"This is the Jade Pool..."
Panting and puffing out white breaths, Lilly Compton pointed excitedly to the pond in the valley below, "It was here that the dean brought me and helped me make my Breakthrough."
Surprise gleamed in Carson Flores’ eyes, for as he quietly circulated the Great Brightness Scripture, he had already sensed the thick Spiritual Energy in the air.
The density of the Spiritual Energy here was at least ten times that of the outside, or even higher!
The scenery was magical: the surroundings blanketed in pure white snow that seemed to accumulate endlessly, yet the not-so-large pond in the valley bore no trace of being frozen. And astonishingly, trees surrounded the pond, thriving with lush greenery, making the whole scene appear particularly miraculous.
The rocks and pebbles around the entire pond displayed a myriad of bright and divine colors, which gave life and breath to the pond as though it had awakened.
Just as Lilly had said, viewed from atop the mountain peak, the pond resembled a giant eye, bright and spirited.
"There’s someone there!"
Lilly suddenly exclaimed, her voice laced with disbelief.
Carson, following the direction of Lilly’s pointing finger, was amazed to find a person sitting against the root of a large tree that would take several people to encircle, with a fishing rod laid out before him.
Carson widened his eyes and turned to ask, "Are there fish in this pond?"
Lilly looked at him blankly, "I don’t know."
Carson’s eyes slowly brightened.
Even though fishermen do many crazy things for the sake of fishing, this place, deep within the Mount Kahdas Range, was nearly inaccessible to ordinary people.
"Let’s go down and take a look!"
The two descended from the snowy mountain and slowly approached the pond, gradually getting a clear view of the fisherman.
A middle-aged man in his forties, with short stubble and long hair, dressed casually, seemed unaffected by the severe cold surrounding him. He sat quietly against the tree trunk, eyes closed, as if asleep.
Carson’s gaze fell on the man’s hair. It was at least thirty centimeters long, casually tied up in a way that resembled a woman’s ponytail, appearing both neat and a bit unruly.
His fishing rod was simple, as if it was a branch he had just snapped off a tree. The branch had a line tied to it, and it was unclear what was used as a hook. The line hung straight down into the water, taut and unbending.
Carson scanned the surface of the pond but saw no float.
Exuding the very essence of a master!
The sound of footsteps roused the middle-aged man who turned to look at them. His gaze swept over the pair and then settled on Carson’s face, showing a hint of surprise.
Carson clasped his hands together and said, "Senior, sorry to disturb you!"
The middle-aged man smiled faintly, "Mountains and rivers belong to no one, likewise this pond. I am no owner here, and the world is free to come. What disturbance is there to speak of?"
Carson replied candidly, "There’s no harm in being polite."
The middle-aged man smiled, "What brings you here? Passing by, or cultivating?"
Without hesitation, Carson said, "Cultivating."
The middle-aged man nodded, "As you will, pretend I’m not here."
Carson breathed a sigh of relief, pleased that the middle-aged man seemed to be in a good mood. He ventured a question, "Senior, are there really fish in this pond?"
The middle-aged man nodded, "There are. They’re just hidden quite deep and not easy to catch. It depends on luck. I come here every so often to fish for a day, but maybe my luck isn’t good, as I’ve never caught anything."
Carson looked back at the pond and noticed how clear the water was. Apart from a small area in the center where the bottom couldn’t be seen, one could see the colorful stones at the bottom everywhere else, clear and transparent.
Carson mulled over the thought inside, "You say you can’t catch fish—what if there just aren’t any fish in this pond at all?"
And if there were fish, surely they wouldn’t just stay motionless in the central area the whole time, or possibly living in a spring under the pond?
Carson didn’t hurry to begin his cultivation but instead crouched next to the middle-aged man, watching him fish.
Carson had come to the Jade Pool to cultivate the Great Brightness Scripture and see if he could find any different outcomes, but with the middle-aged man still there, he dared not cultivate. What if the man realized what he was doing and casually snuffed out his life?
The middle-aged man glanced at Carson, "Why don’t you cultivate?"
Carson smiled openly, "I’ve hit a bottleneck at the Great Grandmaster level. My cup is filled to the brim, and no matter how much I add, it’s of no use. Maybe by walking around and observing, I might find an opportunity for a Breakthrough."
The middle-aged man gave a slight chuckle and asked no more.
"Senior, how long have you been fishing this time?"
The middle-aged man casually lifted his wrist to look at his watch, "Another two hours, and it’ll be a full day."
Carson’s eyes lingered on the man’s wristwatch, feeling a subtle shift in his thoughts.
Do grandmasters use watches too?
Carson stayed crouched and unmoving. He planned to accompany the man for the next two hours. Once the middle-aged man left, he would gradually start cultivating. For now, it was best to build a rapport, especially since this man, with his image and demeanor, seemed very much like an expert from a Blessed Land of Cave Heavens.
Not to mention, in such cold, the man was only wearing a thin jacket—that was not an ability just anyone possessed.
Time ticked away, inching closer to the two-hour mark.
The middle-aged man checked the time and sighed with a hint of resignation, "Seems another day is passing without success..."
Before he could finish his sentence, the line submerged in the water suddenly went taut, and the simple fishing rod was bent into a curve and thrust into the water...