"I want to eat fish."
Jin Xu muttered to himself, infused his fishing rod with spiritual power, and then cast it gently.
At the same time, he visualized the image of an Arctic cod in his mind.
The reason for imagining an Arctic cod?
Of course, it was because he wanted to eat it.
His fishing rod claimed to catch anything one desired, as long as one thought of it and provided enough spiritual power.
Three months ago, Jin Xu, who was at the "Golden Core Realm," pondered whether his current level of cultivation was sufficient to catch an Arctic cod without an issue.
The silver-white hook and line drew a perfect arc in the air before plunging into the water.
"Gulug."
Jin Xu looked at where the hook landed and the ripples it created on the surface of the small river, his lips slightly raising in a satisfied nod, yes, that was a precise cast.
Now was the fourth watch of the night; in the Nine Provinces Realm, Qing State, Qingmu County, a man stood silently beside a small river, holding a dark fishing rod.
Bathed in the moonlight reflecting off the surface, the man was visible in his dark blue Taoist robe, a casual topknot in his hair. Tall and handsome, his dark eyes set against the moonlight seemed to draw one in inexorably, making anyone who saw him utter in admiration, as if a banished immortal had descended to earth.
Behind the man stood the Xuanxu Taoist Temple, an ancient structure with a desolate air. Its walls, primarily in shades of black and green, bore the slight scars of peeling, as if marked gently by the passage of time, with spots of green moss near the base adding a touch of vitality to its venerable age.
The temple's gate featured a plaque made from old wood, inscribed with three gilded characters: Xuanxu Temple.
The man was Jin Xu, and the Taoist temple behind him was the "heritage" left by his master, as was the fishing rod in his hand.
"It's been three whole months! Let me have a taste of fish!"
Jin Xu internally cried out. Ever since he had obtained this fishing rod and caught his first strange "fish," he hadn't enjoyed a good meal again.
Tonight, he took advantage of the fact that his own fish was asleep and stealthily went fishing in the middle of the night.
"Why does it feel like I'm sneaking around behind my wife's back doing something wrong?"
Jin Xu curled his lip. Why did he have this feeling? Even if she could transform into a human, she was fundamentally a fish.
"Can't think about it, can't think about it. The moment I think of that fish, I think of the food she makes."
"Σ_(꒪ཀ꒪」∠)Ugh~" The thought of the food she made caused his stomach to churn.
Jin Xu quickly looked down and focused on the fishing rod, trying hard to visualize the image of a silver cod.
But each time he saw the dark rod, Jin Xu was reminded of his master.
......
Jin Xu had been transmigrated for nine months now.
At that time, he was about to attend the opening ceremony of Tsinghua University. He had been specially admitted in a program that allowed him to pursue his bachelor's, master's, and Ph.D. consecutively at 17 years old.
The day the semester started, just as he set foot inside the school's gate, Jin Xu's vision blacked out. He thought his chronic low blood sugar problem was acting up again, but when he opened his eyes, he found himself inside the Xuanxu Taoist Temple behind him.
Groggy, Jin Xu smelled a faint scent of sandalwood incense, and opening his eyes, he found himself in a sparse little room, his clothing changed to a Taoist robe.
The room wasn't furnished with much: aside from the bed he was lying on, there was only a square table with an incense burner, a teapot, and two teacups. Sitting at the table was an old man in a Taoist robe with an immortal-like demeanor, sipping tea and smiling at him.
This was the first person he met upon waking up, and later, his master.
The old man told Jin Xu many things. To summarize, two points stood out.
First, he had transmigrated. Second, this world was very dangerous.
The world he had arrived in was called the Nine Provinces Realm, a vast world with empires, immortal sects, demon cultivators, and monsters. According to the "Nine Provinces World History. Great Xia Annals," a thousand years ago a great war between immortals and demons led to the destruction of the Shang and Jin dynasties, with the Nine Provinces shattered to four, causing untold suffering among mundane living creatures. The immortals emerged victorious, and peace prevailed.
The shattered Four States became numerous small worlds, clinging to the current large world of the Nine Provinces.
As a result, in recent years, people from other small worlds, referred to as Outer Heaven People, often accidentally fell into this one.
Those with good luck landed near towns and managed to survive.
Those with bad luck landed in the mountains and were eaten by spirits and monsters.
The unluckiest didn't land on solid ground at all, like Jin Xu.
The old man said when he encountered Jin Xu, he was plummeting from the sky at high speed.
If the old Taoist hadn't "just happened" to save him, Jin Xu might have had to take the college entrance exam again in eighteen years.
Jin Xu was troubled inside; he wanted to go home.
Everyone said college life was great, but he hadn't experienced it before he transmigrated.
And he was afraid to die; the world he was in seemed to have too much of a security issue.
But the old Taoist said,
"Without knowing the way you came, how can you hope to go back? Better to embark on the path of cultivation, achieve greatness, and then seek your way home."
In plain language, that meant,
"You don't even know where you came from, and yet you want to return. Since you're here, you might as well cultivate properly. Think about going home after you've become an immortal."
Jin Xu thought about it and realized it made sense; after all, he had no parents or attachments.
He hoped the university would keep his enrollment open until he returned.
Jin Xu asked the old Taoist how to cultivate.
The old Taoist claimed his cultivation was unrivaled in the world and, saying Jin Xu had a predestined connection with him, insisted that his sect had a cultivation technique especially suitable for Jin Xu's unique constitution, guaranteeing that he would become an immortal within five years. So he insisted on taking Jin Xu as his disciple.
```
According to the clichés of fantasy novels, the older and more immortal-like the old man appears, the more of a swindler he is. Jin Xu felt even more certain that he was dealing with an old swindler as he listened.
The old Taoist, seeing Jin Xu's disbelief, decided to give him a demonstration. Jin Xu was awed after witnessing the old Taoist commanding the Taoist temple and jaunting through the heavens, as well as summoning the Nine Heavens Divine Thunder to strike down several demons over the East Sea.
Now, Jin Xu undoubtedly believed the old Taoist's claim of having unbeatable cultivation in the entire world!!!
And so, he became the old Taoist's disciple.
Only to discover later that their sect consisted of just him and the old Taoist.
Jin Xu consoled himself by thinking that since his master's cultivation was unmatched in the world, it didn't matter if their sect pursued a path of elitism.
However... his master had disappeared three months ago.
......
"Boom"
A massive white column of light burst into the sky from the spot where the fishhook had landed, the river instantly freezing over, and the sudden change interrupted Jin Xu's reminiscences, as he stood there dumbfounded, holding his fishing rod and staring at the spectacle before him.
"I tested it before, so why is there a problem again! All I wanted was to eat a fish!"
He thought to himself that he should've stuck to diligently cultivating at the Taoist temple, and now, not only had he missed out on the fish, but his cultivation practice for the evening was also delayed.
He would have to add an hour to his cultivation practice when he got back!
He needed to be more diligent now that he had lost his master and his support. Someone had even tried to kill him a few days earlier, and had he not run fast, this book would have reached its conclusion by now.
Jin Xu felt that the world was fraught with danger at every turn, and without his master's earth-shattering cultivation, he couldn't settle down.
The great white beam of light soared into the sky like a sun had suddenly been switched on in the night. The light radiated from the beam illuminated the city walls of Qingmu County, over ten miles away, making them appear white, and even caused the roosters outside the city to start crowing.
In recent days, the city had already been in a state of high alert and paranoia.
Rumor had it that a powerful individual from the Demon Path had attacked the Old Dean of Qingmu Academy, leaving the elderly but highly cultivated dean severely injured.
Such an anomaly outside the city instantly agitated the cultivators. More than half of Qingmu County's cultivators were now rushing in this direction.
On Jin Xu's end, he knew he couldn't stay here. Such a major commotion was bound to attract many people, and it seemed he would have to move again. This time, he planned to find a more secluded place.
Thinking this, Jin Xu yanked the fishing rod, ready to make a run for it.
But when he pulled the line from the column of light, there was something caught on the fishhook.
"Hey, hey, don't pull, don't pull, can't a wolf get a meal, ever heard of wildlife protection?"
A massive grey-white creature was hauled out of the great white column of light by Jin Xu.
As the huge Demon Wolf appeared, the column of light abruptly vanished, and under the moonlight, the fishing line and the massive wolf traced a path through the sky, with a glint visible at the corner of the Demon Wolf's mouth.
"Crap, crap, it's going to hit, get out of the way!" the Demon Wolf shouted.
Jin Xu looked up upon hearing the commotion. As the column of light vanished, the sudden darkness took him a moment to adjust to. He barely caught sight of a grey-white, furry creature flying toward him.
"Huh? No fish, and now a talking fairy? Might as well turn Xuanxu Temple into a zoo."
Just as Jin Xu was pondering, he looked closely at the grey-white furry creature. Where was this a Demon Wolf?
"Husky!!!"
"Judging by the voice, is it a female Husky?"
Caught off guard, the Husky's massive head collided hard against Jin Xu's forehead.
"Thud!"
There was a sound like metal striking gold.
"Hiss~"
Jin Xu sucked in a breath of cold air, touched his forehead and found it fine, and not even painful. Then he looked down at the Husky on the ground.
Well, it was knocked out.
"She had a frightening howl, but turned out to be a tofu-head. Hmm... or maybe the Strengthening Skill that master taught me is just that strong?"
Jin Xu's mind wandered with random thoughts as he hoisted the Husky onto his shoulder, preparing to return to the Taoist temple behind him. After all, it was something he reeled in, even though it wasn't a fish.
But as an old saying goes, a fisherman never... never... never what again?
At that moment, the door to the temple opened, and a woman in a golden-red gauze dress came out rubbing her eyes and yawning.
"Um, young master, what are you up to? The sky just lit up, but now it's dark again."
"Nothing much, I got you a companion. Let's go in quickly, those people who wanted to kill me might be coming again."
"Ah!"
The woman in the golden-red gauze dress was instantly half-awake. The two of them, carrying a dog, dashed into the Taoist temple.
Soon after, waves of mist began to rise around the entire temple. Then, suddenly... Xuanxu Taoist Temple shot up like a rocket, vanishing beside the small river.
"Swoosh swoosh swoosh~"
Several figures arrived a bit late, carefully inspecting the place where the column had disappeared, looking around.
Among them, the scholar leading the group, dressed in a green Confucian robe with a matching green headband and a book bag at his waist, stood in midair, scanning the surroundings. He noticed the fading mist and then turned his gaze to the lawn, spotting the huge indentation.
His pupils contracted slightly, and a disciplinary ruler materialized in his hand.
These traces... were identical to those found near the mountain on the day the incident occurred at the academy!
```