207: Chapter 207 Becoming a Trainer

Lin Tian did not chase too far.

The Black-Clad Woman's Mental Energy had long been severely damaged by the Wanling Seal. After stumbling for several dozen zhang through the dense forest, that tearing, agonizing pain in her Sea of Consciousness flared up again, and her entire body collapsed into a pile of fallen leaves as if her bones had been removed.

Lin Tian caught up from behind without the slightest hesitation. With a flick of his wrist, the last moyuan flying dagger transformed into an extremely thin black line, piercing precisely through the back of her neck.

Her body twitched a few times in the pile of fallen leaves before going still.

He crouched down to check the side of her neck, confirming her pulse had stopped. He then scanned her with the Wanling Seal once more—her Sea of Consciousness was completely silent, with not a trace of fluctuation left.

He pulled the flying dagger from the back of her neck, wiped the blood clean, and sheathed it back into the scabbard in his cuff.

Standing up, he looked around. The depths of this dense forest were as quiet as usual, with only the night wind passing through the treetops, making a soft whistling sound. He turned and dashed towards the cave where he had hidden his spoils.

The cave remained as concealed as before, with vines and rubble covering the large bundle he had stuffed inside tightly.

Lin Tian dragged the bundle out from the crevice and untied it to check—over a hundred wild Spirit Medicine plants, over a dozen martial arts Secret Manuals, and over thirty thousand taels of silver banknotes; nothing was missing.

He strapped the bundle tightly to his back and traveled swiftly under the cover of night, returning to Yunhai Fishery before dawn.

When he returned to the fishery, it was just beginning to get light, and a thin layer of morning mist floated on the surface of the lake.

The night guard shift had already changed. The newly posted sentries saw his figure flash out of the dense forest and, recognizing him as Elder Lin, they retreated back into the shadows of the trees.

Lin Tian walked along the gravel path by the lake, pushed open the gate to his courtyard, latched the door, placed the large bundle of spoils on the table, and exhaled a long, heavy breath.

He first sat cross-legged to regulate his breathing for half an hour, suppressing the fatigue accumulated from the repeated traveling and intense battles, before beginning to take stock of the harvest from this trip to the Situ Family valley.

Over a hundred wild Spirit Medicine plants, each with complete roots and a rich medicinal fragrance.

The Situ Family had entrenched themselves in the Taixuan Mountain Range for over a hundred years. These Spirit Medicine plants were all wild goods gathered one by one from the deep mountains and old forests; their age and medicinal potency were far superior to artificially cultivated Spirit Medicine.

He sorted the Spirit Medicine by quality and age, wrapping them each individually in oil paper.

Then came his private fish pond—the reef cluster around the water origin tree was now bustling with activity, with over fifty Treasure Fish of various sizes. Although most were fry born within the last half year, every single one was a genuine Spirit Beast fish.

He took a few Treasure Fish and selected a few wild Spirit Medicine plants with the most potent medicinal properties, stewing a pot of milk-white fish soup in the bamboo house.

After drinking the soup and eating the fish, the Internal Energy in his Dantian began to circulate with unprecedented momentum.

He sat cross-legged on a cushion, activating the Purple Qi Diagram with all his might, refining the Spiritual Qi of the Treasure Fish and the medicinal power of the wild Spirit Medicine together.

This Cultivation session lasted an entire day and night. The Internal Energy in his Meridians turned from a trickling stream into a rushing river, and the Qi Sea in his Dantian expanded outward by a significant margin.

When he opened his eyes, it was dusk outside, and the setting sun had dyed the lake a golden red.

He extended his right index finger; the pale cyan light glowing on his fingertip was more solid than before—Middle Stage of the Fifth Grade.

After stabilizing his Realm, Lin Tian took out the book wrapped in oilcloth from under his bed.

This book had been exchanged half a year ago outside the black market with that young man for thirty Treasure Fish fry. It not only recorded the basic methods for becoming a Breeder, but also included a fish bait recipe on the last page.

It wasn't that he hadn't flipped through it over the past half year, but at that time, his Wanling Seal had just reached the entry level, and he still had a stock of fish bait for his private fish pond, so he had put it aside and hadn't practiced it.

Now that the Wanling Seal had reached Minor Achievement and the fish bait was completely used up, the fifty-plus Treasure Fish in the private fish pond relied entirely on the Black Crocodile to drive them into the water weeds to forage for food every day, and the growth rate of the Treasure Fish had slowed down significantly.

If he didn't start making fish bait himself, these fry would likely not even grow to three years of age.

He flipped to the first page and began to read from the beginning.

Breeding Technique was different from Cultivating martial arts. Cultivating martial arts involved mobilizing one's own Qi, blood, and Internal Energy, whereas Breeding Technique involved mobilizing external Spiritual Qi and medicinal properties, Fusion, transforming, and condensing them into feed that could be absorbed by Treasure Fish.

Following the methods written in the book, Lin Tian first tried to perceive the Spiritual Qi in the surrounding water vapor, then guided the Spiritual Qi to his palms to mix with the pre-ground fish bone powder.

The first time, the Spiritual Qi dissipated too quickly, and the fish bone powder spilled all over the table.

The second time, the Spiritual Qi barely condensed, but the ratio with the fish bone powder was wrong, and the feed ball he kneaded was so loose it wouldn't hold its shape.

Every day after inspecting the fish pond, he would immerse himself in the courtyard, trying repeatedly. A month later, his Breeding Technique reached the entry level.

Once he had the basics down, the path ahead was easier.

He spent another month pushing his Breeding Technique from entry level to the proficient Realm.

Although a Breeding Technique at the proficient Realm couldn't yet produce the special fish bait that allowed the young man's Treasure Fish to mature in half a year, it was barely enough to make daily feed according to the most basic "Spirit Algae Fish Paste" recipe.

The recipe required several Materials: three specific Spirit Medicine plants ground into fine powder, a type of aquatic Spirit Plant called Green Spirit Algae mashed into a paste, several types of Spirit Beast bone and meat powder mixed in to increase protein, and finally, it had to be blended with rain water.

The Green Spirit Algae and spring water were easy to handle; Yunhai Fishery had plenty, and he could easily grab some while inspecting the fish pond.

However, the Spirit Medicine and Spirit Beast bone and meat powder were strictly managed by the fishery's warehouse. Elder Wang recorded exactly how much feed was collected each week in the ledger, not a single grain more.

Although he had brought back many Spirit Medicine plants from the Situ Family valley, he only had two of the three required in the recipe. He was still missing one called Red Tendon Grass, as well as several types of Spirit Beast bone and meat powder.

Lin Tian took the thick stack of silver banknotes from the bundle—the twenty-plus thousand taels he had swiped at the valley entrance. He counted them once and tucked them into his robe.

He also dug out the black cloak he had worn outside the black market half a year ago from his chest, draped it over himself with the hood up, and pulled the brim low to cover most of his face.

He didn't alert anyone, walking out of the fishery alone along the gravel path by the lake, heading towards Yunzhou Prefecture.

He had been to Yunzhou Prefecture too many times. This time, upon entering the city, he didn't go to Wanbao Pavilion or the black market, but specifically sought out those inconspicuous little shops.

Three Spirit Medicine shops, two Spirit Beast material shops, and one grocery store that also sold auxiliary Materials for Alchemy.

He only bought one or two items at each shop—buying Red Tendon Grass and two other common Spirit Medicine plants at one, Spirit Beast bone and meat powder at another, and a few pieces of beast bone and a small bag of dried Green Spirit Algae at the grocery store.

Whenever the shopkeepers asked, he would casually brush them off, saying he was running errands to buy miscellaneous goods for the Sect pharmacy.

In less than half a day, all the Materials were purchased and packed into an inconspicuous burlap sack.

He passed through several streets that were gradually becoming deserted, exited the city through the north gate, and stepped onto the path back to Yunhai Fishery.

The setting sun stretched his shadow thin and long, casting it onto the increasingly distant city walls behind him.