Chapter 565: Fishing for people

After leaving Empress Luofu, Li Qi looked up at the sky.

All around were resplendent Immortal Secret Realms. Clearly, after Empress Luofu awakened, she had reinforced this place once again. It was now a genuine Third Grade area.

Looking at it this way, it probably wouldn't be long before the people of Mount Luofu sent people back to Mount Luofu to move all the remaining things back here.

Of course, if the Sun-Moon True Lead Cauldron awakened smoothly, then returning to the old site of Mount Luofu would also be a matter of course. At that time… probably no one would covet it anymore, right?

After all, with a Second Rank expert presiding, even in the world, this would be considered a first-class force.

Forget it, that's all for later. Let's deal with what's in front of me. Empress Luofu supported Teacher Zhu's statement, which means that although Teacher Zhu's approach was unsympathetic, it definitely had its reasons and wasn't meant to harm him.

Although there were certain risks… what could be done without risk?

It concerned his Dao path. If he insisted on no risk, how could there be such a good thing?

Therefore, Li Qi was relieved. He would face it honestly and do his best.

Thinking these thoughts, he left this place and returned to Mystic Radiance Mountain, to his Immortal Cave.

Sitting at the entrance of the Immortal Cave, looking at the mountain peak that hadn't changed much for hundreds of years, the Mountain God Niu Huang was walking as usual along the mountain path, inspecting the situation of the entire mountain.

As a Mountain God, he was extremely diligent. Li Qi had guided him many times over the years, so Niu Huang's cultivation progress was quite good, and he also had a background as a Righteous God, so he was living quite comfortably.

However, looking at the leisurely Niu Huang, a strange feeling suddenly arose in Li Qi's heart.

Hmm… his daughter hadn't returned.

His wife had gone to Alchemy, in seclusion.

In the Immortal Cave on Mystic Radiance Mountain, he was the only one.

How to put it…

It was still a little, lonely.

This kind of loneliness was actually not very common, because for someone like Li Qi, cultivating for decades was a very normal thing, and Li Qi had been in long-term seclusion more than once.

However, when in seclusion, there was always something to do. He would fully immerse himself in research and transformation, and these things took a lot of time. Once he started, time would unknowingly slip away, and before he knew it, several years had passed.

It was probably similar to Mortals who had worked a nine-to-five, two-day weekend job for ten years, only to look back and realize it had already been ten years, feeling like it wasn't that long.

But now, he wasn't in seclusion, nor was there any need for seclusion.

There was a kind of… confusion that a middle-aged man, who rarely had no work tasks and had a few days off on the weekend, felt after finishing his work, but his wife was at work and his daughter was at cram school, leaving him lying alone on the sofa.

Why not go fishing?

Li Qi thought to himself.

It seemed like a good idea.

During his trip to the East Sea, a Martial Artist named Shen Yijun taught Li Qi how to fish, which was actually quite interesting.

If he thought it, he would do it. Li Qi rose from his Immortal Cave, summoned the wind and clouds, unfurled his Ghost Chariot, and reached Star-Mansion Array in one day, arriving at the East Sea in four days.

Now, it was common for him to travel freely throughout the world without worrying about anything. For a Sixth Rank expert, traveling everywhere was no longer difficult. As long as he didn't go to an enemy's place, basically no one would bother him.

He arrived at the East Sea, and came to the East Isle here.

On the East Isle, the sea breeze blew, birds gathered, sea beasts churned, and boats wove through the water. It was as prosperous as ever. The salty, warm sea breeze blew, indeed offering a completely different scenery from Shaman God Mountain.

Li Qi used a water-splitting technique, parting the waves, and walked freely on the water, floating along. The commotion wasn't great, but it still startled the fish schools to dodge and the merfolk and conch people to avoid him wherever he passed.

Anyone who could travel alone on the East Sea must have confidence. Those without confidence… would be like Li Qi in the past, finding a boat and traveling in a group.

He arrived at the East Isle and registered in the usual way.

Then, he looked at the East Isle.

Li Qi, now, could discern the details of this giant Puppet with a glance.

Hmm… if activated, they would all be Fifth Rank Spiritual Artifacts. They were indeed powerful.

Six thousand Fifth Rank Spiritual Artifacts were used as coastal cities. The East Sea truly had something special.

Walking into the East Isle, Li Qi found a shop, knocked on the door, and said, "Boss, I need a set of fishing gear that can catch big fish of Seventh Rank and above."

Such a request was uncommon.

Even in the world, Seventh Rank was quite powerful. Fishing gear that could catch big fish of Seventh Rank and above would be considered a treasure of the shop for an ordinary store.

Therefore, these words startled the boss, who scrambled over: "Customer… what, what do you want? Could you please repeat it?"

The boss was a Seventh Rank toad demon, very short, with green skin, plump, soft and sticky body, a large mouth, and a tongue that flapped everywhere. He wore a small round hat and had two small mustaches.

However, upon closer inspection, the two small mustaches were actually two tentacles, making it difficult to distinguish whether he was a toad or a catfish.

But he was definitely a demon.

"I want a set of fishing gear that can catch big fish of Seventh Rank and above," Li Qi repeated.

"Customer, please come this way, please be seated!" He reacted and quickly said.

Then he waved his hand, and all the surrounding shop assistants, such as fish demons, flower demons, and other charming little monsters, were pushed aside, clearing a path and respectfully leading Li Qi to the back of the shop.

As Li Qi walked through, he felt that the decor here was quite creative, with various scenes floating around.

Sea breeze rolls trees, waves lift stars;

Coral condenses elixirs, tides wrinkle water shadows.

Illusions of fish, seaweeds, various sea beasts, and turtles swam everywhere.

The operating staff were basically all demons. Except for the boss, who was a toad, the others were all very beautiful, conforming to the world's aesthetic standards, and many were aquatic.

However… Li Qi felt that this shop was a bit of a Hell joke.

This was a fishing gear shop, and they hired a bunch of fish demons to sell fishing gear. The boss had some creativity.

Walking through the corridor to the back, the boss invited Li Qi to sit down, then solemnly took out a box from behind the display window.

The box was exquisitely decorated, extremely beautiful, with intricate patterns carved on it.

He said to Li Qi, "Our shop's treasure… we do have a Seventh Rank fishing gear, but—"

"But what? Just take it out," Li Qi waved his hand, not bothering to listen to the unnecessary talk.

It was just a Seventh Rank Spiritual Artifact. Even if it was the shop's treasure, what then?

The toad shopkeeper anxiously explained, "No, this Spiritual Artifact has a great origin, it is a top-grade among Seventh Rank, and its price is naturally not cheap, as a—"

Li Qi didn't listen to that, but instead took out two corresponding Seventh Rank Spiritual Artifacts.

Made by Shamanic Silkworm Artifact, personally carved by Li Qi.

Then, after thinking for a moment, he added a barely Seventh Rank Medicinal Pill from his pocket. This was a byproduct of Shen Shuibi's usual Alchemy.

Calling it a byproduct, it was actually when she wanted to refine some high-end Medicinal Pills, like Fifth Rank or Sixth Rank, but perhaps she was absent-minded at the time, so the furnace exploded, leaving some residue. She thought it would be a waste, so she rolled it up and reused it.

For items of Seventh Rank and above, the currency generally used was 'Worlds'.

For example, a Seventh Rank Spiritual Artifact generally costs one Eighth Rank World. The value of a World is extraordinary; it's a goose that lays golden eggs, so the price is usually raised by one Rank.

Of course, the specific value of an Eighth Rank World still needs to be estimated, but generally, it can be clearly seen, as the Heavenly Dao of the World is right there, and its strength is a matter of a glance.

But Li Qi hated using 'Worlds' as currency. Although it was the custom of the world, he always felt that it wasn't good.

The people in the Worlds were alive, and casual trading truly displeased Li Qi.

Therefore, using two mass-produced Seventh Rank Spiritual Artifacts, plus a Seventh Rank Medicinal Pill that Shen Shuibi accidentally ruined, to exchange for a decent Seventh Rank Spiritual Artifact, was reasonable, even slightly overpriced.

The reason for the overprice was that Li Qi was too lazy to listen to the other party's bragging. Anyway, the buyer is not as shrewd as the seller. Instead of listening to a bunch of stories from the other party to raise the price, it was better to add a little proactively, so he wouldn't have to bargain.

As for that slight overprice, it was nothing to Li Qi now.

The business association he ran with Yang Ning and Lingxiao Kingdom Lord had tens of thousands of Eighth Rank Worlds under its command, and even several Sixth Rank Worlds. His pockets were quite full.

Putting down the items and picking up the set of fishing gear, Li Qi didn't say much and turned to leave.

The toad demon still wanted to say something, but then he glanced at the Seventh Rank Medicinal Pill on the table…

Wow! Although it looked a bit charred, the charring was skillfully refined into the Medicinal Pill. The blackness of water descended, the blackness of fire ascended, the two blacknesses intertwined, and the cold and heat were not lost, naturally forming.

Starting from the Southern Zhou Tian, yet returning to the center, the taste of Wuji, one could smell a faint fragrance.

That faint fragrance indicated almost no Medicinal Pill poison. Its Rank was barely Seventh Rank, but its quality was much better than those refined by second-rate Alchemists!

This was a Reverted Medicinal Pill!

It returns to its essence, hence called a Reverted Medicinal Pill. A Reverted Medicinal Pill refers to a Medicinal Pill that, after being refined, is restored to its raw Materials through certain techniques, and then re-refined.

Reverted Medicinal Pills generally come in two types: one is where various Materials are first refined separately to remove Impurities, then condensed into a Medicinal Pill, forming a Nine Revolutions Great Elixir, which is then disassembled and re-refined to select the best of the best, forming a top-grade Medicinal Pill. The production process is extremely complex, and the demands on the Alchemist are terrifyingly high.

The other type is the residue left after a furnace explosion, where the Medicinal Pill didn't form and was forcibly reverted to Materials by the explosion. These Materials are then used to refine a new, inferior Medicinal Pill as a salvage effort.

Both types involve first reverting the Medicinal Pill to Materials, and then using these Materials to refine a new Medicinal Pill. Both fall under the category of Reverted Medicinal Pills, but… the difference is huge.

Based on the quality of this Medicinal Pill, with almost zero Medicinal Pill poison, it could almost be confirmed to be a top-grade product formed by a Daoist Alchemist, selecting the best of the best, and undergoing multiple revolutions after nine revolutions.

Although he didn't know why the other party spent so much effort to refine a Medicinal Pill that was barely Seventh Rank… this time, he really found a hidden gem.

Generally speaking, an Alchemist of this Rank should already be Seventh Rank. With so much effort, he should be refining stable Seventh Rank and above Medicinal Pills. This barely Seventh Rank one…

It's a bit of a waste of Materials.

The toad lamented this, and casually put away the other two Seventh Rank Spiritual Artifacts.

These two were unremarkable. Although they were Seventh Rank, their price was actually not enough for the fishing gear set just now, but with that Medicinal Pill, there was a profit to be made.

Forget it. Anyway, the legendary stories above were also something he had heard by hearsay and then embellished. As long as there was a profit, it was good.

Saying all this, it was actually just a fleeting moment in his mind. The toad immediately put on a smile again, put away these things, and trotted out, shouting loudly, "Customer, come again next time!"

Li Qi waved his hand and left.

Then, he jumped into the sea again, and spent a day traveling leisurely for 100,000 li.

100,000 li into the sea was already considered out of the shallow sea area. At this point, he could cast his hook.

Li Qi took out the Seventh Rank fishing gear, began to swing it, and then threw it forward with a forceful motion!

The fishing line instantly shot forward with a sonic boom, flying straight for two or three thousand li before stopping, plunging into the water, and then sinking rapidly, all the way to a thousand li deep seabed, where it finally stopped.

Why can Seventh Rank fishing gear catch big fish of Seventh Rank?

It's because of this.

First, your line must be long enough to exceed the perception limit of a Seventh Rank big fish. Otherwise, the big fish can directly see the fisherman, and what kind of fish would that be? The fish would be fishing you, more or less.

Secondly, it must be tough enough to withstand the struggles of a Seventh Rank creature. Of course, it only needs to withstand barbaric beasts. Seventh Rank cultivators generally won't be caught. Those that are usually caught are barbaric beasts, because cultivators have intelligence. Only barbaric beasts, purely conceived by Dao Dao Resonance and without wisdom, will take the bait.

Furthermore, being able to prevent catching cultivators is also a kind of insurance, to avoid offending people. What if there really is an idiot who takes the bait? At that time, do you release him or not? Right?

It's very rare to catch a Turtle Demon Old Ancestor, like the Elder Shen Yijun did in the past.

The last condition is that it must be attractive enough. The fishhook can emit various mysterious Dao Dao Resonance, spells, treasures, and the like. Whether they are real or fake doesn't matter; the main thing is that they look real, so they will bite the hook.

As for how to pull it up after it bites the hook, that's the angler's business and has nothing to do with the fishing gear.

Only by meeting these conditions can a set of fishing gear be considered excellent fishing gear.

Li Qi weighed it and felt that this set of fishing gear was pretty good, more than enough for relaxation.

Like all middle-aged men, after casting his hook, Li Qi made a small floating boat on the sea, waiting for the fish to bite, and then engaging in a battle of wits with the fish.

After about a day, a ripple came from the fishhook tens of thousands of li away.

Something bit the hook!

Hmm… did it bite the hook? It doesn't seem to have any struggling or pulling sensation. Did it anchor to a dead object? Did it get caught on the continental shelf?

Li Qi thought to himself, flicked his hands, and the fishing line quickly retracted!

The fishhook pulled the anchored object back rapidly. A few hours later, it finally retracted.

Li Qi brought the fishhook in front of him and looked closely.

Wow!

It's a person!

Is he dead?

Wow, not dead! Alive!