Chapter 845: Old Hand Angler

Zhong Shentong, with his seven-colored divine light, was virtually invincible among those of the same cultivation level. He could even exhaust Senior Brother Zhang, who was also at the same level, to death.

The cultivation method he practiced, the "Profound Life-and-Death Art," was also an incredibly mystical technique. It was said that upon reaching its deepest levels, one could achieve a wondrous state where life and death coexisted, essentially granting an alternative form of immortality.

Practicing this method could awaken and infinitely amplify a cultivator's innate fear of life and death.

This allowed a naturally lazy cultivator like Zhong Shentong to transform completely in the face of death's threat, becoming incredibly proactive.

"According to the original historical trajectory, Zhong Shentong wouldn't have broken through until he was on the verge of his lifespan's end.""But now he's advanced to Foundation Establishment early...""What happened?"

The most severe period of the mutated Immortal-Mortal Miasma had passed, so it was certain that Zhong Shentong was not forced to break through for that reason.

Li Fan's interest was immediately piqued.

However, his main body was still in the process of devouring the Five Elements Great Cavern-Heaven, so he couldn't personally investigate.

This time, the observation of Zhong Shentong would have to be carried out by his clone, Ji Shaoli.

"He has only just broken through to the Foundation Establishment stage and hasn't yet comprehended the seven-colored divine light. For me, with my Golden Core cultivation, to deal with him...""...shouldn't be a problem," Ji Shaoli mused to himself.

Nevertheless, to be safe, the clone still made thorough preparations.

In the stages from Foundation Establishment to Nascent Soul, having enough contribution points to arm oneself was sufficient to disregard cultivation disparities and crush opponents.

Not to mention, his current realm was one level higher than the opponent's. Therefore, Ji Shaoli wasn't overly concerned.

According to the intelligence, Ji Shaoli used a teleportation array to arrive at a desolate small mountain in the northwestern frontier of Yongyun Prefecture.

On the mountain was a somewhat dilapidated small temple, where Zhong Shentong resided in seclusion.

"Originally, this Zhong Shentong was just an ordinary old man. Although he coincidentally obtained half a scroll of the Profound Life-and-Death Art, he achieved no results in his cultivation until his lifespan was nearly exhausted. Only then, under immense pressure, did he break through the shackles and successfully enter the Qi Refining stage.""After the Qi Refining stage, he again lacked motivation for cultivation, choosing to simply live out the rest of his days in this small temple.""He should have waited until his death limit was approaching to break through again. But now he's done it early...""What kind of wondrous item did he use for Foundation Establishment?"

Ji Shaoli did not reveal his presence but instead concealed his aura, observing from a distance.

Inside the small temple, besides Zhong Shentong, there was also a young Taoist boy of eight or nine years old.

What was excessive was that tasks such as cleaning and cooking in the temple, which could easily be done with magic, Zhong Shentong insisted on having the young Taoist boy do them by hand.

The young Taoist boy was very handsome, with a pair of large, bright, expressive eyes. Yet, he worked without complaint and was very efficient. His practiced demeanor was completely unlike that of a child.

While the young Taoist boy handled everything meticulously, Zhong Shentong simply sat by a pond in the temple's backyard, fishing.

The young Taoist boy called out a few times to no avail and eventually had to bring the prepared meal to Zhong Shentong.

"Master, it's time to eat," the young Taoist boy said in a childish voice.

"Shh, don't scare away my fish," Zhong Shentong replied.

The young Taoist boy pouted and began to eat on his own.

It wasn't until the young Taoist boy was almost finished eating that Zhong Shentong's expression finally changed. "It's on the hook!" he exclaimed.

He yanked the fishing rod, only to find that what he reeled in was not a fish.

It was merely a green ball of light.

Zhong Shentong's face showed disappointment, but he still reached into the green light mass and fumbled around for a while.

Before long, he pulled out a seemingly rusted disc-shaped magical artifact from within it.

Zhong Shentong examined it briefly, shook his head slightly, and tossed it directly to the young Taoist boy.

The young Taoist boy seemed accustomed to this, skillfully catching it. "Master, what is it this time?" she asked.

"It's a fire disk. It can emit bright flames. From now on, you won't need to use talismans to start fires," Zhong Shentong said lazily.

He put away his fishing rod and began to devour his food.

After reaching Foundation Establishment, cultivators no longer needed to eat like mortals.

Yet, Zhong Shentong ate with great relish, as if thoroughly enjoying the meal.

In just a few moments, he cleared all the food from the table.

"I'm going to take a nap. Don't disturb me unless it's extremely urgent," Zhong Shentong said as he rose, humming a tune.

"Got it, got it," the young Taoist boy replied, a bit helplessly.

After the sound of snoring echoed from the small temple and the young Taoist boy had finished cleaning up all the kitchen waste, she returned to the pond.

She pulled out a fishing rod from somewhere and, mimicking Zhong Shentong, began to fish.

But after a long time, there was no movement at all.

The young Taoist boy couldn't help but feel a little disheartened.

"Master says only those with a sincere heart can fish out treasures from this pond. I've tried for years, but I've never caught anything," she muttered.

"Darn it..." She cast her line again, unwilling to give up.

The result was the same; the tip of her fishing rod remained empty.

Only then did the young Taoist boy accept her fate and dejectedly leave the pond.

Not long after.

Ji Shaoli slowly revealed his figure.

"Interesting," he murmured, his expression unreadable as he stared at the pond nearby.

After setting up an illusion around the area, he began to carefully examine the small pond.

Under the observation of his spiritual sense, it was indeed just ordinary pond water.

It was no more than a *zhang* deep and three *zhang* long and wide.

The contents of the pond were also fully visible.

Apart from some tiny floating debris, there were no fish living there at all.

If he hadn't just witnessed Zhong Shentong fishing out a green ball of light from this very pond, Ji Shaoli would have almost been deceived.

Since he couldn't discern anything unusual, Ji Shaoli simply flew directly into the pond himself, attempting to discover its mystery.

But...

After entering the water, it still felt no different from ordinary pond water!

After returning to shore, Ji Shaoli pondered for a moment, then took out materials from his storage ring and crafted a fishing rod.

Mimicking the master and disciple, he began to fish.

He sat by the water, holding his breath and concentrating.

He cast the line!

Yet, nothing changed.

Ji Shaoli sat idly for a long time, gradually feeling that something was amiss, so he put away his fishing rod.

"This pond water clearly holds some mystery, but it can only be seen as ordinary...""Could it be that this pond only responds to Zhong Shentong?"

After a moment of thought, Ji Shaoli dismissed this conjecture.

If that were truly the case, the young Taoist girl wouldn't have bothered trying.

"Those with a sincere heart...""How can one truly be considered sincere?"

Fishing was not unfamiliar to Ji Shaoli.

Whether it was before he transmigrated, or during his years as the Grand Tutor in Da Xuan, whenever he felt troubled, he would go fishing.

With the belief that he would never come up empty-handed, he would always return content only after a fish had bitten.

However, since he began cultivating, he hadn't engaged in this relaxing activity again.

"Sincere heart..."

Ji Shaoli had a sudden realization.

This time, he once again sat by the pond.

No longer thinking about uncovering the pond's secrets.

He simply wanted to genuinely cast a line and fish!

"Whoosh!"

Ji Shaoli's expression became solemn as he forcefully cast his fishing rod.

The next moment, the scene before his eyes dramatically changed!