Chapter 1619 1595: Paradise Hidden from the World

Huaxia Endless Deep Mountains, Village of the Guardians.

This seemingly ordinary village is situated atop the central mountain in the first ring region of the Endless Deep Mountains.

The whole village consists of about three hundred stone-and-brick houses, exuding a strong sense of antiquity.

"Ye Huan, is this your first time here?" Walking along the village road, Divine Traceless asked with a light smile.

"First time here."

Ye Huan chuckled, "It's very vintage here."

"Of course, it's vintage. You could say it's inherently 'ancient'."

"A millennium ago, this village already looked like this."

"Since that truth began, this village has been the highest authority in the Endless Deep Mountains, and the garrison of the strongest Ancient Martial Artists."

Divine Traceless brushed his long, white beard and laughed heartily.

"Grandpa Village Chief, you look even uglier today than yesterday!" Suddenly, several children sprang out from the cluttered mountain path, making faces at Divine Traceless with mischievous grins.

"Hey, without my ugliness, who would set off your beauty? You better stand still; today, I must teach you a lesson!"

Divine Traceless mockingly scolded and pretended to chase after them, causing the children to scream and scatter in laughter.

Contrary to what one would expect, the Village of the Guardians is mostly inhabited by ordinary villagers without any ancient martial prowess.

Moreover, it's quite lively here.

With over three hundred households, this small village is home to about a thousand people.

However, most villagers live a very traditional life of farming and weaving.

Look, many women are carrying wooden basins filled with freshly washed clothes from the nearby stream, coming up from the mountain's base, and upon seeing the mischievous children, rush forward to spank their bottoms.

"Alright, alright, it's fine. They're just playing jokes with me," Divine Traceless smiled, persuading them.

"Village Chief, apologies, we didn't treat them to some stir-fried belt meat yesterday and now they've gotten cheeky."

The women apologized sheepishly.

They glanced at Ye Huan, surprised, "Village Chief, we heard that you haven't brought anyone to the Village of the Guardians for hundreds of years; why, after bringing back the Empress recently, have you now brought back this handsome young man?"

"To be honest with you, he's the Empress's husband!" Divine Traceless laughed heartily.

Ye Huan was speechless and quickly corrected, "Don't spread rumors. I'm just her big brother!"

"Now you're the big brother, but later on, won't you be the husband? Ye Huan, you should know what kind of feelings the Empress has for you, and you two don't just look like a perfect match but are heaven-sent." Divine Traceless seemed to see through everything and winked at Ye Huan.

Ye Huan was left speechless.

The women nearby, however, were intrigued and quite interested in Ye Huan.

They had witnessed the Empress floating, flying, with great strength, and dancing with a sword, just like the legendary Immortals.

This young man had great looks, a well-built frame, and did indeed look like a match for the Empress.

But then again, since the Empress is like an Immortal, wouldn't this young man know the art of flying and invisibility?

"Young man, come by my house sometime. Tonight, Auntie will make you something delicious." The women sent Ye Huan suggestive glances, hoping he would visit their homes for a meal and perhaps showcase some Immortal skills that they were so curious about.

"Alright, alright, you all head back first. I have important matters to discuss with this Immortal."

As if seeing through their thoughts, Divine Traceless put on a mysterious face and then led Ye Huan towards the highest stone house on the mountain.

The women were astonished; indeed, this young man was an Immortal!

Apparently, Divine Traceless's seemingly casual revelation of Ye Huan's identity had stirred quite a wave in their hearts, leaving them astonished!

"Elder Divine, do the people in this village not know about the existence of Ancient Martial Artists?" Ye Huan curiously asked while following Divine Traceless to the stone house.

"That's right. The people in this village are very simple and are all ordinary. None of them have the talent for practicing Ancient Martial Arts, nor does anyone have ancient martial prowess."

"You've surely noticed this peak is over seven thousand meters high, making it as hard as ascending to heaven for ordinary people to descend. Thus, they practically live an isolated utopian life here."

"With the Guardian Corps garrisoned at the foot of the mountain for defense, no one dares to climb the mountain to court death. I've also commanded the Guardian Corps members to refrain from displaying their ancient martial prowess in the village to avoid disturbing their livelihood and worldview."

"Last time, the Empress wasn't informed of this rule. I forgot to tell her, which ended up with the villagers witnessing her practicing Ancient Martial Arts, leading them to immediately guess that she was an Immortal come down to earth, a notion I had to acknowledge."

Divine Traceless brushed his long white beard with a faint smile on his face.

Ye Huan was quite surprised to find such a utopian little village still existed in the world.

"Hard to imagine, right? The most powerful six Half-Step Martial Saints of the Endless Deep Mountains live among simple-hearted ordinary people, lacking any martial prowess."

"Yeah, hard to imagine."

Ye Huan nodded, as many Ancient Martial Artists, once attaining ancient martial prowess, would look down on ordinary people, seeing themselves as distinct and superior.

Ancient Martial Artists often lived together in groups, with an invisible chasm between them and the ordinary folks.

It's indeed hard to imagine that the top six Half-Step Martial Saints of the global Ancient Martial Realm would live with ordinary villagers for the long term.

"As they say, 'The Great Way is simple, returning to the original state.'"

"We Ancient Martial Artists should stay true to our original intentions."

"Ancient Martial Artists possess great strength, meant to protect and uphold the interests of ordinary people, not to sever ties and die of old age without knowing each other, much less treat ordinary lives like grass, as Evil Martial Artists do."

"Similarly, we shouldn't alienate ordinary people, for we originate from them, and it's best to return to them."

"The highest inheritance in Huaxia's Ancient Martial Realm sees each generation's Ultimate Guardian residing in this village, maintaining its normal operations and securing its safety. We six old guys are no exception, following the tradition of hiding our ancient martial prowess and living with them as ordinary people."

Divine Traceless seemed to say a lot of irrelevant words, but they were actually pointed towards something crucial, staring directly at Ye Huan as he spoke.

As though stating something of great importance.

Ye Huan seemed to catch onto the key points within these words, falling into contemplation.

But before he could delve further into his thoughts, Divine Traceless had already led him to the Village Chief's residence.