Thousand Pools Island.
The last traces of autumn were fading, and the winter wind was beginning to blow.
Layers of fine ripples spread across the lake's surface as a damp chill seeped up through the mist, biting right through one's trousers.
Shen Xiuhan sat alone in a solitary boat, wearing a straw raincoat and a bamboo hat. He held his fishing rod over the water, remaining absolutely motionless.
Suddenly—
Splash!
The water's surface erupted!
A Precious Fish broke through the waves, its silver scales glittering brilliantly in the sunlight. Reeled in by the fishing rod, it flew through the air toward the bow of the boat.
Its tail thrashed wildly, sending water droplets flying in all directions.
At that moment, a well-defined hand resembling an eagle's claw shot out, clamping firmly onto the fish's gills.
His knuckles tensed, and he gave a gentle twist!
Crack!
This ten-year-old Tier Two Precious Fish, a Green-Scaled Crucian Carp, instantly went limp.
With practiced ease, Shen Xiuhan scraped off the scales in a few swift motions and tossed the fish into a small iron pot resting on a copper stove in the cabin.
He then pulled out a few blocks of tender tofu. With a quick flick of his blade, he diced them into neat cubes and slid them along the edge of the pot into the broth.
Before long, milky-white bubbles began to churn in the pot.
The fresh aroma of fish blended with the scent of tofu, instantly filling the entire cabin.
Shen Xiuhan pulled out a yellowed booklet and picked up a brush to write:
“December 7th. Heavy snow is approaching. Caught one Tier Two Green-Scaled Crucian Carp, ten years of age...”
After writing, he scanned the pages above.
A list of ten Precious Fish was recorded in the booklet, all of which were his catches from the past few days.
Inside the cabin.
The aroma of the fish soup had grown so thick it almost felt tangible.
Unable to resist any longer, Shen Xiuhan scooped up a bowl full of the milky-white soup, added a pinch of salt, and threw in a handful of chopped green scallions.
Braving the scalding steam, he took large gulps of the broth and devoured the meat.
He ate until he was dripping with sweat, thoroughly satisfied.
In moments, the entire pot of fish and tofu soup was completely wiped clean, leaving not even a drop of broth.
“Phew...”
Shen Xiuhan exhaled slowly, feeling a warm current permeate his limbs and bones. An indescribable sense of comfort washed over his entire body.
He set down the bowl and focused his mind. A line of faint golden characters quietly emerged before his eyes, shimmering with light:
Intelligence +31...
Total Intelligence: 211!
Seeing this, a look of satisfaction flashed in Shen Xiuhan's eyes.
“Finally, I have enough!”
Over the past three days.
He had swept through almost all the Tier One and Tier Two Precious Fish in the Precious Fish pond.
Now, the only ones left untouched in the pond were a few Tier Three Precious Fish and two large Tier Four specimens.
Shen Xiuhan did not plan on touching these high-tier Precious Fish for the time being.
If a Tier Four Precious Fish were used for alchemy, it would be highly beneficial even to a Gangjin expert. Using it just to gain intelligence points would be far too extravagant.
For now, Tier One and Tier Two Precious Fish were more than enough.
Having gathered enough intelligence points, Shen Xiuhan wasted no more time. He sat cross-legged and muttered in his heart:
Resurrection!
In an instant!
A brilliant, pale golden light erupted like the rising sun, illuminating his internal organs with crystal clarity!
The light reached its peak before slowly receding.
A line of faint golden text appeared before his eyes:
“No soul that has left its body within two hours detected nearby. Unable to trigger Resurrection.”
“Oh?”
Shen Xiuhan read the prompt a couple of times, his heart skipping a beat.
As expected, Resurrection indeed has a threshold. The target must have been dead for less than two hours for the technique to work!
His eyes flickered as thoughts flooded his mind.
Within two hours... What happens once that limit is exceeded? Does the soul disperse on its own? Or does it enter reincarnation?
He pondered for a long time but could not find an answer.
This matter involved far too many profound secrets. With his current cultivation, he could think until his head hurt and still gain nothing.
Forget it.
In any case, having this Resurrection ability is equivalent to having an extra life-saving talisman.
Even if some unexpected danger arises in the Blessed Land, I won't lose my life in a daze!
Shen Xiuhan reined in his thoughts, the sharp light in his eyes fading.
He flipped his hand.
A small green jade bottle appeared in his palm. It was the ten-year-old Star-Moon Marrow-Washing Spring.
The bottle felt warm and smooth. Ten strands of silver light could be faintly seen drifting through the liquid inside like stardust.
Clutching the jade bottle tightly, he stood up and thought to himself:
Next... I must put all my effort into breaking through. Let's see if I can raise my cultivation by another level before the Blessed Land opens!
With this thought, Shen Xiuhan delayed no further. He grabbed the oar and turned the boat around.
The small boat sliced through the chilly waves like an arrow released from a bowstring, speeding toward Tingquan Island.
...
The Star-Moon Marrow-Washing Spring was a specialty of the Star-Plucking Sect. Its production was extremely low, making it incredibly precious.
This spring water was harvested from a spiritual spring at the bottom of Star-Moon Lake. It was said that only a few dozen drops were obtained each year.
The spiritual spring itself was highly toxic, but once refined through a formation, it underwent a complete transformation.
Not only did it possess a vast and gentle spiritual aura, but it also held the wondrous effect of cleansing the marrow, clearing the meridians, and improving one's constitution.
Because of this, it was ranked among the absolute top-tier resources in the Star-Plucking Sect.
Outer disciples could not hope to obtain even a single drop in their entire lives. Even inner disciples could only purchase one drop of ordinary spiritual spring water per year, and that cost dozens of taels of silver.
Even as a core disciple, Shen Xiuhan was only allotted one drop of five-year-old spiritual spring water each year.
As for the ten-year-old version...
That belonged to an entirely different level.
If the Sect Master, Xu Zhouling, hadn't been such a terrible fisherman who always returned empty-handed, who knew how many years Shen Xiuhan would have had to wait to get his hands on this bottle of ten-year-old Star-Moon Marrow-Washing Spring.
Due to the precious nature of the spiritual spring, the sect had long-established regulations. For the first refinement, a disciple had to be personally escorted by the administrator of their academy's Affairs Hall to the Tingwu Pavilion in Chiming Academy before they could enter.
“You certainly have excellent luck, Junior Brother...”
On the boat.
Upon learning of Shen Xiuhan's intention, Zheng Hongxiu agreed to accompany him on the boat without a second thought.
“Ten-year-old Star-Moon Marrow-Washing Spring has always been a privilege reserved only for the elders, deacons, chief disciples, and deputy chief disciples of each academy.”
“Even so, there is a fixed quota every year. With so many people and so little to go around, one might not even get a share even after a fierce struggle...”
At this point, Zheng Hongxiu could not help but show a hint of envy. Her beautiful eyes darted toward Shen Xiuhan.
“As for this treasure, I was only fortunate enough to bask in First Senior Brother's light and refine it once. That cultivation speed...”
“Tsk, tsk. It is unforgettable to this day!”
Hearing this, Shen Xiuhan could not help but ask curiously, “Senior Sister, I heard that if one refines the spiritual spring directly, they will be poisoned. It must be refined through the formations in the Tingwu Pavilion before it can be absorbed. Why is that?”
Hearing his question, Zheng Hongxiu withdrew her gaze and explained, “Because the Star-Moon Marrow-Washing Spring is a cold-attributed treasure.”
“Most cold-attributed treasures contain yin toxins. If a martial artist wishes to consume it directly, they must use a cold-attributed spirit fire to refine away the toxins before it can be absorbed.”
“And inside the Tingwu Pavilion, there is a Cold-Branch Spirit Fire specifically kept for this purpose!”
“This spirit fire can completely purge the toxins from the Star-Moon Marrow-Washing Spring. It was purchased by our sect's higher-ups from the Ice Limit Sect of Beizhou. Each use consumes a fraction of the spiritual flame, so it must be repurchased every two to three years.”
Upon hearing this, Shen Xiuhan's expression changed slightly. He asked, “Senior Sister, if that's the case... does cultivating in the Tingwu Pavilion require paying extra money?”
“Naturally.” Zheng Hongxiu said as if it were a matter of course, “How precious is a spirit fire? Each one costs five thousand taels of silver, and it only barely keeps the Tingwu Pavilion running for two to three years.”
“Elders and disciples from all academies must pay a fee based on the time they spend cultivating inside. What is so unusual about that?”
As expected...
Shen Xiuhan sighed. He subconsciously squeezed the storage bag at his waist and could not help but ask, “May I ask, Senior Sister, how much silver does it cost to cultivate in the pavilion once?”
Zheng Hongxiu said, “Refining an ordinary drop of spiritual spring water usually takes two and a half days. Including food and lodging, it costs about twenty taels of silver in total.”
Twenty taels...
That was still acceptable.
Just as Shen Xiuhan breathed a sigh of relief, he heard her change the subject:
“But your ten-year-old Star-Moon Marrow-Washing Spring is different. The amount of spirit fire it consumes is far greater than that of ordinary spiritual spring water. It requires using the formations in the Grade B quiet rooms to refine it. When calculated... a single drop will cost a hundred taels of silver!”
What?!
Shen Xiuhan stood dumbfounded, his fingers clutching his coin pouch tightly.
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