The seasons flowed past, and time slipped away.
A year had passed since Gu An settled at White Mirror Lake. Tending his spirit fish, practicing spells, and cultivating diligently filled his days, and he was content.
The income from the Colorful-Feather Chickens had gradually stopped ten months ago. Of the fifty spirit chickens, he had only received thirty-four instances of feedback. The spiritual Qi from the feedback was extremely pure, but not abundant. Gu An estimated it was roughly one-tenth of the total spiritual Qi.
The spiritual Qi from the thirty-four Colorful-Feather Chicken feedbacks, combined with the spiritual Qi from the deaths of some Black Spirit Fish and his own cultivation progress over the year, allowed Gu An to take a solid step forward within the fourth layer of Qi Condensation, nearing the fifth layer.
Calculating it, Gu An had raised them for a year, while outside, others raised them for three months-roughly a quarter of the time.
He thought of those sixteen ungrateful chickens with a pang. He had worked so hard to raise them, and in a mere three months they had forgotten him, seduced by the glittering world outside. What a disappointment to their devoted Daoist master.
He hoped these Black Spirit Fish would be more sensible, not learning from those ungrateful chickens, and not betraying his painstaking efforts.
Thinking that these Black Spirit Fish were about to mature, Gu An cheered up again. Over the year, with thin spiritual Qi and no Spirit Pills or spirit stones to assist, his cultivation naturally progressed slowly. This was even with the occasional Spirit Source Feedback.
But good times were coming again. Once he harvested these spirit fish and sold them, he would wait three months. When the buyers sent them to reincarnation, another large batch of spiritual Qi would come in.
Pushing open the door and stepping out of the small courtyard, Gu An channeled spiritual Qi to his feet. With a light tap of his toes, he arrived on the lake.
He clapped rhythmically, and a dark mass of fish rose from below. The larger ones led the way, a little over half a foot long and shimmering with spiritual light. They had reached the first layer of Qi Condensation, but still greeted him with blank, unblinking stares and open mouths, waiting for food.
Behind them followed Black Spirit Fish fry, the size of black sesame seeds, even smaller than the batch Gu An had bought from the Hundred Spirits Pavilion. They trailed behind, eating the leftover scraps.
Gu An counted the spirit fish. There were sixty-eight mature fish. The attrition rate for these spirit fish was high, especially during their juvenile stage. They could die from a bad mood. He had been very careful in tending them, yet thirty-two had died over time. Their corpses were devoured by their own kind, and Gu An didn’t even get a piece of fish meat.
That’s right, the Black Spirit Fish were omnivores. Gu An had considered this when he put them into the lake. After all, they were spirit fish; catching and eating ordinary fish wasn’t a problem. But he hadn’t expected them to eat their own kind.
All they left Gu An was thirty-two strands of thin spiritual Qi, which together amounted to the feedback from just two or three Colorful-Feather Chickens.
Reaching Qi Condensation made an enormous difference. The Colorful-Feather Chickens might only be at the first layer, but the juvenile fish were a disgrace to spirit beasts, with barely a trace of spiritual qi in them. You are reading on g.com, the official source.
Then there were the Black Spirit Fish fry. In recent days, the mature Black Spirit Fish had begun to mate and reproduce spontaneously. Considering how diligently the Black Spirit Fish had been absorbing spiritual Qi every day, the Daoist Gu, in a fit of generosity, allowed them all to leave offspring, not wanting to waste the karmic connection with him.
There had been more than three hundred fry at first. Half a month later, only two hundred and forty-four remained. They were younger than the batch he had bought, so more would undoubtedly die. Once those early losses were over, he reckoned White Mirror Lake could support the survivors. He gave up the idea of selling them.
The fry would be hard to sell anyway. Black Spirit Fish were unpopular, and Yun Kingdom had plenty of mountains but little water. Few fellow cultivators were likely to want them.
Worried that the cannibalistic fish might eat their own fry, Gu An kept coming to check on them. For several days, he found himself watching a fish-only adult show. Eventually, he realized the adults had no interest in eating their offspring. The fry were safe following them around, and he could return to his usual routine.
“Splash.”
The sound of water came. It was the Black Spirit Fish, seeing that he hadn’t produced any feed, slapping the water with their tails, raising a lake wave as if to teach him a lesson.
A small Water Shield formed instantly. Over this year, Gu An had diligently practiced his techniques. The Water Shield Spell and the Entangling Spell could almost be cast instantly, and his casting speed for the Water Spear Spell had also greatly improved. He was no longer the same person.
The small Water Shield wasn’t large, but it intercepted all the splashes without a single drop leaking through.
A dark green vine extended from his sleeve, slithering into the water like a spirit snake, binding the leading spirit fish tightly.
“You little troublemaker. Still want your grain? Today you’re joining it on my dinner table!”
“And you all, you won’t have to wait much longer either.”
Humming, he put that Black Spirit Fish into his storage bag, scattered a dozen handfuls of grain, and walked away across the water. The fish school showed no reaction to their companion being taken. They sucked up the grain greedily, the fry gathering around the larger fish, occasionally snatching some broken grains. The water surface was lively. Read the latest chapters at novelping(.)com.
Gu An planned to go to Cloud City in a few days to collect his salary and sell these Black Spirit Fish along the way. Once mature, the Black Spirit Fish had the cultivation of the first layer of Qi Condensation. After that, unless they encountered a tremendous Fated Chance, they could hardly advance further. Keeping them would be a pure waste of spiritual Qi, useless for the Spirit Source Feedback, so it was better to sell them.
Returning to the small courtyard, Gu An took out the Black Spirit Fish, handed it to Bai Zhi, and instructed, “Steam this Black Spirit Fish today.”
He could have sold the fish for a spirit stone, but he wanted a taste. Save where it mattered, spend where it was worth it. He refused to skimp on good food.
Besides, after a whole year of work, didn’t Master Gu deserve a little treat?
A year had passed. Nourished by the spiritual Qi of White Mirror Lake, Bai Zhi’s skin had become even more supple and radiant. Gu An had no other thoughts about her; he remained unmoved by her several hints. Still, just looking at her was pleasing to the eye.
Bai Zhi accepted the fish. “Shall I steam it with just scallions and salt, as usual, Immortal Master Gu?” she asked sweetly.
Over the year, Bai Zhi and the other had gradually figured out Gu An’s taste and cooked well. But this was their first time cooking a spirit fish, and they were quite nervous.
“Just as usual, but steam it a bit longer.” Gu An also had some knowledge of cooking. This spirit fish had no gamey or fishy smell, making it suitable for steaming.
Bai Zhi took the spirit fish and left the room. Gu An walked into the inner chamber and sat down cross-legged.
An hour later, evening had fallen. Brocade-colored clouds hung over the lake, smooth as a ribbon of silk, while the old willow shook its withered branches. Bai Zhi and Qingliu had laid the meal on the stone table beneath it. Gu An came out and sat down, and the two maids withdrew, knowing he preferred to eat undisturbed.
The Black Spirit Fish lay in a bronze vessel normally used for ice. Its skin had split slightly, revealing tender white flesh. Steam rose with the scent of scallions, and white fat seeped from its belly. Gu An eased open a gill cover with his jade chopsticks, revealing translucent flesh as delicate as wisps of cloud. He lifted a morsel to his mouth, and a fresh sweetness burst across his tongue.
Next he tried the belly, peeling back the skin to take a bite. It was less pleasant than the flesh around the gills: firm, even a little dry. Still, the fish tasted good overall, much better than ordinary fish. At a modest price, it should sell easily.
A wisp of cool air seeped into his Dantian. Gu An squinted his eyes, carefully feeling that strand of spiritual Qi. The amount of spiritual Qi was decent, but it couldn’t compare to the Colorful-Feather Chickens.
After gaining an understanding of the Black Spirit Fish’s situation, Gu An began his meal in earnest. He opened a jar of yellow wine, filled a bowl to the brim, and ate heartily with the spirit fish.