Chapter 1299
Chapter 1299:
Xiao Chen immediately acted on his thoughts, carefully observing the trick to the Immortal fish's dodging.
At the same time, he did not forget to cultivate the Taiji Dao while on the floating piece of ice. He used his Law Energy to form the Taiji force field, helping him to comprehend the Immortal fish's Movement Technique.
Xiao Chen's comprehension ability was very high in the first place. He could deduce many things from a single piece of information. Hence, he progressed at an unimaginably rapid pace.
The floating piece of ice melted long ago. Now, there was a circular Taiji symbol on the surface of the lake. Under the pull of the Taiji force field, those Immortal fish swam about happily.
Occasionally, the lake water erupted, and many ice fish soared into the air.
Within the force field, Xiao Chen's actions appeared slow but were very fast. As he made his move, he was like an Azure Dragon returning in a flight that startled the heavens, showing a shocking aura.
However, when he quieted down, space froze, and his actions slowed, looking like time came to a stop.
Every action separated into countless tiny actions, forming afterimages layered over each other.
As Xiao Chen comprehended in that way, his understanding of the Taiji Dao deepened. He gained new understandings, especially in the area of mixing fast and slow. It could be said that his eyes were opened, seeing the Taiji Dao in a new light.
In the past few days, an increasing number of Immortal fish appeared around the water surface, perhaps due to Xiao Chen's serene and peaceful state. The fish enjoyed gathering around Xiao Chen, mischievously teasing him.
These fish did not know that their good days were numbered. Over the past half month, Xiao Chen had gained a good understanding of their Movement Technique. He was only slightly short of merging it into his Thunder Dragon Steps, turning it into a new Movement Technique—the Fish Dragon Art.
"I am almost there, after changing between a fish or a dragon for hundreds of times. Fish or dragon, it all depends on the thought."
Quick! Return of the Azure Dragon, heaven-startling flight!
Amid the Taiji force field, Xiao Chen first stepped on the lake's surface. When the thousands of fish shot out of the lake, he made his move at lightning speed, like a dragon soaring into the sky and startling the clouds in the nine heavens.
The Immortal fish did not feel threatened. They moved like before; the moment danger approached, they wagged their tails and dodged the lightning-quick hand.
Slow! Spiritual fish wagging tail, appearing very clumsy!
Xiao Chen's lightning-quick motion suddenly came to a stop. The mighty aura in the surroundings vanished. He gently turned his body, casually moving his hands and firmly grabbing a fish tail.
He smiled faintly. While he should have been ecstatic after the great success, he turned quiet instead.
"Let's see where you can run now. The feast begins!"
Switching between fast and slow, Xiao Chen executed the Fish Dragon Art in an unpredictable fashion. He caught a fish with every attempt, never missing at all.
Soon, many captured fish entered a pond in the Immortal Spirit Ring.
"Withdraw!"
Xiao Chen stopped and scattered the Taiji force field. As he stood on the surface of the lake, he looked like he merged completely with the lake water.
However, those Immortal fish did not leave. Instead, they swam around Xiao Chen in large schools, jumping out of the water and wriggling their bodies.
Xiao Chen showed a knowing smile. "They are truly Immortal fish. They know that with the restriction in the lake removed and their food now lost, the death of their race is inevitable."
However, in the end, it was due to Xiao Chen merging with nature, being at peace and exuding the ambiance of a Daoist, which allowed the fish to believe in him. Furthermore, they enjoyed this ambiance. This was the choice that they made as a result of their Immortal Beast bloodline.
[TL Note: Daoists believed in balance and a dual nature of everything in the world. The Taiji diagram is a symbol of Daoism, where you have white and black halves with a spot of white in the black side and a spot of black in the white side. This symbolizes the dual nature of everything, where nothing is completely white; there is a part of black in the white, and vice versa. Xiao Chen is likely exhibiting traits of Daoism here, and Daoist cultivators were likely the predominant Immortal Cultivators during the Immortal Epoch.]
On the surface of the lake, Xiao Chen moved nonstop, constantly executing the Fish Dragon Art and bringing the ice fish into the Immortal Spirit Ring.
"Plop! Plop!" Immortal fish continuously leaped out of the water.
During this time, thousands of fish soared into the air, creating a very majestic sight above the lake.
Ao Jiao, who was forced out of the lake, was so shocked that she gaped at this sight.
"What's going on?"
After most of the day passed, Xiao Chen finally collected all the Immortal fish in this lake. During this practical application, his Fish Dragon Art and Taiji Dao fused even further.
"Whoosh!"
The left hand like a fish and the right hand like a dragon. Two different kinds of aura manifested perfectly on Xiao Chen at the same time.
A Taiji diagram covering the entire lake suddenly formed. Two Taiji fish—one black and one white—swam around on the surface of the lake as if they were illustrating the Great Dao of the world.
Peace and serenity. It was like one could hear the pulsation of the world.
A gentle breeze blew, pushing Xiao Chen's fringe aside and revealing his handsome and delicate face. He smiled at Ao Jiao and lowered his hands. Then, the Taiji diagram disappeared.
Ao Jiao could not help blushing for some reason, her heart pounding heavily. However, after a moment, she was shocked.
She heard a loud boom. The original scene of peace and serenity vanished from the lake. Countless waves soared up into the air, forming large, imposing pillars of water before turning into rain falling with the strong winds.
The wind was strong enough to pull up a mountain. The rain was so widespread, it could flood the mountain's rivers. However, there were still the overwhelming, huge waves that were greater than the wind and rain. They roared endlessly like thunder, turning the sky dark.
The mountain and rivers shatter; the wind blows them away like cotton. The turbulent wind precedes the mountain storm!
Switching between stillness and movement, Xiao Chen further improved his Taiji Dao.
Xiao Chen rejoiced in his heart. Even though he was in this storm, he still let out unbridled laughter. As the rain fell, his clothes did not get wet. As the strong wind blew, it bypassed his body.
At the lakeside, Ao Jiao looked on distractedly, deeply shocked by this scene.
As she watched this spectacular sight, a rare sight seen only once in ten thousand years, she did not realize that she appeared equally beautiful standing at the shore amid this storm.
If someone else were here, they would definitely beg the heavens for a divine brush, so that they could paint out this scene of a beauty in a storm.
The storm was pretty, the rain was pretty, but the person in the wind and storm was prettier.
After a long time, the rain stopped. Then, Xiao Chen set up a simple fire pit at the lakeshore, preparing to cook some fish.
He was in a good mood. "I told you. Those fish in the lake are extraordinary. They are ancient Immortal fish. If not for these fish, I would not have been able to improve so fast in my Taiji Dao and Movement Technique.
"That is why there is the saying that one has to try everything in life. If I did not insist on eating fish, how could I have ended up gaining such harvest, right?"
Ao Jiao's lips twitched as she retorted, "It is just blind luck. You praised these fish so much, but you still want to eat them."
Xiao Chen smiled gently and countered, "You don't understand this. In this world, it is natural for people to eat fish and meat. This is a natural cycle of the world. If men do not eat fish or meat, the Heavenly Dao will crumble. I am not one of those hypocrites putting on so much pretense. Since I want to eat them, I will just eat them."
"You and your warped logic. In any case, eating those fish is wrong!" Unable to outtalk Xiao Chen, Ao Jiao pouted. She looked extremely cute, showing her natural beauty to the greatest extent.
Xiao Chen smiled mysteriously and said, "If I tell you that these fish will leap out themselves for me to eat, will you believe it?"
She glared at him and said, "That's impossible."
Xiao Chen smiled and said, "In that case, just watch. Oh, fishy. Oh, fishy. I, Xiao Chen, am hungry. Which of you are willing to let me eat you, to help me soothe this hunger of my stomach?"
When Ao Jiao saw Xiao Chen putting on this pretense, she laughed and said, "Keep boasting. Which fish would jump out on their own and let you eat them? I do not believe it."
"Plop!"
Right after Ao Jiao spoke, an Immortal fish leaped out of the Immortal Spirit Ring and landed in the pot. "Plop! Plop!" Another four fish leaped out and joined the first in the pot.
This miraculous scene stunned Ao Jiao. "They really jumped out. How did you do it? I want to try as well. This lady may be more mischievous than you, but I am much kinder. I definitely can do it as well."
Xiao Chen smiled without saying a word, performing an inviting gesture.
Ao Jiao leaned over and said in a soft and gentle voice, "Fishy, oh, fishy. Little Ao Jiao is hungry as well. Which of you is willing to let me eat you, to soothe the hunger of my stomach?"
After a while, she looked at Xiao Chen. "Why is there no reaction?!" she asked, feeling it was strange.
"Pu!"
Spit came from the Immortal Spirit Ring and landed on Ao Jiao's face. Then, even more came out looking like rain continuously flying out from the Immortal Spirit Ring.
Xiao Chen obtained fish, but Ao Jiao received a relentless rain of spit. The difference was great.
Such a scene made Xiao Chen guffaw endlessly. He held his belly as he fell to the ground, laughing.
"Stupid Xiao Chen, I'll kill you!" Ao Jiao wiped the spit off her face before launching herself at Xiao Chen.
Xiao Chen dodged nimbly, laughing nonstop. Mimicking Ao Jiao's tone, he said, "Fishy, oh, fishy. Little Ao Jiao is hungry as well. Which of you is willing to let me eat you, to soothe the hunger of my stomach?"
This completely frustrated Ao Jiao. "Stupid Xiao Chen, I'll fight it out with you!"
---
"Zi zi!"
The extinguished pile of firewood occasionally gave off sizzling sounds as smoke wafted out, drifting to the sky.
"I'll eat you! I'll eat you! I'll eat you!"
The fish smelled very fragrant. Ao Jiao seemed to hold a grudge against the fish, quickly polishing off the delectable Immortal fish.
"Another one. I hate this fish!" Ao Jiao said ferociously to Xiao Chen and wiped her mouth, wishing she could eat Xiao Chen up as well.
Earlier, she could not do anything to him. After getting tired from chasing him, she could only watch him cook the fish. When the fish was cooked, she erupted with anger again, quickly eating three.
Smiling faintly, Xiao Chen handed over one more fish. "Didn't you say that you won't eat them? Of the five fish, you took four already. I ate only one."
Ao Jiao glared fiercely at Xiao Chen, "Why did you say it? You are horrible enough already. This fish is even more horrible than you. I was so kind, trying to protect them all the while, yet they actually spat at me. My anger won't be soothed if I don't eat them."
"Do they taste good?" Xiao Chen asked with a grin that narrowed his eyes.
Ao Jiao, who was currently wolfing down the fish meat, replied indistinctly, "Ish nice. I wanna eat another one."
After that, she realized that something was off. She quickly reacted, saying, "Ptooey! Ptooey! Ptooey! It'd be weird if it tasted good. This horrible fish does not taste good at all. Humph!"
Xiao Chen smiled and said, "Little glutton, you are too proud. It is clearly tasty, and you like it, yet you are not admitting it."
Ao Jiao blushed slightly and just focused on eating her fish, ignoring Xiao Chen.
As Xiao Chen watched Ao Jiao eat the fish, he showed a faint smile. Then, he took out a spoon and sampled the fresh fish soup. He immediately felt this to be the most delicious food in the world.
There were thousands of soups in the world, but the best was undoubtedly fresh fish soup. Of all the fresh fish soups, the one he was tasting now was definitely the best.
Xiao Chen had guessed correctly. The ancient fish was a top-class ingredient. In the future, his stomach would be very blessed.
"This won't do. Xiao Chen, you have to tell me why fish jumped out when you asked, but when I asked, they spat at me." Ao Jiao wiped her mouth and glared at him with wide eyes. It looked like she would not rest before she got an answer.
Xiao Chen put down the spoon, took out a handkerchief, and wiped his mouth clean. Then, he smiled faintly and asked, "You really want to know?"