"What a piece of junk!"
Gu Qingfeng stared at the unpolished jade stone in his palm. After studying it for a long time without figuring anything out, he glanced in the direction where Bai Chou had disappeared, shook his head, and cursed under his breath. He put the stone away and immediately departed, resuming his journey towards the Qianji Heavenly Domain.
The Qianji Heavenly Domain was a rather ordinary domain, much like many others in the Great Desolation, lacking any significant presence.
The reason was simple.
The Qianji Heavenly Domain possessed neither ancient legacies like blessed lands and grotto-heavens, nor was it home to any Great Desolation behemoths with influence spanning the Myriad Heavens and Worlds. It was mostly populated by third-rate Immortal families. Throughout history, it had produced quite a few famous Dao scholars and prodigies, but they were only famous in a relative sense—at best, they dominated this single Heavenly Domain, wielding little influence across the vast expanse of the Great Desolation's Myriad Heavens and Worlds.
Although Gu Qingfeng knew that Da Fuzi had reincarnated into the Qianji Heavenly Domain as a Buddhist prophet, he did not know the exact location.
Upon inquiring, he learned that Da Fuzi was at Yunjue Temple in the Flower-Bird World.
The Flower-Bird World was a mortal realm.
Originally thinking the world was named for its flowers and birds, Gu Qingfeng discovered upon arrival that it had neither flowers nor birds. Instead, there were only undulating mountain ranges and dense forests.
Cultivation sects weren't absent, and cultivators could be seen, but compared to the prosperous Ancient World, the so-called Flower-Bird World appeared rather desolate. To Gu Qingfeng, it felt like the Great Northwest of the Ancient Era—not only sparsely populated, but even the Spiritual Energy seemed rather thin.
Yunjue Temple was situated on a mountain.
The area below the mountain was relatively lively, with quite a few people, resembling a bustling small town.
To tell the truth, the Flower-Bird World was once indeed a place of singing birds and fragrant flowers, benefiting from the revival of all things and abundant Spiritual Energy in the Current Era. However, several thousand years ago, a powerful natural storm struck the Flower-Bird World. It was said that storm damaged the world's origin, causing the Spiritual Energy to gradually thin. That very storm also brought catastrophic disaster to many sects in this world, causing countless casualties. Those who survived mostly moved away because of the dwindling Spiritual Energy.
After that natural storm, the Flower-Bird World began to decline, declining to the point where even the Immortal Court relocated from the world.
Everyone knew that once the Immortal Court left a world, it meant the Nine Heavens Immortal Path had abandoned it. Without the protection of the Nine Heavens Immortal Path and with scarce Spiritual Energy, the Flower-Bird World grew increasingly desolate.
Thousands of years passed, and people gradually forgot about the Flower-Bird World. But just a few decades ago, news spread that a Buddhist prophet had emerged from Yunjue Temple in the Flower-Bird World.
It was said this Buddhist prophet possessed eyes of wisdom, knew astronomy above and geography below, could deduce the past, observe the future, comprehend karma, glimpse heavenly secrets, resolve calamities, and offer guidance.
The rumors were quite fantastical.
Some said it was false, others said it was true.
Whether it was true or false was impossible to verify.
Because the abbot of Yunjue Temple said that the Buddhist prophet had already left over ten years ago.
Upon learning this news, Gu Qingfeng was greatly surprised.
Last time, Da Fuzi had secluded himself in the Changsheng Temple of the Shangqing Sect, waiting for Gu Qingfeng. By the time Gu Qingfeng arrived, Da Fuzi had already left.
Now, Da Fuzi had reincarnated and appeared as a Buddhist prophet at Yunjue Temple. Yet again, by the time Gu Qingfeng arrived, Da Fuzi had already left.
How could this be?
Could it be that Da Fuzi didn't want to see him?
That didn't make sense.
Da Fuzi had no reason not to want to see him. If he didn't want to, he wouldn't have secluded himself in Changsheng Temple waiting for him back then.
Since Da Fuzi waited for him, he must have had something to say.
So why had Gu Qingfeng missed him both times?
In Gu Qingfeng's mind, with Da Fuzi's abilities, he would certainly know Gu Qingfeng would come looking for him here.
What reason caused Da Fuzi to leave again?
Could it be that Da Fuzi had reincarnated once more?
Hard to say.
Da Fuzi was an Incarnation of the Bodhisattva Ksitigarbha (Great Vow Dizang Wang), who once made the grand vow: 'Until the hells are emptied, I vow not to attain Buddhahood. Throughout all future kalpas, for all suffering beings with sin, I shall extensively establish expedient means to enable their liberation.' He had undergone countless reincarnations, resolving numerous tribulations, all to deliver all living beings of the Great Dao.
As for whether Da Fuzi had truly reincarnated again, even Gu Qingfeng couldn't say for sure.
Since he was here, he wasn't in a hurry to leave. He pondered going to Yunjue Temple to see if he could inquire about any news of Da Fuzi.
To be honest, Gu Qingfeng did not like dealing with Buddhist cultivators. Whether they were monks from the mortal world or Buddhas from the Western Paradise, he found them displeasing. It wasn't because the Western Paradise's Buddha Dao had once tried to execute him in the Ancient Era, but rather because most of the Buddhist cultivators he had encountered over the years were no good, always using the pretense of 'eradicating demons and defending the Dao' to stand on the moral high ground. Their hypocrisy was even more shameless than those Immortals from the Nine Heavens Immortal Path.
Perhaps a small minority of Buddhist cultivators truly took protecting the living beings of the Great Dao as their duty, punishing evil and promoting good, healing the sick and aiding the distressed.
However, Gu Qingfeng still found them displeasing.
He felt these Buddhist cultivators divided good and evil too clearly—black and white, either good or evil. Their every word was either urging people towards goodness or saying 'saving a life is better than building a seven-story pagoda,' and things like 'turning hostility into friendship' or 'an eye for an eye makes the whole world blind.'
Every time Gu Qingfeng heard such words, he couldn't help but fly into a rage, immediately drawing his blade and starting a slaughter.
He was a mundane person, and a very vulgar one at that.
Having roamed the Great Desolation for so long, Gu Qingfeng had always indulged in the strongest liquor, flirted with the most beautiful women, living by the principles of eating, drinking, and merrymaking, and settling scores with gusto.
Repay grievances tenfold, repay kindnesses a hundredfold.
Therefore, when Gu Qingfeng sought revenge, he would kill anyone who tried to dissuade him, never showing mercy or holding back.
At the foot of the mountain, Gu Qingfeng glanced at Yunjue Temple and released his Divine Sense. There weren't many Buddhist cultivators in Yunjue Temple, only about a hundred or so. He didn't know the abbot of Yunjue Temple, nor did he know who it was. Thinking to find someone with higher cultivation, he swept his Divine Sense over the temple. One monk inside Yunjue Temple caught Gu Qingfeng's attention.
This monk's cultivation was the highest in Yunjue Temple.
Not only was his cultivation the highest, but he also carried the most spiritual auras.
Aside from Buddhist aura, he had a whole mess of other creation auras.
A real mess.
Not just treasure-body aura, but also bloodline aura. Good heavens!
He even had a Decree Mandate, wait!
He also had a Heavenly Mandate, and even a True Mandate!
Upon probing, Gu Qingfeng was quite astonished. This monk's array of creations was truly bizarre. Not only was he a Child of Fortune, but he was also, damn it, a Child of Tribulation. What surprised Gu Qingfeng even more was that he was also a Person of Original Sin.
And as he probed further, Gu Qingfeng suddenly felt this monk looked somewhat familiar.