There was no source for the sea on the ground. It appeared abruptly above the earth, like water without roots, surging and roaring straight toward the sky to form a Sea Waterfall!
It began exactly three feet above the ground, no more and no less. Within those three feet, there was no water, but above them lay a vast ocean, rolling and surging toward the heavens.
Up in the firmament, its end could not be seen, nor was there any knowing where it led.
At its highest reaches, fragments of time fluttered like the most beautiful flower petals, drifting in profusion. Vaguely, a river of time seemed to accompany them!
"The Sea Waterfall," He Xian murmured.
How had he ended up here?
Several beings sat cross-legged ahead, their eyes quietly closed as they fished.
One woman, one man, and another man.
The woman was incomparably alluring. Clad in crimson-gold battle armor, she was a peerless beauty, both beautiful and dangerous.
The man beside her had a head of long golden hair. Like a sun god, he radiated an utterly holy aura.
The two of them seemed to know each other.
"Fellow Daoists, what are you fishing for?" He Xian asked casually, as though speaking to old friends.
Sensing someone approach, the two beings opened their eyes.
"I am fishing up an age when darkness shrouds the earth and bloody water floods countless ancient graves. That is Chaotic Antiquity," the woman said solemnly.
"I am fishing for a cycle of reincarnation. Three burials, three destructions, three lifetimes of reincarnation," the other man said immediately afterward.
"Can you catch that?" He Xian asked, puzzled rather than skeptical.
Their claims were certainly grand, speaking of fishing up an entire ancient history and a cycle of reincarnation.
"Well..." The two were struck speechless.
"Then what is that person over there fishing for?"
At this question, the golden-haired man grew animated. "Unrivaled in this great age, he is an heir to one of the most ancient Immortal Kings."
"Oh!" He Xian lost interest.
The golden-haired man's expression froze.
"You truly are an interesting fellow, Daoist!" he said slowly.
"My name is Three Burials."
"Divine Nether!" The two introduced themselves.
"He Xian," he replied.
"Then what can I catch?" He Xian looked toward the distant figure, who sat motionless as a clay statue or wooden carving.
"He had already been sitting cross-legged for several years before we came here, without moving at all. His Dao heart is steadfast, and the goal he seeks never changes. He is a frightening being," said the woman named Divine Nether.
Next, He Xian dismissed the old man behind him and sat down like the others.
Before the Sea Waterfall, he began to fish.
With the Great Dao of the spirit as his rod, magical power as his line, and divine abilities as his hook, he began fishing like Jiang Taigong, letting the willing take the bait.
Suddenly, he felt as though something was missing. He called the old man back and whispered a few words into his ear.
Before long, a ferocious beast with powerful blood vitality was brought back.
Using the beast's flesh and blood as bait, He Xian began fishing again.
"Brother He Xian, the Great Dao truly is simplicity itself. You have returned to the uncarved essence!" Seeing this, Three Burials did not mock him, but praised him instead. His expression held no hypocrisy; he was entirely sincere.
"Fellow Daoist, you truly are forthright. This is how the Great Dao should be. You surpass us," the woman praised him as well.
He Xian looked at the two of them and thought they were a little strange.
He turned his gaze back to the vast ocean where he was fishing.
The Sea Waterfall was an extraordinarily unusual place. Even immortals could not discover its end.
There was even a more terrifying rumor.
Long ago, after the great war of Immortal Ancient, an Immortal King had been grievously wounded and lay at death's door. Knowing he had no hope of survival, he entered the Sea Waterfall in the guttering candlelight of his final years and followed its course. In the end, he too never returned and was never seen again!
Yet legend had it that, dangerous and strange though this place was, it could also be considered a river of wishes. Sometimes it fulfilled people's desires, which was why beings came here from time to time.
Moreover, unexpected things sometimes happened when one cultivated in seclusion here. They might be tremendously beneficial, or they might be disastrous!
Comprehending the Dao before the Sea Waterfall was destined to be a lengthy process!
Many days passed in the blink of an eye.
"Oh." Suddenly, He Xian opened his eyes as he sat cross-legged on a large bluestone.
"Something has taken the bait."
The two fellow Daoists he had just met looked astonished. Had he really caught something?
What kind of joke was this? What was this place? It was the Sea Waterfall, whose true destination was unknown. Even immortals who followed it would disappear. What creatures could possibly be here? Had he actually fished something out of it?
It was a suit of armor. Through the hook formed from his precious technique, he roughly sensed what kind of object it was.
High in the sky, a hundred thousand feet above, a suit of golden armor flickered in and out of view, gleaming brilliantly.
"You really can fish something out of here...?!" Three Burials truly did not know what to say.
Divine Nether also stared blankly, somewhat dazed. Her beautiful, exquisite face had frozen.
They all rose to their feet.
How was this possible? This was the Sea Waterfall, suspected to flow toward the Boundary Sea. No one throughout the ages had been able to trace its course. How could anyone fish something out of it?
Had he just set a precedent?
As He Xian hauled forcefully on his hook-
Splash!
Above the Sea Waterfall, light suddenly blazed, dazzling and resplendent. It was almost impossible to look at directly, making their eyes sting.
Rumble!
Accompanied by the reverberation of deafening fluctuations, a dazzling Golden Ancient Battle Garment startled all quarters.
"Hm?"
Not far from the Sea Waterfall, members of royal clans and ancient clans were drawn over and came racing toward it.
"This aura is so vast and extraordinary. Could an immortal artifact have appeared?!"
A veteran supreme expert was bewildered and uncertain. It was simply too extraordinary. Such might inevitably made him think of an immortal artifact.
Had another fortunate soul had their wish fulfilled by the Sea Waterfall? Such occurrences were exceedingly rare throughout the ages, but they had happened before.
Rumble!
From within that sky-piercing pillar of golden light came thunderous explosions, like beating war drums and blaring horns. The sounds of slaughter rang out with metallic force.
Three Burials and Divine Nether were already stupefied. They believed themselves inferior to no one in the world, so why had they caught nothing?
They were burial warriors!
They had crossed realms to come here, and moreover, they were Golden Burial Warriors, the most mysterious of their kind, with terrifying origins.
If their identities were truly made public, their standing would be no less than that of Emperor Clan descendants such as Chi Menghong and He Xian, and might even surpass them.
Their fortune should likewise have been no weaker!
The Burial Domain was a powerful ancient realm no less formidable than the Foreign Realm or the Immortal Domain, and it too had kings presiding over it.
Moreover, they were burial warriors who had touched the Origin Ancient Artifact and possessed the potential to become Burial Kings.
Rumble!
The light and shadows shattered, revealing a dazzling expanse of color.
The Golden Ancient Battle Garment gradually revealed its true form. Divine patterns densely covered it, glittering as they interwove and extended, expounding the principles of the Dao.
It was ancient and simple, yet magnificent.
Like the battle garment of an unsurpassed warrior, it seized the heart and soul.
Hum! Hum! Hum!
As He Xian's Indestructible Scripture began circulating of its own accord, the Golden Ancient Battle Garment shone ever more brilliantly.
It even seemed about to come alive. It was utterly extraordinary.
Rumble!
It truly was awakening, trembling as it erupted with endless light that spanned the firmament, spreading until it obscured the sky.
He Xian lifted his head and gazed at the Golden Ancient Battle Garment. He too sensed it-a resonance.