Recalling the past.
When Gu Qingfeng ascended to the Nine Nethers Emperor's throne, sweeping across the Great Wasteland and shaking the heavens and earth, the demonic path, the devilish path, and the ghostly path all bowed in submission. Throughout the myriad realms, any demon, devil, or ghost would be scared out of their wits just hearing his voice, without needing to see his person, know his name, or witness his aura. It didn't matter if you were a Monster King, a Ghost King, or a Devil King—it was all the same.
Alas.
During the ancient cataclysm, the Nine Nethers Emperor's throne, along with the peerless Immortal-Monster King's throne, were both judged by the heavens and earth.
This was akin to a tiger, the king of beasts, having the 'king' character on its forehead stripped away, turning it into an ordinary wildcat.
The other beasts in the forest, due to their bloodline and heritage, possessed an innate fear of tigers, but they would certainly not fear a little wildcat.
Fortunately.
Although Gu Qingfeng's Nine Nethers Emperor's throne was taken, his physical body had undergone countless temperings by the Nine Nethers Ancestral Fire. Even after fusing with the Blood of Original Sin and experiencing several nirvanic rebirths, causing earth-shattering changes to his body and causing the Nine Nethers aura on him to grow fainter and fainter, it could still more or less intimidate those demons, devils, and ghosts, big and small.
The reason for Gu Qingfeng's sigh was not nostalgia for the so-called Nine Nethers Emperor's throne.
Not only did he not miss it, he even felt that 'without official duties, one feels light and free'.
Because back then, as the various mysterious fortunes on his person grew more numerous, and the various Mandate of Heaven Emperor thrones also increased, he increasingly felt less and less like a Human.
Now, the various Mandate of Heaven Emperor thrones were gone, the various mysterious fortunes were gone, and damn it, even his cultivation base was gone, turning him into an ordinary mortal who couldn't be more ordinary.
From feeling less and less like a Human, to feeling more and more like a Human.
This feeling was wondrous.
It was like the Buddhist concept of returning to one's original simplicity.
Comprehending the Four Great Mental States had already left Gu Qingfeng with the emptiness of the Four Great Voids. Now, gradually returning to the ordinary was again the Buddhist return to original simplicity.
Gu Qingfeng was sighing about living more and more hesitantly, more and more bewildered...
While he was sighing,
the Purple-Green Immortal and her Senior Martial Sister inside the grand carriage stared at Gu Qingfeng with incredulous eyes as if looking at a monster. Even though they were both Seven-Yao Great Sun Golden Immortals, who could absolutely be considered top experts in the Dual-Pole Heavenly Domain, possessing both knowledge and experience, they still couldn't understand why those ferocious Bloodthirsty Black-Scale Demonic Beasts would be so terrified of a mortal like Gu Qingfeng, and why that old monster with its powerful demonic qi, upon arriving, had just taken one look before turning tail and leaving.
Just why was this!
They didn't know.
But one thing both of them understood clearly was that this mortal who had saved them was definitely no ordinary mortal.
An ordinary mortal could not come to the depths of the Liúshā Small Secret Realm.
An ordinary mortal could not frighten away those ferocious Bloodthirsty Black-Scale Demonic Beasts.
Thinking of this,
the two dared not be negligent. They knelt down, cupped their fists, and said, "We juniors, Zijin and Ziqing, kowtow and thank Senior for saving us!"
"It was just a small effort, not worth mentioning."
Gu Qingfeng jumped onto the grand carriage, sat on a chair, drank a cup of wine, looked at the two, and said with a smile, "If you want to thank someone, thank yourselves. You had good luck in your reincarnation, being reborn as women. If you two were men, this lord wouldn't have saved you."
Perhaps not expecting Gu Qingfeng to say this, the two were momentarily stunned, not knowing how to respond.
"Looking at your current state, I'm afraid you can't return on your own. I heard you are disciples of Yunhua Cave. Do you want to send a message talisman to notify your people from Yunhua Cave to come here and pick you up?"
For some reason, when Gu Qingfeng mentioned the people of Yunhua Cave, both Zijin and Ziqing's faces revealed expressions of immense grief.
Zijin said with loss and sorrow, "Our Yunhua Cave... has no one left...
There's no one left. Over these years, searching for our master and grandmaster, the disciples of Yunhua Cave have either died or been injured. Now, only us two martial sisters are still able to venture out. All hope of finding our master and the others rests on us two martial sisters. If we cannot return... we must find the seniors of Yunhua Cave. We must find them."
"What do you mean?"
Gu Qingfeng was somewhat puzzled and asked, "What's going on? Are your master and the seniors of Yunhua Cave also inside this Liúshā Small Secret Realm?"
Zijin and Ziqing both nodded heavily, then knelt down again and pleaded, "We beg Senior to save the elders of our Yunhua Cave! We two martial sisters are willing to serve you as oxen or horses to repay Senior's kindness!"
"Save the elders of your Yunhua Cave, huh."
Gu Qingfeng rubbed his chin, pondered for a moment, considered that he didn't have anything particularly important to do for the time being, and asked, "Where are they now?"
"We...
don't know. We only know they are in the Liúshā Small Secret Realm."
"If you don't even know where they are, how can we save them?
This Liúshā Small Secret Realm isn't small. Searching blindly, even searching for eight hundred or a thousand years, you might not necessarily find them."
Actually,
if it were before, with Gu Qingfeng's divine sense, finding someone in this Liúshā Small Secret Realm wouldn't be difficult. The key was that ever since awakening from his nirvanic rebirth, his essence, qi, and spirit had been in a weakened state. Projecting divine sense to investigate required powerful essence, qi, and spirit as support, which he simply didn't have. Not to mention he didn't have that much kindness in his heart; even if he had the intention to save them, right now his spirit was willing but his flesh was weak.
"This..." At this moment, Horse King, who had been silent, suddenly spoke up. "Two Immortals, this junior does not mean to offend, but... weren't the seniors of your Yunhua Cave already dead long ago?"
Gu Qingfeng laughed. "I say, Old Horse, how would you know whether the elders of their Yunhua Cave are dead or not?"
"Great Lord, do you remember when you asked me on the way here how much I knew about the Liúshā Small Secret Realm?"
"What about it?"
"I said that ten thousand years ago, the Liúshā Small Secret Realm once manifested in our Dual-Pole Heavenly Domain. Back then, many seniors from the Dual-Pole Heavenly Domain risked entering, and as a result, many died, with only a handful escaping. I heard from others that many senior experts from Yunhua Cave also died back then."
The reason Horse King was relatively clear about this matter concerning Yunhua Cave was that ten thousand years ago, during the ancient era, Yunhua Cave was still one of the famously powerful Immortal Realms in the Dual-Pole Heavenly Domain. It had been passed down since antiquity and was also filled with experts. Although it wasn't a hegemon dominating the Dual-Pole Heavenly Domain, absolutely no one dared to provoke it.
However,
ten thousand years ago, when the Liúshā Small Secret Realm manifested, many senior experts from Immortal Realms big and small in the Dual-Pole Heavenly Domain risked entering. Yunhua Cave was no exception, and it was said that back then, it was the Ancestor of Yunhua Cave personally leading the team. Yet, in the end, not a single one came out.
It was precisely because of this that Yunhua Cave gradually declined. With the elders completely wiped out, it was like 'when the tree falls, the monkeys scatter'. The remaining disciples, seeing no hope left, mostly departed as well. Fortunately, among the disciples who remained at Yunhua Cave, two Immortals, Zijin and Ziqing, emerged and became famous throughout the Dual-Pole Heavenly Domain, preventing Yunhua Cave from completely collapsing.