"You Di is jesting."
Peacock Great Emperor smiled faintly. "This humble one has no relation whatsoever to either the Peacock Mingwang or the Peacock Demon Ancestor. It is merely a coincidence that my Dao Title is the same as theirs, nothing more."
"You're being quite modest."
Gu Qingfeng might not be able to see through Peacock Great Emperor or detect his true existence, but he could sense a trace of Buddhist intent about him. In his mind, this Peacock Great Emperor must have some connection to either the Peacock Mingwang or the Peacock Demon Ancestor; it was impossible for there to be no relation at all. If there truly were none, he wouldn't have dared to call himself 'Peacock'.
One should not underestimate a Dao Title like 'Peacock', which might seem ordinary at first glance.
This Dao Title appears ordinary, but in reality, it is anything but.
Since ancient times, one could call their Dao Title whatever they wished, but there was one universally known prerequisite: two taboos.
First, do not make your Dao Title too grand. For example, a Dao Title like 'Old Heaven'—anyone bearing it would surely die before reaching three years of age. The reason was simple: such a Dao Title was too immense, and no one could bear its weight.
The second taboo was to avoid sharing a Dao Title with one's ancestors, especially those of famous, significant figures recorded in historical texts and mythological tales. If one took the same Dao Title as them, even if they didn't die young, they would meet an unnatural end. Again, the reason was that the Dao Title was too great for later generations to shoulder.
It must be understood that every existence in those mythological stories possessed unimaginable backgrounds and terrifying, dreadful power. Similarly, each of them bore either great evil or great sin upon their shoulders. Taking the same Dao Title as those ancestors would inevitably clash with one thing or another—some even clashed with the Heavenly Dao itself. In such cases, one might not even know how they died.
A Dao Title like 'Peacock' had both the Peacock Mingwang and the Peacock Demon Ancestor above it. Moreover, according to legends, both of these existences were, to put it bluntly, no kindly, benevolent birds. If the Peacock Great Emperor before him truly had no relation to these two existences, he would have long since been struck dead by the conflicting fate of bearing the 'Peacock' Dao Title.
"This humble one is not being modest; I merely speak the truth."
Peacock Great Emperor still did not admit to any connection.
Gu Qingfeng couldn't be bothered to argue further. Just then, the furious roar from earlier sounded again, shaking the surrounding Chaotic Currents.
Seeing this, Gu Qingfeng waved a hand. "Alright then, you two can continue your idle chat. This master will take his leave first."
With that,
he took a single step and vanished.
Floating Life Daozun gazed toward the source of the roaring sound, then looked at Peacock Great Emperor. "Farewell."
With that,
he transformed into a shooting star and departed.
"Heh."
Left alone, Peacock Great Emperor did not seem in a hurry to follow. Instead, he looked in the direction where Gu Qingfeng and Floating Life Daozun had disappeared, smiling faintly. "Interesting...
Truly interesting. To think they've all entered this Desolate Ancient Black Hole. Things are about to get lively now...
And not just ordinarily lively."
"Variables...
Unknown variables..." "Original Sin...
Bizarre Original Sin..." "Certainties...
Fated certainties..." "Primordial...
Mysterious Primordial..." "Variables and certainties, Original Sin and Primordial..." "Heh!
Interesting...
Truly, too interesting..." Peacock Great Emperor murmured with a smile while shaking his head in sigh. "Chaos...
It's all too chaotic...
Simply a complete mess."
*Roar!*—The furious roar sounded again.
Peacock Great Emperor looked toward the source of the sound. "Who could it be?
Who has caused this Desolate Ancient Black Hole to emerge?
Could it be that terrifying fellow?
I hope it's not him. If it is, then things would be truly terrible..."
*Roar!*—The roars continued incessantly.
Gu Qingfeng walked through the Chaotic Currents as if strolling through the void. As the distance closed, the roars grew clearer, and the clearer they became, the more he could feel their immense power. Each roar that reached him shook his mind slightly, as if stimulated or influenced by something.
Moreover, Gu Qingfeng noticed something strange: the Chaotic Currents here were not only ferocious but also flowed contrary to those of the Desolate Ancient Black Hole. In other words, these currents did not rotate along with the Black Hole's flow but spun in the opposite direction, against the current.
Whatever was roaring, wasn't the commotion a bit too much?
He continued walking, pressing forward.
Suddenly.
Gu Qingfeng spotted a Chaotic Current Vortex ahead.
This vortex flickered in and out of sight, distorted and blurred, endlessly changing, pitch-black like a true Black Hole.
He could tell that the counter-rotating Chaotic Currents all revolved along with this vortex. Furthermore, the roaring sounds were emanating from within this very Chaotic Current Vortex.
Observing this bizarre vortex, Gu Qingfeng grew curious. All Chaotic Current Vortexes within the Desolate Ancient Black Hole rotated along with the Black Hole. Why was this single vortex alone rotating against the flow? Moreover, while all other vortices were merging with one another, why was this one isolated here, spinning independently?
The roots of other Chaotic Current Vortexes were all Desolate Ancient Ruins. Was the root of this vortex also formed from a Desolate Ancient Ruin?
Unknown.
Gu Qingfeng didn't hesitate. He directly plunged into it.
Knowing this Chaotic Current Vortex was extraordinary, Gu Qingfeng was mentally prepared. Yet, after jumping in, he still underestimated its terror.
This vortex was undeniably ferocious. As it spun, it felt as if endless Chaotic Currents were tearing at him, its power extremely terrifying.
Although Gu Qingfeng's physical body could withstand it, the bone-piercing pain was still excruciating. It felt as if his entire body was burning, as painful as jumping into a pit of fire—utterly agonizing.
Fortunately, he was fast enough. Feeling the pain, he immediately accelerated. Before long, he burst out from within the Chaotic Current Vortex.
Immediately after, Gu Qingfeng arrived at a strange place.
Like other Desolate Ancient Ruins, this place had a massive Chaotic Current Vortex in the sky above. However, unlike other ruins, here there was neither an endless Wasteland nor a deathly silent swamp—there was nothing at all, much like the void of the Great Desolation.
No!
This was not the void of the Great Desolation.
Gu Qingfeng was certain this should also be a Desolate Ancient Ruin, except everything within this ruin had turned to ashes and vanished without a trace.
*Roar!*—The furious roar sounded again.
It shook Gu Qingfeng's eardrums buzzed, and his mind couldn't help but tremble slightly. Within him, the Avici Uninterrupted Evil Asura, the connection from Azure Heaven to Yellow Springs, and even the Heaven-Devouring, Earth-Eating Blood Taotie grew restless once more. Yet, Gu Qingfeng couldn't tell if their restlessness stemmed from excitement and agitation or from fear and apprehension.
It felt like excitement and agitation, yet also like fear and apprehension.