The Guardian of the Waterfall

Xiao Chen relied purely on strength — no manipulation of heaven and earth’s vital energy, no reliance on any external force to break all obstacles.

Flying swords and various immortal cultivation artifacts shattered beneath Xiao Chen’s palm like scrap metal. At his extreme speed, he blocked the white-robed cultivator, his voice cold as frost.

“You may attack!” The white-robed cultivator’s face shifted through many colors, but he still spoke those four words with forced strength.

Xiao Chen’s dominance was plain for all to see—the white-robed cultivator was no match for him. Yet he had no intention of surrendering. The purple jade bracelet on his left wrist blazed with dazzling light, shimmering with dreamlike radiance, and a violet energy shield rapidly took shape.

This made Xiao Chen frown. The bracelet was a family heirloom, but he had never known it could serve as a defensive artifact. Without hesitation, he reached out and chopped toward the guard.

His palm was now more terrible than any divine weapon. The Upper Heaven Hand was truly indestructible and impenetrable!

But he did not wish to shatter his own heirloom. At the last instant, his arm twisted like a diving dragon and struck instead at the white-robed cultivator’s neck.

To his surprise, the purple jade bracelet burst forth with thousands of rainbow rays, emitting a watery violet light that formed a curtain around the white-robed cultivator, blocking Xiao Chen.

His palm-knife struck the purple light screen with a crisp “clink”—it did not shatter, let alone wound the man.

Though Xiao Chen had not used full force, this was enough to show the bracelet’s extraordinary nature. The white-robed cultivator’s fear faded. When Xiao Chen had closed in moments ago, he had felt a chilling dread—after all, this was a god of slaughter.

The oppressive martial “presence” unique to a true warrior had crushed his mind with terror.

But now this bracelet had actually stopped Xiao Chen. It was, after all, Xiao Chen’s own family heirloom, which drew a sneer of bitter irony from the cultivator.

“Hmph.” Xiao Chen gave a cold snort.

More cultivators from the rear had arrived. Both of his palms flashed with light as he chopped across the sky.

“Clang!” “Ding!”

Several flying swords were snapped cleanly in two, and six or seven more immortal artifacts were shattered by his blows. The Upper Heaven Hand, crystalline and translucent, gleamed with an eerie, almost demonic radiance.

Swish!

Xiao Chen temporarily ignored the white-robed cultivator and charged at the pursuers. The Eight Aspect Worlds granted him speed that was inconceivably fast—he seemed merely to shake his body and appear before his enemies.

In that moment, Xiao Chen was ruthless and merciless. There was not a shred of compassion in him. The Upper Heaven Hand struck without pity!

“Puff!”

In a lightning-fast pass, half a cultivator’s head was severed. White brain matter mixed with blood spurted out—a scene of extreme brutality and gore.

Below, many female cultivators screamed and shut their eyes. This was the cruel, real world of cultivation; people died every day, and such battles occurred constantly, yet none could fully depict them.

“Dang!” The Upper Heaven Hand, flashing with crystalline light, shattered a bronze humanoid statue over ten feet tall in midair. Xiao Chen leaped up and rushed at the cultivator who had summoned the artifact.

Light flashed. At his ultimate speed, like a dream, Xiao Chen swept past like a blade of light, cleaving that man in two from head to groin—yet not a single drop of blood touched his own body.

With speed beyond belief, Xiao Chen had instantly slain several pursuers. He swept his gaze across the battlefield, and his heartless efficiency cowed everyone. The cultivators behind all halted, not one daring to advance. This was absolute intimidation.

He stepped through the void, one step at a time, forcing the white-robed cultivator wrapped in violet light to retreat. A powerful, icy pressure seemed to shake the very sky.

It was not that the white-robed cultivator did not wish to flee—he had already realized he could never outrun Xiao Chen’s Eight Aspect Worlds speed. Better to stay with his fellow disciples for safety. Now his only hope was the purple jade bracelet, that it might withstand Xiao Chen’s attacks.

But that hope was quickly dashed.

Xiao Chen struck with full force. The Upper Heaven Hand slammed down!

“Crack!”

The violet light screen shattered. That crystalline palm broke through the astonishingly tough barrier as easily as smashing porcelain.

The white-robed cultivator was terrified. That hand was beyond his imagination!

The violet divine shield formed by the bracelet was still intact, and the man hurriedly raised it to block Xiao Chen’s next blow. But at such close range, how could he—a cultivator—stop a warrior renowned for physical combat?

Xiao Chen did not want to shatter his own heirloom with the Upper Heaven Hand. His fingers moved with extreme lightness, instantly catching the violet shield, while his other hand shot out like lightning, smashing the flying sword the white-robed man spat out, and drove a palm-knife into his nape.

Blood spurted—but Xiao Chen did not sever the head. He forcibly halted his motion. A serious question had occurred to him: if this white-robed cultivator really was close to Ruoshui, and he wounded him gravely…

He grabbed the man and, like a bolt of lightning, descended from the sky to the peak of Huashan, throwing him at the feet of Chen Fang and Qingyun Fairy.

Here was a wandering cultivator who had mastered the Art of Heart-Reading—no torture was necessary. With Qingyun Fairy present, everything could be learned.

Chen Fang was frantic, afraid of what he might hear.

Qingyun Fairy’s third vertical eye emitted faint light. She turned and said, “It was indeed given to him by a woman.”

“What?!”

Chen Fang staggered as if struck by lightning.

Xiao Chen sighed. Though he had cut down that figure from his heart, after hearing Chen Fang’s story, he still felt something stir.

Perhaps this was the tragedy and comedy of life.

Though intimately connected to Xiao Chen, he now stood like an outsider, watching calmly.

“Impossible!” Chen Fang’s eyes were bloodshot. “That woman… what did she look like? I am certain she is not Ruoshui.”

Qingyun Fairy waved her hand, and an illusory image appeared in the sky—a young, beautiful woman.

“That is not Ruoshui!” Chen Fang shouted in agitation.

He grabbed the limp white-robed cultivator by the collar and roared, “Tell me what this is about!”

“It was a gift from my junior sister,” the man answered weakly.

“Where did your junior sister get it?”

Faced with a life-or-death threat, the white-robed cultivator submitted.

“She found it at Lushan.”

Qingyun Fairy used the Heart-Reading Art again, then nodded. “He is not lying.”

After learning the details, Xiao Chen coldly spat a single word at the white-robed man: “Go!”

As if granted a great pardon, the man shot into the sky.

“He harbors murderous intent—a bone-deep hatred,” Qingyun Fairy warned Xiao Chen.

Xiao Chen was not surprised; he had killed so many of their kind. But he frowned. He did not care about these people himself, but for Chen Fang and the others, they were a threat.

“Wanting to let you go… is not easy.”

In an instant, Xiao Chen shot into the air, his Upper Heaven Hand reaching out to strike the white-robed cultivator.

“Save me!” the man screamed.

The other cultivators once again moved to block Xiao Chen.

At the same time, the white-robed cultivator shouted, “Senior brothers, help me! I want to summon the Golden Divine Pagoda!”

A hazy yellow light burst from within him as a golden pagoda shot out. All the cultivators channeled their power together, and the pagoda instantly expanded, descending from the sky like a golden divine mountain, pressing down toward Xiao Chen.

This was a true secret treasure. The white-robed cultivator was the great-grandson of an ancient elder cultivator and had been granted this artifact.

There was no time to dodge—the golden pagoda had already enveloped Xiao Chen. But he was not flustered. He raised his Upper Heaven Hand and struck fiercely.

“Boom!”

Golden divine light blazed; the sky was blinding. The mountain-sized golden pagoda shook violently, as if it were about to collapse. One could imagine the immense force it endured within.

“Senior brothers, combine your power! Grind him into bloody mud!” the white-robed cultivator bellowed. There was no turning back now—only by utterly destroying Xiao Chen could they survive.

“Boom!”

The great golden pagoda trembled again. Fine cracks appeared on its golden surface.

“How is this possible?!” All the cultivators cried out in shock. This treasure had been refined by a master-level elder, its power enormous—almost a divine artifact. And yet it was on the verge of destruction.

How terrifying was this so-called Upper Heaven Hand? Could a flesh-and-blood palm truly rival a divine artifact?

“Boom!”

Xiao Chen struck a third time. The crystalline Upper Heaven Hand slammed heavily into the pagoda’s inner wall, leaving a clear palm print surrounded by spreading cracks.

“Crack!”

A terrible sound echoed from the golden pagoda. Outside, everyone clearly saw the tower splitting apart, about to collapse.

“Fall back!”

All sensed the danger and wanted to flee far away.

But at that moment, Xiao Chen struck a fourth time. With a thunderous boom, the Upper Heaven Hand shook heaven and earth, shattering the mountain-sized golden pagoda in an instant.

The sky was filled with blazing golden light and raging energy. The rampaging force crushed several cultivators on the spot. Even those who escaped suffered violent shockwaves, coughing blood and swaying in midair.

The moment Xiao Chen burst out, he showed no mercy. Like a demon reaping lives, he swept across the sky. Everywhere he passed, blood rained down. The remaining nine cultivators were all pulverized by the Upper Heaven Hand.

After the final blow that destroyed the white-robed cultivator, Xiao Chen flew toward the high heavens. There, rolling black clouds surged like ink waves, a pitch-black expanse of terrifying pressure.

Tianwaitian, Renwairen, and Shanwaishan had not yet charged out—they were temporarily trapped by eight iron-blood banners.

Xiao Chen had no intention of following the cultivators’ rules. Light flashed, and the Golden Divine Halberd appeared in his hand. Without a word, he brought it down in a vertical split toward a hundred-zhang-tall banner.

“Rumble!”

Energy waves roiled in the heights. Golden divine light clashed with the banner’s dark radiance, throwing the area into chaos.

A fierce killing aura shot straight at Xiao Chen. He did not pause but used the Eight Aspect Worlds to fly directly upward, escaping the battlefield.

His goal was only to harass—he had no desire to truly fight against old experts of that level.

“Hahaha… You’ve finished killing the little ones? Good, we’re coming out too.” Tianwaitian’s voice rang out.

The sky seemed to awaken; a vast, suffocating pressure erupted without warning.

Then the banners shattered. Amid the rolling black clouds, a giant hand appeared—as large as a mountain—and grabbed a hundred-zhang banner, crushing it to pieces.

The scene was horrifying!

Next, Tianwaitian’s huge head emerged from the formation. They were about to break free.

“No good—retreat!”

The elder cultivators screamed in alarm.

Blood sprayed, and several clouds of blood mist burst in the sky, along with a few chilling screams.

Then shafts of sword-light shot skyward.

The black clouds roiled and slowly dissipated. Tianwaitian, Renwairen, and Shanwaishan revealed their true forms.

“Whoa… That damned Nine Provinces seal is too annoying!” Tianwaitian, the rough-and-tumble type, was panting heavily.

The little brat Renwairen looked thoughtful. “The bracelet appeared at Lushan waterfall? Could it be that the Lushan seal is about to loosen?”

Tianwaitian took the purple jade bracelet from Xiao Chen’s hand, examined it carefully, and said, “The bracelet has one seal unlocked; it can now be used as a defensive artifact.” He turned to Xiao Chen. “This really is your family heirloom?”

“Yes.”

“Where is your home?”

“A place called Ancestral Dragon Village by the Yellow River.”

“What?!” Both Tianwaitian and Renwairen cried out in shock.

“That is one of the most critical points of the Nine Provinces seal!”

That the bracelet had appeared there made the two great masters suspicious. They held the purple jade bracelet up to the sunlight, turning it over and over.

“There is a golden shadow inside, like a surging Yellow River,” Tianwaitian said, for once dropping his roguish manner and speaking solemnly. “I suspect this is one of the keys to unlocking the seal.”

After studying it for a long time, Renwairen and Tianwaitian returned the bracelet to Xiao Chen. “Since it is your ancestral heirloom, keep it for now. But remember, do not lose it.”

Xiao Chen nodded. He was about to take his leave, because his identity had been inadvertently revealed by Chen Fang. He feared the cultivators might use their arts to track down his true self and implicate his parents.

“No worries. Shanwaishan, you go and guard Ancestral Dragon Village—that village is too important.” Tianwaitian muttered, “Someone should have been watching that place. Something must have gone wrong.”

Shanwaishan departed. Tianwaitian and Renwairen stayed. They shouted, “The Hua Shan Sword Debate continues…”

Xiao Chen had no desire to continue. Although Shanwaishan would be stationed at Ancestral Dragon Village, he was still uneasy and decided to return.

“Xiao Chen, let’s go to Lushan together,” Chen Fang said, staring fixedly at him.

“I need to go home first. You go ahead; I’ll follow soon.”

“Did you really cut Ruoshui down so completely…” Chen Fang sighed softly and said no more.

Ancestral Dragon Village was unchanged, except that an old madman now lived there.

Xiao Chen stayed quietly at home for a month, repeatedly studying the bracelet but finding nothing unusual about it.

Once he was certain Ancestral Dragon Village faced no threat, he left again. His destination was the Lushan waterfall.

When Xiao Chen reached Lushan, Chen Fang had already been there for over ten days. To Xiao Chen’s surprise, Qingyun Fairy and several others had followed Chen Fang.

“There is not a single clue,” Chen Fang said, looking haggard. Ten days of searching had yielded nothing.

Flying down three thousand feet, it seems the Silver River has fallen from the Ninth Heaven.

Ahead, purple mist rose, water vapor swirled, and a massive waterfall thundered down with a deafening roar.

“The bracelet was found beneath this waterfall. That means Ruoshui came here.” Xiao Chen stepped slowly into the pool, then walked directly to the base of the cascade, where it fell like the River of Heaven.

At that moment, the bracelet suddenly emitted waves of violet light, dreamlike and intoxicating.

“Crack.”

The sound of rock splitting came from above.

At the very top of the Lushan waterfall, a boulder guarding the cascade cracked open. A short, bent old man with white hair walked out. He was less than a meter tall, his face covered in wrinkles—who knew how many years he had lived.

“Is this heaven’s will? I sent the bracelet away, yet it has been sent back?” An ancient voice echoed from the top of the waterfall.

“Who are you?” Chen Fang, Qingyun Fairy, and the others stared in shock.

Xiao Chen also felt a strange sensation as he gazed at the little old man.

“This old one is Tong Hu.” The old man stood atop the waterfall, fixing his eyes on the bracelet in Xiao Chen’s hand. “Why have you come?”

“To find someone.”

“There are no people here—only gods…” The ancient voice drifted clearly down from the waterfall, the roaring thunder of the cascade unable to drown it out.

“Gods?!” Chen Fang and the others were stunned. This old man was deeply unfathomable.

Xiao Chen asked calmly, “Senior, have you seen this woman?” As he spoke, he unfurled his sleeve and projected an image of Ruoshui into the air.

“I have been sleeping all this time. How would I know?”

“Then, Senior, do you recognize this bracelet?” Xiao Chen raised the purple jade bracelet.

“I have guarded this place for endless years, awakened twice from slumber by this bracelet,” the old man said. “A year ago, someone also brought this bracelet here.”

“Was it not this woman?” Xiao Chen displayed the image again.

“No, it was a man.”

“Impossible!” Chen Fang cried out. “Where did that man go?”

“He died,” the old man replied calmly.

“Died…” Chen Fang could not believe it.

“What is impossible? In this world, who can escape death?” The old man’s tone was profoundly weary.

“How did he die?” Xiao Chen stared at the old man.

“He chose death himself—like suicide.”

“How could this be!” Chen Fang felt the trail had gone cold again.

“Everyone has the right to choose death. I could not stop him.”

“Where is his corpse?” Xiao Chen slowly rose into the air and came to the old man’s side.

“He entered an illusory world. No corpse remained.”

“Did he die, or did he enter an illusory world?” Xiao Chen keenly caught the contradiction in his words.

“Entering an illusory world, in my view, is the same as dying in the real mortal world. Neither his soul nor his body will ever appear in the mortal realm again.”

“Are you saying he entered another space—and a illusory one at that?” Chen Fang asked, stunned. “What does this all mean?”

The old man was silent.

At that moment, Xiao Chen seemed to sense something. Holding the bracelet, he swept it gently before the Lushan waterfall. A world that was both real and illusory suddenly emerged before their eyes.

Eagles soared through the sky—no, not eagles, but pterosaurs dancing across the horizon!

Eight-Armed Evil Dragons roared; Tyrant Dragons bellowed at the heavens… Stretching ancient mountain ranges, a scene of primeval savagery.

That was…