Unlimited priesthood

Chapter 116 Immortal Fate
Fish markets are mostly early morning markets, closing up before noon.

Shen He brought a basket of fish, and most of them were sold off after people picked out the best ones. He didn't throw away the rest, but just sighed as he put them back in the basket. Then he carried the basket to other shops.

Although it's called a fish market, it's actually a marketplace. Besides fishmongers' stalls, there are shops selling all kinds of daily necessities, from firewood and rice to oil and salt, clothing, food, housing, and transportation, catering specifically to fishermen around the dock. It may be small, but it has everything you need.

Shen He strolled around and bought salt, rice, and other items, as well as a few iron nails and a bundle of thick hemp rope.

It sounds like a lot, but it's actually not much; it can be contained in a fish basket, but you have to carry the hemp rope on your back.

Having finished purchasing the supplies, Shen He didn't want to stay any longer and prepared to leave the market with his belongings.

But don't want to...

"Come here, all of you, come here."

A burst of gongs and drums caused the crowd to stop.

Shen He stopped and looked in the direction of the sound. He saw a group of burly men escorting a blood-covered boy to the entrance of the fish market and hanging him directly from the gate tower.

"Isn't that the Zhang family's kid?"

"How did he give the goldfish gang..."

"Did you do something wrong?"

"Who knows!"

Seeing the Goldfish Gang hanging the blood-covered boy up, everyone was alarmed and wanted to leave but dared not make a move.

"Humph!"

Just then, Chen San, who had previously forced the purchase of the turtle from Shenhe, came over and lashed the boy heavily with a long whip, leaving another bloody wound.

"This brat is incredibly audacious, daring to steal the martial arts manual of my Goldfish Gang. He's courting death. Today, I'll show everyone the rules and regulations of my Goldfish Gang."

Having said that, he lashed the boy with the whip again.

Upon hearing this, everyone fell silent.

Only a man with a pointed face and monkey-like cheeks standing next to Chen San laughed and said, "Well done, Third Master! Your kung fu is getting better and better. This brat dared to steal our Goldfish Gang's martial arts. He really doesn't know what he's getting himself into. And that old guy, bah, he got off easy..."

The man fawned over the burly man while intimidating the crowd, truly wearing the words "lackey" on his face.

Seeing this, no one dared to be angry, much less speak out.

Shen He stood silently in the crowd.

"Watch closely, this is what happens when you steal my Goldfish Gang's martial arts!"

"Don't say Third Master didn't warn you, some things are not for just anyone to touch!"

"If anyone steals anything from my Goldfish Gang again, or finds something but doesn't hand it in, instead secretly tinkering with it on their own, humph, this is what will happen to them!"

Having said that, he lashed out with the whip again, this time with great force.

The blood-covered boy hung in mid-air, letting out a muffled groan, too weak even to scream.

"Let it hang there like that, so that passersby will see what a lesson is!"

"Yes!"

Chen San dropped the whip, turned and left with his group, leaving only two of his followers to guard the scene.

Seeing this, no one dared to say anything more and they all buried their heads and left.

Shen He was the same; he quickly left the fish market and returned to his dilapidated awning boat.

In this world, the government, gangs, and local tyrants exercise extremely strict supervision and control over ordinary people, to the point of being somewhat pathological. Even the most baseless accusations can trigger bloodshed.

The reason can be summed up in just two words—a predestined connection with the immortals!
Based on Old Zhong's life experience over the past few decades, as well as Shen He's various experiences over the past month since his transmigration, he can confirm that there is a strange existence in this world called "Immortal Fate".

The so-called "fate to the immortals" is an opportunity, where rare treasures or exotic beasts often appear in the world.

Some mortals stumble upon this opportunity, which is called a "fate to the immortals," enabling them to become wealthy overnight or master unparalleled martial arts and transcend the mundane.

As such incidents increased, the concept of "divine affinity" became deeply ingrained in people's minds. Government officials, gangs, local powerful families, and aristocratic clans all vigorously monitored and investigated matters of divine affinity within their jurisdictions, even going so far as to fabricate false cases and miscarriages of justice. This practice intensified and escalated.

This is understandable. After all, the allure of the immortal opportunity is too great. If it is real, one can become rich overnight and gain the chance to live forever. If it is fake, it is just the lives of a few lowly people. The imperial court and government not only do not care but also get involved. So who would care?
So in the end, everyone went even further, all doing this risk-free, high-profit business.

Not only did various forces engage in ruthless extortion, but ordinary people also developed a mechanism for supervision and reporting.

For example, if you are a fisherman but don't fish properly and instead secretly practice martial arts, some malicious people will report you to the fishing gang after other fishermen find out. Then the gang's henchmen will come to search, and whether they find anything or not, you will not escape the fate of having your family destroyed.

The boy from earlier is a case in point.

Stealing the martial arts manuals of the Goldfish Gang?

If that kid has that skill, how can he also fish on the lake?
Nine times out of ten, he stumbled upon some kind of martial arts manual by chance, and while he was secretly practicing it, his lackey saw it and reported it to the Goldfish Gang.

Upon hearing that a fisherman was secretly practicing martial arts, the Goldfish Gang was outraged. They assumed he had stumbled upon some divine opportunity and immediately dispatched a large force to capture the young man and subject him to severe torture.

Such things are not uncommon, but the Goldfish Gang is even more ruthless. Even if many of these cases are false accusations or baseless fabrications, they don't care and act arbitrarily.

According to "Old Zhong's" memory, more than a dozen families have become victims of such wrongful deaths over the years.

Now there's one more.

Everything, everything, is for the sake of those two words: destiny with the immortals.

When self-interest is tempting, it can also lead to wickedness!
However, these are just superficial matters; Shen He is concerned with something much deeper.

For example... the origin of this predestined connection with the immortals.

There's no such thing as a free lunch, and the same goes for such extraordinary opportunities. They can't just appear out of nowhere. As for those rare and exotic beasts, it's understandable. After all, the Middle Thousand Worlds are naturally formed and nurtured by nature, so it's quite normal for some rare and exotic beasts to appear in the wild.

But how do we explain those divine skill manuals, various elixirs, magical weapons, and even magical treasures? They can't all just grow out of the wild, can they?

After much thought, Shen He could only come up with one explanation: this world once had a large number of extraordinary beings, even legendary immortals. They left behind many caves and treasures, or died in battles with others, leaving behind various treasures that were exposed for various reasons.

In this way, one after another, a predestined connection with the immortals was created.

But this divine opportunity is not only visible to ordinary people.

Government officials, martial arts gangs, and powerful figures from all sides can be seen.

Even above these mundane forces, there exists a terrifying shadow.

The Great Chen Dynasty, which lasted for a thousand years, is a testament to this.

In addition, the sudden rise and fall of various immortals is another piece of evidence.

According to Old Zhong's memories and Shen He's own observations, although most of the common people who obtained the opportunity to become immortals were killed because the news leaked, there were also many examples of those who secretly endured and eventually developed into a powerful force.

These few individuals with the destiny to become immortals rose to power, not only annihilating the local forces that oppressed them, but also raising the banner of rebellion to confront the imperial court. Although they enjoyed immense glory for a time, they eventually disappeared without a trace and collapsed.

Why did they disappear without a trace?
No one knew, and the various rumors only said that heavenly soldiers had arrived and the bandits had been beheaded.

But Shen He estimated that it was most likely that cultivators had made their move.

After all, the allure of immortal destiny is irresistible to everyone. The greater the commotion caused by those destined for immortal destiny, the stronger the destiny they have obtained. If mortal forces cannot suppress it, it will inevitably attract the attention of cultivators.

Therefore, those who rise to prominence through extraordinary means will eventually disappear without a trace, or even be killed by lightning or sword light from beyond the heavens in full view of everyone, thus ending the reign of a generation of rebel kings.

After figuring this out, Shen He became even more determined to develop his business in a low-key manner.

The methods of Wu Kuangtu can no longer be used, and Li Qingshan's approach cannot be developed.

After all, this is a world of thousands, and no one knows what level of power and methods those cultivators possess.

If they were to understand the secrets of heaven and be able to divine and find people, and even pursue souls and take lives, wouldn't it be tantamount to courting death if they continued to disrupt the martial arts world and expand their power?
One can only develop discreetly, and only after accumulating sufficient strength should one attempt to make contact with cultivators and the cultivation world. True seclusion lies in the city, and lesser seclusion in the forest. Once one has made contact with the cultivation world and understood cultivation methods, one can gradually unleash one's full potential and plot against the world.

What, not vying for supremacy?
Are you kidding me? Not vying for supremacy?
This world, this way of life, is all about competition and domination.

If you don't fight for it, someone else will.

If you don't dominate, someone else will.

The law of the jungle prevails, it makes no sense. If you don't want to be exploited and bullied, then you have no choice but to become the biggest one.

So it's not that Shen He is tired of things and wants to dominate every world, but rather that these insects leave him with no other choice.

If the world could be peaceful and stable for cultivation, he wouldn't have caused so much trouble.

There's really no other way. Some people are beyond our control; the only option is to kill them, only to let them die!

……

And so another month passed, and it was already late autumn.

"Quack quack!"

The quacking of wild ducks echoed from the dense reeds.

"quack!"

On a reef, Shen He swiftly threw out a fishing net, catching a wild duck that was nestling in its roost. The duck was startled and squawked wildly, flapping its wings frantically in the net, but it couldn't break free at all.

"What are you yelling about? I'm not going to eat you!"

Shen He stepped forward, picked it up, and secretly activated his spirit control technique, which immediately calmed the wild duck down, making it obediently let him hold it in his hand.

Shen He lifted the wild duck and looked into the nest, where there was another nest of bluish-gray duck eggs. He collected them all into the fishing net and then walked towards his awning boat.

These wild ducks lay eggs twice a year, once in the spring and summer months of March to May, and once in the autumn and winter months of November to December. During these two periods, the reed marshes are exceptionally lively, and many fishermen come to collect duck eggs and catch wild ducks.

Although the reed marshland where Shen He was located was remote, it had now become a popular spot for wild ducks to lay their eggs, so he didn't plan to stay long and caught a wild duck before leaving.

But don't want to...

"hey-hey!"

"This old guy has no hair at all."

"What bad luck! What bad luck!"

As soon as Shen He arrived at the shore, he saw his awning boat rocking, and several small sampans were moored around it, indicating that someone had already boarded his boat.

Shen He's eyes narrowed, but he didn't lash out. He simply quickened his pace and shouted in his old, hoarse voice, "What are you doing? What are you doing!"

He called out to him as he walked toward the awning boat. Then, several people emerged from the cabin. They were a group of teenagers, all with dark skin, exuding the wildness of fishermen. They overturned his boat's belongings, as well as the fish baskets and hold.

Seeing him arrive in a state of shock and anger, the group remained calm. A tall, seemingly leader-like young man stood at the bow of the boat, carrying his fish basket, and said, "Hey, old Zhong, we're just here to see you. What's the rush?"

"That's it!"

"I heard you're really good at catching turtles, can you teach us?"

"We won't let you suffer any losses. We'll become your godson and guarantee to take care of you in your old age and see you off when you die."

"Hahaha!"

Several teenagers stood around him, making fun of him, creating a very cheerful atmosphere.

"roll roll roll!"

Shen He was furious. He climbed onto the deck, pulled out an oar, and said in a show of force, "If you don't get out of here, I'll beat you to death."

"Oops!"

"Old Ghost is angry!"

"No more fun, no more fun!"

Several teenagers yelled and jumped off the boat, splashing into the water like fish. They quickly climbed onto their own small sampans, made faces at him, and left the place mockingly.

"Stinky brat!"

"Cough, cough, cough!"

Shen He cursed loudly, but the curse injured him, and he hunched over and began to cough and wheeze.

A bunch of children took advantage of my old age and weakness; how could I tolerate thieves coming to my face?

He brazenly carried thatch into the bamboo grove, leaving his lips parched and throat dry, unable to call out.

As a widow, even these children, who were not yet grown up, could bully him and act arrogantly.

Therefore, it's no wonder that people in ancient times had such strong clan ties. Without family support and descendants to rely on, it would be impossible to survive in such a cannibalistic world.

After a bout of coughing and wheezing, Shen He remained silent, quietly gathering the overturned belongings and fishing gear on the boat. He then poled the awning boat away from the gradually bustling reed marshes.

……

That night, in a covered boat, two burly men and a teenager gathered together.

"Have you searched thoroughly? Are you sure there's nothing there?"

How many times do I have to tell you, Dad?

A burly man asked a question, which made the boy impatient, but he still answered: "Today I led a few brothers to search that old guy's boat. We searched everywhere we could, but we didn't find anything. It was just a bunch of broken junk."

It was the same young man who was leading the group today.

The burly man frowned and turned to look at the other person.

"how could be?"

The man was also puzzled: "Two months ago, I set out with my net at night and saw that old guy catch a really big turtle from afar. In the following days, I secretly observed him and found that he could catch a turtle every few days. Even if there was no turtle, he could catch several big ones. He must have some kind of trick or secret recipe."

"Second Uncle, could you be mistaken?"

The boy didn't care at all: "If that old guy had the skill to catch turtles, how could he have ended up like this, unable to even afford a wife? It must have been a lucky break."

"You brat, how could your second uncle be wrong?"

The burly man glared at him: "Your second uncle's eyes are those of a natural night owl. He can see clearly in the dark without any light. That old guy is definitely not simple."

"Your second uncle is right!"

Another burly man stroked his chin: "How about this, we'll ambush him tomorrow night and find out his trick for catching turtles. If he really has that method, you won't have to worry about getting a wife, Second Brother."

"Haha, it's not just me. Huawazi is getting on in years too, isn't he?"

The second brother laughed and then teased the boy, "I see him hanging around that little girl from the Zhou family all day long. He even caught two wild ducks for her today."

"Second Uncle, I didn't do that! You're talking nonsense!"

Hearing him say that, the boy blushed and touched his head, looking shy.

Just as the three were laughing and joking...

"Gululu!"

Underwater, pairs of vertical pupils lit up!
　I overslept, sorry, there are still two more updates to come.
　　
　
(End of this chapter)