A radiance, crimson as fresh blood, erupted forth like a geyser of blood, its sinister scarlet light making the already dark Desolate Ancient Era ruins even more terrifying.
Yet, the bloody radiance soon dissipated like a mist of blood. Gu Qingfeng, his curiosity piqued, leaped up and said, "Let's go, take a look."
With that, he took a single step, shrinking the earth to inches, and vanished without a trace in the blink of an eye.
The Black Pig Monster King stood dumbfounded on the spot, hesitating whether to seize this chance to leave Gu Qingfeng.
On second thought, where could he go if he left this fellow?
These Desolate Ancient Era ruins were perilous beyond measure; he couldn't even find a place to go into Seclusion and heal his wounds. What if he ran into people from the Purple Clouds Immortal Realm?
Or encountered other unknown dangers? Wouldn't that be a death sentence?
But if he continued following Gu Qingfeng, it was probably even more of a death sentence.
Weighing the pros and cons, the Black Pig Monster King decided to leave Gu Qingfeng. He turned and hadn't gone far when he suddenly stopped. He pondered internally: Gu Qingfeng, bearing no grudge, had given him such a surge of vigorous life energy, and for him to leave without even a word of farewell... wasn't that too dishonorable?
Shaking his head, the Black Pig Monster King was utterly conflicted.
He wanted to leave, yet he didn't. An internal struggle raged deep within him.
Gazing at the bloody mist hanging in the distant sky, the Black Pig Monster King gritted his teeth, stamped his foot, and cursed angrily, "Damn it all!
Fortune favors the bold, and the timid starve! This old man is going all in!"
If that bloody radiance hadn't appeared just now, the Black Pig Monster King might have truly left Gu Qingfeng. Fear of getting embroiled in major trouble was one reason, but more importantly, facing Gu Qingfeng, that inexplicable sense of dread was simply unbearable for him.
The problem was, that bloody radiance *had* just appeared. And when it emerged, it shook the entire Desolate Ancient Era ruins violently.
Based on his past experience, the Black Pig Monster King surmised that something must have emerged over there. What exactly, he didn't know, and it wasn't important. As long as it was something from the Desolate Ancient Era, even if it was a pile of shit, it would be a treasure dropped by the Great Dao.
The Black Pig Monster King had staked his entire fortune on this gamble in the Desolate Ancient Era ruins. Now that he finally had an opportunity, he didn't want to miss it. As for the excuse about leaving without a word being dishonorable, that was just a pretext he made for himself. The word 'honorable' had never existed in his personal dictionary.
As the saying goes, humans die for wealth, birds perish for food.
The Black Pig Monster King ultimately decided to risk it all for one gamble.
When he rushed over, the bloody mist in the distance was particularly intense. Moreover, this mist made him feel very uncomfortable, oppressed, and his mind couldn't help but tremble slightly. As he walked further, the Black Pig Monster King was startled. He saw that in the endless desert, a massive pit had appeared.
To be precise, it wasn't a pit, but a Chaotic Current Vortex. The vortex was also blood-colored, looking extremely terrifying as it spun like a sea of blood.
Seeing Gu Qingfeng standing right beside the vortex, the Black Pig Monster King mustered his courage and walked over, asking cautiously, "Master Gu, what's the situation here?"
At this moment.
Gu Qingfeng stood tall, his ordinarily plain face having lost some of its leisureliness, replaced by a touch of gravity. He gazed at the slowly rotating blood-colored Chaotic Current Vortex beneath his feet, then looked up at the enormous Chaotic Current Vortex hanging in the sky.
Earlier, in the Primordial Black Hole, he had noticed many Chaotic Current Vortices merging with each other. Each vortex was formed from a Desolate Ancient Era ruin. What exactly would happen to the two ruins after two vortices merged, he currently didn't know.
The vortex that had suddenly appeared beneath his feet was likely the result of such a merger. But why was it blood-colored?
He had seen many Chaotic Current Vortices in the Primordial Black Hole. Each one was like a mass of chaos; he had never seen a blood-colored vortex before. This was the first.
And for some reason, this blood color gave him a very peculiar feeling. What exactly that feeling was, he couldn't articulate. However, the Avici Asura and the Descent into the Yellow Springs within his body began to stir restlessly again upon seeing this blood color.
Could it be that this blood color was related to Original Sin?
His intuition told him it might be.
Thinking this, Gu Qingfeng said, "Take care of yourself. This master is going down first to scout things out."
As his words fell, with a *whoosh*, he leaped into the blood-colored Chaotic Current Vortex.
"Master Gu!
Master Gu!"
The Black Pig Monster King shouted at the top of his lungs twice, but alas, Gu Qingfeng had long since vanished into the blood-colored Chaotic Current Vortex. Once again, the Black Pig Monster King was left stranded here.
"Damn it all!"
The Black Pig Monster King gnashed his teeth, rubbing his hands together anxiously, pacing back and forth like an ant on a hot pan.
Gu Qingfeng, with his exceptional skills and boldness, had just jumped down without a second thought, free from such entanglement.
But the Black Pig Monster King was different. He neither possessed Gu Qingfeng's formidable strength nor his fearless courage.
Facing the unknown, he simply didn't dare to venture down recklessly.
Over the years, he had seen far too many ignorant, foolhardy fellows blindly charging into unknown existences, only to meet gruesome ends. He himself had experienced it; although he hadn't died in the end, he had paid a heavy price for it.
However, on the other hand, what if there really were treasures from the Desolate Ancient Era inside?
Wouldn't he be missing out?
He had experienced this kind of situation too. Because of a moment's hesitation, failing to charge in first, he had missed out on many treasures.
To jump or not to jump?
Every time he encountered such a situation, the Black Pig Monster King was utterly conflicted, conflicted to the point where he wished he could stab himself.
"Since I've already come this far, wouldn't giving up now be too cowardly?"
The Black Pig Monster King hardened his heart, took several deep breaths in succession, and then summoned a precious jade. The jade emitted a faint glow and contained powerful energy, looking like a remarkable treasure.
Indeed.
This was the Black Pig Monster King's trump card treasure, a sect-guarding treasure he had snatched from the hands of a giant ancestor in the past. The few life-or-death crises he had experienced over the years were all survived thanks to this thing. Without this treasure, the Black Pig Monster King would have died countless times over. Not long ago, managing to escape alive from the clutches of Tian Kui of the Purple Clouds Immortal Realm was also thanks to this item.
"Old partner, you've saved me so many times, one more won't hurt. Help me out!
Bless me, bless me! If this old man strikes it rich in the future, I'll definitely refine you into a Great Dao treasure and enshrine you!"
As he spoke, the Black Pig Monster King opened his mouth wide and swallowed the treasure into his belly. His hands formed a seal, and in an instant, dazzling radiance erupted around his body. The radiance, like an indestructible protective barrier, enveloped the Black Pig Monster King.
After taking one last deep breath, the Black Pig Monster King hesitated no more and directly leaped into the blood-colored Chaotic Current Vortex.