Only three seconds? He's already the Lord of All Realms, so it doesn't matter.

During this period of time, Ye Xuan not only cultivated, but also observed his surroundings from time to time.

For cultivators, Shuitian Village is a desolate place, with almost no opportunities, such as dilapidated immortal tombs, spiritual treasures, or thousand-year-old Ganoderma lucidum.

None of that. The only advantage of this place is that the land is fertile and there are few natural disasters, so people won't go hungry.

But what if you want to eat beef?

Ye Xuan surveyed the entire Shuitian Village and finally found something in the large lake behind the mountain.

At the deepest part of the lake, a magical artifact lies lost, but piranhas plague the lake, and the water is quite deep...

Alone, Chen Hong recalled the hints that Lord Xianliu had given him and arrived at the shore of that lake.

"Hey, Brother Chen, your foot's all better?"

As soon as Chen Hong arrived, he saw the fisherman living at the east end of the village. His surname was Li, and everyone called him Lao Si (Old Fourth).

He nodded. "It got better a few days ago."

"Can you catch fish in this lake?"

After finding a spot to squat down, the fourth brother saw that Chen Hong was covered in dust and dirt, and knew that he must have failed to catch any meat on the mountain.

"The mountain road is difficult to walk on, and the fish are hard to catch either."

Chen Hong nodded at him again, his gaze remaining calmly fixed on the even calmer lake surface. He had tried fishing in this lake before, but the piranhas there were ferocious and had very sharp teeth.

Basically, as soon as the bait is thrown down, they eat it and can easily break free and leave.

But the fourth brother at the east end of the village always manages to catch a basket of fish, seemingly because of his different bait. It is said that the fish become drowsy and sleepy after eating it.

If this is true, then this bait could be very useful for his plan to dive to the bottom of the lake and search for treasure.

"Can I watch from the sidelines?"

The fourth brother, all talk and no action, said, "Sure, Brother Chen, want me to teach you a couple of moves?"

He was fond of teaching others and didn't mind sharing a couple of fishing tips, but after listening for a while, Chen Hong realized that what he was saying was all nonsense.

Seeing that there were more and more fish in Lao Si's fish basket, Chen Hong realized that his bait was unusual.

With the fourth brother's tacit approval, he picked up a pinch of bait, brought it close to his nose and sniffed it. A very faint fishy sweetness mixed with the sourness of herbs entered his nasal cavity, causing Chen Hong to frown slightly.

"Brother Chen, have you figured out anything?"

The fourth brother grinned, cast his line again with muddy hands, then leaned close to Chen Hong's ear and said:

"This secret recipe used up quite a few medicinal herbs. Would you like to learn it?"

Chen Hong waved his hand and immediately refused, "I can't afford it. Your fees are too high. How could I possibly afford to learn here?"

He had never heard of Lao Si's bait. The recipe was incredibly expensive; even if he emptied his pockets, he probably couldn't afford it.

Just as Chen Hong was about to get up and leave, planning to come back later that night, he heard Lao Si suddenly call out to him.

"We can barter, right? Didn't Brother Chen just plant a new willow tree at his house?"

Upon hearing this, Chen Hong froze in his tracks, his body swaying unsteadily, his face filled with disbelief.

Could it be that Xianliu has been exposed?

He feigned composure and asked the fourth brother, "How did you know a new willow tree was planted in my yard?"

"Oh, didn't I pass by your house a couple of days ago? Hey, I even said hello to your sister-in-law then..."

I heard you weren't home, so you probably forgot?

It turned out that since the fourth brother hadn't mentioned being interested in the willow tree, Jin Yan hadn't taken it seriously.

Chen Hong calmed down. He knew that the fourth brother liked bonsai and planting trees. When people have money and become wealthy, they tend to find strange and unusual hobbies that are out of place for them.

As expected, the fourth brother said, "Brother Chen, you know that this is the only hobby I have."

There aren't many willow trees in the village. The willow trees I saw in town weren't as good as the one in your yard.

The fourth brother looked dejected. He then looked at Chen Hong and continued:

"How about we switch places, bro?"

Chen Hong refused without hesitation. Even if he were bitten to death by the fish, he would never exchange Lord Xianliu, after all, this was the only way for the Chen family to change their fate!

He had heard that cultivators could break through the limits of lifespan, and he no longer wanted to see his wife emaciated and having to rely on luck to get meat every day.

The fourth brother could only feel regret and buried himself in fishing again.

……

Before evening, Chen Hong returned home empty-handed, as he had yet to come up with a way to deal with the piranhas in the lake.

According to Lord Xianliu's description, although the lake is twenty meters deep, Chen Hong can stay in it for two quarters of an hour using a special breath-holding technique, which is enough for him to dive to the bottom of the lake.

So diving isn't the problem; the difficulty lies in the hundreds of piranhas in the lake. They are ferocious and will bite anyone who enters the water, truly living up to their name of "man-eating fish."

Chen Hong was in a dilemma. With his current strength, it would be far too difficult to fight off such a large number of piranhas in the water...

Just then, there was a knock on the door.

Chen Hong hurriedly went to open the door, only to see Li Laosi's face from the east end of the village, which made him feel uneasy.

"Brother Chen, it's been a few days since you've had any meat at home, hasn't it? Here are a few small fish, and this..."

Li Laosi was carrying four fish of moderate size in his hand, and a small cloth bag was hanging from his waist, the contents of which were unknown.

"What do you mean by that?"

Chen Hong's unease reached its peak, but then he saw Li Laosi's eyes narrow into slits as he glanced at a willow tree peeking out from the corner of the yard and said:

"I wasn't thinking of bartering, Brother Chen, I genuinely love this willow tree!"

Upon hearing this, Chen Hong glanced outside and then pulled Li Laosi inside.

He braced his elbow against Li Laosi's neck, while covering the man's mouth with his left hand to prevent him from making a sound.

"Qinghe, go to the yard and get my axe!"

Li Laosi, who was locked in Chen Hong's arms, was startled and tried with all his might to break free, but then he saw Chen Hong take an iron axe from his hand.

"What do you know?"

Chen Hong held the iron axe to Li Laosi's throat, just inches from his flesh, which made him afraid to speak.

"I...I just saw that your willow tree was growing so well, so..."

Seeing that he still wouldn't tell the truth, Chen Hong pushed the axe blade in a little further, and a stream of blood instantly slid down the edge of the axe blade.

Li Laosi was so frightened that he almost cried, and only then did he tell the truth:

"Yes, Brother Chen, your willow tree is growing very strangely; it grows an inch taller every two days."

So I figured it might not be an ordinary thing, and I wanted to come and broaden my horizons.

Li Laosi was trembling like a leaf. After he spilled his true thoughts, Chen Hong still stared at him fiercely.

"Who else knows about this?"

"That's all, that's all. Only I know, not even my wife told her..."

Chen Hong then released Li Laosi, but the iron axe in his hand was still coldly pointed at him. "Don't go back tonight, or I'll chop you to death!"

"Yes, yes."

After some twists and turns, Li Laosi was allowed to stay at the Chen family's house for dinner, and then everyone went to the courtyard.

Looking at the ever-growing willow tree, Chen Hong realized that he might have to move house in the future...

"Brother Chen, is this willow tree really real?"

Chen Hong nodded to him. "It's a fairy willow."

Li Laosi was greatly shocked. Even though he had seen many interesting things in the town and was considered a worldly person, he was still speechless with shock when faced with a real immortal willow.

The reason Chen Hong kept him was only because of Ye Xuan's idea.

Ye Xuan had already examined the condition of Li Laosi's meridians. Although the man looked weak and frail, he was still able to cultivate.

Besides, without his bait, Chen Hong really wouldn't be able to retrieve the treasure from the lake, as for the Immortal Willow...

Since it's a celestial willow, it's definitely not something to be taken lightly, as it wouldn't benefit Ye Xuan.