First achieve immortality, then cultivate immortality.

At night, the lake water gurgled and splashed.

The moonlight was so bright that it reflected in the lake as if there were two silver moons.

Walking on the lake feels like being above a galaxy.

As Xu Mu was admiring the rare beautiful scenery, a rogue cultivator next to him cursed, "That damned Cold Nether Fish only appears at night. How are we supposed to find it? We can't even accidentally hurt the Blue Amber Fish, or we'll have to pay for it, damn it!"

This rather temperamental man was codenamed Old Mo.

The other three are Lao Bai, Lao Qiu, and Lao Yi, plus Xu Mu, making a total of five temporary workers responsible for a section of water.

Old Mo cursed and stared at the water, searching for the Cold Ghost Fish.

To find the Cold Ghost Fish, one can only rely on spiritual senses, but the lake water is too turbulent, so one needs to be very careful.

Old Bai and Old Qiu are searching intently, each responsible for a small area.

Xu Mu, however, remained calm and composed, leisurely appreciating the night view and gazing at the water.

Just then, the old man's voice came, mysteriously asking, "Old Xu, do you want some treasure?"

Xu Mu raised an eyebrow: "What? You're giving me a ride?"

The old man looked just as young as him, and was somewhat handsome, but he had a shifty, rat-like appearance; he might be a womanizer.

The old man, seemingly working nearby, actually smiled mysteriously: "Do you know why I came here? This is an opportunity I've been waiting for for a long time."

Normally, the Wang family would spot anyone who approached Blue Amber Lake, and only at that time could they enter.

The entire lake was covered with multiple arrays, making it impossible to fly; one could only walk on the water.

The Wang family kept a close watch on the fish and absolutely forbade anyone from stealing them.

Just like right now, someone is watching them from behind.

"What do you want to say?" Xu Mu replied calmly.

The old man smiled faintly and said, "Don't be so wary. I think you are a true seeker of the Tao, not one of those vulgar people who pursue power or influence. We'll definitely get along well."

"Now, let me share with you the secrets of Blue Amber Lake."

As he spoke, he asked to himself, "Do you know about the Nine Ancient Divine Cauldrons?"

"have no idea."

As he answered, Xu Mu instantly thought of the small cauldron in his mind.

My little cauldron is amazing; it can be preserved in people's minds, which seems to make it worthy of the awesome title of "Ancient Divine Cauldron".

The elder explained, "That cauldron was forged a long, long time ago, when ancient sages were still seeking the Dao through alchemy. It was the strongest Dao artifact forged by the nine strongest sects at that time."

Some say that after the emergence of Qi cultivation methods, the art of alchemy declined. To ensure the continuation of their alchemy skills, the nine strongest alchemists of the time forged these nine divine cauldrons to pass on their lineage.

Upon hearing this, Xu Mu felt that he was basically certain that what he had in his hand was one of the ancient divine cauldrons.

He asked calmly, "How could the art of alchemy be declining? Isn't everyone learning alchemy these days?"

"That was then. It is said that when the Qi cultivation method was first created, people believed that one should not take pills because pills contain toxins and impurities, which would affect one's cultivation."

As it turned out, Qi cultivation was superior to alchemy, so alchemy was almost entirely abandoned. Cultivators focused more on Qi cultivation and Qimen formations, and the traditions of alchemy sects were completely severed.

Against this backdrop, the nine major sects pooled their last remaining strength to forge the divine cauldron, so that it could be passed down to future generations—quite a heroic act, wasn't it?

Ah, the path of seeking the truth, the constant exploration and progress, how cruel yet exhilarating!

The old man's voice was filled with excitement and emotion.

You can tell from his voice that this guy is very different from ordinary cultivators.

"Are you trying to say that something this powerful is in a place like this?" Xu Mu said, full of disbelief.

Those things are from who knows how many years ago. It would be more believable if they appeared in a royal treasury that has been accumulated for hundreds of years in the mortal world than if they appeared here.

"Hey, don't disbelieve me, I have reliable information," the old man said confidently.

"If it really existed, wouldn't it have been picked up by someone long ago?" Xu Mu curled his lip, completely disbelieving.

"That's the key!" the old man said with absolute certainty.

"Let's search carefully together. It should be at the bottom of the lake. Legend has it that there's an ancient secret realm nearby. Maybe we can find the entrance."

Xu Mu didn't reply, too lazy to pay him any attention.

What ancient times and ancient times? They sound like a pig butchering scam.

The old man didn't say anything more and stared intently at the underwater world, searching carefully. It was unclear whether he was looking for the Cold Nether Fish or some ancient secret realm.

Xu Mu also began his work, opening his "Jade Clarity Eyes" to carefully observe the underwater movements and search for the Cold Nether Fish.

As night deepened, fish occasionally leaped out of the water, but they were all blue amber fish.

The five searched until late at night, but even after finding traces of Leng Youyu, they quickly lost her again.

Finding a few other fish that look very similar among a group of blue amberjack is extremely difficult.

Ultimately, this first night was only a preliminary understanding of the opponent's situation.

"Still haven't found it?" a harsh female voice rang out.

"If you waste even a moment longer and let Leng Youyu eat two more Blue Amber Fish, do you know how much ingots you'll lose? Can you afford to bear that?" the woman said coldly.

Xu Mu and the other four frowned, looked at each other, and then remained silent.

Such a large lake couldn't possibly be worked on by just the five of them. Of course, members of the Wang family participated, but this shrew only took her anger out on the five rogue cultivators.

Those members of the Wang family were also indirectly insulted, but they dared not utter a word.

There were ten people in total, most of whom were from collateral branches of the family, and a few of whom were adopted and changed their surname to Wang.

After all, even if a single aristocratic family desperately tries to have children, if they can have ten children with spiritual roots grow up over four or five generations, that would already be considered a large family.

Moreover, each child's cultivation requires resources, and whether the family can afford it is also a question.

Therefore, in order to expand their power, they often adopt other people's children, change their surnames, and make them members of the family.

We will hire freelance cultivators when we urgently need manpower.

This shrew is the Daoist partner of the eldest son of the current head of the Wang family (or rather, the first eldest son with spiritual roots). She is practically half the mistress of the house and has a high-level Qi Refining cultivation. Therefore, most people in the Wang family are afraid of her.

"Keep searching! The Cold Nether Fish only appears at night, how can we let you rest?" Xie Min sneered.

After exchanging bewildered glances, everyone had no choice but to return to work and stay up all night.

"Damn it, that stupid woman, if she's so capable, why doesn't she come looking for me herself?"

Xu Mu and the other four exchanged whispers, their voices filled with dissatisfaction and complaints.

However, the opposing family was powerful and influential, with a sect behind them, so even if the five rogue cultivators united to resist, it would be futile.

The old man was secretly reminding Xu Mu to find the treasure and then find a way to escape it, ignoring the Cold Ghost Fish, which was none of their business.

Xu Mu was quite helpless.

There really are no human rights for those who practice as independent cultivators.

Oh right, even as a low-level disciple in a sect, you have no human rights.

The class gap in the cultivation world is greater than that between humans and dogs.