‘A pearl?’Fang Yuan looked at the enormous pearl in his hands with curiosity.
The bright rays of light faded away to reveal the pearl in Fang Yuan’s hand. It had the size of an infant’s fist.
The surface of the pearl was flawlessly smooth. It was even glowing slightly. Just by looking at it, one could straightway tell that it was not a common item.
‘This is the treasure that Yang Fan left behind?’
Fang Yuan sighed in disappointment.
He would have preferred if Yang Fan kept the true dream world for him to explore on his own.
After all, Fang Yuan reaped immense benefits from that dream world. It was as if he had gone to Da Qian Empire on his own.
‘What is so special about this pearl...’
As Fang Yuan muttered, some of his elemental force shot into the pearl as he tried to figure out the gem.
The pearl vibrated for a moment and came to a still. The elemental force that entered it was useless.
‘It seems like the equipment for dream masters can only be used by them!’
After using elemental force to test out the pearl, Fang Yuan had a rough idea about how to deal with it. Next, he used dream elemental force.
"Voom Voom!"
After Fang Yuan projected his dream elemental force into the pearl, it vibrated again. This time, the pearl shot out rays of bright light.
Immediately, Fang Yuan felt there was some form of connection between his magical will and what seemed like another universe.
This ‘universe’ was a huge area of s.p.a.ce way beyond one’s imagination and the door to this universe was in Fang Yuan’s hands.
"A spiritual spatial container?"
As Fang Yuan wondered under his breath, he flicked out a silver coin onto his palm. In a flash, the coin vanished.
At the same time, the glittery silver coin appeared in a corner of the spatial container. This sent Fang Yuan into deep thought.
‘There is almost an entire universe inside this pearl, this must be the Mountain River Pearl!’
He then used his magical will to search about and finally found his answer.
‘The spiritual treasure, Mountain River Pearl?’
Fang Yuan scratched his chin.
This pearl was a storage device. The s.p.a.ce inside it was incredibly vast. It could even fit entire mountains and rivers. The only limitation it had was that it could not fit living organisms into it.
‘It almost seems like this s.p.a.ce inside is almost like an incomplete replica of this world...’
Fang Yuan seemed to have understood a little.
In Fang Yuan’s opinion, the Mountain River Pearl was the original version of the Green Peak spiritual land, except that it was an inferior version of the current one.
However, the advantage was that he could take it with him anywhere and everywhere. It would be incredibly convenient if he could fit the pearl onto a ring and wear it.
‘What a pity...Yang Fan is such a stingy fellow to not leave anything for me inside...’
Fang Yuan shook his head and sighed.
The true dream world was evidently not in the Mountain River Pearl, but on the White Jade Square.
Sadly, Fang Yuan only had one chance.
...
After the Drunken Moon Festival, the thick fog gradually dispersed. The Wine Lake and the spiritual fish also gradually disappeared.
As the treacherous waves and currents calmed, several fishermen began to return with a plentiful haul. Smiles of joy and satisfaction were plastered over their faces.
Occasionally, there were a few martial artists who miraculously reeled in spiritual fish. These people were hara.s.sed constantly by offers almost everywhere they went. Of course, there were also many who were secretly envious and some who dueled either to get to fish or to find out the benefits one could enjoy from having it.
The entire Drunken Moon Lake bustled with activity in no time.
It was a pity that all these people who were enjoying themselves immensely had no idea that the Drunken Moon Festival that year was the last one they would be having.
Golden Dragon Sect.
There was a small lake behind the temple which had some fishes.
There was a queer development in the lake. There was the movement of a figure that took the shape of a dragon which transformed into a bright silvery light. It sprang up forcefully like a dragon.
It was the Spiritual King Fish.
As it swam, it constantly shot out jets of water, as though it was expressing its unhappiness with its tiny living quarters.
Behind it, several other spiritual fishes and even more Drunken Fishes and Silverfishes followed loyally.
‘Haiz...’
Yu Xiaohong stood by the side of the lake. She had her hair tied up into two long braids which extended beyond her waist. As her energetic eyes scanned the surface of the lake, a pained expression appeared on her face.
‘The movements of the Spiritual King Fish are really too large. Even if our sect takes every precaution possible, this news would still leak out!’
As she played with her braids, she glanced towards the great hall and sighed helplessly, "With Granddad’s abilities, we might not be able to fully control even those few spiritual fishes. What more the Spiritual King Fish? If the elder had not appeared, others might have already used force to rob this place! But, that elder is now nowhere to be seen..."
Even though Yu Feishui tried his best to play up Fang Yuan’s abilities, there were no limits to one’s greed.
It might have been effective had Yu Feishui not overdone it. Now, the accomplishments of the Wu Zong that many people had in mind were all the lies painted by him!
Especially...after finding a strong support, he had become more complacent.
"Old Yu!!"
The atmosphere in the great hall was instantly spiritless.
Yu Feishui sat on the throne and looked at everyone else expressionlessly.
"A word of advice, you will not be able to keep the Spiritual King Fis.h.!.+"
Then, a one-eyed martial artist barked out threateningly, "We are only politely discussing this exchange with you because we see you as an established veteran sect in Zhu country. Aren’t you willing to return us this favour?"
"Brother Chu, you overestimate me!"
Yu Feishui broke into a painful smile and replied, "I have no say in where the Spiritual King Fish should be!"
This one-eyed martial artist was Chu Jie. He was the leader of 18 Chain Wall, the biggest gang of bandits in Zhu country. The martial arts he had were already at the 12th Gate.
Apart from him, there was another gentler and more civilised looking man in white. He was Deadly Bookworm: a well known sinister martial artist who operated alone.
The last person was a beautiful woman who looked around 30 years of age. Her face was like a cherry blossom and she had a charming smile. Yu Feishui did not dare to underestimate her.
After all, Lady Miao Hua was a spiritual disciple! Her Intoxicating Hibiscus spiritual spell was formidable. She even successfully annihilated 3 martial artists at the 4 Heavenly Gates in a row!
These three did not have a great reputation and were obviously trying to bully him.
Apart from them, there were several other legitimate sects and even people representing government officials hiding behind the scenes. There were also many forms of threats and bribes given by them.
After all, the temptation of the Spiritual King Fish was too huge to resist.
"We have already waited for so long, why isn’t that skilled person here?"
Deadly Bookworm chuckled and asked, "Could it be that you are intent on humiliating us despite our utmost sincerity?"
"Old Yu, please have a look at our terms and conditions in this exchange. They will definitely not disappoint you!"
Similarly, Lady Miao Hua forced a smile and added, "I am offering a bottle of ‘Hundred Thousand Flowers Pill’, Deadly Bookworm has offered the secret manual for the powerful technique ‘Thousand Hearts Sword Technique’ and Brother Chu is offering 500,000 taels of gold! We are asking to exchange all these items for just the Spiritual King Fish. The other spiritual fishes will still be yours! Apart from these, each of us will owe you a favour. Any time you require our help, we will definitely extend it without hesitation! What do you think?"
Her eyes glistened alluringly as she spoke. It almost had a hypnotic effect.
"You..."
Old Yu sunk into a deep contemplation.
To be honest, although the items offered were still not worth as much as the Spiritual King Fish, they were immensely valuable enough to prove their sincerity.
However, Yu Feishui had to consider whether Fang Yuan would take it out on him when he returned to find out that he sealed this deal.
"Please return!"
Yu Feishui made up his mind and hardened his stance, "Although we are a small sect, we will not be easily bullied by anyone! Not only does the Spiritual King Fish belong to someone else, I will also not make this deal with you based on your reputations! Guards!"
With his last command, there was a huge movement outside as several disciples of the Golden Dragon Sect entered the hall armed with Soft Fish Scale Armour, fishnets, iron oars and other equipment.
Even a powerful dragon cannot defeat a snake in its natural habitat!
It did not matter how powerful the visitors were, they were greatly outnumbered. When the number of ants grew large enough, it would still be enough to kill an elephant.
"Sigh…"
When Deadly Bookworm saw this, he didn’t say much and just sighed: "Since you’re such a stubborn old fogey, we’ll have to invite an expert to come out! Even if you don’t give us any face, you’ll have to consider wisely before doing the same for this elder."
"Rumble!"
The moment his last word was uttered, an overbearing aura exploded from the outside.
"Sect head, someone is barging..."
A disciple of the Golden Dragon Sect came rus.h.i.+ng in with a shocked expression on his face. Before he could finish his sentence, his face turned beet red and he spat out blood furiously, finally falling to the ground.
"Hiss hiss!"
The ground where his blood landed gave off large plumes of white smoke.
"This is…...poison?"
Yu Feishui’s expression turned sour as he thought of which famous expert had arrived.
"You guys…...Your backer is..."
With a s.h.i.+vering voice, he spoke, "Poison King Jie Wuming?"
"He he"
A man slowly entered the hall amidst the cold laughter.
Around him, large numbers of Golden Dragon Sect disciples fell, clutching their necks in agony.
This short and una.s.suming man wore a robe interspersed with blood red and emerald green colours, which made one feel dizzy and extremely uncomfortable just by looking at it.
"Yu Feishui? At least you’re still somewhat knowledgeable!"
Jie Wuming’s voice was like an owl’s, raspy with the power to send a chill running down one’s spine.
"Elder Jie!"
Chu Jie, Deadly Bookworm, Lady Miao Hua respectfully stood behind Jie Wuming.
After all, this man was a Wu Zong who was adept at using poison!
Since Zhu Country was small, this Jie Wuming was rumored to be the number 1 expert in the country due to his evil and underhanded means that others greatly feared.
"Elder Jie!"
Yu Feishui could only stand up with a disturbed expression on his face: "You’re an established person, so why have you come to put me in a spot as well?"
"He he…"
Chuckling, Jie Wuming replied, "I’ve been researching a sort of mixed poison and I heard that the Spirit King Fish had some excellent materials for it. This made me instruct these three useless fellows to make a move..."
As he spoke about this, a chilling gaze shot out from his eyes: "However…...Could it be that I’ve been out of the martial arts world for too long, to the point that my name is no longer recognised and even you don’t want to give me any face?"
"What kind of statement is this?"
In his heart, Yu Feishui cried, but when he thought of the divine technique that Fang Yuan displayed previously, he gritted his teeth and responded: "But this Spiritual King Fish is really the item which that elder safe kept with the Golden Dragon Sect. I can’t make the decision on his behalf!"
"Hmph!"
Jie Wuming snorted, walking forward as though as his figure was swaying.
In response, Yu Feishui backed away swiftly, but a figure suddenly appeared in front of him. The arms he used to s.h.i.+eld himself shuddered violently while he left 7 to 8 footprints in the ground.
He could smell a flowery fragrance in that instant, then a spurt of blood came bursting out of his mouth.