The scorching sun burned like fire, baking the earth below.
Above Lake of Smoky Waves, clouds and mist twined, creating the atmosphere of an immortal's estate.
A gentle breeze blew, lifting the 'Immortal Qi' from the lake, yet it still couldn't dispel the heat brought on by the fiercely blazing sun.
Consequently, the people by Lake of Smoky Waves grew restless as well.
"How come there's still no fish on the hook? This is so damn infuriating!"
"It's been half a day, and not a single fish caught. Daoist Jia, is there some kind of secret technique involved?"
"Out with it, is it a matter of bait? Are you using Earth Dragon Worms, Daoist Jia? Share your secret recipe with everyone."
Seventeen or eighteen cultivators, clad in Taoist Robes, surrounded a young Taoist holding a fishing rod, earnestly seeking guidance, their gaze occasionally darting to his fish basket.
In the fish basket lay twelve Green Scaled Carps, some big, some small—the smallest around two inches and the largest over a foot long.
Compared to the scanty catches in other people's baskets, the difference was like heaven and earth.
It was their first visit to Lake of Smoky Waves, and so far, no one except Jia Ren had caught more than two Spirit Fish.
Faced with eager inquiries, Jia Ren didn't even look up. He was weary of answering the same questions over and over.
His gaze remained intently fixed on the float and the lake's emerald, jade-like surface, completely undistracted.
"If you want to catch fish, the bait is the most important. The bait recipe is a proprietary secret; how could it be so easily divulged?"
Sure enough, it was the bait. The crowd's eyes brightened.
"Would you sell some of your bait?" someone asked tentatively, willing to spend some Fragmented Spirit Stones if the price was right.
"Ten pieces of bait for one Fragmented Spirit Stone."
The faces of the crowd changed; the price was steep.
Green Scaled Carps were ungraded Spirit Fish, their Spiritual Energy weak. One of sufficient weight could be sold for a Fragmented Spirit Stone.
With ten pieces of bait, there was no guarantee of how many Spirit Fish one could catch. Wouldn't it be a loss-making business if too few were caught?
They had ventured to Lake of Smoky Waves not for leisure, but to earn Spirit Stones.
The crowd wasn't pleased, looking at Jia Ren with dissatisfaction.
"That price is too high! One Fragmented Spirit Stone's worth of Earth Dragon Worms can be used as bait at least fifty times."
"With such a high price, it's better to take the risk and fish within Lake of Smoky Waves!"
As soon as these words were spoken, everyone fell silent.
They all knew that fishing in the lake was the quickest method, provided someone dared to do it.
Otherwise, why would anyone bother fishing by the shores of Lake of Smoky Waves?
Within Lake of Smoky Waves lived great Magical Beasts, a fact no Loose Cultivator was unaware of. Very few cultivators who entered the lake in its early days made it back alive.
Fish in the lake? It was more like personally delivering a meal to the great Magical Beasts.
If it hadn't been confirmed that there was no danger on the shores of Lake of Smoky Waves, probably no cultivator would have dared come.
"Would it be possible to give us two pieces of bait to try?"
"Right, if it works well, we'll definitely be willing to buy."
Jia Ren sat in the shade of an umbrella, occasionally grabbing the fruit wine at his waist and taking a hearty swig. He offered no answer to their questions.
His thoughts drifted far away along with the float on the serene lake surface.
Jia Ren wasn't from this world. He was over forty, worth tens of millions, and had embraced an early semi-retirement lifestyle. In his free time, he enjoyed fishing, walking his dog, and keeping birds, living a life of boundless joy.
In a lifetime, it's all about living comfortably and at ease; why bother making oneself miserable.
Unexpectedly, after waking from sleep, he found himself transmigrated into another world, into the body of someone with the same name.
Initially, Jia Ren thought he was dreaming, but after accepting his predecessor's memories, he reluctantly faced reality.
When reading novels, watching movies, and playing games in the past, he too had fantasized about transmigrating to the Cultivation World, achieving immortality, carefreely riding a sword through the world, and settling injustices with a treasured blade.
But dreams are always different from reality...
Especially after acquiring the original host's memories, the image of an easy-going, omnipotent Immortal gradually receded from his heart.
An Immortal is an Immortal, while a Cultivator is a Cultivator; the gap between them cannot be reasoned out.
For a Cultivator to become an Immortal is as big a delusion as a lunatic spouting nonsense.
The original host had started cultivation at fifteen and had just turned thirty. Fifteen years of cultivation had barely brought him to the Third Layer of Qi-Training.
This already surpassed fifty percent of Loose Cultivators...
The path of cultivation was as hard as ascending to the heavens.
The Cultivation World was far crueler than reality...
Jia Ren's occupation of Magical Beast hunting was extremely dangerous, and every few years, a few familiar faces would die.
The very first thing he did after reincarnating was to quit the Magical Beast hunting squad; surviving three years of Magical Beast hunting with his Cultivation Level was simply a miracle.
Change jobs? Without knowledge in formations, alchemy, artifact refining, and talisman crafting, just mediocre Magical Beast hunting skills, where could I earn Spirit Stones?
Magical Beast hunting had brought him a wealth of knowledge. Leveraging his understanding of the Great Wilderness periphery, Jia Ren found Lake of Smoky Waves.
After several days of probing, he confirmed the safety around the lake's shores and started his fishing life ahead of schedule.
He continually improved his bait, and his catch kept increasing.
Even though they were ungraded Spirit Fish, their sheer quantity was significant. With a stable daily catch, the income was no less than that from hunting low-level Magical Beasts.
The competition among Loose Cultivators was too intense, and the good days didn't last long. Since he started bringing his caught Spirit Fish to the Great Wilderness Market to sell, copycats appeared the very next day.
The Loose Cultivators swarmed like flies smelling meat, each wanting a share of the bounty.
By just the third day, more than thirty Loose Cultivators had gathered by Lake of Smoky Waves.
The competition here was insane...
I need to change the way I earn Spirit Stones, he thought.
The cultivators gathered were a mixed bunch, and most were poor at fishing, using inferior bait. Jia Ren's daily catch was astonishing and would inevitably attract envy.
Murdering for treasure was all too common in the Cultivation World.
Lake of Smoky Waves was located on the edge of the Great Wilderness and, unlike the Market, offered no guarantee of safety.
Having absorbed his former self's memories, and with over seventy years of life experience from both lives, he was accustomed to suspecting the worst in people's hearts.
With more people fishing, selling bait would be more profitable. And safer.
The one making money from a gold rush isn't necessarily the miner, but the one selling shovels.
Relying on high-quality bait to make Spirit Stones off these fishermen wouldn't be difficult.
Jia Ren shifted his position, kept the fishing rod horizontal, and gently shook its tip to ensure the fish was securely hooked, preventing any chance of escape.
The surface of the lake churned, the force nearly pulling Jia Ren off balance. He quickly used his Spiritual Power to stabilize himself, planting his feet firmly on the ground to avoid being dragged into Lake of Smoky Waves.
Jia Ren slackened the line. He let the fish run when it pulled hard and reeled in when it tired, expertly playing it.
The other Loose Cultivators, still fishing, put down their equipment and crowded around, over thirty pairs of eyes fixed on the lake surface.
The water churned, and the thrashing outline of a large, green fish, over three feet long, became vaguely visible.
"A first-grade Spirit Fish! A Jade Carp!"
"A Jade Carp over three feet long must weigh at least six pounds—that's three Spirit Stones!"
Envious and jealous gazes were cast his way, and the eyes of those watching Lake of Smoky Waves turned even more fervent.
Once the fish had exhausted itself, Jia Ren decisively reeled it in. A jade-colored carp tumbled onto the muddy, grassy shore, thrashing about.
Jia Ren took out his Low-Quality Magical Artifact, the Black Fang Sword, from his Storage Bag and knocked the Jade Carp unconscious using the back of the sword.
Live fish commanded a higher price; a dead one would lose value.
"Congratulations, Daoist Brother, for catching the Jade Carp!"
Three Spirit Stones were a considerable income, inciting envy among the Loose Cultivators, making them all the more eager to fish for Spirit Stones from Lake of Smoky Waves.
"I've benefited from the good fortune of my fellow Daoists, so I'll give each of you a piece of bait," Jia Ren said.
He hadn't forgotten his idea of selling bait, taking this opportunity to distribute more than thirty samples for trial to make a name for himself.
"Daoist Brother is generous!"
"We also want to try the bait that caught the Jade Carp!"
He shared with all present, fostering goodwill and aiming to prevent any ill-willed actions born out of jealousy.
"My fellow Daoists, I shall take my leave. If you wish to buy bait in the future, you can find me in the West District Market," Jia Ren announced.
Without waiting for a response from the Loose Cultivators, he rode the wind and drifted away.