Water elemental became a god, ultimately becoming the master of heaven, earth, mountains, and rivers

Chapter 64 Beating the Den

They've taken the bait?!

The commotion here naturally attracted the attention of other anglers.

Including Chen Shunan, a group of onlookers also bent over, craning their necks and staring intently.

Even the bustling fish market quieted down.

"rise!"

At a certain moment, the man suddenly jerked the rod with all his might, the fishing line taut and the water splashed out with a squeaking sound.

All that could be seen was a plump, white fish with a bright red body, its shape vaguely visible.

This fish has a tuft of golden flowers on its head and bulging eyes that seem to be looking up at the sky, making it exceptionally peculiar.

Its belly was round, as if it had eaten too much, and it kept burping and spitting out a string of bubbles.

The fishermen and onlookers were all shocked.

It really is a golden-scaled catfish!

boom!
However, the next moment, the fisherman's expression changed drastically, his grip loosened, and he rolled backward.

Simply because they've decoupled!
Perhaps the bait was too little, revealing the sharp hook, because the golden-scaled catfish did not bite the hook completely. It slapped the surface of the water a few times and then quickly sank back to the bottom.

"My fish!"

Seeing this, the fisherman was so angry that he slapped his thigh and quickly took out money to buy two more boxes of bait.

They'll start attacking the nest right away!
Seeing this, the other anglers followed suit.

In the end, the pond was almost full of fish, with no fish left!
"A fisherman destined for the air force..."

Seeing this, Chen Shunan shook his head, feeling sorry for this group of fishermen who kept trying despite repeated defeats.

The sound came from the bottom of the pool again.

"Scholar Yin, the little boy's reading is quite interesting; I'd like to listen..."

"Go on, go on, but be careful not to get caught. These people are wicked. Last time I encountered a charlatan posing as a water official who even tried to destroy my lair..."

In Chen Shunan's perception, the golden-scaled fish silently floated to the surface. During this process, its reddish color faded and turned grayish-blue.

Even the golden flowers on its head completely disappeared, turning it into a fat and large grass carp.

Then it swam openly towards the child and eventually hovered at the feet of a fisherman.

The fish flaps its fins and blows bubbles, appearing to be swimming in the air.

The angler was both angry and annoyed. He glared at the clueless grass carp and then turned his attention back to his line and float.

"The lady's spirit desires tranquility, yet her mind is disturbed by it; then, um, the next line is, oh! The human heart desires stillness, yet desires pull it away..."

"Those who study the Way and recite this scripture will immediately receive the protection of the Ten Heavenly Fish Gods—oh no, I mean, benevolent deities..."

The boy recited softly, shaking his head, but his eyes darted around, occasionally mispronouncing words, babbling "Aba, Aba."

"How long have you been studying the Three Character Classic? Why can't you recite it yet? Concentrate, or I'll punish you with three strokes of the ruler tonight!" the shopkeeper scolded sternly.

This young scholar, like Ma Xiucai, read, studied, and learned Taoist scriptures and martial arts.

He is far inferior to Ma Xiucai.

Chen Shunan is no longer a novice; he can now discern that the Taoist scripture this young boy is studying is the most basic "Qingjing Jing" (Scripture of Purity and Tranquility).

When Ma Xiucai was six years old, he was able to write backwards from memory.

The chanting of sutras was faint and gentle, and the boy murmured softly.

The hustle and bustle of the world stirs up mist in the pool.

A golden-scaled fish eavesdropped under the rock, seemingly understanding but not quite, its bulging eyes occasionally flashing with human-like thoughts.

Upon seeing this, Chen Shunan's eyes showed surprise.

"How insightful! They even know how to use a child chanting scriptures to cleanse one's mortal nature and wildness..."

As the energy flowed, the divine talismans on his legs quietly lit up, and Chen Shunan was about to seize the opportunity to scoop up the golden-scaled catfish.

However, the moment Chen Shunan's thought arose, his muscles tensed.

As if sensing an impending crisis, the golden-scaled fish slapped its tail and darted into the depths of the water. After a few movements, it disappeared from Chen Shunan's sensing range.

"There's a bad guy! Scholar Yin, I'm going home now. I'll come back for the live bait you owe me in a few days..."

Chen Shunan's face was grim. He swayed his legs and turned to leave the river goods store.

He strode quickly, reaching the spot where the golden-scaled catfish had last disappeared from his senses. He circulated his qi and blood, sending two streams of scalding energy into his legs, and then, like a dragon, he darted out, running towards the shore. "Hmm? Such incredible speed!"

"Who is this master of lightness skill... Damn it, I can't even see his back!"

"Hey, who stepped on my head?"

A series of exclamations rang out.

A moment later, in Chen Shunan's perception, a stream of energy, like a clear flame, flickered and disappeared, heading towards a lotus pond at the intersection of the two rivers.

Layer upon layer of emerald green lotus leaves covered the pond, and when the sun shone on them, they were a riot of colors.

The pond connects to the two rivers, and its interior is filled with countless waterways. When the wind blows, the lotus leaves ripple and swell, disturbing the view.

Chen Shunan stood before this lotus pond, helplessly watching the golden-scaled fish completely disappear.

The golden-scaled catfish is extremely vigilant and always hides underground. If it senses danger, it immediately escapes by surging along the net-like undercurrents.

Although Chen Shunan possessed the ability to fly and ride a cloud-like horse, he lacked the magic to fly or escape into the earth, so he could only watch helplessly.

However, in the blink of an eye, Chen Shunan came up with a plan.

Don't you like eavesdropping on scriptures?
Others use earthworms to fish, I use a horse-shaped fishing rod.

Beat up their hideout!
Without hesitation, Chen Shunan turned around and strode towards Yinding Street.

……

A small boat glides leisurely across the water.

The sampan was nestled between two lotus leaves, some of which were withered and made the boat's engine rattle.

A waterbird was startled and took flight, flapping its wings and disappearing into a thin line across the sky.

Ma Xiucai yawned deeply and glanced at Chen Shunan with a weary expression.

He picked up a lotus seedpod that had fallen onto the deck, peeled it open, and put it in his mouth.

Lotus seeds are bitter and have a musty smell.

Ma Xiucai's entire face scrunched up, looking miserable.

Chen Shunan, who was rowing the boat, smiled.
"If it were edible, would it even be your turn? The people on the shore would have picked it all long ago!"

Helpless, Scholar Ma tossed the lotus pod aside. He said,

“Last night, I copied scriptures very late, and only managed to doze off briefly after the rooster crowed. Old Chen, what brings you here from your bed?”

Ma Xiucai found it strange, feeling that Shun'an's attitude towards him had been rather unfriendly lately, as if he was throwing a tantrum.

Chen Shunan did not answer, but instead asked,
"I have some questions I'd like to ask Brother Ma. Does Brother Ma know about... the tomb of the Xu Fire?"

"Oh?"

Ma Xiucai's expression shifted slightly.

"Brother Shun'an, you're actually interested in fortune telling?"

Chen Shunan laughed and said, "It was just a whim. After all, I'm having a bad year, so I wanted to find out more."

Scholar Ma nodded, unconvinced, and said slowly.

"The Earthly Branches have four prosperous, four birth, and four tombs. Any Bazi (Four Pillars of Destiny) containing Chen, Xu, Chou, or Wei is considered one of the four treasuries. When the self is strong and encounters a treasury, it becomes a wealth treasury; when the self is weak and encounters a treasury, it becomes a tomb treasury."

The treasury signifies prosperity and wealth, while the tomb signifies poverty, inaction, and constant illness…

When a weak self encounters a storage element, it becomes a grave or storage element.

Upon hearing this, Chen Shunan's heart stirred.

In other words, the Xu Fire Treasury can be either a tomb or a wealth treasury.

The reason why it automatically evolved into '戌火墓库' after encountering Chen Shunan is that.

It's because, as Mr. Zhao said, the birth charts don't match, the destiny isn't strong enough to suppress this divine destiny!

Ah Hua, whose family has inherited the Li Tan Flag for generations, must have had wealthy ancestors. However, in his generation, his family not only fell into poverty, but also suffered the fate of his father's death and his son's demise simply because he used the Li Tan Flag twice as an exception.

Then there's Zhuang Kun, who once escorted Qinggang matches and was considered a person with a destiny to immortality, but in the end, he met a tragic end with his body mutilated.

Behind the two, is there also some mysterious fate involved, inadvertently plucking the strings of cause and effect, leading to the result that their weak bodies could not suppress their destiny to become immortals?

However, for Chen Shun'an, who was the Water Emperor, he didn't care about this or that. He transformed them all into immortals and gods, making them the foundation of the divine palace. That's why he ignored the drawbacks of the 'treasury'.

(End of this chapter)