Chapter 93: Luring the Dragon

At the Quiet Heart Retreat, beneath the peach tree, Jiang Chen held a bamboo rod in both hands, his eyes half-closed as though sunk into a profound sleep, long and unawakening. Nearby, Rat Skypride obeyed his orders and stood silently guard, glancing out at the world from time to time.

Meanwhile, on the level of spirit and consciousness, Jiang Chen seemed like a swimming fish plunging into a boundless deep sea. The farther he went, the darker it became, as though there were no end in sight. Yet his will remained unshaken, and he entertained not the slightest thought of turning back.

As time passed, his soul power erupted to its utmost limit, even stirring that faint trace of second-grade essence within him. And at that very moment, light and darkness reversed. In the deepest blackness, he saw a thread of brilliance. Through that sliver of light, he beheld two intricate runes of the Dao.

Though these two characters were utterly unfamiliar to Jiang Chen, and he had never encountered any script like them before, the instant he saw them, he understood their meaning.

Dragon Casting!

The illusion shattered, and consciousness returned. Jiang Chen drew a deep breath like a man rising from the water to the shore, and at that very moment those two words naturally surfaced in his heart.

Dragon Casting Rod? Is that your name?

Steadying his mind, he looked at the rod in his hand. He could clearly feel that a subtle connection had formed between him and it.

With that slender thread of connection, Jiang Chen looked again and saw something entirely different. The rod was still the same rod, plain and unremarkable, with not the slightest trace of spiritual radiance displayed upon its surface. Yet within it, Jiang Chen saw one hundred and eight seals of law, forming a complete circle.

A divine object conceals itself. Who could have imagined that such a dried-up bamboo rod would actually be an exceedingly rare, top-grade magical implement? Most important of all, its mysteries could not be described by the simple phrase top-grade magical implement alone.

Thoughts turning, Jiang Chen once more sent his own true qi into the Dragon Casting Rod. Unlike before, when it had produced no effect whatsoever, this time it went through without difficulty.

With a hum, spiritual charm began to grow. As the formless true qi poured in, the rod, once bare of line and hook, at once sprouted a fishing line and a jade hook.

Dragon casting, dragon casting. The chief purpose for which this magical implement was refined was to cast dragons. It bore a natural suppression over dragon-kind. In its present state, expecting it to catch a true dragon was sheer fantasy, but if an ordinary flood serpent or giant snake were to fall prey to it, it would likely find escape difficult indeed.

Moreover, this magical implement possessed the wonder of casting the moon. It could use true qi as fishing line and birth a fishhook, simulating the power of the Moonlit Yin Essence. That power, in turn, held considerable allure for most spirit fish.

By refining it with true qi and deepening his understanding of the Dragon Casting Rod’s mysteries, many of the doubts in Jiang Chen’s heart were finally resolved.

By now, he at last understood why the rod’s former owner, Xu Lang, had been able to obtain so many spirit fish, and why he had not only spent nine years tempering his qi, but had also paid a heavy price for a mid-grade magical implement, the Tide-Rising Fan.

This Dragon Casting Rod was no simple thing. To win its recognition, one had to pass its trial. It seemed that although Xu Lang’s aptitude for spiritual openings was ordinary, he too had his own uncommon strengths. It was a pity that, in the end, he fell halfway along the road.

Thinking of Xu Lang’s fate, the joy Jiang Chen had felt upon unexpectedly obtaining such a treasure slowly calmed. A treasure might be fine, but in the end it was only an auxiliary aid. On the path of cultivation, there were too many uncertainties, and even sudden calamity could descend from nowhere.

Xu Lang was a man with fortune, though apparently not enough of it.

Shaking his head, Jiang Chen dismissed the thought. With a treasure like the Dragon Casting Rod in hand, he would not lack the basic resources for cultivation. If he truly managed to catch a dragon kind, it would be an even greater opportunity. So long as his luck was not too poor, Xu Lang still had a very high chance of cultivating to the perfection of Qi Refinement and forging a Dao foundation.

Most important of all, from the rod’s response, Jiang Chen understood that so long as enough dragon kind were caught, the Dragon Casting Rod itself could in fact grow stronger. Once the one hundred and eight seals of law merged into one and gave rise to a spiritual seal, its mysteries would become even more profound.

Only the art of slaying dragons in hand, one can but lament that heaven and earth hold no true dragons.

Thinking of the present world at large, Jiang Chen gave a rather fitting sigh. Of course, if a true dragon really did descend, he would certainly turn and flee at once. As for catching a true dragon, let that grand opportunity be left to someone else; he was unlikely to be blessed enough to bear it.

The greatest harvest was already in hand. It was time to go take a look at Jade Creek Island. There were still some things left there, especially the spirit clam seed the Gao family had given him.

With that thought, he gathered everything away, glanced at Rat Skypride and told it to guard the home, then once more rode the wind and rose into the air.

And while Jiang Chen was counting his gains, news of his feat in a single sword strike, slaying the Lord of the Fish Spirit Sect and defeating Luo Qiao, who was only at the stage of minor Qi Refinement, had already spread like a storm throughout the entire Clear Source Prefecture. If in the past Jiang Chen had only been somewhat renowned within the small patch of Clear River County, then now his name had echoed through the whole prefecture.

Not only the upper counties of Clear Spring and Clear Brook, but even many cultivators in the prefectural capital had heard of Jiang Chen’s name. The title of Flying Rainbow Sword Immortal had been thoroughly confirmed. Everyone knew that in the barren lands of Clear River County there had emerged a rare sword cultivator who, with only early-stage Qi Refinement cultivation, could cut down a cultivator of minor Qi Refinement in reverse.

Yet this too was only natural. Though Clear Source Prefecture seemed large, the number of cultivators was not truly so great. A Qi Refinement cultivator already counted as a figure of consequence. In a county, such a person could be a local strongman, like the former An family or the present Peace Sect. Upon entering the prefecture, they could likewise be esteemed guests, enjoying privileges in every respect, and even the prefectural government would not slight them.

As for those of minor Qi Refinement, they were true powerhouses, counted among the notable figures of the entire Clear Source Prefecture. Take the Lu family, the Wen family, and the Gao family: the strongest individuals they openly displayed were only at major Qi Refinement. Though Luo Qiao had merely barely opened thirty-six apertures and stepped into the realm of minor completion, once he had stepped in, he had stepped in all the same.

In such circumstances, stepping over his corpse, Jiang Chen naturally forged his own renown. In no time at all, more and more people became curious about him and about the Peace Sect.

But fame has always been a double-edged blade, bringing both good and ill. The death of a minor Qi Refinement cultivator like Luo Qiao finally caused the Gao family to turn its gaze upon the Peace Sect and truly take serious notice of this so-called immortal sect.

At first they had thought it merely a broken-down band of wandering cultivators, but who could have imagined it was in fact a venomous snake hiding its fangs? Truly hateful, truly hateful indeed.

On Verdant Bamboo Mountain, as he looked at the message brought back by the flying hawk, Gao Sixing was instantly enraged. In an instant, the face that had carried a measure of scholarly refinement turned hideously ferocious.

Seeing this, the people around him immediately lowered their heads one after another. Gao Sixing was only at the peak of spiritual perception and had not yet attained Qi Refinement, but he was the third brother of the family head, Gao Siyuan, and thus held no low position in the Gao family.

My spirit sand... my clam seed...

Thinking of the resources his family had given to the Fish Spirit Sect, Gao Sixing’s heart ached so badly he could scarcely breathe.

Because of the River-Scouring Bandits affair, he had already disliked the Peace Sect. And when he learned that his eldest brother had made contact with the Fish Spirit Sect and intended to use it as a nail driven into Clear River County, he had volunteered to take over the matter.

Later, after discovering that Luo Qiao did indeed have some ability, he had privately increased the investment, hoping that once the Fish Spirit Sect had secured its footing, it would provide him with even greater benefit. He had never imagined that he would receive not a single return before Luo Qiao was defeated and perished beneath Jiang Chen’s sword. To say that he had lost both wife and soldiers would hardly be an exaggeration.

This matter absolutely could not be allowed to rest at that. And it had to be resolved before my elder brother comes out of seclusion.

Grinding his teeth, Gao Sixing fixed his gaze on Clear River County.