The other party did not answer Gu Qingfeng's question, but instead asked, "Young man...
What is...
the present era?"
What is the present era.
This was a question Gu Qingfeng truly did not know how to answer.
Logically speaking, the Present Era had already lasted over ten thousand years.
However, 'ten thousand years of the Present Era' was a rather common saying. The current age was the Present Era, but if this age ended and the next age began, then this age would become the Ancient Era, and the next age would be the Present Era.
Strictly speaking, each era also had a specific designation, and most of these designations were defined according to the Heavenly Destiny.
For example, if the Heavenly Destiny of the Ancient Era was the Throne, then the designation of the Ancient Era was the Throne Era. The Heavenly Destiny of the Present Era was the Star Lord, therefore, the Present Era was the Star Lord Era.
After thinking for a moment, Gu Qingfeng responded, "The present era is the Star Lord Era, lasting ten thousand years."
That strand of Divine Sense was still drifting amidst the chaotic currents that resembled raging storms and towering waves. Moreover, Gu Qingfeng could see that this Divine Sense was very weak, as if it could dissipate at any moment.
"To think...
so many years have already passed...
Even the Star Lord Heavenly Destiny has descended..." That Divine Sense seemed to be lamenting the passage of time. Immediately after, as if remembering something, it murmured to itself, "Imperial Authority, Emperor's Seal, Throne, Star Lord...
If...
this old one remembers correctly, the Star Lord should be the final Heavenly Destiny...
With the final Heavenly Destiny descended, the tribulation of the Great Dao should be upon us..."
"Old Senior, which era do you belong to?"
"The era this old one belongs to...
The Heavenly Destiny of Imperial Authority had not yet descended..."
Hearing this, Gu Qingfeng's heart stirred. The Heavenly Destiny of Imperial Authority belonged to the Primeval Ancient Era. If the era this Old Senior belonged to hadn't even seen the descent of the Imperial Authority Heavenly Destiny, then that meant he was an existence from before the Primeval Ancient Era. And before the Primeval Ancient Era, there was a mysterious Desolate Ancient Era, and an unknown Daoless Age.
Thinking of this, Gu Qingfeng asked, "Might I ask if Old Senior is a lofty figure from the Desolate Ancient Era?
Or a lofty figure from the Daoless Age?"
"The Daoless is not an era...
The Desolate Ancient is also not merely an era...
It's not that simple..."
Gu Qingfeng pondered the Old Senior's words, but no matter how much he thought, he couldn't understand what they meant.
What did it mean that the Daoless was not an era? And what did it mean that the Desolate Ancient was not merely an era?
What was the meaning of this?
"The Great Dao is about to fall, the Daoless is about to return..." The Old Senior murmured to himself, his Divine Sense growing even weaker amidst the chaotic currents, whispering, "Reincarnation...
Another cycle..."
He continued murmuring like this to himself, his Divine Sense growing fainter and fainter, until it gradually vanished within the layers of spatial chaotic currents.
It truly vanished.
As if it had never existed. Gu Qingfeng waited for a while, but the Old Senior's Divine Sense did not reappear. Worried that something might have happened, he quickly retracted his own Divine Sense as well.
He continued stabilizing the spatial tunnel with his Absolute Force, his mind turning over the words the Old Senior had spoken. He thought for a long time but couldn't make sense of them. However, he did glean some insight from the Old Senior's ability to drift his Divine Sense amidst the spatial chaotic currents. He grasped a bit of its profound mystery, thinking he would find time later to carefully comprehend it. Perhaps in the future, his own Divine Sense could also drift amidst spatial chaotic currents.
Suddenly.
The spatial tunnel changed again.
Gu Qingfeng thought it had been struck by spatial chaotic currents once more, but upon closer inspection, he was overjoyed, for he discovered the spatial tunnel had reached its destination. The feeling was like seeing light after being lost in darkness.
After a few breaths, Gu Qingfeng finally emerged from the spatial tunnel, arriving in an unfamiliar space.
He immediately released his Divine Sense to investigate. Sensing the presence of the Great Nature, he slowly let out a sigh of relief.
Since there was Great Nature, it meant this space was still within the Great Desolate. At the very least, it wasn't the Endless Sea beyond the Order.
This unfamiliar space had no sun, moon, or stars, indicating it was neither dominated by the Nine Heavens Light Dao nor shrouded by the Nine Netherworlds Darkness Dao.
The space also had no Source, meaning it wasn't a world-space born of the Great Nature. Could it be some artificially created spirit realm or secret realm?
Hard to say.
Gu Qingfeng couldn't tell much for the moment.
He could only investigate slowly.
Although this place had Great Nature, there was no pure spiritual energy. What existed was only turbid spiritual energy, and it was an extremely terrifying Turbid Qi, as if containing a potent poison. Forget inhaling a mouthful; even just being contaminated by this stuff, if one's physical body wasn't strong enough, they wouldn't last more than a few breaths before being corroded to nothingness by this Turbid Qi.
Even Gu Qingfeng, with his incredibly robust physical body, felt uncomfortable all over after teleporting here. He experienced a sensation of chest tightness, shortness of breath, dizziness, and a muddled head.
Based on his experience, this place had definitely been abandoned for no short period.
Turbid Qi grew denser with the passage of time. The denser the Turbid Qi, the stronger its toxicity. In Gu Qingfeng's view, this place probably hadn't been abandoned since the Ancient Era. If it had been abandoned since the Remote Ancient Era, the Turbid Qi likely wouldn't be this intense. Therefore, this place was probably abandoned since the Primeval Ancient Era.
Could it be a ruin from the Primeval Ancient Era?
He didn't know.
Gu Qingfeng leaped up and advanced slowly. The space held no signs of life, nor any structures. There were no mountains, rivers, flowers, or trees. Not even ruins. There was only an endless expanse of swamp.
"Damn it!
Is that old bald donkey Da Xing the Mad Monk so bored his balls ache that he'd come to this godforsaken place where birds don't even shit!"
After releasing his Divine Sense, Gu Qingfeng did not envelop a large area. Instead, he casually probed around, searching for traces of Da Xing the Mad Monk.
His Divine Sense was extremely powerful. If he wished, the range it could cover was vast and limitless; he could even envelop the entire space.
However, Gu Qingfeng did not do this.
Having spent so many years in the Great Desolate, he knew very well that blindly probing unknown existences was a major taboo, especially in a space abandoned for who knows how many eons. Who knew what terrifying existences might lurk within?
Although Gu Qingfeng's courage had always been great, and he had always acted without restraint, he wasn't someone who went looking for trouble.
In the Great Desolate, using Divine Sense to probe was both an act of offense and a provocation.
Most importantly.
Using Divine Sense to probe was no easy task.
Divine Sense was a form of mental consciousness, belonging to the heart and mind.
Using Divine Sense to probe also consumed mental energy. The longer it was used, the wider the range covered, the more detailed the investigation, the more taxing it was on the heart and mind.
If he encountered some urgent situation, Gu Qingfeng might release his Divine Sense for a full-range probe. But to exhaust his heart and mind searching for that old bald donkey Da Xing the Mad Monk? Gu Qingfeng couldn't be bothered.
He continued casually probing with his Divine Sense. After searching for a while without finding any trace of Da Xing the Mad Monk, he was about to change direction and continue the search when, with a *bang*, two streams of light shot out from the swamp in the distance.