He fell off a cliff but unexpectedly gained a cultivation inheritance.

As the flames leaped, the crackling of the burning firewood mingled with the babbling of the stream, creating a unique, tranquil melody in this secluded paradise. Zhang Bufan sat by the rocky platform, a peach branch used for skewering fish held in his hand, which he would occasionally turn gently, his eyes fixed intently on the silver fish burning in the fire. For him, grilling a fish was hardly a difficult task—he came from a rural background and had helped his parents with household chores and farm work since he could remember, mastering everything from cutting grass and feeding pigs to washing clothes and cooking. His family was poor when he was young, and they only ate meat once a year during festivals. On ordinary days, when he craved meat, he would go with his friends from the village to catch fish in the river or collect bird eggs in the mountains, then grill them in the simplest way possible—a rare treat. Later, during his years working in Shenzhen, to save money and ensure he ate safely, he cooked for himself almost every day, developing excellent home-style cooking skills, with grilling being one of his specialties.

With his rich experience, Zhang Bufan could always precisely control the heat. He watched as the silverfish's skin gradually turned from its initial silvery-white to an enticing golden yellow. The scales curled slightly under the high temperature, and the extracted oil dripped onto the fire, sizzling and sparking tiny sparks, while simultaneously releasing an increasingly rich aroma. This aroma was unlike any fish he had ever grilled before; it had no fishy smell whatsoever. Instead, it perfectly blended the natural sweetness of the fish with the refreshing scent nurtured by the spiritual spring, and even carried a faint fragrance of burning peach branches. Before even taking a bite, it was enough to make one's mouth water.

"Almost done." Zhang Bufan took a deep breath of the aroma, silently judging in his mind. By now, the entire silver fish had been roasted to a golden brown on all sides, its skin slightly puffed up. He could feel the firmness and elasticity of the flesh when he gently pressed it with his fingers, and the rich aroma of the meat wafted through his fingers, making his hunger even stronger. He carefully removed the peach branch from the fire and placed it on a nearby stone to cool. He then used a few pebbles to stir the fire a few times, completely extinguishing the flames and leaving only a few dark red embers.

After waiting a moment, until the silverfish cooled down a bit and wasn't too hot to eat, Zhang Bufan eagerly broke off a small piece of fish meat with its golden skin still attached. He blew on it and popped it into his mouth. The moment he bit down, the tenderness of the fish meat exploded in his mouth. The extreme sweetness and smoothness made him squint his eyes and almost swallow his tongue. No oil, salt, soy sauce, or vinegar were added, yet it didn't affect the taste at all; instead, it brought out the purest flavor of the silverfish. The fish meat fibers were so delicate that it almost didn't require chewing; it melted in his mouth with a gentle touch. The rich, fresh aroma slid down his throat and into his stomach, bringing an indescribable sense of satisfaction, and a gentle warmth spread throughout his body.

"This is so delicious! It's better than any fish I've ever eaten!" Zhang Bufan exclaimed sincerely. He could no longer contain himself and grabbed the silver fish with both hands, devouring it in large mouthfuls. The sweetness of the fish spread throughout his mouth, each bite infused with rich spiritual energy. Not only did it satisfy his hunger, but he could also clearly feel a faint trace of spiritual energy flowing down his esophagus and into his body, slowly integrating into his meridians. For him, who had just broken through to the second level of Qi Refining and desperately needed to replenish his energy, this was undoubtedly excellent nourishment.

You see, he hadn't eaten meat for seven whole days. Since falling off the cliff at Mount Hua and entering the secret realm, he'd relied entirely on spirit peaches to stave off hunger for the past few days. While the peaches were filling and replenished his spiritual energy, for Zhang Bufan, who had grown up eating only grains, eggs, and meat, they lacked the satisfying warmth of a real meal. This three-pound silver fish was a godsend. He devoured it greedily, without a care for appearances. The delicious aroma of the fish, combined with the relief from his hunger, brought him a long-lost sense of contentment and joy.

In less than ten minutes, Zhang Bufan had devoured the entire three-pound silverfish, licking clean even the last bits of meat clinging to the bones, leaving only a complete skeleton. After the last bite, he let out a satisfied burp, patted his slightly bulging belly, and a contented smile spread across his face. The hunger in his stomach had completely vanished, replaced by a feeling of fullness, and his whole body was filled with a warm energy. The fatigue from his previous cultivation had also lessened considerably.

Zhang Bufan stood up, walked to the stream, and casually picked a ripe spirit peach from the peach tree. He washed it clean with the clear spirit spring water and took a big bite. The sweetness of the spirit peach and the freshness of the silver fish intertwined in his mouth, creating a unique flavor. He then scooped up a few handfuls of spirit spring water and drank it down. The cool water slid down his throat and into his stomach, dispelling the slight heat from the roasted meat, and he instantly felt refreshed.

After eating and drinking his fill, Zhang Bufan's mind completely relaxed. He looked up at the soft light from the cave ceiling, thinking about returning to the wooden hut as soon as possible to continue his cultivation. He had only just broken through to the second level of Qi Refining, and his Hand Taiyin Lung Meridian had only opened one acupoint, the Zhongfu point. There was still a long way to go before reaching the peak of the second level of Qi Refining, so he had to seize the time to improve his cultivation. With that thought, he quickly walked to the stone wall not far away, carefully chiseled out two low-grade spirit stones the size of eggs, put them in his pocket, and then turned and walked towards the wooden hut.

As Zhang Bufan passed the small lake, he subconsciously stopped and looked into the water. The startled school of silverfish had gradually calmed down and were now leisurely darting through the water, their silvery-white forms standing out vividly in the clear water. Looking at these silverfish, a thought suddenly flashed through Zhang Bufan's mind: this small lake is about three hundred meters in diameter, and it doesn't seem shallow either. Moreover, it has reproduced for over three thousand years, so why are there so few silverfish?

He observed carefully and found that although there seemed to be a lot of silverfish in the lake, upon closer inspection, there were only about a hundred larger ones, and the number of small juveniles was not much either. The overall scale was far smaller than he had imagined. "I'm currently at the second level of Qi Refining, and I need to consume a silverfish every three to five days to replenish my energy. At this rate, I'll have eaten all of these silverfish in no time," Zhang Bufan thought to himself. Moreover, the silverfish he had just eaten, although not small, was not very plump and felt rather thin, clearly due to insufficient food.

He turned to look at the peach grove beside him. The ground was covered with a thick layer of peach petals, leaves, and shriveled peaches, more than a foot thick, emitting a rich, sweet fragrance. "These peach petals and leaves contain celestial energy, a natural food source for the silverfish. But with so much food piled up here, why are the silverfish still not full?" Zhang Bufan wondered, then suddenly realized. It turned out that only a small amount of peach petals and leaves would drift into the lake along the stream; most of them accumulated on the ground in the peach grove, completely unusable by the silverfish. As a result, the silverfish's food source became extremely limited, naturally preventing them from multiplying in large numbers.

"If that's the case, why don't I actively feed them?" A bold idea sprouted in Zhang Bufan's mind. If he regularly threw the peach petals, leaves, and shriveled peaches piled up in the peach grove into the lake, providing ample food for the silverfish, their numbers would definitely increase rapidly. Then he could achieve "silverfish freedom" and never have to worry about food shortages again. Moreover, these silverfish might contain the bloodline of the Silver Dragon Loach, which improves cultivation aptitude. Long-term consumption would undoubtedly be of great benefit to his cultivation.

Acting on his thoughts, Zhang Bufan was never one to procrastinate. He immediately turned and walked into the peach grove, bent down and scooped up a large handful of fresh peach petals and leaves, quickly walked to the lakeside, and gently scattered them into the water. With a "splash," the petals and leaves fell into the water, spreading with the current, and a rich, sweet fragrance instantly filled the lake. The silver fish in the lake reacted immediately, swimming towards the direction where the petals had fallen, vying for the food, and the once calm lake surface became lively again.

Zhang Bufan smiled as he watched the silverfish scrambling for food. He then scooped up more than a dozen handfuls of peach petals, leaves, and a few shriveled peaches from the peach grove and scattered them into the lake. He only stopped when a thick layer of petals and leaves floated on the surface and the silverfish's fighting subsided. "Looks like they're full," Zhang Bufan murmured to himself. If he fed them every time after his cultivation, providing them with ample food, they would soon multiply rapidly, and the number of silverfish in the lake would surely increase several times over.

With the food supply issue resolved, Zhang Bufan felt more at ease. He glanced once more at the school of silver fish in the lake, then turned and walked towards the wooden hut. His steps were light, his body brimming with power, and he was filled with anticipation for his upcoming cultivation. Back at the hut, he closed the door behind him, shutting out outside noise. He walked to a corner of the open space, sat cross-legged, and took out two low-grade spirit stones from his robes. He held one in his palm and placed the other on the ground in front of him.

Zhang Bufan took a deep breath, closed his eyes, concentrated his mind, and began to circulate the *Xuanqing Daodao Jue*, preparing to continue attacking the next acupoint on the Hand Taiyin Lung Meridian—the Chize acupoint. However, just as his technique was about to begin, a warm current suddenly surged from his abdomen, rapidly spreading throughout his body along the meridians. This warm current was different from the spiritual energy in the spirit stone, and also different from the energy brought by the spirit peach; it was gentle and mellow, and wherever it flowed, the meridians felt warm and itchy, exceptionally comfortable.

"Huh? What's going on?" Zhang Bufan was startled and immediately stopped his cultivation, calming his mind to examine his body. What he saw filled him with joy. He saw a warm current flowing slowly through his meridians. Wherever it passed, whether it was the eight extraordinary meridians that had already been opened and the Zhongfu acupoint of the Lung Meridian of Hand-Taiyin, or other meridians that had not yet been opened, they were all being slowly nourished by the warm current. The width of the meridians was gradually increasing, and the barriers were becoming more resilient.

The changes are particularly noticeable in the newly opened meridian between the Zhongfu and Chize acupoints. The originally slender meridian, nourished by the warm current, is widening slightly at a rate visible to the inside. The blockage at the Chize acupoint is also thinning due to the widening of the meridian and the permeation of the warm current. The originally hard barrier now even has a faint luster, as if it has been softened.

Although the changes were slow and subtle, under his keen internal perception, every subtle shift was clearly visible and undeniably occurring. A surge of overwhelming joy welled up within Zhang Bufan: "Could it be the effect of those silver fish? These silver fish really can improve cultivation aptitude and broaden meridians!" He had only speculated before, but now, experiencing the changes in his meridians firsthand, he finally confirmed it.

It's important to understand that the width and resilience of one's meridians directly determine the amount and speed at which spiritual energy can be contained and circulated, having a crucial impact on cultivation speed. A large part of the reason his mixed five-attribute spiritual root aptitude was poor was due to his narrow meridians, thick barriers, and obstructed spiritual energy flow, resulting in slow refining speed. Now, these silver fish can actually widen his meridians and soften the barriers, which undoubtedly improves his cultivation aptitude at its root, making his path to immortality much smoother.

Zhang Bufan suppressed his excitement, letting the warm current flow through his body, nourishing his meridians. He could clearly feel that as his meridians widened, his control over spiritual energy became smoother, and the minor damage to his meridians left from the previous attack on the Zhongfu acupoint was rapidly repaired under the nourishment of the warm current. About half an hour later, the warm current in his body gradually dissipated, but the changes in his meridians were permanently preserved.

Zhang Bufan slowly opened his eyes, his gaze blazing with intense light. He flexed his fingers, clearly feeling that the flow of spiritual energy within his body was much faster than before, and the Qi rotation in his dantian was more stable and powerful. "Excellent! With these silver fish, my cultivation speed will definitely increase significantly!" He was incredibly excited, filled with confidence for his future path of cultivation.

Zhang Bufan stood up and walked to the futon in the center of the room. Looking at the pale green skull seated upon it, his eyes filled with gratitude. If it weren't for his master, Daoist Xuanqing, opening up this secret realm and leaving behind the immortal peach tree and these silver fish imbued with the bloodline of the Silver Dragon Loach, he would never have had such an opportunity. He straightened his clothes, respectfully kowtowed three times to the skull, and solemnly said, "Thank you for your grace, Master! This disciple will certainly cultivate diligently, live up to your expectations, inherit your mantle as soon as possible, and return your remains and legacy to the Xuanqing Immortal Sect!"

After expressing his gratitude, Zhang Bufan returned to his corner and sat down again, picking up the spirit stone from the ground and holding it in his palm. He was now full of energy, his meridians clear, and brimming with enthusiasm for his upcoming cultivation. He closed his eyes and once again circulated the *Mysterious Purity Dao Inquiry Technique*, guiding the spiritual energy from the spirit stone and the surrounding天地灵气 (heaven and earth spiritual energy) into his body, slowly pushing it towards the barrier of his Chize acupoint. This time, the flow of spiritual energy was much smoother, and the resistance when breaking through the barrier was significantly less than before. Zhang Bufan knew that his path to immortality had taken another solid step forward because of these silver fish.