Life seldom goes as one wishes.
This time, even if Gu Qingfeng was unwilling, he had no choice but to gamble with fate.
However, matters of fate are always determined by one's nature.
Gu Qingfeng was a lazy man, and moreover, a lazy man with not particularly firm willpower. Under normal circumstances, unless pushed to the brink, he wouldn't exert his full strength to struggle. It was like how even if the sky were to fall, as long as it didn't hit him, he couldn't be bothered to move a muscle.
This time was no exception.
To be honest, Gu Qingfeng himself was quite willing to gamble with fate. It was just that a stubborn streak in his heart wouldn't allow it. So, he pretended to exert his utmost strength, exhausting himself in the process, to convince his own heart. It sounded a bit like deceiving oneself, and indeed it was. But Gu Qingfeng was precisely this kind of person: one who wouldn't move unless dragged, who'd retreat when pushed, who wouldn't exert himself unless at the absolute limit.
Since he had decided to Go with the Flow, Gu Qingfeng stopped his pointless struggling. He continued drifting along with the tumultuous, storm-like layers of Chaotic Currents. Based on the flow of the currents, he could clearly sense that the Chaotic Current Vortex he had encountered this time was definitely not small. It felt like even after drifting for so long, he was still floating on the outer edges of the vortex.
Although Gu Qingfeng had fallen into the Endless Sea several times before, on each of those occasions he was instantly swept into some Forgotten Space within the currents without ever drifting through the Endless Sea itself.
Thus, he wasn't too familiar with the Endless Sea. As for how Chaotic Current Vortices were formed, he didn't know either. He had only heard others say that Chaotic Current Vortices were a very sinister phenomenon.
Drifting along like this, he had no idea how much time had passed when suddenly, Gu Qingfeng noticed something was off. Up ahead, there seemed to be a golden radiance. The light was burning within the currents like flames. Looking closely, it appeared there was a person inside the light. Looking again, it turned out to be a monk.
When he clearly saw the monk's appearance, Gu Qingfeng almost burst out laughing. That monk was none other than Da Xing the Mad Monk.
At this moment,
Da Xing the Mad Monk, with palms pressed together, had transformed into a golden-bodied Arhat and was desperately, urgently trying to rush outward. Unfortunately, the effect wasn't great. Just like Gu Qingfeng earlier, he would exert every ounce of strength to ride the wind and waves, struggling forward four or five meters, only to be pushed back six or seven meters by the currents. Continuing like this, forget about getting out, even maintaining his current position was an extremely difficult task. The only benefit of such struggling was that the speed at which he was being drawn into the Chaotic Current Vortex slowed down a bit.
"This old Bald Donkey is quite persistent!
Seeing that he can't get out, he's still holding on."
Watching Da Xing the Mad Monk advance and retreat, retreat and advance within the Chaotic Current Vortex, Gu Qingfeng found it genuinely amusing. While amused, he also felt a considerable degree of admiration for Da Xing the Mad Monk in his heart.
What he admired was not only Da Xing the Mad Monk's persistent spirit, but also his vast and profound Buddhist Dharma.
Earlier, Gu Qingfeng had also tried to charge out of the Chaotic Current Vortex, only to end up exhausted and forced to give up. He deeply understood how difficult it was to move against the flow within a Chaotic Current Vortex and how immense the pressure one had to withstand was. Yet Da Xing the Mad Monk, relying solely on his Buddhist Dharma, was supporting his Immovable Golden Body and stubbornly resisting within the Chaotic Current Vortex for so long. Moreover, his Dharma seemed as vast and boundless as an endless, ever-flowing source.
"Damn it!
This old Bald Donkey Da Xing really was holding back, keeping a trick up his sleeve!"
Gu Qingfeng remembered back in the spatial tunnel when Da Xing the Mad Monk said that after manifesting his Immovable Golden Body, his own Cultivation Level would at most allow him to struggle in the Endless Sea for just a few breaths of time.
Now it seemed that Da Xing the Mad Monk's true Cultivation Level and strength were probably unfathomably deep. One must know that a Chaotic Current Vortex was far, far more terrifying than ordinary Chaotic Currents in the Endless Sea.
Seeing the distance between himself and Da Xing the Mad Monk shrinking, Gu Qingfeng tried to calculate. He realized that if he continued to drift with the flow, he probably wouldn't get close enough to reach Da Xing the Mad Monk.
Da Xing the Mad Monk was a point within the vortex, while he was still outside, but the distance between them wasn't far. Immediately, Gu Qingfeng took a deep breath and exerted force sharply, making himself sink deeper. Sensing that this time he might drift right next to Da Xing the Mad Monk, he shouted, "Da Xing, you old Bald Donkey! We really are fated to meet on a narrow path! I never thought we'd see each other again so soon!"
Da Xing the Mad Monk, desperately rushing within the Chaotic Current Vortex, heard the shout and looked around. When he saw Gu Qingfeng drifting toward him, his expression froze for a moment, then turned to great joy as he shouted, "Kid Gu!
It's actually you!"
"That's right!
It's your daddy!"
"What's going on with you, kid? Don't tell me you got swept in too?
This is a Chaotic Current Storm!
Run!
If you get swept into a Chaotic Current Storm, it's over!
Run!
Hurry up and run!"
"Run?
What's there to run from!"
As the distance to Da Xing the Mad Monk grew shorter, the smile on Gu Qingfeng's lips grew wider. Just as he was about to drift beside Da Xing the Mad Monk, he roared, "You tricked me so miserably. Now it's finally my turn to trick you once, right? Get the hell down there for me!"
With that,
Gu Qingfeng circulated the Absolute Power throughout his body, raised his foot, and kicked directly at Da Xing the Mad Monk's chest.
Although this kick couldn't be considered Gu Qingfeng's full-strength attack, it wasn't far off. Combined with the fact that Da Xing the Mad Monk never expected Gu Qingfeng to ambush him and didn't even have time to react, he was kicked on the spot by Gu Qingfeng's foot, sending him tumbling deep into the heart of the Chaotic Current Vortex.
"You surnamed Gu little bastard!
Your uncle!
Just you wait for me, old monk!
!!
!!"
Da Xing the Mad Monk's furious shouts echoed back. Gu Qingfeng laughed heartily, the anger pent up in his chest finally vented completely at this moment. It felt truly, utterly satisfying.
To say Gu Qingfeng's kick was vicious would be an understatement; it directly sent Da Xing the Mad Monk disappearing, vanishing without a trace. Of course, he wasn't worried about Da Xing the Mad Monk's safety. Gu Qingfeng reckoned that even if he were to drown in this Chaotic Current Vortex, Da Xing the Mad Monk might not necessarily die here.
However, that kick of his not only sent Da Xing the Mad Monk deeper into the Chaotic Current Vortex but also dragged himself further in. He clearly felt the speed of the Chaotic Current's rotation intensifying, and the faster it spun, the more powerful its force became.
Gu Qingfeng dared not delay. Carefully, he continued to drift with the flow. Fortunately, he had comprehended this ability to drift within Chaotic Currents back in the teleportation passage. It allowed him to avoid being swept away by the currents and to cleverly evade their force. If not for that, relying solely on Cultivation Level and strength to resist, whether he could withstand it was one thing; even if he did, he'd likely lose a layer of skin if not his life.
As he drifted with the flow, Gu Qingfeng pondered. Since both he and Da Xing the Mad Monk had been swept into this Chaotic Current Vortex, it was likely that Mo Wentian, Water Moon Bodhisattva, and the Five Monsters of Heishan had also been swept in, nine times out of ten. He just didn't know what their current situation was.