Chapter 1608: Truly a Catch

Fishing? How utterly mundane!

To come all this way just to fish? Everyone knows this place is extraordinary—this sea waterfall has no true beginning or end. What kind of fish could possibly be caught here?

“Remarkably unadorned, truly astonishing.”

Yet, in the end, Sanzang sighed with admiration, offering praise that seemed neither false nor forced, but entirely sincere.

“Fellow Daoist, you are indeed unpretentious. The Great Dao should be like this—far superior to our own paths,” Shenming said, her usual seductive demeanor replaced by an air of sanctity, her eyes shimmering with the ebb and flow of time.

Shi Hao: “…”

He had merely tossed out a casual remark, half-hearted at best, yet somehow it had been elevated to the level of Daoist simplicity and purity. He was at a loss for words.

In the end, he could only smile, shamelessly accepting their compliments without a hint of embarrassment, standing there unflinchingly.

But when his gaze fell upon the motionless figure in the distance, rigid as a clay statue, his heart sank. That was undoubtedly a terrifying being.

The heir of an Immortal King, hailing from one of the most ancient lineages, that creature pursued the path of invincibility in this era, its will unyielding. It would surely become a formidable enemy in the future.

“Don’t act rashly. That being cannot be killed—it is protected by an Immortal treasure. Even if it sits there motionless, you won’t be able to harm it,” Sanzang warned.

The two Golden Burial Guards seemed to sense Shi Hao’s intent, understanding his urge to strike, but they stopped him outright, admitting that even they dared not disturb that figure.

“Long before we arrived, he had already been sitting there for years, unmoving, his Dao heart unshaken, his goal unwavering. A truly fearsome being,” Shenming added.

Shi Hao regained his composure, abandoning any thought of action. He reminded himself that the foreign realm was vast and boundless, filled with extraordinary individuals and countless masters.

“Will you fish first, then travel with us?” Shenming asked.

Shi Hao hesitated, reluctant to answer immediately. He had his own path to walk, his own cultivation to pursue. What purpose would there be in journeying with two Golden Burial Guards?

“By exchanging insights, we might gain unexpected enlightenment. Moreover… we may be able to assist you,” Sanzang transmitted silently.

Shi Hao glanced at him but remained silent.

“We know you face a great calamity. We truly hope you can escape it,” Shenming pressed further.

“Fine,” Shi Hao agreed after a moment’s thought.

Though he was technically a captive, he still enjoyed some freedom. But once the Immortal Kings returned, there would be no turning back.

Could these two Golden Burial Guards really help him?

With that, Shi Hao sat down before the sea waterfall, selecting a large bluestone to meditate upon. Using his spiritual Dao as a fishing rod, his magic power as the line, and his divine abilities as the hook, he began to fish.

Shi Hao had heard that the sea waterfall was an exceedingly peculiar place—even Immortals could not fathom its depths. Some had ventured along its currents, only to vanish without a trace.

There was even a more terrifying legend.

After the great battle of the Immortal Ancient Era, a gravely wounded Immortal King, knowing his death was imminent, entered the sea waterfall in his final years. He followed its flow—and never returned.

The sea waterfall hovered three feet above the ground, its origins unknown, its vast waters surging toward the heavens.

Yet, its end was not truly an end, for the waterfall simply vanished into the void, carrying with it fragments of time and glimpses of the River of Ages.

Some said this was a tributary of the “Boundless Sea,” where all rivers converged—one of countless waterways.

Though perilous and enigmatic, the sea waterfall was also rumored to be a “Wish River,” capable of granting desires. Thus, beings occasionally came here seeking fortune.

Meditating here could yield unexpected results—sometimes beneficial, sometimes disastrous.

Enlightenment before the sea waterfall was destined to be a lengthy process.

The two Golden Burial Guards had been here for many days, only recently deciding to depart.

Shi Hao took out several leaves of Enlightenment Tea, brewed a pot, and invited them to share.

“Excellent tea!” Sanzang praised.

Shi Hao sipped lightly, listening to the resonance of his Dao Seed—or more precisely, the ceaseless hum of the doors within his body, their cracks widening, their light suffusing him.

Alas, this fleeting epiphany was not enough to elevate him to a higher realm.

Breaking through to the late-stage Severing Self Realm was no easy feat. Enlightenment Tea alone could not bridge the gap.

If mere tea could elevate a cultivator to unimaginable heights, the elite talents of all clans would abandon cultivation and drink it daily.

Immortal tea leaves were but an aid—facilitating enlightenment, smoothing breakthroughs, not forcibly accelerating growth.

“Ah, a bite!” Shi Hao exclaimed in surprise.

His arm jerked as the magic-formed fishing line tightened. The hook, woven from divine techniques, had snagged something massive within the waterfall’s depths.

Shenming and Sanzang were speechless. Was he serious? Fishing here? What a joke!

This was the sea waterfall—its true end unknown, a place where even Immortals disappeared. What kind of creature could possibly dwell here? Did he think this was some ordinary pond?

Yet, to their astonishment, Shi Hao began tugging vigorously, as if he had truly hooked something.

Thousands of feet away, a terrifying dorsal fin broke the surface—enormous, jagged, and menacing—emerging from the sea waterfall.

“There… there’s actually a fish?!” Sanzang was at a loss for words.

Shenming’s exquisite face froze in shock. How was this possible? This was the sea waterfall, rumored to flow into the Boundless Sea, untraceable since antiquity. How could one fish here?

“Help me! This thing is enormous—probably tens of thousands of feet long! It’s not easy to handle!” Shi Hao shouted, calling for the two Golden Burial Guards’ assistance.

Shenming snapped out of her daze, rubbing her stiffened cheeks. She wasn’t hallucinating—a colossal creature was thrashing in the waterfall, stirring waves that could drown mountains.

Sanzang, too, felt dizzy, the sight too surreal to believe.

Shi Hao was yanking the line, wrestling with it—even “playing” the fish, as if this were an ordinary angling trip.

“What… are you doing?”

“Fishing! Come help! This thing is pure essence—who knows how many millennia it’s spent absorbing heaven and earth’s energy. It’ll be a supreme tonic!” Shi Hao replied without turning, dashing back and forth along the waterfall, dragging the massive creature, sending waves hundreds of thousands of feet high.

“Check the records! See if there are truly creatures in this sea waterfall!” Sanzang urged.

He and Shenming produced stacks of ancient jade texts, some dating back multiple epochs.

Clearly, they had come prepared, bringing artifacts and historical records from the Burial Grounds, especially concerning the sea waterfall.

“It’s real!”

Shenming suddenly gasped, finding a passage in a tattered jade book—an obscure anecdote claiming that the sea waterfall harbored “Ancestral Fish Fry,” rare beings from its distant end, appearing perhaps once per epoch.

A Burial King had once encountered one, long before his ascension, and had vanished for a time after following it.

If a mere fry was tens of thousands of feet long, how massive would a true Ancestral Fish be?

“Ah, the line’s about to snap!” Shi Hao sensed danger—the magic-formed line couldn’t withstand the strain.

“Chase it! We must follow this Ancestral Fish Fry—it might shorten our path to becoming Burial Kings!” Sanzang declared.

In truth, after learning this, Shi Hao had already acted.

He leaped into the sea waterfall, seizing the enormous dorsal fin, parting the torrential waters as he surged upward against the sky.

The two Golden Burial Guards followed, joining him on the fin. Where were they headed? No one knew.

Legend said only Ancestral Fish Fry could traverse this sea waterfall, returning to their birthplace—a place of immense karma and unfathomable secrets.