A lone boat drifted upon the Star Sea.
The elderly angler, seated on his boat, streaked through vast, lonely expanses of space at the speed of a light arrow. After more than a day’s journey, he finally reached the coordinates provided by the "four-colored little fish."
For some reason, he felt his patience wearing thin lately.
He could hardly wait.
Hm?
This region of space was utterly desolate, with only a single, tiny star cave that seemed to have just been born.
’A newborn star cave?’
The old man was slightly displeased.
It was common knowledge that new star caves rarely held any great opportunities.
But since the coordinates had been fished up by his treasure hook, perhaps there was something special about it. ’Since I’m already here, there’s no harm in going in for a look.’ And even if a new star cave didn’t have a huge opportunity, it would at least be completely undeveloped by any other creature. It would be pristine, and any opportunity within would be absolutely fresh!
The old man did not leave his lone boat.
He urged his vessel forward, piloting the boat directly into the star cave. After passing through its barrier for less than a second, he arrived in a world thick with the stench of blood.
’An abyss?’
’And a stone stele?’
’The stele is just an ordinary one, but the words on it... Civilization Prologue? A pity I can’t translate them, but it’s probably just the name of this place.’
The angler was in his twilight years and had naturally seen much of the world. Yet, even with his abilities, he couldn’t translate these ancient words left behind by a god. In this situation, the meaning of the text was irrelevant; it was most likely just the name of this ancient abyss.
The angler entered the abyss.
He descended straight down.
’The aura of battle?’
The angler frowned.
He could clearly sense that an extremely high-level battle had just taken place here. All the structures were destroyed, and a great deal of flesh and blood remained, but there were no other signs of life.
As for the aura of any treasure?
It was zero.
The angler’s expression turned foul.
But he still clung to a sliver of hope.
Unfortunately, after searching the area in his lone boat for a long time, he found nothing. Forget treasures, not even the scraps left behind by S-rank Awakened remained. Even their S-rank skill origins had been completely stripped away and taken!
It was obvious.
Someone had already beaten him to the opportunity here!
Frustration and rage filled the angler’s eyes. The treasure hook’s information was undeniable, so why was he always one step behind? Deep within this star cave, what old monster was lingering here, snatching opportunities from him?!
’Bastard!’
All traces of peace vanished from the old man’s face.
A terrifying aura erupted from his body. The Desire Demon Ancestral Land, where the storms had ceased less than a day ago, was "desecrated" once more as soil from hundreds of meters below was blasted into the air.
"Thief!"
"Shameless old scoundrel!"
"Don’t let me find out who you are!"
The angler had made up his mind. After returning to the Thirty-Seventh Cosmic Country, he would use the Sovereign’s [Destiny] to find out who had been intercepting his opportunities all this time!
It took him a long time to calm himself down.
He tried his best to convince himself.
’Don’t cry over spilled milk.’
’The treasure hook has one last chance.’
This time, he decided he would be more vigilant. The moment he detected an opportunity, he would push his lone boat beyond its limits to reach the coordinates at top speed! He would eliminate any possibility of someone snatching the opportunity away from him!
Hmph!
The lone boat shot up through the abyss, passed through the star cave barrier that only outside adventurers could perceive, and left the ruined cave.
Within a scar on the bottom of the boat, a wisp of mist—a mix of light blue and pink—clung to the angler’s vessel. It concealed its aura completely, evaded all detection, and followed the old man through the barrier, returning to the real cosmos.
...
’Heaven never seals all exits.’
’I, Bai Yimo, have returned.’
’You old codger, and that little punk... Soon, I will come for you, one by one, and take back everything I have lost.’
...
...
...
The angler cast his line again, dipping the treasure hook into the Star Sea.
His usual leisurely demeanor was completely gone. His gray eyes were fixed on the treasure hook, his Spiritual Power maintaining a state of high alert to block any prying from unknown beings.
The treasure hook fell into the Star Sea, creating a ripple,
then all was calm again.
It took time for a fish to take the bait.
The angler forced himself to be patient. He felt that these two "empty-handed" trips had rapidly depleted his patience; even the thousand years of solitude he had endured before hadn’t worn it down this much.
A day passed, and then another.
BEEP~
A huge ripple emanated from the treasure hook. The angler was amazed to discover a trace of spatial fluctuation appearing out of thin air at the hook’s tip. This was extremely rare in this region of star caves!
CHIII—
The treasure hook tore through a patch of spacetime!
The angler put all his strength into it, engaging in a tug-of-war with the unknown entity. Finally, with a great SPLASH, the fish broke the surface. An enormous, plump, golden-scaled fish, wreathed in a treasured light, was dragged out from the spatial rift.
The angler extended his right hand, immobilizing the great golden-scaled fish in mid-air and dragging it, along with the treasure hook, back to his lone boat.
’Marvelous!’
With his discerning eye, how could the angler not realize he had caught something incredible this time!
’Just look at this plump body!’
’Look at this seven-colored treasured light!’
’And these brilliant golden scales!’
Joy lit up his face.
"A great fortune! A truly great fortune!"
"Little Ron, what will you use to compete with me this time?"
The angler kept his Spiritual Power on high alert, even forming a barrier around his boat. He brushed his hands over the fish’s eyes, and the coordinate information it carried was transmitted directly into his Brain Domain, bypassing any medium. This was to ensure the coordinates wouldn’t be leaked.
’Two abnormalities in a row.’
’I have to be on guard.’
’2121, 3261, 2198.’
’It’ll take twenty-three days to get there.’
’Too long!’
The angler’s dao heart had been damaged, and his patience was all but gone; he couldn’t wait that long! He decided to use his boat’s trump card. This ability could bend the rules once, creating a false Dark Cosmos passage no longer than 0.1 light-years for a short-distance jump!
’It’s worth it!’
’Absolutely worth it!’
Jinshan and silver mountains were right before his eyes; who could possibly refuse such a temptation?
The angler gleefully activated the core of his lone boat and began constructing a passage to the coordinates. It wouldn’t take much time; with his abilities, ten minutes would be more than enough!
’Ten minutes is but an instant!’
’How could this massive opportunity possibly run away?’
...
...
...
"Good work, Ah Jian."
"You found a new star cave in just a few days."
This star cave was very large.
It was about a hundred meters in diameter, but it was hidden within a thick nebula, extremely well-camouflaged. Without powerful Spiritual Power, one could easily overlook it even from close by.
Praised by his master, the pilot, Ah Jian, happily recorded the new star cave’s coordinates in the ship’s log and had "Da Yun" approach the target at maximum speed.
2121, 3261, 2198.