On the way back.
Wei Qing trudged forward with weary steps, his body exhausted. He looked terrible—unkempt, with dirt and bloodstains on his clothes, his face ashen and grim. His brow was tightly furrowed, and he walked in silence.
Behind him, Old Hui followed listlessly. The four burly, imposing warriors looked as if they had just survived a life-and-death battle, utterly drained.
Wei Qing was, and so were they.
They rarely traveled on foot, usually riding Flying Sky Horses when they came to Yunxia Sect.
But the Flying Sky Horses were long gone, whether dead or fled.
As for sword flight...
Wei Qing's spirit and energy were severely depleted, and the spiritual power within him was in complete disarray. How could he possibly manage sword flight now?
They walked.
It was a painful walk, with not a shred of strength left, yet they persisted, gritting their teeth just to get away. Especially when Wei Qing saw the tens of thousands of people gathered outside, still lying rigid on the ground, he dared not linger for a moment.
If even he felt this way, how much more so for Old Hui and the four warriors behind him.
"Young Master..." Old Hui's voice was weak and hoarse. He had been pondering the events at Yunxia Sect, initially reluctant to ask, but now he couldn't hold back. "What exactly happened? Why did we... and all these tens of thousands outside... all..."
Wei Qing did not respond.
If he could, he too would like to know the answer to that question.
"And also... that Gu Qingfeng... what kind of person is he? Didn't he fail Foundation Establishment? How could he re-establish his foundation..."
Foundation Establishment failure twists and disperses the spiritual root, meridians, and dantian. Especially for a Mutated Body resulting from such failure—the meridians might remain, but the spiritual root and dantian are certainly gone...
So how could he re-establish his foundation?
Of course.
The world is vast, filled with endless mysteries.
Failing Foundation Establishment doesn't necessarily mean one can never try again. Not to mention the great powers of ancient times, even in the past century of the modern era, there have been those who failed and succeeded later. But as for a Mutated Body... he had never heard of such a case.
Yet, this wasn't the true source of Old Hui's shock and doubt. He only wanted to know why, when Gu Qingfeng was establishing his foundation, the weather suddenly turned foul, with dark clouds gathering and thunder roaring.
Was it a heavenly omen?
No.
Old Hui might not know, but Wei Qing knew it wasn't a heavenly omen. He had seen heavenly omens, and more than once. He could say with certainty that the thunderclouds back then were not so-called heavenly omens.
But if not a heavenly omen, then what were they? He didn't know that either.
"Young Master, now that the Three Elders of Yunxia Sect are dead, and Jin De and Shui De are also dead... with Gu Qingfeng now in control of Yunxia Sect, how do we explain this to the Alliance when we return?"
Wei Qing had no response to this question either.
Because he didn't know.
The Nine-Hua Alliance governed many territories across the land, and the Qingyang Region was under his responsibility. The previous stance toward Yunxia Sect was either submission or eradication. But now, Yunxia Sect had produced this utterly mysterious Gu Qingfeng.
What should be done?
Submission?
Eradication?
Even now, recalling what happened at Yunxia Sect made Wei Qing's heart tremble uncontrollably. If possible, he never wanted to see that Gu Qingfeng again. It wasn't that he was cowardly, or had poor resilience, or lacked experience. It was just that Gu Qingfeng was too mysterious, too bizarre, too terrifying...
"The matter of Yunxia Sect will be shelved for now... let it end here."
Wei Qing stopped, closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and said solemnly, "Pass down the order: without my permission, anyone who dares set foot half a step into Yunxia Sect will have their entire clan exterminated!"
Old Hui asked again, "But what if the Alliance inquires about this... after all, the centennial deadline at year's end is less than two months away..."
"I need to go back and think carefully..." As he thought, Wei Qing's frown deepened, his expression pained. He shook his head slightly, then sighed, saying weakly, "There's no need to report the Yunxia Sect matter. If the Alliance asks, just say I have it under control... To be honest, I'd rather face the Alliance's punishment than see that person a second time..."
No one knew exactly what happened when the dark clouds gathered in the sky.
Huode didn't know either.
The moment he woke up, he went looking for Gu Qingfeng, who only said two words: "In seclusion," and nothing more.
Since Gu Qingfeng didn't elaborate, Huode didn't dare ask further.
With such major events having occurred at Yunxia Sect, Huode had no choice but to handle the aftermath first.
That night.
Gu Qingfeng sat cross-legged, eyes closed, inspecting his physical body.
His body had once been tempered with Nine Nethers Fire. Although the Heavenly Dao's Judgment had reduced it to a mortal shell, its essence remained unchanged. The blood flowing within still contained the aura of Nether Fire—this was true for his blood, and even more so for his internal organs.
However, at this moment, while his blood was still Nether Fire blood, it now also contained some of the Great Natural Order's Multicolors.
His blood was like this, and so were his internal organs, his skin, even every single hair—all were enveloped in a layer of the Great Natural Order's Multicolors.
Clearly, the spirit of the Great Natural Order's Multicolors had completely fused with his physical body.
Regarding this, Gu Qingfeng felt nothing but helplessness.
He didn't continue his inspection but instead entered his Sea of Consciousness.
Every person, indeed every living being in heaven and earth, possesses their own Sea of Consciousness.
This thing is a very abstract existence—unseen, untouchable, like spiritual sense, only perceivable.
The Sea of Consciousness exists as a kind of spiritual world.
Everything about a person exists in the Sea of Consciousness in a spiritual form: all memories, all spiritual auras, all experiences, even every thought you've ever conceived can be found there...
The mysteries of the Sea of Consciousness are endless.
And unimaginable.
Some can even perform a grand spacetime traversal within their Sea of Consciousness...
This is no exaggeration.
Although Gu Qingfeng didn't possess such ability, he had once been fortunate enough to witness a great power play in this manner.
His Sea of Consciousness was chaotic...
All sorts of spiritual auras, all kinds of spirits, all manner of thoughts: Judgment Aura, Throne Aura, Immortal-Demon Aura, Nine Nethers Aura, along with the spirit of fearlessness, the spirit of great freedom, and every kind of random thought imaginable.
Extremely messy, like billions of densely packed stars gathered together.
Gu Qingfeng was a casual person. Of course, putting it nicely, he was casual; putting it bluntly, he wasn't very particular.
It wasn't that he had never organized his Sea of Consciousness; he had tried a few times, but it would become messy again soon after. Eventually, he simply gave up and let it stay chaotic. After all, it didn't seem to affect anything.
Now, within his chaotic Sea of Consciousness, something like a purplish-dark flame seemed to be burning.
This was the foundation he had established.
Since his body had been tempered with Nine Nethers Fire, the foundation he established also contained the spirit of Nether Fire.
This was expected.
But this burning purplish-dark flame was also enveloped in various colors.
These were the Multicolors the Great Natural Order had forced upon him.
Gu Qingfeng didn't want them. He knew that once he established this kind of colorful foundation, he would essentially become a member of the Great Natural Order's Laws. Moreover, what the Great Natural Order had forced upon him was the Multicolored Lotus...
Exactly how many mysteries of the Great Natural Order this thing contained, Gu Qingfeng didn't know, nor did he care to ponder the question.
But one thing was certain: the Great Natural Order forcing such profound Multicolors upon him was definitely not for any good reason.
As the saying goes, one who eats another's food is bound by their words; one who takes another's gifts is bound by their hands.
Once you take someone's things, you'll have to do their bidding eventually.
And the affairs of the Great Natural Order were no trivial matter—this was the Great Dao, the Dao that dared challenge the Heavens.
When the Great Natural Order and the Heavens started fighting, and you were a member of the Great Natural Order, could you stay out of it?
The answer was definite.
No.
Gu Qingfeng tried to see if he could eradicate the Multicolors the Great Natural Order had forced upon him, but no matter what method he used, it seemed impossible.
The Great Natural Order's Multicolors had almost permeated his entire physical body, not sparing a single hair.
Once, twice...
Ten times, a hundred times...
Gu Qingfeng tried again and again, but each time he failed...
The Great Natural Order was, after all, the Great Natural Order, hailed as one of the life sources between heaven and earth. Its vitality was imaginable.
"Should I destroy the foundation I just established again? And re-establish my foundation?"
Gu Qingfeng shook his head, dismissing this troublesome thought.
Although he had plenty of time, he wasn't so idle as to engage in such self-mutilation.
"What should I do..." Gu Qingfeng scratched his head, feeling quite the headache. Suddenly, the Nirvana Bone Jade hanging from his neck emitted a faint, shimmering light.
Gu Qingfeng's heart stirred, and he exclaimed with delight, "Has that old monk awakened?"