The serene beauty of the waterfalls masked a deadly tension.
Sunlight shimmered through the mist, painting rainbows on the cascading water as Li Hexin stood poised amidst his dirty white robes.
The Ethereal Frost sword – an extension of his soul – gleamed in his hand.
He was the picture of righteous focus, his flowing dirtied white robes a stark contrast to the clean, dark, swirling energy that cloaked his floating opponent, the evil cultivator, Mi Nan.
Her eyes, burning crimson, held both cunning and a hint of amused cruelty.
Where Li Hexin relied on his honed sword skill and connection to the natural world, Mi Nan's power thrummed with forbidden evil magic, a corrupting taint in the pristine air.
"You've grown stronger." Li Hexin muttered before taking another attacking stance. The ground on his feet started to crumble, further destroying the beauty of the place.
"And your cultivation didn't advance at all." Mi Nan arrogantly laughed, the lit lamp on her hand shrouded by black mist spurted more smoke in readiness.
Within a silent second, the battle erupted. Li Hexin moved like a thunderbolt, his sword a flash of silver as he closed the distance.
His strikes were a fluid dance, each movement infused with the power of flowing water, seeking to overwhelm Mi Nan.
Yet, she was a ghost, dissolving into mist, reforming a few paces away with a mocking laugh that echoed over the roar of the falls.
Frustration sparked in Li Hexin's eyes. His path was one of natural harmony, but Mi Nan's evil magic disrupted the natural balance.
The ground beneath him rumbled as she summoned twisted figures of shadow, their clawing hands reaching for him.
With gritted teeth, he called upon the power of the nearby waterfall itself, his sword channeling its energy in a burst that washed away the shadowy creatures.
Mi Nan's smile grew twisted, "What now, great prodigy of the Li Clan?"
Her figure, still in a floating black sword, is like an arrogant flower overlooking the ground.
Li Hexin's sword blurred, becoming a whirlwind of steel that reflected the waterfall's power. He pressed his attack, a righteous storm driving Mi Nan back.
A flicker of surprise crossed the evil cultivator's face, replaced just as quickly by rage.
Mi Nan raised her hands, guttural chants spilling from her lips. The very air darkened, and the waterfall, once a symbol of purity, began to writhe and twist, its flow sluggish and tainted.
"Enough."
A woman's voice resounded. Li Hexin's Crushing Tide and Mi Nan's incantation of Tainting Source disappeared as if their attacks never happened.
Despite Li Hexin's and Mi Nan's strength being in Tong Mai Jie1Stage 4: Meridian Opening cultivation stage, and Xing Lu2Level 10: Awakening Paths and Wang Luo3Level 11: Flowing Network levels respectively, the two find it hard to breathe in the mysterious presence of the hidden senior.
"Do the two of you have no regard for this beautiful and peaceful scenery?"
Mae 'appeared', just opposite the creek's edge.
Wearing a white shirt, simple and sun-bleached, it hangs loosely off Mae's shoulders, the soft fabric rippling in the dappled sunlight filtering through the leaves.
Her jeans rolled up at the cuffs, revealing her white ankles streaked with the cool water of the creek.
Mae calmly perched on a large, moss-covered rock, its surface warmed by the afternoon sun.
The two cultivators, one floating in the sky and one walking out of a deep crater, went silent at the senior's weird clothing and appearance.
Li Hexin watched the mysterious stranger with wary and nervous eyes.
He never felt the woman's presence and the fact that despite the intensity and impact of his fight with the wretched evil cultivator, none of the scenery on her side had been destroyed.
That and the woman's ability to wipe both his and the evil cultivator's strong attacks is a testament to the higher stage and level she was in.
Li Hexin cupped his fists and bowed his head with respect.
"I am sorry, senior, for disturbing your rest. I am Li Hexin of the Li Clan, a student of Tian Jian Xue Yuan4Celestial Sword Academy. I am on a mission to capture this evil cultivator from Ying Hun Shi Zu5Shadow Wraith Clan who keeps contaminating nature's essence." Li Hexin smartly appealed to Mae's current love of the beautiful scenery.
Mae looked at the handsome fellow before looking at the beauty floating in a black sword.
"What about you? Not going to introduce yourself?" Mae lifted a brow. With a raised hand, she clenched her fist as if grasping something, and then pulled her hand down.
Mi Nan, who was planning to escape, was forced to land ten meters away from her nemesis when her control of the Shadow Sword skewed.
"I don't like people looking down at me." Mae arrogantly declared.
Mi Nan has no choice but to smile with flattery. 'Cursed luck! To encounter a senior who might be in Jin Dan Jie6Core Formation Stage stage or higher is such a misfortune! And she seems to be from the hypocritical Righteous alliance as well!'
"Haha, I'm very sorry, respected senior! I'm Mi Nan of the Ying Hun Shi Zu." Mi Nan smilingly said while secretly activating her jade bracelet, a special tool essential for the escape of their clan members.
Mae watched in fascination as she saw the world's essence moving before her eyes and gathering around Mi Nan's left wrist.
[You've already seen it when these two are battling, no?] Four grumbled. Its excellent host was once a great cultivator in a mission world too, so, it has no idea why Mae seems to be always fascinated by the same thing.
'There's a difference, Four. System 0 gave me a cheat key that time, allowing me to see the mission world's essence. It was only one time, though. I have no support from System 0 now, so why can I still see it?'
[Duh, it's because I'm here.]
'...'
[Fine, I have no function like that. I explain then.] System Four groaned.
[Mae, you've been working with the System Higher Plane for a thousand years, no? And you have entered a total of 674 mission worlds, with varying times spent living in each one. You have never erased your memory of those worlds and therefore, tainting your soul with various world consciousnesses. Do you think that after those taints, your body and soul would still be normal?]
[Your body and soul have long been abnormal from the moment you passed your 100th mission world without erasing the memory of the other mission worlds. You were able to see and feel this world's essence directly not only because this world's Way of Heaven allowed it, but also because your soul carried those memories from back then.]
[The superior system 0 suppressed your abnormal body and soul state the moment you entered your 101st mission world, allowing you to enter the subsequent mission worlds without disrupting its natural laws. One of the reasons you can freely see and feel this world's essence now is because System 0 is not here to suppress your abnormal state anymore.]
'That's a long-ass explanation. So the key point is my body and soul became abnormal and system 0 is suppressing that state during my contract period. Now that the contract is gone, has it resulted in this? Yeah, that sounds about right.' Mae thought as she pointed at Mi Nan's left wrist, disrupting the gathering of world essence on her bracelet.
'Cool, I can do things like that.'
[Ungrateful! After I rummaged through the scattered high amount of information in my file storage, that's what you say?!] Four loudly complained in Mae's mind.
'I'm thankful for your hard work.'
[Hmph. You better be. By the way, you can accept these two calling you senior. After communicating with the way of heaven, I just discovered that you are a pinnacle being in this world. So, in this world where cultivators respect and follow the strong, you are indeed a senior. So, you can act as such.]
Mae grinned at Mi Nan.
"Who said you can escape?"
