Mentioning Da Xing the Mad Monk's actions filled Bai Chou's heart with boundless melancholy.
She was not alone in this sentiment. Beside her, the Witch Empress also seemed to have a headache upon hearing the name Da Xing the Mad Monk, sighing helplessly, "Don't say you don't know what Da Xing the Mad Monk wants to do; I'm afraid even he himself doesn't know what he wants to do."
"Surely not that bad."
Bai Chou said softly, "From what I know, Da Xing the Mad Monk has always hoped to eradicate Fate."
"Hopes are just hopes."
The Witch Empress's tone was flat, devoid of any emotion, as she asked, "Who doesn't wish to control their own Fate?
Throughout the ages, who has ever truly mastered their own Fate?
The answer is certain: no one can."
She paused briefly before continuing, "Even the ancient clan that claims to dominate Fate cannot!"
"This..." Bai Chou didn't understand. "The ancient clan can dominate the Fate of all living beings in heaven and earth, yet they cannot dominate their own Fate?"
To this question, the Witch Empress did not answer, only shaking her head.
*Boom! Rumble!* The chaotic vortexes covering the sky spun ever more madly, and the Desolate Ancient Ruins trembled with increasing intensity, as if the end of heaven and earth had arrived.
"The Peacock is right."
The Witch Empress gazed up at the chaotic vortices in the firmament, murmuring, "It's finally coming, finally beginning...
The prelude to the Desolate Ancient Era has finally been drawn open."
As the Desolate Ancient Ruins grew increasingly chaotic, the experts who had ventured here earlier in search of treasures all displayed their unique abilities and fled one after another. Though each possessed profound cultivation—some were Emperors, some were Thrones, some wielded great fortunes or mighty treasures—even so, facing the chaotic Desolate Ancient Ruins, not a single person dared to remain.
The reason was simple.
This was the Desolate Ancient Ruins, and moreover, ruins within the Primordial Black Hole.
The space of the Desolate Ancient Ruins held neither laws nor order, not even a trace of the origin. It was filled with mystery and the unknown. Who knew what terrifying events might occur if one stayed? If luck was bad and one fell into those eerie spaces, it would truly be a case of 'calling to heaven, no answer; crying to earth, no relief.'
At this moment.
Within the chaotic Desolate Ancient Ruins, two reckless fellows were still wandering, stopping and starting amidst the swirling sands.
One, a man in white robes, held a wine jar, taking occasional sips, appearing quite leisurely and carefree.
Beside him walked a monk wearing a gray monk's robe, a tattered hat on his head, and holding a worn-out fan.
These two were none other than Gu Qingfeng and Da Xing the Mad Monk.
Gu Qingfeng halted, first looking up at the chaotic vortexes covering the sky, then gazing at the Desolate Ancient Ruins in turmoil. He could see that the ruins were undergoing a transformation—more precisely, the space of the Desolate Ancient Ruins was changing.
This change was bizarre. It was not only devouring other spaces but also nurturing and birthing them.
"Kid Gu, this old monk thinks we'd better get out of here quickly."
Da Xing the Mad Monk's brows were deeply furrowed. Watching the changes in the Desolate Ancient Ruins, he looked particularly worried. Especially as the ruins grew more chaotic and the spatial changes more eerie, it made Da Xing feel his hair stand on end.
"What's the matter?
You scared?"
Compared to Da Xing, Gu Qingfeng seemed utterly fearless, observing the changes in the ruins as if watching a spectacle.
"Nonsense!
Aren't you?"
Da Xing said, "Right now, the space of the Desolate Ancient Ruins is changing, and it's changing without any rules. Look at those spaces being nurtured—they might very well be hells. If you fall into one, death would be a luxury."
Was that an exaggeration?
Not at all.
At the very least.
Both Da Xing the Mad Monk and Gu Qingfeng knew this was the truth.
Because both of them had been trapped in those mysterious spaces before. Especially Da Xing—he had been trapped more than once.
To be fair, Da Xing was also a fellow who feared neither heaven nor earth. But when it came to those mysterious spaces, he was genuinely afraid from the bottom of his heart, even developing a shadow over them.
Some mysterious spaces had no sun or moon, no living beings—that was nothing.
No sky, no earth, not even anything at all—still nothing.
Da Xing had experienced all of these. He had even experienced spaces without time, spaces without space itself, and spaces without life and death.
It was precisely because he had experienced them that he knew how terrifying some mysterious spaces could be.
No sun or moon, he could endure. No heaven, earth, or myriad things, he could endure. Having nothing at all, he could still endure. Even having no time, he could endure. But how could one endure a space without space itself, or a space without life and death?
No space meant boundlessness.
No time meant endlessness.
And no life and death meant eternity.
Living was not scary.
What was scary was living forever in a boundless, endless, infinite space.
That kind of torment, Da Xing the Mad Monk would never forget for the rest of his life.
He would rather be annihilated on the spot than live like that again.
At this moment, Gu Qingfeng turned and grinned at him, saying, "Don't be scared. As long as I'm here, no matter what space you fall into, I'll fish you out!"
"You make it sound easy, you don't even..." As he spoke, Da Xing suddenly remembered something. Earlier, in the Primordial Black Hole, he had witnessed Gu Qingfeng comprehending the Space Great Dao and even grasping a mysterious chaotic phenomenon, the 'Chaotic Phenomenon Qiankun Fortune'.
Thinking of this, Da Xing finally understood why Gu Qingfeng was so fearless. With that Chaotic Phenomenon Qiankun alone, it was enough to show that Gu Qingfeng's comprehension of the Space Great Dao was beyond imagination. Otherwise, Gu Qingfeng couldn't have traversed the Primordial Black Hole as if walking on flat ground, shrinking distances with a single step, with all sorts of spatial chaotic currents bursting like bubbles at his touch.
"Kid Gu, this old monk knows you've grasped that so-called Chaotic Phenomenon Qiankun. Your comprehension of the Space Great Dao is probably something this old monk can't even imagine. But as long as you haven't fully comprehended the Space Great Dao, you can't let your guard down. Especially since this place is the mysterious, unknown Primordial Black Hole. To put it bluntly, even if you fully comprehended the Space Great Dao, you might not necessarily be able to escape this Primordial Black Hole."
"That's true enough."
Gu Qingfeng watched the spatial changes in the ruins for a while longer, then patted Da Xing the Mad Monk on the shoulder. "Let's go, head outside and take a look."
With those words, he leaped into the air, his figure shooting up from the ground. By the time Da Xing reacted, Gu Qingfeng had already vanished.
"I said, can't you damn well wait for this old monk!"
When they first entered the Primordial Black Hole, no matter where Gu Qingfeng ran off to, Da Xing could keep up and find him.
But ever since Gu Qingfeng comprehended the Chaotic Phenomenon Qiankun, Da Xing could neither keep up nor, if he slowed down even a little, find any trace of him.