However, Lin Jin didn’t see Qin Yunshang and Chen Xuankong in their group.
They were probably in their respective sects at the moment.
Then, Huang Shi Sanren muttered under his breath, “This is odd. I heard that a powerful immortal beast has blocked the gates of the Mystery Dao Sect. It’s been years since we’ve heard of their whereabouts so how could they be out today? Did they somehow manage to deal with the immortal beast that was blocking them in?”
He had spoken very softly to avoid being heard by the other immortals. Zuo Men shook his head to indicate he had no idea about this while Lin Jin stayed quiet. He knew the Mystery Dao Sect must have used the solution he provided to finally chase away the Rank 7 Black Mountain Honey Badger.
In other words, his solution must have worked.
Though, there was no need to tell anyone else about this.
Most loose immortals tacitly agreed to the rule, and no one was in the mood to fight the orthodox immortals. Once the spirit pond appeared, they would try retrieving it with their abilities.
Success would thus depend on whose cultivation was higher.
“Taoist Lin, do you have a suitable container to store spirit water?” asked Huang Shi Sanren. After a thought, Lin Jin patted the Four Ocean Gourd that hung from his waist.
“I’ll use this gourd to capture some spirit water.”
He was quite confident in the Four Ocean Gourd.
Zuo Men responded instantly, “Taoist Lin, retrieving the spirit water won’t be an easy task. I’ve come here three times and I’ve only gotten a little bit every time. Even then, I was lucky, and I had the help of a powerful magic treasure.”
“That’s right, luck and strength are both necessary in retrieving the spirit water. I’ve been here four times and failed three times,” said Huang Shi Sanren said as he retrieved a cowhide water pouch. Lin Jin could tell it was a powerful magic artifact.
Their explanation told Lin Jin that it was no walk in the park to retrieve the spirit water.
Since the spirit pond’s water floated freely in the air, it was insanely difficult to capture. At times, it would be as light as a feather. In other instances, it would be as heavy as a boulder. As if that wasn’t bad enough, thanks to its spiritual intelligence, the water would actively evade capture.
The spirit water would appear for a very brief period. Till this point, the most spirit water captured in one session was done so with a large tank.
A large tank?
Lin Jin noticed a buddha standing in the crowd.
This chubby buddha was dressed in simple clothing. His chest was bare, and resting against his neck was a large string of beads. He had abnormally long eyebrows which extended past the shoulder. The man had a kind countenance, but more importantly, there was a large tank laid before him.
It was half the man’s height, and it was made of bronze. Since it exuded immortal spirit aura, it was quite clearly a powerful magic treasure.
“You have keen eyes, Taoist Lin. That is Water-Crossing Buddha. He’s a famous figure among loose immortals and has a very high cultivation level. Till today, he’s the immortal who has retrieved the most spirit water. That tank you’re seeing is called the ‘Purification Tank’ and as you might expect, it’s very mystical. It can absorb a tank of spirit water every time it is activated.”
The envy was discernible in Huang Shi Sanren’s voice.
Then, he went on to explain that the spirit water worked wonders during cultivation. Its use ranged from pelletization to item crafting and nourishing immortal beasts.
At that moment, the water-energy started condensing into a liquid. The immortals straightened up at the sight of this.
It was starting.
Everyone took out their water canisters. There were small bottles, bowls, water pouches like Huang Shi Sanren’s, and large tanks like Water-Crossing Buddha’s.
Everyone started performing their tricks.
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Lin Jin quickly took out his Four Ocean Gourd too. Once the mist consolidated into a floating blob of water, the immortals performed their spells at once. Likewise, Lin Jin quickly activated the Four Ocean Gourd to absorb the spirit water.
This was where the wrestling began.
Pressured by various spells, the spirit water began taking on the form of various marine animals. All of them swam away to avoid capture from the immortals.
Keeping up with them was already hard enough, and the slippery spirit water sprites didn’t make it any easier.
Even if they manage to capture one, they would have to wrestle with other people to secure it. For example, a big carp that was stunned by an immortal’s jade bottle and was slowly swimming over. However, it was suddenly stopped by another immortal’s spell before it reached the first immortal. Of course, he would never let his prey go so easily, so the two began wrestling for the fish.
Success hinged on skill and how powerful their magic treasures were.
Whoever couldn’t endure had to give up and the carp would then be absorbed by the victor.
In a sense, although no actual fighting took place, the spells weren’t cast half-heartedly. The fight, although non-violent, was quite intense. The immortals had to be careful not to resort to violence, especially if they lost. After all, they had already agreed to the rules. They only had their incompetence to blame for walking away empty-handed.
Zuo Men and Huang Shi Sanren took action too. They tried their best to obtain some spirit water. Although the pool of water was huge, the water was divided into different grades.
Those that could transform into cranes and flood dragons were top-grade spirit water, and they were unsurprisingly difficult to capture. Even some of the top-class experts here failed miserably at capturing them.
With this, they could only focus their attention on the intermediate and lower grade spirit water. Even these were a pain to capture.
After invoking his spell, Lin Jin’s Four Ocean Gourd hovered in the air and dangled before its owner. The gourd’s mouth popped open and it started sucking away.
All the spirit water animals darting around the white jade piece stopped in their tracks. Then, a shocking scene unfolded.
These spirit water animals turned toward the Four Ocean Gourd and swam toward it. Chaos erupted when the immortals realized what was happening.
Even the spirit water animals who were seconds away from being captured struggled to break free from their traps. They reacted like they were attracted by something else. All of them flew abruptly toward the Four Ocean Gourd, and just like the immortals, they fought against each other to reach it first.
Many jaws dropped at this sight. Some even rubbed their eyes, thinking that this was an illusion.
But it wasn’t an illusion.
Almost all of the spirit water was swarming toward the Four Ocean Gourd. Some tried to seize them halfway but failed in the process.
Among them included Water-Crossing Buddha.
The buddha’s chubby cheeks jiggled as he slapped his tank anxiously while humming a tune. To turn the table, he concentrated his mana to attract the water spirit that was heading toward the Four Ocean Gourd.
It didn’t work.
The spirit water that he almost absorbed turned away too, which irritated him. However, there was nothing the Water-Crossing Buddha could do to stop it.
The entire process happened so fast that in a few moments, almost all of the spirit water disappeared without a trace into the Four Ocean Gourd.
After draining the spirit pond, the Four Ocean Gourd closed itself up and returned to Lin Jin’s waist.
The place went silent.
Every pair of eyes were on Lin Jin, including those of Zuo Men and Huang Shi Sanren.
They stared at him as if they were staring at a ghost.
Lin Jin was shocked too. He looked around, thinking there might be trouble if he didn’t say anything soon. Out of desperation, he could only hold up his hands and say helplessly, “To be completely frank, I didn’t think this would happen too!”