As the saying goes, one wave had yet to settle when another rose.
No sooner had Gu Qingfeng struggled back from the chaotic currents of the Endless Sea than the structure of the spatial tunnel began to disintegrate before he could even catch his breath.
Both Gu Qingfeng, Mo Wentian, and Da Xing the Mad Monk could see that this time, the disintegration of the tunnel's structure was catastrophic. In other words, forget repairing it; even exhausting every means to stabilize it would be futile against the already collapsing framework.
Gu Qingfeng had had a bad feeling before coming here. He thought running into a Void Beast for no reason was unlucky enough, but he never expected to encounter this utterly exasperating structural collapse.
At this point, Gu Qingfeng couldn't be bothered to curse Da Xing the Mad Monk anymore, because once the spatial tunnel disintegrated, all of them would fall back into the chaotic currents of the Endless Sea Beyond the Outer Heaven. Then, they would truly find themselves in a situation where calling upon heaven brought no answer and crying to earth brought no relief.
Although he had comprehended the ability to go with the flow within the Endless Sea, he had no desire to drift aimlessly in that wretched place for the rest of his life. Moreover, the Endless Sea contained more than just spatial currents. He could go with the flow of spatial chaos, but that didn't mean he could do the same with temporal chaos.
"No way around it," Da Xing the Mad Monk took a deep breath and shouted, "Faced with such rotten luck, we have no choice but to risk everything and fight our way out! While the spatial tunnel hasn't completely collapsed yet, let's all push forward with everything we've got! The teleportation entrance to the Little Zen Secret Realm isn't far now. If we give it our all, we should be able to charge in!"
As his voice fell, Da Xing transformed into a golden Arhat, one hand held upright before his chest, the other supporting Water Moon Bodhisattva, and sprinted forward at full speed.
Gu Qingfeng, Mo Wentian, and the Five Monsters of Heishan didn't hesitate either, all putting their full effort into the forward dash.
The moment everyone began their sprint, the spatial structure disintegrated even more violently.
This was a last resort, but it was still better than waiting passively for death. One had to know that as the spatial tunnel structure collapsed, the teleportation entrance to the Little Zen Secret Realm would also close one after another. Therefore, they had to charge into the Little Zen Secret Realm before the tunnel's structure completely gave way.
*Crack!*
*Crack!*
As the group madly dashed forward, the spatial tunnel's structure deteriorated more and more severely.
"The teleportation entrance is right ahead!" Da Xing's shout echoed.
Gu Qingfeng looked up and indeed, at the tunnel's end was an entrance. It felt like a sliver of light in the darkness, dazzlingly bright. However, this radiance flickered like a blurry flame, seeming as if it might collapse at any moment.
Gu Qingfeng could see that the teleportation entrance leading to the Little Zen Secret Realm was also disintegrating. Immediately, he clenched his fists, steeled his heart, went all out, and charged forward like a crazed arrow.
Suddenly.
Gu Qingfeng felt something was wrong. Looking down, heavens! A red silk ribbon had somehow wrapped itself around his waist. This ribbon was none other than the Qiankun Ribbon.
"Kid Gu! Why are you running so fast by yourself? Wait for us!"
"Da Xing!" Gu Qingfeng cursed angrily, "Damn you!"
Da Xing the Mad Monk had not only bound Gu Qingfeng with the Qiankun Ribbon but also tied up Mo Wentian and the Five Monsters of Heishan. With a furious roar, he bellowed: "Om Ma Ni Pad Me Hum!"
As the Buddhist Six-Syllable Mantra activated, a golden radiance around Da Xing blazed like sacred fire. Vast Buddhist power erupted forth, and Da Xing, like a startled bull, pulled on the Qiankun Ribbon, dragging everyone behind him as he charged toward the teleportation entrance.
Just before the teleportation entrance collapsed, Da Xing finally succeeded in pulling everyone into the Little Zen Secret Realm.
"Da Xing! You son of a...!"
After charging into the Little Zen Secret Realm, Gu Qingfeng, utterly exhausted, plopped down on the ground, panting heavily as he cursed, "I came here in good faith to help you, and you pull this shit on me?"
Da Xing the Mad Monk was also exhausted, breathing heavily. "When... when did this old monk ever pull anything on you? I just thought it's better for everyone to stick together, watch out for each other. If we were going to fall into the Endless Sea, we'd fall together. If we were going to charge in, we'd charge in together. Why do you always have to be so special, kid?"
It wasn't that Gu Qingfeng liked being special. Ever since he began cultivating, he had always been alone. He endured hardship alone, enjoyed fortune alone, faced life and death alone. He was long accustomed to individualism. Suddenly being asked to play at teamwork was something he really couldn't adapt to. Most importantly, he wasn't a heroic figure like Mo Wentian. He couldn't bring himself to sacrifice himself for others, nor would he ever do so, especially not for a bunch of people he barely knew.
"Da Xing!" Mo Wentian, also quite tired from the earlier sprint, wasn't sitting on the ground panting like Gu Qingfeng. Instead, he stood there, his expression grave as he stared at the Little Zen Secret Realm, his brow furrowed as if deeply puzzled. "Is this the so-called Little Zen Secret Realm?"
"That's right! What's wrong?"
Da Xing the Mad Monk had just stood up. Looking up, he was immediately startled and exclaimed in shock, "Something's wrong! How did it become like this? When this old monk came before, the Little Zen Secret Realm was perfectly normal. Why has it become so chaotic now?"
Hearing this, Gu Qingfeng's heart gave an uneasy thump. He quickly began to survey their surroundings. He had never been to the Little Zen Secret Realm before and didn't know what it had looked like previously. All he knew was that the Little Zen Secret Realm now looked utterly terrible, completely disastrous.
In the sky above, dark clouds gathered, lightning crackled, fierce winds howled, and the earth trembled violently. It was like a natural storm, akin to the end of the world. What gave Gu Qingfeng an even bigger headache was his discovery that the space of this world was also extremely unstable. Not only was order in chaos, but laws were also in disarray. The entire world's space was a complete mess.
"How could this be?" Water Moon Bodhisattva gazed at the chaotic Little Zen Secret Realm, her face also filled with bewilderment. "Where are our Zen Sect's Elders?"
Suddenly, as if realizing something, she asked, "Could it be that the Zen Sect's relic has already manifested?"
"Impossible, right?" Da Xing the Mad Monk also spoke uncertainly. "Even if the Zen Sect's relic manifested, the Little Zen Secret Realm shouldn't be thrown into such chaos, should it? Spatial order is messed up, laws are messed up... could even the Primordial Chaos be in disorder too?"
Before his words faded, a thunderous *BOOM* echoed, and the entire world shook violently.
"Are there any other teleportation arrays in the Little Zen Secret Realm?" Tudigong's face was ashen with worry as he said, "This world is too chaotic, abnormally so. This old man thinks we should leave as soon as possible!"
"There are... there were, but..." Da Xing the Mad Monk hesitated, "This old monk thinks it's too late now. Since our teleportation array is destroyed, the other arrays are almost certainly destroyed as well."