Chapter 65: Feeding on Destiny, Arriving at the Novice Village (Seeking Monthly Tickets, Following)

"It's just like a gacha game; you have to sacrifice a couple of pulls to prime the pump before you get a gold!"

Jiang Yan grumbled, though the process was a bit... pungent.

But the overall result was good.

At this moment, he was just like most stock investors—having thought he had lost everything and fallen into complete despair, he suddenly discovered that one-third of his account remained.

Even though it was still a loss, he felt happier than if he had made a profit.

A chance to survive in a desperate situation, a chance to make a comeback!

"This guy really knows how to pick a spot, knowing to use a large-scale disease domain as a latrine. I wonder if it's just a habit, or if it has a grudge against this place?"

Jiang Yan pondered. Although he only caught a fleeting glimpse, he could see that this silver-colored disease domain was extremely vast, stretching out boundlessly.

Judging by eye, its level was not low.

After the Mirror of Heaven-Stealing Ghost fell into the world, it kept sinking, and the image became blurry and unclear.

He didn't know how much time had passed when, with a "splash," it landed in the water, washing away the filth on its surface.

The mirror body drifted along with the undercurrent, finally landing on a piece of coral.

Jiang Yan manipulated the mirror's perspective and could see a large number of fish swimming around in various forms. He didn't see any familiar river fish species, but based on the size of the schools, he tentatively guessed it was a large river or shallow sea.

Among the school of fish, there were several that were shockingly large, estimated to be one or two meters long. Their bodies were covered in thick, bright red scales, and beneath the gaps, silver threads could be vaguely seen moving like spiritual light within the flesh.

The larger the body, the more numerous and thicker the silver threads.

When they hunted, their bodies would suddenly lash out, creating a ring of water that exploded, smashing small fish into a bloody mist, which they then inhaled into their bellies through their gills.

Water-attribute transcendent creatures!

"Right now, the [Mirror of Heaven-Stealing Ghost] only has a dialogue function; it can't even move. I must analyze the rules of the disease domain to unlock the ability to move freely, transmit items, and even open portals."

"The fastest way is to absorb the origin of the plane, such as harvesting those with strong destiny within the disease domain—commonly known as stirring up trouble."

"They are born upholding the origin of the disease domain; their destiny is both a gift and a shackle. They are responsible for promoting the continued evolution of the disease domain, sinking it deeper into the long river of history."

"But once a life form becomes powerful, it will want to enter the real world and stay away from the disease, which contradicts the will of the disease domain. Therefore, destiny will not be extremely strong in a single individual; instead, it will constantly circulate among different life forms. After they die and return to the disease domain, it's almost like the prototype of the Heavenly Dao."

Jiang Yan pondered, reviewing the information the little ghost had given him. He was now like one of those legendary, eerie mirror evil gods that fed on destiny.

The Coffin Spirit leaned in to look and said worriedly, "But we're at the bottom of the water. Forget about those with prosperous destiny; it feels like we won't even see a living person."

Jiang Yan said helplessly, "Although the mirror cannot move, we can use light and sound changes to attract these fish to come close and swallow the mirror. Then, they can take us to the shore."

"Master's wisdom is unparalleled throughout history!"

The Coffin Spirit flattered him, and the little ghost on the side also nodded in agreement.

Two archbishops of the Flattery Cult.

Jiang Yan began to operate, searching for a special fish-luring sonar while making the mirror emit a faint fluorescence to attract the attention of the large fish.

However, after a long time, no fish approached.

A special vacuum zone had even formed for dozens of meters around.

Even if large creatures approached, they would turn away and steer clear.

It was as if there was some terrifying existence here.

"I understand!"

Jiang Yan had also thought he had fallen near some large creature, but after careful study, he suddenly realized.

Because the sub-mirror had been swallowed by that disease domain creature, it inevitably carried a scent during the excretion process.

It was similar to a tiger urinating to mark its territory and intimidate weaker creatures.

That disease domain creature itself was no ordinary thing; even though the mirror surface had been washed clean by the river, it still caused a large number of fish to not dare to approach.

The more Jiang Yan messed around, the more afraid they became!

"It seems I can only wait for the scent to fade before waiting for another fated fish!"

Jiang Yan was helpless and continued to practice.

Time flew by, and in the blink of an eye, several days passed.

A month had also passed in the disease domain.

On this day, the wind was calm and the waves were still.

On the water surface, a dilapidated flat-headed wooden boat appeared, with an old and a young fisherman on it.

The old fisherman poked his head out and, through the churning water, saw the school of fish. He looked worried and said, "Shuiwazi, a little further ahead is the open sea. Although the probability of being discovered by the government is not high, it's easy to run into water demons. Do we really want to go?"

"Grandpa Hairong, I have no choice. The village head has already said that if we can't pay the taxes, we'll be sent off as corvée laborers to build the Silver Great Wall. Uncle Gen from the next village went the year before last and never came back."

The youth had dark skin and a determined gaze. He said in a deep voice, "You tell me, is it because we aren't working hard enough? Last year, in order to pay the taxes, we already tightened our belts, yet this year they want thirty percent more than last year. Where are we supposed to get the money?"

"Shuiwazi... sigh!" Grandpa Hairong sighed and said, "You're not wrong; it's this world that's wrong."

"I know you mean well, but time waits for no one."

Shuiwazi looked helpless and sighed, "I can't exactly go and become a yacht-boy, can I?"

"That won't do!" Grandpa Hairong's expression changed. He looked around and whispered, "If you go, you'll definitely be captured by pirates, forced to plunder the sea folk, and then become a scapegoat for the government to be beheaded as a public example."

"If you're unlucky enough to run into those Japanese pirates who have mastered eerie abilities, you'll end up neither human nor ghost."

"That's the logic, and I still have a mother and a sister; I can't just watch them starve to death."

Speaking of this, Shuiwazi looked expectant and said, "If I could catch a treasure fish and sell it at the market, everything would be solved."

"Treasure fish, my foot. The most common silver-threaded red trout are incredibly strong in the water; even a man proficient in swimming would be dragged into deep water and drowned by them."

Grandpa Hairong scolded him with a laugh, but he didn't try to persuade him further. He picked up a polished fish spear with a rope tied to the end from by his feet and handed it to Shuiwazi, saying, "This spear, like the boat, is all my worldly possessions. It's meant to be passed down to my grandson, so you better bring it back for me!"

"Thank you, Grandpa Hairong!"

Shuiwazi was endlessly grateful. These days, being able to borrow iron tools among commoners was truly a life-and-death friendship.

With a sharp weapon, even stabbing a few times could kill quite a few fish.

Picking up the patched net, Shuiwazi leaped into the sea.

Relying on his strong swimming ability, he swam for a distance, then took a deep breath and dove into the water. Opening his eyes, he could see dense schools of fish.

Every one of them was plump and strong!

Shuiwazi's eyes lit up; sure enough, the resources in the open sea were much more abundant than in the near shore.

He slowly approached, pierced the fish body with the spear, and after a violent struggle, it soon lost all movement, which he then put into the net.

Just like that, following the same pattern, he would come up for air from time to time, and in a few hours, he had filled the net.

'If I had a harvest like this every day, I would only need half a month to save enough tax money.'

Shuiwazi was pleasantly surprised. Just as he was about to swim back to put the fish on the boat and fill another net, the moment he turned around, he met eyes emitting a faint red light.

It was a one-and-a-half-meter-long big red fish, only a few meters away from him.

"Silver-threaded red trout!"

Shuiwazi was shocked; he didn't expect to encounter this treasure fish.

He had talked about catching treasure fish to make money, but the water was their home turf; one careless move and he would end up in a fish's belly.

Even an iron net might not be able to catch it, let alone his mere flesh and blood.

Shuiwazi swam backward cautiously, not wanting to provoke the other party, but the silver-threaded red trout had already locked onto him. It flicked its fins and charged violently!

Shuiwazi anticipated it in advance and dodged to the side, but his shoulder was still scratched by the scales, and blood seeped out.

"So fast!"

He was shocked, but he didn't freeze. He grabbed the fish spear and thrust it forward with all his might, successfully hitting the side of the treasure fish.

Did it work?

The next second, the spear struck the treasure fish, but the full-force blow didn't even pierce the scales; instead, it made his hand go numb, and the spear almost slipped from his grip.

It couldn't even pierce the fish scales,

this is hopeless!

Seeing this, Shuiwazi turned and ran, dropping the net and only keeping the spear.

However, the silver-threaded red trout pursued relentlessly, giving him no chance at all.

'Damn it, my mother and sister are also waiting for me to go back!'

Shuiwazi was also driven to desperation. He swam forward with all his might, using the large number of seabed rocks and coral as cover to avoid the other's attacks, but they were all smashed to pieces.

Fortunately, he managed to shake it off!

"Thank goodness... I survived!"

Shuiwazi was overjoyed, his face turning purple from holding his breath. Just as he was about to surface, he saw five or six silver-threaded red trout appear in front of him.

Oh no!

He forgot they were treasure fish with schooling habits!

Shuiwazi was surrounded on all sides and fell into complete despair. Moreover, due to the long time spent diving and the intense exercise, he felt as if his chest was about to burst.

He had died so quickly because of greed.

'I can't return the spear to Grandpa Hairong...'

Shuiwazi felt guilty and quietly waited for death to arrive. However, the few silver-threaded red trout swam back and forth but didn't dare to swim forward, as if they were afraid of something.

He turned his head in confusion and saw a mysterious bronze mirror embedded in the coral at the bottom of the water, exquisitely crafted, as if it had gathered all the beauty and spirit of heaven and earth.

At this moment,

it bloomed with brilliant clear light, dispelling the darkness of the seabed, like a glazed fairy lotus blooming, scaring away thousands of fish, and the silver-threaded red trout fled rapidly.

Shuiwazi stared blankly at this mirror, and a poem seemed to be forcibly poured into his mind.

【Ten thousand fathoms of scales hide strange scenes,

The mirror of enlightenment cracks the fairy court.

Coral casts a shadow from the heavens,

Illuminating all the turbidity and clarity of the human world.]

"I... I don't understand..."

Water Boy was dazed; although he lacked education, he felt it was impressive and knew this was definitely a treasure.

"Ugh..."

However, Water Boy quickly came to his senses, realizing he was about to suffocate, so he immediately swam over, picked up the bronze mirror, and surfaced rapidly, encountering a small Silver-Threaded Red Trout on the way that had been scared unconscious.

Although he was already exhausted, Water Boy feared poverty even more, so he dragged it along with him as he surfaced with all his might.

Yet, not far from the water's surface, Water Boy suddenly stopped moving; the scene before his eyes blurred, his limbs lost their strength, and he began to sink.

He had held his breath for too long, exceeding his limit.

"Am I going to die?"

Just as he was about to stop breathing, a cool current suddenly emanated from the mirror, replenishing his strength.

He swam violently and successfully broke the surface, gasping for air.

Looking at the vast sea before him, Water Boy said excitedly:

"I survived!"

Then, under the shocked gaze of Old Man Hairong, Water Boy hauled the treasure fish onto the boat, and the two of them, acting like thieves, covered it with a straw mat and rowed back.

In the real world, Jiang Yan saw them leave safely and let out a long sigh of relief.

"It wasn't easy; I can finally head to the novice village!"

(End of chapter)