"What Peach Blossom Daoist?"
Da Xing the Mad Monk shook his head like a rattle-drum, saying, "This old monk has never heard that name."
"Is that so? It's good you haven't heard."
Gu Qingfeng smiled. "If you had..." "What if I had?"
Gu Qingfeng looked at Da Xing the Mad Monk, narrowing his eyes with a faint smile. "What do you think?"
Being stared at by Gu Qingfeng made Da Xing feel extremely uncomfortable all over, especially the smile curling at the corner of Gu Qingfeng's lips, which sent shivers down his spine.
Da Xing the Mad Monk deliberately coughed twice, seemingly to mask his embarrassment.
Gu Qingfeng patted his shoulder. "Why so nervous? I was just joking."
"When was this old monk nervous?"
"Da Xing, even if you were the Peach Blossom Daoist, I wouldn't do anything to you. On the contrary, I'd thank you."
"Too bad this old monk is no Peach Blossom Daoist!"
Right at that moment, a thunderous explosion sounded. A pillar of light in the distance vanished inexplicably. As the two of them looked over, unsure of what had happened, a dazzling, colorful radiance shot up into the sky.
This seven-colored radiance bloomed layer by layer in the air like a seven-colored lotus. As it bloomed, it spread out like a halo of light, simultaneously carrying a vast, pure, and holy spiritual aura that stirred a longing in one's heart.
"What on earth is that?"
Squinting his eyes, Gu Qingfeng peered closely and discovered that the blooming seven-colored radiance in the sky was indeed a seven-colored lotus. What astonished him even more was that there was a person sitting atop the lotus.
It was a woman.
The woman sat cross-legged in the very center of the seven-colored lotus, as if in meditation.
Looking closer, good heavens!
The woman was none other than Qingqing, whom they had met earlier!
"Isn't that Miss Qingqing, the disciple of the Floating Life Imperial Lord?"
Da Xing the Mad Monk had also spotted Qingqing and looked equally shocked, unsure of what had transpired.
*Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!*
Immediately after, figures shot out from the turbulent vortex below. It was the Floating Life Imperial Lord's master, Empress Shui Jing.
Soon, the founding elder of the Eternal Life Pavilion, Immortal Centrifuge, and about twenty to thirty others also rushed out.
But that wasn't all!
Just as the Eternal Life Pavilion members emerged, others also shot out from the turbulent vortex—quite a few of them, over a hundred in total.
Gu Qingfeng scanned the crowd and spotted an acquaintance, or more precisely, Da Xing the Mad Monk's junior sister, Bodhisattva Shui Yue.
And beside Bodhisattva Shui Yue were five others.
These five looked rather strange, hardly qualifying as human. There was a stunningly beautiful woman, a dwarf-like old man, a towering giant covered in red hair...
Lord of the Land, Thunder Lord, Lightning Mother, Fire Head Monk, Fourth Lady Wind.
They were precisely the Five Freaks of Black Mountain.
Gu Qingfeng surmised that some sort of Fortune must have appeared in another Desolate Ancient Ruin, and it seemed Qingqing had obtained it.
That was indeed the case.
At this moment,
Qingqing sat upon the seven-colored lotus, her entire body enveloped in colorful radiance, appearing exceptionally holy.
The twenty to thirty members of the Eternal Life Pavilion stood guard closely around her.
Everyone held their magical treasures at the ready, watching their surroundings with caution and vigilance. Their hearts were a mix of joy and worry, tinged with panic. This included the seasoned founding elder and even Empress Shui Jing, who possessed the Destiny of a Great Emperor.
Immortal Centrifuge, in particular, could barely conceal the delight and anxiety in her heart.
Their arrival at the Primordial Black Hole this time was entirely accidental.
When a Desolate Ancient Ruin manifested in the Great Wasteland, both she and Qingqing knew their strength wasn't sufficient to enter, so they hadn't planned to go in. Unexpectedly, they encountered the Eternal Life Pavilion's team, led by Empress Shui Jing, who brought them inside.
Later, falling into the Primordial Black Hole had frightened Immortal Centrifuge terribly. Even though the Eternal Life Pavilion had brought many experts this time, led by Empress Shui Jing, and with the Floating Life Imperial Lord also present, both Immortal Centrifuge and Qingqing had been on tenterhooks. They knew many experts from the Great Wasteland's titans, the Seventy-Two Blessed Lands, and Thirty-Six Grotto-Heavens had come. But that wasn't the main concern; the real danger was the perilous Primordial Black Hole itself.
Since falling into the Primordial Black Hole, they had witnessed many powerful masters of the Dao meet untimely ends—either torn to shreds by turbulent vortices or devoured by bizarre entities. The two of them had kept a low profile the entire journey, not even daring to speak loudly.
Although they had heard rumors of Fortunes appearing within the Desolate Ancient Ruins, neither dared to entertain such thoughts. Their only wish was to survive and leave this place alive, treating it as a learning experience.
What Immortal Centrifuge never expected was that upon entering one Desolate Ancient Ruin, they would actually obtain a Fortune. Even though Qingqing was the one who obtained it, she was genuinely happy for her!
However, joy was overshadowed by greater worry.
Because it happened so suddenly, she didn't even know how Qingqing had obtained this mysterious Fortune. She clearly remembered they were exploring the ruins when, for no apparent reason, the ruins began to change, and then...
There was no 'and then.' By the time she reacted, Qingqing had already lost consciousness, enveloped by a seven-colored lotus.
As for what this seven-colored lotus was, she had no idea.
After all, Fortunes weren't something easily explained in a few words. Some Fortunes weren't meant for everyone. If one could refine it, that was best. But if refinement failed and it backfired, one might not even know how they died.
Throughout history, such things had happened far too often, let alone with a Fortune emerging from a Desolate Ancient Ruin.
As the saying went, even a stone within a Desolate Ancient Ruin might contain unimaginable power. And now, a holy seven-colored lotus had appeared. This filled Immortal Centrifuge with worry—worry over whether Qingqing could refine this sacred seven-colored lotus.
However,
There was an even more pressing issue she now had to face.
That was the over hundred people surrounding them.
Among these people were experts from the Great Wasteland titan, Purple Mist Immortal Realm, as well as from Loulan Blessed Land, another of the Seventy-Two Blessed Lands like the Eternal Life Pavilion.
The Purple Mist Immortal Realm contingent wasn't large, only seven or eight individuals, but their leader was none other than the East Peak Great Emperor Zhuge Yun, one of the Five Peaks Great Emperors who shook the Great Wasteland.
The Five Peaks Great Emperors under the Great Sun Brilliance Emperor were renowned throughout the Myriad Heavens and Worlds, known to all. Even in the Nine Heavens above, they were formidable presences.
East Peak Great Emperor Zhuge Yun was a leading figure of the Purple Mist Immortal Realm. The very reason Purple Mist Immortal Realm ranked among the Great Wasteland titans was because it had such a powerful existence like the East Peak Great Emperor overseeing it. His reputation for 'Purple Mist from the East' dominated past and present, peerless and unrivaled.
When they encountered the East Peak Great Emperor in the Desolate Ancient Ruin, Immortal Centrifuge had specifically asked Empress Shui Jing whether she was a match for him.
Empress Shui Jing had shaken her head, answering only two words: "I don't know."