Dead?
Yes.
Dead.
After Gu Qingfeng extracted their Dao-Hearts, all ten Heavenly Destiny masters were annihilated on the spot, perishing in a bloody pulp, their souls shattered, with no place for burial and no chance for reincarnation.
Moreover, Gu Qingfeng did this right before the eyes of these magnate Ancestral Patriarchs, before the Nine Heavens Immortal Path, and before all beings across the myriad realms, beneath the rolling might of Heaven and the domineering Voice of Heavenly Thunder. He just killed the ten Heavenly Destiny masters like that.
One could say he was as arrogant as could be.
Arrogant to the point of recklessness, arrogant to the point of defying all law and heaven.
Publicly annihilating Heavenly Destiny masters in front of the masses was not merely a provocation against the dignity of the Great Wasteland magnates, but also a provocation against the dignity of the Thirty-Six Grotto-Heavens and Seventy-Two Blessed Lands, the dignity of the Nine Heavens Immortal Path, and even the dignity of the Heavenly Dao's hegemony!
No!
This wasn't provocation at all.
By publicly executing the ten Heavenly Destiny masters, Gu Qingfeng showed not a shred of regard for the hegemonic dignity of these Great Dao magnates.
Boom! The Voice of Heavenly Thunder accompanied by the rolling might of Heaven sounded again, shaking the myriad realms and intimidating all living beings.
Boundless dark flames burned.
Infinite silent waters boiled.
Boundless songs of slaughter roared.
Endless winds of death swept forth.
The domain formed from the four forbidden Great Daos of Darkness, Silence, Slaughter, and Death was both mysterious and sinister, cruel and violent, like the legendary Primal Earth Fiend, seemingly intent on contending against the overbearing might of the Heavenly Mandate.
And here.
Whether they were the incarnations of the Nine Heavens Immortal Path Ancestors or the incarnations of the various magnate Ancestral Patriarchs, all were trapped within Gu Qingfeng's domain, unable to move an inch. The more they struggled, the deeper they sank, as if trapped in a dark, silent swamp of hell, or falling into an endless abyss of pure evil. It was utterly terrifying.
To say these Ancestral Patriarchs deserved their status as magnates—they were indeed knowledgeable, experienced, and possessed extraordinary Heart-Minds. Even trapped in this predicament, unable to break free, they showed no trace of fear. While cautiously employing their supernatural abilities to try and break Gu Qingfeng's domain, they kept their eyes on Gu Qingfeng, or more precisely, on the ten Heavenly Destiny Hearts floating in his palm.
Boom! The Voice of Heavenly Thunder continued, and the Heavenly might grew even stronger.
As was well known.
The Voice of Heavenly Thunder was especially terrifying.
When it entered one's ears, no matter how high one's cultivation, how powerful one's strength, how unshakeable one's Heart-Mind, or how transcendent one's state of mind, hearing the Voice of Heavenly Thunder would inevitably breed reverence within, and one's Heart-Mind would waver. No one was an exception.
The Heavenly Dao was the Heavenly Dao, the overlord ruling heaven and earth, the Old Heaven overseeing all things in creation.
The reverence all living beings held for the Heavenly Dao was innate, impossible to change later in life. Unless one could leap beyond heaven and earth, transcend the Three Thousand Great Daos, one simply could not resist the Voice of Heavenly Thunder.
Here.
The magnate Ancestral Patriarchs trapped within the domain were no different. When the Voice of Heavenly Thunder sounded, they all felt reverence arise within. Their Heart-Minds did not collapse, but uncontrollably wavered, becoming extremely unstable, as if they might collapse at any moment.
With a wavering Heart-Mind, one could not concentrate, and divine sense could not coalesce. If one forcibly employed supernatural abilities while divine sense was uncoalesced, it could easily lead to mental collapse, resulting in blurred consciousness and soul damage—consequences too dire to contemplate.
Therefore.
They could only cautiously try to break free, not daring to act recklessly, fearing the collapse of their Heart-Minds. And once the Heart-Mind collapsed, they would essentially lose their combat power, making the situation even more dangerous.
When the Voice of Heavenly Thunder sounded, all who heard it were thus affected.
However.
If one defied the Heavenly Dao, acting against Heaven's will, then hearing the Voice of Heavenly Thunder would cause not just the Heart-Mind to collapse, but the physical body and soul as well.
Since ancient times, anyone who committed a heaven-defying crime, once the Voice of Heavenly Thunder sounded, would find it utterly unavoidable and unblockable. They would be shaken to ashes on the spot, with no chance for reincarnation.
Perhaps some powerful heaven-defying individuals could withstand one instance of the Voice of Heavenly Thunder.
But.
Withstanding one did not mean they could withstand a second.
One must know that each time the Voice of Heavenly Thunder sounded, the intimidating power of Heaven grew stronger, and it was relentless, continuing until it shook one to ashes.
Escape?
Sorry.
Facing the Heavenly Dao's punishment, there was nowhere to flee, nowhere to hide. Once one committed a heaven-defying crime, the only thing to do was await death.
Precisely because of this.
Since ancient times, there might have been many who defied the Nine Heavens Immortal Path, and quite a few who survived. But those who dared to act against Heaven, defy the Heavenly Dao, were few, and those who survived were even fewer.
Now, Gu Qingfeng had publicly executed ten Heavenly Destiny masters and seized their Destiny Hearts. The crime he committed was absolutely monstrous, intolerable to heaven and earth. In other words, the Voice of Heavenly Thunder sounding at this moment was meant to sanction him and pass judgment upon him.
Yet what was truly unbelievable was that after the Voice of Heavenly Thunder sounded, it seemed to have no effect whatsoever on Gu Qingfeng.
Forget soul collapse, forget physical collapse—it was likely his Heart-Mind hadn't even collapsed. If his Heart-Mind had collapsed, the domain he had manifested could not possibly have persisted until now. Yet his domain not only showed no signs of weakening, but instead grew increasingly potent.
What was even more baffling was that the Voice of Heavenly Thunder had already sounded five or six times consecutively, each time with greater intimidating power. Why was he unaffected by the Voice of Heavenly Thunder?
Had he leapt beyond heaven and earth, transcended the Three Thousand Great Daos?
Was that possible?
No!
Absolutely impossible!
If one transcended heaven and earth, one would have attained sainthood!
Had Gu Qingfeng attained sainthood?
Clearly not.
But if he hadn't attained sainthood, why was he unaffected by the Voice of Heavenly Thunder?
Or perhaps.
His physical body, his soul, his Heart-Mind had grown strong to an unimaginable degree, allowing him to withstand five or six instances of the Voice of Heavenly Thunder without any effect.
Unknown.
No one knew.
In the Ancient Era, Gu Qingfeng's heaven-piercing cultivation and his sinister yet profound attainments were filled with mystery and the unknown, making him impossible to see through.
Unexpectedly, in the Current Era, Gu Qingfeng possessed neither cultivation nor any attainments, yet he was even more mysterious, even more unknown than in the Ancient Era, to the point where one could call him unfathomable even to gods and ghosts.
Boom! Another Voice of Heavenly Thunder sounded, the Heavenly might growing even stronger.
Like the wrath of the heavens, it made one's heart tremble with fear.
The magnate Ancestral Patriarchs trapped within the domain, their already wavering Heart-Minds were now shaken to the point of flickering in and out, on the verge of collapse at any moment. At this, the magnate Ancestral Patriarchs dared not act rashly, fearing the collapse of their Heart-Minds. Lifting their heads to look over, they saw that Gu Qingfeng was still standing there quietly, utterly unaffected by the Voice of Heavenly Thunder.
Just then, Gu Qingfeng slowly raised his head, glanced at the churning, stormy Heavenly Mandate, and a trace of solitary arrogance curved the corner of his lips. He slowly raised his right hand, fingers spread, his palm floating ten golden-jade hearts—none other than the ten Heavenly Destiny Hearts.
"Since you all wish to know my stance, then today I shall tell you..."