Although the concept was already there, it wasn't easy to 'fish' for an Asura.
With the fishing image in mind, Xue Chang sat in his room, attempting to practice the first part of Thousand Armed Asura.
The first part of the spell consisted of him focusing his consciousness completely into a single point and throwing it out of his body.
His consciousness would then fling itself into a strange space covered in darkness and release a faint light like a beacon in the middle of a storm.
When he first tried this he failed twice. The first time was because he was unable to focus his consciousness.
It took Yong Heng two hours to teach him before he was able to piece the puzzle together.
The second failure was due to his misunderstanding of the spell.
When he succeeded in sending out his conscious and notice that nothing had changed, he assumed he failed the practice and immediately stopped it.
But he realized that this was wrong.
The period of stagnation that occurred when he first started his cultivation wasn't because he failed, but because he did not wait long enough.
A beacon's job is to stay lit in order for people to take notice of it. If it was lit for only a second then extinguished immediately, then it really wasn't doing its job now was it?
So it was a game of endurance. Who would give in first, Xue Chang or any Asura that was out there?
Xue Chang had remained in his room unmoving for nearly a week.
On the outside, Tian Hai was worriedly sitting at the dinner table with Lou Lan and Lou Ning beside him.
"You think everything is okay?"
"It's been nearly a week, you don't think something happened do you?" Lou Lan and Lou Ning gave concerned glances over to Tian Hai who had a dark expression.
"He's not the type to do anything that would put him at risk, I'm sure it's fine."
Lou Lan nodded, "I just can't imagine what he must be practicing in there. It always feels like he hasn't cultivated, yet he's way too powerful to just be a normal mortal."
Tian Hai chuckled in response. Even he couldn't completely wrap his head around Xue Chang's situation. What hope did he have try to explain to these guests of theirs.
As the two men continued to exchange pleasantries with each other, Lou Ning couldn't help but wrinkle her nose a little.
"Do you guys smell that?"
At first it was just a faint scent but after a few seconds an overwhelming smell invaded her nostrils.
Lou Ning immediately covered her nose as her faces scrunched up tightly.
"What is that!?"
A few seconds after her exclamation Lou Lan and Tian Hai both immediately covered their noses like her.
A putrid smell of fish and brine invaded their noses as the pungent odor wafted into the house from the front door.
The three people looked over together to see what the cause of the smell was, only to find Tian Kai happily standing there with a large bowl filled to the brim with a viscous amber substance.
"Tian Kai, what is that?" Tian Hai struggled to cough the words out as his eyes watered from the stench.
"It's something I've been working on for a while now. I got this from one of the vendors who lives down the street. Apparently in his village, a savory salty condiment is made from fermenting fish along with various herbs and seasonings. Combine it all together and you get this fish sauce which adds an interesting flavor to anything!"
Although Tian Kai considered himself a proper guard and warrior, it was at times like this where Tian Hai believed his brother should've become a cook or something else instead.
"Why does it smell like a sewage pit?"
"Tian Hai, it's fermented fish. Why wouldn't it smell awful?" Looking at the bright smile spread across his little brother's face while he said this, Tian Hai felt his eye twitching in annoyance at his proud expression.
"GET IT OUT OF HERE!"
________
Xue Chang wasn't sure how long he had been just sitting there for.
Time really wasn't something you could track when you were in complete darkness. And as such it felt like he had been there for both a second and an eternity.
Continuously releasing that light.
Xue Chang continued onward in the darkness. Although he was just a consciousness, he could still feel everything.
That was why it was so strange that he felt nothing.
He could see, hear, feel, taste, and smell nothing.
It was driving him mad.
No wonder Yong Heng said only one other person had succeeded in practicing this spell. He had said it took the person before him nearly a month of continuous practice to succeed.
He couldn't imagine how much mental fortitude one must've needed to handle this solitude.
Admittedly Xue Chang did not have the same will power as that man. If something did not happen soon, he would probably have to stop or else he'd go mad.
After what felt like days, but in reality was just a couple of minutes had passed, Xue Chang was getting ready to give up.
He would probably need a long break before he could even hope to make another attempt.
But that would mean a lot of wasted time. And that was something Xue Chang hated the most, wasting time.
He needed to do whatever he could now or else he would regret it later.
With this determination in mind, he struggled for a few more seconds. Slowly but surely he could feel his mind begin to fade into the darkness.
He didn't know what would happen if he didn't leave soon, but he could tell it wasn't anything good.
He was running out of time, he couldn't remain anymore.
Xue Chang had to return immediately, so he summoned his consciousness back from the darkness.
But as his mind returned back to his body, just before he left the odd space, Xue Chang heard something.
A faint sound, almost like some creature breathing heavily. Followed by a single word.
"Tasty~"