sent them to one side of the hall, entrusted to the otter-opener atop whose head bubbles rose.

The otter-opener wore a white tall hat, held a nine-ringed Zen staff, glanced at the tray, struck the treasure fish dead with one blow of the staff, flicked his claw, and immediately an otter stepped forward to lift the fish, changed the knife, set up the pot, heated the oil, steamed, braised, oil-blasted, chopped chili, stewed soup, hot-pot sliced, mashed into balls......

Frog King, Hai Fangzhu, Turtle King, Crow King, Sword King, Mantis King, Rabbit King, Great and Small Horse Kings...... innumerable demon kings all took their seats, arranged in a row from the left.

Whale King, Sea Mane King, Blue Cover King, Vase King, Azure Dragon King, Ice Bear King, Jade Qilin, six of the Seven Hegemons of the East Sea, one of the Three Honored of the North Sea, arranged in a row from the right.

All demon kings stared unblinking, gazing at every treasure fish in the tray, pupils trembling.

"Pa-ta!"

Two dragon-people working together, a zhang-wide porcelain tray slammed onto the tabletop, rolling and swaying, bright oil flowers wrapping verdant scallions, undulating and flashing.

Besides the twenty-plus demon kings, the throne loomed high, Bai Yuan sat cross-legged, unbridled and unrestrained, extending his palm sideways, surveying left and right:

"Eat fish, eat treasure fish, the flavor should proceed from shallow to deep; if one first eats braised, water-boiled, fresh and spicy numbing, then eats steamed, fish balls, one would not taste the fish's freshness, sweetness; the treasure fish born today in Jianghuai, the Pingyang method, ladies and gentlemen, do not stand on ceremony, please."

Gulu.

Whale King stilled his trembling pupils, seized the trident; Sea Mane King flicked out his claws.

Great and Small Horse Kings clamped their tails; Sea Tooth King leapt eager to try.

After repeatedly calming his emotions, Blue Cover King transformed his feelers into silver needles, trembling as he pierced the fish balls in the basin, first presenting them to the Vase King atop his head; Vase King embraced the fish ball, swallowed it whole, then, regardless of the beasts shouting beside him, froze motionless.

Blue Cover King could surmise the cause, but, the truth truly was too incredible for the fish, too shocking for the fish, exaggerated to the point that however other fish might perform, one must try it oneself......

Feelers twitched once in the broth, then followed by taking it into the mouth.

Pa!

In the depths of the heart, as if something ruptured open, evenly splitting into two halves. Thereafter the two halves rapidly expanded, cracked apart, covered in fissures, finally, with a boom...... the fragments exploded outward, bursting into dust, endless waves surging and cascading!

【Intimidate the disloyal, virtue spreads to Huaijiang.】

【River Dominion Degree +1.2】

【Great Prosperity Merit, fame shines brightly.】

【River Dominion Degree +1】

【River Dominion Degree: 19.3 (River Favor Degree: 92.0499)】!

Bai Yuan smiled faintly, leaned against the throne.

Dragon-people, shark-people straightened their spines.

The Long Gong Hall fell into silence, profoundly silent for a long time.

On both sides of the table, Whale King savored the fish balls, savored the qi mechanism, heavy breathing, now not only his pupils, but even his fish fins began to tremble. No mistake, there will be no mistake!

The classification of treasure fish into low, medium, and high grades originated several years ago, from the human race, spread rapidly via sea merchants, based on whether they could take effect on different realms; however, high-grade treasure fish merely proved useful against equal aquatic demon beasts and human tiger-hunting, ineffective against demon kings, but...... this qi mechanism—how familiar, how astonishingly world-shaking, even if useless, one would not mistake it.

Treasure fish!

Truly treasure fish!

The kitchen is within the Long Gong Hall, obviously Bai Yuan specially ordered it moved out; the purpose of doing so needs no explanation, from appearance to capture to finished product, all occurred under their gaze.

Bai Yuan, by means, brought forth from nothing a group of treasure fish!

Treasure fish are heaven-born and heaven-raised; do not speak of cultivation, even long-term confinement rearing will lose their spirituality, except for an extremely few races possessing innate talent for solid spirituality, even so, this also falls short of "creation from nothing" by who knows how many layers, how many realms.

This fellow...... how did he manage it?!

That blood dragon, that rainbow light—what exactly was the method!?

Has he already become a sovereign?

Innumerable questions accompanied the explosion, projected in the mind, colliding.

The shock brought by that rainbow glow was actually not inferior to...... no, even surpassed Bai Yuan's defeat of Blue Cover King and Vase King, defeating all the East Sea Hegemons!

Defeating six hegemons merely heightened combat power; creating treasure fish, however, expanded the breadth not just by a little, but by much, containing......"Great King! "

Long Pingjiang swiftly entered the hall, holding pages, drawing the gaze of all demon kings.

"Is it all over?" Bai Yuan casually flipped through.

"Yes." Long Pingjiang knelt on one knee, face flushed crimson, "The rainbow light has dispersed, the treasure fish fully captured, adding the Imperial Tutor's catch, total low-grade treasure fish five thousand seven hundred twenty, each weighing three catties; medium-grade treasure fish eight hundred seventy-one, each weighing four catties six taels; high-grade treasure fish one hundred forty-one, each weighing five catties eight taels; top-grade treasure fish thirty-six, seven catties six taels, no fortuitous treasure fish."

Whale King's breath halted.

The enormous number struck the demon kings dumb, forgetting to swallow, forgetting to continue, heads dizzy, vision blurred.

"Very well, thank you for your hard work."

"For the Water Sovereign's affairs, I do not shirk hard labor!"

Bai Yuan nodded: "Take up one top-grade treasure fish, then go."

"Yes!"

Frog King lifted the large basin, drank the fish ball soup in one gulp.

Bai Yuan raised his head, laughing hehehe at the remaining demon kings: "Ladies and gentlemen, nearly seven thousand treasure fish, it seems this treasure fish quantity, plus the earlier preparation of ingredients, is enough for us to eat; previously I still worried, too many demon kings came, would there not be enough to share, just various fish mixed together, unaware of today's treasure fish flavor—how is it? Does it suit everyone's taste? "

"Yes yes yes! Jianghuai treasure fish, flavor exquisite, I have never eaten such deliciousness!" Wu Wang immediately echoed, "Thank you, second brother!" "Delicious, delicious!"

"Where is the Qilin King?" Bai Yuan turned his head, deliberately asking, "The East Sea is still considered near, but the North Sea is a distant journey."

Jade Qilin set down his chopsticks, swallowed the treasure fish with clasped paws: "Exquisitely delicious! Cannot bear to part with it, only worried the Water Sovereign is too extravagant!"

"Hahaha, what extravagance? If treasure fish is insufficient, I will simply create more, easy as a turn of the hand! In today's world, rare treasures and marvels, divine powers and wondrous methods are easy to find, only grand occasions and true friends are hard to come by; alas, I here lack the abundance of the Whale Emperor's great fish, cannot offer more, ladies and gentlemen, do not disdain!" "Not dare."

"Hahaha, hahaha! Good good good, since no disdain, then everyone just eat freely, eat freely! "

Bai Yuan again laughed and greeted, saying nothing of how he conjured the treasure fish from nothing, merely chatting about a couple of Jianghuai amusements, golden eyes suddenly turning toward Blue Cover King.

Blue Cap King faced Golden Eyes, his heart leapt with fright, nearly dropping his fish ball.

Who would have thought Golden Eyes just stared at Blue Cap King, then suddenly leapt onto the Pot King atop Blue Cap King's head.

Bai Yuan pointed and laughed at the empty seat: "Why doesn't Pot King come down to eat? Always clinging to Blue Cap King's head? Isn't that inconvenient, not beautiful?" Pot King trembled: "Monarch Yuan misunderstood—it's not that I don't want to, I truly cannot."

"Oh?"

"The Water Lord is deeply immersed in secluded cultivation, perhaps unaware." Jade Kirin spoke from the side: "I heard long ago that Pot King belongs to the barnacle clan, gifted with extraordinary aptitude—once attached to another fish, he can imprint that fish's divine abilities, and project those abilities onto the fish, becoming one entity. This move is formidable, top-tier under heaven, yet it is not without drawbacks."

"How so?"

"Ignoring the barnacle clan's weakness of slow movement, once this ability chooses a host, it cannot be changed for years—no amount of hacking or chopping helps; one must only wait for time to pass."

Bai Yuan looked at Pot King.

Pot King nodded nervously: "Exactly, Kirin King said so—this isn't even a secret. Water Lord's talent is supreme; no demon king under heaven could likely defeat you. I can only make contact with Blue Cap King, and afterward, perhaps we must wait until you become emperor."

"Ah, I see—then forget it." Bai Yuan nodded, glanced at Blue Cap King, then at Pot King on his head, with slight regret. Blue Cap King was bewildered, sensing some emotion from Golden Eyes but not quite understanding what it was, then saw Bai Yuan rise and lift his wine cup.

"Everyone." Bai Yuan surveyed the room: "The celebratory banquet has already begun for two quarters of an hour; it seems no other demon kings have come today to spar or attend the feast. My brothers have also found time to come to the Great Marsh. Please eat first—I'll go fetch them and return shortly."

All demon kings startled, immediately realizing something, then noticed the "River-Middle Stone" on the southern bank of the Great Marsh drifting toward the central courtyard.

The powers under heaven also saw the movement of the "River-Middle Stone."

That...... is the Huai King?

Harbor Warden exclaimed joyfully: "Little Water has come—then I'll go too!"

"Good!"

Bai Yuan waited for Harbor Warden to rise from her seat, then turned again to make amends; the two kings departed the Long Gong.

As the figures vanished from the thrones, the entire atmosphere within the Long Gong involuntarily eased. Though Bai Yuan had already restrained his aura upon entering the Long Gong, appearing now only at the first or second stage.

Frog King ate voraciously, the old toad strained hard.

Aside from these two exceptions, all demon kings stared at the precious fish before them.

If Bai Yuan had created the precious fish earlier, defeating nearly all Eastern Sea overlords would have brought pressure of ten, and creating the precious fish would also bring pressure of ten—but when the two collided, they produced a multiplication sign!

Since Bai Yuan's sudden emergence, how long has it been? All beast minds in the sea have surfaced with the same thought.

True Spirit does not become an ape; becoming an ape makes one invincible!

"Gululu."

Jade Kirin's throat rolled as he swallowed fish meat, then took a sip of water.

"Kekeke."

"Why are you laughing so wickedly?" Harbor Warden slapped Bai Yuan.

"I can't help it." Bai Yuan grinned.

Harbor Warden knew Liang Qu must have gained some benefit, but she didn't ask, instead curious about the earlier rainbow light: "Little Water, when did you manage to create precious fish? Sister never knew—never heard of precious fish being born."

"I only found out today."

Liang Qu shrugged, opened his palm, clenched his fist, then condensed a water spear.

"I actually can create precious fish?"

Consuming five million essences, the Water Dragon Piercing Clouds—Marsh Essence can no longer be retrieved, nor can the Blood Dragon be withdrawn; the essence within will slowly dissipate over time, and it is precisely when this dissipation begins that Liang Qu felt enlightened, touching upon another of his innate talents—【King Prosperity】. 【King Prosperity: With the Water Lord in the river, moisture nourishes all things; flora flourishes; spirit treasures manifest, pearls and jade arise frequently; virtuous rule shines, people prosper and thrive; kingly way vast and grand, prosperity flourishes, governance excels, prosperity thrives!】

The two intertwined, directly triggering a cycle of original soup becoming original food.

"Conversion rate roughly five tenths..."

According to Long Pingjiang's reported weight and quantity, essence totals can be roughly estimated: low-grade precious fish essence of three jin ranges between twenty-five and thirty-five; medium-grade around three hundred; high-grade around one thousand; top-grade five thousand six hundred and above.

But...

Even if this yields only one fifth, it's still a profit!

This harvest has already far surpassed Liang Qu's expectations—there's no need to mention the prestige and political gains afterward.

Over five points of dominion!

Directly approaching the twenty-point threshold.

"Creating treasures cannot be separated from rising dominion; it should exceed fifteen points." Liang Qu recalled.

When he felt enlightened, he had a special sensation, identical to the feeling after dominion rose—absolutely not coincidental.

"Is it the Water Dragon Piercing Clouds, Marsh Essence, my flesh and blood, King Prosperity, and dominion working together?"

【Water Dragon Piercing Clouds】, not Liang Qu converting via long breath—this non-control, auxiliary skill, in past encounters with flood dragons where output overlapped, he was unwilling to spend long breath to advance; this ability emerged when the Water Monkey Great Sage fused at fifty, his own transformation—its predecessor was 【Water Dragon Spear】, and 【Water Dragon Spear】 could already attach spirits when it was 【Marsh Spear】 from Marsh City.

"This talent has appeared for a long time, or is it after two advancements, and also the only one capable of infusing Marsh Essence to enhance power.

Originally I thought becoming a divine ability merely meant increased power and range, that there must be other unique aspects—only requiring dominion cooperation to manifest?" Then he gazed at Marsh Cauldron Radiance.

Before defeating Blue Cap King and Pot King, the dominion from subduing the disobedient basically corresponded to the number defeated—one demon king 0.1 point—but these two together directly contributed a full point! The same holds for Great Prosperity Merit.

Liang Qu has reason to suspect it is because he alone defeated all Eastern Sea overlords except the special neutral Algae King, causing the demon kings' inner feelings to undergo a quantitative-to-qualitative leap—from personal submission to full prostration.

And creating precious fish is yet another utterly opposite explosive impact, and it has swept through again.

"Indeed, dominion, dominion—if you don't beat others into submission, how can you rule?"

Sweep the entire Great Marsh, make all water beasts submit, make everyone kneel and acknowledge—only then is it orthodox, capable of becoming Lord of the River and Huai!

This is better than sacrifices!

Liang Qu recalled his past discussions with the old monk based on the *Weishi Fa*, arriving at one thought.

The sixth consciousness is heaven and earth favoring you; the seventh is you summoning heaven and earth's favor; thus, the eighth consciousness, seed consciousness, may be you favoring heaven and earth. Old Dragon King also affirmed this in his contemplative development.

"Favor and dominion—on the surface, the greatest difference likely lies only in angle."

"Favor is heaven and earth's gift—so even rising to a small stage, I gain benefits heaven and earth bestows, reducing my consumption in River and Huai." "Dominion's authority and benefits, however, must be seized by oneself—benefits are no longer about some object enhancing me, increasing or decreasing something, but about what I can make myself do—like creating precious fish?"

Harbor Warden watched Liang Qu's eyes flash with brilliant light, growing brighter, occasionally emitting "Kekeke" strange laughter, knowing he had gained something, not disturbing him, silently following, and meeting the "River-Middle Stone" brought by E Ying.

"Hoo."

Liang Yu saw another Harbor Warden, dispelled *Hualing*, and simultaneously thought of the second great benefit after creating precious fish—this benefit even surpasses the harvest of dominion.

He had a day's endowment.

Divine Power!

All who receive the gift of essence feel the divine power, their hands go limp and feet go numb, unable to resist!

Before this, only the spirit fish whose essence and vital energy were combined, and the dew seeds born of the season, could be used; the latter is superior in concealment to the former, yet still insufficient unless force-fed, otherwise it would not be so easily swallowed.

What about the treasure fish created again from his essence? If calculated, the concealment of allowing other fish to receive the gift would rise to a terrifying level.

Earlier in the great hall, all the demon kings ate the treasure fish he created!

The position fruit cannot be taken; he proactively opened the challenge, and taking it would bring red omens even redder than the old Yin Whale.

But he is truly the craving pot king's ability.

Under control, who knows how much strength could surge, even aiding in the self-nurturing of the position fruit's formation.

The only regret is that the pot king's true body divine ability is truly special, directly becoming "conjoined twins" with the Blue-Covered King; to control it necessarily requires controlling both together, one cannot control the pot king while leaving the Blue-Covered King free, inseparable and uncontrollable, the body would stiffen and become immobile during control, and at that moment, the other might seize the opportunity of control to attack oneself—what then?

Moreover, previously controlling the Sea Tooth King happened to occupy one-third of the sea of consciousness; the two individuals are roughly comparable, and together they would directly block the puzzle; one's current mental strength might be slightly strained, requiring more planning.

Because of self-nurturing the position fruit, one faces a dilemma, and refining the long right adds frost to snow, unable to endure another "headache and brain fever."

"If it truly works, more treasure fish should be released......"

Liang Qu pondered, then immediately frowned.

"Damn, how is it the same as the old Yin Whale?"

The degree of control is not his alone.

The old Yin Whale, or other immortals, might also have similar methods, merely lacking a touch of 【Water Marsh Essence】 as a finishing stroke? Or perhaps they lack nothing at all?

The copper ring turned.

Under the gaze of myriad forces, three "River Stones" successfully met, then entered the central courtyard.

The water flow disturbed.

Before the person arrived, laughter came first.

Bai Yuan stood in the center, Hai Fangzhu on the right, and a small figure adorned the left.

"Hahaha, everyone, this Liang Qu, the Great Shun Huai King! You all have surely heard of it, knowing the demon kings are here, I came especially to admire the scenery, I thought the challenge would still last a while, but didn't expect it to have already ended; first meeting, I'm late, I'm late, I first punish myself with three bows!"