Among the cyan-tailed spirit fish school, the Fish King was the largest. When it leaped out of the water twice, its cyan-white scales shimmered dazzlingly under the sun, catching everyone's attention.
"Hmph, now that they've entered Little Cloud Lake, do they think they can escape?"
Lu Xuelian wrinkled her nose, showing no signs of worry, and glanced sideways at everyone.
"Once the cyan-tailed spirit fish are startled, they'll quickly gather together. I actually want them to cluster together."
"Let's have two people lock the entrance to Little Cloud Lake, cutting off their retreat. Can the rest of you help me drive the spirit fish school?"
"That's easy to handle."
"I'll help you!"
Zhang Nianchuan and the others responded swiftly, and two people moved to guard the juncture between Little Cloud Lake and Lingxi, severing the water flow between them to prevent the spirit fish school from retreating back to Lingxi, making it easier to capture.
The other disciples then unified to surround the spirit fish school, utilizing magical artifacts to disturb the fish's movements, steering them towards a specific area to assist Lu Xuelian in casting magic to capture them.
The group bustled with noise as they shouted to drive the spirit fish.
Little Cloud Lake was not large, which inherently reduced the difficulty of capture.
Once the fish school was surrounded by everyone, swimming in an appropriate area, Lu Xuelian seized the opportunity and immediately formed a spell with her hands.
"It's ready, watch me!"
She formed a seal with her hands, and the 'Cloud Water Sky Curtain' from the Yuqing Cloud Water Heart Method was executed.
This is a cage-like move. Its power is not strong, but it excels in trapping enemies.
As the Cloud Water Sky Curtain appeared, waves surged instantaneously in the lake, and a gigantic, thick circular water wall rapidly coalesced around the fish school, visible vaguely.
The water wall was quite large. Once it formed, under Lu Xuelian's control, it quickly shrank like a balloon losing air, closing in on the fish school.
The cyan-tailed spirit fish swam in schools, with a halo that reflected light, making their movement patterns conspicuous in the water.
It was easy to track their whereabouts, and Lu Xuelian could almost capture them with her eyes closed.
As Lu Xuelian executed her move, the fish school reacted.
The outer spirit fish were startled and first attempted to escape the encasement of the water wall.
But it was futile.
Multiple dull thuds were heard, and dozens of cyan-tailed spirit fish collided with the water wall, instantly seeing stars.
This caused them to temporarily lose their ability to move, flipping white bellies upwards as they floated.
The water wall, formed by the lake water under Lu Xuelian's control, was as solid as wood.
Had she not worried about over-exerting the magic, which could hurt the fish school, at this moment, it wouldn't just be a simple water wall.
The Cloud Water Sky Curtain can actually coalesce into an ice wall, which would be more effective in trapping enemies, but it's unsuitable for capturing a spirit fish school.
The cyan-tailed spirit fish are freshwater fish, residing in moderately warm waters and cannot tolerate low temperatures. Additionally, being in the spawning season, excessively low water temperatures are harmful to them.
In this capture, not only do they aim to catch them alive, but if they can avoid harming the spirit fish, they will do so.
They were hoping for them to spawn.
"Senior Brother, Senior Sister, what are you waiting for!"
Having trapped the spirit fish school, making them like turtles in a jar, unable to escape for now, Lu Xuelian grew more excited.
"Catch them quickly! Catch them quickly!"
She was already impatient, never thinking that one day her enemy trapping technique would aid the sect in capturing a school of cyan-tailed spirit fish.
When she came, she took this task very seriously, having practiced the Cloud Water Sky Curtain in Little Cloud Lake several times in advance to ensure she could promptly trap the cyan-tailed spirit fish school.
For this, she frequently disturbed some fish and shrimps in the lake, using them for practice.
During the days of lying in wait at Little Cloud Lake, the group consumed food mainly caught by her, consisting of fish and shrimp.
With a rustling sound,
the Cloud Water Sky Curtain surged above the water, spraying large splashes, rustling.
Trapped in the gigantic water ball, the Cyan-tailed Fish King had a fierce temperament, struggling vigorously, constantly battering the water wall trying to break through and lead the school to break out.
Yet each assault left it dazed, blocked abruptly, consuming a considerable amount of energy.
Seeing this, Zhang Nianchuan and the others dared not hesitate, rushing forward together to unfurl several fishing nets toward the spirit fish school within the water sphere.
The nets wrapped them from inside and out, layering three times to ensure all were secured; not even a fish fry would slip through.
It turned out their preparation was thorough, and their movements were swift.
In just about an hour, this group of spirit fish was captured in one go.
The fish school never expected that just upon arriving at Little Cloud Lake, without even resting, let alone spawning, they would be corralled eagerly by a group of human cultivators.
On this day, Little Cloud Lake was quite restless.
The entrance of the lake was securely blocked by two Cyan Mountain Sect disciples.
Several fishing nets cast into Little Cloud Lake, lifted and dropped repeatedly, scraping through for any missed cyan-tailed spirit fish.
After working for most of the day, ensuring not a single one was missed, the group finally packed up and returned home, carrying containers of the captured fish back to the Cyan Mountain Sect.
The cyan-tailed spirit fish are picky about water quality, requiring nutrients and spiritual qi.
Once removed from Little Cloud Lake, the spiritual qi within the containers was rapidly absorbed by the spirit fish, and naturally depleted quickly.
On the way, lakes with spiritual qi were sparse, making replenishing qi through water changes impractical. So, to nourish them with spiritual qi and keep them alive, Lu Xuelian was busy throughout.
She continuously performed cultivation techniques, transmitting Water Element spiritual power to the fish school, which eventually worried Zhang Nianchuan.
"Junior Sister Lu, that's enough, right? Just supplement their spiritual power a bit, they won't die if you do it less."
"That won't do."
Lu Xuelian shook her head, very seriously.
"They're all in the spawning season; if they lack spiritual power and don't receive enough nutrition, what if something happens to them? The Sect Leader instructed us to catch them alive for breeding."
"At your cultivation level, continually supplying spiritual power like this, can you last until the sect?"
Zhang Nianchuan asked worriedly, considering that Lu Xuelian was only at the third-layer Qi Cultivation. Continuing to supply spiritual power like this would soon exhaust her.
Bringing so many spirit fish back to the sect would take about three days, and without any supplementary elixirs, relying solely on cultivation for recovery would definitely tire along the way.
"I should..." Lu Xuelian was unsure herself, gritting her teeth, she said, "I should be able to, I'm the only one in the team with a Water Element Spirit Root, having practiced Water Element techniques. It's okay to be a bit tired..."
"Moreover, the sect is currently in a slump, and this spirit fish school is very important. If we can bring them back safely, the sect's future will be brighter, and we'll benefit as well."
Saying this, Lu Xuelian intentionally huffed, "Alright, no more talking, I'm also tired from speaking."
Seeing this, Zhang Nianchuan recognized Lu Xuelian's deep care for the spirit fish and refrained from saying more, ordering everyone to quicken their pace.
Three days later, when they returned to the sect, Lu Xuelian collapsed by Yanyang Lake, almost exhausted, and was quickly taken back to rest, likely needing a few days to recover.
This left Zhang Nianchuan feeling uncomfortable.
Among the fish-catching team, there were more male disciples than females, yet it was Lu Xuelian who endured the most. Supporting the demand for Water Element spiritual power from over a hundred spirit fish in their spawning period all by herself was a large burden to bear...
After this incident, not only Zhang Nianchuan, but everyone felt a great deal more respect for Lu Xuelian.
Back to the main point, after they carefully counted the fish school, they returned to the sect with the collected fish.
Lu Yuan does not plan to sell this batch of spirit fish. It must be developed into a sect industry, with some captured for food, improving the disciples' diet.
Recording completed fish capture details: Captured cyan-tailed spirit fish school spawning in Little Cloud Lake, task completed.
Completion Reward: Gained 165 Reputation, Exorcism Divine Thunder Talisman ×1
Lu Ping checked the sect resources and saw the new entry for the cyan-tailed spirit fish.
Cyan-tailed Spirit Fish: Tier One Middle Grade Spirit Fish