The group of ten people sat in two separate cars. After a bumpy journey, they finally arrived at Changbai Mountain.
It was March, and the area was covered in a thick layer of snow.
The snow-covered mountain range was a spectacular sight.
They met up with Taoist Master Qing Xu and Taoist Master Qian Ji in a village at the foot of the mountain.
The two Taoist masters had been traveling all over Huaxia, going deep into mountains and forests in search of treasure. They had traveled northward, and they had arrived at Changbai Mountain a few days ago.
“What treasure is it, Elder?”
Everyone wondered about the same question.
“Fish! However, it’s not an ordinary fish. You’ll know once you get there. Here, everyone take a rod!”
As he spoke, Taoist Master Qing Xu handed over a bundle of fishing rods.
Everyone was surprised.
‘What? Fishing?
‘We’re cultivators, dammit! We could’ve used our bare hands to catch the fish!’
“Just take it and follow me!”
Taoist Master Qing Xu turned around and led the group up the mountain.
Light snow was falling, and the temperature was low.
However, they were all cultivators, and they were not afraid of the cold.
They arrived in a snow-covered valley three hours later. On one side of the valley, there was a crack in the mountain. They lit torches and walked in one by one.
The path became wider as they walked forward. Eventually, they reached a wide cavern.
The cavern was pitch-black, without a single bit of natural light.
With the help of the firelight, they could vaguely see a pool of water in front of them. Upon closer inspection, they saw that it was a pond.
“Damn, it’s so cold!”
As they walked toward the pond, several Taoist masters with weaker cultivation bases began to shiver.
Tang Hao furrowed his brows when he sensed the temperature change.
The temperature dropped rapidly between the entrance to the cavern and where they were. Even the other Taoist masters were beginning to feel cold.
The further they went, the colder it became.
The Taoist masters were freezing when they reached the pondside. They huddled themselves and kept stomping their feet.
Tang Hao held a torch and looked in front of him. He saw the sparkling pond water and thought that it was quite strange. It was so cold here, but the water did not freeze.
“There’s a big fella inside! It’s at least a thousand years old! I scared it when I came here and it hasn’t appeared since.” Taoist Master Qing Xu pointed at the pool and said.
“There are many small ones inside too. I wanted to catch the smaller ones to lure that big fella out, so I called all of you here.”
“Big fella? A thousand years old?”
The eyes of the Taoist masters suddenly lit up.
Then, they greedily swallowed mouthfuls of drool.
“It must be very delicious! By the way, what kind of fish is it?”
Taoist Master Qing Xu smiled and said, “Spirit skate!”
“Spirit skate? What’s that?”
“Do you know about the winged skate?”
“I think I’ve heard of it before. Isn’t that an ancient flying fish recorded in the Classic of Mountains and Seas?”
“That’s right. The spirit skate is a type of winged skate. Its flesh is delicate and delicious, and it’s used to be known as the most delicious meat in the world. I thought it had gone extinct a long time ago, but I didn’t expect to find a school here.”
“The most delicious meat?” The other Taoist masters began to drool again.
“Go go go!”
Their eyes lit up. They picked up their fishing rods in a hurry, walked to the edge of the pond, and sat down at their respective spots.
“Haha! You guys don’t know that I’m an expert in fishing, right? I’ll show you my skills today!”
Taoist Master Zhen Yang laughed out loud, feeling very pleased with himself.
“Hah! No one here is a better fisher than me. Whenever we go fishing, I’m always the one who catches the most fish. I even made it into the top three in the Huaxia Fishing Competition!”Taoist Master Qing Yun shouted.
“Heheh!” Taoist Master Qian Ji sneered with a disdainful expression.
That expression seemed to say, “All of you are trash compared to me.”
“F*ck! What kind of expression is that? You wanna fight?” Taoist Master Qing Yun said angrily.
“Alright, stop arguing. What’s there to argue about?” Taoist Master Qing Xu shouted loudly with a stern expression.
The group of Taoist masters immediately fell silent.
“I’m the real fishing champion here! Other people call me the Fishing God!”
Following that, Taoist Master Qing Xu grinned and stroked his long beard. He had the demeanor of an expert.
‘F*ck! How shameless!’ The Taoist masters cursed under their breaths.
However, no one dared to say these words. After all, he was their elder!
“Way to go, Elder!”
“You’re the best, Elder!”
They began to flatter him.
Taoist Master Qing Xu was very pleased. He was about to burst into laughter.
“Here! I’ve prepared all kinds of bait. Take whichever you want. There’s fish, mutton, beef, and other types of meat and worms.”
He took out several plastic bags and put them on the ground.
The other Taoist masters came up, and each of them picked a bit. Then, they returned to their spots and cast their lines.
Tang Hao was the last to pick the bait. After pondering for a while, he picked some fish meat and put it on the hook. Then, he walked to the pondside, found a spot, and sat down.
Then, he cast the line.
“Do you know how to fish, Brother Tang?”
Taoist Master Qian Ji, who was sitting not far from him, looked over and asked in a low voice.
Tang Hao shook his head. “This is my first time fishing!”
“Is that so? Don’t worry. Just enjoy and leave the work to us! You’ll get a share if we catch any!” Taoist Master Qian Ji thumped his chest and said enthusiastically.
“Oh! Thanks!” Tang Hao said.
The other Taoist masters heaved a sigh of relief when they heard that.
Fellow Cultivator Tang was a freak to them. He was much younger, but his cultivation base was already so high. He even knew how to make pills and craft Artifacts, as if he knew everything. Now, there was finally something he did not know.
“Leave it to us, Fellow Cultivator Tang!”
They spoke enthusiastically but secretly rejoiced in their hearts.
Following that, the cavern quieted down.
The twelve people held their fishing rods and focused on fishing.
They were confident that they would be the first one to catch a spirit skate.
Five minutes passed, but there was no movement at all.
The people scratched their ears and cheeks in puzzlement.
“The bait must be wrong. Change the bait!”
They changed the bait and cast their lines once more.
However, there was still no movement.
Tang Hao also swapped several types of bait, but it was useless.
‘Maybe the bait isn’t high-grade enough!’ Tang Hao thought.
‘The spirit skate is an ancient species, and it should be considered an exotic beast like the sea dragon or the griffin. They might not be attracted by mundane bait.
‘Let’s use spiritual items then!’
He had a lot of spiritual items on him, such as the flesh, blood, and organs from the flying snakes and griffins.
He also had plenty of lingzhi and ginseng, which were also considered spiritual items.
He thought for a moment, then took out a lump of griffin meat, dipped it in some blood, put it on the hook, and cast the line.
After a while, the fishing line trembled.
Tang Hao’s eyes lit up. ‘I’ve got one!’ He thought.
He jerked the fishing rod. Splash! A colorful fish broke through the water surface and leaped into the air.
