Dongting Immortal Clan

Upon hearing the sound, Chen Xiaohu immediately went over and stared at the fish, just like his second brother.

At first, I couldn't see anything special about it; it was just a nicer-looking fish.

But as he focused his attention on it, the fire in his dantian suddenly jerked.

The fish had a faint, almost imperceptible, silvery-white glow on its body, like moonlight condensed on its scales.

"The aura of moonlight?"

Chen Xiaohu asked in surprise.

Chen Changhe nodded, then shook his head.

"It might not be the essence of the moon; it could be something else entirely."

"But this fish is indeed different from ordinary fish."

Listening to his two younger brothers' words, Chen Dajiang also felt that this fish was unusual.

"So, are you still selling it or not?"

He scooped the silver threadfin fish out of the basin.

Chen Changhe hesitated for a moment.

Two or three hundred coins was not a small amount for the Chen family.

But this fish possesses spiritual energy, which might be helpful to his and Hu'er's cultivation, and could even help his father and elder brother embark on the path of cultivation as well.

"I'm not selling it anymore."

Chen Changhe gritted his teeth and said:

"Keep it for now."

"Let's see if we can figure out anything from it."

"Then I'll keep it in a different tank."

Chen Dajiang didn't mind. He kept the silver threadfin fish in a small tank and then went to clean up the few river clams.

The clam shells were covered in mud, so he rinsed them several times with clean water and then brushed them.

Just as they were about to cut them open to take the meat, Chen Xiaohu suddenly ran over.

"Wait a minute, brother!"

Chen Xiaohu squatted down and picked up the river mussels one by one to examine them.

When he picked up the third one, his hand suddenly trembled.

The clam was slightly ajar, and a soft light shone through the gap.

It was a pale golden color, like the afterglow of the setting sun at dusk.

"Second brother, this clam shell also possesses spiritual energy!"

Chen Xiaohu's voice trembled slightly.

Chen Changhe quickly took the clam and examined it carefully.

The clam shell does indeed contain a spiritual energy, different from that of the silver fish, and it is gentler.

"Big brother, give me the knife."

Chen Changhe picked up the knife and inserted it along the seam of the clam shell, then pried it open with force.

The clam opened with a sound, revealing several round pearls of varying sizes inside.

The largest one was about the size of a little finger, and the smallest was about the size of a soybean. They were all milky white with a faint golden luster.

pearl.

Five pearls.

Chen Dajiang was stunned.

He fished on the lake for ten years but never caught a clam with a pearl.

This stuff is extremely rare; one piece can sell for several taels of silver.

Chen Xiaohu picked up the largest pearl, placed it in his palm, and closed his eyes to feel it.

When I opened my eyes again, my whole body was glowing.

The fire in his dantian suddenly surged, and the moonlight energy he had cultivated within his body seemed to be summoned, rapidly circulating through his meridians.

A silvery-white light emanated from his pores, enveloping his entire body in a faint halo.

"This pearl possesses a spiritual essence!"

Chen Xiaohu's voice even changed tone.

"It's thicker than the fish's; I can feel it seeping into my body!"

Chen Changhe picked up one and closed his eyes to sense it.

A moment later, he opened his eyes and took a deep breath:

"really."

"This pearl contains a spiritual light, which, although not as bright as moonlight, can be directly absorbed into the body."

Chen Changhe was certain of it.

"Come on, let's go inside and let Dad take a look."

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

Chen Chuansheng had caught a cold and lost his usual energy. At this moment, he was leaning against the headboard, picking up a pearl and closing his eyes to sense it.

Chen Changhe paused for a moment, then said:

"father."

"Do you react to this pearl?"

"I can sense it, but I can't absorb it."

Chen Chuansheng said in a calm voice.

In the darkness.

He sensed a wisp of energy, and it was this energy that caused the pearl to emit a shimmering light.

However, he himself could not touch that ray of light.

"How did you feel after absorbing it?"

Chen Chuansheng opened his eyes and looked at Chen Changhe and Chen Xiaohu by the bedside.

"The inner fire has grown stronger, and the power of the Moon Essence has also increased!"

Chen Xiaohu immediately responded:

"I only had thirteen strands of magic power before, but after absorbing the spiritual energy of the pearl, it immediately increased to fourteen strands."

"My magical power has also increased, but not as quickly as Hu'er's."

Chen Changhe nodded.

Chen Chuansheng pondered for a moment, then said:

"This item can help refine magical power; it should be the cultivation resource mentioned by the immortal master."

"These five pearls are for your use. Go and absorb them now."

"Dajiang, go cast your nets on the lake again tomorrow and see if you can catch any more magic clams!"

"Yes."

The three people in front of the bed nodded emphatically.

……

Chen Dajiang left the house and went to the kitchen to prepare food.

Chen Changhe and Chen Xiaohu each held a pearl, sat cross-legged in the room, and began to practice their internal energy with their eyes closed.

The spiritual light within the pearl, like warm spring water, slowly flowed into the Laogong acupoint in the palm, ascended along the meridians of the arm, and soon reached the chest, converging into the dantian.

Nourished by this spiritual light, the fire in the heart suddenly surged and burned brightly.

Chen Changhe's complexion was rosy like a date, and his heart fire, which started as small as a sesame seed, instantly grew to the size of a soybean.

The flames roared and burned, illuminating his dantian.

To his surprise, his magical power began to increase rapidly.

The inner fire refined more spiritual light, causing it to converge and gradually form the shape of a second strand of magical power.

The newly generated magical power landed beside the heart fire, corresponding to the original wisp of complete magical power, like two lotus leaves.

Chen Xiaohu's absorption of spiritual light was even faster.

He originally possessed only fourteen strands of moonlight energy, which condensed together like pale golden white lotuses.

As the pearl's spiritual light was infused, the magical power began to grow rapidly.

Fifteen strands, sixteen strands, seventeen strands...

One after another, wisps of pale golden light drifted out from the heart fire, illuminating his dantian like feathers.

When the spiritual light was exhausted, the largest bead in his hand had dimmed and turned into an ordinary white pebble.

Chen Xiaohu opened his eyes and sensed the magical power in his dantian.

There are already twenty-one strands!

The one or two hours of cultivation he had done were equivalent to the two or three months of effort he had previously put in.

Chen Xiaohu was so excited he almost jumped up, and wanted to rush out to tell the others.

But then he saw his second brother already sitting in the main room, holding a pearl that had lost its luster, with the same expression as him.

"Second Brother, I've gained eight strands of magical power. How much have you gained?"

Chen Changhe stretched out his hand and made a number.

"I have already mastered three strands of magical power."

He had cultivated for so long before finally refining a single strand, but now, by absorbing just one pearl, he has gained two more strands.

If all the remaining pearls are absorbed, it is estimated that the growth will be even greater.

The two looked at each other and saw the surprise in each other's eyes.

Suddenly, Chen Changhe thought of something and asked:

"What does your inner fire look like now?"

Chen Xiaohu was taken aback, looked inward at his dantian, and replied:

"My inner fire is barely the size of a fist, and those twenty-one strands of magical power are like fire feathers, surrounding the inner fire."

"So that's how it is."

Chen Changhe suddenly realized, his face flushed slightly, and he said excitedly:

"Now I finally understand the meaning of the heart lamp."

"How so?"

Chen Changhe laughed and slowly began to speak.

"In its early stages, the fire of the heart is like a sesame seed or a mung bean; as it grows stronger, it becomes like a pigeon egg."

"Now that you have received twenty-one strands of magical power, your inner fire is blazing. Can you now see your body more clearly and know where your meridians are blocked and where your qi and blood are stagnant?"

"That's true."

Upon hearing this, Chen Xiaohu immediately nodded.

"I used to only be able to see the skin and flesh, but now I can see the veins clearly. It's as if the body has no secrets in my eyes anymore."

"This is the fire of the heart, like a lamp, illuminating the true self."

Chen Changhe's eyes were bright, and a wisp of white steam rose from his palm.

"My heart fire is weak now, only able to illuminate the dantian. The next step is to illuminate the skin and flesh, and even the meridians of the whole body."

"When the full body is revealed, perhaps the wooden form can be shed and the true form can be forged."

After listening to his second brother's explanation, Chen Xiaohu suddenly remembered what was said in the cultivation technique.

"When the canopy is first formed, the body is burned and tempered, the mortal is transformed and the reins are broken, and the true form is revealed."

He had never understood its meaning.

Now, after confirming my second brother's guess, everything became clear.

That must be it!

The two immediately told their father what they were thinking.

Chen Chuansheng didn't say much, only instructing them to focus on their cultivation before letting them go back to their respective places.

The next two weeks.

The two brothers absorbed the spiritual light from the pearl.

Chen Xiaohu now possessed twenty-six strands of magical power, and his inner fire was the size of a fist.

Chen Changhe also possessed seven strands of magical power, which were already the size of pigeon eggs.

As the flames within his body intensified, Chen Changhe gained a deeper understanding of cultivation.

At the same time, his appetite also increased.