Chapter 1390: Fish Temperament Agitated

These individuals have been trading White Spirit fish here for years, making their price estimations for this item exceptionally precise, almost always guaranteeing the most reasonable rates.

Furthermore, with some luck, a fish could fetch a higher price than usual. For instance, Qiu Pingyang once urgently needed a White Spirit fish to entertain esteemed guests. Had he participated in an auction then, he would undoubtedly have paid a premium.

Seven or eight people spoke over one another, driving up the price of the White Spirit fish until someone finally offered 5,300 jade, bringing the auction to an end.

Lu Ye handed the White Spirit fish to the buyer, received 5,300 jade, and the transaction was complete.

There was no fear of loss, as such auctions almost always guaranteed a profit. It also spared him the trouble of finding a buyer; while the White Spirit fish was always in demand, traveling back to Myriad Manifestations Island would still take Lu Ye a significant amount of time.

The seven or eight onlookers dispersed, waiting for other chances. The cultivator who obtained the White Spirit fish immediately summoned a ferry boat and quickly left, clearly intending to process it. The fresher a White Spirit fish, the more delicious it is and the higher its value for alchemy. Even though it wouldn't spoil in a storage ring, keeping it for too long was still not advisable.

Therefore, typically, once a White Spirit fish is caught, it will be either consumed or used in alchemy within two or three days; no one would keep it preserved for extended periods.

Lu Ye packed up his fishing gear and re-baited his hook with a pellet.

From a hundred *zhang* to his left, a sour voice remarked, "Newcomers always have the best luck!"

A curious legend circulates among anglers: novices typically have exceptionally good luck and often succeed easily. However, this isn't always the case. For example, the Ghost Race's Specter took up fishing on a whim and, even after going bankrupt, never experienced its joy. All she knew was boundless anxiety, pain, regret, and vexation.

Lu Ye had a catch in less than half a day, and to the veteran anglers, what else could that be but good luck?

He cast his rod into the water, and his main body retrieved the bait pellet underwater, leaving an empty hook before swiftly moving away.

Having already caught one fish, it was unlikely to get a second so quickly, so his main body could not remain underwater. Taking the bait pellet was naturally to avoid unnecessary waste.

This bait was worth a hundred jade.

Tens of miles away, his main body returned. People passing nearby didn't find it strange to see him emerge from the sea; Myriad Manifestations Sea was densely populated with cultivators, and there were always some who were curious about the deep ocean. As long as they didn't linger, venturing down to explore generally posed no major issues.

Holding a spirit jade in each hand, he sat down cross-legged. While calmly cultivating, he simultaneously deduced the Spirit Guard Rune he hadn't finished earlier.

This was quite good.

When his main body remained in the sea, it was equivalent to passive cultivation, and the efficiency was extremely high. The only cost was the consumption of Talent Tree fuel.

Back on this island reef, he continued cultivating. This way, his cultivation would not only not fall behind, but would also progress faster than normal.

His clone was fishing, and when the time was right, he could catch a fish, ensuring an endless supply of spirit jade!

Lu Ye suddenly realized that Myriad Manifestations Sea was truly a good place!

But he knew he couldn't continue in such comfort indefinitely.

No one was a fool, especially among cultivators, who had lived for countless years and were incredibly astute. Even if he caught a White Spirit fish every few days, over time, it would inevitably attract attention. It made no sense for so many anglers to be fishing, yet only Li Taibai consistently had catches.

So Lu Ye decided to combine fishing with direct capture. Occasionally, he would catch a few White Spirit fish without using a hook, and his main body, with a changed appearance, would discreetly take them back to Myriad Manifestations Island for sale. Only then could this plan be more sustainable and hidden.

After several days, his clone indeed caught nothing without the main body's assistance. Not only was there no catch, but even a set of fishing lines broke, resulting in heavy losses.

Of the three sets of fishing lines Specter had sold him, only the last set remained! Feeling the time was right, his main body went into action once more.

Just like last time, he lurked beside the baited hook, waiting for the opportune moment to strike. He grabbed a White Spirit fish, then flicked it a few times to reduce its vigor, making it easier to reel in.

The entire process went smoothly. When Lu Ye's second White Spirit fish emerged from the water after several days, the anglers on both his left and right were stunned.

Could a newcomer's luck really be this good?

The cultivators responsible for buying White Spirit fish gathered around again. This White Spirit fish was much larger than the previous one and sold for nearly 6,000 jade.

If the previous catch had only covered his investment, this one was pure profit.

An income of over 6,000 jade in just a few days was undoubtedly very satisfying for a lone cultivator like Lu Ye.

Several more days passed. As Lu Ye caught his third White Spirit fish and sold it for over 5,000 jade, the anglers on both sides finally couldn't sit still.

It was quite frustrating to just watch others get catches.

The anglers on either side likely knew each other, and though Lu Ye didn't know what they communicated via divine sense, he saw them approach his position from left and right.

Immediately, with clear understanding, they cast their rods into the water, positioning themselves ten *zhang* away from Lu Ye.

The one on the left was the young man who had previously spoken sourly, distinguishable by a large, very noticeable mole beside his nostril. On the right was an elderly man who appeared to be around fifty years old.

Noticing Lu Ye's gaze, the young man simply ignored him, pretending not to notice.

The old man, however, chuckled, "Let's fish together, let's fish together. It seems the fish are abundant on your side, Daoist Friend; you can't possibly catch them all by yourself."

This was a bit impolite.

Everyone usually kept a hundred *zhang* apart, and these two weren't without catches; they just couldn't reel them in. There was no reason for them to crowd him.

Lu Ye figured it was likely jealousy and resentment at play. Their actions could also be seen as bullying him, a newcomer.

If it were a fight, Lu Ye would naturally not hesitate and simply cut them down.

But everyone was simply fishing; fighting and killing would spoil the ambiance and could easily provoke public anger.

Most importantly, these two likely had other acquaintances. If Lu Ye truly fought them, he would undoubtedly be at a disadvantage. Here, he only knew Pork, a casual acquaintance, and couldn't expect him to come to his aid.

After all, the hundred-*zhang* separation was just a customary rule; no one was required to follow it strictly.

Lu Ye glanced at the old man, then withdrew his gaze without saying anything further.

The old man and the mole-faced youth exchanged glances across the distance, smiling slightly with a rather smug expression.

Deep beneath the sea, his main body's form flickered as he slowly sought out the location of the old man's bait pellet.

Honestly, if the old man hadn't been so close to his clone, it would have been truly difficult for his main body to find his bait pellet. The seawater in Myriad Manifestations Sea severely suppressed divine sense; for someone at Lu Ye's mid-stage Constellation Realm, divine sense could only extend three inches from the body. It could be said that underwater, divine sense was utterly useless.

Deep beneath the sea was also a realm of darkness. His main body could easily find his clone's bait pellet because of their mutual connection, which allowed the clone to provide accurate guidance.

If they were truly a hundred *zhang* apart, Lu Ye would likely have to rely on luck to find others' bait pellets.

But with them so close, finding it was much simpler.

Having found the old man's bait pellet, his main body gently gripped it, then suddenly exerted force.

The old man immediately felt something. His fishing skills were undoubtedly impressive; he only slightly lifted his rod, barely exerting any strength.

But the moment the fishing line straightened, the old man's expression changed, and before he could make any adjustments, the line snapped.

Looking at the broken fishing line, the old man felt no distress; instead, he was excited: "A big one!"

Only a large catch would pull with such force. If he could reel in something like that, it would easily sell for tens of thousands of spirit jade, or even more.

He quickly took out another set of fishing lines, baited it, and cast his rod into the water.

His main body had already moved to the other side, found the mole-faced youth's bait pellet, gripped it, and pulled hard.

And so, the mole-faced youth experienced the same fate as the old man!

His expression also began to brighten, as he secretly fantasized about the wonderful outcome of catching a big one.

For the next half a day, the old man and the mole-faced youth continuously lifted their rods, but without exception, either the bait pellet was lost or the fishing line snapped.

In most cases, the bait pellet was lost.

Primarily, Lu Ye wasn't sure how many sets of fishing lines they had, so he avoided breaking too many. Otherwise, if they ran out of lines and stopped fishing, he wouldn't be able to get more bait pellets from them.

Such encounters increasingly convinced both the old man and the mole-faced youth that they had encountered a large catch. This was because ordinary White Spirit fish nibbled at bait in small bites; only exceptionally large catches would swallow the bait in one gulp, due to their large mouths.

But as time passed, their expressions began to shift from excited anticipation to frustration and despair.

Until, at one point, the old man looked at his empty hook, his face filled with melancholy, and muttered, "Why are the fish so temperamental today?"

All the bait pellets he had brought were depleted; in this short period of less than an hour, he had lost over 3,000 spirit jade.

This was something he had never encountered in his decades of fishing.

Perplexed, he then looked at Lu Ye and asked, "Young friend, you haven't had any activity on your end?"

He and the mole-faced youth had sandwiched Lu Ye between them. Both of them were constantly lifting their rods, yet Lu Ye's side remained calm and undisturbed, without even a sign of a fish biting. This was clearly not right.

Lu Ye lightly lifted his rod, raising an empty hook, and said nonchalantly, "I was too busy thinking and forgot to put bait on."

The old man blinked, unsure if Lu Ye was telling the truth or lying. However, judging by his and the mole-faced youth's experiences, Lu Ye not having bait on his hook had undoubtedly saved him from trouble, at the very least reducing unnecessary losses.

The old man left disheartened, needing to return to Myriad Manifestations Island to buy some bait pellets.

The mole-faced youth, on the other hand, persisted for a while longer, still inevitably repeating the old man's mistakes. Before leaving, he was visibly furious!

For an angler, nothing was more frustrating than this: clearly there was a big catch, but they just couldn't reel it in!

He took deep breaths of fresh air, his chest trembling.

Confusion, bewilderment, and various other emotions flooded his mind.

Where was this?

Then, Shi Yu subconsciously observed his surroundings and became even more bewildered.

A single dorm room?

Even if he had been successfully rescued, he should be in a hospital ward now.

And his own body... how could it be completely uninjured?

With doubt, Shi Yu's gaze quickly swept across the room, finally settling on a mirror at the head of the bed.

The mirror reflected his current appearance: around seventeen or eighteen years old, with a handsome face.

But the problem was, this wasn't him!

His previous self had been a handsome young man in his twenties with an extraordinary demeanor, who had been working for some time.

But now, this appearance looked like that of a high school student...

This change left Shi Yu in a daze for a long time.

Don't tell him the surgery was a success...

Both his body and appearance had changed; this was no longer a question of surgery, but immortal magic.

He had completely transformed into another person!

Could it be... he had transmigrated?

Besides the mirror at the head of the bed, whose placement clearly had bad *feng shui*, Shi Yu also found three books nearby.

Shi Yu picked them up and looked; the titles instantly rendered him silent.

*Essential Beast-Rearing Handbook for Novice Breeders*

*Postpartum Care for Pet Beasts*

*Guide to Appraising Beast-Eared Girls of Different Races*

Shi Yu: ???

The titles of the first two books were relatively normal, but what was going on with the last one?

"Ahem."

Shi Yu's gaze sharpened. He reached out, but his arm quickly stiffened.

Just as he was about to open the third book to see what it was, his brain suddenly pulsed with a sharp pain, and a flood of memories surged forth.

Ice Plain City.

Pet Beast Breeding Base.

Intern Pet Beast Breeder.

Beast Master?