Chapter 35: The Sleepy Fish

He entered a meditative state, following the mental cultivation technique of the Flame Explosion Art.

As soon as he began to circulate his spiritual energy, it rushed wildly through his meridians as it always did, causing unbearable pain and draining his vitality and spirit. His entire body was engulfed in fire-yellow spiritual aura; the energy surged violently, flickered out, and surged again, repeating this cycle until it finally stabilized. But before long, it began to surge, extinguish, and stabilize once more.

Unable to control the rampaging energy within him, Li Ziyuan coughed up a mouthful of blood. With his vitality and spirit utterly exhausted, he collapsed in fatigue and fell asleep.

Still conscious, he thought to himself: "I'll fight you to the end, Flame Explosion Art. It's either you or me. I will conquer you. Until next time—I'm going to take a nap."

At dusk, Li Yue'er dispersed the rain butterflies surrounding Liu Yun. Having been trapped inside for four or five hours, Liu Yun knelt on the ground, motionless and stunned.

"Big Brother Liu Yun, come in and eat," Li Yue'er said, though she didn't even glance at him. Her bright, intelligent eyes were fixed on the entrance of the sect, thinking, "Why hasn't Ziyuan come yet?"

Turning to the four people at the table, she said, "You all go ahead and eat; I'm going to call Ziyuan back for dinner." Without looking back, she ran out the door.

The sect was small, consisting of only seven or eight modest buildings after its renovation—not large, but simple and unpretentious. Seeing Li Yue'er skip dinner to find Li Ziyuan, Xiao Long’s eyes were filled with envy, while Xiao Hu’s eyes revealed a touch of sorrow. Xiao Hu then took a bite of a chicken leg, hoping it could replace his small sadness.

Old Man Chen Xun approached Liu Yun: "Look at you. If your daughter saw you like this, she’d say you’re a useless father. Get up and eat. There is no obstacle in this world that cannot be overcome. As long as you are alive, there is hope. Even if the hope is slim, you cannot give up. If you abandon hope, hope will abandon you. Do you understand? Wait for the sect competition in five months and watch how my Fengling Sect dazzles everyone."

Seeing that Liu Yun remained unmoved, Old Man Chen Xun was frustrated—he didn't know whether to scold him or comfort him.

Chen Xun continued, "You see, these children are the future of this Canglan Continent. You must pull yourself together and build good relationships with them. Once you rescue your daughter later, they will be able to help her a great deal."

"You also know how wicked this Canglan Continent is; more friends mean more paths, right?" Upon hearing this, Liu Yun felt he was right. He couldn't give up; he had to find a way to save his daughter.

"I must plan for my daughter. I must plan for her. The Master is right; I need to make friends with like-minded people for her sake. Otherwise, she might end up like Young Master Liu Ye, led astray by people like Governor Zhao and pushed onto a path of no return."

Liu Yun looked up at Old Man Chen Xun. "Master, I have lived for half a lifetime, yet sometimes my state of mind is not even as good as these children’s. I feel like I’m regressing as I age. Let’s go, let’s eat."

Old Man Chen Xun stroked his beard and said, "Don't think you're always right. Sometimes the children's ideas are more unique than yours. By the way, I need to borrow money from you—50,000 mid-grade spirit stones. You know your master is poor; it took me decades to save up just over 200,000 mid-grade spirit stones, a thousand high-grade spirit stones, and over a million low-grade spirit stones."

In Chen Xun's eyes, this was a pittance—hardly enough to establish a top-tier immortal sect. No one would have guessed that such a "useless" sect leader held so much wealth.

Liu Yun was stunned. With so many spirit stones, why was he asking to borrow from him? He couldn't even produce a thousand spirit stones if his life depended on it. In the entire Yunqi Kingdom, most of the mines capable of producing spirit stones were occupied by powerful families, making it difficult for ordinary people to obtain them. "Master, if you have so much, why don't you lend me some?" Liu Yun asked.

"I’d be generous if I didn't ask you to offer some as filial piety to your master. Other people's disciples buy things for their masters; my disciples only ask for things. Liu Yun, you have to look at the long term. You need to find money to invest in the Fengling Sect. I feel as if I can already see that day. If I can't break through to the Spirit Core Realm, I fear I won't live to see it. It is truly frustrating."

In Liu Yun's eyes, the Master before him hadn't changed at all; he remained steadfast in pursuing his goal. And yet, Liu Yun had once left the Fengling Sect due to his own ambitions and never returned—until the day he came back, intending to kill his master.

Liu Yun comforted him, "You still have to watch these children grow up!"

"Come in and eat your fill first. Some people live for their three meals, some live for their ambitions, and some live for others. If a person lives only for themselves, they become selfish and greedy, eventually losing everything and being abandoned by this continent."

Liu Yun sat at the table and looked at the others, including the unique dishes. One plate had food that seemed to be wriggling. Liu Yun grabbed a handful of the "chilled green leaf insects" and stuffed them into his mouth. His eyes lit up. "Mmm, these insects are delicious."

"Those are the fruits of the Green Leaf Tree. Because they look like insects, they are called Green Leaf Insects. It's not the insects that are moving; it's the spiritual energy."

After Xiao Long finished speaking, he used his chopsticks to pick one up and swallowed it, followed by another, and another...

***

Li Yue'er arrived at the place Li Ziyuan liked to frequent. She looked around and soon spotted him, feeling relieved when she realized he was just in a deep sleep.

Li Yue'er carried Li Ziyuan on her back and walked slowly toward the sect. This scene stirred her memories.

When Li Ziyuan was eight, Li Yue'er was eleven. Li Ziyuan used to catch "sleepy fish" and "dazed fish" in the village river. Li Yue'er would sit by the riverbank reading, occasionally manipulating the water with the Water Control Art, though she made sure Li Ziyuan didn't notice.

Their father had told her never to let Ziyuan see her use magic, because his fire spirit root had suddenly extinguished. If he ever discovered he was the only one in the world who couldn't cultivate, he would be heartbroken. Therefore, he must never know.

"Sister Yue'er, look at this fish, it's so dazed. Can we keep it? It's so silly, what if it gets eaten by other fish?"

Li Yue'er brushed a lock of hair behind her ear and smiled. "They are called Night-Walking Fish. They move and hunt at night, and sleep soundly during the day."

"Sister Yue'er, can we call it the 'Sleepy Fish' from now on? Let's ask Father to dig a hole and fill it with water tomorrow so they can swim right in front of our house."

"Alright, alright, we'll call them Sleepy Fish," Li Yue'er replied. Suddenly, she noticed something swimming toward Li Ziyuan in the water. Her heart tightened, and she shouted, "Come up quickly, Ziyuan! It's dangerous! Get out of the water, something is swimming toward you!"

Li Ziyuan just giggled, "What is it? Let me see." He turned back and saw a dragon-goldfish the size of a small boat swimming toward him. Seeing it clearly, Li Yue'er breathed a sigh of relief, thinking, "Thank goodness this fish doesn't eat meat."