Covering the Heavens: Fishing for the Heavens Starting from the Great Accomplished Holy Body

Kun Gu withdrew his divine sense and stood in the void, his purple hair moving without wind, his expression changing constantly.

"Or, the one undergoing tribulation will be completely annihilated in the lightning tribulation, leaving not even ashes..."

He pondered, "But the scene of this tribulation is clearly one of gradual calm after successfully passing through it, rather than a scene of complete destruction after failing to pass through it."

"Either it is..."

A deep sense of dread flashed in Kun Gu's eyes. "This person possesses a heaven-defying concealment treasure or supernatural power. Not only can it perfectly conceal all its aura, but it can also completely disrupt and sever the causal relationships of heaven. Even with my fully-developed Overlord Body, I couldn't find the slightest flaw when I probed at close range!"

He prefers the latter.

Although that wisp of holy aura was faint, it was incredibly pure, carrying a sense of perfect perfection, which was unlike what a failed tribulation cultivator could leave behind.

"This is troublesome."

Kungu muttered to himself.

An unknown, possibly fully-developed, and highly skilled body lurking in the shadows poses a greater threat than a fully-developed body that is out in the open.

He looked around the desolate void once more, his gaze seemingly trying to pierce through endless space to see the hidden opponent.

Finally, Kungu let out a cold snort.

He cannot stay here for long; such a high-profile investigation might attract the attention of other beings if it goes on for too long.

The ancestral star of the Overlord Body has not been able to rest easy lately.

"No matter who you are, or how well you've hidden yourself... now that you've achieved the Great Perfection of the Holy Body, you'll inevitably reveal your true colors sooner or later. This universe may be vast, but it cannot accommodate the simultaneous brilliance of two arch-enemies' supreme physiques."

"We...will meet sooner or later!"

Leaving behind these cold words, Kungu tore through the void, his purple aura dissipated, and his figure disappeared into it.

The desolate wilderness returned to deathly silence, with only the shattered stars and spatial rifts silently telling the story of the terrifying events that had occurred here, and of the two powerful beings who had shaken the universe, who had quietly descended and then quietly departed.

......

And in a star field that is incredibly far away and whose exact location is unknown.

On a vibrant, mortal planet, by a tranquil river.

A young man dressed in black, with a gentle demeanor, had somehow taken up a seat there.

He held a lush green bamboo pole in his hand, from which a transparent fishing line extended and disappeared into the murmuring river below.

This young man was none other than Li Qingshan.

At this moment, he squinted his eyes, watching the ripples on the river, as if he were just an ordinary angler enjoying a leisurely afternoon.

Only occasionally, when his gaze sweeps across the endless starry sky, a deep, stark light, completely different from his lazy appearance, flashes in the depths of his eyes.

"The invincibility buff came pretty quickly..."

"However, if you want to find me, you'll have to train for thousands more years."

Li Qingshan murmured to himself, the deep light in his eyes fading, replaced by his habitual gentleness and languor.

He put away the emerald green bamboo pole called "Severing the Sky" in his hand, and the black robe he wore, which was formed from a black net and called "Covering the Sky," hung down naturally, concealing all his special qualities.

"It's been two or three years since I went into seclusion to break through my current limitations."

He calculated the time, "I should go back and check on things!"

With a single thought, there's no longer a need to tear through the starry sky and trek arduously.

Li Qingshan simply took a step forward.

The air beneath their feet rippled almost imperceptibly like the surface of water. The next moment, the scene before them changed from a desolate wasteland to a hazy, watery landscape filled with a refreshing, humid mist.

......

Beidou.

Central Region, Cold River.

The place where Li Qingshan first landed after his time travel, the "home" he occasionally thought of during his hundreds of years of wandering.

Hundreds of years ago, he was of meager means and could only learn to fish by trial and error on the banks of this river, making his way to the top with great difficulty.

Later, as his strength increased, in order to find better "fishing spots" and avoid potential attention, he left this place, his footprints covering ancient star trails, abandoned secret realms and even the edge of the universe.

It wasn't until five or six years ago, when he sensed that the tribulation of achieving the Great Perfection of the Sacred Body was approaching and that he needed an absolutely safe and familiar environment for final refinement, that he quietly returned to the vicinity of Hanjiang to live in seclusion and break through.

The river still flows gently, having flowed for countless years.

The morning mist, like a light veil, enveloped the winding river and the familiar vegetation on both banks.

The air smells like memories.

The damp, earthy scent, mixed with the fresh grass and a faint fishy smell, was peaceful and serene, creating a stark contrast to the violent, cold, and destructive environment of the outer reaches of the universe.

Li Qingshan stood quietly beside a familiar blue stone by the river, the place where he used to cast his fishing line most often.

Over the centuries, the stones have become smoother with the passage of time, and the old willow tree next to it seems to have grown even thicker, its drooping branches almost touching the water's surface.

An indescribable emotion stirred within the calm lake of his heart.

It wasn't excitement, nor sadness; it was more like the tranquility of finally entering a familiar harbor after a long journey through turbulent waters and storms.

Time seems to slow down here, washing away the battles and schemes in the starry sky, leaving only the most primal tranquility.

He closed his eyes, took a deep breath of the familiar air, and slowly exhaled. It seemed that even the vast, star-like holy energy within his body became more docile and restrained in this tranquility.

"Let's go check on Old Chen first."

Li Qingshan followed the path he remembered and walked towards a small village not far from the river.

When he returned five or six years ago, his old acquaintances had long since turned to dust. Only this old man named Uncle Chen, a distant descendant of an old friend, lived a remarkably long life and was still guarding his ancestral home.

The two met while fishing, found they got along well, and became fishing buddies despite their age difference.

Before leaving, Li Qingshan secretly left behind some common longevity-enhancing medicine powder. Judging from his blood and energy at the time, he should have no problem living for several more decades.

Arriving at Uncle Chen's small fenced courtyard, the gate was ajar, and the courtyard was quiet. The chicken coop was empty, and his usual fishing gear was not under the eaves.

"Huh? Not home?"

Li Qingshan raised an eyebrow, thinking to himself, "This guy, could he... be dead?"

He then immediately denied it, saying, "That shouldn't be the case. Given his health condition at the time, he could have lived for many more years. Perhaps he went out to visit friends?"

He shook his head and didn't use his divine sense to search.

Now that we're back, we might as well go back to our old, long-abandoned house in town and ask around.

He turned around, his figure flashing through the mist a few times before he silently appeared in the town.

The street layout still vaguely resembles the old days, but the houses and shops have been replaced countless times, and the pedestrians are completely different.

Li Qingshan was like a drop of water merging into a river, naturally walking to a quiet alley on the edge of the town, at the end of which was a small courtyard with a slightly crooked door.

This is his nominal "home," the old house left by his parents. For hundreds of years, he would occasionally return and make some minor repairs to maintain the illusion that it was "uninhabited for a long time but occasionally looked after by distant relatives."

He was taken aback as he reached the door.

The courtyard gate was ajar, and faint noises could be heard from inside, along with a... faint smell of cooking smoke?

Li Qingshan gently pushed open the door.

Under the old locust tree in the yard, an old man with gray hair, thin but upright, was slowly sweeping the fallen leaves with a broom.

Who else could it be but Old Chen?