Late at night.
Gu Qingfeng wandered alone across the eighty-one mountains and over three hundred peaks of the Shangqing Sect.
Before coming, he had always heard that the Shangqing Sect was a place where dragons and tigers lay hidden, harboring many mysterious and unknown great powers. Only today did Gu Qingfeng truly experience it. From the moment he entered the Shangqing Sect, hundreds of Divine Senses had locked onto him. Earlier, Gu Qingfeng had intentionally vanished, shaking off those senses enveloping him.
Perhaps because they could no longer detect Gu Qingfeng with their Divine Senses, the owners of those senses emerged one by one from the shadows, searching throughout the Shangqing Sect, flitting through the night like ghostly shadows.
Gu Qingfeng thought for a moment, then leaped upwards, charging directly towards the clouds. Immediately, numerous eerie shadows followed him, soaring towards the clouds.
Above the clouds.
Blade-like astral winds howled without cease.
Gu Qingfeng stood in the void, his black hair dancing wildly, his white robes snapping fiercely in the astral wind. He held a jug of wine, taking occasional sips.
Around him, there were shadows swaying like candles in the wind, others ethereal like mist and clouds, and still others like reflections in water or the moon—over thirty in total.
Clearly, none of these people wanted to reveal their identities.
"A mere Shangqing Sect in a single Great Thousand World has truly opened my eyes," Gu Qingfeng said, raising a cup and taking a light sip. As his gaze swept over them, even he couldn't help but feel a flicker of astonishment.
These individuals were not to be trifled with.
It wasn't that their cultivation levels were extraordinarily high or their fortunes immense, but rather their aura, presence, and even their essence, spirit, and energy were profoundly inscrutable.
Gu Qingfeng's eyes were akin to golden pupils that saw through all. Sweeping his gaze across, he discovered that most of these people were reincarnated souls. Some had a pure, bright, holy, and sacred aura—damn, these were clearly masters of the Immortal Dao from the Great Desolate Celestial Realm.
Others had thick, turbid auras and even carried Judgments upon their backs, more than one in some cases. Damn, these should be old demons from the Great Desolate Celestial Realm who had reincarnated.
Not only that, among them was a Buddhist master from the Great Desolate Celestial Realm.
The spiritual aura emanating from three of the shadows was so dense and complex that even Gu Qingfeng was taken aback. More frighteningly, one of them wasn't even a reincarnated soul.
The spiritual aura of another shadow was ethereal, indistinct, flickering in and out of perception. Clearly visible, yet impossible to probe.
This kind of person made Gu Qingfeng think of the so-called Wu Dao Person.
Could it be that a Wu Dao Person was also hiding within the Shangqing Sect?
Unclear.
What made Gu Qingfeng even more astonished was that, besides these over thirty visible shadows, there were still more than ten Divine Senses continuously locked onto him.
No wonder Su Hua said the waters of the Shangqing Sect ran deep.
Damn, this wasn't just deep—it was abyssal.
"Are you a Wu Dao Person?" one of the shadows inquired.
The voice, like its shadowy form, seemed to come from all directions.
After this person asked, Gu Qingfeng remained silent, but someone else spoke: "He is not a Wu Dao Person."
The speaker was precisely that flickering, ethereal, indistinct shadow. Gu Qingfeng pressed, "Are you a Wu Dao Person?"
The other party did not respond.
However, the shadow who had first questioned Gu Qingfeng said, "He is not a Wu Dao Person either."
Immediately after, another shadow spoke: "How do you know he isn't? I say he is a Wu Dao Person."
"How much of this vast heaven and earth do you truly know?"
"And how much do you know of the mysteries of the Wu Dao?"
"Junior! This old man has endured you for long enough. Don't think I dare not move against you."
"Oh? Old fool, this venerable one chooses not to bicker with you. Do you think I fear you?"
Although these individuals seemed aware of each other's presence, none appeared to know the others' identities, and they all seemed deeply wary of one another.
Not far away, Gu Qingfeng watched the two quarreling and couldn't resist fanning the flames: "You two are both masters, at least. What's the point of a war of words? Just go at it directly. One less is one less."
"Junior!" The shadow shrouded in Turbid Breath glared at Gu Qingfeng and berated, "What right do you have to speak here?"
"Old senior," Gu Qingfeng said with a smile, "when you think about it, you and I are fellow travelers."
"Oh?" The shadow cloaked in Turbid Breath let out a light sound of surprise, looking Gu Qingfeng up and down before laughing, "How is it that this old man cannot see that you are a fellow traveler?"
"You not seeing it doesn't mean I'm not. I may not be a demon, but I am, after all, a sinner of the Immortal Dao. Given that, wouldn't you say we are fellow travelers?"
"Hahahaha! Well said! We are all sinners of the Immortal Dao, so of course we are fellow travelers!"
The shadow enveloped in Turbid Breath laughed heartily, but then, as if realizing something, said, "Wait, no. If you, boy, had truly been Judged by the Immortal Dao, you would definitely carry the aura of Judgment. Yet you bear no such aura of Judgment."
He was not the only one puzzled. Immediately, another voice chimed in: "According to rumors, three hundred years ago, in this world, he did indeed suffer the Judgment of the Immortal Dao, and it was the Great Purification Judgment of the Immortal Dao."
"He is not a reincarnated soul."
"Even a reincarnated soul cannot erase the aura of Judgment upon them. The Judgment of the Great Dao judges the flesh, but condemns the soul!"
"Not only does he lack an aura of Judgment, he doesn't even carry a trace of Turbid Breath."
"Forget Turbid Breath; aside from the innate Human breath he was born with, he carries no other aura whatsoever."
"I have never seen such a strange person."
"Nor have I, old as I am."
The over thirty shadows surrounded Gu Qingfeng, guessing, doubting, and discussing among themselves.
"Junior, this old man asks you: how did you escape the sanction of the Immortal Dao's Great Light Purification Judgment in this world back then? And what happened during the three hundred years you vanished?"
Gu Qingfeng responded with a faint smile, "My apologies, old senior. That is personal privacy."
"And if this old man insists you tell me today?"
"Oh?" Gu Qingfeng was amused and laughed, "Looks like we're playing hardball."
With that, he put away his wine jug and looked at the crowd. "Since we're all idle anyway, how about we all have a little spar?"
"Junior, your tone is rather bold."
With that single sentence from Gu Qingfeng, the old senior shrouded in Turbid Breath was startled and immediately grew cautious.
"Can't be helped. It's a habit. I've been like this since I was a kid."
Gu Qingfeng unbuttoned his collar and began rolling up his sleeves. "Are you coming one by one, or planning to come all together?"
The over thirty shadows in the void looked at each other. None had expected Gu Qingfeng to be so brazen, his words implying he didn't hold any of them in the slightest regard.
"Come on, don't just stand there."
Having finished rolling up his sleeves, Gu Qingfeng cracked his neck and looked at the crowd. Seeing they had no intention of making a move, he turned to the old senior shrouded in Turbid Breath and smiled. "Old senior, how about you and I play a couple rounds first? Warm up? Set an example?"