409: Chapter 410 Leaping Over the Dragon Gate!

He held a bamboo pole, stirring the water a few times, then flicked his wrist—

Splash!

Two large fish were precisely scooped up by the fine net attached to the end of the bamboo pole. Their tails slapped the water, splashing droplets everywhere.

"Old Ancestor, the fish are here!"

Steward Zhao walked back to the platform with a smile, carrying the net.

He carefully placed the two fish into a wooden bucket filled with fresh water, then hurried over to Ye Changge with the bucket.

Ye Changge looked down.

Both fish weighed at least twenty to thirty jin, their bodies plump, scales shimmering with an oily luster.

One was silver-white all over, with a faint red line on its belly extending from the gill cover to the tail fin; it was a Blood-Imbued Perch.

The other was dark blue, with seven silver-white spots on its spine arranged like the Big Dipper; this was a Seven-Star Perch.

Both fish were full of vitality, swimming back and forth in the wooden bucket, occasionally flicking their tails and splashing some water.

"Not bad, you picked the fat ones."

Ye Changge nodded with satisfaction.

Just as he was about to pick up the bucket and leave, his peripheral vision caught a familiar figure standing on the corridor of the second floor of the water pavilion.

It was a young woman wearing a simple green cloth dress, holding a three or four-year-old girl in her arms, looking timidly towards this side.

Ye Changge paused slightly, then remembered.

She was one of his concubines, surnamed Qin, named Qin Wan'er. She was originally the daughter of a Loose Cultivator family in White Bird Market, from a poor background, and her Spiritual Root was only ninth grade.

When the Ye family was recruiting personnel at the market, she was sent by her parents, and by some Opportunity, she was taken into Ye Changge's chambers.

Qin Wan'er was gentle by nature, never competing or fighting, and had developed an interest in raising fish, so Lu Shiyin had arranged for her to be here, doing some simple management work for the water pavilion.

"Wan'er."

Ye Changge waved at her.

Qin Wan'er was slightly stunned, clearly not expecting the Old Ancestor to call her proactively.

She hurriedly carried the girl and walked down the stairs quickly, arriving before Ye Changge, slightly lowering her head, her voice soft:

"I have seen my husband."

The girl in her arms was about three or four years old, cute as if carved from jade, with big, dark, rolling eyes curiously staring at Ye Changge.

This was the daughter born to Qin Wan'er, whom Ye Changge had named Ye Xiaoxiao, with a sixth-grade Spiritual Root and decent Aptitude.

"Xiaoxiao, call Daddy."

Qin Wan'er gently patted her daughter's back.

Ye Xiaoxiao tilted her head, calling out in a milky voice:

"Daddy!"

A smile appeared on Ye Changge's face, and he reached out to gently rub his daughter's head, saying warmly:

"Good girl. Are you used to being in the water pavilion, Xiaoxiao?"

"Used to it! There are so many fish here, they are so pretty!"

Ye Xiaoxiao nodded vigorously, her small face full of excitement.

Ye Changge looked at Qin Wan'er again, his tone gentle:

"Are you adapting well here? If you feel it's tiring, go back and rest for a few days, no need to force yourself."

Qin Wan'er hurriedly shook her head, a gentle smile appearing on her face:

"Husband, no need to worry about me. I like it here very much; seeing those fish grow day by day makes me happy."

She paused, then said softly:

"Sister Shiyin also takes very good care of me, sending food every few days; I am living very well here."

Ye Changge nodded, gave a few more instructions, then picked up the wooden bucket, transformed into a stream of light, and flew towards Changge Hall.

—Back at Changge Hall.

Ye Changge placed the wooden bucket in a secret chamber specifically set aside for testing Spells, casually set up a few Restrictions, and then sat cross-legged on a meditation cushion, his gaze falling on the two fish swimming back and forth in the bucket.

"Let's try the Blood-Imbued Perch first."

He took a deep breath, formed hand seals, and that already solidified "Black Water Flood Dragon Curse" within his body responded.

"Hum—"

A wisp of ghost-blue light appeared from his fingertips, winding like flowing water, and slowly condensed into a Dragon shadow about the thickness of a thumb and about a foot long in the air.

Although the shadow was small, its scales were distinct, its eyes were crimson, and it emitted a faint Dragon prestige.

Ye Changge pointed with his fingers—

The Dragon shadow, like a living thing, nimbly dove into the water and accurately entered the body of the Blood-Imbued Perch.

"Thump! Thump! Thump!"

The Blood-Imbued Perch's body suddenly stiffened, then began to tremble violently!

Its heart emitted a muffled and rapid beating sound, like war drums, and the whole fish's body was twitching to the rhythm of the heartbeat.

Its fish mouth opened and closed incessantly, as if silently roaring, and its tail fin slapped the bucket wall frantically, splashing water everywhere.

However, after just a moment—

The Blood-Imbued Perch's movements rapidly weakened.

Its scales lost their luster, and its flesh withered and shrank at a visible speed, as if all its life force had been drained.

The last glimmer of light in its fish eyes quickly dissipated, and finally, it floated stiffly on the water surface, motionless.

It seemed as if it had been dead for a long time.

Ye Changge frowned slightly, reached out to fish it out, examined it carefully for a moment, and then probed it with a wisp of spiritual power to sense it carefully.

"No good."

He shook his head, sighed softly, and casually placed the fish aside.

"The Dragon blood in the Blood-Imbued Perch is too thin; it simply cannot withstand the impact of the Black Water Flood Dragon Curse. The Spell mark was just planted, and before it could undergo Fusion, it had already burst the fish's Meridians."

Ye Changge shook his head and threw the withered Blood-Imbued Perch into a waste bucket nearby.

"The Dragon blood in the Blood-Imbued Perch is too thin; it simply cannot withstand the impact of the Black Water Flood Dragon Curse. The Spell mark was just planted, and before it could undergo Fusion, it had already burst the fish's Meridians."

He looked down at the ghost-blue spiritual light remaining on his fingertips, feeling somewhat helpless.

"A single Blood-Imbued Perch is only worth ten Spirit Stones; wanting to rely on such goods to cultivate Dao soldiers... it really is wishful thinking."

He turned his head, his gaze falling on the other fish in the wooden bucket.

That Seven-Star Perch was floating quietly in the water, the seven silver-white spots on its spine shimmering slightly under the reflection of the water, like stars in the night sky.

It seemed to have sensed Ye Changge's gaze and gently flicked its tail fin, but it did not panic and flee like an ordinary fish; instead, it exuded a gentle aura.

"The market price of a Seven-Star Perch is around twenty to thirty Spirit Stones, more than double that of a Blood-Imbued Perch, so the concentration of Dragon blood within it should be higher."

Ye Changge pondered for a moment, a glimmer of hope igniting in his heart.

"Perhaps... it can survive."

He did not hesitate any longer and formed hand seals again.

"Hum—"

A wisp of ghost-blue light appeared from his fingertips, winding like flowing water, and slowly condensed into a Dragon shadow about the thickness of a thumb and about a foot long in the air.

Its scales were distinct, its eyes were crimson, and it emitted a faint Dragon prestige.

Ye Changge pointed with his fingers—

The Dragon shadow nimbly dove into the water and accurately entered the body of the Seven-Star Perch.