My Longevity Simulation - Chapter 858
After reciting the oath, Zhong Shentong felt a heavy weight settle upon his heart, as if an invisible shackle had been placed on him.
“Hahaha, good.” Ji Shaoli, now seemingly relieved, immediately withdrew all the magical treasures protecting him, appearing completely defenseless.
This further convinced Zhong Shentong that the membership oath carried some kind of restrictive power.
“Now that Fellow Daoist Zhong has joined, why not have the little girl, Liuli, join as well?” Ji Shaoli said with a bright smile.
Though his words sounded like a suggestion, his tone left no room for refusal.
Zhong Shentong had no choice but to signal for Liuli to comply.
There was no need to transmit instructions.
Having just heard Zhong Shentong recite the oath once, Liuli had already memorized it completely.
She immediately recited it word for word, without a single mistake.
Even after completing the oath, she still appeared carefree, seemingly unaffected by any pressure.Zhong Shentong couldn’t help but sigh inwardly: Truly, the young know no fear. A mere child, unaware of the mysteries of true immortals.
Sensing Zhong Shentong’s unease, Ji Shaoli spoke, “Fellow Daoist Zhong, there is no need to worry. I have already contacted the headquarters. You will continue to oversee this fishing pool.”
“Everything will remain as it was.”
Zhong Shentong was momentarily stunned by these words.
“Furthermore, we will not make any effort to conceal this place. After all, only treasures require secrecy. A mere ordinary pond—what reason is there to go to such lengths to protect it? However, you may set up a formation outside your mountain temple to prevent outsiders from spying on it again,” Ji Shaoli added calmly.
“If anything is truly exposed, we can arrive quickly to assist.”
…
Ji Shaoli’s detailed explanation eased most of Zhong Shentong’s doubts.
“It seems I was being overly cautious. This Federation of All Worlds truly lives up to its name,” he thought to himself.
With Lin Ling’s help, a protective formation around the small temple was quickly established.
Ji Shaoli then prepared to take out some magical treasures to aid Zhong Shentong in self-defense.
Having not experienced such kindness for a long time, Zhong Shentong actually felt a bit embarrassed.
“There’s no need for these. Over the years, I’ve fished up all sorts of random things,” he said, shaking his head.
“If a real crisis occurs, these wouldn’t be of much use anyway.”
As he spoke, he tossed over a storage ring.
“Take a look inside, Fellow Daoist. See if there’s anything I may have overlooked.”
Ji Shaoli scanned the contents with his divine sense and saw what appeared to be a junkyard, the storage space filled with a chaotic pile of items.
After a brief moment, he shook his head. “Not of much value.”
“However…” Ji Shaoli paused slightly.
“Some of these objects, though not of high quality, might have other unique values. After all, most of them originate from other cultivation realms. From what I know, there are some cultivators who are quite interested in such items.”
Zhong Shentong nodded slightly. “I am well aware of that. But to avoid drawing unwanted attention, I’ve simply never attempted to trade them.”
“That will no longer be a concern for you,” Ji Shaoli said, putting the storage ring away.
“We have specialists who will handle these items. Half of the profits will go to the alliance, and the other half will be returned to you.”
Zhong Shentong had no objections to this arrangement and even sighed in admiration. “Having a strong backer is indeed better than struggling alone.”
“The fishing pool is an extremely rare and precious treasure. The Federation will impose strict confidentiality measures regarding it. Aside from the occasional visitor coming to fish, it will not be used too frequently,” Ji Shaoli explained the future plans in detail.
These precautions put Zhong Shentong even more at ease.
After that, Ji Shaoli once again sought advice from Zhong Shentong about his experience fishing in the starry sky.
“What exactly does it mean to use intent as bait?”
“Can any kind of intent work?”
Zhong Shentong pondered for a moment before explaining: “The fishing pool doesn’t come with any instructions. Everything had to be figured out on my own.”
“Based on my years of experience, using intent as bait generally follows the principle of ‘like attracts like’.”
“There are countless light clusters within the fishing pool, each naturally belonging to different attributes and classifications.”
“Light clusters that share similarities with the condensed intent bait are more likely to be caught.”
Zhong Shentong then took out a Hunyuan Purple-Gold Gourd and said, “For example, this gourd—I was able to fish it up because I visualized a gourd-shaped offensive treasure I had once seen. Only then did I have the luck to reel it in.”
Ji Shaoli listened and fell into deep thought. “If we assume these light clusters have their own consciousness, wouldn’t that mean they are drawn to intent bait that resembles them or that they find interesting?”
Zhong Shentong nodded.
“That may be true, but luck still plays a big role.” Zhong Shentong frowned.
“The starry sky within the fishing pool is too vast. The range of influence of an intent bait is only a tiny fraction of it. Dropping the fishing line and hoping to encounter an attractable light cluster…”
“Difficult, difficult, difficult!” Zhong Shentong repeated the word three times, expressing his frustration.
“I suspect that this fishing pool was originally meant to be used alongside a specialized technique. However, that method has long since been lost, leaving only the fishing pool itself in this world.” He sighed.
Ji Shaoli nodded in agreement.
Their entire conversation was conducted through spiritual voice transmission.
Liuli and Lin Ling, who were nearby, remained unaware.
However, in this short time, the two of them had grown much closer.
No longer glaring at each other, they had started playing together instead.
Watching this scene, Zhong Shentong was filled with emotion.
“I see that this young lady…”
He hesitated for a moment but ultimately did not call her “senior.”
“This young lady named Lin Ling doesn’t seem very old?” He asked cautiously.
Ji Shaoli nodded. “She was born just over ten years ago and has yet to experience the world, so she still has the heart of a child.”
These words completely stunned Zhong Shentong.
“Just over ten years? A Dao Integration cultivator?”
“Haha, Fellow Daoist, there’s no need to be surprised. Within our Federation, peerless geniuses are too numerous to count. This level of talent…”
“Is nothing remarkable.”
Ji Shaoli smiled mysteriously and left it at that.
Zhong Shentong, still in shock, fell into a whirlwind of thoughts.
Meanwhile, Ji Shaoli once again attempted fishing.
He calmed his mind and entered the boundless, dazzling starry sky.
“Intent as bait…”
He tried to condense his visualization into bait.
As expected, he failed.
However, luck was on his side this time, and he fished up a blue light cluster.
He couldn’t discern its exact use, but it seemed to be a fragment of some treasure.
After failing to uncover anything useful from it, Ji Shaoli temporarily stored it away.
For the next period of time, he remained at the small temple, continuously honing his skills.
As he became more familiar with Zhong Shentong and his disciple, his progress accelerated under their guidance.
Half a month later.
Ji Shaoli finally succeeded in condensing his first intent bait.
