There were few things in his life that Gu Qingfeng ever regretted doing.
Regardless of whether the deed was intentional or not, once it was done, Gu Qingfeng never looked back with regret.
Except for one thing. To this day, whenever he thought of it, Gu Qingfeng regretted it so much he felt like slapping himself across the face several times.
Gu Qingfeng felt that, of all the things he shouldn't have done, he absolutely should not have flirted with Jun Xuanji.
If he hadn't flirted with Jun Xuanji back then, he wouldn't have provoked that terrifying woman.
And the trouble with provoking her was that, damn it all, he couldn't shake her off.
Originally, since he had encountered the Lingluo Sky Domain, Gu Qingfeng had been contemplating meeting Jun Xuanji.
At the very least, to first confirm whether the Lingluo Ancestor slumbering within the Ancestral Realm was indeed Jun Xuanji.
What frustrated him was that after searching through the void of the Lingluo Sky Domain, he still couldn't find where the rumored Ancestral Realm was located.
When he tried to search for the Source of the Lingluo Sky Domain, he still came up empty-handed.
Since he couldn't find it, Gu Qingfeng couldn't be bothered to continue the search.
"This is Jun Xuanji for you. Mysterious to the point of being frightening."
Gu Qingfeng truly felt that Jun Xuanji's existence was too mysterious, mysteriously and genuinely terrifying.
One must understand.
The Gu Qingfeng of today had transcended the multitudes of the Great Dao, transcended worldly morals, transcended life, death, good, and evil. He had even transcended his own self. Although he couldn't yet deduce the cosmos and fathom the mysteries of heaven and earth like Genggu Wuming, if he wished, he could still glimpse the profound mysteries of the Great Dao of this heaven and earth.
However.
He was utterly helpless when it came to Jun Xuanji.
Jun Xuanji was the World-Venerable Lady of the Primordial World, and the World's Source had always been in her hands. Yet, to this day, Gu Qingfeng couldn't locate the World's Source within the Primordial World. Not only could Gu Qingfeng not find it, but it was likely that the Three Thousand Great Daos hadn't found it either. If the Three Thousand Great Daos could have located the Source of the Primordial World, they would have long seized control of the Primordial World from Jun Xuanji's grasp, and wouldn't have needed to create two false Sources in the Primordial World and the Lingluo Sky Domain as cover.
Such was the case with the Source of the Primordial World.
And now, the same was true for the Source of the Lingluo Sky Domain.
Gu Qingfeng couldn't figure it out either. How could a perfectly good Source vanish without a trace once it fell into Jun Xuanji's hands?
Where could she possibly hide a Source?
If it could evade him, that was one thing, but how could it evade even the Three Thousand Great Daos? Could it be that Jun Xuanji had transcended heaven and earth itself, hiding the Sources of the Primordial World and the Lingluo Sky Domain somewhere beyond the heavens and the earth?
He didn't know.
The only thing he knew was that as Gu Qingfeng experienced more and transcended more, he increasingly felt that Jun Xuanji's existence was unfathomably profound.
Gu Qingfeng didn't leave just yet. Instead, he located the Plum Blossom Immortal Realm and slipped inside.
He had heard people discussing on the way that this Plum Blossom Immortal Realm opened every thousand years alongside the Ancestral Realm. Others said that the Plum Blossom Elder within the Plum Blossom Immortal Realm was once a servant of the Lingluo Emperor, guarding the Lingluo Ancestral Realm here all along. So, Gu Qingfeng decided to come in and take a look.
The Plum Blossom Immortal Realm wasn't very large. The realm was filled with plum blossom trees everywhere one looked, stretching as far as the eye could see like a vast plum blossom forest. The ground was covered with purplish-red plum blossom petals, looking like a sea of purplish-red flowers.
For some reason.
Gazing at the immortal realm blooming with plum blossoms, Gu Qingfeng suddenly remembered the Peach Blossom Secret Realm within the Primordial World. That Peach Blossom Secret Realm was also filled with peach blossoms, like a sea of flowers.
The only difference was that the Peach Blossom Secret Realm bloomed with peach blossoms, while this Plum Blossom Immortal Realm bloomed with plum blossoms.
Gu Qingfeng also remembered that a mysterious Peach Blossom Elder resided within the Peach Blossom Secret Realm. Sadly, upon his return this time, the Peach Blossom Secret Realm had long vanished, and the Peach Blossom Elder was nowhere to be found.
In his memory, that Peach Blossom Elder seemed to have been waiting for some Peach Blossom Empress. As for who the Peach Blossom Empress was, Gu Qingfeng still didn't know to this day, only aware that she might also be a person from the Era of No Dao.
He heard that a Plum Blossom Elder also resided within this Plum Blossom Immortal Realm. He wondered if there was any connection between this Plum Blossom Elder and the Peach Blossom Elder of the Peach Blossom Secret Realm.
Gu Qingfeng raised his eyes and looked into the distance. Within the boundless plum blossom forest, he spotted a wooden hut. With a thought, he appeared before the hut.
It was a very ordinary, very simple, even somewhat dilapidated wooden hut.
In front of the hut stood a relatively large plum blossom tree. Beneath the tree was a stone table with three stone stools.
At that moment, a voice suddenly rang out.
"Never did old me think that a distinguished guest would grace this humble Plum Blossom Immortal Realm today."
As the voice sounded, all the plum blossom trees within the immortal realm seemed to come to life, swaying gently. Petals bloomed and fell in showers, like a dazzling rain of flowers, falling to the ground like waves rising in a sea of blossoms.
In front of the wooden hut, the larger plum blossom tree also shed many petals. As one of the petals drifted down like a feather, it transformed into a person.
It was an old man.
An old man with white hair and beard, possessing an immortal grace, with white hair yet a youthful face.
The old man appeared, a smile on his face. Stroking his long white beard, he gazed at Gu Qingfeng, then cupped his hands and said, "This old Daoist is Plum Blossom. I pay my respects to You Di."
Gu Qingfeng looked at the old man and asked, "You know me?"
"The name of You Di is known throughout the heavens above and the earth below, from ancient times to the present, across the myriad realms. Who does not know it? Who has not heard of it?"
"Since you know me, do you know why I have come?"
"You Di has come for the Ancestral Realm."
Gu Qingfeng continued asking, "For what purpose?"
"For the Empress."
"Which Empress?"
Plum Blossom Elder smiled faintly and said, "You Di already has the answer in your heart. Why bother asking this old Daoist again?"
Gu Qingfeng took a deep breath and shook his head with a sigh. This sigh also expelled the helplessness in his heart.
Although he had already guessed that the Lingluo Ancestor might be Jun Xuanji, a part of him still hoped it wasn't her, because he truly did not wish to see Jun Xuanji. Yet, after meeting Plum Blossom Elder, that last glimmer of hope vanished into thin air. Even if he didn't want to, he had no choice but to meet her. And every time he saw Jun Xuanji, it always drew him deeper into Original Sin.
He looked at Plum Blossom Elder with a puzzled expression and asked, "You look somewhat familiar. Have we met before?"
Plum Blossom Elder nodded and replied, "This old Daoist has crossed paths with You Di once."
"Oh?
So it really happened."
Gu Qingfeng thought carefully. He only felt that Plum Blossom Elder looked familiar, but beyond that, he really couldn't remember. So he asked, "When did we meet? And where?"
"Back then, you had not yet ascended to become You Di. You were still the Scarlet Sky Sovereign of the Primordial World."
"And then?
When did we meet?"
"Back then, after the Empress was rejected by You Di, she was heartbroken, fell into demonhood, lost her mind, and wished to perish together with You Di..." Before Plum Blossom Elder could finish his sentence, Gu Qingfeng had already remembered something. He said, "So you were that mysterious person who forcibly took Jun Xuanji away back then?"
"Indeed, it was this old Daoist."