Cloud and mist danced like gossamer, winding through the valley and setting the peaks and crags in an ethereal, dreamlike splendor.
A flying spring poured down from a thousand-zhang cliff, turning into a curtain of pearls and shattered jade. The spray refracted seven-colored halos that fell upon the strange flowers and exotic grasses carpeting the ground, gathering into glistening dewdrops.
Among the trees at the valley floor, immortal birds with colorful plumage occasionally swept past on beating wings, their cries crisp and clear. Along the distant cliff faces, phantoms of divine beasts could sometimes be seen appearing and vanishing, their auras ancient and far-reaching.
The spiritual energy here was so dense it was nearly tangible, transformed into milky-white currents that flowed through the forest. One breath of it left one refreshed in body and spirit. It was truly an unparalleled secret realm for cultivation.
A massive block of black jade, about a zhang across, rested quietly beside the waterfall. Its surface was as smooth as a mirror, gleaming with a warm, lustrous sheen.
Hua Xiaoyao sat cross-legged atop it, his moon-white Daoist robe lightly brushing in the wind. His black hair was held up by a simple jade hairpin, revealing a smooth, full forehead.
He had only just turned eighteen this year, yet his face was already peerlessly handsome. Sword-like brows, starry eyes, a high straight nose, sharply defined lips, skin as lustrous as jade—his entire body exuded an airy grace that set him apart from the mundane world.
On closer inspection, there was faintly some of Hua Qiang's heroic spirit between his brows and eyes from his younger days, yet Hua Xiaoyao possessed even more of a youth's handsome liveliness. In terms of appearance, he actually surpassed Hua Qiang in his prime by several degrees, worthy of being called