Chapter 8

"What is it?"

Ding Ning had come to play by this pond since he was very young and had never encountered any strange phenomena. He never expected something to actually emerge from the water today. It was the first time he had experienced such a situation, and he immediately became alert.

The spring was in a shaded area, where sunlight could not reach. The silhouette of the object was about to surface, and Ding Ning finally saw it clearly.

It was about three feet long, as thick as an arm, shaped like a snake, completely black, and had two long whiskers on its head.

"This is... this is a loach!"

Ding Ning's eyes widened. Although he found it hard to believe, it was indeed a loach, just an unusually large one.

Loaches usually hide in the mud at the bottom of the water and quickly retreat when there is any disturbance. No wonder he had never noticed this creature before.

Ding Ning had a lot of knowledge in his memory. After a moment of thought, he understood.

Near spirit wells, there are often accompanying spirit beasts. This spring had not been around for long, and no other creatures had come here. Only this loach had lived here for a long time, nourished by the spring, gradually growing to such a size.

Now that Ding Ning was cultivating here, absorbing most of the spiritual energy, the loach felt a threat to its survival and could no longer stay underwater. Today, it finally surfaced.

After absorbing spiritual energy, animals are no longer ordinary and can generally be considered spirit beasts. Ding Ning did not underestimate the loach because of what it was. He watched the black creature warily.

The loach seemed to know that Ding Ning was the one disturbing its habitat. After surfacing, it suddenly lunged at Ding Ning, its black mouth opening to reveal two rows of tiny, sharp teeth!

Ding Ning was startled and instinctively moved to the side, using a move from Tai Chi, twisting his wrist and grabbing the loach's tail.

However, the loach was extremely slippery. It wriggled its tail, and Ding Ning immediately lost his grip. The loach used the force of Ding Ning's grab to pause in mid-air and then turned to bite again.

Ding Ning leaped away in fright, but the loach did not let go. After landing, it sprang up again, this time aiming for Ding Ning's throat!

It was incredibly fast. Seeing the two rows of gleaming teeth, Ding Ning had no doubt that if he were bitten, it would result in a bloody hole.

His skills were still not up to par. In the crisis, he immediately crushed a Spring Character Talisman!

A stream of clear water fell from the sky, drenching the loach.

The loach, unable to avoid in mid-air, was hit directly. Its body was deflected and it narrowly missed Ding Ning's ear.

Taking this opportunity, Ding Ning ran away, stopping only after running more than twenty meters.

The loach, being a fish, could not stay out of the water for long. It wriggled its body a few times in the distance, seemingly threatening Ding Ning, then slowly returned to the pond, its head, the size of a fist, still visible, as if it was determined to guard the area.

Ding Ning was frustrated. Losing his first battle to a loach was something he could not accept.

However, the loach now occupied the spirit well, preventing Ding Ning from cultivating there. For the moment, he had no idea what to do.

Ding Ning decided to stay and think of a way to deal with the creature.

There were countless methods in his memory to instantly kill the loach, but he had few options at the moment.

In the end, it all came down to talismans.

The Spring Character Talisman had no lethal effect on the loach, and Ding Ning only had nine of them, which were not very useful.

After reviewing all the talismans in his mind, Ding Ning finally thought of a suitable one, the "Suppress" Character Talisman.

"Suppress" means to subdue. This talisman had no effect on ordinary people but was effective against anything with spiritual energy.

Whether it was a demon, ghost, or even a deity, they all had spiritual energy. The effectiveness depended on the strength of the practitioner and the target.

The loach already had some spiritual energy, but it was clearly not very powerful. If Ding Ning could write the "Suppress" Character Talisman, he was confident he could subdue it.

Taking out the yellow paper and brush from his waist, Ding Ning, filled with hatred for the loach, began to write the talisman.

Writing talismans required a certain state of mind. Ding Ning's current hatred for the loach was perfect for writing a suppression talisman. If the time, place, and environment were different, with his current level of spiritual energy, he might not have been able to write it.

However, Ding Ning did not dare to be careless. At his current mid-first-level spiritual energy, he could only write two talismans in succession. If both failed, he would need to meditate to replenish his lost spiritual energy, which would take more than ten hours with the spirit well occupied.

"Stinking loach! Rotten loach! Once I subdue you, I will definitely kill you and make soup!"

Ding Ning's brush moved swiftly, writing the "Suppress" character in quick strokes!

His calligraphy had improved dramatically since he gained the memory of the Wealth God. In terms of writing, even the old man would have to admit defeat.

As the character was completed, a faint pressure began to emanate from the paper.

The loach in the distant pond seemed uneasy and started to thrash about.

"Rip!"

A flash of white light, and the yellow paper turned into a wisp of smoke, indicating the failure of the talisman.

Ding Ning took a deep breath, calming himself. He had been too hasty.

After a while, Ding Ning began to think.

He, Ding Ning, had to succeed. He had grown up and realized that his background might not be simple. A woman like his mother could not have come from a humble family.

Although his mother had never said anything, Ding Ning believed that as an adult, he had the right to know his background and to seek justice for his mother.

The tall and mighty image of his father, which he had once admired, had become his imaginary enemy at some point. He wanted to return home with his mother in glory and mock the man who had failed to fulfill his responsibilities.

To have a woman like his mother, that man must have been very strong and capable.

But Ding Ning was determined to live better and stronger than him, no matter who he was!

If he couldn't even deal with this loach, everything would be just a dream.

"Stinking loach, you are hindering my ideals, hindering my progress! You must die!"

The hatred in Ding Ning's mind accumulated, and with the flow of the elemental energy, it began to gather at the tip of his brush!

He held his breath and focused, the brush moving over the yellow paper, stroke by stroke!

The faint pressure rose, gradually spreading from the paper. The loach in the water began to wriggle uneasily again.

Ding Ning knew this was a critical moment. One mistake and he would fail. The outflow of elemental energy from his body made him feel tired, and the brush felt as heavy as a thousand pounds. His head felt heavy, and he seemed on the verge of fainting. The "Suppress" Character Talisman should be written at the late first-level, which was slightly beyond his current capabilities.

But Ding Ning had a stubborn streak. He was not willing to fail. With a burst of determination, he bit his tongue, and a stream of blood flowed out!

The pain instantly focused his mind, and he shouted, "Hah!"

A trickle of blood ran down from the corner of his mouth, and he completed the final stroke of the "Suppress" Character Talisman.

A flash of golden light appeared on the yellow paper, and the talisman was complete!

*****

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