Chapter 255 Preliminary Test "Yes, Wuliang River. Only a river like this can produce such a rare thing as Daohun." Zheng Kun sighed. Gu Yuanqing raised his head and looked upstream of the river. With his Dongxu Tianpu, he saw some large buildings in the distance. "Is that where the Huanling Sect's headquarters is?" Zheng Kun nodded and said, "Yes, the area over 6,000 miles upward from there belongs to the Huanling Sect. That area is close to the upper reaches, where Dao souls gather. There are also several ancient fishing platforms in the middle. It is said that they were arranged by ancient great powers. It is the best place for fishing on the Wuliang River. However, to enter it, one must hand in an ancient coin every seven days." Gu Yuanqing said: "Why don't you go there, Brother Zheng? One ancient coin every seven days is not too expensive for a Xutian cultivator. Since it is easier to fish, you should get a bigger harvest, right?" "My methods are not enough. Dao souls prefer to move rather than stay still. Although there are more Dao souls, the water there is turbulent and there are undercurrents everywhere. Even if I have a Xuan-grade fishing rod now, I can't hold on for long under the torrent of vitality. Dao friend's cultivation is far better than mine, so you can give it a try." "Is that so? Forget it. I'm new here and not familiar with the method of fishing for Dao Soul. Let's try again later." Gu Yuanqing withdrew his gaze. Zheng Kun smiled and said, "In fact, it's better for us casual cultivators to fish outside. There are many people there, disciples from large sects gather there, and there are often celestial beings fishing on several ancient fishing platforms. If we really catch something good, it will be a lot of trouble." Hearing the word "celestial being", Gu Yuanqing decided to choose a secluded place to fish. It was difficult for the ancient world to rely on the power of Beiquan Mountain, and now he didn't want to get too close to the celestial being. What's more, he didn't know how to use the method of heavenly fishing in this Wuliang River, so avoiding the eyes and ears of the public was the best option.
"Then let's choose a place to start. I can't wait." Gu Yuanqing smiled. "Fellow Daoist, you must be patient. Fishing for Dao Souls is not like fishing. It is common to have no movement for ten days, half a month, or even several months. This depends on luck." After walking more than a thousand miles downstream, Zheng Kun stopped. He seemed to be relieved. "The waters here are neither too fast nor too slow, just right for fishing. I once caught two Xuan-level Dao Souls in one month here. The last time I came here, it was occupied by someone else. Fortunately, there was no one today." Gu Yuanqing smiled and said, "Then I will observe and learn first, and then find another place to fish." Zheng Kun laughed: "Based on what you said before, I will not keep the experience I have gained from my exploration to myself." Zheng Kun found a place to sit down, took out the fishing gear from the storage bag, and activated his true energy. The fishing gear, which was less than three feet long, suddenly became several dozen feet long. "To fish for Dao Souls, one uses the true essence and Dao essence as bait, which is the condensation of one's own understanding of the Dao. The purer the Dao essence, the easier it is for Dao Souls to be hooked. How to condense it better is something that Daoists need to explore and comprehend on their own. There are thousands of ways for thousands of people, and everyone's cultivation and Dao practice are different." As Zheng Kun was speaking, he saw a faint green light flashing on the fishing hook, and in the blink of an eye it condensed into a fist-sized ball. "I am an expert in wind, so I am using the wind-type bait. The Dao souls I catch are also inclined to wind. Of course, it is not certain. The great Daos multiply and insult each other, so there will be other Dao souls that take the bait. Everything depends on luck. After all, in this infinite river, if the divine consciousness falls into it, it will be wiped out by the myriad Daos. No one knows what Dao souls are around in this river." "The whereabouts of Dao Souls are uncertain, and the depth of the Wuliang River is unknown. How deep the fishing line sinks depends on yourself. Although some people have summarized some experience, it is different in different locations. For example, my bait here will sink about 30 feet. If there is a place I often go to 600 miles below, the bait will sink about 70 feet." "Some people also say that the deeper the Dao bait sinks, the greater the chance of catching a Dao soul. But at the same time, the deeper it sinks, the more undercurrents there are underwater, and the greater the consumption of the true essence and soul. Daoist friends, it is best to choose a shallower place to fish and find the most suitable method. After all, fishing for Dao souls is not a one- or two-day thing, and it is impossible to wait all day. When fishing, we usually practice or condense ancient coins at the same time."... Gu Yuanqing listened quietly on the side. Just as Zheng Kun said before, he did not keep anything to himself and told him everything that happened during the fishing process. Although these things are very simple, they are all summaries of experience and can save Gu Yuanqing a lot of effort. "Gu Daoyou, you can try it first. After all, there are many things I can't think of when I just talk." Gu Yuanqing smiled and said, "Then I'll trouble Brother Zheng to give me some advice." "There is no such thing as guidance or not, it's just communication. Our cultivation is difficult step by step, so we should support each other to move forward. Moreover, there are countless Dao Souls in this Wuliang River. Whether you can catch them depends on your ability. If you catch a Dao Soul that is not compatible with your own Dao level, you can exchange it with each other." Gu Yuanqing also sat down about three meters away and took out his fishing rod. Although he said it was his first time to come to Wuliang River to fish for Dao Souls, he had experience of fishing for monsters on Beiquan Mountain and was not unfamiliar with this.
The black iron fishing rod reached its limit when it became more than ten feet long. After all, the yellow-grade fishing gear could not compare with the black-grade one. Zheng Kun watched Gu Yuanqing start to operate, and smiled: "This first step of condensing the Dao bait is quite difficult. After all, the Dao is impermanent. It needs to be manifested externally, which is different from the usual fighting methods. Fighting methods use the true essence to stimulate and the Dao intention to follow, while the Dao bait is condensed from the pure Dao essence. I remember that it took me nearly three days..." Zheng Kun stopped talking suddenly when he reached here, because he noticed that there was a bright light flashing on Gu Yuanqing's fishing hook, and a fist-sized Wu Shui Dao Yun had condensed into shape. He smacked his lips and couldn't help but look at Gu Yuanqing a few more times. After a long while, he sighed, "I was overthinking. Your cultivation and understanding of the Dao are far beyond what I can compare to. The Dao essence on the Dao bait you condensed is even purer than that of me, who has been fishing for hundreds of years." Gu Yuanqing smiled and said, "No, I just heard about fishing for Dao Souls in Wuliang River before, so I made some preparations before entering the ancient world." When Gu Yuanqing's Taoist bait entered the water, he immediately felt the torrent formed by his vital energy constantly pulling and washing away his Taoist essence. Zheng Kun then said: "The water of Wuliang River is originally transformed by the power of ten thousand Daos. The second difficulty is to maintain the Dao essence in the water. Many Daoists have no experience, and the Dao bait is washed away when it enters the water. Back then... However, with Daoists' cultivation and understanding of the Wushui Dao, I think it should not be too difficult." He originally wanted to say that it took him several days to stabilize the Dao Bait in the Wan Dao River, but he suddenly thought of the scene where Gu Yuanqing easily condensed the Dao Bait just now, and he stopped talking. "Indeed!" Gu Yuanqing nodded in agreement. He felt that as the Taoist bait entered the water, the vitality in the river seemed to be affected by the Taoist bait and changed rapidly, as if all kinds of Taoist ideas were constantly impacting the bait. If it were not for his experience in celestial fishing, the Taoist bait would have dissipated in a moment. (End of this chapter)
