Unlimited priesthood

Chapter 118 Spirit Fish
"Whoosh!"

The hemp rope was taut and straight, and the iron bamboo was bent.

Shen He planted his feet firmly on the ground, pressing down on his body, and at the same time exerted his strength to slowly pull the struggling creature up from the water.

I can't pull it out!
This is a giant creature with astonishing strength. Although you can't outrun it, you can outrun its hooks and lines.

If it is not pulled out during the first pull, the rope or iron hook may break, and the giant creature that has been guarded with great difficulty may be lost.

But this pulling is not a solution. The combined force of the two is a huge burden on the plain rope hook, and if things go wrong, the rope will break and the hook will snap.

Caught in a dilemma, what should I do?
Naturally...

"Whoosh!"

Shen He slowly retreated, white waves surging in the lake, and a giant shadow could be vaguely seen shaking its head and tail, struggling desperately.

Despite her efforts, she couldn't overcome Shen He and was pulled out of the water. The rope, as thick as a finger, was stretched taut by the pull, and some parts were already showing signs of breaking.

If this continues, the rope will break before the fish even reach the shore.

The giant shadow in the lake seemed to sense this as well, and struggled even more fiercely.

As the dominant species in this area, it has been caught fishing over the years, but the fishing nets simply cannot withstand its strength. It can break free and tear them in a few moments. Even reinforced wire mesh fishing nets cannot withstand its steel teeth. Sometimes it can even pull fishermen into the water to be eaten as well.

Now, though tempted by the turtle meat, he has an iron hook stuck in his mouth, causing him great pain.

But it only felt pain; it couldn't subdue it. Instead, it fueled its frenzy, determined to break the rope and even pull people on the shore into the water.

Just as the giant shadow, brimming with ambition, was exerting its full strength...

"boom!!!"

A muffled thud, and waves splashed everywhere.

what sound?
The giant shadow was startled and before it could react, a torrent of water surged towards it.

Slightly ahead of time, Shen He on the bank raised his fishing rod. Seeing that the hemp rope was about to break, he stopped pulling with all his might and instead held the rod firmly in place, inserting the iron bamboo pole into the ground from end to end, with only the tip of the pole, which was tightly bound with the hemp rope, still exposed.

This would sustain them for a short time. Taking advantage of this opportunity, Shen He leaped out and plunged into the water, swimming along the taut rope toward the giant shadow.

His speed was extremely fast, outpacing the fish and pythons, and he surged directly towards the giant shadow with a powerful current of water.

It turned out to be a huge snakehead, about seven feet long, covered in black scales, with the appearance of a dragon or python.

Snakehead fish, also known as blackfish, is an extremely ferocious carnivorous fish.

The snakehead, which was struggling with the rope, was startled to see Shen He swimming towards it. It immediately changed its target, ignoring the iron hook in its mouth, and swung its tail straight at Shen He.

result……

"Bang! Bang! Bang!"

Shen He swam forward, gathered his true energy in his right fist, and delivered three powerful punches to the snakehead.

Although the snakehead was covered in scales, it couldn't withstand his true energy. The three punches, imbued with the power of dragon and tiger, left it dizzy and disoriented, seeing stars, and completely disoriented.

"boom!!!"

Seeing this, Shen He threw another punch, hitting the fish's head hard and knocking it over.

The fish flipped over, completely powerless, and Shen He took advantage of the situation to pull up the rope and swim towards the shore with it.

Soon, he dragged the giant creature onto the dry bank. By this time, the iron bamboo pole that had been stuck in the ground had been pulled out halfway, which showed how fierce the fight had been.

Shen He put down the rope, examined the snakehead fish, and finally a look of satisfaction appeared in his eyes.

He used ten catties of turtle meat as bait this time. If he can't catch some equally rare or high-quality fish, then this trip will be a huge loss for him, and he won't even make back the cost of the bait.

Fortunately, his efforts paid off, and he finally caught a magical fish.

This snakehead fish is already a spirit fish. Although it is only at the first level, a spirit fish is still a spirit fish. Its nutritional value is significantly higher than that of a ten-pound old turtle. Moreover, it is quite large. Its seven-foot body can yield at least a hundred pounds of meat, comparable to ten old turtles.

A tenfold return—how could anyone not be delighted?

Seeing that the night was already thinning, Shen He dared not linger. He slapped the snakehead hard on the head, ending its life, then carried it on his back and walked towards his awning boat.

Why not sign a contract?
His immediate priority is himself. He currently lacks the resources to supply his pets with food and elixirs. Not only will the contracted spirit beasts not receive sufficient feedback, but they will also slow down his cultivation, which is clearly not a wise choice.

For now, having a group of alligator dragons to do the dirty work is enough; we can consider other spirit beasts after our cultivation levels have improved.

In this way, Shen He carried the dead snakehead onto the covered boat, first cutting off its tail with a knife, then hanging it from the roof of the cabin, collecting the fish blood in a small jar, and finally rowing the covered boat back to carry the ordinary large fish he had caught earlier onto the boat.

Come home full!

Including the snakehead, there were eight large fish in total, weighing anywhere from tens to hundreds of kilograms, which weighed down the old awning boat.

Fortunately, Shen He was strong enough to row the boat back to the habitat of the alligator horde.

"Tuk Tuk Tuk!"

After knocking on the boat plank three times, the water surface churned, and the leader of the alligator dragons, along with a dozen or so underlings, surfaced, staring longingly at Shen He.

"Come!"

Shen He smiled, first pouring the vat of snakehead blood into him, and then throwing seven or eight large fish into the water.

"Grrrrrr!"

Although they were both first-tier spirit beasts, the black goby blood still delighted the alligator dragon leader. He tilted his head back, opened his mouth, and enjoyed it all by himself, not giving his other underlings a chance to share.

After drinking the snakehead's blood, it lost interest in the other large fish and instead focused its gaze on the snakehead hanging inside the cabin.

"Get out of here!" Shen He rolled his eyes at it, and then, under its reluctant gaze, quickly drove away in the awning boat.

After leaving the habitat of the alligator dragons, they found a secluded shallow bay to moor the boat. By this time, it was already getting light, and Shen He dared not delay and immediately began cleaning the snakehead.

The fish blood had been drained, and all that was left was to scrape off the scales and cut the fish. However, after scraping with a nail stick for a while, Shen He found that the scales were extremely tough and the nail stick could not be scraped off at all. Helpless, he had to switch to a kitchen knife, first opening up the fish's belly, and then tearing off the scales and skin together.

The seven-foot-long snakehead fish had a single piece of skin that could wrap around a person. Shen He examined it for a while and said, "Perhaps it can be used to sew a leather armor. It's a pity I didn't study the art of weapon crafting before, otherwise I might have been able to craft a magic weapon."

The art of weapon crafting is one of the disciplines within the cultivation system, and along with alchemy, talismanic arts, and array formations, it is considered one of the four major origins of the myriad arts of cultivation.

Although Shen He had come into contact with special equipment like spirit-controlling weapons in the Spirit Controlling World, to be honest, this spirit-controlling weapon was not a weapon. It was more like an oversized spirit-controlling ring that could hold spirit beasts and enhance their spiritual power. Without the cooperation of spirit beasts, its power would be greatly reduced.

Therefore, the Spirit-Controlling Armor is a magical artifact, but it is not a magical artifact, unlike the true weapon-refining method which is specific and comprehensive.

But this is understandable, since it is a method of the microcosm, and it is only natural that it has certain limitations.

In fact, Shen He had previously considered purchasing weapon-refining techniques from the human empire, transferring them to the Spirit Control World for cultivation, and even spreading them widely. However, he eventually abandoned the idea because he was short of funds at the time, and the introduction of these weapon-refining techniques would have an unpredictable impact on the Spirit Control World. He didn't want to cause too much trouble.

But things are different now. He has enough funds, and this world is very suitable. In the future, he may consider studying the art of weapon crafting, and even alchemy, talisman-making, array-making, and the myriad arts of cultivation, so as to become a qualified cultivator.

Of course, that's a matter for the future.

Now...

Shen He threw the scales into the vat, then washed the knife and began the final processing of the snakehead meat.

In my previous life on Earth, snakehead fish was also a very popular food fish, although most people used it to make pickled fish.

But Shenhe is different; before the time travel, there was a unique way of eating in his hometown.

Raw fish!

Also called raw fish.

Simply put, it means slicing fish and eating it raw.

Although it may sound a bit hard to accept, I have to say it's really delicious.

Of course, the main reason was that he dared not light a fire. After all, he had learned his lesson from the turtle fish incident. Who knew what kind of aroma this spirit-level snakehead would release once it was boiled?

Just to be on the safe side, let's make sashimi.

Shen He raised his knife, its cold light flashing, and in no time, he had sliced ​​the hundred-plus-pound snakehead meat into fish fillets.

The fish slices are crystal clear, like jade, with a translucent quality.

Shen He rummaged through the cabin and found the wild ginger and scallions he had collected earlier, along with some other seasonings. He chopped them all up and mixed them together, then added the soy sauce, vinegar, and oil he had bought at the market earlier. Soon, a dipping sauce was ready.

Without further ado, I picked up my chopsticks and started eating. I took a few slices of fish, mixed them with the dipping sauce, coated them with the sauce, and put them in my mouth. First, I tasted the soy sauce, vinegar, and sesame oil, then the aroma of scallions and ginger, and finally the crisp, fresh, and sweet flavor of the fish.

"Hmm~!"

Although Shen He was a man of many tastes and experiences, this bite still made his body cheer.

Poor old Zhong lived for seventy years, spending his entire life fishing on Dongting Lake, yet he never even tasted a single bite of the sacred fish.

Not to mention the spirit fish, they haven't even had a taste of the turtle.

Those adorned in silk robes are not the ones who raise silkworms!
In this way, after an unknown period of time, all 100 pounds of fish and meat were consumed.

Shen He sat still, silently circulating his inner energy. The essence of the spirit fish transformed into a stream of heat that flowed into his limbs and bones, replenishing the blood and qi of this old and weak body.

Finally, everything fell into place. Shen He's body trembled slightly as the true qi, replenished and strengthened by the essence of the spirit fish, opened up his sea of ​​qi, which transformed into a purer and more condensed qi within his dantian.

True Qi Transformation into罡 (Gāng), Martial Arts Stage Two!
In just two months, he reached the second level. Such a speed of progress is not only astonishing, but also one in ten thousand.

But for Shen He, it was perfectly reasonable. After all, with the accumulation of two lifetimes, he had already thoroughly mastered the early stages of cultivation. As long as the resources were sufficient, his progress would be rapid.

As his cultivation advanced to the second tier, a surge of life force was unleashed, gradually dispelling the stagnant energy within him. His gray and dry hair slowly became full and black, and his deeply lined face visibly became younger.

Soon, he went from being an old man in his seventies or eighties to a strong man in his forties or fifties.

This is an increase in lifespan and a restoration of youth!
Shen He stretched his muscles and bones, and felt much more comfortable, as if a great weight had been lifted off his shoulders.

But this was not the end. Shen He glanced at the job panel and found that the Fisherman's job level was already full.

Clearly, catching this snakehead fish gave him a wealth of professional experience.

If you've reached the maximum level, there's no reason to stay.

"Retain your professional talent!"

"Start career advancement!"

"Based on your experience and achievements, you can choose one of the following Tier 1 professions to replace your original profession of Fisherman!"

"Profession One: Warrior!"

"Professional Talent: Dragon Tiger Stance Skill"

"Profession Two: Beast Tamer!"

"Professional Talent: Water Beast Taming"

"Profession Three: Spirit Fisherman (You gained a destiny with the immortals through fishing, thus transcending the ranks of mortals. You can now call yourself a Spirit Fisherman. You can gain a moderate amount of professional experience through fishing, fish farming, and other methods. With each professional level increase, your spiritual root aptitude will slightly increase)"

"Professional Talent: Fateful Angler (An advanced talent in fishing, you are a spirit fisherman who can fish for celestial opportunities. The probability of catching fish is greatly increased, the probability of high-level and rare fish taking the bait is significantly increased, and there is a small chance of catching a celestial opportunity)."

(End of this chapter)