Between the mountains and ravines, the *Water Dragon River* stretched from west to south.
The surface of the river was smooth as a mirror and sparkling.
Suddenly, with a "pop", the severed hand that was tied to the silver line fell into the river, causing a slight ripple that spread out.
Ye Anping wore a straw raincoat and sat at the front of the boat with a fishing rod in his hand. His dark purple eyes stared at the floating fish not far ahead, and his expression was somewhat hopeless. The empty fish basket beside him explained everything.
---He had been 'empty fishing' for three consecutive days.Pei Lianxue, who was sitting next to him and watching him fishing, felt bored. She dozed off and gradually leaned on his shoulder.
With a helpless look, Ye Anping raised his hand to fiddle with her bangs. Then, he looked up at the sun that had begun to set at the top of the mountain and lowered his head, sighing.
"Why haven't you taken the bait yet? I'm tired of waiting..."
"Huh?"
Pei Lianxue raised her head in a daze and rubbed her eyes as she looked at the fish swimming in the distance. Seeing that her brother was not very good at fishing, she smirked. "Brother, you said three days ago that you would make fish soup, but I haven't eaten it yet."
"Don't be anxious. The bait has already been cast. Something will eventually bite it."
"Why don't we go find a town and buy fish?""How can the bought fish taste better than the fish I caught myself?"
It was rare for Pei Lianxue to see something that her brother was not good at. She smiled mischievously, but she did not say anything. Looking down at the river water beside the boat, she saw a few fish coming up. She put her right foot into the water and gently stirred it.
Ye Anping glanced at her. "Sister, your feet chased my fish away..."
*Woosh--!*
Before he could finish speaking, Pei Lianxue suddenly lifted her right foot out of the water.
With her foot movement, a black-scaled fat fish about twelve inches long, biting her toe, came out of the water.
Pei Lianxue lightly shook her foot, and the big fat fish drew out a parabola in the air before landing in the fish basket beside Ye Anping.
Ye Anping looked at the fish in the basket that was fished out by biting his sister's toes. He was silent for a moment, then looked back at Pei Lianxue, seeing her squinting and smiling smugly at him. "Hee~"
"Sigh... Alright, I admit defeat."
Ye Anping shook his head and sighed, deciding to stew the fish later. Then, he looked at the fish swimming a little further away and counted the days on his fingers.
It had already been fifteen days since he left the ***Black Star*** Sect with his sister.
During these fifteen days, they had traveled all the way to the mountains and rivers, going to almost all the small towns and villages on the way.
Although he did see a lot of local customs and his sister had a lot of fun along the way, sightseeing was secondary. His main purpose was to "spread bait".
Countless eyes were staring at him in the four regions now.
Previously, he had holed up in the ***Black Star*** Sect, and those who stalked him did not dare to make any moves against him. Now, he had come out, and he even went to a mountain forest far away from the jurisdiction of the ***Black Star*** Sect.
The rogue cultivators, demonic cultivators, ***Bright Star*** Sect, and many other sects, plus the black market forces would definitely send people to approach him once they learned of this.
And it was just as Ye Anping thought.
In the past few days, his sister had already sent about seven or eight cultivators who approached him with malicious intentions to feed the fish at the bottom of the river.
However, the person he was waiting for was like a fish that hadn't bitten his hook for a long time, and he didn't know where it was now...
"So slow, that girl from the ***Bright Star*** Sect..."
Hearing the word "girl", Pei Lianxue stared at him and nervously asked, "What girl?"
"The main disciple of the ***Bright Star*** Sect, who is also the great-grandaughter of that old man Zu Yuan, Zu Lingzhi."
---In the game, this was a girl who was pestered by Feng Yu Die.
Ye Anping added this in his mind. Looking at his sister's serious and seemingly angry face, he smiled and pinched her nose. "Don't worry, I'm not interested in her. I just need her to be a go-between."
"You also said before that you were not interested in Yunluo... Ye Tianchong!"
"Hiss---" Ye Anping inhaled sharply when he heard this word. "Sister, where did you hear this?"
"I heard it from Ating, who heard it from Brother Liang."
"..."
Ye Anping was silent for a while, then shook his head, smiling. "I swear that I won't hit on her."
"Well..." Pei Lianxue rolled her eyes and crossed her arms as she replied, "Okay, I'll trust you this once! Humph~"
Ye Anping raised his hand and gently scratched her nose, then rested his elbow on his thigh, propped up his cheek, and looked back at the river.
The green waves trembled slightly.
Suddenly a breeze blew, generating rippling circles.
*Puff~~*
The bobbing fish float was suddenly pulled into the water, and a force came from the fishing line, pulling the long bamboo fishing rod into a curved moon.
"Oh~ It's hooked."
As Ye Anping rose up, a fifteen-foot-long white-scaled fish jumped through the dragon gate and drilled under the sun in the sky. Then, it came back from above and accurately fell into the bamboo basket on the boat.
*Plop, plop...*
Ye Anping joyfully looked down into the fish basket and saw the two river fish, one black and one white, struggling and wagging their tails, fanning each other's mouths with their tails.
After a moment of silence, he sighed. "It seems that there is more than one fish caught..."
As he muttered, Ye Anping removed Gu Mingxin's right hand, full of bulging veins, from the front of the fishing line. He patted the back of the hand to comfort it before hanging it back on his waist...
...
The sun was setting.
On the streets of a small town built along the river, there were crowds of people and incessant shouts.
"Top-grade magic weapons, fair-trade for all..."
"Freshly roasted chicken..."
A woman in a black-and-white robe strolled on one side of the street, looking at the vendors on both sides with a condescending arrogance in her light-brown eyes.
The woman looked like an ordinary sixteen or seventeen-year-old teenager, with long black hair tied into a horizontal "8" by a jade hairpin, rising and falling on her head in sync with her footsteps.
Zu Lingzhi looked at this small town where cultivators mixed with ordinary people, her face full of reluctance. Then, she looked at a big-breasted woman beside her, a head taller than her, and complained. "Elder Cao, do you think that this ***Hundred Lotus*** Sect's Young Master doesn't know what kind of situation he's in right now?"
Elder Cao looked at her with a smile and asked, "Hmm? Miss Zu, why do you ask that?"
"Doesn't he know that he's being watched by many people in the four regions? He actually dared to strut into the mountains to enjoy the scenery. The Great-grandfather actually asked you and me to come and guard him so that he wouldn't meet with any mishaps."
"Hehe... Who knows? But playfulness is in human's nature." Elder Cao teased and waved the horsetail whisk in her hand slightly, laughing. "If he dares to come out and enjoy himself in such a situation, it means that he has the confidence and is not afraid of being targeted."
"Confidence? From what I see, this is just a matter of ignorance, and he won't regret it until something happens."
"Miss Zu, you can't say that. I heard that Young Master Ye of the ***Hundred Lotus*** Sect had already reached the late stage of the *Core Formation* at the age of twenty, and he had formed a *Heavenly Dao Golden Core*. Now, it's even rumored that he has *Spring Phase* energy..."
Zu Lingzhi frowned in disdain and interrupted. "I was already in the late stage of the *Core Formation* when I was seventeen. Moreover, didn't I hear that he has dual spiritual roots? Humph~ What's so great about it?"
"He's also handsome."
"So what if he's handsome? Are there any ugly cultivators in the Immortal Family? The Face Shaping pill is useless."
Elder Cao sighed and said nothing more.
About half a month ago, Zu Yuan asked her to bring Zu Lingzhi to the ***Black Star*** Sect to meet the Young Master of the ***Hundred Lotus*** Sect.
Zu Yuan said that he wanted to invite the Young Master of the ***Hundred Lotus*** Sect to visit the ***Bright White*** Sect, and he could also give some advice on the Young Master's cultivation...
But in fact, Elder Cao also understood that the main reason was the *Spring Phase* spirit that had been rumored before.
She also thought it was normal.
The ***Bright Star*** Sect and the ***Black Star*** Sect were among the great sects of the Immortal Family. It was not a big deal for them to steal each other's disciples. Sometimes, they would even poach each other's Elders.
Moreover, the Young Master of the ***Hundred Lotus*** Sect also had the *Spring Phase* energy and he was already in the late stage of *Core Formation* at such a young age. His future was limitless.
It made sense to send an Elder like her to poach such a talent.
As for why she had to bring Zu Lingzhi along?
She felt that it was a bit of a "honey trap".
Zu Lingzhi had been domineering since she was young, and her words could poison half of the ***Bright Star*** Sect. However, people had all kinds of preferences. If she could charm the Young Master of the ***Hundred Lotus*** Sect, it would be great...
One willing to fight, one willing to endure...
But--
According to hearsay on the way, this "honey trap" was likely to be ineffective.
They had originally planned to head straight to the ***Black Star*** Sect, but on the way there, they heard that the Young Master of the ***Hundred Lotus*** Sect had brought his cultivation partner to this place for sightseeing.
He already had a partner, so how could he still be interested in Zu Lingzhi?
Elder Cao looked at the "∞" behind Zu Lingzhi's head and suddenly felt a little tired. How could this girl find a partner with such a difficult temper?!
"Sigh..."
"Hmm? Elder Cao, why are you sighing for no reason? Are you in menopause?"
"With your mouth, if you can find a cultivation partner in this lifetime, I'll personally kowtow three times to you."
"Cultivation partner? What do I need it for?" Zu Lingzhi shrugged slightly and spread her hands. "Why not go to the market and buy a jade rod, haha..."
?
"Jade rod? You've bought one?"
"I am not interested in those kinds of tools that corrupt the Dao Heart."
"Then, how do you know that this thing is sold in the market?"
"Elder Cao, don't you know... Even if you haven't eaten a pig, haven't you seen one running around?"
"Hiss--- what a dirty mouth!"
Zu Lingzhi smiled crookedly as she brushed away a strand of hair from her cheek. "Heh~ What dirty mouth, this is called common sense."
"..."
Elder Cao was speechless.
At this moment, the two of them arrived at the entrance of an inn with a plaque that read "*Ancient Fragrance Inn*."
"This is it..."
Elder Cao muttered to herself, stepped over the threshold, and walked inside.
Just as she stepped over the threshold, a woman in purple came out of the inn and brushed past her.
Elder Cao glanced sideways, only to find that the violet-clothed woman's charming eyes were also looking toward her.
The moment their gazes met, Elder Cao quickly pulled Zu Lingzhi by her side with her left hand and gripped the horsetail whisk with her right.
The purple-clothed woman smiled at her and walked toward the other end of the street without looking back.
After the woman had completely disappeared from her sight, Zu Lingzhi asked, "Elder Cao, that person is a demonic cultivator, right? Her cultivation is quite high."
"Middle *Nascent Soul* stage, and by those charming eyes, it looks like she belongs to the ***Hedonistic*** Sect, or she's a demonic cultivator who practices sexual techniques."
"Ha~" Zu Lingzhi rolled her eyes. "I knew it. That ***Hundred Lotus*** Sect Young Master really doesn't understand the current situation. He actually brought his cultivation partner to this place to mess around. Now what? He lured a demonic cultivator here, and she's a *Nascent Soul* demonic cultivator at that. Isn't he asking for trouble?"
In fact, Elder Cao didn't think much of it before. After all, this was still the **Western Region**, and it was no big deal for Ye Anping to bring his cultivation partner out to have fun.
But now that she met a *Nascent Soul* stage demonic cultivator, she had to admit that the Young Master was too reckless.
He didn't even know how to hide his identity when he came out to play and actually swaggered around like this. Now, anyone could find out his whereabouts by simply asking around.
Elder Cao sighed with a troubled look. "Sigh... this is troublesome."
"What can we do if it's troublesome?" Zu Lingzhi kept talking. "We still have to save him. Great-grandfather insisted that we bring that Ye back to the ***Bright Star*** Sect~"
"It's good that you know..."
Elder Cao rolled his eyes at her, then turned around and prepared to chase after the demonic cultivator.
It was at this time, that the shopkeeper of the *Ancient Fragrance Inn* came over while rubbing his hands, and he took the initiative to ask them, "Seniors of the ***Bright Star*** Sect, are you here to inquire about the whereabouts of the ***Hundred Lotus*** Sect's Young Master?"
Zu Lingzhi looked at the shopkeeper and slightly raised her eyebrow. "Go ahead."
"Hey~ Many people have come to ask about this recently. I am also a businessman, so of course I need..."
"Even this little thing costs spirit stones." Zu Lingzhi's face twitched, but she still took out ten spirit stones from her storage bag. "Here~ tell me."
"Not enough."
"Then, how much do you want?"
"Five thousand spirit stones. That's how much that purple-clothed big sister gave me just now. However, ***Bright Star*** Sect seniors... I'll give you a discount. How about three thousand spirit stones?"
Veins bulged on Zu Lingzhi's forehead. "Why don't you start robbing? You charge three thousand for just some information..."
However, Elder Cao interrupted her. "Since you charge three thousand spirit stones, then you must know the exact location of the Young Master of that ***Hundred Lotus*** Sect, yes?"
"Of course..."
The shopkeeper smiled and nodded. Ye Anping had come to the town specially and told him that he would be fishing at the *Water Dragon River* in the next few days. He asked him to sell this news here and charge a little more. They would split the profit 70% -- 30% when he came.
Elder Cao deliberated for a while before nodding. "Lingzhi, give him the money."
"Hiss---" Zu Lingzhi gritted her teeth and took a deep breath. She hesitated, but then she took out a small bag containing three thousand spirit stones from her storage bag and threw it over. "Here! Give me back the ten spirit stones from before..."
The shopkeeper felt that she was quite stingy, but he still exchanged the ten spirit stones for the spirit stones bag. Then, he cupped his hands and said, "Walk about fifty miles southwest of the town, and at the third bend of the *Water Dragon River*, there is a small boat. Young Master Ye is fishing on that small boat."
"*Water Dragon River*..."
Elder Cao frowned. She remembered that the place seemed to be the nest where the ***Black Star*** Sect raised Water Dragons... And fishing?
Suddenly, she felt that she and Zu Lingzhi were actually the "fish"...
Zu Lingzhi frowned and cursed. "If I go there and can't find him, believe it or not, I will close down your inn!"
"The profit of this small shop is meager, so I won't lie. Seniors, I won't see you off."
The shopkeeper collected the money and hurried back to the counter. Zu Lingzhi looked at Elder Cao, who was frowning deeply. "Elder Cao, why are you spacing out? Let's go and save that guy."
"..."
Elder Cao came back to her senses and rolled her eyes at her. Then, she turned around and walked out of the inn. She brought Zu Lingzhi along with her on her flying sword and headed toward the *Water Dragon River*.
