At this moment.
The mysterious Grand Elder stood atop the Nine-Headed Flame Cloud Crimson Blaze Tiger Grand Carriage. He no longer appeared carefree and leisurely, but rather carried an air of solitary pride, profound coldness, a silent yet absolute dominance. Even his attire, worth two hundred million, seemed to shed some of its vulgarity, gaining instead a domineering, wild aura.
The countless people gathered around the Tower of Stolen Gold had long since retreated in terror, not daring to speak, to make noise, or even to breathe. This included Mu Lingyao and Huadiexianzi, who stood obediently to the side, not daring to take a deep breath.
At this moment.
Everyone felt a peculiar sensation—as if space had solidified and time had stopped. An indescribable, inexplicable fear enveloped them all. Even the clear, sunny skies of Fengyue Small World grew dim and gloomy, as if overcast.
Wait!
Where was the sun?
At that moment, someone noticed that the sun, which had been hanging high in the sky, had vanished.
It had truly disappeared.
As if it had never existed.
How could this be?
It was known that Fengyue Small World was hailed as the Land of the Never-Setting Sun, where the sun permanently hung in the sky, illuminating every corner of the world with its great radiance. It had never vanished before. Why would it disappear today?
Why on earth!
No one knew.
No one understood.
And at this moment, no one cared.
At the very least.
The hundreds from the three great families of the Lotus Secret Realm and the thousands from the Jinwu Li Clan within the plaza were all in the same state.
They all knelt on the ground, disheveled and in utter disarray. At first, they had wailed and howled in agony as their meridians were severed and their Immortal Spirits dispersed. But gradually, as time passed, that indescribable, inexplicable fear grew stronger and stronger, until they no longer dared to utter a single cry.
Fear!
Only fear remained.
This fear seemed to seep into every pore, enveloping every inch of their skin, every meridian, every acupoint, every drop of blood, their minds, their hearts, their sea of consciousness, even the deepest recesses of their souls.
They dared not move.
No one dared to move.
However.
The intense fear caused their bodies to tremble uncontrollably. The stronger the fear, the more violent the trembling.
Especially Xuan Yun and the other two. They were closest to Gu Qingfeng, kneeling almost right beside the Flame Cloud Crimson Blaze Tiger Grand Carriage. Their fear was overwhelming. The three of them had faces ashen as death, kneeling on the ground with blood streaming from their seven orifices, their bodies trembling incessantly.
They were afraid, utterly terrified, scared to the bone, scared to the very soul.
"Before the bet, I once said I would repay you a favor today. Even though you kept saying you wouldn't acknowledge this favor, I still repaid it to you nonetheless. I can understand a young man's recklessness, his desire to show off, to save face. I won't hold it against you. But one must have limits. One must have self-awareness."
Gu Qingfeng's voice was flat, devoid of any emotional color—neither sorrow nor joy, neither anger nor happiness. It was as plain as could be. As he spoke, he jumped down from the grand carriage. "This old man can tolerate your recklessness. I can forgive your showing off and saving face. But I absolutely will not indulge your habit of pushing your luck!"
"Since you're so eager to kowtow those ten million times, I'll grant your wish today. Kowtow now. Ten million kowtows. Not a single one less. If you're short by even one, I'll tear you all apart alive!"
As Gu Qingfeng stopped walking, his furious eyes glared, and he roared, "Kowtow!"
Crack!
With that mighty roar, the Immortal Armor on Xuan Yun, Bai Yufei, and Liu Feng shattered, leaving them kneeling naked on the ground. The skin all over their bodies cracked open. The three were a bloody mess, screaming in excruciating pain. Not daring to delay, they endured the intense agony and began kowtowing, their bodies trembling.
Witnessing this scene.
Mu Lingyao was terrified, her face deathly pale. She opened her mouth, wanting to say something, but the words were choked back by sheer fright. She glanced at Huadiexianzi.
Huadiexianzi, too, had lost all color from her face, standing there, not daring to breathe.
Previously, they had thought Gu Qingfeng's claim of giving Xuan Yun face was merely to find a way out for himself.
Only now did they realize they were wrong. When Gu Qingfeng said he was repaying Xuan Yun a favor, it wasn't to find an excuse for himself—he was genuinely repaying a favor.
They had thought that faced with Xuan Yun's threat, Gu Qingfeng wouldn't dare refuse, given that Xuan Yun had the backing of the ancient, hereditary Lotus Secret Realm. Only now did they realize Gu Qingfeng wasn't afraid to refuse; he simply didn't want to bother with Xuan Yun.
And it was only at this moment that they understood why, when the Jinwu Li Clan's mighty force of thousands came charging over, Gu Qingfeng could still sit there leisurely, sipping wine and smoking Spiritual Tobacco. It was because he had the capability. He had the power. He had the ability.
He said the people of the Jinwu Li Clan were like ants in his eyes. The facts proved it true—with a single roar from him, the thousands of the Jinwu Li Clan knelt in response.
With such terrifying power.
Why would he fear the Jinwu Li Clan?
Faced with Xuan Yun's provocation, why would he need to find an excuse?
Faced with Dan Lei's threat, why would he need to back down?
He didn't need to.
He simply didn't want to bother, that's all.
Now.
He wanted to bother.
Whether it was some Immortal Prodigy or a senior expert, whether you were a Four Luminance Yinghuo Golden Immortal or a Five Luminance Great Perfection Zhenxing Golden Immortal, whether you were from an Immortal Family or the ancient, hereditary Lotus Secret Realm—he looked down on them all.
"If the young ones are ignorant, causing trouble, acting recklessly, and being arrogant, that's one thing. But you elders, not only do you fail to teach them, you even aid and abet their tyranny."
Gu Qingfeng walked over, terrifying the many elders from the Lotus Secret Realm, the Prestigious Bai Family, and the Golden Crow Liu Family, causing them to tremble uncontrollably. They wanted to flee, but with their meridians severed and Immortal Spirits dispersed, they couldn't move at all. Watching Gu Qingfeng approach step by step, the hundreds trembled in fear.
Especially Liu Kaiyun and Bai Teng. The two knelt on the ground, their entire bodies beginning to convulse. To them, Gu Qingfeng's footsteps were like the footsteps of Death itself. Each step plunged them deeper into abyssal despair.
"Who the hell indulged you in this habit!"
Gu Qingfeng raised his hand and brought his palm down, clamping it onto Bai Teng's crown. Crack! Bai Teng's arms and limbs exploded in a shower of blood and flesh, leaving only his head and upper torso.
"And who the hell indulged you!"
He lifted a foot and kicked Liu Kaiyun in the chest. Crack! Liu Kaiyun's arms and limbs similarly exploded in a shower of blood and flesh, leaving only his head and upper torso.
"Especially you."
Gu Qingfeng walked up to Dan Lei and said calmly, "Backing others up, making threats, bullying others with your influence—and with that, you still have the nerve to tell me you've cultivated for tens of thousands of years?"
"Even a damn dog that cultivated for tens of thousands of years would develop some virtue! Let alone you, who's supposed to be a human!"