A Carefree Little Immortal

Time slipped away like a white steed flashing past a crevice. Since the incident of Fenglaixian urinating blood, another year had flown by in the blink of an eye. God Vault Space experienced all four seasons, and once again June had arrived, bringing summer with it. Yu Xian lay in the pavilion on the small island within Salty Fish Lake, slipping his hand through the railing to gently stroke the water's surface. Close at hand, the lotus leaves swayed slightly as the ripples pushed against them. Droplets of water rolled down their veins and splashed against Yu Xian's wrist, feeling refreshingly cool. "The plum rains clear, the summer breeze turns mild. In towering willows, cicadas' calls run wild. A small garden's terrace overlooks distant ripples. Fishes at play stir the new lotus. A sheer gauze tent, a light feather fan. Cold pillows and cool mats in the courtyard deep. Such the mood at such a season, A carefree little immortal with nothing to do." Resting his cheek against the bench, Yu Xian savored the coolness on his skin. For some reason, the Song ci poem he had learned back in school came to mind. Feeling it resonated perfectly with his current state of mind, he lazily recited it aloud. Speaking of which, he could enhance his equipment again. The Everlasting Silence Prison Tower had paid out his salary. He retrieved the Prison Canon and indeed collected his earnings, then rolled over and sat up from the bench. A moment later, he took a red gem from his chest. [Reverse Scale Dragon Shield] [Enhancement Count: 10] [Abilities: Automatic Defense, Lethal Negation, Malicious Counter, Dragon Power Barrier, Dragon Scale Space, Infinite Recovery.] [Note: Using the Star Rank Dragon Shield reforged by Zhenwo Changjing as a base, after countless enhancements, it possesses incredible defensive power.] Back when Yu Xian obtained the Ancient Cosmos Dragon's scale, he had asked Zhenwo Changjing to help forge it into equipment. The first time Yu Xian took Nora, Gong Qian, and Zhang Shou to Crescent Bay, he had given each of them a scale from the Dragon Shield just in case an accident occurred. However, no real danger arose that time, so the Dragon Shield never saw any use. Later on, what Yu Xian and the others faced was the Abyss and Fenglaixian's storage ring, leaving even less opportunity for the Dragon Shield to appear. To this day, the new version of the Dragon Shield had never had a chance to show what it could do. Yet undeniably, under Yu Xian's continuous enhancements, the Dragon Shield had become terrifyingly potent. Yu Xian felt the enhancement points from the Everlasting Silence Prison Tower were remarkably similar to Xiao Sensen's singularities. He had tested it before using miraculous items against the Dragon Shield. After reaching +5 enhancement, the shield could block attacks from miraculous items that lacked absolute attributes. As for miraculous items with absolute attributes, he was merely too lazy to think, not truly brainless, so naturally he wouldn't test against those. "Enhance, Dragon Shield!" Yu Xian held the Dragon Shield's core gem and channeled the enhancement point into it. Instantly, the gem radiated bursts of golden light. Countless scales materialized out of thin air, orbiting Yu Xian before coalescing into the shape of a massive Eastern dragon. [Reverse Scale Dragon Shield] [Enhancement Count: 11] [Abilities: Automatic Defense, Lethal Negation, Soul Defense, Dragon Power Barrier, Dragon Scale Space, Infinite Recovery, Dragon Soul Counter.] [Note: Using the Star Rank Dragon Shield reforged by Zhenwo Changjing as a base, after countless enhancements, it possesses incredible defensive power and offensive power.] To his pleasant surprise, Yu Xian discovered that strengthening the shield as a whole had granted it another ability. Dragon Soul Counter. Whenever he was attacked, he could choose whether to strike back at the attacker with the Dragon Soul. The counterattack multiplier ranged from a minimum of one time to a maximum of ten times. In simple terms, if someone attacked him, he could retaliate with the Dragon Soul and freely decide the force of the counterstrike. "Security +1. Not bad, not bad at all." Yu Xian pulled the core gem back into his body and lay down again, muttering contentedly to himself. Even though he had never used this enhanced Dragon Shield once, having this safety net brought him tremendous peace of mind. After all, the shield's defense was utterly absurd now—he could cross the Abyss with his bare body without any issue. "Hey, big salty fish! Time to wake up!" Not long after Yu Xian settled down, Zhang Buyao's energetic voice echoed from outside Salty Fish Studio. The moment Yu Xian heard it, a shiver shot down his spine. The very next instant, his physical body transformed, shifting from human into a fish. He promptly leaped into Salty Fish Lake and vanished among the koi. A year ago, he had coaxed Zhang Buyao into eating the World's Best Bun, only to end up inhaling Zhang Buyao's farts for ten whole minutes. That should have been the end of it, especially since he had already suffered the punishment. Yet the next day, having gotten a taste of it, Zhang Buyao unexpectedly craved the World's Best Bun again. After all, the World's Best Bun truly lived up to its name in flavor. Everyone who ate it agreed it was delicious. The problem was that Zhang Buyao refused to eat it alone. She insisted on dragging Yu Xian along, championing the principle of sharing both blessings and woes. Naturally, Yu Xian had no desire to suffer for no reason. While the side effects were harmless enough, enduring them for long periods was torment. As a result, the two of them had spent the past year playing hide-and-seek. Whenever Zhang Buyao caught Yu Xian, the outcome was both of them eating the World's Best Bun together. Sometimes Yu Xian farted while Zhang Buyao endured it. Sometimes Zhang Buyao farted while Yu Xian suffered. Other times, both farted and both suffered together. Farting wasn't actually that terrifying; diarrhea was the true source of Yu Xian's horror. A full ten minutes of it! Then there were side effects like spouting babble, overwhelming drowsiness, uncontrollable nagging, and more. Over this past year, Yu Xian had nearly sampled every single minor ailment the World's Best Bun could produce. "Yu Xian, stop hiding! Come out and eat some buns!" "Xiao Huangquan made a brand-new filling today! It's going to taste even better!" "Come on out, I saw you!" Zhang Buyao paced around Salty Fish Studio, her eyes scanning the surroundings as she applied verbal pressure on Yu Xian. Down in Salty Fish Lake, Yu Xian swam alongside a koi, completely impervious to her words. Acting like a fish was his specialty. Salty Fish Studio was enormous, and Zhang Buyao was the type whose enthusiasm lasted only three minutes; if she couldn't find him, she would give up soon enough. *Think you can find me? Not a chance!* Yu Xian thought smugly, putting even more effort into playing the part of a fish. Yet the summer sun shone warmly, the sky was as blue as if freshly washed, and a gentle breeze caressed the lake. Everything felt so tranquil and beautiful. As he swam, drowsiness gradually overtook him. Before long, an upturned belly-up koi floated to the water's surface, snoozing soundly while the sunlight washed over it, reflecting shimmering golden rays. *The spring's eye flows silently, cherishing its slender stream, The tree's shade mirrors on the water, fond of the gentle sunny gleam. The tender lotus has just revealed its pointed tip, Already a dragonfly perches atop it.* Yu Xian's head bumped softly against a nearby lotus stalk. Startled, a dragonfly flew up from the lotus blossom, fluttering its transparent wings in the air. After hovering for a moment and sensing no danger, it settled back down. Zhang Buyao, having finished searching inside the residence, now strolled over to the lakeside. The warm sunlight washed over her, draping her in a faint golden glow. She had intended to keep pressing Yu Xian, but when a refreshing breeze brushed against her face, she couldn't help closing her eyes in delight, relishing the pleasant cool it brought. She then strolled slowly along the shore until she stopped under a tree to rest. Gradually, her eyelids grew heavy, and she ended up drifting to sleep in the shade. One person, one fish. One by the shore, one in the water. Just like that, they let time slip quietly away.