Chapter 1391: Sunshine Falls

Six months flew by in a flash.

Within the circle of anglers, Lu Ye gradually became well-known. On average, he managed to catch something almost every few days.

This was uncommon among anglers and couldn't be attributed solely to luck. To other fishermen, Lu Ye had undoubtedly mastered the essence of fishing, surpassing them all. In terms of angling skill alone, he had left them far behind.

There were a few others in the community as skilled at fishing as Lu Ye, and without exception, these individuals had amassed wealth through fishing to support their cultivation needs.

However, in contrast, these few had been cultivating their skills in this field for decades, centuries, or even longer. A young novice like Lu Ye was truly unique.

This situation was, of course, intentional on Lu Ye's part. Otherwise, he could have caught as many White Spirits as he wished, but that would certainly have attracted covetous attention.

The current situation was ideal. With several established seniors already in the field, Lu Ye's catches, while envied, weren't overtly conspicuous.

In addition to White Spirits caught by fishing, Lu Ye occasionally caught one directly. His main body would then transport it back to Myriad Manifestations Island for sale. The price he received was not significantly different from auctioning it on the island; it simply required more travel time.

Moreover, he no longer needed to fly himself when traveling. There were many ferry boats on the Myriad Manifestations Sea, and he could hail one easily by paying a few spirit jades.

He didn't have a fixed buyer for his fish. Sometimes, Lu Ye would sell them to the Myriad Manifestations Chamber of Commerce, while other times, he'd simply walk into any shop and ask if they bought fish. Generally, any shop with the capability to operate on Myriad Manifestations Island wouldn't refuse his offer.

He rarely went to the open market, as it was a place with a diverse and often less affluent crowd. With so many eyes, it wasn't an ideal place to sell his wares.

By combining fishing and direct capture, Lu Ye could generally ensure a White Spirit catch every three days. Over these past six months, the amount of spirit jades he had handled totaled no less than 300,000.

For any Constellation Realm cultivator in the mid-stage, 300,000 spirit jades was undoubtedly an unimaginably vast fortune. If used solely for cultivation, it would certainly be more than enough until one ascended to the Luna Realm.

However, in reality, these spirit jades didn't stay in Lu Ye's possession for long. Almost every time he acquired spirit jades, he would use them to purchase fire-attribute treasures like Dragon's Breath Crystals to replenish his talent tree's fuel reserves.

Whether catching or fishing, his main body had to venture deep into the Myriad Manifestations Sea, and each stay wasn't short. This led to a severe consumption of the talent tree's fuel.

Lu Ye's storage ring generally maintained a state of only about a thousand spirit jades.

Only once did he accumulate over 30,000 spirit jades, which he then used to buy a small starship.

For a Constellation Realm cultivator, it was advisable to have a starship for convenient travel, if one could afford it. However, these vessels were very expensive. A Constellation Realm cultivator without a strong background, relying solely on their own efforts to gather spirit jades, would find it difficult to accumulate enough capital.

It might seem that his half-year of hard work yielded little in terms of visible gains, but in reality, over these six months, Lu Ye had made significant progress in his cultivation. Each time he delved into the Myriad Manifestations Sea, it became a form of passive, rapid cultivation.

For cultivators, what could be more important than one's cultivation level?

Although, given the same expenditure of spirit jades, normal cultivation could yield greater gains than cultivating deep within the Myriad Manifestations Sea, the time consumed would be many times longer.

Lu Ye's approach was akin to buying time with spirit jades. He could advance to the late-stage Constellation Realm much faster than other cultivators, but commensurately, the spirit jades he spent would likely be ten times or even more than what others spent.

However, as long as there were White Spirits to fish for, none of this was a problem. In the Myriad Manifestations Sea, White Spirits were inexhaustible. What did it matter even if Lu Ye fished here until he reached the Sun-Gazer Realm?

No one came to inquire about his fishing techniques. Such matters were personal secrets and also means of generating wealth; there was no reason to share them with others.

Instead, some of the cultivators from major forces stationed there, tasked with waiting to buy fish, expressed intentions to recruit him.

For the major forces behind these cultivators, White Spirits were prized for their rarity, and they could absorb any quantity. On Fishing Island, not only were there people waiting to buy fish, but also many of their own dedicated to fishing.

If they could recruit Lu Ye, they would have a stable channel for acquiring White Spirits in the future.

This kind of recruitment was very lenient. If Lu Ye agreed, he would not only receive a fixed amount of spirit jades as a monthly stipend, but his self-caught White Spirits would also be purchased at the normal price. However, he would only be able to sell them to the force that recruited him.

In essence, he would become an exclusive angler for that force.

Naturally, Lu Ye refused such overtures. Cultivators dreaded restrictions, no matter how lenient. A restriction was still a restriction, especially when he had no shortage of spirit jades.

After half a year of interacting, Lu Ye had gotten to know many anglers, though most were only acquaintances. He slowly became familiar with Puke.

Occasionally, when Lu Ye pretended to return to Myriad Manifestations Island to buy bait pills, Puke would help him hold a fishing spot until he returned.

Puke was also an experienced angler, and his generosity earned him favors from many other fishermen. Most people were willing to give him that courtesy.

One day, while Lu Ye's clone was fishing about a hundred feet away from Puke, a beautiful female cultivator passed by. As expected, Puke's gaze latched onto her like a leech, earning him a fierce glare from the woman.

Puke, unfazed, simply offered the female cultivator a gentle smile.

According to his philosophy, while others might only take a sip from the three thousand weak waters, he always tried to scoop up a whole ladleful.

Yet, it must be said, he was handsome, had a charming smile, and his cultivation was decent, so he still garnered favor from many female cultivators. Frequently, while fishing, Puke would tell Lu Ye he had to leave for a bit, asking him to watch his fishing spot. Within half a day at most, he would return looking refreshed.

As for what he went to do, Lu Ye didn't know.

While Puke was busy with his usual flirtations with passing female cultivators, beneath the sea, Lu Ye's main body had already caught a White Spirit and was hanging it onto Puke's fishing hook.

When they first met by chance, Puke had clarified many common fishing facts for him, helped him buy fishing gear cheaply, and even gifted him two bait pills. Lu Ye had not forgotten this favor.

Therefore, over these past six months, Lu Ye would occasionally "help" him catch a fish. Since his main body was already putting fish on his clone's hook, it was easy to do.

Reluctantly watching the beautiful female cultivator depart, Puke suddenly felt a violent spiritual energy fluctuation coming from afar.

Puke's hand twitched, and his fishing line snapped.

He paid no mind to the broken line, leaping into the air to gaze in the direction of the disturbance.

Lu Ye also flew up, standing beside him and looking in the same direction.

The distance was too great to see any specific details, but they knew powerful cultivators were fighting there!

"Sun-Gazer!" Puke exclaimed, his expression astonished. "A Sun-Gazer is fighting!"

Fighting and killing were common on the Myriad Manifestations Sea, but they were generally limited to Luna Realm cultivators and below. For at least the half-year Lu Ye had been there, he had never seen a Sun-Gazer make a move, nor had he even met one.

This was because only two or three Sun-Gazers from this star system were permanently stationed across the entire Myriad Manifestations Sea. Sun-Gazers from other star systems were not permitted to stay here for extended periods; they would quickly depart even if just passing through.

Below the Sun-Gazer realm, there were also strict limits on the number of Luna Realm cultivators from various star systems who could come here. This was a method used by the Myriad Manifestations Star System to manage the Myriad Manifestations Sea, and it was also a tacit rule among the four major star systems.

The powerful cultivators from the four major star systems had come here to occupy spirit islands and share resources that rightfully belonged to the Myriad Manifestations Star System. They had no moral high ground, so even if the rules of the Myriad Manifestations Sea were somewhat unreasonable, they wouldn't easily break them; instead, they would help uphold them.

If everyone adhered to the rules, then everyone would benefit. If anyone broke the rules, it would only trigger conflict between star systems, and no one would profit.

Therefore, upon sensing a Sun-Gazer's strike at this moment, all the cultivators on Fishing Island were incredibly surprised, utterly clueless about what was happening.

Lu Ye had only been there for a short time, but others had been there for many years. In their memories, there was no precedent for a Sun-Gazer taking action in the Myriad Manifestations Sea.

Suddenly, a stern shout echoed from that direction: "How dare you!" Then another voice roared: "Stop at once!"

Immediately afterward, even more intense sounds of combat erupted. Every single cultivator on Fishing Island wore a solemn expression.

If they had only sensed traces of one Sun-Gazer's strike just moments ago, now there were more than one—perhaps three or four.

The origin of the initial Sun-Gazer combatant was unknown, but those who intervened later were undoubtedly Sun-Gazers from the Myriad Manifestations Star System. Stationed there, they naturally had to act upon sensing such an anomaly.

During the conflict, ripples spread across the once calm sea, eventually evolving into surging waves that rolled outwards from the direction of the clash, demonstrating the ferocity of the aftermath.

Suddenly, the aura of a powerful cultivator abruptly vanished.

Puke's eyes nearly bulged out. Lu Ye's eyes also narrowed. They turned to look at each other, both seeing the shock in the other's gaze.

If their senses weren't mistaken, a Sun-Gazer... had fallen!

In other words, a Sun-Gazer had been killed in the recent clash.

How long had it been? Only a few dozen breaths since the fight began, yet a Sun-Gazer had already fallen in battle. They didn't know if it was the initial troublemaker or one of the Sun-Gazers from the Myriad Manifestations Star System stationed on Myriad Manifestations Island.

The aftershocks of the conflict had not yet ceased.

Puke couldn't help but draw in his neck. "The sky has fallen!" he muttered.

It was now certain that the fallen Sun-Gazer belonged to the Myriad Manifestations Star System. If it had been the troublemaker who fell, the conflict would have ended by now.

Since the fighting was still ongoing, it meant the troublemaker had not been killed.

This was the Myriad Manifestations Star System, and this was the Myriad Manifestations Sea. For one of their own Sun-Gazers to be killed here was akin to being slapped in the face at their own doorstep. How could the Myriad Manifestations Star System let this go?

If only a Constellation or Luna Realm cultivator had died, it wouldn't have caused such a significant impact. But for a Sun-Gazer, the implications were entirely different.

"Hahahaha, the Myriad Manifestations Star System is nothing special!" An ancient, booming laugh suddenly echoed from the direction of the conflict, growing closer. "Remember this, you all—this is just the interest!"

"Oh no!" Puke cried softly. "He's coming this way!"

As he spoke, he glimpsed Lu Ye descending, cursed Li Taibai under his breath for his disloyalty, and quickly dropped his own body downwards.