Upon hearing the talk of dividing the catch, everyone instantly brightened, responding with a unified affirmative, and one person fetched a large leather pouch. They drifted out of Youming No. 9, soaring twenty to thirty zhang high, each beginning to search for Jiaolin fish. They recalled what Number Two had said: Jiaolin fish were exceedingly rare, catchable in large quantities only during this specific time. Their flesh was exquisite, highly prized by cultivators—a truly luxurious indulgence. If they could net a good haul, they could sell it for a considerable sum of spirit stones. A fish purely for consumption fetching over a thousand spirit stones was indeed remarkable.

“Captain, I’m going too,” Lei Dong said, pulling out a large leather pouch that Zhang Heng had tossed from his storage bracelet. He rode the black mist, sweeping off toward the port side of the vessel. Simultaneously, his divine sense plunged down toward the sea surface. As soon as his divine sense met the surging waves, it felt as if he had entered a mud pit. Even with Lei Dong’s strength, he could only penetrate thirty to forty zhang before finding it impossible to descend further.

After flying a short distance, Lei Dong sensed a fish, about a zhang long, swimming rapidly below. He seized the right moment, raised his hand to grasp downward, and the Youming Ghost Claw shot into the water, lunging directly to capture the fish.

Lei Dong had never attempted to direct the Youming Ghost Claw beneath the water's surface. The moment it entered the water, he felt the claw slow by more than several times its speed and become significantly harder to control. The fish was also exceptionally alert; sensing something amiss, it thrashed its tail violently, darting down several zhang in the blink of an eye, and within a few breaths, it escaped Lei Dong’s divine sense surveillance.

This startled Lei Dong. He had thought his mastery of the Youming Ghost Claw was quite good, seeing how Zhang Heng caught fish with perfect accuracy as if it were effortless. It seemed it wouldn't be that easy at all.

“Hee-hee~” Number Four followed closely behind. Seeing Lei Dong miss, she couldn't help but cover her mouth and giggle incessantly: “First time catching fish, right? The Youming Ghost Claw becomes too slow once it enters the water; you can’t effectively target fish deeper than four or five zhang. Otherwise, you'll rarely get anything. Also, the fish you just targeted wasn’t a Jiaolin fish. Don't be fooled by its length—it's worthless. Don't waste your True Qi needlessly.”

Lei Dong’s First Squad, under his command, was an elite unit, with members all ranked within the top twenty. This Number Four was clearly no simple character either. At the very least, Lei Dong found it difficult to discern her cultivation level. Through their exchanges, he only knew she was at the eleventh layer of the Foundation Establishment stage, making her a formidable cultivator, especially since she was only two tiers above him. Most cultivators exceeding his level were three, or even four, tiers higher. Take Zhang Heng, for example; though he looked middle-aged, he was thirty-eight years Lei Dong’s senior. However, having cultivated to the verge of the Foundation Establishment peak, nearly entering the Pseudo-Core state, he was undoubtedly a cultivator of excellent aptitude. Number Four, being eleven years younger than Zhang Heng, had already reached the eleventh layer of Foundation Establishment, meaning she could not be underestimated.

Therefore, Lei Dong greeted her very courteously, addressing her as 'Senior Sister'.

“Just call me Number Four,” Number Four replied with a charming laugh. “Come, I’ll teach you how to identify a Jiaolin fish.” Saying this, her expression grew serious, and she expanded her divine sense outward. But unlike Lei Dong, who plunged his sense deep into the water, trying to go as far as possible, she only allowed hers to penetrate a thin layer, perhaps five or six zhang. This allowed her to search an area several times larger in the same amount of time.

The two swept forward side-by-side. After barely a hundred breaths, she abruptly stopped, pointing directly below: “Number One, check with your divine sense. That one, about four feet long, is a Jiaolin fish.”

Following her direction, Lei Dong swept his divine sense over the spot. Indeed, he "saw" a Jiaolin fish three zhang below, chasing a smaller fish swimming in the waves.

Subsequently, Number Four began explaining the distinguishing characteristics of the Jiaolin fish as perceived through the divine sense. Once Lei Dong was completely certain, she flew forward, overtook some distance, and unleashed the Youming Ghost Claw, grasping sharply downwards. Under Lei Dong’s divine sight, the claw shot into the water and precisely captured the attempting-to-escape Jiaolin fish. Then, she flicked it upwards; the Jiaolin fish soared dozens of zhang high, was caught by her large leather pouch, and upon sealing the opening, it thrashed wildly inside. She gave a sweet smile: “The Youming Ghost Claw is a very useful technique. Almost everyone in our Battle Hall has learned it. It’s simple, yet practical.”

“Did you see it clearly? If you saw it, we’ll split up and see who catches more. Since this is a leisure activity, the Captain will allocate the spoils based on contribution, so try to catch as much as you can,” Number Four finished, then winked at Lei Dong and flew straight off to the right.

Lei Dong, who was inherently competitive, felt he couldn’t lag too far behind, even on his first attempt at fishing, especially as Number One. Thus, he swept rapidly to the left, black mist billowing, ghost energy chillingly dense. Lei Dong actually began employing the Youming Great Art to accelerate himself, and possibly to enhance the power of the Youming Ghost Claw later.

He mimicked Number Four, spreading out his divine sense. Sure enough, the range he could scan immediately became much wider. He pushed his divine sense to its limit, and bolstered by the boost from the Di Mo Seed, his divine sense was not weak. Indeed, this was a location ripe with Jiaolin fish signals. Lei Dong instantly spotted two Jiaolin fish chasing a school of palm-sized small fish, which seemed to favor darting into the huge waves, perhaps trying to evade the hunters.

Lei Dong took a deep breath. Youming ghost energy surged. He steadied his mind, focused his spirit, concentrated all his True Qi, and hurled a Youming Ghost Claw toward the Jiaolin fish. Although the Old Ancestor Wan Gui’s assessment of Lei Dong’s Youming Ghost Claw was merely ‘acceptable,’ that was based on the standards of a mid-stage Golden Core ancestor. In reality, Lei Dong had invested far more effort into the Youming Ghost Claw than ordinary people, and he genuinely enjoyed this control-based spell.

With the lesson from his previous failure and Number Four’s demonstration, Lei Dong managed to seize one of the fish and flung it violently upward. Simultaneously, the other fish was darting forward rapidly. Lei Dong did not retract the Youming Ghost Claw but pursued the second Jiaolin fish with wind-swift speed, catching up in just a single breath. He snatched its head firmly and tossed it forcefully upward again. Only then did the power of the Youming Ghost Claw finally dissipate.

The two fish shot rapidly toward the sky, and Lei Dong pulled out his large leather pouch, using the ethereal Ghost Shadow Evasion Technique to secure them one by one into the bag. A quick glance confirmed one was four feet long and the other about three feet; both writhed within the large pouch. This made Lei Dong reflect that coming here annually during the spawning season to catch Jiaolin fish was actually a decent way to get rich. In one day, he could probably net dozens.

However, the main issue was the necessity of having a flying vessel; relying on self-propulsion, even if he flew all the way here, would leave him utterly exhausted. Not to mention having to stay for a month or more during the peak fishing season. Lei Dong pondered to himself: if he lacked spirit stones, he could venture out to sell one or two spirit ghosts. But for some of his close friends and brothers, this was an excellent location for wealth accumulation. If he had the chance later, once he possessed a flying vessel, he could bring them here to get rich. Nevertheless, the Youming Ghost Claw technique would be indispensable. And Lei Dong estimated their efficiency wouldn't match that of the Battle Hall members.

Lei Dong swept across several hundred li before feeling he had gone too far. He then flew horizontally for a few more li before preparing to return toward the location of the warship.

Unexpectedly, out of the distant darkness, a flying vessel, catching the moonlight, sped directly toward Lei Dong’s position. Lei Dong had been somewhat careless; his divine sense was entirely focused on the sea, ignoring the danger approaching from the side. By the time he reacted, the vessel had silently closed to within a hundred zhang. The vessel was fast; the hundred zhang distance vanished quickly.

Lei Dong knew he couldn't outrun a flying vessel, so rather than fleeing in a clumsy manner and inviting a pursuit, he decided to remain calm and composed. Because in a quick glance, he had noted the vessel was only seven or eight zhang long and two to three zhang wide; its appearance wasn't dilapidated, but it was clearly an ancient craft.

In many places, there were obvious patches. Generally, even Golden Core cultivators, when traveling by flying vessel, probably wouldn't use such junk craft. He only needed to look at his Master’s Ghost King Boat or Ku Gu’s skeletal white flying vessel to understand. Golden Core cultivators often cared a great deal about appearance. This was unlikely to be a vessel from one of the major top sects either, as those who venture out to fight and establish dominance need some backbone to command respect. Major sects must project the aura of major sects; Youming No. 9 was an example.

As long as the opposing party wasn't composed of Golden Core cultivators, or other disciples from top sects, Lei Dong wasn't afraid. Moreover, the entire First Squad was present. Even if they were Golden Core cultivators, upon learning Lei Dong was a member of the Yin Sha Sect’s Battle Hall, they would likely hesitate to act rashly. Furthermore, while Lei Dong couldn't claim he could escape a Golden Core cultivator, he could at least manage to save his life temporarily.

The flying vessel slowed and stopped. Three Foundation Establishment cultivators flew out. Perhaps due to constant exposure to the sea, their skin was darker than that of inland cultivators like Lei Dong. The leader was at the fifth layer of Foundation Establishment, with white hair and beard, clearly elderly. The other two, a male and a female, were both short in stature and of low cultivation, only the second or third layer of Foundation Establishment.

The leading old man swept his gaze across Lei Dong with obvious wariness. But upon seeing the dark, obscure waist token hanging at Lei Dong’s waist, his face suddenly changed, flushing with panic.

Seeing this trio, Lei Dong’s heart settled instantly. He sneered, adopting a proud stance, and struck first: “Who are you people? You dare intercept someone from the Yin Sha Sect’s Battle Hall with such audacity?”

The elder’s heart sank, muttering about his terrible luck today—running into disciples from the Yin Sha Sect’s Battle Hall while they were fishing? He had spotted him alone from afar and approached to investigate, only to immediately realize he was only at the sixth layer of Foundation Establishment. The elder had immediately summoned the two younger members, preparing to intimidate him off the ship. Unexpectedly, well, it seemed he had run into solid iron.