Yuantian Pidao

Chapter 294 The Curse of the Shepherd

Blackwater Dock was shrouded in thick fog, obscuring everything.

At this very moment, Jiang Chen is walking along the bottom of Blackwater Lake, following the memories of Crocodile Abyss.

A moment later, a hidden underwater palace appeared before him.

"This is it."

Looking at the water mansion shrouded in light, Jiang Chen made a hand seal and stepped inside.

"It seems there really is nothing of value left behind."

With a sweeping glance, Jiang Chen took in the entire scene within the Water Mansion.

The water palace was small and simple. Apart from strange stone pillars and shell beads used for lighting, there was nothing else. There used to be some things, but they were all taken away by Crocodile Abyss.

To this day, apart from the Black Water Technique, all the other treasures have been used by Crocodile Abyss, becoming resources for its cultivation path.

"It seems that the original owner of this water mansion was a human cultivator."

With his divine sense released, Jiang Chen carefully observed the situation inside the water mansion, searching for any clues.

At one point, Jiang Chen noticed something unusual about a stone pillar.

"This is···"

Jiang Chen touched the stone pillar with his fingertips, feeling its coolness. He frowned as he looked at the mottled patterns on it.

These patterns, some light and some faint, are mostly black and white, with a few red and green. They appear to be naturally formed, but with the help of his powerful divine sense, Jiang Chen discovered something unusual.

"These are not natural patterns, but rather a variation of cloud-shaped seal script."

As his thoughts raced and he carefully observed the patterns before him, Jiang Chen formed a guess.

Following this lead, Jiang Chen found similar marks on all ten stone pillars inside the cave, which further confirmed his guess.

"As expected, these are cloud script characters. They must have been left behind by the original owner of this water mansion. However, these cloud script characters are disordered and do not seem to have been left intentionally. They seem to have been left unintentionally."

As the thought of the letter crossed his mind, Jiang Chen pushed his divine sense to its limit.

In that instant, the originally ordinary stone pillar began to emit a faint spiritual light, and the originally chaotic patterns seemed to come alive, gradually returning from disorder to order.

At the same time, Jiang Chen's mind was also stirred, and in a daze, he seemed to see a Taoist priest.

The Taoist's figure was very blurry. He was injured and came to this water mansion to recuperate. One day, he seemed to have comprehended something and casually left a mark on the stone pillar.

It was from this time that the Taoist began to comprehend the magic formulas in his cave. Whenever he gained something or was troubled, he would leave a mark on the stone pillar. Those seemingly messy marks were actually his insights and experiences from comprehending the magic formulas.

Time passed, and after an unknown amount of time, the illusion subsided, and Jiang Chen slowly opened his eyes. "True Master Chengyuan, this place was indeed left behind by a True Master of the Purple Mansion. However, this is not his true cultivation cave, but merely a place to recuperate. Therefore, although he left some things here, he did not leave behind a complete inheritance."

With his thoughts returning to normal, Jiang Chen now knew the origins of this water palace.

"The Fish-Cultivating Spell is a secret technique used to raise spirit fish. This technique can accelerate the growth of spirit fish to a certain extent and increase the possibility of spirit fish advancing to a higher level."

As the Daoist teachings entered his heart, Jiang Chen obtained a secret technique left behind by the true master of the Water Mansion, True Man Chengyuan.

This secret technique was created by True Person Chengyuan while recuperating in Blackwater Dock. He had a sudden inspiration and created it unexpectedly. Although it is not a mainstream magic or supernatural power, it has its own profound mystery. In terms of value, it surpasses ordinary Dao foundation inheritance and is comparable to the Purple Mansion Treasure Technique.

"This fish-herding method itself also involves the art of the soul, which is somewhat similar to the bird-taming and beast-gathering techniques I have come to understand. Most importantly, this fish-herding incantation is not just a simple secret technique; it also includes a matching fish feed recipe. In a sense, it can be considered a third-level skill."

"Although it is far inferior to alchemy and weapon crafting, it is still quite valuable, especially for a powerful force."

"Besides the Fish-Shepherding Spell, these ten stone pillars are also extraordinary."

With a sudden thought, Jiang Chen turned his gaze to the stone pillars in the Water Mansion once again. With the inheritance of the Shepherd Fish Curse, these ten stone pillars have completely radiated a new brilliance, all rippling with dazzling spiritual light, rendering the originally empty Water Mansion like a clear blue spiritual lake.

"Fish Spirit Pillar, a special combination of spiritual artifacts containing the true meaning of the Fish Shepherd Spell."

With a whoosh, the dragon form materialized, and spiritual energy poured forth as Jiang Chen attempted to refine the ten stone pillars.

When Master Chengyuan first comprehended the method of herding fish here, his true essence was accidentally revealed and imprinted on the stone pillars in the Water Mansion. This transformed the originally ordinary stone pillars into something extraordinary. After discovering this, Master Chengyuan simply used a secret technique to refine these ten stone pillars as treasures.

However, because the essence of these ten stone pillars was still too poor, they could not be refined into treasures at all. In addition, it would take too long. Therefore, when leaving, True Person Chengyuan did not take the Fish Spirit Pillar with him, but left it in the Water Mansion.

He also left behind some other treasures, including the Black Water Great Law. He attained enlightenment here, but felt that this place had some affinity with him, so he chose to leave behind a copy of the law for those who were destined to meet him.

When Crocodile Abyss stumbled upon this place, he gained some fortuitous opportunities and obtained a fragment of the Black Water Great Technique. However, he was not proficient in the Way of the Soul and did not realize the existence of the Fish-Shepherding Curse. For so many years, he sat on a treasure mountain without knowing its value.

A moment later, as Jiang Chen's spiritual power completely permeated the ten stone pillars, the Fish Spirit Pillars underwent a transformation, turning into needle-sized objects that fell into Jiang Chen's hands.

"A single Fish Spirit Pillar has limited mystery and is inferior to a low-grade spiritual weapon. However, when ten Fish Spirit Pillars are combined into a set, their mystery surpasses that of a mid-grade spiritual weapon and may even be comparable to a high-grade spiritual weapon."

"However, this set of magical artifacts is not for killing, but for managing. Once it is placed, it can form its own world in the martial arts world. It is a good place to raise fish. Inside it, the spiritual fish can grow faster, and outside it, the spiritual fish will be attracted and will spontaneously crawl inside."

As the thoughts collided, Jiang Chen weighed the Fish Spirit Pillar in his hand and a smile appeared on his face. The Fish Shepherd Curse and the Fish Spirit Pillar were unexpected delights.

"The Water Palace is now truly empty."

After putting the Fish Spirit Pillar into his pocket, Jiang Chen glanced at the Water Mansion again to make sure nothing was missing before turning and leaving.

Soon after, having taken all the treasures he could carry from Blackwater Dock, Jiang Chen transformed into a dragon, rode the mist, and left Blackwater Dock.

Although the Crocodile Demon Clan has been established in Blackwater Dock for a long time, they are not good at managing it. Although they possess some treasures, they don't actually have that many.

(End of this chapter)