Unlimited priesthood

Chapter 132 Lingxi
And so it went, half a month later.

In the Red Maple Valley, at its edge, a stream meanders gently.

It is the Red Maple Lingxi.

There is a ley line in Red Maple Valley, which is joined by an underground river. When it flows out to the surface, it becomes the Red Maple Spirit Stream, which is neither too deep nor too shallow, and neither too big nor too small.

Shen He carried a bamboo pole and a fish basket and came to the bamboo forest by the stream.

"Brother Zhong!"

Unexpectedly, a person was already sitting in the bamboo forest; it was Yang Qi, dressed as an old farmer.

He was sitting by the Lingxi River, fishing with a green bamboo pole in hand. When he saw Shen He coming with his fishing rod and fish basket, he was a little surprised: "Brother Zhong, do you also enjoy fishing?"

Shen He looked at him in return: "Brother Yang, are you also one of us?"

Having said that, he stepped forward and looked at the fish basket beside Yang Qi: "How was the catch?"

"This one……"

Yang Qi looked slightly embarrassed and subtly hid the fish basket behind his feet: "I just arrived and haven't caught any fish yet, but I've been baiting this spot for three days and thrown in more than ten kilograms of spirit rice husks. There must be quite a few treasure fish in the spot now. Come on, let's fish together."

"Thank you for your kindness, Brother Yang, but how can a fisherman occupy someone else's fishing spot?"

Shen He shook his head and declined, then leaped to the other side of the Lingxi River, keeping a distance of several dozen feet from Yang Qi, and sat down downstream.

"Brother Zhong, why are you being so polite?"

Although they were several dozen feet apart, this distance posed no obstacle to the two martial artists. Yang Qi cast his line and chatted with Shen He using telepathy.

"Brother Zhong, your spirit fields are well organized. I didn't expect you to have such skills at such a young age. You are better than many old farmers in Red Maple Valley."

Shen He replied, "Brother Yang, you flatter me. I come from a farming family and practically grew up rolling around in rice paddies, so I'm naturally very good at farming."

Yang Qi suddenly realized: "So that's how it is, no wonder, no wonder. But you should be careful, brother. Farming in the cultivation world is just like in the mortal world. It is afraid of wind and rain, locusts and insect pests."

After saying that, he sighed: "Those cultivators can use magic to protect the spirit fields, but we martial artists don't have that ability. If we encounter a storm, we can only ask the cultivators to cast a spell to protect them. It costs a lot of spirit stones each time, and we might lose a year's harvest."

"Martial arts cultivation is not easy!"

Shen He also sighed.

"rise!!!"

No sooner had he finished speaking than Yang Qi gave a deep shout, raised the bamboo pole in his hand, and pulled something out of the water—a black and white mandarin fish with faint golden stripes.

"Ha ha!"

Yang Qi smiled, grabbed the fish, and then transmitted his voice to Shen He: "Brother, I won!"

"Oh?"

Shen He's voice came back: "What kind of spirit fish did you catch?"

“A golden-spotted osmanthus fish, though not yet a spirit fish, can still fetch a spirit stone in the market. The Drunken Immortal Pavilion is willing to buy it.”

Yang Qi's laughter carried a hint of pride: "The source of this Spirit Stream is an underground river beneath Red Maple Valley, which intersects with the valley's geological veins, thus nurturing many exotic spirit fish and rare spiritual creatures. This Golden-spotted Osmanthus is one of them."

After saying that, he shook his head again: "It's a pity that the good stuff doesn't go to outsiders. Red Maple Valley has long sealed off that underground river to prevent the spirit fish and spirits from leaving. They even created the position of spirit fisherman to let some cultivators who are good at raising spirit fish take care of them."

"Oh?"

Shen He raised an eyebrow: "So, the Spirit Fisherman still has a place in Red Maple Valley?"

"Of course there is."

Yang Qi shook his head: "But it's hard to compete for, because the underground river intersects with the spiritual veins of Red Maple Valley, and the spiritual energy is very abundant, comparable to the market caves. So the position of spirit fisherman is very sought after. Not only do you need to have the skills of spirit fishing, but you also need to bribe the manager."

Shen He frowned: "Isn't this just paying to work?"

“Who says otherwise?” Yang Qi said with a wry smile, “But even so, there are still a lot of people vying for it, including some who are at the Qi Refining Realm. Not to mention us martial arts practitioners, most of the cultivators in Red Maple Valley can’t become the Spirit Fisherman.”

"Is that so?"

Shen He murmured, "Then the spirit fish in this spirit stream..."

"Underground rivers are interconnected, and there are always fish that slip through the net!"

Yang Qi chuckled and said, "In addition, Red Maple Valley needs to maintain this Spirit Stream to ensure that we martial cultivators can cultivate the spirit fields, so there will be more or less some spirit fish and even spirit substances coming out, waiting in this stream for people like you and me who are destined to meet."

"This is also a major selling point of Red Maple Valley, which attracts cultivators. They can fish for free in this spiritual stream."

"Of course, you can only fish, not net or fish, and you can't go into the water to catch fish with magic or martial arts. If someone reports you or law enforcement officers find out, you will not only be heavily fined spirit stones, but you will also be kicked out of the valley."

"After all, fishing is difficult, and you have to use bait. You can't do business without capital. You even have to spend spirit stones and time and bait to help Red Maple Valley feed the spirit fish in the stream."

As they spoke, Yang Qi had already put the golden-spotted mandarin fish into the fish basket, and then chatted amiably with Shen He.

“Brother Zhong, you can’t rely solely on bait like spirit rice to catch these spirit fish, because besides spirit fish, there are also many common fish species and second-rate treasure fish in this spirit stream.”

"If you rely solely on spirit rice bait, no matter how much you throw in, it won't be enough for those miscellaneous fish. You must add some secret bait that can repel the miscellaneous fish while attracting spirit fish and treasure fish."

"I happen to have a bait recipe like this. It can repel common fish and attract spirit fish and precious fish. If you are interested, Brother Zhong, I will give you the recipe for just five spirit stones..."

"Whoosh!"

Before he could finish speaking, a rushing sound of water was heard.

Yang Qi's eyes narrowed, and he stood up to look. He saw that several dozen feet away, Shen He raised his fishing rod and pulled a carp about a foot long, with a bright red body and golden lines on its back, out of the stream.

"Crimson Koi?"

Yang Qi's pupils shrank, and he was completely dumbfounded.

"How could this be? How could he have caught a Crimson Blood Koi?"

"This is a dragon-type spirit fish. Even if it's only at the first rank, it's worth fifty spirit stones."

"He caught a whole year's harvest from my farming with just one fishing rod?"

"Could it be that he also set up camp here?"

"No, no, no, he's been busy planting new seedlings these past few days, how could he have time to come here to dig a hole?"

"Was it just pure luck, or did they use some special bait?"

Yang Qi's eyes flickered, but he quickly regained his composure and cupped his hands to congratulate Shen He: "Congratulations, Brother Zhong! This is a Crimson Blood Koi, the most valuable spirit fish in the Red Maple Spirit Stream. I've been guarding it for decades, and this is the first time I've ever seen anyone catch one."

"Luck luck!"

Shen He chuckled in response, his movements even more swift as he stunned the lively, red-blooded koi and put it into his basket before continuing to fish.

"Um!?"

"You got the Crimson Blood Koi, and you still won't leave!"

"Is it because they believe the valley is safe, or is it because they are highly skilled and daring?"

Yang Qi's eyes flickered, as if he was struggling, but in the end he sat down and continued fishing in silence.

"Whoosh!"

However, just as he sat down, he heard a splashing sound. Yang Qi looked over in surprise and saw Shen He lift a bamboo pole and pull a golden mandarin fish out of the water.

"..."

In an instant, the bamboo forest fell silent, with only the splashing of mandarin fish breaking the silence.

(End of this chapter)