194: Chapter 194 Cultivation! Mental Power

Lin Tian returned to the Yunhai Fishery during the darkest time before dawn.

A thick layer of night fog floated on the lake surface. The guards on duty were leaning against the pillars of the bamboo building with their blades in their arms, dozing off. They opened their eyes abruptly upon hearing footsteps, but relaxed again after seeing that the person arriving was Elder Lin.

Lin Tian did not return to his courtyard, but walked straight toward the bamboo building.

Field Master Zhou was already awake—or rather, he hadn't slept at all. Ever since news of the Demonic Sect had been sent back, the old Fishery Master hadn't had a peaceful night's sleep.

At this moment, he was draped in an outer robe, sitting behind a long desk, flipping through the defense register. Hearing Lin Tian's footsteps, he looked up and saw the tears in Lin Tian's robe caused by thorns and the bloodstains on his cuffs that hadn't been wiped clean yet. He put down the register: "Elder Lin, what happened?"

"I discovered traces of the Demonic Sect in Yunzhou Prefecture." Lin Tian sat down opposite Field Master Zhou and briefly recounted his encounter outside the black market—how the Demonic Sect used a Spirit Fox as bait to lure out people from a Beast-Taming Family, besieged them in the street to silence them, and the information he had obtained from Old Man Han.

He did not mention the Wanling Seal or the private fish pond, only saying that he had stumbled upon the Demonic Sect's operation on his way back, had been chased by them the whole way, and had managed to shake off the pursuers with great difficulty.

Field Master Zhou's expression grew darker as he listened. When Lin Tian finished, he slapped the table hard, causing the water in the teacup to splash out: "They still won't give up? They lost several Gold-Trimmed Elders in the Taixuan Mountain Range last time, and now they've set their sights on the Yunhai Fishery—do they really think our Qixia Sect is a pushover?"

He stood up and paced back and forth in the bamboo building twice, then suddenly stopped: "Someone come! Pass the order down: all guards are to have their leave cancelled, patrol shifts are to be doubled, and the number of people on night duty is to be doubled. Notify the captains of each team to strengthen the outer perimeter sentries, and signal immediately if there is any anomaly.

Also, go ask Elder Wu and Elder Sun to strengthen the patrols!"

Orders were passed down one after another. The entire Yunhai Fishery was like a pot of boiling water being stirred; all the guards were set in motion.

The hidden sentries on the lake shore were redeployed, the patrol shifts for the lake changed from once every two hours to twice every two hours, and several Elders took turns standing night watch. Even Field Master Zhou himself moved his bedding to the main hall of the bamboo building to keep watch throughout the night.

Lin Tian had said what needed to be said and given all the necessary warnings; the remaining defense logistics would be handled by Field Master Zhou and Elder Wu and the others. He returned to his courtyard, closed the gate, and sat cross-legged on a meditation cushion.

After a night of rushing about, from Yunzhou Prefecture to the Taixuan Mountain Range and then to the fishery, he had traveled over a hundred miles, killed a Grade 5 Demonic Sect expert, and exchanged a palm strike with Old Man Han. His energy and physical strength were exhausted to the limit.

He closed his eyes, and the Purple Qi Diagram slowly circulated within his body, as the consumed Transcendent force condensed bit by bit from his Dantian. He sat like this for over two hours, not opening his eyes until the sun was high in the sky the next day.

Morning light spilled in through the window, spreading across the blue brick floor. He stretched his slightly stiff neck and re-organized the gains from this trip to Yunzhou Prefecture in his mind. First was the bag of dark green fish bait, enough for the two Treasure Fish to eat for quite a while.

Next was the basic Breeder technique that the youth had promised to give him in half a year. Finally, there was the scroll of the Wanling Seal wrapped in oilcloth in his bosom.

He took out the scroll and spread it on the table. He had already read the opening sentence in the dense forest, but reading it again now in the morning light, he still felt that every word carried great weight—To tame the myriad spirits, one must first temper one's own soul.

The Mental Energy tempering method recorded afterward was extremely profound. Just the first introductory step, "Condensing Spirit into a Furnace," involved complex techniques for submerging consciousness into the Sea of Consciousness and perceiving the existence of Mental Energy. He sat cross-legged, closed his eyes according to the steps written on the scroll, and attempted to sense his own Sea of Consciousness.

One day passed, and his mind was empty. Two days passed, and he still hadn't sensed anything.

On the evening of the third day, he opened his eyes, sighed at the twilight filling the courtyard, and wrapped the scroll back up, tucking it under his bed.

Cultivating Mental Energy was completely different from practicing sword techniques or boxing. Practicing sword techniques had sword moves to follow, and circulating Qi had Meridians to rely on, but Mental Energy was something formless, colorless, odorless, and intangible. Relying solely on a scroll to explore it on his own was harder than a blind man feeling an elephant.

However, it was his first time coming into contact with it, so he was not in a hurry. The path to the Transcendent realm had only just begun, and there was still a long way to go before reaching the Grade 6 Pill Dao.

He had been restless these past few days for another reason—the two Treasure Fish in the private fish pond. It had been several days since he received the fish bait from that youth, and he hadn't gone to check on them yet. Having stayed at the Yunhai Fishery for nearly two years and learned breeding techniques by Elder Wang's side for nearly a month,

he now understood the living habits of the Treasure Fish quite thoroughly. For the Treasure Fish to gain weight quickly and lay more eggs, water quality, water temperature, and feed were all indispensable.

The water origin tree provided top-tier spiritual water, so water quality was not an issue. The special feed given by the youth was worth a year's worth of ordinary feed, so the food problem was also solved. The only thing missing now was daily, timed, and quantified feeding.

That evening, after inspecting the several fish ponds under his charge and signing the inspection book, he left the fishery alone without saying a word to anyone.

He unleashed the Cloud Shadow Step at full power and reached the primitive lake surrounded by mountains in less than an hour. The water surface was calm, reflecting the bright moon overhead.

He took off his outer robe by the lake, folded it, and placed it on a dry reef. He only took two things into the water—the bag of fish bait at his waist and the throwing knives inside his cuffs.

The moment he entered the water, the Divine Turtle Breathing Technique operated on its own. He unleashed the White Dragon in the Waves Movement Technique, and with a gentle flick of his legs, he darted several fathoms deep.

The bottom of the lake was exactly the same as when he last came. The water origin tree stood quietly on the cleared reef platform. Its pale cyan trunk and crystal-clear branches emitted a faint fluorescent glow in the gloomy lake bottom, and the surrounding lake water was several times clearer than in other areas.

Two silver-white Treasure Fish were floating lazily above the roots of the water origin tree, their mouths opening and closing as they spat out tiny bubbles. Their silver-white scales shimmered under the fluorescent light of the water origin tree.

In the deep water area not far away, the ten-meter Black Crocodile was napping on a reef, its massive body rising and falling slightly with its breath. Sensing Lin Tian's aura, it opened its amber vertical pupils abruptly, flicked its tail hard in the water, and swam over happily.

The two Treasure Fish also swam over, affectionately circling Lin Tian, their slender tails brushing against his wrists. Lin Tian smiled and reached out, patting the Black Crocodile's broad forehead and the smooth backs of the two Treasure Fish respectively, then signaled the Black Crocodile to go guard to the side.

He carefully examined the two Treasure Fish—their scales were still firm, their gill markings were clear, and there were no diseases, but their size had hardly changed since his last visit, and they had even become slightly thinner.

The interval between his visits was too long, and there were too few small aquatic organisms and algae at the bottom of the lake for the Treasure Fish to eat.

"Don't rush, don't rush, I've brought you food." He opened the cloth bag, grabbed a small handful of the dark green special fish bait, and scattered it forward. The two Treasure Fish immediately darted out like arrows, devouring it in large gulps.

As he fed them, he observed—the female fish's abdomen was slightly distended, and the silver luster beneath its scales was faintly brighter than the male fish's, which was a sign that it was about to enter the spawning period.

After the two Treasure Fish had eaten until their bellies were round, he grabbed another handful of fish bait and swam to the Black Crocodile.

The Black Crocodile obediently opened its large mouth. He poured the fish bait into its mouth, patted its nose, and then extended his right index finger, sending out a spiritual thread to pierce into the Restriction behind the Black Crocodile's head, issuing a new command:

Feed these two Treasure Fish with the feed in the bait bag every day, a small handful each time; do not overfeed them, and do not forget to feed them. If the Treasure Fish are hungry, sick, or if there is any anomaly around the water origin tree, notify him immediately using the spiritual thread Restriction.

The Black Crocodile let out a low whimper and flicked its tail hard to indicate it understood. This was just an extremely simple, repetitive task, and with the intelligence of a Grade 5 Vicious Beast, it was fully capable of handling it.

After finishing all this, he swam out of the water and sat on the reef on the shore, circulating the Qi and blood in his body, causing a burst of white mist to rise from his body surface to steam the water off.

Changing into his robe, he looked at the calm lake surface under the moonlight and calculated silently in his heart: the fish bait was enough for a while, and with the Black Crocodile feeding them on time every day, the two Treasure Fish would enter the spawning period within a month.

Thirty three-year-old Treasure Fish in half a year should be no problem. He stood up, brushed the grass clippings off his robe, and with a flicker of his figure, he sped off in the direction of the Yunhai Fishery.

Under the same moonlight, in an underground palace of a hidden villa near Yunzhou Prefecture, a few dim bronze lamps cast swaying shadows on the stone walls.

The Woman in Black Dress knelt on the cold stone bricks, her veil already removed, revealing a young yet cold and stern face. There was a newly added bloodstain on her left cheek, left behind when she was swept by the palm wind of Old Man Han's final counterattack during the siege last night.

In front of her, an old man wearing a dark red robe stood with his back to her, his hands behind his back. After hearing her report, he turned around slowly.

The Woman in Black Dress gritted her teeth, her voice squeezed out from between her teeth, full of resentment: "It's all that young man's fault—if he hadn't suddenly appeared and ruined our plans, Old Man Han would have already been captured by me. The Wanling Seal was already within our grasp.

This subordinate has already sent people to investigate his background; anyone who dares to disrupt our Demonic Sect's plans will absolutely not be spared."

The old man in the red robe was silent for a long time, then slowly shook his head: "There is no need to pursue the Wanling Seal for the time being. After this incident, the people of the Han Family will surely hide even deeper.

That mysterious person was able to kill an opponent of the same rank instantly and possessed multiple martial arts; he is either from the Qixia Sect or a Core Disciple of another major power. Now that our Demonic Sect has not yet recovered its Origin Qi, it is not advisable to expose too much strength for the sake of one person."

He turned and walked to the stone wall, extending his finger to slowly trace the name of a Family on the rough stone surface. "Since we cannot obtain the Wanling Seal, we will change our method. There is more than one Beast-Taming Family in the depths of the Taixuan Mountain Range.

Letting them take action for us will be the same. We will swallow this fat piece of meat, the Yunhai Fishery, sooner or later."

( ಥ _ ಥ ) Damn it