The Waterfall Flowed Like a Silver Ribbon, Climbing the Cliff to Become a Cloud Dragon

The silver waterfall flowed like a ribbon, climbing the cliff as if to become a cloud dragon.

Compared to the chaotic battle at Wangwu Mountain, things were much more peaceful at the wooden cabin where Yuan Tianzong stayed.

Five or six exotic fruits lay on the ground in front of the cabin.

One was entirely black, with smooth skin; another had three colors intermingled and a wrinkled surface; there was even one that looked like a mountain rock. They all looked different.

Bone drew close, and a longing emotion seemed to emanate from his empty eye sockets.

Yuan Tianzong chuckled and said generously, "Take whichever one you like. No need to be polite."

Hearing this, Bone immediately reached out a hand of bone, but stopped halfway. He felt that a servant like him shouldn't overstep, so he waved his hand and told Yuan Tianzong to pick one for him instead. He wasn't picky.

"You're awfully polite. All right, then. This one." Yuan Tianzong pushed the black fruit toward Bone, having noticed that it was the one he wanted most.

Bone picked up the black exotic fruit and bowed repeatedly to Yuan Tianzong in thanks.

"What are you thanking me for? Since you've made me your master, of course you'll get to eat and drink well. Besides, you gave me your breathing technique, didn't you? A courtesy in return is only fair."

Yuan Tianzong watched Bone, curious to see how he would consume the exotic fruit.

Bone had no stomach, naturally, so he couldn't exactly swallow it. Under Yuan Tianzong's gaze, he found a bowl-shaped stone, placed the fruit inside, mashed it into juice, then smeared it over his bones.

Yuan Tianzong understood. So he was supposed to smear it on.

After turning his attention away, he examined the five remaining exotic fruits.

Not only did the fruits look completely different, but their auras also differed noticeably.

The black fruit in Bone's hands felt cold, desolate, and lifeless.

The three-colored fruit was eye-catching, and it also gave off a soothing aura.

After hesitating for a moment, Yuan Tianzong picked up the three-colored fruit first and took a bite.

Crunch. It was crisp and sweet, with a texture much like an apple. It tasted good.

After eating the entire fruit in a few bites, Yuan Tianzong sat cross-legged and meditated, sensing the vital essence spreading through his body. He was secretly astonished. No wonder exotic fruits could transform ordinary people.

Yuan Tianzong's brow twitched as he sensed a strange power spreading from the fruit.

The power flowed into his limbs and bones. His skin began to itch, as if something were about to break through it.

Yuan Tianzong quickly opened his eyes and looked at his arm.

In an instant, a tender, three-colored scale began to emerge from beneath his skin, as if it meant to change his appearance.

But before the scale could grow any further, his powerful physique reacted. His body's ability to regulate itself suppressed the strange power and restored him to his original state. The process was like white blood cells killing invading bacteria.

Yuan Tianzong's brow lifted, his eyes glinting as a passage from an ancient text he had once read came to mind. It stated that those who ate exotic creatures and practiced strange arts might fall into monstrosity and lose themselves.

"So the exotic fruit contains a power that turns people into monsters."

"No wonder the appearance of those anomalous people changes so drastically."

"But this little bit of strange power thinks it can assimilate my body? Dream on. Heh."

"The strange power is useless to me, but the vital essence inside is a rare treasure~"

As he murmured, Yuan Tianzong picked up the other few exotic fruits and ate them in a few bites.

This time, he used the breathing technique to speed up his body's absorption and refinement of the spreading vital essence.

Radiance shimmered over his body. While he used the breathing technique, his life force became extraordinarily robust, giving him the feeling of someone who could live for a very, very long time.

Outwardly, all that showed was a gentle flow of radiance.

Inside his body, however, the changes were extremely intense.

A vast amount of vital essence nourished his body, flesh, bones, and internal organs, all of them continuing to transform under its influence.

The door to the treasures buried deep within his body opened wider, and wisps of inner energy surged out, filling him from head to toe.

Inner energy and true energy—Yuan Tianzong had two different paths of cultivation.

Now both forces existed within his body. He didn't know what they would eventually become.

Dual cultivation?

A wry smile tugged at Yuan Tianzong's lips.

He still hadn't figured out what lay beyond the two paths, and was still feeling his way across the river by stepping on stones. How could he talk about dual cultivation or choosing just one?

In the forest, figures moved among the trees as a group made its way through.

At their head was none other than Fang Yan, the second-in-command of the Brotherhood Alliance.

At one point, Fang Yan stopped and surveyed his surroundings.

"I heard there's a powerful anomalous person around here who can turn pebbles into heavy cannons. Not bad. That kind of long-range attack is exactly what we need."

In Fang Yan's view, this ability was undoubtedly the result of technological modification. He had no idea what kind of technology was involved, of course. From where he stood, he was still completely incapable of grasping what a Grandmaster was.

"Found him! Boss Fang, we found him!"

One of the scouts hurried over and said a few words to Fang Yan.

"Haha, good! We finally found him. Let's go!"

The entire group followed Fang Yan and hurried toward the valley where Yuan Tianzong was.

Before long, they stood at the edge of the cliff above the waterfall.

Below them, a wooden cabin stood in the valley, peaceful and serene.

Fang Yan immediately spotted the figure sitting cross-legged in front of it.

"Come on. Let me see what he's made of."

As he spoke, Fang Yan easily picked up a boulder weighing a hundred pounds and hurled it straight at Yuan Tianzong, who was refining his energy in meditation.

Whoosh, whoosh~

The rock tore through the air with a muffled sound.

Just as it was about to hit Yuan Tianzong, he abruptly opened his eyes. Killing intent flashed in them.

For Yuan Tianzong, cultivation came first.

Anyone who dared to disturb him while he was cultivating had only himself to blame if Yuan Tianzong stopped showing mercy.

The incoming boulder suddenly stopped in midair before him.

Yuan Tianzong stood up and looked toward Fang Yan and the others above the waterfall.

"Haha, you've got some skill. My name's Fang Yan, second-in-command of the Brotherhood Alliance. That boulder was my test for you. Congratulations, you've earned the right to join our alliance. Heh."

A test?

He'd thrown a boulder at me while I was meditating?

And he called that a test?

Was he testing whether I had the heart of a bodhisattva?

Yuan Tianzong's eyelid twitched. An anger he rarely showed appeared on his face. When it came to being disturbed during cultivation, he had absolutely no tolerance.

"Fair enough. If you can take this hit, I'll even take your name!"

Fang Yan laughed heartily. "Good! You said it. It's a deal!"

"It's a deal!" Yuan Tianzong gripped the boulder hanging in front of him with one hand, stepped forward with his left foot to gain leverage, drew back his arm, and threw it with all his strength.

Fang Yan crossed his arms over his chest, confident that at this distance his Vajra Exoskeleton could easily stop a flying rock.

It was just a rock, after all.

He stared at the boulder and chuckled.

The next second, his smile froze and his pupils contracted!

In the blink of an eye, the boulder was right in front of him???

The sound of it tearing through the air still echoed behind it, unable to catch up!

How was that possible?!

A thunderous crash rang out, and blood sprayed everywhere.

Only after the boulder hit him did Fang Yan realize how hard it was. He couldn't withstand it at all!

The anomalous people around him all retreated, staring in disbelief at Fang Yan's upper body, which had been destroyed in an instant.

At that moment, boulders shot toward them like cannonballs. Even though they were all anomalous people, they couldn't react to rocks flying faster than the speed of sound.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

In the blink of an eye, the silver-white waterfall was stained crimson.

"Bone, go pull the bodies out of the water."

"Clack, clack." Bone obeyed and jumped into the pool.

Then, relying on pure jumping power, Yuan Tianzong leaped a hundred or two hundred meters straight up and landed at the waterfall's upper basin.

Most of them were lying there, while a few had been swept down into the pool.

With his cultivation and strength behind them, the pebbles infused with abundant true energy were no different from heavy cannons or sniper rifles—if anything, they were even stronger. As a result, not one of the corpses before him was intact.

Yuan Tianzong really didn't want corpses piling up where he lived, especially above his water source.

If he left them alone, the stench of corpses would soon spread, and the water would be contaminated as well.

As for the bodies that had fallen into the pool, Bone was already retrieving them.

After surveying the area, Yuan Tianzong raised his hand and swept it across. True energy surged forth, batting the corpses one after another over the other side of the cliff.

Just then, a ringtone sounded. He stopped and looked toward one of the bodies.

He walked over and pulled a phone from its pocket.

He glanced at the caller ID: Big Brother.

Yuan Tianzong had always had a habit when it came to his actions: he left no loose ends. You never knew when someone hiding in the shadows might spring a surprise on you, even if they were extremely weak by comparison.

As a Grandmaster, as a powerful person,

Yuan Tianzong considered himself remarkably kind. He did nothing but cultivate, unlike some people who used their strength to kill, rob, and do as they pleased.

However, if something insisted on provoking him, he didn't mind showing what he could do. He would never allow anything to leave a mark on his state of mind; he would keep his thoughts clear.

With that in mind, he answered the call. "Hello."

"Second Brother, you... Who are you? What happened to my second brother?" Xiao Tianjin asked, slightly taken aback by the unfamiliar voice before demanding an answer.

Yuan Tianzong was blunt. He glanced at the corpse with its upper body blasted apart. "Your second brother's probably dead."

Silence. Dead silence.

Yuan Tianzong seemed to sense what was coming and pulled the phone a little farther from his ear.

The next second, a deafening roar came through the phone.

"How could my second brother be dead?! Who did it? Was it you? You son of a bitch, talk to me! Talk! You bastard, talk to me! Say something!"

When the other man paused for breath, Yuan Tianzong brought the phone back to his ear and answered simply, "That's right. I killed him."

"Fuck you!!! Fuck!! How dare you! How dare you!!"

"Who are you? If you've got the guts, tell me your name. I'll chop you into mincemeat!"

"Speak! Who the hell are you!!!"

The hysterical shouting revealed genuine grief for the dead man. Yuan Tianzong understood.

"You're coming to find me?"

Faced with Yuan Tianzong's question, the other end of the line abruptly fell silent.

It wasn't that Xiao Tianjin had nothing to say. Chen Quanhe, their third brother, had brought him under control and calmed him down a little. They were worried the killer might flee.

China was vast, and the world was even larger.

Even on Wangwu Mountain, if someone vanished into the forest, finding him would be like looking for a needle in a haystack.

Chen Quanhe frantically gestured to Xiao Tianjin, finally calming him down a little. Xiao Tianjin shut his mouth and stared at the gesture Chen Quanhe made: Keep him on the line. Don't hang up. I'll track his location right away.

Xiao Tianjin took a deep breath and spoke again. "You've got guts, kid. Do you know who we are?"

The sudden change in the other man's mood gave Yuan Tianzong a pretty good idea what was going on. He smiled. "Do you know who I am?"

Xiao Tianjin frowned. The other man's calm tone made his heart sink. Could he be the son of some powerful family?

If he really was, then setting aside whether they could avenge their second brother, he and his third brother might have to flee for their lives. There'd be time to settle this later.

"My name is Yuan Tianzong."

After a long silence, Xiao Tianjin couldn't help asking, "And?"

"That's it."

Xiao Tianjin looked at Chen Quanhe. A phrase seemed to float past his ear: He's messing with you, Your Majesty.

Xiao Tianjin's anger flared even hotter. He had no idea how much weight those three words carried in the Dharma-ending era.

"Why did you kill my second brother?" Xiao Tianjin stared at the equipment in front of Chen Quanhe and forced himself to be patient, buying time. He was afraid Yuan Tianzong would hang up and run.

Yuan Tianzong didn't answer.

The silence on the other end made Xiao Tianjin uneasy. He felt that Yuan Tianzong was about to flee. He kept glancing at the phone screen, making sure the call was still connected.

The reason Yuan Tianzong wasn't speaking was that he was operating the phone.

Fang Yan had been full of confidence.

This man was too.

It seemed the Brotherhood Alliance was pretty well known.

He opened the video app with the most traffic, selected the local area, and searched for "Brotherhood Alliance."

Video after video appeared immediately.

He scrolled through a few and quickly found the information he wanted.

[Exotic Fruit Appears! Brotherhood Alliance Battles the True Ape, Three Brothers Defeated and Lying Low, Waiting for Another Chance to Fight!]

Yuan Tianzong studied the mountains in the video. A uniquely shaped peak came into view, resembling a woman lying on the ground. Its undulating ridgeline traced the graceful figure of a girl.

Once he had a direction, Yuan Tianzong spoke into the phone. "All right. I know where you are. Wait there."

Hearing this, Xiao Tianjin panicked!

"Don't hang up! If you've got guts, don't hang up!"

"Okay."

Yuan Tianzong silenced the phone and held it in his hand. After figuring out the direction, he bent his legs slightly, sprang into the air, and crossed several thousand meters from the top of the waterfall, landing inside another mountain.

Whoosh, whoosh!

He sped like the wind as the forest raced past.

The gale swept through, startling many Molting Beasts. They stared up at the violently shaking branches, puzzled. What just shot past?

At that moment, Xiao Tianjin and Chen Quanhe were arguing. They both felt that although Yuan Tianzong hadn't hung up, he'd stopped speaking. He'd probably tossed the phone somewhere in the forest and run off himself.

Xiao Tianjin blamed Chen Quanhe for being too slow to pinpoint the location.

Chen Quanhe said he didn't know how to delay the process and couldn't buy enough time to pinpoint the target.

"You're just too slow!"

"The world's changing, and the magnetic fields are in chaos. That makes it hard to get a fix. It takes time, big brother!"

Veins bulged on Xiao Tianjin's forehead as he roared, "Enough! What good is talking about it now? He got away. How are we supposed to avenge our second brother? Damn it, he sounded so impressive on the phone, but he was just putting on an act. I actually thought he had some real backing. Fuck!"

At that moment, they both thought Yuan Tianzong had fled. Their hatred over Fang Yan's death and their fury at being toyed with made them tremble uncontrollably.

"You brat, if I, Xiao Tianjin, ever find you, I'll make you wish you were dead!!!"

Just then, the positioning display on the computer changed, showing the result.

On the complex satellite map of Wangwu Mountain, a red dot was moving rapidly.

Chen Quanhe and Xiao Tianjin saw it and immediately crowded around the screen.

"It's moving! It's moving!"

"Where is he?" Xiao Tianjin asked, his eyes bloodshot.

Chen Quanhe looked perplexed. Suddenly, he glanced up at the towering mountain to their right.

"Speak! Where is he? Where's the killer?!"

Chen Quanhe's expression shifted.

"Look up."

The voice came through the phone.

Xiao Tianjin looked up without thinking.

In an instant, his pupils contracted in shock!

Against the dark depths of the sky, a figure seemed to descend from above the clouds, plummeting straight down from several thousand meters up.

Boom—!

In the blink of an eye, the figure crashed into the open ground ahead. The earth shook, and the impact was terrifying.

Chen Quanhe and Xiao Tianjin were stunned.

They couldn't imagine anyone falling straight from several thousand meters up and surviving. It was no different from suicide.

Of course, no ordinary person would be foolish enough to do that.

The only explanation was that the other man was powerful enough to withstand the crushing force of the fall.

A powerhouse!

A top-tier powerhouse!

A monster they couldn't handle!

"Senior, it's a misunderstanding—a complete misunderstanding. We..." Chen Quanhe reacted quickly, immediately changing his attitude and lowering himself. He gave the figure in the dustiest haze his most sincere smile.

But...

The figure moved like lightning, appearing before him in an instant.

Crack.

Amid the sharp snap, Chen Quanhe saw someone striding toward Xiao Tianjin. He felt something was off and tried to turn around, but the next moment he lost his balance and fell. As he went down, he was horrified to realize he could see his own back and heels.

My head!!!

Xiao Tianjin stumbled backward in terror, watching Yuan Tianzong snap Chen Quanhe's neck in an instant as they passed each other.

Up close, Yuan Tianzong held the phone to his ear and stared at Xiao Tianjin. "Can I hang up now?"

Under the crushing pressure, Xiao Tianjin suddenly bellowed, "Fuck you—"

A muffled thud cut his curse short.

Xiao Tianjin's neck was now a headless stump.

Yuan Tianzong tossed the phone at him. It struck Xiao Tianjin's headless corpse, and the slight impact sent it toppling stiffly to the ground.

"My name is Yuan Tianzong. Got it?"

Muttering to himself, he stepped over the corpses and walked toward True Ape.