204: Chapter 204 Fishing

Regarding the subsequent incidents on Ryukyu Island, Li Xiuyuan and Gu Xiao were completely unaware. They had already arrived at the outskirts of a small city in the northeast of the Xia Kingdom; the ninth Ancient Heavenly Court Spiritual Artifact was right here.

However, the trouble with the ninth artifact was not that significant.

It was just that the artifact had created a violent Spiritual Qi field with a range of ten kilometers in the area. Any Rising Beings that stepped into it would be affected and lose their reason.

If there were several people inside, they would kill each other until only the last person remained, who would then faint from exhaustion.

This could also be considered a type of territorial Divine Ability, and its scope of influence was not small.

The area where the ninth artifact was located was in an abandoned mining area on the outskirts of the small city.

The entrance to the mining area had long been eroded by time and weather. The iron fences had fallen crookedly on both sides, and the road surface was covered with grayish-white dust that had been soaked by rain and then dried, leaving clear footprints when stepped on.

When Li Xiuyuan and Gu Xiao arrived, the sky had already turned completely dark. There were no lights in the depths of the mining area, only sporadic light leaking through the treetops from the distant city, barely outlining the contours of those abandoned mine shafts.

Upon landing, Li Xiuyuan felt that violent Spiritual Qi field covering the entire area.

It was a chaotic fluctuation of Spiritual Qi, as if someone had stirred it vigorously within the originally steady flow of Spiritual Qi, shattering the Spiritual Qi of the entire area.

This was only the outermost edge of the territory. Walking deeper into the mine shafts, the Spiritual Qi field would only become more violent.

Thus, Li Xiuyuan walked alone towards the depths of the mining area.

This mine shaft had long been abandoned; many entrances were either blocked by rubble or had collapsed due to age. Only a few remained open, the wooden supports at the entrances were mostly rotten, and sporadic tailings hung on the edges.

Li Xiuyuan walked through the mining area for a moment, and his Spiritual Sense locked onto the location of that artifact. It was in a mine shaft at the very deepest part.

The passage inside the mine shaft was very narrow. Because there had been no mining work for many years, the maintenance of the mine shaft naturally did not exist.

Thick dust lay on the rock walls on both sides, and the rubble underfoot made faint sounds in the darkness.

After Li Xiuyuan passed through several turns, the space in front of him suddenly opened up.

It was a mining chamber that had been excavated halfway. The ceiling was high, and chisel marks and traces of explosives remained on the surrounding rock walls.

In a corner of this mining chamber, there was a conch shell.

Why would there be a conch shell in a mine shaft? This was the first thought that popped into Li Xiuyuan's mind when he saw that thing.

Perhaps someone brought it in?

He bent down and reached out to pick up the conch shell.

The moment his fingertips touched the shell of the conch, an extremely distant whispering sound came from deep within the conch.

The sound penetrated the barrier of his Spiritual Sense, as if it rang directly in the depths of his mind, carrying a rhythm synchronized with the seawater.

It was not some mysterious incantation or ancient threat, but a nursery rhyme.

After listening carefully for a while, Li Xiuyuan realized that the content of this rhyme was the daily work and life of a shrimp soldier in the East Sea Dragon Palace; it was not exciting at all, but rather very plain.

Li Xiuyuan did not spend any effort to collect this conch shell.

The deity attached to it did not make any struggle, nor did it appear. In fact, if Li Xiuyuan hadn't sensed the aura of a deity existing in this conch shell, he would have thought it was empty inside.

Nine artifacts, all obtained.

The conch shell quietly stopped making any sound.

Turning around and walking outward along the mine path he came from, when he walked out of the mine shaft, the night wind poured in from the edge of the mining area, carrying the scent of wild grass and soil, blowing away some of the old, dusty smell in the cave.

Gu Xiao was squatting on a rock at the edge of the mining area, holding a cigarette in his hand, his face full of worry.

Seeing Li Xiuyuan come out, he stood up and threw the cigarette on the ground to extinguish it: "Have you got it?"

"Yes, let's go."

"What's wrong?"

Li Xiuyuan nodded. He had long noticed the worried look on Gu Xiao's face, so he asked.

"I just learned about the situation on Ryukyu Island from the Bureau Chief."

"Just after we left, the shrine on Ryukyu Island that was still under construction suddenly collapsed. Mr. Fujimoto died, many of those shrine maidens also died, and Zhou Chuanfeng was seriously injured and blinded in his eyes."

"That door has already been taken away. According to common sense, the biggest threat on Ryukyu Island was that door. Since the door is no longer there, why would this kind of thing still happen?" Gu Xiao asked with a heavy face and confusion.

"Perhaps there are other reasons. Let's wait for the Jiantian Bureau to investigate first."

Li Xiuyuan did not think this matter had a direct relationship with that door, because he was very sure that after he took the door away, whether it was on the sea or on Ryukyu Island, there were no things related to that door left behind.

After Gu Xiao finished saying those words, he stood at the edge of the mining area for a while. The night wind poured into his collar, but he seemed not to feel it, just staring blankly at the cigarette butt he had extinguished on the ground for a while.

"I need to go back."

"The bureau needs cooperation for questioning, and... I want to see the situation with Zhou Chuanfeng myself."

Li Xiuyuan glanced at him and said: "Go ahead."

The relationship between Zhou Chuanfeng and Gu Xiao was not shallow, and they were both colleagues in the bureau. Since such a thing happened shortly after they parted, no one would feel good about it.

Gu Xiao nodded, his back quickly swallowed by the night, leaving only the sporadic lights of the distant city outlining that silhouette.

Li Xiuyuan stood in place for a moment, then pulled up the clouds and mist again, rising into the air along the direction he came.

He did not return to Yunfeng Mountain but headed straight south.

After flying for a distance, he turned towards the Yellow River.

The river surface was wider than when he last came. After the violent surge of Spiritual Qi, the landscape on both sides of the Yellow River had changed slightly. Those originally dried-up tributaries were filled with water again, glistening with fine silver light under the moonlight.

To set up the Dragon Gate Formation in the Yellow River waterway, he still needed some trustworthy Rising Beings who could help him guard those Dragon Gate Formations.

And what Li Xiuyuan thought of was the large Yellow River Carp he had seen before.

The night wind on the banks of the Yellow River carried moisture, making the reeds rustle.

Li Xiuyuan walked downstream along the riverbank, his footsteps leaving shallow marks on the wet, soft mud.

The moon had risen to the center of the sky, and silvery-white light fell on the river surface, crushed by the water flow into fine, bright fragments, flickering with the ripples.

Before he reached the deep part of the river bend, he heard human voices.

Several anglers each occupied the best positions on the bank, with folding stools lined up. The beams of flashlights shone obliquely on the water, swaying into several flickering spots of light in the ripples.

Fishing rods were propped on the branches on the bank, and fishing lines hung into the water, drifting slightly with the direction of the current.

The positions of the few people were not far apart, and they could chat without raising their voices.

For these anglers, being able to make an appointment with a few friends to come out for night fishing like this was the most comfortable thing.

Even if the other party was not their friend, seeing them often at the same fishing spot, they would greet each other and remind each other when they were about to leave.

Of course, not all anglers could become friends with each other.

"That rod of mine, I just changed it in an online live broadcast room the day before yesterday. They said it uses carbon fiber mixed with spiritual materials; it's so light that you don't even need to use force when casting."

"What's the use of being light? Catching fish is the hard truth. Look at mine; it looks old, but during the Spring Festival, I had it blessed by a Great Master in the temple. Since then, as long as I sit here, the fish will bump into my hook on their own."

"Bragging, keep bragging."

"Hey, don't believe it. Last month, I caught a twenty-pound crucian Carp here, and its belly was as swollen as if it were pregnant."

Li Xiuyuan's footsteps paused about ten zhang away from those people.

He looked at the backs of those people illuminated by the flashlight, and a very faint emotion arose in his heart.

Even in the era of the recovery of Spiritual Qi, even if the fish in the river might suddenly gain wisdom and swim away one day, the group of anglers would not disappear.

They would still bring their fishing gear and buckets to the river at any time, and after sitting down, enjoy their own comfortable time.

By the river, one could forget the trivial matters of daily life, the life of a corporate slave in the company, the noise in the family, and the bitterness of struggling for a living.

Standing on the bank for a moment, just about to continue walking downstream, an angler nearest to him noticed him.

The man was about forty years old, wearing a jacket that had been washed until it was a bit whitish. He first tilted his head to look at Li Xiuyuan's empty hands, then scanned his body up and down, and finally landed on his moonlight-colored robe. He probably thought this person's attire was a bit strange, but he didn't think too much about it, just spoke in a tone that carried a bit of familiarity: "Young man, are you here to fish too? Why didn't you even bring a fishing rod?"

This person was not only familiar but also a chatterbox, and his tone carried a kind of undisguised eagerness.

"Fishing is a very profound subject. Don't think it's simple. Equipment cannot be sloppy. Look at my rod, a rod body made of high-quality spiritual materials, the rod tip is very sensitive. As long as there is a little movement on the hook, I will react immediately here."

He pointed to the expensive-looking bait box at his feet: "And this, specifically entrusted someone to buy from the south, bait fed with Spiritual Qi. Those fish smell it and lose their souls, it's hard not to take the bait."

"If you are interested, I will give you some. You take it and try? You will definitely catch fish with your eyes closed."

Although the man's tone carried some showing off, Li Xiuyuan could feel that there was no malice, just wanting to share his "professional equipment" with others.

But Li Xiuyuan's gaze fell on the fish guard at the man's feet. The fish guard sank into the water, the edge slightly bulging under the water surface, but it was empty inside, without even a small fish.

The man seemed to notice Li Xiuyuan's gaze, his voice paused, and he was a bit embarrassed: "Just started fishing tonight, haven't entered the state yet."

"When you usually come here to fish, aren't you attacked by the fierce aquatic tribes inside?" Li Xiuyuan asked curiously.

You know, Li Xiuyuan did not explicitly forbid aquatic tribes from attacking humans. He only instructed the Rising Beings in the waters he controlled not to act recklessly and not to think they could kill people by relying on their background. But that said, how could the ferocity of those Rising Beings be curbed in a few words?

"Of course I have encountered it. There were a few times I almost lost my life." The man recalled the experiences of the past, and he was still a bit fearful until now.

"Then why do you still come?"

"Isn't my life still here? Besides, there are so many fishing friends, we can help each other."

Li Xiuyuan had to admire this person's spirit; even if there was a danger to his life, he didn't care.

After the man finished speaking about the aquatic tribe attacks, it was like opening a chatterbox. Without waiting for Li Xiuyuan's response, he continued to talk to himself.

"But having said that, let me tell you, the biggest fish I have ever caught in my life was eighty-three pounds, a big black Carp. Guess what? I tangled with it for nearly two hours, the rod was almost broken, and finally, it was the fishing friend next to me who helped me pull it up together."

He gestured the length of the fish, his tone carrying a bit of lingering aftertaste: "The recovery of Spiritual Qi is good. A few decades ago, when I was young, how could I catch such a big fish so easily? At that time, catching a five or six-pound one would be burning high incense."

Then, he paused again.

"I heard that the biggest fish in this Yellow River is a Carp, which seems to be over six hundred pounds. Someone posted a photo in the fishing friend group. When that guy surfaced, it was taller than a person. However, I have no thoughts about that big Carp. It must have at least five-realm cultivation, right? That is not something ordinary people like us can provoke. Even if it really bites the hook, it won't be me walking it, it will be it walking me."

Unexpectedly, this angler in front of him had quite a bit of self-knowledge.

Perhaps because the nine artifacts were all obtained, a psychological desire to tease the other party arose in Li Xiuyuan's heart.

Li Xiuyuan glanced at the man, his gaze turned around between the fishing rod propped on the tree branch and the box of bait labeled "fed with Spiritual Qi" at his feet, and then said: "Lend me some fishing line."

The angler was stunned for a moment, cut about seven or eight meters of fishing line from the spool and handed it over: "What are you going to do? Plan to catch some crawfish?"

"Believe it or not, I can use this line to catch the big Carp you mentioned?" Li Xiuyuan took it and asked with a smile.

The man was choked by this sentence and almost choked.

He looked at Li Xiuyuan, the expression on his face changed from confusion to a smile with a bit of helplessness: "Have you watched too many fishing videos online? Those videos that use a single line to catch big fish are all staged, okay? Another thing, I told you, that big Carp has at least five-realm cultivation. If it really wants to bite the hook, this line of yours won't be enough for it to flick its tail."

Li Xiuyuan did not respond, just gently twisted the end of the fishing line with his fingers.

In the night color under the water, a huge dark red figure was slowly floating up...