Thousand Lakes

It was the twentieth day since Gao Nian of the Golden Dragon Gang had died.

As the morning sun rose, the thick mist gradually dispersed.

Shen Xiuhan rowed his black-awning boat alone, patrolling the lake.

Counting it up, today was already his fourth day of standing night patrol alone.

Once he got the hang of the routine, it became quite easy to handle.

The rules on the island were lax. Aside from a fixed two shichen of water patrol every day, he could spend most of his time as he pleased.

Over the past few days, Shen Xiuhan had not bothered to drink or chat with the other people on the island.

He spent most of his time looking for a secluded, quiet bamboo grove to silently practice his stance work and temper his blood qi.

Since obtaining the Jasper Blood Pills, he had already consumed three of them in succession.

The effects of the medicinal pills were obvious. Now, even when he only slightly activated his stance work, the blood qi in his body surged restlessly like oil on fire or boiling water.

This was precisely the sign of Great Accomplishment of the Blood Tempering Rank!

In a few days, once the effects of the Jasper Blood Pill he had taken the day before yesterday were completely refined, he could take another one and attempt to break through to the Bone Tempering Rank.

But before that, he had a more pressing matter to attend to.

He stopped his wooden oars, letting the black-awning boat drift along with the waves on the lake.

Shen Xiuhan stood at the bow, scanning his surroundings vigilantly. After confirming that there was no one within a few li, he took a deep breath.

【Deduction-capable martial art “Old Man of the Creek Divine Ability Fragment” detected. Begin Deduction?】

“...Yes!”

In an instant!

The wind ceased and the waves calmed; the green waters fell completely still.

A pale golden light suddenly flared. Countless profound points of light intertwined and gathered, transforming into a golden figure that began to deduce and comprehend within Shen Xiuhan's sea of consciousness.

Shadows and light flickered.

Time flowed by like a passing shadow.

【First Year: You study the divine ability fragment day and night in a humble room, pouring your heart and soul into it. Yet, you find it incredibly obscure, unable to even cross the threshold for a long time. Knowing that working behind closed doors is ultimately futile, you pack your bags and travel across mountains and waters, wishing to take the mountains and rivers as your teachers to comprehend the true meaning of this technique.】

【Eighth Year: You brave the wind and sleep in the wild, leaving your footprints across a hundred deep rivers and cold creeks. One day, you walk up to a small pond. Your stomach is growling with hunger, and you intend to catch a couple of wild fish to fill your belly. However, the moment you raise the rod to cast, your entire body freezes in place. For two whole days, you let the morning dew soak your clothes and fallen leaves drape over your shoulders, until you finally attain enlightenment from the ripples of the water!】

【Ninth Year: You end your travels and return home to enter secluded cultivation. You finally comprehend a general outline of the technique from the fragment. However, this method is only in its rudimentary stage, still containing many clunky and incomplete parts. Undeterred, you decide to remain in seclusion and continue your painstaking deduction!】

【Fifteenth Year: As the seasons pass, you exhaust your lifeblood to perfect the technique, weeding out the chaff to keep the essence. You officially name it “Thousand Lakes Fishing”. This technique is created specifically for fishing up treasures in water. Once the method is formed, it connects to the water veins. From then on, no matter what region you are in, no matter how the four seasons change, without being restricted by spiritual rods or ordinary bamboo, and without needing rare treasures as bait, you only need to sit by the water and drop a thread. Then... the willing will take the bait!】

The shadows and light dissipated, and his consciousness returned like a tide.

Shen Xiuhan slowly opened his eyes, which were clear and bright.

Fifteen years of rise and fall felt like a dream.

And all the mysteries of “Thousand Lakes Fishing” had already been engraved into his very marrow like a brand.

“Phew...”

Shen Xiuhan exhaled a long breath, and the surging blood qi in his chest gradually settled.

With his fingers aligned like a blade, he sliced off a reed with a sharp snap. Then, with a flick of his finger, he pulled a thread from the hem of his inner shirt, tied a casual knot, and fastened it to the tip of the reed.

There was no hook, and no fragrant bait.

Just a single thread tied to a broken reed. If those veteran fishermen out there saw this, they would laugh their heads off.

Yet Shen Xiuhan's expression remained calm. Sitting cross-legged at the bow, he suddenly flicked his wrist.

Buzz—

The blood qi inside his body instantly began to circulate along the obscure and profound pathways of Thousand Lakes Fishing.

In the next instant, the soft thread actually pierced straight into the lake surface like an armor-piercing steel needle, rippling outward.

Without any sound or visual phenomena, an invisible, intangible, and mystical intent quietly spread and diffused along the submerged thread into the lake bed.

Silence fell over the lake.

One breath, three breaths, ten breaths...

There was no movement on the calm lake surface, not even a single bubble rising.

Just as Shen Xiuhan frowned slightly, wondering if something had gone wrong...

The black thread moved!

As if endowed with life, it spun underwater, bypassed the bottom of the black-awning boat, and pointed straight to the north against the rapid undercurrents!

“Whoa!”

Shen Xiuhan watched this scene in surprise and doubt.

One had to know that the main water vein of Cloudwater Lake surged mightily from north to south.

On this deep, rough lake, even the most skilled fishermen would find it extremely difficult to maintain their balance underwater.

Yet right now, this soft thread was stretched taut underwater, pointing far toward the northern waters, stubbornly pulling him along.

“Thousand Lakes Fishing is indeed worthy of being a subordinate technique of a divine ability. It is truly earth-shattering!”

Shen Xiuhan marveled inwardly.

“I wonder how marvelous the secret technique ‘Dragon Gate Attraction’ is, which requires Gangjin to practice, or the divine ability ‘Old Man of the Creek’ that can only be touched upon entering the Divine Descent Rank?”

Before his thoughts could settle, his body suddenly stiffened as if he had thought of something.

Summoning the intelligence system, Shen Xiuhan focused his mind, raised his eyes, and looked in the direction pointed by the black thread.

“Hiss!!”

Once he clearly saw that location, Shen Xiuhan sucked in a breath of cold air, waves of shock surging in his heart.

“Is... is this right?”

The position targeted by the black thread actually coincided faintly with a pale golden point of light.

【Intelligence ⑤: One li north of Yunyi Island, three sections of the Precious Herb Jade Heart Lotus Root are hidden deep at the bottom of the lake.】

This technique could actually search for exotic treasures in the water from a distance!

Although its effect overlapped with the system's detection, it didn't consume his intelligence points!

“Just what kind of sacred place is Diaohai Pavilion? To be able to practice such a miraculous technique that manipulates creation even below the Huajin Rank, its heritage must be that of a grand martial arts sect. It is absolutely impossible for them to be nameless!”

Unable to figure it out despite racking his brain, Shen Xiuhan simply raised his oars, a sharp light flashing in his eyes.

“Forget it! I should get this precious herb first to avoid any complications!”

In fact, when Shen Xiuhan first arrived on Yunyi Island, he had already scouted the surrounding area.

The hiding place of the Jade Heart Lotus Root was less than a li away from him, right within the northern patrol waters of Team C.

Compared to where the core disciple of Diaohai Pavilion was located, this could be considered several times safer!

This was because he had once pointed in the direction of the Diaohai Pavilion core disciple and asked a few patrol guards about it.

According to the descriptions of Hu Zhi and the others, that place was surprisingly not far from Dongyi Island, where Chenjian Dock was located.

Dongyi Island was teeming with fierce bandits, with several Anjin experts alone. Shen Xiuhan had no choice but to take things slow.

Rowing the oars with both arms, the black-awning boat sliced through the waves like an arrow leaving a bow.

In just the time it took to burn an incense stick, a scattered reef beach faintly emerged on the water's surface.

This was already a shallow water area, filled with jagged rocks and dense hidden reefs.

Shen Xiuhan tied the boat's rope to a reef, preparing to go on foot to harvest the Jade Heart Lotus Root.

“Hmm?”

Just after taking a few steps, his body suddenly stiffened, and his expression slowly grew solemn.

“Something's not right!”

Shen Xiuhan stared at the black thread in his hand, which was being pulled by Thousand Lakes Fishing.

He had originally thought that this technique had locked onto the location of the Jade Heart Lotus Root.

But as the distance closed, he discovered that the black thread on the tip of the reed was actually misaligned with the pale golden point of light representing the Jade Heart Lotus Root by about two palms' width!

In other words, the direction it pointed was not the water where the Jade Heart Lotus Root was hidden.

Instead, it pointed beneath a massive, pitch-black reef!