A robe of white, purer than snow.
Three thousand strands of black hair, dark as ink.
Though the chaotic currents of the Desolate Ancient Era's Black Hole raged wildly, the hem of his robe did not flutter, nor did a single hair dance out of place.
Here, Gu Qingfeng stood like a statue anchored in the deep sea, seemingly utterly unaffected by the Black Hole's turbulent flows.
His eyes were closed, his hands clasped behind his back. An indescribable look of pleasure graced his ordinary face, a satisfied smile hanging at the corner of his mouth. He seemed to be sensing something, or perhaps, comprehending something.
Indeed.
Ever since awakening from his ten-thousand-year slumber, Gu Qingfeng's body had been completely disordered, decayed, and filled with impurities. Not only were his meridians and acupoints tightly clogged, but his internal organs and even his blood had dried up.
This feeling was extremely uncomfortable.
It was like being unable to breathe fresh air—dizzy and muddle-headed. Even slight movements of his limbs left him feeling breathless, unbearably stifled.
Now, it was finally better.
He had forcefully blasted open his acupoints with the boundless power of countless chaotic currents. His meridians were clear, his blood flowed smoothly, his Dantian was unimpeded, his internal organs felt like tender sprouts breaking through the soil, and his bones and sinews were like steel scrubbed clean of rust, completely renewed.
The roar he had just let out was also the long-suppressed fury Gu Qingfeng had been holding back. That single roar completely vented the pent-up rage in his heart.
This feeling was truly exhilarating.
It was as if he had been reborn, his entire being feeling much lighter.
However, the only thing that puzzled Gu Qingfeng was this: although his acupoints and meridians were unblocked, and his organs, Dantian, bones, and sinews were all renewed, his body still seemed to be in a state of slumber—devoid of vitality, lifeless and stagnant.
It was like an antique covered in rust; even after scrubbing away the rust, the antique remained dull and lustreless.
His body was like that now. Although his acupoints, meridians, bones, and sinews remained tangled and chaotic, the impurities within were gone. What needed to be cleared was clear, what needed to be emptied was empty, what needed to be purified was purified. But that was all.
In the past, Gu Qingfeng's acupoints could be described as profoundly mysterious, each acupoint like a world unto itself, containing its own transformations. Now, his acupoints looked more like abysses—and abysses filled with deathly stillness.
In the past, each of his bones and sinews had been tempered by the Nine Nether Ancestral Fire, like pillars supporting the heavens, like Nine Nether fire columns, shimmering with ghostly flames, indestructible and diamond-hard. Now, his bones and sinews looked like discarded iron that had lost its luster, dull and unadorned, no longer shimmering with ghostly flames.
In the past, his meridians were vivid and lifelike, each one like a great azure dragon coiled within his body. Now, although they still resembled azure dragons, they were no longer lifelike; they looked more like the fossilized skeletons of azure dragons.
In the past, his blood was like boiling magma, a fiery sea, fierce and mighty, flowing rampantly within him. Now, his blood still resembled a sea of magma, flowing within him as before, but it no longer boiled, nor was it fierce and mighty. It was like stagnant water.
In the past, his Dantian was like heaven and earth, like primordial chaos, with lightning flashing and thunder roaring, storms raging, oceans roaring, and volcanoes erupting. Now, his Dantian still resembled a world, but there was no more lightning or thunder, no roaring oceans. It was like a desolate world, empty and barren, with nothing left.
As for his internal organs, it was even more exaggerated. They were like divine statues, completely motionless.
Gu Qingfeng pondered whether it was because he hadn't awakened his Original Sin, causing his body to be lifeless and devoid of vitality.
Thinking it over carefully, that didn't seem right.
The 'body' and the 'form' were two different concepts.
If he hadn't awakened his Original Sin, it would affect his Original Sin Dharmakaya, not his physical form. Moreover, Gu Qingfeng didn't even have an Original Sin Dharmakaya yet.
But if it wasn't because of Original Sin, why was his physical form completely devoid of life?
Could it be because his soul was in slumber?
That also seemed unlikely.
Gu Qingfeng's soul was the Avici Asura soul, perpetually in a state of slumber. It had been like this before, yet in the past, his body hadn't been lifeless. On the contrary, although weak, it had been full of vitality.
Perhaps it was because his vital essence was too weak?
Or because it lacked the nurturing warmth of Spiritual Energy?
It was hard to say.
Gu Qingfeng couldn't figure it out for the moment. He could only find an opportunity later to investigate carefully.
Regardless, having his meridians and acupoints cleared and the impurities within his body gone was absolutely a great thing for Gu Qingfeng, a good start. As for why his body was lifeless, Gu Qingfeng believed he would understand in time.
Opening his eyes, he looked at Da Xing the Mad Monk in the distance, who looked like a startled bird. Gu Qingfeng wasn't surprised at all. He had sensed Da Xing's presence the moment the monk appeared. Not only that, he knew the Witch had also appeared, though she had left later. Although he didn't know what the Witch and Da Xing had discussed while he was using the chaotic current vortices to scour his impurities, from their expressions and gestures, Gu Qingfeng knew they were acquainted—and perhaps more than just acquainted.
"Da Xing, you and I really are fated. To think we've run into each other three times now, back and forth, inside this Desolate Ancient Black Hole."
"Kid Gu! You..." Da Xing the Mad Monk seemed badly frightened by Gu Qingfeng's earlier roar, still not fully recovered. He stared at Gu Qingfeng with wide eyes, scrutinizing him up and down as if looking at a monster. "Did you... did you manage to clear and open all your meridians and acupoints?"
"Oh ho, not bad! You can even tell that?" Gu Qingfeng replied playfully. "That's right. This master's meridians and acupoints are all cleared now. You can't imagine how good it feels."
As he spoke, he stretched luxuriously, his bones crackling loudly, causing the surrounding chaotic currents to tremble.
Watching this, Da Xing the Mad Monk felt his scalp go numb.
"Now this master feels light and free all over, with strength to spare."
A wicked smile played on Gu Qingfeng's lips. He suddenly took a deep breath, and the surrounding chaotic currents flowed into his body through his acupoints as if they were Spiritual Energy. "Even absorbing the chaotic currents in this Desolate Ancient Black Hole feels like breathing fresh air! One word: exhilarating!"
If Gu Qingfeng stretching and making the chaotic currents tremble had made Da Xing's scalp tingle, then seeing Gu Qingfeng absorb the various chaotic currents into his body like Spiritual Energy made Da Xing feel dizzy and lightheaded. His mind trembled, and the muscles at the corner of his mouth twitched involuntarily.
Because this scene was just too damn monstrous!
So monstrous that even someone as experienced and well-traveled as Da Xing the Mad Monk found it hard to accept.