As they went deeper, approaching a location similar to where they had ended up yesterday, the speed of the snail changed again, continuing to go deeper.

When its speed slowed down, Tan Xiao judged that it should be the waters ahead and asked Qian Ping'an to also stop the speedboat, floating on the surface of the water. He took out the materials he had bought yesterday, along with the swiftlet grass Qian Ping'an brought today.

The swiftlet grass was used to light the fire, and the white hyacinth beans and millet were added to the main ingredient, rice, mixed together and slowly simmered over a small fire using a portable stove.

"What are you making?" Qian Ping'an asked curiously.

"This is a technique of the Pai sect, dragon fishing!" Tan Xiao said.

The "dragon" he referred to was not a real dragon, but a general term for all powerful aquatic monsters. After all, in ancient times, whenever there was a problem in the water, people would first think of dragons. What they were looking for was most likely some powerful aquatic being in this water area.

This was not a problem. Aquatic creatures were all happy to be called dragons. Among the aquatic races under heaven, dragons were revered, and many aquatic creatures that could make a name for themselves had at least some diluted dragon bloodline, even if they didn't, their ultimate dream was still to transform into a dragon, like a carp leaping through the dragon gate.

In many cases, when people prayed for rain and made offerings, they would also use other aquatic creatures, not limited to shrimp, crabs, fish, etc., to substitute for the offerings, which was called "replacing the dragon".

The formula Tan Xiao used was for fishing water monsters in the Pai sect. Originally, they would just burn it all at once and throw it into the pool. Tan Xiao was a bit more particular and cooked rice porridge.

The most important lure in this recipe was not in the bowl but under the stove, which was the swiftlet grass.

Legend had it that dragons liked to eat swallows and feared raw iron, so five swallow-tailed iron shackles were thrown into the Yunmeng Marsh to subdue the flood dragons.

- After this incident, everyone felt that among the aquatic beings, it was unlikely to be a flood dragon causing trouble. It was precisely because the swallow-tailed iron shackles were still there that the flood dragon species in the Yunmeng Marsh waters could not stir up waves.

Back to the story, Tan Xiao used swiftlet grass to replace the live swallows in the original recipe. In the past, there were also cases of using live swallows to fish for dragons. Tan Xiao didn't dare because swallows were now protected animals.

Tan Xiao used hot water to simmer, so the aroma would be stronger. Under the low heat and slow cooking, the rice porridge slowly came to a boil in the pot. He was as patient as an angler, slowly waiting for the porridge to cook.

The sound of the porridge sputtering under the lid could be heard. Tan Xiao lifted the lid, and the fragrant aroma of white hyacinth beans and millet was already overflowing from the edge of the pot along with the rising porridge skin. He added the equally strongly fragrant rue and continued to simmer.

With just that fleeting glimpse when he lifted the lid, Qian Ping'an was already drooling from the tantalizing rice aroma.

He never thought he could crave porridge so much. He could imagine the soft and sticky texture, the thick and fragrant rice grains sliding into his mouth, along with the mushy white hyacinth beans...

If he could drink a mouthful in the cold wind...

Qian Ping'an couldn't help swallowing.

There was just one thing that puzzled him. As an old native of the Yunmeng Marsh area, with ancestors who had dealings with the Pai Sect, how could he not remember the Pai Sect's secret techniques and their delicious food?

Tan Xiao squatted by the porridge, his gaze sweeping the surroundings. After turning off the fire, he lightly tapped the pot a few times with his fingers.

Wisps of steam carrying a fragrant aroma wafted up.

Qian Ping'an wanted to speak, but Tan Xiao raised his finger, gesturing for silence.

Fishing for dragons and fishing for fish were probably similar - the fish mustn't be startled.

The water surface rippled gently in the occasional cold wind. Due to the temperature difference from the sunny day, a light mist rose from the water. Aside from distant bird calls, there seemed to be no other sounds between heaven and earth.

But to Tan Xiao, that wasn't the case. He felt like even the air was pulled taut, just like his body.

The sudden change happened in an instant. The originally still speedboat beneath him was abruptly dragged, rapidly speeding into the depths of Yunmeng. A pot of rice porridge was jolted, nearly spilling half of it overboard!

Tan Xiao pressed down on the small pot with a rag, making a hand seal. "Kong Xuan!"

After three seconds, there was still no movement.

"You... you..." Qian Ping'an thought Tan Xiao was too strange. He didn't even chant a spell, just made a hand seal. What was he doubting? It was normal for there to be no effect, right?

Qian Ping'an gripped the bow of the boat and drew his master's saber with his other hand. "Wind chimes ring ding-dong, disciples come to request aid... Fifteen or sixteen soldiers to recruit, matters before the altar, enter the clouds..."

The ritual master's specialty was summoning soldiers - ghostly soldiers raised on the altar to capture demons and drive away ghosts. Because he usually worked part-time, the spiritual response was always a bit slow when he first started. But today, the ghostly soldiers were exceptionally late, beyond the normal scope.

Qian Ping'an also reacted, shouting: "Not good, it's being affected by the cliff inscriptions!"

He lived by the edge of Yunmeng Marsh and was naturally familiar with the influence of the inscriptions left by the Great Virtuous One. His own ghostly soldiers didn't dare approach the inscriptions and wouldn't even hear his summons near them.

It's just that he and Tan Xiao both thought they had already left the range of the inscriptions' influence. After all, if not, how could the thing currently pushing the boat be causing trouble?

Logically speaking, neither of them should be able to act wildly near the inscriptions.

Especially Tan Xiao, who was used to powering himself up, but for the first time discovered the other party powering up.

Ghosts and gods couldn't approach, but other techniques could still be used. Seeing the connection with Kong Xuan cut off, Tan Xiao also quickly reacted. His hands formed the Peace seal. "Commanding the four seas, the Dao manifests in all directions. Stabilize!"

This was the Pai Sect's water stabilizing technique. If you wanted the boat to not move, then even if the wind and waves were huge, it wouldn't move. Even if a person wasn't on the boat, placing a bowl of water would show the effect.

After stabilizing, the speedboat indeed stopped. The two of them peeked down and clearly saw a shadowy figure faintly visible, eager to act.

Tan Xiao opened the compass on his phone to determine the direction. "Hurry and start the boat, head towards the east bank. We need to get to the shallow water area!"

As he spoke, Qian Ping'an was already driving the boat. The two of them had realized - only by getting close to that side would they escape the influence of the inscriptions.

Qian Ping'an pushed the speed to the max. The speedboat was much faster than yesterday's small wooden boat. But after all, there was still some distance. The thing under the boat was still trying to overturn it. Compared to the vast Yunmeng Marsh, the tiny speedboat struggled to break through the waves in the whirlpool.

Tan Xiao firmly held the Peace seal and continued to strengthen it: "If I want the boat steady, the boat will be steady; if I want the boat to go, only then will the boat go!"

He was single-mindedly maintaining the spell when he heard Qian Ping'an call him. "Quick, look!"

"What?" Tan Xiao scooted forward a bit. As soon as he got close to Qian Ping'an, Qian Ping'an reached out and grabbed Tan Xiao's neck, pulling him back.

Tan Xiao was highly focused, but Qian Ping'an had immense strength. He felt like his neck was about to snap.

Coughing, he had no time to form the Peace seal. He braced against Qian Ping'an and saw that his eyes were filled with murderous intent as he chanted: "I'll slaughter you and throw you into the frying pan!"

"Wake up!" Tan Xiao urged. He could see that Qian Ping'an had been caught in an illusion at some point, falling into a hallucination.

Tan Xiao had always had good resistance against illusions, but he couldn't help it if his companion was affected. Calling birds didn't respond, calling ghosts didn't work.

His hands grappled with Qian Ping'an and he was pushed to the edge of the boat. Qian Ping'an wanted to throw him into the black shadow under the water.

That black shadow also slowly arched up with the water, wanting to catch him—

Tan Xiao glanced to the side and could almost smell the thick fishy odor, as well as the gaze from below the lake, as cold as the water...

He closed his eyes and directly bit the tip of his tongue, using the blood to spontaneously write a talisman in the air!

The tongue was the heart, and the heart belonged to the fire element, with the strongest power to ward off evil. Tan Xiao saw the fresh blood splatter onto Qian Ping'an's wide-open eyeballs right in front of him! His pupils constricted and expanded, and his strength suddenly relaxed. As he released Tan Xiao, he sat back forcefully, panting as he looked over, his face full of shock.

"Ha... What happened?" Qian Ping'an was dazed for two seconds, then hurriedly lunged over to continue driving the boat, cursing with dirty words that couldn't be broadcast.

It wasn't that Qian Ping'an had especially poor character. It's just that he had discovered he had been possessed just now, so he said some vulgar words to boost his courage, which could also suppress evil.

Tan Xiao climbed up by himself and touched the back of his head, only to feel that the ends of his hair were already wet. He didn't know if the wetness on his back was cold sweat or water.

He sniffed his fingers - a fishy smell.

The speedboat had entered the shallow water area, constantly splashing up the turbid water. Like a galloping, furious horse, it roared as it sought a way to survive.

The water was only a few meters deep. The birds they passed cried out and flew away, driven by the roaring of the engine. Whether it was Tan Xiao, Qian Ping'an, or the thing under the water, they were all extremely tense. They could all feel that this chase was about to end.

"This won't do..." Tan Xiao muttered. Before Qian Ping'an could hear clearly, he saw Tan Xiao actually turn around. One hand still held the Peace seal to stabilize the boat, while the other hand formed the Great Golden Blade seal and directly stabbed into the water. He had taken the initiative to attack!

In an instant, Tan Xiao hurriedly felt his hand seem to touch something hard and slippery, and in a fleeting glance, he also saw some beautiful patterns. These patterns burst out of the water surface, and a sharp bird cry rang out. It actually coiled its body and transformed into a large bird, using its sharp beak to clamp onto Tan Xiao's sleeve!

Tan Xiao had no expectation of this. He pulled back a step, tugging on his sleeve, causing it to fly up high.

Right at this moment, the speedboat plunged head-first into the silt, announcing that it had run aground. The boat shook and the engine powerlessly stopped its angry roar.

Tan Xiao gave a start and shouted: "Kong Xuan!"

Two seconds later, the familiar figure was still nowhere to be seen.

Just his luck, could it be that there was still no signal here?

The next moment, he heard the dense flapping of wings taking flight. All the waterfowl within sight had moved, accompanied by a long whistle—

Hundreds of thousands of migratory birds gather at Yunmeng Marsh, and bird photography enthusiasts from all over the country and even the world also converge here. The shore is lined with an array of long lenses and cameras. Birdwatchers commonly bring 20x to 60x monoculars, which are more suitable for viewing waterfowl in such an open wetland.

A bird-watching competition will also be held here. The more bird species recorded, the higher the chances of winning. Photographers have already staked out their ideal positions, with lenses starting at 500-600mm and even over 1000mm. The image quality is excellent, and with the superb lighting today, they can capture even the distant bird feathers with crystal clarity.

With the aid of such powerful scopes and lenses, the throng of people easily spotted the speedboat in the distance. After all, the boat not only scared off flocks of birds, but the people on board were all wearing red, the color birds are most sensitive to and easily frightened by.

"Are those your staff? What are they doing? Why have they stopped - are they stuck or is it intentional?" a photographer asked, puzzled by the scene in his viewfinder.

The speedboat was very disruptive. How could it be allowed to disturb the bird-watching festival?

The on-site staff from the sponsoring organization looked flustered. "I'm not too sure, but that boat should be the patrol team. Maybe they have some arrangement... wait, let me call and ask."

The photographer looked at a colleague's screen next to him. With an even longer lens, the shot was clearer.

Suddenly, the people on the speedboat stood up. Not only were they wearing red, but old-style long robes. With a flourish, the red robes fluttered in the wind, a stark contrast to the drab surroundings. A waterfowl happened to fly nearby... Although off-topic, many photographers couldn't help but press their shutters a few times.

The next moment, something shocking to the people onshore occurred.

On one side of the lake, a green peacock nearly three meters long appeared out of nowhere and flew over, its gorgeous, dazzling long coverts shimmering with a metallic iridescence in the sunlight. As it soared, its verdant tail fanned out in the air, proudly displaying its ultimate splendor, yet moving at no slow speed.

Amidst the vast misty waters and thousands of flying birds, whether the elegant oriental white storks, the tall black-necked cranes, or the steady bean geese... the surrounding migratory birds presented a scene akin to paying homage to the mythical phoenix. They circled in the sky but dared not cross the peacock's path. It was the sole bright color in the heavens, making all other hues seem dull.

The peacock's phoenix-like eyes, like jewels, looked down upon the masses.

Refracted by the sunlight, a halo seemed to envelop it, lending the moment an even more sacred aura. After its phoenix-like appearance, the peacock glided towards the stalled speedboat.

In the marsh, among the dense reeds, a gentle breeze stirred. Amidst the rapid clicks of camera shutters, the red-robed figure in the lenses turned his head, revealing half of an exquisite, clear countenance.

The riot of colors crashed against the bright red backdrop, the tail feathers draping down like embroidery on the robe - with an outstretched hand, he embraced the descending peacock to his bosom.