Chapter 202: To Be Led Somewhere

Both Han Sanhe and Gugu waited with bated breath.

Yun Yang, who was already underwater, had dove into the deeper parts of the lake. He swam leisurely in the deep water like a huge fish, more agile than when he was on firm ground.

It was not an illusion. Yun Yang could feel the stark difference the moment he entered the deep water. He did not feel at all suffocated or discomforted underwater but was at ease and full of joy that filled his delighted form.

The lake water around him seemed to have turned into a part of his body. There was no gap between them. He was able to breathe freely in water; every stretch of his arms and legs was indescribably light and lithe.

More so, Yun Yang felt that he was even more comfortable now than when he was on land.

Every pore on his body seemed to have opened to rejoice. He could move however he wanted; with just a forward stroke of an arm, he could move a thousand feet in the lake soundlessly. There was not even a ripple or disturbance caused by the water above him.

It was already a rare sight but the fish around Yun Yang did not avoid or hide from him. They were swimming around him, keeping him company despite the constant distance they kept; it was a natural suppression of their differences.

When he kept his aura in check, all the schools of fish he met when he was swimming guarded him quietly, perhaps as a form of welcome.

The feeling was amazing, an indescribable delight.

Suddenly, a luminous silhouette appeared. It was a Qirin Fish. Its tails shook softly as if it was verifying something. Then, with a flap of its tail, the fish shot into his embrace and swam around him; it occasionally rubbed against his face, displaying pure joy at seeing this strange being in its home.

A gentle smile hung genuinely on Yun Yang's face, his heart grew more at peace. With a wriggle, he dove deeper into the waters.

At that moment, the colorful abundance that had been irresistibly attracted by the odd aroma and was rushing to the source had all turned to leave with Yun Yang, without exception. The school of Qirin Fish and a human swimming towards the deeper parts of the water without hesitation was a sight to behold indeed.

"The Thousand Feet Lake is exactly like what it's rumored to be - bottomless... How can this only be a thousand feet?" Yun Yang mused as he dived deeper, not yet seeing the bottom of the lake even after diving seven thousand feet downwards.

After descending for an improbably long time, Yun Yang was surprised to find an abyss under the lake. Some four thousand feet into the abyss, he saw other Qirin Fish swimming around the place.

Another three thousand feet deeper saw an increasing number of Qirin Fish. They were swimming about, like rays of dancing rainbows.

A few larger Qirin Fish had swum out, snuggling to Yun Yang's side as if to show intimacy. Yun Yang laughed in delight.

Before he could reach the bottom of the abyss, he could see a large opening on the side. Countless schools of Qirin Fish were entering and exiting the opening; it was most likely their nest.

From what he could see, Yun Yang could tell that the legion of Qirin Fish numbered in the thousands!

The largest Qirin Fish that he had caught earlier finally showed up. When it saw Yun Yang, it became lively at once, charging over with a wag of its tail and nuzzling its mouth against Yun Yang's face. The delight contained within it was immense.

Yun Yang then realized with a start that the Qirin Fish he had released earlier did not turn thinner or weaker from spitting their essences to him but instead had become much bigger.

Only a short amount of time had passed since the episode but their sizes had at least doubled!

It would seem that the air of vitality he had given them was what the Qirin Fish needed; it might even be their most effective nourishment.

Yun Yang suddenly wanted to communicate with the Qirin Fish. He then remembered that he was still human despite being comfortable in the water. How could the fish understand his words?

Since words would be useless, Yun Yang used his deific consciousness instead in an attempt to communicate with the fish.

Deific consciousness was an ability that any life in this world with some achievement in cultivation could acquire; it was so for humans, same for the fish. With the level of the king of Qirin Fish, it might possess some measure of deific consciousness as well.

Sensing Yun Yang's deific consciousness, the King Qirin Fish was stumped. Its tail stopped swaying as it raised his head to look at Yun Yang thoughtfully.

Right then, Yun Yang's deific consciousness picked up a message but it was unclear what the message was. That did not stop Yun Yang from being thrilled though.

Could this really work?

Could the King of Qirin Fish have cultivated its own deific consciousness?

Although he was unsure of whether or not the king already had deific consciousness, it was not important. Yun Yang had managed to communicate his message, "There are men fishing with ill intentions above. The strange aroma is their bait. Do not go up. You all have to control yourselves in the future, don't swim up to eat things that suddenly appear in the water. No matter how good a thing it is up there, don't get tempted. Good things that fall off the sky are easily accompanied by danger. If you can't control your urges, only death awaits you!"

After seven or eight times of communicating this, the King Qirin Fish finally seemed to understand. It flipped over in the water angrily, its tail flapping until the water turned murky.

Then, it opened its mouth from which Yun Yang could feel an odd frequency being transmitted.

Right away, swooshes and swishes could be heard from all around. Countless Qirin Fish swam over from everywhere; some of those were only the size of a thumb, probably Qirin Fish that had just hatched, gathered over as well. The colorful legion gathered together into a shadowed mass.

Yun Yang's mouth went agape slowly as he floated in the water and took the tremendous scene.

King Qirin Fish floated high on a rock as if sitting on its throne. Below it was schools of Qirin Fish, with the largest in size at the front and consecutively smaller in size towards the back assembled neatly. Those way at the back were the newborn fish.

All the Qirin Fish formed neat, dense rows as they raised their heads in unison to look at their king above.

Only then did the King Qirin Fish begin speaking. Yun Yang did not know exactly what it said but he could feel flows of strange frequency vibrating - he understood nothing though.

That did not mean the fish did not understand as well, however. Some of the fishes' tails swayed anxiously before all of them scrambled away in a wave of chaos.

Qirin Fish that were below five to six catties were chased into the currents inside the opening while the larger-sized Qirin Fish moved around nearby. There were eight Qirin Fish about a dozen catties each swimming back and forth around the opening but never leaving the entrance of the cave; once other Qirin Fish swam to the entrance, they would be chased back immediately.

Yun Yang's eyes were about to fall out of their sockets. Qirin Fishes could do this too? This was no different than humans assigning troops and going for guard duty.

No matter if the King of Qirin Fish cultivated its deific consciousness, just their intelligence shown now had proved them worthy of their title as the divine species; they were indeed impressive and unique.

Yun Yang's goal was achieved. He believed that Han Sanhe would gain nothing after he had warned the fish. Naturally, Yun Yang wished to head back.

Before he left, he informed the King Qirin Fish of his intentions using his deific consciousness. The king got anxious at once, shooting to the front of Yun Yang and blocking his way with its body; its tail wagged furiously as it used its large head to knock Yun Yang's chest.

"You're not letting me leave? Do you have something else for me to do?" Yun Yang pointed at his nose.

The king conveyed a blurry image and pushed Yun Yang again with its head, making both of them go backward.

"You want to bring me somewhere?" Yun Yang could vaguely understand its intentions.

Turning around, he swam towards where King Qirin Fish intended them to go. The king made a delighted jump before its tail swayed and it swooshed to the front of Yun Yang, leading him towards the other side.

It turned back to check every now and then; seeing that Yun Yang was still following it, it wiggled happily and continued leading the way.

Yun Yang went along with the king, unknowingly swimming tens of miles away.

Their surroundings got darker. If Yun Yang were to be incompatible with water, this would already be hindering him from just moving. Along their way, they did not meet even an ordinary fish nor a Qirin Fish.

The more they moved forward, the more the waters turned wider. Yun Yang began to suspect that the Thousand Feet Lake might actually be connected to the ocean.

Not only did the waters grow more spacious, the cave wall around them looked stranger too. The King Qirin Fish was luminous itself, sparkling with colors, but it could not give off much light, so the surroundings were still dark and grey.

Going forward, a weak light flickered in front of them. Yun Yang could not help looking up. Although he did not mind his surroundings, as a person, it was an innate instinct to feel more comfortable where there was light; no one likes total darkness.

King Qirin Fish increased its speed, swimming forward.

Finally, after going through ribbon-like watergrass, Yun Yang was greeted with abrupt brightness.

He realized that the water only reached his knees and he could stand up to walk. On the other hand, the King Qirin Fish was relatively large so it had to tilt to its side to keep moving in the shallow waters; given its current size, it was a difficult task.

Yun Yang looked around. Raising his head, his eyes caught an inky black stone platform that was only slightly exposed out of the water in front of him. There was a strange rock that had its center dented atop the stone platform; as for the dent, nothing was inside.

King Qirin Fish propped itself up with its tail with much difficulty before it turned towards Yun Yang to nudge him.

Slightly taken aback, Yun Yang did not really think twice as he walked over to the strange rock. Looking carefully now, he realized that the dent did have something contained within - it was a faint fog that sparkled with vague colors, resplendent as rainbows.

It was faint, only a thin layer that was invisible to the eyes once the distance grew further.