Though the Outer Heaven is called the Endless Sea, this sea has no surface—only countless, innumerable chaotic currents.
This sea of chaotic currents is boundless and endless, like raging stormy waves, rolling tides, and a tsunami that devours everything.
Gu Qingfeng drifted aimlessly in the Endless Sea like a leaf boat tossed by fierce winds and towering waves, flowing wherever the waves pushed him. It wasn’t that he wanted to drift like this; he had no choice.
The Little Zen Hidden Realm had disintegrated.
Mo Wentian was nowhere to be seen, Da Xing the Mad Monk was also gone, and even Water Moon Bodhisattva, the Five Monsters of Heishan, and that mysterious black-clothed man had vanished without a trace. He didn’t know whether they had been swept into some Forgotten Space by the currents or were drifting in the Endless Sea just like him.
At this moment, Gu Qingfeng had no mind to worry about the life or death of others. Although he had learned the ability to go with the flow, allowing him to drift within the Endless Sea without being swept into the chaotic currents, that was all he could do. Beyond that, he was powerless.
Moreover, this go-with-the-flow ability, while not a huge drain for Gu Qingfeng, was certainly not effortless. After all, he had only recently mastered it and wasn’t very proficient yet; it was unstable, causing him to sway and stumble, and he would occasionally be swept into the currents. Thus, while drifting, he had to concentrate fully, preventing himself from being either pulled into or crushed by the chaotic currents.
If he could thoroughly comprehend and master this go-with-the-flow ability, Gu Qingfeng estimated that drifting in the Endless Sea would be no more difficult than drifting in the Great Desolate Void.
The problem was, in the Great Desolate Void, one could at least find some world or hidden realm to rest in. But here in the Outer Heaven’s Endless Sea, there was nothing—no place to rest at all.
No matter how formidable Gu Qingfeng’s capabilities were, possessing infinite vitality, endless life, and even a ceaseless source of power, he couldn’t withstand this kind of ordeal. Continuing like this would either drain him to death or drive him to mental collapse.
What should he do?
Was he destined to resign himself to fate?
He didn’t know.
If he was lucky and encountered some kind of chaotic current storm, there might be a chance to return to the Great Desolate. However, the odds were far too slim. And even if he did encounter a chaotic current storm, it wasn’t guaranteed to send him back to the Great Desolate. Not only might he fail to return, he could even be swept into some place he’d never even heard of.
No matter how he thought about it, Gu Qingfeng felt that in the Endless Sea, he could never escape the four words: resigning himself to fate.
“That old bald donkey Da Xing has really screwed me over this time!”
Thinking of this, Gu Qingfeng grew extremely frustrated, wishing he could chop Da Xing the Mad Monk into pieces to vent his hatred. He pondered that if he could return to the Great Desolate this time, he would definitely find Da Xing and settle this score.
As he drifted, Gu Qingfeng gradually noticed something unusual. The various chaotic currents were no longer sweeping chaotically and overwhelmingly in all directions; instead, they were flowing quite orderly toward one direction. It felt like water rushing into a gully, all flowing along the channel.
What was going on?
Gu Qingfeng wasn’t sure. In the Endless Sea, he didn’t dare to casually release his divine sense to investigate and could only rely on his eyes to see. However, due to the chaotic currents filling the Endless Sea, his visible range was extremely limited.
As time passed bit by bit, Gu Qingfeng was shocked to discover that the speed at which the various chaotic currents were sweeping along was clearly intensifying, growing faster and more frenzied.
Vaguely, Gu Qingfeng had a sense of foreboding. He suspected he might have encountered a chaotic current vortex!
Yes!
A chaotic current vortex!
It had to be!
Otherwise, the various chaotic currents wouldn’t flow uniformly in one direction.
Had he actually hit the mark and encountered a chaotic current storm?
As the chaotic currents swept along with increasing frenzy, Gu Qingfeng grew more and more certain that he had definitely encountered a chaotic current vortex—the legendary chaotic current storm!
At this thought, Gu Qingfeng felt a surge of joy in his heart, but after the initial delight came worry.
Because encountering a chaotic current storm did indeed present a chance to return to the Great Desolate. It was possible that as the storm vortex spun, it might rotate back onto the track of Heaven-Earth Order. Most of the Forgotten Spaces drifting in the Endless Sea that manifested in the world did so for this reason.
But if the chaotic current storm didn’t rotate back to the Great Desolate and instead spun deeper into the Endless Sea… well, that would be a real mess.
What should he do?
Should he gamble?
The moment this thought emerged, Gu Qingfeng immediately crushed it, deciding to flee from the chaotic current storm.
Although he was fond of gambling and won nine times out of ten, the only times he had gambled with fate, he had lost all three.
Therefore.
Gu Qingfeng would never gamble with fate, nor would he ever entrust his fate to fate!
However.
Just as Gu Qingfeng prepared to flee from the chaotic current storm, he suddenly realized this was an extremely difficult task. Since he had decided to escape, he no longer went with the flow but instead exerted all his strength to charge outward.
Alas.
The chaotic currents swept along too fast and too frenziedly. Even with Gu Qingfeng charging at full strength, it was futile. The feeling was like swimming against fierce winds and towering waves: swimming forward four or five meters only to be swept back seven or eight meters by the currents.
Moreover, the deeper he sank into the vortex, the faster the various chaotic currents flowed. The faster they flowed, the more terrifying their sweeping force became. One must know that these chaotic currents were mostly spatial chaotic currents; the force of each current sweeping by was comparable to an entire world crashing down—or even more than one world.
And that was just for each individual current. The chaotic currents were like fierce winds and towering waves; a single massive wave contained who knew how many currents, and the power it contained was even more horrifying.
Gu Qingfeng relied solely on his physical body to withstand the force of the various chaotic currents, attempting to forcefully break through.
Whether it was because he had sunk too deep into the chaotic current vortex or because the vortex’s range had expanded, despite exerting all his strength, Gu Qingfeng ultimately failed to break out. Moreover, after struggling for so long, he was utterly exhausted.
As the saying goes, it’s only when you need knowledge that you regret not having studied enough.
Cultivation was no exception.
Ever since the end of the Ancient Era, after Gu Qingfeng was judged, he had been in a weakened state. After the Modern Era began, a blaze of Original Sin Karma Fire caused him to sleep for ten thousand years. Upon awakening, he was even weaker. Originally, after leaving Lingluo Celestial Domain, Gu Qingfeng had planned to find a place to properly go into seclusion and recover his vital essence. Never did he expect Da Xing the Mad Monk to lure him into the Endless Sea. Now, although his physical body possessed infinite vitality and infinite power, can be called immortal, nearly immortal, his own vital essence was too weak, simply could not sustain his physical body that contained infinite vitality and infinite power. Physical Body unable to sustain his body that contained infinite vitality and power.
He had initially considered manifesting a forbidden incarnation like Ascend to the Blue Sky, Descend to the Yellow Springs to struggle a bit more, but after a second thought, he decided to forget it. No more pointless struggling. What is destined cannot be avoided; if disaster is fated, there is no escape. Let it be.