Gu Qingfeng continued his descent, arriving unknowingly at the ninth level.
This should be the final layer of this ancient ruin, for in the very center of this level's great hall, Gu Qingfeng saw a well. Within the well, something like black-purple flames seemed to be burning, akin to black water boiling. Black mist billowed from the well, transforming into turbid qi that permeated the entire ruin.
This was the Cave Eye, also the Source Eye of this ancient ruin.
Gu Qingfeng did not step forward to inspect this Source Eye. Instead, his gaze fell upon some characters on the hall's walls. These characters emitted a faint, shimmering light. What piqued Gu Qingfeng's curiosity was that he could see and sense that this golden shimmer actually contained a sacred Buddhist aura.
In such a place of chaotic turbid qi, there were actually characters imbued with a sacred Buddhist aura?
Now that was a rare thing indeed.
"Who might you be, sir? Why have you intruded upon this old man's Tranquil Cultivation Ground?"
Suddenly.
Rolling black smoke erupted from the well, and within the smoke, the blurred figure of an elder appeared. The elder wore simple, plain gray robes. A pair of turbid eyes stared intently at Gu Qingfeng present here, their gleam flickering incessantly, as if he was particularly curious, puzzled, and even wary of Gu Qingfeng's existence.
While the elder observed Gu Qingfeng, Gu Qingfeng was also observing the elder.
With a single glance, he could tell this elder was a Ghost, and moreover, an old ghost monster who possessed self-awareness and had cultivated for who knows how many years.
"Your Tranquil Cultivation Ground?"
Gu Qingfeng asked casually.
"Indeed."
The elder stared at Gu Qingfeng, his brow deeply furrowed. His turbid eyes seemed to want to see through Gu Qingfeng, yet the more he looked, the less he could discern. Instead, he grew more puzzled and more wary. "May I ask for your esteemed name, sir?"
"Daoist title: Chixiao."
Gu Qingfeng replied offhandedly, then asked, "And you?"
"This old man's Daoist title is Fengliang."
After responding, the elder added, "Might I ask what your purpose is in coming to my Tranquil Cultivation Ground this time?"
"Nothing much. Just passing through, came to take a look."
"This is this old man's Tranquil Cultivation Ground. There is nothing here worth looking at."
"If it's your Tranquil Cultivation Ground, then call out to it. See if it answers you."
"Oh?"
The elder's heart skipped a beat, his voice turning grave. "What do you mean, sir?"
As he spoke, black smoke once again billowed forth from the well, enveloping everything in the hall. Discovering that Gu Qingfeng stood within the black smoke seemingly unaffected, the elder was inwardly quite shocked.
"What's this? Trying to choke this master to death with this stuff?"
Gu Qingfeng waved a hand. Instantly, the black mist permeating the hall vanished without a trace.
This scene truly frightened the elder. Just as he was about to make another move, Gu Qingfeng's voice suddenly rang out: "Alright, enough. This master advises you to save your energy. Don't waste your effort messing around. It's useless."
The elder indeed did not make another move.
Although he didn't know who Gu Qingfeng was, nor could he discern Gu Qingfeng's capabilities, the fact that Gu Qingfeng had just dispersed all the black mist in the entire hall with a mere wave of his hand... as the saying goes, with one move from a master, you know if they have skill or not. Based on that single move, the elder already knew that the existence before him was beyond his comprehension and certainly not someone he could afford to provoke.
Considering this, the elder hesitated no longer. With a shake, his form solidified on the ground. He cupped his hands and said, "My apologies for the offense earlier. I hope you can forgive me, sir."
"Not bad. You know when to yield."
Gu Qingfeng was in no hurry. He casually found a spot to sit down, pulled out his wine gourd, took a swig, and asked, "Let me ask you, does this ancient ruin belong to you?"
The elder pondered for a moment, then shook his head. "It does not. This old man merely borrows this place for Tranquil Cultivation."
In truth.
Even if the elder hadn't said so, Gu Qingfeng could tell. Although this old ghost monster's cultivation was decent, with his abilities, he was far from capable of creating such a ruin.
"When did you start cultivating here?"
"There is no sense of time here. This old man does not know how many years have passed to this day."
"You may not know the years, but you should at least know if it was before or after the Current Era."
"Before the Current Era."
"And you never left since?"
"No."
"What exactly is this ruin's Source Eye?"
Gu Qingfeng looked at the well with a smile. "Seems quite interesting."
"This old man is not too clear either. I only know the Source Eye contains dense turbid qi, very suitable for us Ghost Dao practitioners to cultivate. So, this old man borrowed this place for Tranquil Cultivation."
"Is that so..." Gu Qingfeng did not continue questioning. He didn't even extend his divine sense to probe this so-called Source Eye, because he wasn't particularly interested in the thing. Instead, those few characters on the wall imbued with sacred Buddhist aura greatly intrigued him.
"Who left these characters?"
"This..." The elder shook his head. "This old man does not know."
"This master asks you again, who left these characters?"
"This old man...
truly does not know."
"This master asks you for the last time, who left these characters?"
The elder raised his head to glance at Gu Qingfeng. At this moment, Gu Qingfeng wasn't looking at him, but was instead gazing at the characters on the wall. For some reason, the elder felt a surge of panic. He wanted to speak, but the words stuck in his throat, forcibly swallowed back. He secretly took a deep breath, trying to calm himself. Yet, not only could he not calm down, his inner panic and fear only grew stronger.
This fear was inexplicable, yet also felt innate. Why was he afraid?
The elder didn't know. He only knew he was very afraid. A sense of dread gripped him like an invisible hand, filling him with terror.
"What's this? Planning to make this master ask a fourth time?"
Gu Qingfeng's voice came, sounding to the elder like the summoning of the God of Death, its tone like a funerary bell, its sound like a death drum.
"It was...
a monk, no!
A Saint Monk left them."
"A Saint Monk?"
Gu Qingfeng rubbed his chin thoughtfully. The title 'Saint Monk' was no small matter. Throughout the Great Wasteland, there were only a handful of Buddhist practitioners who could be hailed as Saint Monks. "Which Saint Monk?"
"I truly do not know."
"Have you seen him?"
"We have met a few times."
"It's more than just a few meetings, right? That Saint Monk probably even gave you some guidance, didn't he?"
What!
The elder was instantly shocked. He couldn't fathom, couldn't understand, and was utterly unable to comprehend how this person before him even knew about the Saint Monk guiding him.
Gu Qingfeng did not continue questioning. He stood up, walked over, and carefully examined the characters on the wall. "If this master's guess is correct, there should have been an entrance or something here before. However, this master is curious. This should already be the bottom level of the ruin, right? So, where did the previous entrance lead to?"
"I...
I do not know."
"Using a few Buddhist talismanic characters to seal the entrance is quite a feat. The handwriting may be a bit ugly, but it wins in its profound mysteries. It seems if this master can't comprehend these few talismanic characters today, I won't be able to enter."
As his words fell, Gu Qingfeng closed his eyes, contemplating the few Buddhist talismanic characters on the wall. Moments later, when the golden shimmer on the characters flickered, his figure had already vanished without a trace.