Original Sin.
It was everywhere.
The Breath of Original Sin was also denser and purer than before, a feeling akin to a raging fire burning ever fiercer.
Moreover, the flowers, plants, trees, mountains, and rivers within this Separate Palace Space were all reviving at an incredible speed. The aura of death receded, replaced by burgeoning life.
If these flowers, plants, trees, mountains, and rivers had previously resembled a frozen landscape painting, now they were like nature itself in the transition from winter to spring, with all things awakening.
As Gu Qingfeng wandered, he continued to sense his surroundings. The more he sensed, the more he felt the Li Palace Primordial Source could emerge at any moment.
Although the Breath of Original Sin within the Separate Palace Space grew increasingly dense, this denseness was a gradual, step-by-step process.
But just moments ago, the Breath of Original Sin ceased its gradual progression. Instead, it surged forth like a rolling tidal wave, sweeping through the space with wild abandon.
"Soon!"
"The Li Palace Primordial Source is about to emerge."
No sooner had Gu Qingfeng's words fallen than the Breath of Original Sin erupted, overwhelming and instantly enveloping the entire Separate Palace Space.
The Li Palace Primordial Source had finally emerged. Gu Qingfeng could feel it.
Without hesitation, he leaped into the air and flew forward.
Who knew how many Great Dao Patriarchs or Original Sin Patriarchs were within this Separate Palace Space? When the Breath of Original Sin erupted so overwhelmingly, even if they couldn't sense it directly, they could guess the Primordial Source's emergence.
Thus, as Gu Qingfeng flew forth, the Great Dao and Original Sin Patriarchs gathered in the Separate Palace Space also swarmed forward like a hive of bees. Looking around, it was truly a lively spectacle.
Some traveled alone, others in small groups of three or five, some in larger formations. Some used divine abilities to shield themselves, while others directly entered magical treasures to fly. They flew toward the same direction like countless locusts.
Gu Qingfeng possessed the ability to shrink distances to inches. After comprehending the Dao of Space, he could travel unimpeded through heaven and earth as he pleased, and even within this mysterious Separate Palace Space was no exception.
He didn't know how long it took—a mere instant, a single thought, or the span of a breath. Gu Qingfeng simply raced through the void, following his senses.
Closer.
Ever closer.
The Breath of Original Sin also grew denser, purer.
This sensation filled Gu Qingfeng with an inexplicable excitement.
Perhaps it was due to the revival of his physical body. As the Breath of Original Sin grew purer, Gu Qingfeng's essence, energy, and spirit grew increasingly vigorous. Especially after his body's revival, all the apertures throughout his body had opened. Each aperture formed its own world, each like a ravenous beast, madly absorbing the Breath of Original Sin.
His physical body was like farmland irrigated by rain, brimming with vitality. The bones, true blood, and meridians within his body underwent incredible transformations, leaving Gu Qingfeng feeling refreshed and invigorated.
He swore he had never felt so comfortable and unburdened in his entire life. If possible, he truly wished to inhale every last bit of the Breath of Original Sin within the Separate Palace Space in one breath.
This feeling was really, really damn good!
Suddenly.
Gu Qingfeng halted. Not far ahead of him was a massive vortex, interwoven with black and white, profoundly gray and dark, slowly rotating. The dense, pervasive Breath of Original Sin was precisely emanating from this vortex.
This should be the source of the all-encompassing Breath of Original Sin.
But that was all.
It didn't necessarily mean this vortex was the Li Palace Primordial Source itself. Gu Qingfeng guessed the Primordial Source should be inside this vortex.
Yes.
Gu Qingfeng could feel it, and the feeling was intensely strong.
When he arrived here, there were already seven or eight people beside the Li Palace vortex. As for who these people were—whether aligned with the Great Dao or Original Sin, whether Heavenly Mandates or True Destinies, whether Fixed Numbers or Variables—Gu Qingfeng didn't know and had little interest in knowing. However, when these seven or eight people saw Gu Qingfeng, their expressions all stiffened. Beyond surprise, there was more wariness, hostility, and killing intent!
Immediately after, three to five more people arrived successively. When they saw the other seven or eight, they seemed rather surprised. But upon seeing Gu Qingfeng, their expressions shifted repeatedly, mirroring the first group—surprise followed by hostility and killing intent.
Gu Qingfeng paid these people no mind, not even granting them a second glance. Instead, he fixed his gaze on the massive vortex before him.
The vortex appeared mysterious and eerie, twisted and blurred, ethereal, and ever-changing. Each transformation contained endless profundities, far more bewildering and inconceivable than the mysteries of the Separate Palace void's transformations.
Although the previous transformations of the Separate Palace void held layer upon layer of profundity, Gu Qingfeng had ultimately comprehended their mysteries.
But now, after carefully contemplating the mysteries of this vortex's transformations for a while, Gu Qingfeng gained nothing. Moreover, immersing himself in it felt like falling into an endless void—seeing nothing, touching nothing, because the endless void contained nothing.
Eerily, sinking into its profundities also felt like plunging into endless chaos, as if transformations and mysteries were everywhere, leaving one with no starting point, no way to comprehend. Because the mysteries contained within the endless chaos were changing every moment, in countless ways, making comprehension impossible. Before one could even begin to grasp them, the mysteries would shift again. Under such conditions, how could one comprehend?
Gazing at this vortex, Gu Qingfeng felt a peculiar sensation within.
This feeling was indescribable, somewhat unfamiliar yet also familiar.
He vaguely remembered experiencing this same ethereal sensation previously in the Separate Palace void when encountering the other two existences who were also Original Sin Variables.
When he extended his divine sense to probe, sure enough, just as he suspected, he actually couldn't detect the vortex's existence—just as he couldn't detect the other Original Sin Variables.
Gu Qingfeng tried three times in succession, with the same result each time: visible to the naked eye, but undetectable by divine sense.
It wasn't that he couldn't detect it at all, but rather a feeling of something clearly within reach yet untouchable.
Regarding this, he wasn't particularly surprised; one could even say it was within expectations. When he immersed himself and felt the vortex's layers upon layers of transformations and profundities, he had already anticipated that this thing likely couldn't be probed. Because one's divine sense simply couldn't keep up with the vortex's changes. More importantly, the vortex's existence was ethereal and illusory, like a dream or illusion, its truth or falsehood unknown.
Within the area.
The vortex continued to rotate slowly, growing more twisted, more blurred, more ethereal. The Breath of Original Sin also grew denser, overwhelming, everywhere.
Since probing was futile, Gu Qingfeng didn't persist. With a sweep of his gaze, his figure vanished, reappearing on a solitary peak not far away. He casually found a spot, leaned against a large rock, opened a jar of fine wine, and began to drink.
While drinking, he took the opportunity to madly absorb the Breath of Original Sin, hoping to hasten his physical body's revival.
Gu Changfeng had said that this time, Original Sin Patriarchs, Sons of Original Sin, and Original Sin Variables would all come to eliminate him. Those Great Dao Patriarchs, Great Dao Heavenly Mandates, Tribulation-Answering True Destinies, whatever Holy Land Nine Saints, Heavenly Dao Nine Sons, including Floating Life Emperor Lord, Great Sun Radiance Emperor, Xuanyuan Wuji, Dugu Qizhan, and the Four Pillars of Heaven—Old, Middle-aged, and Young—would also come.
This battle seemed unavoidable. Even if Gu Changfeng hadn't said it, Gu Qingfeng could sense it.