The three cultivators stood before a door, their faces expressing a clear sense of confusion and frustration.
I positioned myself behind a massive rock, concealing my presence from them while carefully observing their every move. They attempted to push the door, demolish the walls, and tried various other methods, but nothing seemed to work. The door appeared to be securely locked.
"This must be the inheritance," Ye Hu said. "But we don't have enough power to open it... At least we know there's something here."
The other two girls wore expressions of defeat, their shared desire to find the inheritance and enhance their strength evident.
"We need to become stronger as quickly as possible before someone else discovers this place," one of the girls suggested.
Unfortunately, they weren't the only ones aware of this location. I, too, had knowledge of it and was confident in my ability to attain the necessary power to enter before them.
They exhausted all their efforts in attempting to unlock the door, but after their unsuccessful attempts, they departed. I approached the door after they left, placing my hand upon it.
I could sense the Qi guarding the door and the entire area surrounding the waterfall, making it virtually impossible to enter without reaching a certain level of power.
"Perhaps the Golden Core realm? Nascent Soul cultivators are practically legends in this continent, so it shouldn't require an excessive amount of power," I murmured to myself.
It was truly a shame that I couldn't pass through that door, but acquiring knowledge about it wasn't so bad. At least following those three boring teenage cultivators had its merits.
Anyway, I moved away from the area. However, as I approached the lake beneath the waterfall, it felt as if it was calling out to me!
"What is this sensation?" I pondered, examining every inch of the lake, but it appeared entirely ordinary.
Intrigued, I leaped into the water, hoping to discover if the feeling originated from any hidden Spiritual Herb. Alas, there was nothing but the usual assortment of plants.
Then, an idea sparked in my mind—fishing! My Spatial Pouch contained various fishing tools, along with equipment for farming and other activities permitted by my system.
So there I was, always prepared with my fishing gear in tow. Instead of battling fearsome beasts within the treacherous forest, I found myself pausing for a bit of fishing... It must have seemed quite insane to any onlooker. After all, cultivators didn't typically engage in such activities. Perhaps only the ancient cultivators, those who had reached such lofty realms that they sought out hobbies to stave off madness.
But here I was, a mere Tenth Layer Qi Condensation cultivator. Fishing? Absolutely absurd. Yet, something within me insisted that casting my line into that very lake was the right course of action.
I had nothing to lose, and besides, fishing was undeniably enjoyable. I cherished those moments of tranquility.
As the tattoo on my chest shimmered, the spectral form of Big T materialized beside me, gradually transforming into a physical frog. I wasn't concerned about his safety, for he existed as a mere manifestation. He was fused securely with me, and his life was tied to mine alone.
"Croak, croak," he uttered, bringing a tender smile to my face.
"Such an adorable creature. Let's fish together, Big T!"
The whole fishing idea was a mystery. Would it bring me something worthy? Or was it a waste of time?
It was a mystery, but I had to do it or else my mind would keep questioning itself: did I lose a treasure?
No one would want to live with that thought in mind, therefore I gathered a few worms in the mud around the lake, sat myself near its edge, and went fishing! When I dove inside the lake — a few minutes before starting to fish — I saw many fishes there, but they were all ordinary fish.
There was no Spiritual Fish like Big. F, but I still fished nonetheless. My system worked in mysterious ways. Maybe it spawned a Spiritual Fish when it triggered its passive? It sounded insane, yes, but so did die and reincarnate in a cultivation world.
Nothing happened in the first hour. In the second hour... neither in the third...
I spent one day fishing, two days, three days...
The notion of time was lost to me, and for some reason, no beasts or cultivators came to the lake. It was as if no one knew about its location. But that didn't make sense at all! It wasn't hidden.
Anyway, I spent an entire month fishing in that lake. Yes, an entire month. It hurt my heart to lose that much time with fishing instead of training. I was almost certain I could have reached the Eleventh Layer by that point.
"Screw this," I murmured.
The anger I had within was immense, and I was about to leave after getting the last fish, and it turned out that was exactly the treasure I was hoping for!
[Congratulations!]
[Legendary Spiritual Fish Acquired]
[Golden Dragon Carp]
It was a golden carp, but it wasn't exactly a fish; it resembled a dragon! Its body was that of a fish, but its face wasn't.
Could it evolve into a dragon in the future? I had no idea, but that creature was truly incredible! It had the word "legendary" and "dragon" in its name, so it had to be, right?
I crafted a basket by destroying a few trees, filled it with water, and put the Golden Dragon Carp inside. The first thought that crossed my mind was to put it inside the Spatial Pouch, but I had yet to test it with living things.
"Let's pray for the best, I guess," I murmured, putting the basket inside the Spatial Pouch.
It worked! I would be devastated if I lost a legendary dragon fish like that, but at least everything went well.
After getting a mysterious and extraordinary fish, I left the lake. It was finally time to kill beasts, a lot of them!