Dongting Immortal Clan

However, these mere ten or so sheets of paper contained three years of Chen Xiaohu's life and countless concerns.

After reading the letter one by one, Chen Changhe could no longer hold back his tears, which rolled down his cheeks and dripped onto the letter.

Between the lines, he seemed to see his younger brother growing up, writing under the lamp, putting every bit of his time in the mountains and his endless longing for his family into paper.

The eldest brother and father were wiping their faces with their sleeves, tears streaming down their faces.

After a long while, Chen Changhe finally came to his senses, wiped away his tears, took a deep breath, bowed deeply to Li Kaihe who was sipping tea, and said in a somewhat hoarse voice:

"Thank you, Immortal Master!"

"Please excuse my poor attempt, Immortal Master!"

Li Kaihe put down his teacup, smiled gently, and pointed to the letter, saying:

"It's only human nature, there's no need to laugh at it."

"Now that you have read the letter from home, you should know that what I said when I spoke at the door was true."

Chen Changhe immediately clasped his hands in embarrassment and said:

"Before the arrival of the immortal master, we had just gone through a great battle and were like frightened birds. Please forgive us."

Upon hearing this, Li Kaihe raised an eyebrow and said seriously:

"My spiritual treasures are now complete, and I am about to refine my qi. I will soon be setting off to return to Tianyong City. Before I leave, if there are any difficulties at home or if you have any questions about your cultivation, please speak frankly. I will do my best to help!"

Chen Changhe remained silent for a few moments, recalling the words on the letter, before taking a deep breath and whispering:

"Right now, there are some things at home I'd like to ask for your advice on..."

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At night, the moonlight was hazy, and the mountains were filled with a thin mist.

Outside Zhoujia Village, on that low slope, Chen Changhe and Li Kaihe arrived and, hidden in the night, used their Qi-gazing technique to survey the village.

"what?"

In Li Kaihe's view, a mottled, illusory pillar of light appeared in the sky above Zhoujia Village, resembling mist yet not quite, and was very hazy.

"It is indeed a sign of spiritual energy gathering."

Li Kaihe's gaze narrowed slightly. After sensing the surroundings for a moment, he understood and said:

"This place has been set up with a spirit-gathering array to capture the earth's veins and water energy. Over time, the energy has accumulated and transformed, eventually forming the rudimentary form of this spiritual energy... The person who set up this array is quite formidable."

Chen Changhe maintained a calm expression, but inwardly he was secretly alarmed:

"Li Kaihe is indeed from a prominent family; his insight is sharp, and he saw through the key point at a glance."

Li Kaihe observed for a while, his face beaming with even greater joy, and he rubbed his palms together, saying:

"The spirit has taken form, its intelligence is on the verge of development, and judging from its aura, it has not yet entered the innate stage. This is the best time to collect and refine it!"

He turned to look at Chen Changhe, his smile sincere, and said:

"Junior Brother Xiaohu, you are truly my lucky star!"

"Fellow Daoist Chen, please lead the way so we can enter the village and investigate."

As he spoke, he immediately set off.

Chen Changhe sighed softly to himself.

Knowing that this item was no longer something they could keep.

When he encountered the lake demon again at Zhou Shenpo's place, he became extremely wary of the Zhou family. Today, he brought Li Kaihe here to test the waters for his family.

The two used their lightness technique, their figures flashing through the night like wisps of smoke. In just a dozen breaths, they silently slipped into Zhoujia Village from the low slope.

It was nearly night, and the village was quiet except for the chirping of insects and the barking of dogs.

Li Kaihe flicked his magic power, and the guard dog fell silent.

He dispersed his spiritual senses, immediately found a direction, and led Chen Changhe over the wall into the Zhou family's old house.

As soon as he landed, Chen Changhe noticed something was wrong.

The uneven bluestone floor resembled engraved runes, and seemed to exert a faint suction force, not only gathering spiritual energy but also drawing out the magical power within his body.

"Judging from the arrangement of this formation, it is probably no less than the second grade. The formation principle is quite ingenious, and it has the effects of gathering spiritual energy and devouring spiritual energy."

Li Kaihe frowned slightly, his voice tinged with surprise as he said:

"Fellow Daoist Chen."

"This formation is ancient and has no one to maintain it. You only need to concentrate and circulate your cultivation technique to resist this spirit-devouring power... The hiding place of the evil spirit is over here."

Having determined his location, Li Kaihe immediately vanished in a flash.

Chen Changhe dared not delay and followed closely behind. He had always been very curious about this old house and wanted to know if everything here was related to Granny Zhou and the evil spirit in the lake.

……

Soon, the two arrived at a courtyard deep within the mansion.

The place is somewhat dilapidated; in the middle of the courtyard is a rockery made of lake stones.

The flowing water from the foot of the mountain gathers into a clear pond, where several koi carp swim slowly under the hazy moonlight, their tail fins cutting through the shimmering waves.

"I see."

Li Kaihe stood by the pond, probed with his spiritual sense, and quickly figured out the reason.

"There must be an ancient well with flowing water beneath this pool that connects to an underground river. Over time, it has nurtured a tiny water-based spiritual eye."

"It's just that the spiritual eye is obscured by the aura stirred up by the pond water and the fish swimming in it, and remains hidden from the world."

"That malevolent energy leaked out from the gaps in the sealing stone slabs above the well..."

Before he finished speaking, Li Kaihe's gaze sharpened, locking onto a spot in the pool.

He simply pointed his fingers and gestured outwards, and a gentle suction force emanated from his palm.

"Splash!"

Water splashes lightly.

He actually lifted a golden carp, nearly three feet long, with two pale golden whiskers under its chin, out of the water!

The golden carp struggled as soon as it left the water, shaking its head and wagging its tail. Its golden scales shimmered and shone brightly, and a low, muffled thunderous sound could be faintly heard emanating from its body!

"What incredible luck! Absolutely incredible luck!"

Li Kaihe's eyes lit up with extreme surprise, and he exclaimed "Bravo!" repeatedly.

"This pond actually houses a 'Yuan River Dragon Carp' that is at least a hundred years old!"

"These spiritual objects must have been specially sought out by the person who set up the formation back then, and placed on this spiritual eye so that it could absorb and release spiritual energy, harmonize yin and yang, nourish the spiritual energy, and guard the spiritual eye!"

"A century has passed, and the person who set up the formation has not come to claim it; they are likely long gone... With this spiritual item, the grade of the true energy I've condensed during my Qi Refining Breakthrough might advance further..."

As he spoke, he reached into the storage bag at his waist.

A beam of azure light flew out and transformed into a warm, lustrous jade bowl.

The outer wall of the jade bowl is carved with patterns of mountains, rivers, and surging waves, with the faint sound of tides emanating from it.

The jade bowl hangs in the air, its rim facing down, aimed at the golden carp.

A gentle suction force enveloped it, and the golden carp's golden light faded, transforming into a golden rainbow that was drawn into the bowl.

Chen Changhe leaned closer to look and saw that a lifelike golden carp pattern had appeared on the inner wall of the jade bowl.

The pattern was not inanimate; it moved slowly among the ripples on the bowl's surface, occasionally emitting a mooing sound.

After the golden carp was taken away, the spiritual light in the pond visibly dimmed a little.

The spiritual energy around them had also thinned out considerably, with only wisps of spiritual energy still seeping out from under the stone slab at the wellhead.

"There must be something hidden in this well. It's sealed off, and even my spiritual sense can't penetrate it."

"Fellow Daoist Chen..."

He turned to look at Chen Changhe, his original joy now mixed with a hint of embarrassment and apology.

After all, this place was discovered by Chen Changhe, and this dragon carp opportunity should have belonged to the Chen family.

When Chen Xiaohu returns home after a few years, he can be subdued naturally.

By doing this, he was essentially "stealing" his junior brother's opportunity.

This made him feel uneasy.

Judging from his expression, Chen Changhe already knew what he meant. Before he could speak, he cupped his hands and said frankly:

"Fellow Daoist Li, there's no need to worry about this."

"Hu'er is still far from mastering Qi cultivation, so such a spiritual object is of little use to him at present."

"Although the spiritual energy on this lake is thin, cultivators still occasionally pass by. This item has been hidden here for a hundred years without anyone discovering it. Today, it has been obtained by you, fellow Daoist, which means that your own destiny has arrived."

"If it weren't for your trouble in delivering the message to Hu'er, we wouldn't have met."

Every drink and every bite is preordained.