After a fierce struggle, the Black Spirit Fish ate their fill, then immediately turned their backs, flicked their tails, and swam away.

Gu An paid them no mind. He took a small booklet from his Storage Bag-it was the notes on Blood Moon Eels gifted by Xiao Wenyuan-and began to read.

"Blood Moon Eels have peculiar habits. They enjoy emerging from the water alongside the moon to swallow moonlight essence. Therefore, they must not be kept in dark, sheltered waters; ensure the moonlight can shine fully on the surface."

"Moreover, there must be no loud disturbances at night, as startling the Blood Moon Eels while they swallow moonlight essence will cause slow growth."

"Blood Moon Eels are particular about water; it must be clear and rich in spiritual Qi."

......

After reading for a while, Gu An gained a general understanding of raising Blood Moon Eels.

Compared to Black Spirit Fish, Blood Moon Eels had stricter demands. Fortunately, White Mirror Lake mostly met the conditions.

The booklet was very detailed, showing that Xiao Wenyuan hadn't deceived him. From this, it was clear that the man had good character. After all, when they first met, Gu An didn't know his background, and he didn't know Gu An was a disciple of Qingyuan Sect.

He took a jade jar from his Storage Bag. Inside, seven blood-red thin lines swam back and forth, full of vitality.

The vitality of these Blood Moon Eels was far stronger than that of Black Spirit Fish!

Opening the jar's mouth, Gu An tossed the entire jade jar into the water and scattered a large handful of Golden Cloud Rice on the surface. Watching the seven Blood Moon Eels scramble to eat, he nodded with satisfaction.

Being able to eat was good! The faster they ate, the faster they grew. The faster they grew, the sooner he could harvest, and the sooner the feedback would come. Gu An looked forward to that day.

"Raising these Blood Moon Eels in White Mirror Lake is quite suitable. Fellow Daoist Gu has chosen a good place."

Xiao Wenyuan walked across the water from behind Gu An. His face was still somewhat pale, but much better than last night. Dressed in black robes, standing on the water, he cut quite a figure.

"Thank you for the gift, Fellow Daoist Xiao." Seeing Xiao Wenyuan approach, Gu An's expression turned serious, and he cupped his hands in thanks.

He was referring to the Cicada-Breath Spirit-Concealing Art.

Xiao Wenyuan waved his hand dismissively. "Why be so polite, Fellow Daoist Gu? It was merely an apology gift."

Gu An smiled bitterly. "This apology gift is far too precious! I am both shocked and delighted in my heart."

Xiao Wenyuan shook his head, his expression turning serious. "If not for Fellow Daoist Gu, I would have been killed by those two men long ago. No matter how good the things were, they would have been useless to me. At that time, they would have fallen into the hands of the Beastmaster Sect."

"Besides, the Xiao family is no more. There's no need to keep the Cicada-Breath Spirit-Concealing Art a secret. It's not as valuable as you think."

Gu An didn't argue further. He kept it in his heart. After all, with the Spirit Source Feedback in hand, he had the confidence.

The two strolled back to the bluestone courtyard and sat at the stone table under the willow tree. Gu An asked Xiao Wenyuan for guidance on the intricacies of the Cicada-Breath Spirit-Concealing Art.

Xiao Wenyuan pondered for a moment, then explained, "Fellow Daoist Gu should know that techniques for concealing cultivation are generally divided into two types: one hides spiritual Qi in the Dantian, and the other disperses it through the Meridians. We won't discuss the pros and cons of hiding versus dispersing. The Cicada-Breath Spirit-Concealing Art is a hiding method."

"Let's talk about hiding methods. Every sect has its own ways. Some seal spiritual Qi at the bottom of the Dantian, some build a layer of mist outside the Dantian, and some construct spiritual objects to store spiritual Qi."

"The Cicada Molting Chapter of the Cicada-Breath Spirit-Concealing Art follows the last path. It uses spiritual Qi to form a cicada molting, sealing the spiritual Qi to conceal cultivation. Because this molting itself has some effect of blocking spiritual sense, it can to some extent deceive a Foundation Establishment True Cultivator."

"The difficulty lies in how to use spiritual sense to guide spiritual Qi in constructing the cicada molting. It's extremely complex, and the pain when spiritual sense guides spiritual Qi is excruciating. In the entire Xiao family, only two people succeeded."

Xiao Wenyuan paused, his expression pained as he recalled the various past events of the Xiao family, sinking into melancholy.

Gu An didn't know how to comfort him. Even a single thought from a Golden Core True Person was an unbearable mountain for a Qi Condensation cultivator. Though Xiao Wenyuan was only the grandson of a Golden Core True Person, that was still beyond the reach of Qi Condensation cultivators like them.

Fortunately, Xiao Wenyuan had good self-regulation and soon emerged from his low spirits.

"Forgive my lapse, Fellow Daoist Gu. Let's continue."

"The Cicada Slumber Chapter is much simpler. It involves condensing a layer of spiritual Qi outside the body to synchronize breathing and spiritual Qi with the world's spiritual Qi. I primarily cultivate the Earth Spirit Root, which has a wide range of applications. Fellow Daoist Gu primarily cultivates the Water Spirit Root, right? That narrows the range. It's best to practice in a place rich in Water spiritual Qi."

"White Mirror Lake is a good choice. It can help you sense the spiritual frequency of Water spiritual Qi in heaven and earth more quickly, aiding in better cultivation of the Cicada Slumber Chapter."

His analysis was incisive, and Gu An nodded repeatedly.

Gu An committed Xiao Wenyuan's words to memory and thanked him, "Thank you for the guidance, Fellow Daoist Xiao. I am deeply grateful."

Xiao Wenyuan replied politely, "Don't say that. It's just some worthless advice from experience. I just hope Fellow Daoist Gu doesn't think I'm leading you astray."

"Haha, how could that be?"

"Splash, splash."

Following the sound, Gu An saw Bai Zhi and Qingliu rowing back. He smiled apologetically at Xiao Wenyuan, stood up, and walked toward the small boat.

"Bai Zhi, Qingliu, you two don't need to come anymore," Gu An said to them.

This was out of necessity. Xiao Wenyuan was now living on the lake island, which couldn't be widely known. Too many people would lead to loose lips. If word got out and the Beastmaster Sect disciples made the connection, it would be an unwarranted disaster. That's why Gu An hadn't even let them onto the island.

Besides, there was no place to sleep!

The Yun Kingdom was also growing more dangerous. At this critical juncture, getting too close to cultivators wasn't good for them either.

Hearing this, Bai Zhi and Qingliu immediately knelt on the ground, panicking. "This servant deserves death! We didn't know the Immortal Master had returned to the island, so we came late. Please forgive us, Immortal Master!"

Gu An sighed, helped them up, and explained, "The Yun Kingdom is about to fall into chaos, and cultivators are no longer safe. For you two, staying by my side is actually more dangerous. It's better to go back."

As he spoke, Gu An took a bottle of pills from his Storage Bag and tossed it to them.

"This is the Hundred Herb Nourishing Pill. Consider it your reward for this year. Take one pill each, and give the remaining one to City Lord Zhang!"

"Go on, both of you leave!"

Knowing that Gu An was a man of his word, the two reluctantly bid farewell and rowed away with tearful eyes.

Gu An watched them go, feeling a bit melancholy. He would have to cook for himself from now on!

When he was young in Qingyuan Sect, he could manage his own meals. Now it was just a bit more trouble! His sigh was merely because it was easy to go from frugality to luxury, but hard to go from luxury to frugality.

He turned and walked back to the courtyard. As soon as he sat down, he heard Xiao Wenyuan tease, "Fellow Daoist Gu has fine taste, hiding beauties in a golden house! I'm afraid I've spoiled the mood."

Gu An rolled his eyes and curled his lip. "What do you mean, keeping beauties hidden? Don't wrong me."

"I understand, I understand." Xiao Wenyuan smiled, taking it as a young man's shyness.

Like hell you understand!

Gu An was helpless but found it hard to explain. Since Xiao Wenyuan was finally in a better mood, he wouldn't spoil it.

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