The Imperial Martial Pill Venerable

Through a thin, gauze-like mist, the faint sound of singing—sometimes graceful, sometimes deep and resonant—drifted over. Qin Ya and the two women were Martial Artists, their eyesight far surpassing that of ordinary people. Peering through the mist, they could see light boats coming and going and exquisite pavilions standing upon the water’s surface.

Most of the pavilions were already occupied. After some searching, Qin Ya finally found an empty one and had the boatman take them over. "Folks, this is the center of the lake," the boatman said. "On the stone beams of the pavilion, you’ll find some specially made fish feed. Just toss it into the water, and you’ll witness the grand spectacle of countless fish gathering. This old man wishes you a pleasant time."

After dropping Qin Ya’s group at the pavilion, the boatman chuckled, then started singing an unknown tune as he slowly rowed back into the mist.

"Quick, let’s see this so-called spectacle of countless fish gathering!" Leng Ningshuang was practically bouncing with excitement, eagerly searching for the fish bait.

Soon, she found a cluster of small, light-yellow packets on the pavilion’s stone beam. Leng Ningshuang opened one. Inside were some pale greenish pellets that gave off a faint herbal scent.

"Hmm, Incense Bone, Broken Jade Marrow, and some common coastal plants," Qin Ya said with a slight smile, having identified the ingredients of the so-called special fish feed at a glance. "No wonder it attracts schools of fish. This is irresistible to them."

Leng Ningshuang didn’t care what it was made of. She grabbed a handful of the feed, and with a flick of her fair hand, scattered it across the lake’s surface. Then, she and Qin Yuxiang stared at the water in anticipation.

A moment later, the lake’s surface before them began to churn violently. A dense swarm of fish rushed over, fighting to poke their heads out of the water. The two women gasped in amazement at the sight.

Among the multicolored school were many different types of fish: the Blue Rainbow Fish with its blue fins and red back; the Snowfish with its white scales and belly; the Phoenix-Tailed Fish, its tail split in three like a phoenix’s; and the Horned Fish with a horn on its head...

Qin Ya alone could identify no fewer than sixty or seventy species. With a sight like this, Thousand Fish Lake was truly worthy of its reputation as a famous landmark of the Imperial Capital.

"Wow, this is amazing!"

"This feed is practically magical."

The two women marveled at the scene. After watching for a while, Leng Ningshuang sighed and said, "I took a quick look just now. Even though there are tons of fish, there are only about a hundred species. It seems Thousand Fish Lake’s reputation is a bit overblown."

Qin Yuxiang smiled. "Thousand Fish Lake is enormous. No matter how effective this feed is, it probably can’t attract all the fish. Besides, we’re not the only pavilion on the lake. People at the other ones are tossing out feed, too."

As one of the Imperial Capital’s most famous landmarks, Thousand Fish Lake naturally drew an endless stream of visitors. The hundred or so pavilions on the lake were filled with young nobles, dashing scholars, and beautiful ladies. They all came here, of course, to see the famous Imperial Capital spectacle of countless fish gathering.

With so many people, how could any one person monopolize all the fish in the lake, no matter how many there were? However, seeing the somewhat disappointed look on Leng Ningshuang’s face, Qin Ya’s eyes drifted to the fish feed, and he smiled faintly.

"Ningshuang, Auntie, just wait a moment."

Under the bewildered gazes of Leng Ningshuang and Qin Yuxiang, Qin Ya picked up a small bag of feed, walked to the side, and started doing a series of things that the women found utterly bizarre. One moment he was kneading the bait, the next he was sniffing it. He even popped some in his mouth and chewed it. After swallowing, he smacked his lips and closed his eyes, as if savoring the aftertaste.

"Sister Yuu Xiang, what in the world is Brother Qin doing?" Leng Ningshuang’s curiosity was tinged with worry. "He’s not a fish, so why is he eating fish feed? Do you think he might be sick?"

"I doubt it. Xiaoya must have his reasons." Compared to Leng Ningshuang’s confusion, Qin Yuxiang was far more level-headed. "Isn’t Xiaoya an Alchemist? It looks like he’s analyzing the feed."

"Uh... is fish feed an Elixir?"

Having been influenced by her time at Huaa Que, Leng Ningshuang could be considered a half-baked Alchemist herself. But she had never heard of any Alchemist studying fish feed. If other Alchemists found out, it would be a huge loss of face.

In truth, Qin Yuxiang was right. Qin Ya was indeed studying the composition of the feed and how to improve it.

For a Pill Venerable whose mastery of the Alchemy Dao had reached the highest, most supreme Realm, the principles of alchemy could be seen in all things. Qin Ya’s understanding had long ago transcended the superficial form of conventional Elixirs.

Although this fish feed was just a simple concoction of minor medicinal herbs, to Qin Ya, it was also a type of Elixir. Soon, after a series of deductions, he quickly found a way to improve it.

"It’s a good thing I have some leftover medicinal herbs in my Storage Ring." Qin Ya smiled faintly and took some herbs out of his Storage Ring. "It wasn’t easy to find an improvement method I could actually use with what I have on hand, out of the countless possibilities."

That’s right. Qin Ya was using the few medicinal herbs he possessed, combining them with the formula of the existing feed to devise an improvement. Any other Alchemist who witnessed this ability to adapt and use whatever materials were available would surely feel humbled by comparison.

He ground the medicinal herbs into a powder, added them to the fish feed, and used a special mixing technique to thoroughly integrate the original feed with the herbs. With that, the new feed was complete.

"Here, Ningshuang, Auntie, try my newly concocted feed. Let’s see how it works."

The two women took the feed, feeling a mix of skepticism and curiosity. The newly formulated feed didn’t look much different, except that its color was a bit darker and its herbal scent was much fresher and more fragrant. Sniffing it gave the two women a very pleasant feeling.

"Here, let me try."

Leng Ningshuang took a small handful of the new feed and tossed it onto the lake’s surface.

The feed hit the water, sending out ripples. After a second or two, the entire surface of the lake exploded as if struck by lightning, or like a volcano on the verge of erupting, and began to churn violently.

Innumerable schools of fish, a hundred times more excited than cats smelling fish, surged toward Qin Ya’s pavilion. The fish at the other pavilions instantly ignored the people tossing them feed, turned around, and rushed toward the same spot.

The fish of the entire Thousand Fish Lake went into a frenzy, forming an unprecedented torrent. The sheer momentum was like the great tide of the Yangtze River, a truly breathtaking spectacle. 𝗳𝗿𝐞𝕖𝘄𝗲𝕓𝗻𝚘𝚟𝕖𝐥.𝚌𝕠𝕞

"Holy cow, what’s gotten into these fish?"

"Can someone tell me what’s going on? No matter how much feed I throw in, the fish don’t react. They’re all rushing in the same direction."

"Holy shit, what am I seeing? That two-meter-long, deep red fish with Flame patterns on its scales—isn’t that a Fire Dragon Fish? You’re lucky to see one, ever. Why are they appearing in swarms today?"

"Look, quick! That’s a Cyan-Eyed Turtle-Backed Fish! I saw one two years ago, I can’t believe I’m seeing one again today!"

"Wow! All these rare fish that you almost never see are coming out today. This is so bizarre."

Countless people were shocked. As the one who had started it all, Leng Ningshuang stared blankly at the small bag of new feed in her hand. "This feed... its power is incredible. It actually drew this many fish over."