Chapter 850: Emptying the Fishing Pond

Adhering to a principle of sustainable harvesting rather than draining the pond dry, Ji Shaoli did not choose any particularly outrageous targets for his first mental bait.

Although he was very curious to see what would happen if entities like Mr. Bai, the True Immortal, Chaos, Hunger, and even Revert-to-True were to become mental bait.

However, the fishing pond was, after all, an immortal-grade artifact, and its depths were unfathomably mysterious.

If he insisted on doing so, no one could say for sure whether he might fish up some unspeakable monster, and then, just as the True Immortal of the 115th generation had, violently destroy the Xuanhuang World.

This current era had just begun, and his plans were only just starting to bear fruit. Li Fan currently had no intention of reverting to his true self.

“Perhaps when this current era also concludes, I can give it a try,” he mused.

Returning to this first mental bait, Ji Shaoli was visualizing precisely the Seven-Colored Divine Light that Zhong Shentong had fished up in the previous era.

If one considered the principle of like attracting like, what else could better fit this requirement than the item itself from the dazzling starry sky?

At the same time, this was also an experiment. If it truly was as he anticipated, that known items could be fished up more easily, then with the assistance of Revert-to-True, it would undoubtedly greatly reduce the difficulty of fishing.

As long as there were enough cycles and attempts, a comprehensive catalog of light-orb items within the fishing pond could be established. Perhaps, there might even come a day when these countless fishing ponds could be completely emptied!

Most importantly, the resource output of this fishing pond was completely independent and unaffected by any other events in the Xuanhuang World. Li Fan’s different plans in each era, leading to different historical trajectories, would not prevent the fishing pond from becoming the most stable source of magical artifacts. Its significance was immense.

Of course, all of this was premised on Li Fan’s conjecture being correct.

In the dazzling starry sky of the fishing pond, Ji Shaoli, in his clone form, recalled the various characteristics of the Seven-Colored Divine Light that he had previously seen Zhong Shentong employ. The Seven-Colored Divine Light was continuous and unending. Not only was its destructive power astonishing, but its escape speed was also terrifyingly fast. Even at the Foundation Establishment stage, it could contend with those at the Nascent Soul stage. Furthermore, it seemed to possess a subtle, special protective function for its wielder.

In the 114th era, Zhong Shentong was able to use the Seven-Colored Divine Light to freely traverse the white mist without being affected by the soul-devouring white mist. It truly combined offense, defense, and escape into one, with infinite wondrous uses. Possessing it meant there was no further need for other magical artifacts.

Even with Li Fan’s vast experience and all he had witnessed throughout countless reincarnations, the wondrousness of this Seven-Colored Divine Light was definitely among the foremost. To exhibit such prowess at merely the Foundation Establishment stage... What about at the Soul Transformation, Dao Integration, or even Longevity stages? Would the Seven-Colored Divine Light then manifest even more incredible characteristics?

As Ji Shaoli continued to visualize, a blurry, seven-colored light silhouette gradually formed at the end of the dangling fishing line. Because he only knew its outward appearance and did not truly master it like Zhong Shentong had, the mental bait he conjured still differed somewhat from the actual Seven-Colored Divine Light.

Yet, even so, the moment the bait took form, it was like a drop of water falling into a pond. Ripples quickly spread outwards. The countless light orbs seemed to sense something and each showed different reactions. Most of them remained oblivious, as if they didn't detect it. These were mostly white, with occasional blue light orbs among them. Others, as if encountering their own kind, drifted towards the mental bait with some uncertainty. These orbs were a mix of blue and purple. But after approaching, most of them recognized it was not what they expected and did not bite the bait.

Ji Shaoli paid no mind to these lower-quality light orbs. Instead, he focused his concentration, observing whether any golden or higher-quality light orbs were attracted.

However, just as Zhong Shentong had described, the range influenced by the mental bait was extremely limited. The invisible ripples quickly attenuated after spreading for a certain distance, eventually disappearing completely into the endless starry sky.

The result of this fishing attempt was evident: He failed to fish up the Seven-Colored Divine Light. His catch was merely a blue light orb containing a defensive magical artifact.

He casually put it away; Ji Shaoli was not disheartened. He simply waited patiently for the next day. This attempt, at least, confirmed that visualizing existing items within the fishing pond was indeed an effective method. It was just bad luck that he failed to cast his line into an area where the Seven-Colored Divine Light could be detected.

“Although it’s like searching for a needle in a haystack, I have enough room for trial and error. There’s no hurry,” he thought. “However, ordinary cultivators don’t have such nearly infinite opportunities to try… Perhaps the method that complements the fishing pond also includes a way to cast the line in a specific direction.” Ji Shaoli looked at the shallow yet profound pond water before him and mused to himself. “I wonder if cultivators of exceptional talent could reverse-engineer the method for controlling this fishing pond based on their needs. Although it is an immortal artifact… But it is, after all, just an artifact. There should still be a significant gap between it and a true immortal.” A white figure couldn't help but flash through Ji Shaoli’s mind.

For the next period of time, Ji Shaoli persevered with his patient attempts. The mental bait remained unchanged each time; it was always the Seven-Colored Divine Light! The light orbs within the fishing pond also seemed to possess genuine sentience. As the invisible vibrations emitted by the Seven-Colored Divine Light became more frequent, fewer and fewer entities were attracted and willing to bite the bait.

This directly led to Ji Shaoli catching some blue light orbs initially, but later, blue light orbs almost completely disappeared. Even the chance of white light orbs appearing diminished, with most attempts resulting in an empty hook! This made Zhong Shentong, who had been following Ji Shaoli’s fishing progress, involuntarily shake his head inwardly.

But Ji Shaoli was not annoyed by this. Instead, he grew increasingly delighted. Because when all the wrong answers were eliminated, what remained would be the only correct one!

Thus, it was the twentieth consecutive day of Ji Shaoli’s empty attempts.

On this day, Zhong Shentong watched Ji Shaoli slowly rise from beside the pond, who still appeared to have caught nothing. Finally, he could not help but offer words of comfort, saying, “Fellow Daoist, there’s no need to be disheartened. In the way of fishing, returning empty-handed is the norm. As long as you can endure the solitude, one day your luck will burst forth, and you will fish up the great catch you desire.”

Ji Shaoli’s expression was calm: “What Fellow Daoist Zhong says is absolutely true. I couldn’t agree more. And it’s not in vain that I’ve sat here for over sixty days… I’ve finally made a small gain.”

Listening to Ji Shaoli’s initial words, Zhong Shentong nodded repeatedly. But the more he listened, the more something felt amiss. A hint of surprise appeared on his face. But as a brilliant golden light descended, that surprise instantly transformed into unbelievable shock.

In Ji Shaoli’s hand, a golden light orb emanated an overwhelmingly dazzling radiance. It was like another great sun, instantly blinding everyone else in the small temple.