Night.
The sky was filled with roiling purple-gold dark clouds like a surging river, with countless purple-gold lightning bolts resembling flood dragons roaring and crackling within the sea of clouds. The vast Heavenly Might was like the wrath of the heavens, intimidating the firmament, intimidating the earth, and intimidating all living beings in this world.
Weiyang Great Domain.
Boundless silence.
Looking around, one could see either immortals rigidly collapsed on the ground in a faint, or immortals trembling as they knelt in worship.
Among them were Earth Immortals, True Immortals, Upper Immortals, and even loose immortals who had weathered over a dozen tribulations.
Most of those who had fainted were immortals who had been unable to withstand Gu Qingfeng's Silent Stillness earlier and had passed out.
Those kneeling on the ground did so because of the descent of Heavenly Might, compelled by their reverence for the Heavenly Dao, not daring to refuse obeisance.
Everyone was like this.
Whether it was the sect masters of various great sects, the elders of the Immortal Court, venerable seniors like Wine Immortal Zhen Yang and Immortal Master Zhenting who had cultivated for millions of years, or even those with backgrounds from the Nine Heavens like Su Hua and Nalan Qianqiu—none were exceptions.
Heavenly Might descends, all beings bow in worship.
This was an age-old rule, an ancient tradition. Faced with the heavens above, no one dared show disrespect.
Boom—Crack!
Another Heavenly Dao thunderclap exploded.
The Heavenly Might grew even vaster, even more intense.
That man in white.
That Gu Qingfeng.
He still stood quietly, like a solitary peak that propped up the heavens and supported the earth, cold, aloof, and supremely domineering. His white robes fluttered wildly in this space, his three thousand strands of black hair dancing madly in the gale.
His stern face was slightly pale, expressionless. His dark eyes were like abysses, endlessly dark and utterly calm. One hand was held behind his back, holding that string of ancient prayer beads. The other hand, palm open, held the Stellar Fate Heart of the Present Era's Heavenly Destiny he had extracted from Jade Dragon Flying Star's body.
"Since you all wish to know my stance...
Today, I shall tell you. This is my stance!"
Gu Qingfeng's voice came, as solitary, cold, and silent as the impression he gave. As his words fell, he clenched his five fingers forcefully. With a *bang*, the Stellar Fate Heart that was the Present Era's Heavenly Destiny was crushed outright by him.
Crushed?
Yes.
Crushed.
Whether it was the sect masters of various great sects, the elders of the Immortal Court, Wine Immortal Zhen Yang, Immortal Master Zhenting, Su Hua, Nalan Qianqiu, everyone present, including the Great Dao masters lurking in the shadows—they all saw clearly. Gu Qingfeng had crushed the so-called Stellar Fate Heart of the Present Era's Heavenly Destiny, leaving not even a speck of residue.
Witnessing this scene.
Wine Immortal Zhen Yang, kneeling on the ground, collapsed in paralysis. Even the steady Immortal Master Zhenting was stunned into a daze. Similarly, Su Hua at this moment was utterly dumbstruck, her flawless, beautiful face filled with terror.
They all knew Gu Qingfeng's courage had always been immense, that he had always been lawless and unrestrained. Especially Su Hua—she knew better than anyone that Gu Qingfeng possessed a heart that defied the heavens. Not only did he dare to kidnap the wrathful incarnation of the Great Sun Tathagata, he also dared to openly challenge the Nine Heavens Immortal Dao.
Yet even so.
She never could have imagined that Gu Qingfeng would dare to publicly destroy the Stellar Fate Heart like this.
And he did it before the eyes of everyone under heaven, before the Immortal Court, before the Cloud Realm, before the Nine Heavens Immortal Dao, before the Three Thousand Great Daos, and even before the face of Old Heaven himself—just like that, he destroyed the Stellar Fate Heart.
Throughout all ages, past and present.
No one had dared to do this. Never.
Not in the Present Era, not in the Ancient Era, not even those great powers of the Primordial Era, or even the Primal Chaos Era, would have dared!
This was, after all, Heavenly Destiny.
What was Heavenly Destiny?
The fate ordained by the Heavenly Dao.
It was also an envoy personally appointed by Old Heaven, not undeserving of the title 'Son of Heaven'.
The Heavenly Dao was the leader of the Great Daos, ruling over all things between heaven and earth.
Slaying a Heavenly Destiny was undoubtedly disrespectful to the Heavenly Dao, and tantamount to challenging Old Heaven. Throughout all ages, who would dare challenge Old Heaven?
The answer was certain.
No one dared.
This was no longer a matter of showing respect or disrespect to the Heavenly Dao, nor was it merely a question of defying the heavens.
Gu Qingfeng's public destruction of the Present Era's Heavenly Destiny was an act that openly challenged the hegemony of the Heavenly Dao, a blatant trampling upon the dignity and authority of the Heavenly Dao!
"This fellow has gone mad, completely mad..." Su Hua's beautiful face was deathly pale as she knelt on the ground, her lovely eyes wide, her voice even trembling slightly as she uttered in horror, "How could he destroy the Stellar Fate Heart of the Present Era's Heavenly Destiny right before Old Heaven's face? What does he intend to do?
Could it be...
He truly wishes to make an enemy of the entire world?"
Regarding today's events, Su Hua knew that if Gu Qingfeng were willing to compromise, there was still a way out. Compromise might leave him passive, but the Present Era had just begun; the affairs of the world were unpredictable. No one knew what changes the fortunes of the Present Era might bring. As the saying goes, as long as the green hills remain, there will be no shortage of firewood. As long as one survives, everything remains unknown. Therefore, compromise was not necessarily a dead end, nor an absolute path of no return.
Taking a step back, even if he didn't compromise, after extracting Jade Dragon Flying Star's Stellar Fate Heart, he could have fused it into himself. Doing so might mean being bound by heaven's mandate in the future, but becoming a person of Heavenly Destiny would, in a sense, give Gu Qingfeng an additional layer of protection. If the Three Thousand Great Daos had previously hesitated to act rashly against him, they would be even more reluctant afterward, because a person of Heavenly Destiny was also one destined to face the tribulations of the Present Era.
Taking another step back, even if he didn't wish to be bound by heaven's mandate, he could have kept the Stellar Fate Heart. That too would have been a form of protection.
Yet Gu Qingfeng did neither. He neither compromised nor yielded. Not only did he not yield, he even personally blocked his own path of retreat, choosing a path of utter madness unprecedented since time immemorial. This truly was a dead end, a path that heaven and earth would not tolerate.
Thinking of this.
Su Hua could bear it no longer and slumped to the ground.
Gu Qingfeng was her karmic bond.
He was also the only one who could unravel the mystery of her dreams.
For this.
Su Hua had disregarded everyone's dissuasion, ignored her own status, and disregarded her own safety. Risking the annihilation of her soul, she had employed great divine abilities and secret arts, manifesting numerous external incarnations to go plead and mediate with the Three Thousand Great Daos. Her goal was singular: to resolve the conflict between Gu Qingfeng and the Great Daos.
Even though hope was slim.
Su Hua still would not give up.
But now?
Gu Qingfeng had just destroyed the Present Era's Heavenly Destiny right before the eyes of the Three Thousand Great Daos, and before the face of Old Heaven.
This was like slapping Old Heaven's face in front of everyone. Where would that leave Old Heaven's dignity?
Even if the venerable one had no desire to move against you, he would have no choice. As the leader of the Great Daos who ruled over all things between heaven and earth, his dignity and authority absolutely could not be challenged by any existence—not even gods, let alone before the eyes of the Three Thousand Great Daos.
If there had been the faintest glimmer of hope for resolving the conflict between Gu Qingfeng and the Great Daos before this.
Then now, that last sliver of faint hope had vanished into thin air the moment Gu Qingfeng destroyed the Stellar Fate Heart of the Present Era's Heavenly Destiny.
"It's over...
He's finished, and I'm finished too..." Su Hua was utterly despondent, her soul seemingly lost.