Daoist Master of Qing Xuan

The first fish caught could have been accidental, but having caught the second live fish made Chen Jinchan serious at once. The good thing was that after some time had passed, the young person did not hook a third fish during that period, but Chen Jinchan himself did not hook any as well.

The wind and rain became increasingly desolate, and mist rose from the river. Chen Jinchan heightened his perception to the maximum, and yet still could not sense the presence of a fish. During his moment of tiredness, the young person caught a third fish, jet black all over, with thick lips and long barbels, it looked extremely formidable.

This time, Chen Jinchan was not only amazed but also very envious. That type of fish was known as ‘dragon carp’, said to possess dragon blood, if it could leap that dragon’s gate, it would transform into a dragon. But dragon’s gate was a myth, after all, even old Mountain God probably had no idea where was it located at.

That was why the dragon carp was so precious. After one ate it, one could live for another ten years. The people of Chen Village, the Honourable Witch excepted, the rest only had lifespans up to a hundred. The addition of another ten years was a surprise that could not be envisioned.

Chen Jinchan knew that even though this dragon carp was no more than one feet long, but he feared its power could surpass an adult of Chen Village. He once saw one of the villagers, who hooked a fish with his fishing rod, but in the end, was dragged into the waters of the Ruoshui River.

Even a goose feather could not float, if a man were to fall into the river there would surely be no way to resurface.

From then onwards, Chen Jinshan was extra cautious when he went fishing.

Fortunately, his perception was exceptionally acute, so as long as he was just that extra bit more careful, more cautious, his rewards would be quite considerable. To him, fishing was a pleasure and not a means of livelihood, and so as not to cause the villagers to ask all sorts of questions, almost all the fish he caught was released by him back into the river.

In actual fact, he himself did not notice that he was a person who values life very much.

That young man retrieved his rod and was prepared to leave, but he did not bring along his catch. Chen Jinchan quickly chased after him and called, “Brother, your fish!”

The delicate young person smiled, “Take this as my gift for you, it seems that you are more in need of this fish. After all, fishing in this weather is not pleasurable at all.”

Chen Jinchan was startled, then put on a serious face and bowed, “Thank you so much big brother, may I know your name? I will return your kindness in the future.”

The delicate young man replied, “My name is Shen Lian. Shen with the ‘water’, Lian with the ‘fire’ ¹ .”

Chen Jinchan himself did not know why, but after he heard Shen Lian’s voice, only those two words were floating around in the former’s mind. Before this, he was not familiar with those words, but now he was, yet he did not seek a detailed understanding. Within Chen Village, only the Honourable Witch could grasp all the characters, for the rest of the village, knowing how to write and pronounce their own name was sufficient.

But Chen Jinchan also knew that words and characters are the carriers of knowledge, and knowledge is power, power that surpasses even the strongest of grown-ups in the Chen Village.

He could not help but be in awe, and was even more curious with Shen Lian’s background.

At the same time, he could not resist, and exclaimed, “The existence of water and fire is a scene I have never seen, just like how I have never seen you before. If you cannot find a place to shelter from the wind and rain, you can follow me back to the village.”

As soon as he finished this sentence, he noticed something. Shen Lian had no straw rain cape, nor did he have a bamboo hat, yet not a drop of rain was on him. He looked spotless and had not a trace of water.

Shen Lian merely looked at him with a soft gaze and took one step into the Ruoshui River. With the next step he flew up, and the light of the water under his feet amassed into a floating cloud.

Chen Jinchan was in a daze and looked blank, in the end, his gaze drifted to the fish basket, and inside there were three fish. He released the other two but kept the dragon carp. The dragon carp had much strength, but in the basket, it was really quiet, and this was another thing he found very intriguing.

He was not a pretentious person, he knew he did not manage to catch any fish today, and so did not reject Shen Lian’s kindness. At the same time he felt that he might meet Shen Lian again, this person was so different from all the other people he had ever met and was very mysterious.

Chen Jinchan always believed that only the old Mountain God and the divine servant could fly over the Ruoshui River, he never would have thought that Shen Lian could do so. Without realizing, an idea surfaced in his heart, and that was he and Shen Lian actually had some similarities. Maybe one day he could step on a cloud and fly over the Ruoshui River.

He carried the fish basket and walked back to the Honourable Witch’s residence. The door was open, and having stopped just outside Chen Jinchan heard the witch’s voice, “Come in”.

Shedding his straw rain cape and bamboo hat, he respectfully offered the dragon carp. The witch appeared unsurprised, she raised an eyebrow and asked, “Who did you meet?”

Thus, Chen Jinchan told her in detail about everything that happened. The witch listened to everything and was lost in thought.

Eventually, the eyebrows on her beautiful face knitted in a frown, and depressingly said, “It is likely that you met a Qi cultivator.”

This prompted Chen Jichan to ask in amazement, “What is a Qi cultivator?”

The reply came faintly, “Long ago, the forefathers of our clan were the rulers of the land until the Qi cultivators emerged. People like us gradually lessened, and in the end, we had to seek refuge in an out-of-sight corner of the world, even to a point where our powers slowly disappeared. You know, once one is awakened as a divine servant, one can possess strength and knowledge, but the Qi cultivators can also attain the same through cultivation and learning, and some of them are even stronger and live longer than the Mountain God.”

Chen Jinchan could not help his wonderment, for he knew the Honourable Witch had lived over a thousand years, and although the Mountain God probably lived longer than her, he was after all a deity. He could not imagine how humans could live this long.

She noticed Chen Jinchan’s disbelief, and told him, “You don’t need to be in disbelief, because the mystery of Qi cultivators cannot adequately be expressed in words. They can raise up their hands and the clouds in the sky will gather together. Their one breath is a fierce wind. They can create fire out of nothingness, burning rivers and boil seas, they can even produce enough energy to cut off the mountains.”

Chen Jinchan trembled slightly, unable to imagine that delicate young name by the name of Shen Lian, was actually a Qi cultivator, possessing terrifying strength.

The witch’s words, even if only half was true, were already far beyond what Chen Jinchan could imagine. He could not fathom that such strength could be associated with humans.

He muttered, “Could it be that Qi cultivators are even stronger than the Mountain God?”

There was a glint of splendor from her eyes, and with a gleam of respect, she told him, “Old Mountain God is also special, long ago he was also from the Chen Village. Later on, he became a Qi cultivator, and after that became the Mountain God of Mount Zhong, thus letting generations of Chen Villagers avoid the turmoil of the world.”

Chen Jinchan would never have thought old Mountain God was connected to the village, and not only was a Qi cultivator but also became a deity. He was oblivious exactly how old Mountain God’s life unfolded on such a magnificent scale.

Since Shen Lian was a Qi cultivator, then what reason would he have for coming here?

Shen Lian stood by the side of the Ruoshui River, and looked at the waters undulating. He searched high and low, but still had not found the Dancing Tree and fruit of immortality. Three years time were almost up, so he went to Mount Zhong. Only when he saw Chen Jinchan did he realize maybe, just maybe, his search would come to an end.