Chapter 483: Shattered Form Shadow

"The white-light fish bred by your Sima family are renowned far and wide; with this second-rank beast fish causing such chaos, your losses will indeed be substantial. But let me be clear—I may count you as a friend, but the payment owed to Brother Wang must not be reduced by so much as a single coin." Yan Lingxiang smiled.

"Rest assured, as long as the two of you help me slay this second-rank beast fish, the Sima family will not withhold so much as a single coin of the agreed payment." The short-bearded Han slapped his chest, exuding an air of great wealth and confidence.

"Then it’s settled. With three Foundation Establishment cultivators acting together, no matter how stubborn this beast fish is, it won’t escape." Yan Lingxiang laughed heartily.

At that moment, the blood-red lake surface below suddenly began to boil like water, while ripples surged from all directions, countless silver scales flashing—clearly, an immense school of fish was speeding toward them, and from afar, it seemed half the lake’s surface had been churned up.

"Both of you, be careful—this fish demon excels in transformation arts; even now, I still don’t know what kind of beast it truly is. It’s likely hiding among the school and charging this way."

"You others, no need to stay here—get away from this area!" The short-bearded Han, seeing this, spoke with tense urgency, then barked orders to his own disciples on the other two spirit boats.

"Yes." "Yes."

The cultivators on the two smaller spirit boats responded, ceased pouring blood into the lake, and instead spurred their boats into rapid retreat.

Almost simultaneously, the short-bearded Han and Yan Lingxiang each raised one hand, forming seals, and unleashed vast spiritual senses to rapidly scan the incoming fish school, seeking the second-rank beast fish.

Wang Yu saw this and raised an eyebrow.

The head of the Sima family was merely a Foundation Establishment Stage Two cultivator—his cultivation was even slightly lower than Wang Yu’s—but the strength of his spiritual sense still matched that of an ordinary early-stage cultivator.

Yan Lingxiang’s spiritual sense, however, was far more immense—nearly double that of the Sima patriarch—and likely stronger than an ordinary mid-stage cultivator.

As Wang Yu pondered this, he calmly released his own spiritual sense, sweeping it through the fish school.

Yet under his deliberate control, his spiritual sense was only slightly stronger than the Sima patriarch’s.

Whether the second-rank beast fish had truly not arrived, or whether its transformation art was truly extraordinary, the spiritual senses of the three Foundation Establishment cultivators swept repeatedly through the nearby fish school—and found nothing. Not a trace of the beast fish could be detected.

Only numerous ordinary spirit fish, not even reaching the entry level, swam among the school, greedily absorbing the second-rank beast blood floating on the lake’s surface.

This left Yan Lingxiang and the short-bearded Han with grim expressions.

Wang Yu, too, murmured in wonder. After a quick thought, he silently whispered, "Overclock."

The next instant, his five senses rapidly amplified; all surrounding things slowed to a crawl, and his mind entered an ultra state.

Yet his spiritual sense remained utterly unaffected—instead, it became crystal clear.

Minute details previously overlooked within the scanned fish school now appeared one by one in his spiritual sea, analyzed and distinguished at astonishing speed by his hyper-advanced mind, like a blue-star quantum brain operating at full power.

"Huh?"

The next instant, Wang Yu let out a soft "huh"—as if he had discovered something.

At once, the gazes of the other two Foundation Establishment cultivators snapped toward him.

"Brother Wang, what have you found?" The short-bearded Han asked urgently.

"Hmph, this fish truly has remarkable transformation abilities—using such a talent!" Wang Yu murmured in wonder, then ignored the Sima patriarch’s question. He formed a seal with one hand; white flames curled around his body, then dozens of white fireballs materialized before him—over thirty, each as large as a fist.

Thanks to Wang Yu’s fire elemental affinity, enhanced by one celestial spirit-flame purification and three layers of the Crimson Sun Divine Art, the flame power he could now command had turned pure white—its sheer strength nearly matched that of the legendary half-step ultimate flame.

He flicked his sleeve downward.

Dozens of fireballs, born from the Fireball Technique, surged downward like a swarm toward a specific spot on the lake.

Before the fireballs fully descended, Wang Yu altered his hand seals and uttered a single word: "Explode."

"Boom!"

Dozens of white fireballs detonated simultaneously, just over ten zhang above the lake’s surface.

Rolling waves of white flame surged outward, coalescing into a cloud spanning an acre, slowly descending upon a seemingly ordinary school of fish below.

Yan Lingxiang and the short-bearded Han stared, scanning the fish school repeatedly with their spiritual senses—but found nothing amiss. Aside from a dozen or so ordinary, non-entry-level spirit fish, not a single entry-level beast fish could be detected.

The two exchanged puzzled glances.

The next instant—

Within the white flame cloud covering the fish school, the dozen or so ordinary-looking non-entry-level spirit fish simultaneously flicked their tails, leaping from the lake’s surface, converging into a single mass at a height of one zhang.

"Puff!" A large burst of blue light erupted.

The light condensed, revealing a silver giant fish, three zhang long, shimmering with radiant silver scales.

The second-rank beast fish had been nearby all along—using its transformation ability to split itself into a dozen ordinary spirit fish, evading the spiritual scans of all three Foundation Establishment cultivators.

"This is the Shattered Form Shadow Technique! This beast fish is no ordinary creature—Brother Wang, capture it alive!" Yan Lingxiang exclaimed in shock, shouting loudly.

As he spoke, a shimmer of aurora flashed across his brow, and an ancient bronze ring materialized.

Yan Lingxiang merely pointed a finger downward toward the lake.

The bronze ring vanished with a soft "puff."

The next instant, above the newly recombined silver beast fish, a ripple of void appeared—and a massive bronze ring materialized around its body.

With a hum, the ring’s engraved patterns glowed faintly, then tightened rapidly, preparing to seal the beast fish.

"Bang!"

The silver giant fish erupted in blinding blue light, its massive body bursting like a bubble, once again splitting into a dozen silver fish shadows that shot off in all directions.

The Sima patriarch on the main boat also reacted—he let out a low shout, shook his shoulders, and his yellow wooden case flew upward, spinning rapidly in midair before spewing forth a gleaming white flying sword.

The wooden case was a rare sword-case artifact!

The white flying sword circled once, transforming into a streak of brilliant light that plunged downward. As the short-bearded Han formed a seal and urged it on, it split into a dozen blurred sword shadows, vanishing in an instant as each sliced through the fleeing silver fish shadows.

Instantly, each of these fish shadows burst into clouds of blue light like bubbles.

This left the Sima patriarch momentarily stunned.

At that moment, Wang Yu calmly raised one arm, spread his fingers, and slowly reached downward with his palm toward the lake’s surface.