Hundreds of Bloodthirsty Black-Scale Crows flew over, blotting out the sky and sun. Accompanied by piercing shrieks, the scene was like the apocalypse, inducing a suffocating feeling.
When the hundreds of crows approached the Firecloud Grand Chariot, they seemed to be startled. Their black feathers all stood on end as they let out terrified cries and scattered in chaotic flight.
Whether it was Horse King or the two Immortals, Zijin and Ziqing, they could all see that these hundreds of Bloodthirsty Black-Scale Crows also seemed to harbor some inexplicable fear of Gu Qingfeng.
First the Bloodthirsty Black-Scale Demonic Beasts, now the Bloodthirsty Black-Scale Crows. Why were all these demonic creatures so afraid of Gu Qingfeng?
Could it truly be as Gu Qingfeng said, because he had once "mixed in" with the Monster Dao?
None of the three understood much about the Monster Dao, nor could they grasp what Gu Qingfeng meant by having "mixed in" with it.
And so it went.
Horse King, holding the Firecloud Whip, drove the Nine-Headed Firecloud Crimsonflame Tiger Grand Carriage as it raced through the Liúshā Small Secret Realm. Groups of ferocious, bloodthirsty demonic beasts followed all around. The deeper they went, the more demonic beasts appeared. After several hours, Horse King had no idea how many beasts were trailing the carriage. All he knew was that as far as the eye could see, sky and earth, all directions seemed to be teeming with demonic creatures.
There were Bloodthirsty Black-Scale Demonic Beasts, Bloodthirsty Black-Scale Crows, and other beasts he had never even heard of.
Having cultivated for a thousand years, Horse King had never experienced such a terrifying scene. Not only had he never experienced it, he had never dared to imagine that one day he would be recklessly traversing the Liúshā Small Secret Realm, let alone with countless ferocious demonic beasts in tow.
Horse King had never experienced this, and neither had Zijin and Ziqing. Although the two had once risked sneaking into the depths of the marshes to search for the elders of Yunhua Cave, they had only infiltrated stealthily. They never dared to fly so brazenly through the depths of the Liúshā Small Secret Realm, and certainly not while driving a grand carriage in such a swaggering dash.
This was utterly insane.
So insane that probably no one in the entire Dual-Pole Celestial Domain would dare to do this.
Just what kind of existence was this Mortal Great Lord?
Throughout the journey, Gu Qingfeng remained leisurely seated in the wide, comfortable chair at the front of the carriage, sipping his wine and observing the surrounding demonic beasts. Suddenly, he remembered something. Since his awakening, he had learned a bit about the current situation of the Present Era. It was said that the Heavenly Dao had receded, the Monster Dao had declined, and the Immortal Dao now dominated the Great Wilderness, proclaiming itself the leader of all Daos. The Monster Dao and Ghost Dao had even submitted to the Immortal Dao.
Since there were so many demons in the Liúshā Small Secret Realm, and the Monster Dao of the Present Era had submitted to the Immortal Dao, then given the Immortal Dao's nature, they would surely have sent Immortal Dao emissaries to enlighten these demons, turning them into demonic Immortals.
Yet when he asked, Horse King, Zijin, and Ziqing all said that the Immortal Dao had sent no emissaries for enlightenment.
"This doesn't seem like the Immortal Dao's style," Gu Qingfeng mused. "Could it be that after dominating the Great Wilderness, they have too many worlds to enlighten and are simply overwhelmed? That doesn't seem likely either. The Immortal Dao has so many people; they could just send anyone. The Liúshā Small Secret Realm has been manifest for a thousand years. Has the Immortal Dao made no move at all?"
Horse King shook his head. Gu Qingfeng then looked at Zijin and Ziqing. They also shook their heads, indicating there had been none.
"Your Dual-Pole Celestial Domain should have people from the Nine Heavens Immortal Dao, right? Have they made no move either?"
"Since the disaster that befell many experts here ten thousand years ago, and its re-manifestation a thousand years ago, no one in the Dual-Pole Celestial Domain has dared to venture deep into it on a large scale. The Nine Heavens Immortal Dao has issued no edicts regarding the Liúshā Small Secret Realm either."
Both Zijin and Ziqing were Immortals conferred by the Nine Heavens. If the Nine Heavens Immortal Dao had issued any edicts, they would naturally know.
But since the Liúshā Small Secret Realm re-manifested a thousand years ago, the Immortal Dao had issued no edicts.
Zijin seemed to recall something and said, "In the past, if there were worlds with demons, the Immortal Dao would always send emissaries to enlighten them. But starting about two or three thousand years ago, the Immortal Dao gradually stopped sending emissaries to enlighten demons. To this day, the Immortal Dao almost never enlightens demons in any world, large or small."
Gu Qingfeng asked, "Why? Could it be they've had a falling out?"
Zijin pondered for a moment before speaking. "Although neither the Immortal Dao nor the Monster Dao has publicly said anything, I think… that should be the case. Many in the Great Wilderness also speculate that the Monster Dao and Immortal Dao have long since fallen out."
"So it really is like that," Gu Qingfeng laughed. "What happened? Tell me."
"I'm not entirely sure of the specifics. It seems to be said that the Monster Dao gave birth to a Demon Sage, and several ancient ancestors of the demon race have also awakened and emerged…"
"Hahaha!"
Hearing this, Gu Qingfeng couldn't help but laugh. When he heard Zijin say the Immortal Dao had initially enlightened demons but suddenly stopped a few thousand years ago, he immediately guessed that the Monster Dao and Immortal Dao must have fallen out.
He understood clearly.
Although the Heavenly Destiny of the Present Era was the Star Lodges, it didn't mean that all Heavenly Destinies descending in the Present Era were Star Lodges. Besides those, there were also the Thrones of the Ancient Era, the Imperial Seals of the Archaic Era, and even the Heavenly Destinies of the Primordial and Wilderness Eras would descend. Back when Heavenly Destiny descended in the mortal world, what descended wasn't just the Present Era's Star Lodges, but also Ancient Era Thrones and other mysterious, unknown Heavenly Destinies.
As for why this was, the reason was simple. Gu Qingfeng reckoned it must be related to the so-called Daoless Black Hole, which led to the confusion of karma and the confusion of Heavenly Destiny.
And onto which Dao these confused Heavenly Destinies would descend, no one knew. It could be the Immortal Dao, the Monster Dao, or the Ghost Dao—all were unknown possibilities.
Therefore, it was not at all strange for the Monster Dao to give birth to a Demon Sage in the Present Era. It wouldn't even be impossible for a Demon God to be born.
That wasn't important.
What was important was that Gu Qingfeng also knew that the Guixu had collapsed, and those heinous Original Sin Overlords—Chiyou, Xingtian, Qiongqi—had all emerged. These gentlemen were all the ancient demons who once turned heaven and earth upside down!
Qiongqi was even hailed as the Ancestor of the Monster Dao. Now that their ancestor had returned, with backing and a powerful patron, why would the Monster Dao continue to submit to the Immortal Dao? Even if the Monster Dao were willing to submit, these gentlemen wouldn't agree.
For some reason, every time Gu Qingfeng heard about these matters, he couldn't help but feel a sense of schadenfreude.
"The Present Era is getting livelier and livelier," Gu Qingfeng said, tilting his head back to gulp down several mouthfuls of wine, a hint of excitement in his voice. "And I'd bet it will only get more lively in the future. Looks like I need to find some time to cultivate properly. I don't want to miss out on such a grand spectacle."
Gu Qingfeng might not be someone who liked trouble, but he was absolutely someone who loved watching a good spectacle.
Originally, after awakening this time, he hadn't planned on cultivating or stirring up any more trouble. But now, with the three thousand Daos seemingly growing more chaotic, all sorts of Heavenly Destinies, legends, and ancient ancestors emerging—those who should come out had come out, and those who shouldn't have come out had also emerged. There was bound to be a grand spectacle in the future. Gu Qingfeng figured he couldn't miss out on such an entertaining show.