The Turbid Qi within the Flowing Sand Minor Secret Realm was exceptionally intense.
The deeper one ventured, the denser the Turbid Qi became.
Mixed within the Turbid Qi were various kinds of Demonic Qi.
Horse King, clad in his black-scale immortal armor, gripped the Firecloud Whip tightly with one hand and firmly held a greatsword with the other. His face was deathly pale, his eyes wide open, and his expression was as tense as could be.
Because not long after he drove the Firecloud Grand Carriage charging deeper inside, they had been targeted by four or five Bloodthirsty Black-Scale Demonic Beasts. The further they went, the more Bloodthirsty Black-Scale Demonic Beasts appeared. By now, after driving the Firecloud Grand Carriage at full speed for this long, well over a hundred Bloodthirsty Black-Scale Demonic Beasts were flanking them on both sides.
Fortunately.
These Bloodthirsty Black-Scale Demonic Beasts were only following the Firecloud Grand Carriage from a distance, running alongside it, and had not launched a coordinated attack. They seemed both wary and vigilant.
"Great Old Master, isn't our reckless traversal through the Flowing Sand Minor Secret Realm a bit too conspicuous? We've already attracted over a hundred Bloodthirsty Black-Scale Demonic Beasts in such a short time. If we keep going, who knows how many more demonic beasts will set their sights on us."
"What of it?"
Gu Qingfeng, sitting in his chair, glanced at Horse King and asked, "Are you scared?"
"I...
Of course I'm scared!"
Horse King was genuinely terrified.
Having cultivated for a thousand-odd years, he had never even seen a single Bloodthirsty Black-Scale Demonic Beast before. Now, he was being watched by over a hundred of them, each capable of tearing him to shreds. How could Horse King not be afraid?
"Good that you're scared."
Gu Qingfeng remarked indifferently, "You're scared, and these little fellows following us are scared too. Don't you see they only dare to follow from a distance and don't dare to get close?"
"Great Old Master, what are they so afraid of?"
"Naturally, they're afraid of me, your Great Old Master."
Unable to contain his curiosity, Horse King asked, "Great Old Master, why on earth are they so afraid of you?"
This question puzzled not only Horse King but also the two Seven-Yao Great Sun Golden Immortals, Zijin and Ziqing, seated inside the grand carriage.
While Horse King might not be very knowledgeable about demonic beasts, Zijin and Ziqing had spent these years searching for the Yunhua Cave elders, almost constantly traversing the Flowing Sand Minor Secret Realm and even clashing with Bloodthirsty Black-Scale Demonic Beasts several times. Though they wouldn't claim complete understanding, they certainly knew more than the average person.
They clearly understood.
Demons were different from humans.
Humans, as they gradually matured and gained experience and knowledge, developed increasingly strong mental faculties.
They understood good and evil, morality, and also fear.
However.
Demons were different.
The distinction between humans and demons lay in this:
Human mental faculties are enlightened at birth, followed by a process of mental growth.
For a demon's mental faculties to become enlightened, however, is a very lengthy process, perhaps taking decades, centuries, and so on.
Before a demon's mind is enlightened, it possesses no intellect to speak of and is ignorant.
Because it is ignorant, it is fearless.
Because it is fearless, it fundamentally does not know what fear or terror is.
A demon also doesn't care about your status or background; even if you were the Emperor of Heaven himself, it wouldn't be afraid. Humans might know the might of the Emperor of Heaven, but demons do not. The concept of an Emperor of Heaven simply doesn't exist in their minds.
Of course.
Before a demon's mind is enlightened, while ignorant, it is not stupid.
They also know pain. If you injure them, a demon knows you are not to be trifled with and will turn tail and flee.
However.
They will only flee and escape.
To speak of them feeling fear?
Absolutely not.
Given the opportunity, they will attack you.
What Zijin and Ziqing couldn't understand was that Gu Qingfeng had never lifted a finger from start to finish. So why were these Bloodthirsty Black-Scale Demonic Beasts so afraid of him?
Moreover, they noticed these Bloodthirsty Black-Scale Demonic Beasts didn't seem merely afraid of Gu Qingfeng; it was more like a form of dread. This dread was akin to the instinctive fear a mouse has for a cat.
Why on earth was this?
They racked their brains but couldn't figure it out. Now, hearing Horse King ask, they both pricked up their ears to listen carefully.
"They're afraid of me because back when I was still a Great Old Master, I spent some time mixing in the Monster Dao."
Upon hearing this.
Horse King was shocked out of his wits and exclaimed, "Mixed in the Monster Dao?
Great Old Master...
Could it be...
Were you a demon before?
Wait!
That's not right."
As he spoke, Horse King felt something was off. Humans were humans, demons were demons; a demon couldn't transform into a human. Then, he thought of something else and asked, "I know! Great Old Master, you must be a reincarnated mighty expert. Your previous life was a demon, right?"
"Do I look like a reincarnated person to you?"
Horse King shook his head. Even though he was only a Taiyi Golden Immortal, he knew that any reincarnated mighty expert carried a very special Turbid Aura. Yet, on Gu Qingfeng, apart from a human aura, there was no Turbid Aura to speak of, not even a spiritual aura—only the most basic human aura.
"But Great Old Master, if you're not a reincarnated person and your previous life wasn't a demon, then how did you mix in the Monster Dao?"
"Silly boy, one doesn't necessarily have to be a demon to mix in the Monster Dao. A human can do it just fine."
"A human can mix in the Monster Dao?"
"Nothing's impossible."
Gu Qingfeng drank his wine while speaking idly, "Humans have the Human Dao, immortals have the Immortal Dao, demons have the Monster Dao, buddhas have the Buddha Dao, and demons have the Monster Dao. All things between heaven and earth, though each has its own Dao, there is no fundamental difference between Daos. The Immortal Dao is also the Monster Dao; the Monster Dao is also the Buddha Dao; the Human Dao is also the Monster Dao; the Monster Dao is also the Monster Dao..." Horse King shook his head, indicating he couldn't comprehend or understand these grand Daos.
"Whether it's the Immortal Dao, the Monster Dao, or the Buddha Dao among the three thousand Daos, they are ultimately just a single thought. In the space of a single thought, an immortal can fall and become a demon; in the space of a single thought, a demon can attain enlightenment and become a buddha. Demons and monsters are originally of the same family; becoming a demon is essentially becoming a monster..." Hearing Gu Qingfeng mention how an immortal can fall to become a demon and a demon can attain enlightenment to become a buddha in a single thought, Horse King could somewhat grasp the reasoning behind these words, but only to a degree.
Just as Horse King seemed to have gained some insight, a series of sharp screeches suddenly pierced the air. Horse King looked up and was immediately scared out of his wits. He saw a dark, dense flock of large birds flying through the sky.
Each of these large birds was over ten meters in size, their bodies covered in black spines, with pointed beaks, razor-sharp claws, and bloodthirsty eyes fixed fiercely on the Firecloud Grand Carriage as they charged straight towards them.
What were these things?
Horse King didn't know.
He had never heard of them either.
At that moment, Zijin the Immortal inside the carriage cried out in alarm, "Be careful!
These are Bloodthirsty Black Crows, even more terrifying than those Bloodthirsty Black-Scale Demonic Beasts!"
Hearing that these black crows were even more fearsome than the Bloodthirsty Black-Scale Demonic Beasts, Horse King held his breath even tighter. Moreover, he realized there were at least several hundred of these Bloodthirsty Black Crows in the sky above.