The carriage bumped and jostled, causing Su Ping to slowly open his eyes.
He had just had a dream.
In his dream, Su Ping was back in the days before he had transmigrated to this Immortal World.
Back then, he had just turned twenty, in the prime of his youth, full of vigor and ambition.
Memories of his long-lost hometown made Su Ping a bit distracted.
Coming back to his senses, Su Ping couldn't help but sigh.
Time flew by, and before he knew it, he had already left his hometown for twenty years.
Thinking back to twenty years ago, when he had first transmigrated, he was quite lucky.
No sooner had he clumsily emerged from primordial forests than he came upon the Immortal Ascension Conference being held in a nearby town, recruiting disciples for the Immortal Sect.
Knowing that this was the Immortal World, how could Su Ping resist the temptation of Immortal Cultivation and the quest for longevity?
He immediately joined in.
He was then detected by the Immortal Leaders as having Low Grade Spirit Roots and, as a matter of course, became a disciple of the Outer Sect of the Red Chi Yuan Immortal Sect.
Although when Su Ping was inducted, the Deacon who brought him into the sect had cautioned him that although Low Grade Spirit Roots could embark on the path of Immortal Cultivation, most would only get as far as Qi Cultivation, with one in tens of thousands advancing to Foundation Establishment.
As a transmigrant, Su Ping naturally inclined to believe that he was that one genius in ten thousand!
Then... twenty years of dedicated cultivation made Su Ping realize the truth.
Without any cheats, he was not going to be that exception!
He also understood why the Immortal Sect had taken in someone with Low Grade Spirit Roots who was unlikely to achieve Foundation Establishment!
Although the mortal kingdom where the Red Chi Yuan Immortal Sect was located had a population of hundreds of millions, only about one in a hundred thousand had Spirit Roots.
And amongst those, the majority had Low Grade Spirit Roots.
For the Immortal Sect, in order to maintain its numbers, it had to recruit batches of Lower Tier Cultivators every few years as Outer Sect Disciples, which had almost become a routine practice.
Plus, as Lower Tier Cultivators themselves, they were quite valuable to the sect.
Not to mention the faint possibility of Foundation Establishment that only existed in rumors.
The Spirit Fields and spirit mines opened up by the Immortal Sect, as well as assisting those with Immortal Cultivation Techniques, all required the hard work of these Lower Tier Cultivators to be properly managed.
During the twenty years of his cultivation, Su Ping worked hard to obtain the necessary sustenance for Immortal Cultivation and to complete mandatory sect tasks.
He had not spared any effort in tending to Spirit Fields, mining spirit mines, assisting Alchemists in maintaining the fire, grinding ink for talisman drawers, and waving flags for Array Masters.
The rest of the time was spent on nothing but cultivation.
So much so that at forty years old, he hadn't even visited the Immortal Miao Building once, nor had he managed to form a connection with a single lovely female cultivator!
Despite such earnest effort, the returns were disproportionately small.
Like most with Low Grade Spirit Roots, hard-working Su Ping was stuck at the Third Layer of Qi Cultivation, unable to advance an inch further.
While his fellow disciples of the same period, also with Low Grade Spirit Roots, varied mostly between the Fifth and Sixth Layers of Qi Cultivation.
The most successful among them even broke through to the Seventh Layer of Qi Cultivation, becoming an Outer Sect Deacon.
He was occasionally taken as an example among Outer Sect Disciples, spurring his junior brothers and sisters to work hard in the fields and mines, thereby earning more sustenance for diligent cultivation.
A month prior, after Su Ping had failed for the seventeenth time to break through to the Fourth Layer of Qi Cultivation,
he was forced to face the harsh reality that Low Grade Spirit Roots have vast differences among them.
Coming from Water Blue Star and possessing knowledge of another world, Su Ping did not follow the path of many older cultivators who fell into a cultivation dead end they could never escape.
Su Ping realized it was time to lie flat, to let go of his obsession with Immortal Cultivation!
With the burden lifted, Su Ping felt a sense of relief wash over him and had the intuition that he could live a few more years.
He then found his same-period Deacon and took on the assignment to be the Guardian of Golden Sparrow City in the Mortal World.
Golden Sparrow City was one of the many large cities within the mortal kingdom under the jurisdiction of the Red Chi Yuan Immortal Sect.
For such crucial mortal strongholds, the Immortal Sect would usually arrange one or two low-tier cultivators as guardians, both to prevent petty chaos and to serve as overseers.
However, to be a guardian in such a city, far from Spirit Veins and lacking in Spiritual Energy, almost equated to cutting off one's future path of cultivation.
Typically, only those elder disciples who were physically declining and planning to retire and enjoy life back in the mortal kingdom would take on such assignments.
Although the Outer Sect Deacon was somewhat surprised that Su Ping accepted this task,
he quickly grasped the situation and instead of mocking or making it difficult, showed understanding, and even gave Su Ping some Spirit Stones out of camaraderie for their time together over the years.
Su Ping was grateful, but also couldn't help feeling silently impressed; no wonder the other could become an Outer Sect Deacon despite his Low Grade Spirit Roots.
...
"Master, we've arrived at Frost Moon Lake."
As Su Ping reminisced, suddenly, a pleasant and gentle female voice came from outside the carriage.
It was Ping'er, the personal maidservant sent by the local powerful family after Su Ping arrived at Golden Sparrow City and accepted the gifted estate from the City Lord Mansion, reminding her that they had arrived at their destination.
Su Ping responded, slowly lifting the curtain and stepping down from the lavishly decorated carriage.
To Su Ping, who had experienced a technological civilization, the carriages of this world were not comfortable.
But there was no choice, as the spiritual energy in the mortal nation was sparse, and the mana expended was somewhat troublesome to recover.
Moreover, Su Ping had used all his previous accumulations for cultivation, and now he couldn't even produce a magic artifact for transportation, so traveling by carriage was the best option.
As a resigned cultivator, in a world lacking entertainment, if one did not study techniques, the only activities left were visiting the brothel to listen to music or to enjoy the landscape and waters.
Su Ping knew his place very well; after arriving in Golden Sparrow City, he welcomed the fawning nobles and built up quite a fortune in no time.
After privately listening to music for a while and growing a bit tired of it, he heeded the advice of his steward and chose Frost Moon Lake for his leisurely pursuits.
Located on the outskirts of the city, Frost Moon Lake was a famous landmark of Golden Sparrow City and a great fishing spot as well.
Rumors said that the lake, situated among the mountains, housed the Red Blood Spirit Fish, which could enable a mortal to embark on immortal cultivation upon being caught.
Many sons and daughters of families without a destiny for cultivation frequently organized groups to come here, enjoying the scenery while trying their luck at fishing for a chance at a fateful encounter.
Occasionally, some would catch one or two fish and then have them prepared into delicious dishes by the professional chefs at the nearby Frost Moon Villa. Eating the fish they caught by the lakeside was considered a delightful experience.
Su Ping arrived at the lakeshore, feeling the gentle brush of the cool breeze on his face.
He nodded slightly, affirming that the beauty of this scenery was not inferior to the renowned sights of his homeland.
However, based on the concentration of spiritual energy in the lake water he could sense,
the stories of the Spirit Fish were ninety-nine percent likely to be rumors spread by the local landlords for fame.
Such lake water, if even the easiest-to-raise Black Spirit Fish from the Immortal Sect were released into it, would devolve into ordinary fish species, not to mention something like the Red Blood Spirit Fish that could change one's innate qualities.
Of course, Su Ping had no intention of exposing this lie.
Making money, after all, was not distasteful.
Moreover, he was a special guest; all his expenses at Frost Moon Lake were on the house.
Su Ping took the fishing rod from the servant who was following closely beside him.
Though there were no Spirit Fish in the lake, since he was already there, it would be a waste not to fish at least once, right?
In fact, Su Ping even planned to secretly use a bit of mana to gather the fish in the lake so that his first fishing attempt ever could result in a perfect success, making him the strongest Fishing Man in the history of the lake!
After all, there was no way for him to pursue immortal cultivation for eternal life.
Shouldn't he at least enjoy himself to the fullest and live more carefree?
Sitting on the wooden stool thoughtfully placed by the maid, Su Ping swung the fishing rod while his gaze swept across the surroundings, already pondering over where to place the statue of himself as the greatest Fishing Man for the best feng shui.
Accompanied by the sound of wind,
The fishing rod drew a blur, and the hook, baited by the servant, entered the water.
Plop!
The sound of entry wasn't loud, but Su Ping's eyes suddenly widened.
He looked incredulously at the virtual panel that suddenly appeared at the corner of his vision.
He doubted whether his longing for a game cheat had been so intense that it had led to a mental breakdown.
Closing his eyes and exhaling, he recited the Heart Clarity Spell once, and then opened his eyes again.
The corners of Su Ping's mouth couldn't help but turn up.
It wasn't an illusion!
His Golden Finger had indeed been activated!
But this was just too absurd, it was activated only while playing the role of a Fishing Man!
Could it be because he had been playing a certain open-world fishing mini-game before he transmigrated?
[Fishing Man Fishing System Activated]
[Current Fishing Level: Level 1 (0/100)]
[Current Fishing Point Rating: First Tier Low Grade]
[Current Fishing Point Accumulated Fishing Attempts: (100/100)]
[Fish Species Available for Fishing: Little Green Fish, Big Bluefish, Green Spirit Fish, Red Blood Rainbow Carp]
After seeing the virtual panel clearly, Su Ping suppressed the excitement in his heart and raised the fishing rod to cast again.
He planned to understand exactly what his Golden Finger could do and what it could bring to him!