Gu Qingfeng had previously explored many ancient spaces. Based on his experience, the larger the space, the more ruins it contained. While not an absolute certainty, the probability of ruins surviving in a large space was far greater than in a small one.
The reason was simple.
All ancient Realms of Forgetting, before falling into the Endless Sea, were originally World Secret Realms within the Great Wasteland.
Take the World Secret Realms currently in the Great Wasteland, for example. Whether occupied by Great Wasteland giants or by Cave-Heaven Blessed Lands, these Secret Realms were each larger than the last, their resources richer, and similarly, the number of experts within them was also greater. World Secret Realms passed down through generations possessed particularly powerful source, laws, and even structure.
Even if these large spaces suffered a Calamity, fell into the Endless Sea, or met with utter destruction and total annihilation, the treasures within them could withstand the passage of time.
In contrast, small worlds and small Secret Realms, with neither abundant resources nor many experts, were absolutely doomed once they fell into the Endless Sea. The source, laws, and structure within such spaces could not hold out for long before being submerged in the long river of time.
Gu Qingfeng wandered within the Primordial Black Hole for a while and found a relatively large Chaotic Current Vortex.
Just as he was about to enter it, suddenly, a violent sound rang out once more, and the chaotic currents within the Primordial Black Hole grew even more turbulent.
He didn't know where this Great Clamor came from, nor what caused it. Every time the sound came, Gu Qingfeng's mind felt somewhat unsettled.
Moreover, he could clearly sense that many existences within his body seemed to be stirring restlessly.
Among them were the incarnations of Ascending to the Azure and Descending to the Yellow Springs.
And also the soul of Avici Endless Evil Asura.
Upon hearing the Great Clamor, these two existences seemed to gradually awaken from their slumber, as if somewhat agitated, yet also somewhat angry. Their agitation was like hearing the call of a loved one; their anger was like hearing the roar of an enemy. Beyond that, there was also bewilderment, confusion, and a sense of déjà vu.
When he had met the Witch Niangniang earlier, she had said that many existences on his body were related to the Desolate Ancient Era.
At the time, Gu Qingfeng had guessed it might be the Ascending to the Azure and Descending to the Yellow Springs incarnation and the Avici Endless Evil Asura soul. Now it seemed ninety percent certain that was indeed the case.
What puzzled Gu Qingfeng even more was that when he heard the Great Clamor, the Myriad Phenomena Paying Homage to All Living Beings also seemed to stir restlessly. The difference was, there was no agitation, no anger, but rather an indescribable, inexplicable feeling.
Gu Qingfeng couldn't quite put it into words.
If that were all, it wouldn't have put him so on guard. The real issue was that when he heard the extreme sound, the blood within his body, originally as calm as stagnant water, seemed to come alive, its flow noticeably quickening.
Gu Qingfeng had fused with the Blood of Original Sin. The blood flowing within him now was the Blood of Original Sin. Now that the Blood of Original Sin was beginning to change under the influence of the Great Clamor, could it be that Original Sin was truly connected to the Desolate Ancient Era?
But...
What in the world was that Great Clamor?
Why would Ascending to the Azure and Descending to the Yellow Springs, Avici Endless Evil Asura, Myriad Phenomena Paying Homage to All Living Beings, and even the Blood of Original Sin all be affected?
He didn't understand.
Gu Qingfeng couldn't imagine either. He knew nothing about the Desolate Ancient Era and urgently needed to know what exactly had happened during that time.
For now, the only way to figure out what happened in the Desolate Ancient Era was to explore the Desolate Ancient Ruins.
In his view, these Realms of Forgetting that formed the Chaotic Current Vortices were probably the legendary Desolate Ancient Ruins.
Earlier, when Gu Qingfeng had been struggling within the Primordial Black Hole, he hadn't discovered any Realms of Forgetting. It was only after the Great Clamor sounded that these Realms of Forgetting emerged. In other words, these spaces had also changed under the influence of the Great Clamor.
If the restlessness of the Ascending to the Azure and Descending to the Yellow Springs, Avici Endless Evil Asura, and all other fortunes within Gu Qingfeng's body upon hearing the Great Clamor was related to the Desolate Ancient Era, then these spaces that emerged after the Great Clamor must also be ruins from the Desolate Ancient Era.
Not thinking too much about it, Gu Qingfeng entered that relatively large Chaotic Current Vortex.
As he had guessed, this Realm of Forgetting was indeed much larger than the dozen or so he had encountered before.
Yet it still lacked source, laws, and structure. The sky was still like a giant vortex sweeping up the chaotic currents of the Primordial Black Hole, and below was still an endless desert, seemingly no different from the previous Realms of Forgetting.
However, when Gu Qingfeng arrived in this space, his heart suddenly stirred, for he saw a mountain range within the desert.
The mountain range looked like a dragon skeleton lying prone in the desert. Though desolate, dilapidated, and devoid of life, it contained a powerful imposing aura.
Gu Qingfeng leaped up, appearing the next moment atop the desolate mountain range.
The mountain rocks also appeared weathered and decayed, many having already turned to sand. There were no flowers, grass, or trees on the mountain, only some broken, broken and incomplete buildings. A quick scan revealed nothing of value on the mountain, but there were many corpses and bones. These corpses and bones lay scattered haphazardly across the mountain, most of them incomplete, clearly having met violent deaths.
Gu Qingfeng walked over for a closer look. He found that some of these corpses and bones had already decayed, crumbling to dust at a touch, while many others had not decayed.
The bodies of cultivators were like magical treasures.
Their cultivation levels and fortunes in life differed, so naturally, the strength of their corpses and bones after death also varied. Especially the bones of those who had tempered their bodies in life could become as indestructible as adamantine rock.
Gu Qingfeng initially thought the difference between decayed and non-decayed bones on the mountain was due to their cultivation levels in life. But upon closer inspection, he realized that wasn't the case. The bones that crumbled at a touch had died a very, very long time ago, while the bones that hadn't decayed, though also dead for a long time, had died much more recently than those that crumbled.
In other words, the bones that crumbled at a touch died first, and the non-decayed bones died later, possibly separated by a very long span of time.
Gu Qingfeng tried to reason it out. If those crumbling bones belonged to people from the Desolate Ancient Era, then who did the non-decayed bones belong to?
Or was it that people from some era after the Desolate Ancient Era had entered this space to search for Desolate Ancient Ruins?
If that were true, how did these people get in?
Could it also be through the Primordial Black Hole?
What puzzled Gu Qingfeng most was that everything else in the entire space had already decayed and turned to desert. Why had this mountain range alone survived?
Could it be that there was some powerful spiritual vein beneath this mountain sustaining it?
No!
That wasn't very likely.
If this space was truly a Desolate Ancient Ruin, even the most powerful spiritual vein would have dried up long ago.
But if not a spiritual vein, then what was sustaining this mountain?
Suddenly.
A possibility occurred to Gu Qingfeng.