Chapter 84: Chapter 58: The Hegemon_l
Translator: 549690339
After a satisfying swim, Xu Yang was finally full and content.
At this time, a sweep of the surroundings revealed that the fish and other creatures in the shallow water zone had significantly decreased in number.
It was much more desolate than before.
There was no helping it, since cultivating martial arts naturally consumed massive amounts of resources. Moreover, Xu Yang possessed traits like “Daily Devour One Ox” and “Form Supplementing Form, ” which necessitated frequent hunting and feeding.
After eating like this for three years, the ecology of the shallow water zone was severely damaged. If Xu Yang didn’t leave, this area might even be completely consumed by him.
In fact, Xu Yang had already been contemplating leaving the shallow water zone and venturing into the deeper waters.
However…
In the shallow water, a six-foot-long, plump Green Fish used its sharp teeth to bite off several water weeds and then held them in its mouth, moving to a place where the current was slower and clumsily tossed them with its pectoral fins.
The scattered water weeds formed an irregular pattern on the riverbed.
Xu Yang looked left and right, up and down, but he couldn’t discern anything significant.
But he didn’t care; he continued to clumsily gather the water weeds with his fins and tossed them energetically once more.
If someone saw this scene, they would definitely be scared.
A Green Fish underwater, human-like, curling its body, using its pectoral fins to toss water weeds for fun?
How creepy that scene was, no matter how you looked at it!
Xu Yang, however, didn’t mind and struggled with his pectoral fins to gather the water weeds again and threw them.
This time, when the water weeds fell and formed a pattern, it was the character for “danger.”
“Danger?”
Xu Yang’s non-existent brows furrowed as he looked in the direction of the deep waters before he shook his head, waggling his tail, and found a lush area of water grass in Shallow Bay to comfortably lie down.
Time to sleep!
Today was not suitable for going out!
Taoist Skills (Whim, Divination with grassroots)
In the world of Great Tang, after more than eight hundred years of random trials and attempts, Xu Yang finally managed to develop Taoist skills and traits. He was capable of divination with grassroots, determining auspicious and inauspicious signs, physiognomy, and dragon seeking and acupuncture, which made him seem almost divine.
But he might also just be a charlatan.
Because the levels of these traits were too low and the effects were too weak,
Xu Yang’s Taoist skills couldn’t ensure accuracy; they were unreliable and low-quality.
Yet, they were still influential enough for him.
Take, for example, this time when he divined the character “danger.”
Danger, what kind of danger? A grand peril or a minor one? A danger from water or fire, from man or beast?
He didn’t know, couldn’t calculate it. It was simply danger—believe it or not, it’s up to you.
Xu Yang chose to believe.
Although this thing was unreliable and worked only occasionally, if you flipped your perspective, you’d realize that it actually still served some purpose.
For instance, this “danger,” although it might not always be accurate, as long as you heeded it and avoided the risk, you would indeed never encounter the danger.
By the same logic, if the sign was “auspicious,” whether accurate or not, as long as it was positive, you should go for it; if not accurate, there would be no loss, but if it was, you might have good luck.
In this way, wasn’t it a form of seeking good fortune and avoiding disaster?
Therefore, Xu Yang chose to believe and decided that today was not suitable for going out.
The exploration of the deep water zone could wait for another time.
As one eye closed in sleep, the other opened to wakefulness.
In the real world, within a small hut, Xu Yang sat up from the bed and stretched himself.
Who realizes the dream first in this vast dream of life? I alone am aware!
This most recent dream world would be temporarily named the “Black Water” world.
The flow of time between the Black Water world and the real world was a ratio of ten to one.
Compared to Great Zhou and Great Tang, this was much shorter.
This had both advantages and disadvantages.
The disadvantage was obvious; Xu Yang couldn’t recklessly use the “time difference” cheat to cultivate for hundreds or thousands of years at a stretch.
But there were also many benefits. For example, Xu Yang could pay attention to the real world while exploring the Blackvvater River, ensuring the development of Dongting Lake.
He felt this dual-mode operation was quite acceptable, affecting neither Zhuangzhou Mengdie’s dream nor his real-world ventures.
Occasionally entering such worlds to consume the vast temporal discrepancies of other worlds and turning centuries of accumulations into strength was also a fine choice.
Now, with the Green Fish of the Black Water world asleep, the real-world Xu Yang needed to start working as well.
“Ancient Zhuangzhou dreamt of butterflies, but today I, Xu Yang, dream of fish, ha…!”
With a self-deprecating laugh, Xu Yang got up, washed up, and left the house.
His first task was to feed the eagles.
Three years had passed in the Black Water world, while in the real world, it had been over a hundred days or more than three months.
With over three months of meticulous nurturing, Laoliu, the Golden Eagle, and the other birds of prey had grown even more majestic.
Especially the Golden Eagle, whose body size had surpassed that of the eldest, Laoliu, becoming the most conspicuous among the birds of prey with a wingspan reaching four meters, talons that could split tigers and leopards, and sharp eagle eyes.
With it keeping watch, Xu Yang felt even more at ease.
In addition, the net cage fish farming project had yielded some results, and among the schools of fish, there had emerged a species he named “Red Carp.” This Red Carp’s body was crimson throughout, brimming with vitality. It was
not only delicious to eat, but also effectively enhanced one’s Qi Blood when consumed, aiding in cultivation. The Golden Eagle was able to grow this way partly because Xu Yang would occasionally feed it a tail of Red Carp.
Of course, the Golden Eagle itself was quite impressive; unlike Laoliu, who was also given a few Red Carps by Xu Yang but did not make as much progress. This was due to the limitations of bloodline and talent, which were simply beyond help.
After feeding the eagle and the fish, Xu Yang made his way to the fields to begin harvesting a new batch of mature rice.
Thanks to his “superior breeding” program, nearly half of this batch of rice was White Jade Rice.
There were at least two hundred pounds, enough to last until the next harvest.
The only question was whether this White Jade Rice could be further cultivated to become a higher-grade breed or even the legendary “Spirit Rice”?
Xu Yang looked forward to finding out.
After checking the paddy fields, he turned his attention to the herb garden.
Nothing much to say; these herbs relied on their age and thus far, less than half a year had passed. Even with Xu Yang’s planting skills and special traits, nothing significant could happen.
Patience was key!
After a busy day, Xu Yang caught two Red Carps from the net cage, and together with the bacon he had bought before and the greens from his own vegetable garden, he meticulously prepared a dinner.
From the Red Carp, one was used for soup and the other sliced thinly. He mixed scallions and Sichuan peppers with sesame oil and soy sauce as a dip.
Then he steamed the bacon with White Jade Rice, accompanied it with a dish of little bok Choy and opened a jar of fine Jade Ice liquor.
The taste was truly…
Indescribable!
After a satisfying meal and a drink, he went to bed and tucked himself under the covers…
In the Blackwater River, Xu Qingyu opened his eyes, feeling his stomach rumble with hunger.
But seeing that Shallow Bay had become so deserted, Xu Yang did not rush to hunt and eat. Instead, he played with water grass divination again.
It had to be said, this thing was really addicting, giving one the thrill of gambling with fate!
“Gurgle, gurgle!”
The water grass fell and formed a pattern; Xu Yang focused his eyes and saw that it formed the character “luck.”
“Finally got it.”
Xu Yang breathed a sigh of relief. Without paying attention to the shivering small fish and shrimps around him, or the little clams and mussels, he flicked his tail and swam off towards the dark and deep waters.
In the deep-water area, the water was dark but still faintly clear, not like the central region, where it was as thick as paste.
Even though he did not know why the water was black, it seemed harmless for now, so Xu Yang wasn’t too concerned.
Compared to Shallow Bay, the deep-water area was wider and richer in resources, filled with abundant food. There were countless schools of fish, many unusual fish species, and even aquatic Spirit Monsters.
Luckily, Xu Yang was also no pushover; with his six-feet-long Green Jade body, he was a formidable creature in the deep waters.
As long as he did not provoke the five dominant lords lurking on the edge of the forbidden zone, there were hardly any fish that could cause him trouble.
The five dominant lords?
Who were these five dominant lords?
These were terms and positions Xu Yang had given them, referring to the five most powerful alien aquatic beings on the edge of the forbidden zone.
The first was a Giant Beast with a massive body, over nine meters long, resembling a small mountain, residing near the restricted zone, its body half-submerged in the black water, unfathomably strong.
The second was a serpent of uncertain species, which Xu Yang whimsically named “Scaly Snake.” It was not large, but strong and poisonous, with a frighteningly deadly venom.
Xu Yang always steered clear of these two.
The third was a fat catfish, large in size, strong, not slow, and with sharp teeth. It had once ambushed Xu Yang, biting him hard enough that even his Green Jade Scales were nearly compromised.
The fourth was a lobster, a bright red one with formidable strength and quick movements, with a hard carapace and powerful claws. Xu Yang had not fought it directly, but he had seen it kill many big fish and even some large turtles.
The fifth was an eel, an Electric Eel that could release electric shocks. Xu Yang had been shocked by it from a distance once before; the numbing of his scalp and the feeling of his heart stopping were memories still fresh in his mind.
Among the five dominant lords, aside from the Giant Beast, the other four had their own tribes and subordinates—none of them to be trifled with, especially the Electric Eel that could shock together. In the entire deep-water area, apart from the Giant Beast, no one could withstand that.
Thus, the five dominant lords remained unchallenged to this day. But starting today, Xu Yang had decided to change this hierarchy.
Big fish eat small fish, small fish eat shrimps.
He, Xu Qing Fish, was ready to rise up!
Xu Yang flicked his tail and charged toward the territory of the lobster tribe among the dominant lords.
When picking persimmons, choose the softest!
Among the five lords, the Giant Beast was untouchable, the venomous snake unbearable, and let’s not even mention the Electric Eel.
After counting them out, he could only contend with the lobster and the catfish.
The catfish was big and strong, with sharp, penetrating teeth that were unpleasant to deal with.
The lobster was different though—their claws were formidable, but with Xu Yang’s size, other than the dominant lobster, it would be hard for others to pinch him. Even the dominant lobster was much smaller than him.
Big fish could prey on smaller fish to achieve an effect.
Not to mention that the lobster’s carapace would help in “Form Supplementing
Form,” and the nutritional value itself was exceedingly high. As long as Xu Yang could swallow this tribe, his strength would undoubtedly increase substantially, and his Green Jade Scales would significantly fortify, becoming his greatest advantage for challenging the “Fat Catfish” tribe.
First, eat the small ones, then the big ones.
One step at a time, climb to the top.
This is the world of survival of the fittest amongst alien beasts!