Gu Qingfeng did not hesitate. After walking over, he first broke the illusion formation. When the true stone door was revealed, he slowly pushed it open and entered.
What met his eyes were skeletons—all of them sitting in meditative postures. Clearly, they had all perished after their Immortal Spirit dried up, losing their life source. Their flesh had decayed, leaving only skeletal remains.
There were quite a few skeletons, nearly several dozen.
However, in the corner of the stone chamber, over ten individuals sat upright. These ten-odd people were not skeletons; they seemed alive, but merely alive. Each looked like skin wrapped around bones, with not only their Immortal Spirit but even their flesh and blood long since withered. Though a trace of vitality lingered on them, it was faint and indistinct, ready to dissipate at any moment.
These people were so weak they had only a wisp of vital energy left. Their consciousness was likely blurred as well. Gu Qingfeng did not know if these were the elders of Yunhua Cave, but since he had encountered them, he would not just leave them be.
These people could die at any moment. He could not take them away for now; he had to help them recover some of their vitality first.
Gu Qingfeng had purchased many spirit pills and wondrous medicines back in the Fengyue Small World, including quite a few that replenished vitality. However, these people were currently too weak—so weak they were hanging by a thread. If he let them take pills, not only would they fail to replenish their vitality, they would likely 'overdose' and die.
It was like a starving person on the verge of death—you couldn't let them gorge on meat. One bite would surely cause sudden death.
They needed to drink some water first, slowly moistening their bodies.
The condition of these people was just like that of someone starving to death. He had to use spiritual energy to nourish their withered bodies first, and only then could they take Immortal pills and medicines to replenish their vitality.
Without further thought, Gu Qingfeng took out several Immortal stones and set up a Spirit-Nourishing Formation to envelop these people. He also tossed over some pills that replenished vitality.
These people would not recover anytime soon, and Gu Qingfeng naturally would not just wait idly. Before leaving, he set up another protective formation. This formation could not only isolate the external Turbid Qi but also block any Specter attacks.
He continued his descent, exploring further.
The sixth level, the seventh level...
With each level descended, the Turbid Qi grew denser, and the Specters grew stronger.
Specters were not innate; they were formed from souls after death.
But that did not mean all living beings would turn into Specters upon death.
Under normal circumstances, living beings would not turn into Specters after death. However, if they were contaminated by Turbid Qi before death, and their soul was also infected, then upon death, they would transform into a Specter. It could be a Human, an Immortal, or even a demon or monster—any living being had the potential.
Once transformed into a Specter, the self-awareness from their former life was lost. Like beasts that had not yet developed intelligence, they survived by instinct. With good fortune, they might develop a ghostly consciousness, thus stepping onto the ghost path. With sufficient destiny, they could cultivate into a Spirit Ghost, or even a Mysterious Ghost, and it was not impossible to ascend to something like a Ghost King.
Back when Gu Qingfeng was young and learned that people could turn into ghosts after death, and that becoming a ghost was another path—just a different one from being Human—he had pondered: didn't that mean one need not fear death? Even if you died, you could become a ghost and continue living. Though Humans lived as Humans and ghosts lived as ghosts, you were still alive. If so, why fear death?
For a time, Gu Qingfeng truly did not fear death, feeling as if he had a second life.
As he experienced more later, he gradually understood a principle: in this world, no one fears death itself. What people fear about death is not death, but the loss that comes after—be it family ties, love, and so on.
After death, one might turn into a ghost, and as a ghost, one could continue to exist. But the consciousness from the former life was gone, meaning all that belonged to that life was lost. Even if one later stepped onto the ghost path and ascended to become a Ghost King, they would not remember their relatives or loved ones from their former life.
Loss.
That was the fundamental reason everyone feared death.
Humans had the Human Dao, ghosts had the Ghost Dao. These were two parallel paths of life and death, never overlapping or intertwining.
Gu Qingfeng continued his descent.
For some reason, when he reached the eighth level, there were very few Specters here. By the time he arrived at the ninth level, there were no Specters at all.
The further down, the denser the Turbid Qi should be. Logically, there should be more Specters, and they should be stronger. Why were there none?
Could it be that a powerful Specter had taken over this level?
Hard to say!
It was entirely possible that a Specter, nurtured by the Turbid Qi over the years, had gradually developed self-awareness, then hid away to cultivate the ghost path. Its strength would naturally be beyond comparison with those wandering, solitary ghosts.
Gu Qingfeng released his divine sense to sweep the area. Sure enough, he discovered a powerful presence on this level.
"What cowardly rat dares to intrude? Prepare to die!"
As the voice fell, a figure rushed over. This person wore tattered robes, with disheveled hair and crimson eyes.
All Specters lacked physical bodies.
But this person had a physical body, indicating he was not a Specter.
Could he be Human?
No!
Not Human either.
A monster?
Not a monster either.
A Demon?
Not a Demon either.
He was a maddened demonic person, half-Human, half-Demon—what was called a Human-Monster in the Great Wasteland.
As the ancient saying went: Demons are born innately, Humans are born postnatally.
Meaning Demons were formed through innate gestation, while Humans were born through postnatal reproduction.
As for Human-Monsters.
Such beings were not rare in the Great Wasteland; in fact, they were quite common.
Many Immortals, perhaps in their haste for success or seeking shortcuts, might experience deviations in their cultivation, leading to Qi Deviation. Their minds would become disordered, their self-awareness blurred, and they would turn mad and deranged, losing their Human nature and morality. Such people were Human-Monsters.
Of course.
If one refined something they shouldn't have, became contaminated by Turbid Breath, causing their Immortal Spirit to mutate, they could also suffer Qi Deviation, become mentally disordered, and lose their Human nature.
Inside this ancient ruin, with such dense Turbid Qi, any Immortal who entered would inevitably suffer Qi Deviation if contaminated.
Looking at this attacking Human-Monster, he had likely been contaminated by the Turbid Qi here, causing his Immortal Spirit to mutate and leading to Qi Deviation. Not only had he lost his self-awareness, but also his Human morality, turning him mad, bloodthirsty, and cruel.
Gu Qingfeng did not kill him. He merely raised his hand and set up a formation, trapping him within.
Gazing at the Human-Monster frantically struggling within the formation, Gu Qingfeng felt a slight tremor in his heart. Because in the past, he too had fallen into Demonic Descent, and not just once—five times in total.
The first time was also due to haste for success, causing a deviation in his cultivation and leading to Qi Deviation.
The second time, he refined something he shouldn't have, leading to Qi Deviation.
The third time, he was contaminated by demonic breath, leading to Qi Deviation.
The fourth time, he was tormented into Qi Deviation by a body full of chaotic destiny.
The last time, he willingly and actively descended into Demonic Descent of his own accord.
Each time he fell into Demonic Descent, he would lose his self-awareness and Human morality, becoming bloodthirsty. During those several episodes of Demonic Descent, Gu Qingfeng had indeed done many things that, thinking back on them now, filled him with helplessness. For instance, ascending to become a Monster Dao Monarch, even ascending to the Nine Nethers Emperor's throne—these were things he did after falling into Demonic Descent. Including his affairs with several women...