Su Ping did not give the Little Green Fish to Zhou Xuan as a casual gift.
On the one hand, Zhou Xuan's performance had greatly satisfied Su Ping recently, deserving a little treat.
On the other hand, Su Ping also considered that Water Blue Star was ultimately a world without Spiritual Energy.
He wondered whether the therapeutic effects of the fish from the system would encounter any issues due to the environment.
If there were issues, and he didn't know about them, wasting the rare Red Blood Rainbow Carp would leave him nowhere to cry.
"Spirit Fish!"
Upon hearing Su Ping's words, and looking at the Little Green Fish in the fish net, approximately one pound and resembling a crucian carp, Zhou Xuan's eyes immediately widened.
He felt that all the favors he had called in and effort he had expended for this True Cultivation expert during this time were completely worth it!
He also resolved in his heart to continue serving the expert, even if it meant leveraging his family's connections.
In fact, due to Zhou Xuan repeatedly buying large quantities of sugar and being a non-related worker, he had already received inquiry calls from certain people.
Plus some slightly sensitive chemicals and equipment.
If Zhou Xuan weren't also a registered Taoist,
it might have been more than just inquiry calls.
Su Ping did not know about the troubles Zhou Xuan had faced, nor did he need to worry or deal with them.
This was the advantage of delegating responsibilities as a hands-off shopkeeper.
Maintaining the image of an expert, Su Ping tossed the Little Green Fish to Zhou Xuan, instructing him to eat it soon, as the longer he waited, the faster the Spiritual Energy would dissipate, and then he shook his fishing gear and left Zhou Xuan's sight.
In fact, he had secretly snapped an Invisibility Talisman and then hid to watch the transformations the Little Green Fish would undergo in reality.
He fired up the stove, boiled water, and gutted the fish.
Zhou Xuan cooked the Little Green Fish in a pot, feeling that an item from the Immortals should be enjoyed in its original flavor.
He simply poured out a plate of millet pepper oil, then began to eat with his chopsticks.
As he ate, he felt a refreshing sensation spreading through his body as the fish entered his stomach.
The Little Taoist Zhouxuan actually ran back to the kitchen, retrieved the viscera he had initially removed, and cooked them to eat as well.
He was even reluctant to waste the fishbones and fins, planning to grind them into powder and slowly drink them mixed with water.
"Good, no mishaps occurred!"
"The effects of the Little Green Fish and the Big Bluefish are similar; the only difference is in the quantity. Their efficacy is not compromised in this realm!"
"I can use my Red Blood Rainbow Carp with confidence now!"
Su Ping left behind the gold, took the warehouse's sugar, and various semi-finished products that could rapidly boost combat power if refined, and quickly headed to the deep mountain forest where the rats resided.
He sent out White and Grey to patrol the area to prevent any accidents.
"Come forth!"
"Red Blood Rainbow Carp!"
With an excited heart, Su Ping took out the Red Blood Rainbow Carp from the warehouse.
Swish!
The Red Blood Rainbow Carp appeared in front of Su Ping, its entire red body crystal-like, similar in size to a three-pound grass carp, suddenly emitting a red light beam that shot out from the mountaintop into the azure sky.
It even caused half of the sky to light up with a red halo!
And that wasn't all.
As the precious quality-marked Red Blood Rainbow Carp appeared,
the hundred-mile radius forest seemed to come alive, all stirring simultaneously!
The snakes, insects, rats, and ants in the forest, and the fish in the ponds, all twisted frantically, driven by a primal urge, desperately trying to approach the location of the Red Blood Rainbow Carp.
"Such an Anomaly, called premium quality?"
"If it were a higher level, Rare, or even a higher level, Unparalleled, wouldn't it cause a cosmic Anomaly, making the mountains and rivers cry out at birth!"
"No, perhaps the premium quality is enough to produce Anomalies, considering Water Blue Star is a world without Spiritual Energy!"
"Resonating like this diminishes the effect significantly!"
"Fortunately, I was cautious and didn't rush to use the Red Blood Rainbow Carp in the Immortal Cultivation World!"
There was no time to delay, the anomaly had already occurred and could not be concealed.
Su Ping decisively grasped the Red Blood Rainbow Carp and killed it with a surge of his spiritual power.
He immediately summoned the Fire Extinguishing Flag and used it to roast the Red Blood Rainbow Carp.
Then, without bothering to use any seasoning, he transformed into a gluttonous form and bit into the fish.
The three-pound Red Blood Rainbow Carp was swallowed by Su Ping after just about a dozen bites.
With a cultivator's teeth, he could crush fish bones and thorns without worrying about getting cut.
As the Red Blood Rainbow Carp was consumed, the anomaly dissipated, and the forest returned to calm.
Su Ping quickly sat down cross-legged, feeling the slight enhancement in his physique and aptitude that the Red Blood Rainbow Carp provided.
"This!"
"Does this redefine what 'slight' means?"
"Just one Red Blood Rainbow Carp and I've ascended to the Second Layer of Body Refining, and it's not even full effect yet. I'll soon reach the Third or even Fourth Layer, keeping up with my Immortal Cultivation progress!"
"Additionally, my physical aptitude has been modified in the direction most suited to my current Body Refining Techniques."
"It also gave a progress update: one-tenth!"
"I'm cultivating the Ten Directions Strong Body Skill, the perfect Sacred Body... If the storyteller in the workshop didn't lie to me, it must be the renowned Ten Directions Annihilation Body in the Immortal Cultivation World."
"It is rumored that any genius with the Ten Directions Annihilation Body will definitely be the Sect Heir of the Ten Directions Sect, one of the candidates for Sect Hierarch, and at least a Nascent Soul Old Monster if they don't perish!"
"Such a Sacred Body, one in millions might not possess..."
"Yet, I have the chance to achieve it by fishing and eating fish!"
"I can fish out a Sacred Body!"
Su Ping excitedly whispered, clenching his fists as he felt the surging power within his body.
This rapid increase in strength gave Su Ping the fleeting illusion of being the greatest in the world.
However, Su Ping remained lucid; twenty years of arduous cultivation experience had provided him ample familiarity with the false sense of satisfaction that comes with such power increases.
He quickly composed himself, ready to call back the Spiritual Rats Grey and White.
The noise from the air caught Su Ping's attention.
With his enhanced physique and thus stronger vision, Su Ping quickly spotted several drones in the distant sky.
"Did the earlier noise draw attention?"
Su Ping had a good grip on real-world military power.
With his current skills, he could handle ordinary people just fine.
Against a heavily armed team, he could take the upper hand only initially.
Once his stealthy little tricks were countered, he would be in trouble.
After all, in terms of destructive power, the force of technological civilization should not be underestimated.
"If things go south, it's best to leave first!"
Su Ping then slapped on an Invisibility Talisman and vanished into the woods to meet up with White and Grey.
At the same time, thousands of rats surged from all directions to the mountaintop, scrambling to destroy any possible traces and create confusion!
On the internet, videos of red lights in the forest on the outskirts of Yushu City and of restless snakes, mice, insects, and ants at the scene caused a stir with each new uploaded video.
"Wow! Everyone, come see, a magic treasure has appeared!"
"What magic treasure, this is a cultivator coming out of seclusion!"
"Alas…looks like the events of '99 can't be concealed anymore."
"Psh, it's obviously special effects, just another fake marketing video to rake in views!"
"No one would believe this was actually filmed, right?"
"Watch, I bet a pack of Oreo, by next week this clip will appear in a game advertisement."