Cao Xiang was telling the truth, but not the whole truth.

At least one thing Lu Ye knew was that if the Merchants Guild couldn't sell the spirit treasures they acquired, they would definitely melt them down to extract useful materials. Therefore, there was no way they would actually lose money; at most, it would be a break-even situation.

After bargaining with Cao Xiang for a while, he finally got an extra five hundred jades.

Handing over the two thousand jades for the bait pills, Lu Ye headed straight for the flea market, arriving at the stall selling Dragon Breath Crystals.

It was still the same vendor. Seeing Lu Ye return so quickly to purchase more Dragon Breath Crystals, he was naturally pleased and sold Lu Ye fifteen Dragon Breath Crystals at the old price.

Having left the flea market, Lu Ye only had two hundred jades left as a reserve!

But he had bought all that he needed, and it was time to make his move.

However, Lu Ye needed to carefully consider how to act without leaving any telltale signs.

While urging the power of the Talent Tree to devour the Dragon Breath Crystals, he soared towards Angling Island.

The reason anglers were concentrated around Angling Island and its surroundings was obvious: the quantity of White Spirits there was the highest, with fewer in other locations.

In the past, there were anglers who didn't believe in this and tried other places, but they ended up with no catch and rarely even saw fish nibbling on the bait.

Over time, any experienced angler would no longer try fruitless spots, which led to the current situation where anglers gathered densely around Angling Island.

Piao Ke had mentioned this to Lu Ye earlier. Otherwise, he wouldn't have known, and might have gone to an uninhabited place to fish. His plan required that what he intended to do should not be seen by others.

Now, with no other choice, he could only head to Angling Island.

After speeding down the way for nearly two days, he returned to Angling Island.

Lu Ye wasn't planning to crowd with Piao Ke again. From his observations, all the anglers here silently adhered to an unwritten rule of keeping a hundred-zhang distance from one another. Previously, with no fishing experience, Piao Ke had kindly guided him to stay within ten zhang of himself. Now, with a bit of experience gained, it would be inappropriate to squeeze in with others!

As he looked around for a suitable spot, Piao Ke's voice echoed in his ear: "Brother Taibai, head that way!"

Turning toward Piao Ke, Lu Ye saw him pointing in a direction.

"Two Shichens ago, someone left for some matter. There should be a spot there!" Piao Ke explained.

Lu Ye thanked him, flew in that direction, and shortly found a suitable location. Delighted, he settled down, took out his fishing gear, hooked up a bait pill, and cast it into the water.

After a while, sensing movement on the fishing line, Lu Ye attempted to lift the rod but ended up scaring away the nibbling fish, catching nothing.

Several times over, the situation repeated as before: either there was no catch, or the fish escaped during the struggle.

The more he fished, the more Lu Ye realized the difficulty of catching a White Spirit.

Especially during the struggle after hooking the fish, it was truly a battle of wits and reflexes. When the fish exerted force, the cultivator had to release tension; otherwise, the line might snap. When the fish stopped exerting force, the cultivator had to apply pressure and also control the force appropriately.

Only by gradually leading the fish out of the water this way would there be a chance to reel it in.

The best Lu Ye could manage at this point was ensuring the line didn't snap, but he was unquestionably inexperienced in leading the fish, something that required time to develop proficiency.

After several Shichens, one bait pill was completely used up. Lu Ye felt the time was ripe to carry out his plan.

He hadn't spent all those spirit jades just to become a luck-dependent angler; otherwise, all his efforts would be in vain.

Dozens of miles away, on a reef, a cold-faced middle-aged man sitting cross-legged looked around. Confirming no one was watching him, he dived into the sea.

The middle-aged man was, of course, Lu Ye himself, and this was his true form!

The one heading towards Angling Island was the doppelganger.

The different appearance was due to activating the Thousand Faces Spirit Runes.

This arrangement was made with the understanding that once in the sea, the fuel consumption of the Talent Tree would be immense, and the doppelganger couldn't sustain it for long. Only the true form could withstand it.

Diving a hundred zhang underwater to a depth where no traces could be seen from above, he headed towards the doppelganger's location.

The true form and the doppelganger could sense each other, making it easy for the true form to reach the area in front of the doppelganger's fishing line and bait underwater.

Initially, he intended to activate the Concealment Spirit Runes for convenience, but with the chaotic sea energy fiercely invading his body, he couldn't form the spirit runes on the surface.

Having no choice, he stood still, positioned a foot in front of the baited hook.

I am a piece of wood!

Before he arrived, there were a few White Spirits around the bait pill, occasionally nibbling on it, but they scattered when he approached.

As he stood still, slowly, more White Spirits were attracted by the scent of the bait pill and gathered around. Lu Ye concentrated and watched, clearly observing how these creatures fed on the bait and seeing the appearance of the White Spirits clearly.

The White Spirit he had obtained before had its head smashed to pieces by his punch, so he wasn't really sure what a White Spirit specifically looked like.

Looking at it now, the White Spirit's head was pointed and long, which made its mouth look like an arrow, and it seemed to have fine barghest-like teeth in its mouth, allowing it to swiftly bite off a chunk as it passed by the bait pill.

Lu Ye held his breath, waiting for the right moment.

Until at one moment, a White Spirit stopped in front of the bait pill, opening its pointed mouth, appearing as if it was about to swallow the bait pill in one gulp.

Lu Ye's hand moved like lightning, he inserted two fingers and pinched the fish's body.

The White Spirit struggled frantically, its violent movements scared off the other White Spirits, but once caught by Lu Ye, it couldn't easily escape.

His other hand reached out and grabbed it tightly.

Success!

This White Spirit was slightly larger than the one whose head he had previously smashed to bits. According to the information provided by Qiuh Pingyang, this thing could easily sell for five thousand spirit jade!

The initial investment basically paid off right away.

However, Lu Ye now faced two choices: one was to directly store this White Spirit and then seek out buyers to sell it. This thing wasn't hard to sell, whether to the All Phenomena Merchants Guild or other shops, or even at the flea market; as long as it's put out there, someone is bound to buy it, and it won't be subject to price suppression because this thing is in a state of demand exceeding supply.

If Lu Ye was only making a one-time deal, this choice would undoubtedly be more convenient, without needing much consideration.

But what he's thinking is that there will be more White Spirits to sell in the future. If someone with intentions took notice of him, he wouldn't be able to explain the source of the White Spirits.

He certainly couldn't tell people that he dived into the sea to catch them...

So he needs a cover!

Lu Ye bought fishing gear and fishes here as a cover.

The White Spirit in his hand struggled fiercely; Lu Ye raised his hand, curled his middle finger, and flicked the fish's head gently, one flick after another...

Until the White Spirit was no longer struggling so much, only then did he remove the bait pill from the fishhook and hung the White Spirit onto it.

By the shore, the doppelganger started to raise the fishing rod, the fishing line was taut, clearly feeling the fish was struggling, and the anglers on both sides, and even the cultivators observing nearby, gathered their gazes over.

But everyone just watched, because on this Angling Island, with so many people fishing together, the frequency of catching fish was still high, but merely catching the fish was useless. The key was to reel it in.

Generally speaking, out of hundreds of catches, not even one might successfully yield harvest.

So everyone was used to it.

But as time passed, a surprising scene unfolded. The fish on Lu Ye's side hadn't gotten off the hook, until at one moment, a lustrous white emerged from below the sea, then someone exclaimed, "Surfaced, surfaced!"

The doppelganger had been prepared with a landing net long ago, almost as soon as the lustrous white appeared, the quick eyes and fast hands scooped it with the net.

The weight in his hand sank, and when he retracted the landing net, there was notably a lively White Spirit inside!

Lu Ye maintained a calm expression, stepped forward and removed the fishhook from the White Spirit's mouth.

Seven or eight figures already flashed over, surrounding him, these were exactly some of the cultivators who had been watching here earlier.

Seeing this situation, Lu Ye wasn't panicked, because during a previous chat with Piao Ke, he learned about some happenings here.

The cultivators watching around this Angling Island weren't just those who were idle looking for fun or preparing to enter this field, but also some from major forces squatting here specially responsible for purchasing the freshly caught White Spirits.

The few gathered around here were undoubtedly those responsible for this task from various major forces.

Among them, an elder cupped his fists at Lu Ye, smiling, "This Fellow Daoist looks unfamiliar, are you new here?"

Lu Ye nodded, he couldn't hide this from the people squatting here year-round. Previously, when Lu Ye wandered over, he had met some of them.

"Is this fish for sale?" the elder asked again.

"For sale!"

The elder nodded, said no more, and looked at the White Spirit in Lu Ye's hand, "This fish, I'll offer four thousand six hundred jade, Fellow Daoist, what do you think?"

"Not suitable!" Lu Ye looked at the others, this old guy was clearly trying to bully him for being new without understanding the rules, and four thousand six hundred jade was indeed a bit low.

The elder laughed, "So someone has guided Fellow Daoist, if that's the case, let's go by the rules then."

The so-called rules meant a live auction; these major forces responsible for purchasing fresh White Spirits here weren't harmonious altogether. Each time a White Spirit was caught and put on sale, they would each offer a price, highest price wins.