Chapter 233: Dragon Whale and Harvest, Level Breakthrough

Above the ice, a large golden sword spun rapidly. A cloudy white halo flowed along its blade's edge, and its tip emitted sword energy, drilling downwards like a rapid auger.

"Crack, crack, crack," ice shards scattered everywhere.

Once the sword tip had pierced through ten meters of ice, it immediately stopped rotating.

Long Xiao simultaneously controlled four golden swords, positioning them at the four cardinal directions—southeast, northwest—each two hundred meters from him, with himself as the central point.

The next second, the sword body trembled slightly, and the white halo on the blade transformed into a jagged flow.

This golden sword, having just served as a drill, now acted as a cutting machine, beginning to cut horizontally.

"Long Xiao's treasured sword is certainly enduring tasks it shouldn't," Zhao Xing chuckled.

"I never imagined a sword cultivator would one day be reduced to manual labor," Xia Jing felt some illusion shatter within him.

The lofty sword cultivators were now far too down-to-earth!

"His speed is indeed impressive," Ji Ziyun said. "If it were me, a spellcaster, I certainly wouldn't be as fast as him."

The ice was too thick; magical effects here were not as effective as physical ones.

Even if Zhao Xing were to come, he had no spells that could quickly break the ice.

The best spell for melting ice was fire.

Master Zhao's Heavenly Fire was only at mid-level perfection; melting a dozen meters of ice was pure fantasy.

If he were to do it, he would probably have his straw puppets slowly chisel away with tools.

The civet cat also followed one of Long Xiao's swords, digging at the ice with its claws.

"Crack, crack, crack, crack," a hole in the ice was quickly dug by the civet cat.

However, it seemed to have no sense of direction, drilling down only to emerge from another spot.

"Meow?" The civet cat, like a gopher, quickly created several ice holes on the previously flat ice surface.

"Aotian, quickly get inside and wait. I'll get you some fish to eat later," Zhao Xing, being obsessive-compulsive, couldn't stand the flat ice surface being messed up.

Long Xiao cut so neatly, creating perfect squares that were pleasing to the eye.

A few crooked, uneven holes on top would torture someone with OCD.

"Meow," the civet cat panted, quickly running back into the nearby small hut.

"Long Xiao, when you help Brother Ji move the ice chips later, be a bit quieter. There are many fish schools below, don't scare them away," Zhao Xing called out.

"Understood."

The Zhao Xing on the ice surface was his true body.

He had a total of eighteen Myriad Arts Straw Puppets; nine were acting as bodyguards for Ji Zixuan and Murong Xue, while the other nine stayed by his true body.

Currently, three straw puppet avatars were observing the underwater situation a thousand meters beneath the sea.

The roots of the Azure Sea Cloudvine had already extended three thousand meters down and were still spreading deeper underwater.

However, by this point, its growth had slowed down due to Old Chen's advanced foundation-strengthening technique.

Every five hundred meters, a section of the root became extremely thick, appearing like a bulging lump from a distance.

The internal space also became larger, approximately a thousand square meters, as if three villas had grown underwater.

Zhao Xing pierced through six layers of the vine wall, opening several skylights in different directions on the outermost layer.

He first threw out a few luminous pearls, then sealed the openings with mirrors from the Qilin Flying Boat.

He then lay inside the cloudvine, using the Heavenly Eye method and Five-Element Observation to survey the underwater sea.

"Gurgle."

A cluster of bubbles rippled upwards.

Then, a three-meter-long fish with purple scales and a head emitting a faint golden glow, shaped like a long blade, swam past.

Soon, a school of fish followed, swimming past the cloudvine's roots.

"So many large fish," Zhao Xing's heart itched with excitement. He really wanted to fire a volley.

However, his tools weren't complete at the moment, and he might easily startle the fish, so he gave up the idea.

"Once the Azure Sea Cloudvine takes root at the seabed, we can explore down there to see if there are any treasures."

If they could reach the seabed, Divine Travel Protection would come in handy.

By touching the ground, they could use the earth veins to unleash the power of Divine Travel Protection, allowing them to attempt treasure hunting on the seabed.

The spiritual wonders of the Extreme Night Sea were not limited to fish!

The sword cultivators broke the ice, while the spellcasters cooperated to lift and move the ice layers piece by piece to another location, ensuring the fish schools wouldn't be frightened away.

Next, Ji Ziyun set up the Ice Well Array, preventing the excavated ice surface from freezing over for a short period.

All the above work only took half an hour.

This was mainly because Long Xiao cut quickly, and Ji Ziyun's array setup was effortless.

"Splash."

The seawater flowed, and before long, fish shadows darted past, surfacing to breathe.

"Fish already, even before baiting?" Ji Ziyun's face lit up with joy. "It seems we've chosen the right spot... Zhao Xing, shall we start baiting?"

He was already a bit impatient.

"Alright," Zhao Xing immediately flew to the Warming Tent and retrieved a Water Immortal plant.

The Water Immortal belonged to the lotus family and genus; its lotus pod was small, but its petals were very large.

After sinking to the seabed, its blue petals instantly became more crystalline, and they began to stir the cold energy in the water, spreading ripples outwards to form a domain.

The fish schools were immediately guided and began to rush towards the Water Immortal's domain.

Once within the Water Immortal's domain, the fish schools became reluctant to leave and began seeking mates to breed.

Zhao Xing then scattered a bucket of Fish-Devouring Grass seeds.

After the grayish-green seeds entered the water, their husks quickly decomposed, beginning to emit a scent.

"Grumble, grumble."

More bubbles appeared on the water surface, clearly indicating fish had arrived.

Ji Ziyun was quite excited: "So many... Hahaha, Qilin boy, quickly cast your rod!"

Xia Jing was now burdened with the important task of fishing; all five fishing rods were given to him, hoping his beginner's luck would continue. So, he gritted his teeth and began casting the Divine Luo fishing rod.

Immediately after, he cast the Yellow Dragon fishing rod, then the Heaven and Earth fishing rod...

But when he cast the third rod, Xia Jing froze.

Because as soon as the first two rods were cast, the fishing lines instantly straightened, and the rods bent violently.

The bubbles below grew more numerous, as if the water was boiling.

"Splash!"

A half-meter-long swordfish, shimmering with golden light, leaped out of the sea.

"Plop," it landed directly into the fishing basket in front of Xia Jing.

Xia Jing: "..."

Ji Ziyun: "..."

"Plop," three more flew out of the sea and landed with a splat in the fishing basket.

"Splash!""Splash!""Splash!"

What followed was uncontrollable.

Hundreds of fish leaped out of the sea, filling the fishing basket.

The rest landed on the ice, struggling.

"Gulp," Xia Jing swallowed.

"Zhao Xing, is this situation... normal?"

He didn't quite understand, but he was greatly shocked.

"I..." Zhao Xing also hesitated. "It seems I scattered a bit too much Fish-Devouring Grass."

He took a closer look and, combined with the Myriad Arts Straw Puppets' observations from below, quickly confirmed it.

He had indeed over-baited!

The fish below were already going wild!

"Fish-Devouring Grass has a fatal allure for fish. The fifth-tier version is called Fish-Eating Grass, but the sixth-tier is 'Devouring.' They will frantically consume, rushing over without restraint."

"The Water Immortal controls fish reproduction, causing them to enter their mating period early and become unwilling to leave this area."

"Both food and lust have been clearly arranged," Zhao Xing took a deep breath. "These two derivative species from Shangluo Academy are overly powerful."

In his previous life, where had Zhao Xing ever used such high-quality bait?

He had unconsciously tossed out a whole bucket.

Furthermore, the people fishing were different.

Zhao Xing and Xia Jing both possessed Derivation Four luck, and Long Xiao's luck wasn't bad either, having reached Derivation Three and approaching Derivation Four.

Ji Ziyun and Chen Shijie were also Derivation Three, though their luck pillars were slightly weaker, but even the least fortunate, Chen Shijie, had reached Derivation Three.

The combined luck of the five individuals resulted in a fish population underwater that far exceeded what Zhao Xing had observed at the Azure Sea Cloudvine's roots.

Coupled with his excessive baiting, the situation was now out of control.

"Quick, pick up the fish, what are you waiting for?" Chen Shijie, having just come out, was overjoyed. No need to fish, just pick them up directly—what could be better?

"We're rich!" Ji Ziyun and Long Xiao, after a moment of stunned silence, also beamed with joy and began picking up the fish.

This current haul was much larger than anything they had caught before.

The smallest were half a meter long, while the largest exceeded three meters!

"They're all spiritual fish!"

At first, Xia Jing was reluctant; he had only just started to get interested in fishing and still disliked eating fish. But what was this now?

They were jumping directly into the basket—it was insulting!

However, as more and more fish appeared, Xia Jing no longer felt nauseous.

Because there were simply too many!

As spiritual wonders could trigger a person's impulses, Xia Jing was now trembling with excitement.

The excitement suppressed his aversion to fish, and he even started picking them up by hand!

"Patter, patter, patter."

Fish were leaping everywhere across the water surface, and in the blink of an eye, hundreds had jumped onto the ice.

Within fifteen minutes, there were nearly a thousand!

"How much bait did you actually scatter to get so many?" Chen Shijie ran over, also startled by the sight.

"I threw it all in."

"Huh?" Chen Shijie asked, "Does anyone bait like that?"

"I'm not planning to fish anymore." Zhao Xing pointed a finger, and a whirlwind of astral wind instantly appeared on the sea surface. "What's the point of fishing now?"

"Suck it up!"

Chen Shijie denounced him vehemently: "You scoundrel, Zhao Xing, you're absolutely the worst kind of fisherman! There's no skill involved at all!"

As he spoke, he conjured a whirlwind.

The fish that leaped onto the ice were still a minority.

But those sucked up by the 'Dragon Sucks Water' technique were far more numerous.

Suddenly, it began to rain fish from the sky.

"Oh-ho-ho!" Long Xiao shrieked with excitement like a child. "Aotian, quick, eat, eat as much as you want!"

"Meow!" The civet cat was also incredibly excited, sniffing one fish, then nibbling another.

It bit one, pawed at another, wishing it could collect them all.

Mine, mine, all mine!

But after fifteen minutes, the situation suddenly changed.

"Damn it, how are these fish hitting people?" Long Xiao was flustered; he was suddenly attacked by five fish with wings and spiky mouths.

"Thump-thump," Zhao Xing's heart also skipped a beat.

"Brother Zhao, there isn't something big down there, is there?" Ji Ziyun was excited at first, but gradually, he sensed something was amiss. "Why are all these fish desperately jumping onto the ice surface?"

"Let me see." Zhao Xing quickly controlled his Myriad Arts Straw Puppets to observe the seabed.

"Boom!" The Azure Sea Cloudvine was suddenly struck by something, its roots shook violently, and three to four layers of its vine wall were pierced.

Water surged in, impacting the fifth layer of the vine wall.

Zhao Xing immediately cast a spell to seal the breach.

As he activated his Heavenly Eye for observation, a blurred black shadow swept past his vision.

The black shadow was twenty to thirty meters long; Zhao Xing could see fifty to sixty Swordtooth Blackscale Sharks swimming towards the Water Immortal ahead.

Each one was seventy to eighty meters long! And they glowed with spiritual radiance!

"Sure enough, something big has arrived. If we can take one down, it'll be a massive boost! Brothers, prepare..."

Before Zhao Xing could finish, his heart was suddenly seized by something! It tightened painfully.

Even his true body gasped for breath, unable to speak.

Beneath the seabed, the Myriad Arts avatar's vision was suddenly obscured by a vast white expanse.

Intertwined gold and white stripes moved upwards.

After waiting for ten breaths, his vision suddenly cleared.

Zhao Xing immediately realized what had just passed by.

"Incredible... it was..."

Zhao Xing's scalp tingled.

A colossal creature appeared before him; its tail fin alone was three to four hundred meters long!

Its pale belly, shimmering with golden patterns, had been what obscured his vision moments ago!

Along its dorsal fin was a row of spiny scales, each twenty to thirty meters long.

"Moo."

A desolate sound, as if from ancient times, reverberated from the seabed into the roots of the Azure Sea Cloudvine.

Then Zhao Xing saw this colossal creature open its massive mouth and swallow the Swordtooth Blackscale Sharks that had just swam past.

"A Dragon Whale, it's a Dragon Whale!"

"Run!"

Zhao Xing's scalp exploded with dread, and astral winds whirled, instantly sweeping up the fishing baskets on the ice, along with the people and the cat.

Without hesitation, he pulled them all, flying towards the Warming Tent.

"What are you..."

Long Xiao was enjoying picking up fish when suddenly, an intensely dangerous intuition exploded in his mind.

He actively accelerated, quickly pulling Chen Shijie with him.

Xia Jing's reaction was equally swift; he immediately activated the Azure Dragon movement technique, accelerating along with Zhao Xing's astral winds.

The civet cat, meanwhile, grabbed Ji Ziyun, who was a half-step slow, and advanced through the astral winds, treading on lightning.

The ice surface suddenly became calm.

Two breaths later.

"Boom!""Crack, crack, crack."

The water surface exploded, and the surrounding ice layers were shattered.

The ice surface expanded by Long Xiao instantly doubled in size!

A massive whirlpool appeared on the sea surface, pulling and crushing surrounding vital energy and all matter into its depths.

The next moment, a colossal mouth swallowed the ice, seawater, and all the fish!

It revealed half of its body, but even this partial view was like a mountain.

Its black and gold scales shimmered brilliantly under the light.

Its leap was like a mountain rising from the seabed; after devouring its food, it plunged forward again.

"Boom!"

The ice surface was smashed open again, sending up giant waves hundreds of meters high!

"Oh my god," Ji Ziyun's face turned pale. "It's a Dragon... Dragon Whale!"

"A Dragon Whale, that big?!" Xia Jing's eyes were dull; he had forgotten his nausea, replaced by severe megalophobia.

"Old Chen, hold back the wave!" Zhao Xing shouted. "The Warming Tent is behind us; it can't be destroyed."

"Understood," Chen Shijie reacted quickly.

Both men cast spells simultaneously to protect the Warming Tent behind them.

The waves surged, and Chen Shijie and Zhao Xing held their staffs.

Facing the hundred-meter-high waves, they jointly raised a cloud energy domain to envelop the Warming Tent.

The layers of cloud energy piled up like mountain peaks.

Against the colossal waves, the energy shield stood firm like a reef, unmoving amidst the turmoil.

"Whoosh."

A few minutes later, the tide finally subsided.

The Dragon Whale disappeared.

Everyone collectively breathed a sigh of relief, feeling as if they had narrowly escaped disaster.

"A Dragon Whale, I never imagined the Extreme Night Sea would have such a massive one," Chen Shijie was still deeply shocked. "Its size is a hundred times that of an ordinary Dragon Whale!"

Zhao Xing said, "The spiritual essence contained within the Dragon Whale is far stronger than that of ordinary fish. It devours fish everywhere, and who knows how much spiritual essence it has consumed, which is why it keeps growing stronger."

"Luckily, you warned us in time," Ji Ziyun said with lingering fear. "Otherwise, we would have been swallowed whole, completely unable to escape the Dragon Whale's 'Sky-Swallowing Vortex.'"

"Meow!" Aotian Meow waved a paw. That had truly scared the cat to death!

Fortunately, the Dragon Whale lunged forward and swam away after eating.

Zhao Xing and the others flew in the opposite direction.

Their quick reaction moved them away from the Dragon Whale's feeding zone; otherwise, the outcome would have been grim.

"The Way of Luck is that it comes once, then twice, but thrice, it wanes." Zhao Xing's expression was also somewhat grim. "We've been so lucky, we forgot the most basic principle."

For over ten consecutive days, they had experienced nothing but good fortune, without any danger.

Now, misfortune had finally struck.

Zhao Xing calculated with his fingers: "No wonder the earlier divination result was 'nine-two, danger in Kan, seek small gains.'"

"So that's where it applied."

"It was my dereliction of duty," Zhao Xing reflected. "I almost got everyone swallowed by the whale."

"Brother Zhao, what are you saying?" Xia Jing frowned. "Are brothers only meant to share good fortune?"

"Exactly, Zhao Xing," Ji Ziyun added. "This isn't your fault, and you warned us in time."

Chen Shijie and Long Xiao remained silent; they had no intention of blaming Zhao Xing. Brotherhood was in their hearts, requiring no words.

"We didn't come away empty-handed either," Ji Ziyun pointed to the fish behind them. "Although we didn't get all of them, there are still one or two thousand here."

"You're not a god, nor are you omniscient and omnipotent. You don't need to be so hard on yourself."

Despite their words, Zhao Xing still reflected.

The treasure hunt had been too smooth, and his Five-Finger Destiny had broken through to a higher tier, causing his vigilance to drop. This led him to overlook even the basic principles of luck, or perhaps he was overconfident he could avoid any dangers.

"Fate is unpredictable and mysterious. Although this time was a close call, we must be vigilant in times of peace."

After reflecting, Zhao Xing felt his understanding of the Five-Finger Destiny and the Great Derivation Aura-Viewing Art had deepened further.

"Alright, let's divide the fish," Chen Shijie, sensing Zhao Xing's mood had returned to normal, knew he had moved past it.

"First, let's check for losses," Zhao Xing said.

"Good idea."

Chen Shijie entered the Warming Tent; although some ice blocks had collapsed inside, the structure was largely intact.

There were some cracks in the foundation, but because the ice layer was thick enough and the Dragon Whale hadn't plunged in that direction, the cracks were superficial, and the dozen-meter-thick ice layer had not completely broken.

The damage to the Warming Tent was minor.

"The fishing rods are gone," Long Xiao said. "All five fishing rods have disappeared. I don't know if they were swallowed by the Dragon Whale or swept away by the waves."

In that situation, who cared about fishing rods? They were already picking up fish.

"They were swallowed," Zhao Xing said, closing his eyes. "Swallowed into the Dragon Whale's belly."

"How do you know?" Long Xiao asked.

"Were you deliberate?" Ji Ziyun was stunned. "Six-tier fishing rods are custom-made, and the Seven-Star Hook has a positioning function. If the line breaks, it can still be located. You even swept away the fishing baskets, so there's no reason you wouldn't take the rods."

"Precisely," Zhao Xing nodded. As an experienced player, he still possessed that level of on-the-spot reaction.

"You have an idea about the Dragon Whale, with our current strength?"

"I can't do it alone," Zhao Xing smiled. "But someone else can. Even if there's no opportunity, it's just the loss of five fishing rods."

"Anyway, we don't need fishing rods to eat fish."

"That's true," Ji Ziyun looked at the fish lying on the ground. "These fish were either picked up or scooped up, but none were actually caught by fishing."

"Nonsense!" Xia Jing angrily retorted, "I clearly caught a whole basketful earlier! Cousin, are you saying that because I caught more than you? Or because my technique is better, and you're deliberately not mentioning it?"

"Qilin boy, you call that technique?" Ji Ziyun sneered. "The fish were literally jumping into your basket."

"Little Jar, you're going too far!"

"You scoundrel, you..."

Ji Ziyun was about to say something when Zhao Xing interrupted, "Brother Xia, stop pretending."

"Do you want to argue with Brother Ji, then pretend to leave in a huff so you don't have to eat this fish?"

Xia Jing's expression was a little awkward: "Is it that obvious?"

"My Soul has opened the Heavenly Eye; do you think I'm joking with you?"

Zhao Xing was also a bit speechless. Just as they were about to divide the fish, Xia Jing started to back out.

Just how much do you hate eating fish?!

"Actually, it's not fear, I just wanted to wait for you all to eat some first..." Facing the gazes of the others, Xia Jing's voice trailed off.

"Alright, can I eat a little less then?"

"You practice the Gluttony Art; can you eat less? Huh?"

"Then can we light a fire, set up a stove, heat some oil, and cook it? You must have supplies on your Qilin Flying Boat, right?"

"I did consider that before," Zhao Xing pointed to the Warming Tent, "but the Qilin Flying Boat has been dismantled now. Where would we get a stove or oil?"

"Besides, Old Chen and I aren't master chefs. If the spiritual essence in these fish isn't handled properly, most of its effects will dissipate when cooked."

"Are you trying to waste a precious resource?"

"Stop, stop... I'll eat!" Xia Jing said bitterly, "Ever since I teamed up with you for the supply training, I knew something like this would happen sooner or later... Dammit, what sin have I committed?!"

"A true man sheds blood, not tears—eat!"

On the Ice-Breaking Tower Ship, Pei Yuanchang was tallying the fishing haul and consulting with his strategist.

Suddenly, a subordinate rushed in, without even announcing himself, his face full of urgency.

"My lord, my lord! Something big has happened!"

"Why the panic? What's proper about this?!" Pei Yuanchang snapped. "Can't you see the strategist and I are discussing important matters?"

"Don't act like this again in the future. Now, tell me, what is it?"

Without a word, the subordinate took out a Mirage Pearl from his bosom and began playing a recording.

"My lord had previously instructed me to keep an eye on Administrator Zhao's side to prevent any mishaps."

"Your subordinate has been observing from a distance. This footage was recorded two quarters of an hour ago."

Pei Yuanchang immediately looked up at the image projected from the Mirage Pearl.

It showed Long Xiao cutting and moving ice layers.

At first, it seemed normal.

But then Zhao Xing transplanted a Water Immortal into the water and scattered a bucket of Fish-Devouring Grass seeds.

Gradually, things became unusual.

"What's going on? Why are there so many fish?" Pei Yuanchang was stunned.

The subsequent footage shocked him even more.

He saw fish jumping directly into the fishing basket next to Xia Jing, and even more fish jumping onto the ice surface.

Soon, Zhao Xing and Chen Shijie simply used the Dragon Sucks Water technique to sweep up the fish from the water.

It rained fish from the sky!

"What?!"

Pei Yuanchang shot to his feet.

The strategist beside him was also utterly astonished.

"How can there be so many fish schools in this area? This..."

Pei Yuanchang was completely dumbfounded.

His large group of people, after half a day, had only managed a yield of about a thousand catties.

Although their efficiency would improve over time, his crew still couldn't compare to Zhao Xing's output.

Just by visual estimation, at least a hundred thousand catties of fish had been hauled up!

"H-how did he do that?" Pei Yuanchang wondered if he was seeing an illusion.

He and his men were working themselves to exhaustion, while Zhao Xing just scattered some seeds and pulled up a hundred thousand catties directly?

Was there any justice?

The subordinate was speechless. 'You ask me how he did it, how could I possibly know?'

'I merely recorded it!'

"My lord, your subordinate doesn't know what spell Administrator Zhao used, but it's likely connected to his Warming Tent."

"Furthermore, my lord, please continue watching; something even bigger happens later!"

Pei Yuanchang finally recovered his senses, composed himself, and sat down again.

But immediately, his heart trembled, and he stood up once more!

"A Dragon Whale!"

"A Dragon Whale of such immense size?!"

Pei Yuanchang could no longer sit still.

He immediately rushed out the door.

"My lord, my lord!"

The strategist quickly rose to pursue him, but just as he was about to leave, he stopped.

"This matter must be kept strictly confidential; it cannot be leaked."

"Yes," the subordinate understood.

With that, he also left the tower ship and flew in Zhao Xing's direction.

"Ugh!"

Xia Jing clutched his stomach with one hand and leaned against the doorframe, retching.

But he had nothing to vomit. His seventh-tier Gluttony Art was rare even among Fifth-Grade cultivators.

He only consumed the essence of fish meat, and once it entered his stomach, it was completely digested. What was there left to vomit?

"Brother Long, cover Qilin boy's mouth and nose; don't let him vomit!" Ji Ziyun said sternly. "We must help him break this strange habit."

"Hahaha." Zhao Xing and Chen Shijie laughed heartily; their cousin was truly ruthless.

"Alright," Long Xiao spat out a fishbone, pretending to reach out and grab him.

"You scoundrel, don't come near me!" Xia Jing waved his hand. "Can you... can you eat as much as I did?"

"I've already eaten over three thousand catties!"

Xia Jing was on the verge of tears.

These four people were inhumane!

Seeing that he had the Gluttony Art, they would always give him the boned and gutted fish first, calling it: "Gluttony Art — taste testing!"

Therefore, he ate the most!

In less than an hour, he had eaten over three thousand catties, three thousand catties!

"Maybe we shouldn't make things difficult for Brother Xia anymore; it's not easy for him," Zhao Xing said, narrowing his eyes.

"Who are you pretending to be a good guy for?" Xia Jing said indignantly, "You were the one who fed me the most just now!"

"Meow!" The civet cat waved its paw in agreement.

Even *I* haven't eaten as much as he has!

"Hahaha."

Zhao Xing stopped teasing Xia Jing and buried his head in devouring the fish.

The fish meat contained various types of spiritual essence.

Due to the sheer quantity.

He was able to be selective in his eating.

By now, he had absorbed a considerable amount of water-based luck.

"A few more hauls, and after refining the water-based luck, I can then gather the spiritual essences of metal, wood, and earth luck to break through. The Extreme Night Sea offers a full opportunity to collect them all."

"If I could also devour that Dragon Whale..."

Zhao Xing's gaze grew fervent.

The Dragon Whale was one of the greatest benefits of the Extreme Night Sea.

In his previous life, he had only heard of it but never truly tasted its meat.

"Even if I could only eat a few pieces of its flesh or obtain a few drops of its essence blood, my Season Transformation method might be able to start internal cultivation earlier."

If he began cultivating the internal practice of the Seventy-Two Season Transformations, he could transform into the divine beast Tengshe!

This could address some of Zhao Xing's shortcomings in close combat.

Of course, once he was ready to begin internal cultivation, breaking through to Fifth Grade would be the most suitable.

Currently, Zhao Xing was rapidly approaching Heavenly Gang perfection.

Although his official rank was still at Upper Sixth Grade, his cultivation realm had reached the late Heavenly Gang stage.

His Vitality Accumulation had already reached the forty-eighth stage!

"After eating and refining a few more, I can reach the forty-ninth stage of Vitality Accumulation, which is the complete realm of Heavenly Gang."

Over two thousand fish, with the smallest weighing seven or eight catties and the largest over five hundred catties!

The fish Zhao Xing had swept away were also good quality.

"The fiftieth stage is the Fifth-Grade Pure Vitality realm, but merely eating the fish here isn't enough to cross the threshold from forty-ninth to fiftieth stage."

Although the quantity was large, after deboning and gutting, not much of it was useful for consumption.

Moreover, breakthroughs in Vitality Accumulation required 'vital energy spiritual essence.' The fish here, however, were of various kinds.

Zhao Xing was already at Sixth Grade; the higher the realm, the less effective ordinary spiritual essence became.

When Vitality Accumulation reached the forty-ninth stage, to break through to the fiftieth, ordinary Fifth-tier vital energy spiritual essence had little effect; only Sixth-tier vital energy showed significant progress.

Of course, this was only in terms of quantity. The Pure Vitality realm also involved shaping the Dharma body, comprehending the Dao, and cultivating spells, all of which had to keep pace. This was merely to say that the breakthrough process required a large amount of vital energy as a foundation for support.

"I've reached the Heavenly Gang realm perfection," Long Xiao suddenly said. "My Vitality Accumulation is at the forty-ninth stage."

"Oh? Congratulations," Ji Ziyun said. "Then I won't eat anymore; I'll leave it for Brother Long. You're a sword cultivator, and reaching the fiftieth stage requires shaping a Pure Vitality Sword Body. The amount of vital energy accumulation needed is unknown."

"Young Master, you don't have to be so polite," Long Xiao said. "Even if I consume all the vital energy spiritual essence here, I won't reach the fiftieth stage. I'd need about a hundred times more."

"I, too, have reached Heavenly Gang realm perfection, with Vitality Accumulation at the forty-ninth stage," Chen Shijie also slowed down his eating.

"What a coincidence," Zhao Xing clapped his hands, discarding a fishbone. "I've also reached it."

"Do I not need to keep eating?" Xia Jing asked. "I've already reached Heavenly Gang realm perfection."

"Your Five-Element Water Luck isn't sufficient yet," Zhao Xing observed Xia Jing's luck pillar. "You can still eat a bit more. Besides, it's no fun if Brother Ji eats alone."

"That's right, why don't we join Brother Ji in eating a bit more?" Long Xiao instigated.

"Get lost, all of you!" Xia Jing seethed internally.

"Someone's coming," Chen Shijie suddenly looked outside. "It's Pei Yuanchang."

"He must have smelled the scent," Long Xiao said. "He's here right after our harvest."

"I'll go meet him," Zhao Xing stood up. He wasn't particularly concerned about Pei Yuanchang watching their side.

This was Pei Yuanchang's territory after all. It was normal for him to keep an eye on their activities here. If something went wrong, how would he explain it to Liu Tianning?

After Pei Yuanchang was invited into the Warming Tent, his eyes immediately widened in disbelief.

In just a few hours, all five people had reached Heavenly Gang realm perfection!

Xia Jing had even eaten so much he was throwing up!

He looked down again, "Whoa, good heavens."

Even the civet cat was at Heavenly Gang realm perfection!

And yet, there were still many live fish left!

"Brother Zhao! You've had quite the... grand harvest this time!"

"I was just about to send some to Brother Pei," Zhao Xing said with a smile, pointing to two large fishing baskets. "I haven't had the chance yet."

"The fish are yours; I'm not here to plunder," Pei Yuanchang shook his head, declining.

Although he was curious how Zhao Xing managed to bring up so many fish, he wouldn't ask.

Otherwise, it would appear as if he was taking advantage of the situation or seeking repayment for past favors.

Pei Yuanchang wouldn't do such a thing.

He was already at Fifth-Grade perfection; these fish were merely enough for his subordinates or for gifting.

"Then Brother Pei, are you here to..."

With a hint of anticipation, Pei Yuanchang said, "I'm just here to ask about the whereabouts of that Dragon Whale."