Jing Qian stirred the power of his Sumeru Life Pattern and leapt out from the space he had named the Void Realm.
After a period of recovery, both his mana and his body had returned to peak condition, with clear growth in both!
The only problem was that he no longer even had his only pouch.
Clutching nothing but an iron spike in one hand, naked from head to toe, standing on a broken palm log, he looked every bit the picture of misfortune.
But only he knew: the waters beneath his feet had already become his domain!
Jing Qian dove headfirst into the sea. With a flick of his finger, a strand of silk shot out and snared a large bluefish, which he then used to drag himself down into the depths.
Before long, he arrived at a trench on the seafloor.
With a second strand of silk, he fished up a copper hammer that had sunk into the trench.
That hammer and spike might not look like much, but they were masterpieces forged by the stout, stocky cultivator, crafted entirely from Sea Fang Iron of the White Fang grade. Solid in material and tempered with skill, they were genuine entry-grade weapons of no small value.
Now that Jing Qian was dirt poor, there was no reason for him to throw away treasures.
After recovering the copper hammer, he swam once again to the carcass of the giant crab.
The shell and meat of such a beast were valuable materials in themselves.
If hauled back to land, they could fetch a handsome price.
Unfortunately, lying on the seabed at several dozen tons, it was far beyond what any person could carry.
Riding atop the bluefish, Jing Qian circled the carcass several times, scanning it inside and out with his spiritual sense.
At last, he discovered in the crab's lower right abdomen a spot where a White Fang Life Essence had condensed.
Among its flesh and blood, only where the Life Essence had gathered did there form the special material classed as White Fang entry-grade.
Naturally, this was the most valuable part of the crab's body.
Zeroing in on that spot, Jing Qian once again drilled in through the crab's mouth and into its body.
He burrowed forward, tearing through obstructing flesh, until at last he dug out a piece of topaz the size of an ostrich egg.
It gleamed translucent, smooth to the touch, and radiated warmth a few degrees higher than his body heat.
Then he yanked out a chunk of tender white crab meat as thick as a man's thigh, completing the looting process.
His Void Realm still had to keep room for refuge, so its carrying capacity was only so much.
But with that White Fang crab topaz, he had already claimed eighty percent of the carcass's value.
After clearing the battlefield, Jing Qian surfaced again and found half a palm log to perch on.
He tied the bluefish to the log, pointed in a direction, and the fish sped away, towing it across the waves.
The grand raft was gone; all that remained was a single canoe, and with it Jing Qian lost all patience for picking choice draft fish.
He had resigned himself: if it came to it, he'd just split this log and carve out a surfboard, then he'd be flying across the water!
Thus, the unlucky fish dragged the broken log, carrying the naked youth westward without pause.
The ordinary sea fish of this world were remarkably strong.
The bluefish pushed close to thirty kilometers an hour!
Sea winds whipped through Jing Qian's hair, standing stiff and spiky, and for a brief moment, it even felt refreshing.
The power of Soulweave manifested in his hair, letting him adjust his hairstyle at will.
That giant crab had been the overlord of this whole stretch of sea, ruling a domain of nearly five hundred li.
Within that range, it had been the only White Fang beast.
With its death at Jing Qian's hands, this entire area was safe for the short term, at least.
After sailing for three hours atop his canoe, Jing Qian arrived at his destination.
Beneath these waters lay an important treasure revealed from the crab's memories, which he had come here for specifically.
But with the sun already sinking westward and night soon to fall, Jing Qian did not rush into the depths.
He ordered the bluefish to patrol the area and guard his canoe from drifting off with the currents.
Meanwhile, he activated his mana and returned to the Void Realm.
There, Jing Qian pulled out the massive crab leg and gnawed at it in great mouthfuls.
Then he took out the Morning-Dusk, Dawn-Breaking Fate Scripture, flipped through the table of contents for an overview, and began a line-by-line study.
The scripture was divided into two volumes:
The upper volume recorded the fundamental path of cultivation, from nourishing yuan, through Fatebinding and body-burning, all the way to full mastery of the Dragon-Elephant.
The lower volume contained supplementary secret arts and techniques, applications of Life Patterns, ways to expand one's methods, and bolster combat strength.
Polished over many years of accumulation and revision by the Jing clan, it was a detailed and accessible cultivation manual.
Cross-referencing with the memories in his mind, Jing Qian studied it carefully, building his understanding of cultivation slowly, yet solidly.
This was bound to be a long-term process of accumulation.
But after a round of exploration, he had determined the direction of his next cultivation steps.
In this world, once a cultivator burned their body and set their fate, refining a Life Pattern, the first thing they needed to do was quickly master the Art of Drawing Yuan.
As the name implied, this art relied on the power of the Life Pattern to draw Yuan Qi from the world, condensing it into Life Essence.
It was the core method of strengthening one's mana after Fatebinding, dramatically increasing the efficiency of accumulating Life Essence.
It could be said that this was a compulsory lesson for every cultivator.
Jing Qian carefully studied the various Arts of Drawing Yuan recorded in the Morning-Dusk, Dawn-Breaking Fate Scripture, and in that instant, his horizons were broadened!
For the first time, he truly felt the importance of inheritance.
From these secret techniques, he could directly sense the power and allure of knowledge itself.
He couldn't help but feel a deep admiration for the forebears who had discovered such profound methods.
In this wondrous world, boundless Yuan Qi permeated all things.
It was the foundation and origin of all transcendent power.
At their root, every cultivation method was about drawing Yuan Qi into oneself, strengthening the body and spirit, and seeking the sublimation of life's essence.
According to the different types of Life Patterns, the scripture recorded two kinds of Arts of Drawing Yuan.
Of these, the Art of Rune Imprinting, suited for those with Living Fate, could be applied to his Soulweave Life Pattern, a perfect fit for his cultivation.
The other, the Rite of Prayer and Tribute, corresponded to the Divine-Ghost Fate and could likewise be employed with Soulweave. However, this secret method required the support of Fate Fire, something he did not yet possess.
Thus, what he lacked was a method tailored for his Sumeru Life Pattern.
Still, he wasn't worried. His days of cultivation were short; he had plenty of time to search.
For now, he could start by practicing the Art of Rune Imprinting and gain some experience.
After all, as recorded in the scripture, mastering the Art of Drawing Yuan was by no means something that could be achieved overnight.
Jing Qian rested for two hours within the Void Realm to ensure he had proper sleep.
The rest of his time, he devoted wholeheartedly to meditating on the Art of Rune Imprinting, and he felt he had gained much!
Only when the sun rose did he finally pull himself free from that state of enlightenment.
For a moment, he even considered staying in the Void Realm until he had mastered the art completely.
But years of martial training had taught him more haste, less speed.
Overindulgence and obsession only drained one's mind and spirit, a sure path for inner demons to take root.
Advance and retreat, tension and release, that was the proper way of cultivation.
Otherwise, losing streaks meant losing rank!
He put the scripture away, stretched out with a long yawn, and slipped out of the Void Realm.
Perhaps it was just an illusion, but he vaguely sensed that the Void Realm had grown ever so slightly larger.
Back on the surface of the sea, the big bluefish was still dutifully following his orders.
Jing Qian casually released it.
After traveling for a day and night across a thousand li, its strength was completely spent. The fact that it hadn't been run to death by him was already a blessing from the heavens.
With his left hand, he cast a thread to catch a large yellow fish to guard the canoe.
With his right hand, he snagged a big blackfish and let it pull him down into the depths.
The blazing sun overhead lit the waters.
But once Jing Qian descended two hundred meters, the light dimmed rapidly.
By the time he reached the seabed, he was in the pitch-black depths a thousand meters down.
He cloaked himself with a layer of White Fang Life Essence, shielding his body from the crushing pressure of the deep.
He felt the silence and heaviness unique to the abyss, but his heart was alight with curiosity and excitement.
Determining his bearings, he tugged his silk thread, guiding the fish to swim toward the location revealed in the crab's memories.
After another li of travel, he finally reached his destination.
Before him loomed a massive treasure ship!
No, that was wrong. Not a whole ship, half of one!
The front half remained intact, while the rear half had been bitten clean through by some enormous creature, the break lined with neat tooth marks.
This half-ship stretched a hundred meters long and twenty meters wide. Its design was strange, perfectly rounded as if cast in a single mold without windows, without doors.
And it had no sails or oars; who knew what powered it.
Without hesitation, Jing Qian swam through the gap into the pitch-black interior.
Inside, the scene had changed again.
The cabin was torn to shreds, with enormous claw marks gouged everywhere.
This had been the giant crab's lair for many years, its place of fortune.
From its memories, Jing Qian learned that the crab had only broken its bloodline limits and advanced to ninth-grade White Fang because it had stumbled across this broken ship.
By devouring some unknown treasure-medicine within the cabin, it had awakened its Crab Jade Life Pattern, completing its ascension.
Thus, when Jing Qian discovered the ship's existence, he rushed here at once, eager to explore.
Since it had contained wonders that let a crab break through its limits, there must surely be more mysteries within worth uncovering!