In the independent space, littered with debris, Jiang Ming stared intently at the Sword Shadow Fish corpse floating on the water.
After a long while, the other party remained motionless, and only then did he confirm that the fish was thoroughly dead.
“Hoo!”
He exhaled a long breath, completely relaxing.
Although this fierce battle lasted only a quarter of an hour, his stamina, Magical Power, and spirit were largely depleted.
Moreover, the Fish Pond was scratched all over from the collision.
However, the harvest was equally astonishing.
Not to mention the Sword Shadow Fish corpse, which was worth roughly one Low-Grade Spirit Stone, his mastery of the Water Arrow Technique alone had made a huge leap.
He could clearly feel that both his casting speed and accuracy had significantly improved.
If there were another Sword Shadow Fish at this moment, hunting it would certainly not be so difficult.
Hauling the Sword Shadow Fish ashore, he found that the corpse was covered in wounds left by the Water Arrow Technique.
Fortunately, its back was hard enough and suffered no damage, otherwise its value would have been greatly reduced.
Jiang Ming picked up a sharp blade and began to carefully cut along the entire back.
He planned to sell this back specifically in Iron Sand City later; the remaining fish meat would naturally be simply cooked to fill his stomach.
The entire cutting process was exceptionally difficult.
This sharp blade, which usually dealt with Half Spirit Fish, proved inadequate against a Tier 1 Spirit Fish.
Jiang Ming spent most of an hour, finally processing the corpse with great effort, but when he enjoyed the fish meat, he encountered another awkward problem.
The fish was too large; he couldn't finish it in one meal.
The longer Spirit Fish meat was stored, the more Spiritual Qi it contained would dissipate, so it naturally couldn't be saved for the next meal.
As for taking it home to Old Sun, that was even more impossible.
He simply couldn't explain the source of a Tier 1 Spirit Fish.
Fortunately, the remaining portion wasn't too much, so he planned to rest for a bit and then force himself to finish it.
This incident reminded him of a drawback of eating Spirit Fish:
Although Spirit Fish meat is not limited by Medicinal Pill toxins or drug resistance like Medicinal Pills, it is restricted by the body's absorption capacity.
The richer in Spiritual Qi the fish meat, the harder it is to absorb.
It is said that ordinary Cultivators eating high-grade Spirit Fish often need several years to fully digest and absorb it.
Because of this, if high-level Cultivators want to quickly improve their Cultivation, they still primarily rely on Medicinal Pills that enhance Magical Power.
Jiang Ming originally thought this kind of trouble was still far from him, but he didn't expect it to appear so quickly.
For ordinary fishermen, selling the leftover Spirit Fish meat is the solution.
But for safety, he currently couldn't sell Tier 1 Spirit Fish and could only find a way to consume it himself.
After a moment of thought, he came up with two solutions:
First, Cultivate a Body Refining Cultivation Technique.
This type of Cultivation Technique consumes a lot of Qi and blood, which can indirectly promote the body's absorption of food.
Moreover, as physical strength increases, absorption capacity will also increase.
Second, raise some Spirit Beasts and let them help share the burden.
The absorption capacity of Spirit Beasts is usually proportional to their strength; as long as they don't eat Spirit Fish far beyond their own strength, they can absorb it relatively quickly.
However, both solutions require spending a sum of Spirit Stones to implement.
Therefore, they could only be temporarily shelved until he had more Spirit Stones in the future.
“Alas, it seems strength and harvest must be matched!”
Jiang Ming hadn't expected that a mere Tier 1 Spirit Fish would present difficulties at every step, from hunting to processing the corpse, and finally to eating it.
However, after overcoming them, the benefits were also immense.
The Spiritual Qi contained in this Tier 1 Spirit Fish was equivalent to six Half Spirit Fish.
Not long after the fish meat entered his stomach, the previously consumed Magical Power had fully recovered.
He even felt his whole body filled with power, vaguely giving rise to an illusion of invincibility.
He stood up, intending to continue casting his net to fish and expend his excess energy.
But when he glanced at the sea area diagonally ahead, he noticed something was wrong.
He didn't know when, but the fishing boats, which were originally just a few small black dots, were now visible in outline.
And they seemed to be sailing at full speed, rapidly approaching him.
There weren't many fishing boats in this sea area, and normally they were far apart from each other.
This was the first time he had encountered boats so close to him, and several of them at once.
Although he hadn't yet determined whether they were friend or foe, for caution's sake, he immediately raised his sail.
The sea wind was strong today, and those few boats had the wind at their backs, so in a moment, the distance was closed quite a bit more.
Just as Jiang Ming was adjusting his fishing boat's direction, intending to return to Iron Sand Island, the sea wind carried shouts:
“Jiang Ge! It’s me, Hu Zi! My boat is taking on water, save me quickly!”
Hearing this, he looked closely, and the foremost boat indeed resembled Zhang Hu's.
Didn't Hu Zi go fishing with Han Tie?
How could he be here?
As the distance closed, Jiang Ming made a new discovery:
Zhang Hu seemed to be fleeing for his life, while the other boats were in hot pursuit.
Could Han Tie bringing people to fish be a trap?
Unfortunately, he was downwind, so even if he spoke, Zhang Hu wouldn't hear him.
Without time to think carefully, Jiang Ming had to decide immediately:
To save, or not to save?
The eternal ark had no combat capability and could never defeat Zhang Hu's pursuers.
Even if he were to save him, he must first consider his own safety.
So, he quickly scanned the current situation again.
He soon realized that Zhang Hu was not yet in a desperate situation; his boat was still moving at high speed, almost matching the speed of the pursuers behind him.
Moreover, the pursuers' boats were all ordinary fishing boats, far from reaching the standard of Magical Artifacts.
As long as the eternal ark went at full speed, the other party would most likely be unable to catch up.
“Perhaps I can wait for Zhang Hu here, pick him up, and then flee together.”
As this thought arose, the sea wind again carried Zhang Hu's shouts:
“Jiang Ge! I should have listened to you! This was all a trap!
“More than thirty of our brothers were led by Han Tie into the Poison Dragon Gang’s encirclement, and now only I have escaped!”
Poison Dragon Gang?!
Jiang Ming's heart tightened, and he instantly understood the seriousness of the situation.
This was a pirate organization active in the nearby sea area, often targeting cargo ships, and its strength was considerable.
However, they usually wouldn't bother fishermen.
Firstly, fishermen mostly operated near Iron Sand Island, giving them few opportunities to strike;
Secondly, fishermen were mostly poor; robbing twenty fishing boats wouldn't be as profitable as robbing one cargo ship.
Wait!
If the pursuers were indeed the Poison Dragon Gang, how could Zhang Hu have escaped the encirclement?
Jiang Ming looked at Zhang Hu again, only to see him bending down, desperately scooping seawater out of the boat.
Witnessing this, Jiang Ming's expression changed dramatically, and he abruptly turned the bow of his boat, heading at full speed towards Iron Sand Island!
Zhang Hu's boat was clearly taking on water, yet its speed was on par with the pursuers.
This could only mean that the pursuers were not putting in their full effort!
This was a trap!
And the target was himself!
“Jiang Ge, wait for me!”
Zhang Hu's shouts came again from behind, but this time Jiang Ming pretended not to hear.
Whether Zhang Hu was being used or willingly acting as bait to deceive him, it no longer mattered.
The most urgent task was to quickly return to Iron Sand Island.
As for Zhang Hu, he could only be left to fend for himself.