"Jiang Ge, you're back quite early. Did you come back empty-handed again today?"
Before Jiang Ming even reached his doorstep, his neighbor Zhang Hu greeted him with a smile, his happiness barely contained.
Seeing his expression, Jiang Ming asked curiously,
"Hu Zi, don't tell me you caught a Half Spirit Fish today?"
Zhang Hu grinned,
"Didn't catch one, but I have a feeling I'll definitely succeed tomorrow!"
Only then did Jiang Ming understand that the other person must have thought he also had no harvest, and as fellow sufferers, he was happy for that reason.
According to his personality, he wouldn't actively talk about catching two Half Spirit Fish, but the original owner was a show-off.
Plus, many acquaintances at the fish market knew about it, so he could only imitate the original owner and put on a smug expression:
"Then did you have a premonition that I caught two Half Spirit Fish today?"
Zhang Hu's smile instantly froze, and he said in astonishment,
"Two... two Half Spirit Fish? Are you sure they weren't ordinary fish?"
This time it was Jiang Ming's turn to smile:
"Of course I'm sure, I've already sold them."
Upon receiving a definite answer, Zhang Hu suddenly felt a pang in his heart, even more uncomfortable than when he himself came back empty-handed.
After a moment, he spoke sourly,
"Jiang Ge, you've earned so much, aren't you going to treat your brother to a drink?"
"I need to save the money to repair the fishing boat. I'll treat you when I'm more financially comfortable."
This wasn't entirely a pretense to Zhang Hu.
Jiang Ming had to let outsiders know that the money was all spent on boat repairs, to avoid attracting unwanted attention.
The original owner lost his life precisely because his savings for marrying a Dao Companion were targeted by others.
Zhang Hu also knew that his fishing boat was dilapidated and could fall apart at any moment, so after hearing this reason, his jealousy faded.
Returning to his small courtyard, Old Sun was lying in a rocking chair, basking in the sun.
This was the original owner's Master, and the two lived together.
Although Old Sun had been very kind to the original owner in the past, Jiang Ming had always been wary of him since his Transmigration.
There is no love without reason in this world, especially in the Cultivation World where the strong prey on the weak.
Old Sun always said that adopting the original owner and teaching him fishing skills was to have someone to rely on in his old age.
But Jiang Ming didn't quite believe that statement.
The original owner's Aptitude was extremely poor. Without a great Opportunity, he would at most reach the Late Stage of Qi Refining in this life. How could he have any cultivation value?
Moreover, thinking about the precedent of Han Paopao and the old schemer Doctor Mo, Jiang Ming always felt that Old Sun was hiding some unspeakable secret.
"Master, the sun is gone outside, come inside!"
Jiang Ming gently reminded him, trying his best to act like the original owner.
Old Sun slowly opened his cloudy old eyes and smiled kindly,
"Xiao Ming is back. There's porridge in the kitchen, go have some."
Jiang Ming was a little surprised:
"Isn't there no rice at home?"
Land is scarce in the Endless Sea, and grains are precious. Fishermen at the bottom usually eat seafood.
Especially since the family's savings had just been swindled away, he really couldn't understand why Old Sun would buy rice at this time.
Old Sun explained gently,
"I saw you've been eating fish these days, and I was afraid you'd get tired of it, so I bought some.
"Don't worry, Master still has some old savings. We can't afford a new boat, but we can still afford to eat some rice."
In his previous life, Jiang Ming was from the south and used to eating rice.
After coming here, eating seafood every meal, he was indeed not very used to it, and his appetite had decreased a bit.
He didn't expect that this subtle change would be noticed by Old Sun, who even specially bought rice for him.
The original owner also loved to eat rice, so he wasn't afraid of being exposed, but he couldn't help but sigh in his heart:
This Old Sun really cares about the original owner!
It's just that he doesn't know if there's another purpose.
"Thank you, Master! I really have been wanting to change my taste recently."
Jiang Ming's face immediately lit up with joy, and he quickly walked towards the kitchen.
As for poisoning the porridge? He wasn't worried about that.
Old Sun had painstakingly raised the original owner; there was no reason to kill him without cause.
During dinner, Jiang Ming told Old Sun about catching two Half Spirit Fish today.
Unexpectedly, the other party not only showed no joy but was startled:
"Xiao Ming! You didn't run off to the far sea, did you?"
The further away from Iron Sand Island, the greater the chance of catching Spirit Fish, but the risk of encountering First-Order or even Second-Order Yao Beasts also greatly increases.
Even the weakest First-Order Yao Beast requires a Cultivator in the Middle Stage of Qi Refining to deal with.
The far sea is a forbidden zone for Cultivators in the Early Stage of Qi Refining.
Jiang Ming quickly explained,
"Master, don't worry, I didn't go to the far sea. It was purely good luck."
Only then did Old Sun breathe a sigh of relief, but he still couldn't help but nag,
"Alas, every spring when we go fishing, there are always people who can't resist the temptation to go to the far sea.
"The lucky ones can make a fortune; but most of them... never come back.
"The previous owner of the house next to Hu Zi's rented place, for example, went to the far sea ten years ago out of greed, and there's been no news of him since..."
Although Jiang Ming had no such intention in the short term, he still listened with great interest.
When he first arrived in this world, he only wanted to live peacefully on Iron Sand Island, as it was too dangerous outside.
But with the eternal ark, his thoughts changed.
Once he upgraded the eternal ark to a Magic Treasure—no, preferably a Spirit Treasure—he would definitely go out and see this vast world.
...
A month later.
As soon as Jiang Ming docked the eternal ark at the pier, Zhang Hu came over:
"Jiang Ge, how was your harvest today?"
Returning the boats at dusk and asking about each other's catch was one of the few joys for fishermen.
Jiang Ming touched his somewhat full belly and said with a disappointed look,
"Alas, I didn't catch anything today."
In fact, he had caught a Half Spirit Fish today, but it had already gone into his stomach.
Half Spirit Fish meat is delicious and not at all fishy. He had been eating it every other day for the past month.
Upon hearing this answer, Zhang Hu immediately beamed with joy:
"Haha, me too! But I heard that Han Tie, that kid, got incredibly lucky today and actually caught three Spirit Fish!"
Three?
Jiang Ming became interested:
"Who told you that? Is the news accurate?"
Han Tie was also a fisherman in the Early Stage of Qi Refining.
If the news was true, then if he could catch two tomorrow, he could discreetly sell them at the fish market while Han Tie was attracting everyone's attention.
He had already saved fifty Spirit Crystals, and as long as he sold two more Half Spirit Fish at once, he could continue to upgrade the eternal ark.
"I saw it with my own eyes in his fish basket! Look at how smug he was, even deliberately carrying the basket around to show off to everyone!"
Zhang Hu's words were filled with envy.
Jiang Ming chuckled when he heard that.
Thus, Han Tie would undoubtedly be at the top of the "hot search" for the next few days.
Returning home, after a few casual words with Old Sun, Jiang Ming went back to his room and sat cross-legged in meditation.
The original owner had already been at the second layer of Qi Refining for several years, and after eating more than ten Spirit Fish, he felt that the third layer of Qi Refining was within reach.
While the effect of the Half Spirit Fish had not completely dissipated, if he circulated the Bishui Arts two more times tonight, the chances of a Breakthrough were very high.
An hour later.
As Jiang Ming sat in meditation, he suddenly heard a clear, resonant hum deep in his mind.
His heart tightened, realizing this was a sign that the Spiritual Qi in his Dantian was full to its critical point!
Not daring to be negligent in the slightest, he immediately focused his mind and calmly, fully circulated the Bishui Arts.
The surrounding Spiritual Qi, drawn by the Cultivation Technique, surged into his Dantian like streams flowing into the sea.
After a few breaths, the Spiritual Qi seemed to break through some invisible membrane, and the Dantian space suddenly expanded by a circle.
And his aura also surged accordingly, becoming fully thirty percent thicker than before!
The third layer of Qi Refining, achieved!