"Fish bite the bait because they want food. What do these orbs of light seek?"
Seated high above the endless starry sky, Ji Shaoli pondered the question.
"From the fleeting glimpses I've caught, within these orbs are likely items, cultivation arts, divine abilities, combat experiences, or the like."
"..."
"This fishing pond might be an immortal artifact set with some kind of threshold, designed specifically to dispense rewards."
Sweeping his gaze across the white, green, blue, purple, and orange orbs, Ji Shaoli grew thoughtful.
"The more valuable something is, the higher its tier. Attracting them must be correspondingly harder.
"Yet right now, only my consciousness lingers here. Even if I wanted to hook those white orbs, it would come down to pure luck. To say nothing of higher-grade orbs."
Ji Shaoli tried numerous methods, but he was still unable to attach "bait" to the hanging line.
And his luck truly was terrible.
A long time passed, and not even a single white orb was drawn to him.
There seemed to be a time limit in this starry sky as well.
The surrounding starlight grew fainter and fainter, and like ripples dispersing, Ji Shaoli returned to the real world.
This fishing attempt had ended entirely empty-handed!
Unwilling to accept it, Ji Shaoli immediately prepared to cast another line, only to helplessly recall that he had only one chance each day to stir the power of fishing the starry sky.
He had no choice but to take a deep breath and wait for the morrow.
Over the next ten days, Ji Shaoli cast a line each day.
In total, he caught only six orbs.
Five white and one blue.
The white orbs contained nothing more than ores and spirit herbs.
Nothing of significant value.
From the blue orb, however, he drew a jade slip.
"*Taikang Gengjin Sword Qi*?"
Ji Shaoli carefully read through the contents of the jade slip.
"As expected, it's not a product of the Xuanhuang Realm."
This *Taikang Gengjin Sword Qi* came from the Divine Sword Sect of the Taiyi Realm.
The circumstances of the Taiyi Realm were largely similar to the Xuanhuang Realm.
However, five great cultivators who had reached the pinnacle of cultivation had not ascended to the Immortal Realm; instead, they had transformed their bodies into the Dao.
They had merged with the Heavenly Dao of the Taiyi Realm, known by its cultivators as the Five Directional Sovereigns of Taiyi.
Taikang was one of these five sovereigns.
"With the aid of Sovereign Taikang's power, one can cultivate this sword art all the way to the Dao Integration realm?
"How is it only blue quality?"
After reading through the jade slip, Ji Shaoli was somewhat taken aback.
Only when he attempted to cultivate the *Taikang Gengjin Sword Qi* did the realization strike him.
Adaptation to local conditions.
This sword art was a technique tailored specifically to the circumstances of the Taiyi Realm. The necessary condition for cultivating it was the power of Sovereign Taikang.
Yet in the Xuanhuang Realm, no "Taikang" existed at all.
Naturally, the technique was impossible to practice.
Had it not possessed Dao Integration quality, it probably would have been relegated to the white tier.
"This fishing platform actually re-evaluates an item's worth based on its environment?" Ji Shaoli marveled inwardly.
Though his haul was practically negligible, he did not lose his temper.
During these ten days, he had observed Zhong Shentong's fishing process.
Having discovered this fishing platform earlier, Zhong Shentong seemed to have grasped certain knacks.
Across ten opportunities, not a single cast came up empty.
Though it was merely eight white and two blue, he still outperformed Ji Shaoli by far!
After some thought, Ji Shaoli decided not to drag things out any longer.
On this day, having eaten and drunk his fill, Zhong Shentong was just preparing to take an afternoon nap.
Suddenly, his expression changed.
A golden barrier of light enveloped the entire small temple, including the fishing pond.
Countless lightning bolts like golden serpents began gathering in the sky above.
They looked as if they might strike down at any moment.
"Master!" The little Daoist child washing dishes cried out in terror.
"Liuli, get behind me, quick!" Zhong Shentong snatched the child and shielded her behind his back.
At the same time, he took out a command flag and thrust it into the ground.
An ochre-yellow sphere of energy formed, encasing the two of them.
"Which fellow Daoist is here? Would you show yourself?
"Perhaps there has been some misunderstanding!"
Zhong Shentong called out loudly.
Yet Ji Shaoli saw clearly that while his mouth spoke those words, Zhong Shentong's hand had already quietly produced a small wooden sword.
Even with a higher realm, Ji Shaoli still felt a faint sense of fatal danger from that small sword.
Ji Shaoli did not reveal himself, saying coldly, "Fellow Daoist Zhong, if you don't want the secret of this fishing pond made known to the whole world,
"I advise you not to resist!
"Actually, I bear no ill will.
"I am merely a fellow angler, curious about it myself!"
At these words, Zhong Shentong lost his composure completely.
With his greatest secret exposed, panic seized his heart.
His expression shifted continuously before he finally put away the wooden sword.
"In that case, please show yourself! What honor is there in skulking in the shadows?" he said in a heavy voice.
"Heh, who knows how many treasures you've reaped from that fishing pond. How could I not be cautious?" Ji Shaoli was unmoved by his words.
Instead, he asked for the method to hook higher-quality orbs.
"Don't think of deceiving me. I know every single haul you've caught over these ten days," Ji Shaoli said with a teasing tone.
Zhong Shentong's heart sank all the way to the bottom.
Over so many days, the other party had observed him inside and out.
Yet he had been completely unaware.
This proved beyond doubt that the stranger's strength far exceeded his own.
Possessing overwhelming power, yet remaining so cautious...
Zhong Shentong cursed inwardly.
Helpless, he had no choice but to share the insights he had pieced together.
"On the fishing platform, the more times you cast your line, the stronger your connection to it becomes.
"Perhaps there was once another way to directly deepen that bond. But now, it requires grinding away with patience and time.
"Once the bond strengthens to a certain degree, you can use your own intent as bait to attract the surrounding orbs.
"The orbs seem to possess a form of sentience and can sense what is contained within that intent."
...
Zhong Shentong confessed honestly.
Ji Shaoli listened closely, weighing the truth of his words.
"You needn't worry that I'm lying. You will know once you try it yourself.
"From the day I discovered the secret of this fishing pond, I knew I could never keep it to myself forever."
Zhong Shentong let out a long sigh.
"It is just a pity that this fishing pond seems fused with the world itself, anchored here. It cannot be moved or taken away.
"Otherwise..."
Zhong Shentong spoke with deep helplessness.
"I only ask that you spare Liuli's life. If someone must die, kill me," he pleaded.
Only then did Ji Shaoli finally reveal his figure.
"Heh, Fellow Daoist Zhong, you had best put away your Dharma treasure.
"I had no intention of keeping this secret solely for myself either."
Hearing this, Zhong Shentong looked suspicious.
Even so, he kept his grip firmly on the purple-gold gourd hidden in his hand, unwilling to let go.
Chapter 854