Whoosh!
Endless black smoke swirled and transformed in the sky, coalescing into a terrifying entity.
This terrifying entity took the form of a vortex, its eyes like black holes, its gaping maw like an abyss, devouring the heavens, devouring the earth, devouring all living beings, devouring everything that existed.
This was the incarnation of the Heaven-Devouring Blood Taotie!
The Abyss was one of the Nine Nethers.
Hell was hailed as the most evil place in all of creation, past and present.
Purgatory was hailed as the most terrifying place in all of creation, past and present.
And the Abyss was hailed as the most despairing place in all of creation, past and present.
To fall into Hell was for immortals and Buddhas to turn into demons and monsters, and for demons and monsters to descend into utter madness.
To fall into Purgatory meant only suffering, whether one was an immortal, a Buddha, a demon, or a monster.
But to fall into the Abyss... meant there was nothing left at all.
Within the arena.
The endless black smoke in the sky continued to transform.
Demonic roars and monstrous bellows, ghostly wails and Buddhist lamentations constantly echoed forth.
The manifestations of Purgatory, Hell, and the Abyss shifted and changed without cease.
The incarnations of the Avici Uninterrupted Evil Asura, the entity spanning from Azure Heaven to Yellow Springs, and the Heaven-Devouring Blood Taotie appeared one after another.
Witnessing this scene.
Every single one of the patriarchs present, without exception, was struck dumb with astonishment, their faces filled with terror, their hearts overcome with dread.
Even the three—Black Mountain Old Monster, Fanged Calamity Old Freak, and Green Lamp Ghost Emperor—were no exception.
Although these three were also hailed as overlords of the Demonic Path, the Monstrous Path, and the Ghostly Path, they were merely hailed as such.
In their hearts, they understood better than anyone that their so-called status as Great Dao overlords was, at best, an empty title.
No!
It couldn't even be called an empty title. Although the three of them had received the Mandate of the Great Dao, it was merely the Mandate of the Great Dao. They had never truly mastered the Primordial Source of the Great Dao, so naturally, they could not be considered true overlords of the Great Dao.
Furthermore.
Even if they had mastered the Primordial Source of the Great Dao and were veritable masters of their respective Daos, they still could not be mentioned in the same breath as the three overlords: the Avici Uninterrupted Evil Asura.
The reason was simple.
The Avici Uninterrupted Evil Asura ruled over Hell; it was the Lord of Hell.
The entity spanning from Azure Heaven to Yellow Springs ruled over Purgatory; it was the Lord of Purgatory.
The Heaven-Devouring Blood Taotie ruled over the Abyss; it was the Lord of the Abyss.
These three were legends from the Ancient Desolation Era, and moreover, they were forbidden legends.
One had destroyed the heavens and annihilated the earth.
One had scorched the heavens and drowned the earth.
One had devoured the heavens and consumed the earth.
In a sense, the existence of these three overlords completely transcended the Great Dao itself.
Was this an exaggeration?
Not in the slightest.
Within Hell, the Avici Uninterrupted Evil Asura was the absolute sovereign. Whether you were an Immortal Ancestor or a Demon Ancestor, you had to submit to its judgment. No depth of cultivation could avail you.
The Purgatory ruled by the entity spanning from Azure Heaven to Yellow Springs, and the Abyss ruled by the Heaven-Devouring Blood Taotie, were the same.
Although no one in the Ancient Desolation Era had ever witnessed the true forms of these three overlords.
No one had ever doubted the legends surrounding them.
The patriarchs within the arena watched on in terror.
Why the Divine Sense and Demonic Thoughts of the three great overlords had suddenly gone mad, no one knew. Why they had suddenly given birth to incarnations, even fewer knew.
The only thing known was that the Divine Sense and Demonic Thoughts of the three great overlords had awakened.
Perhaps their Divine Sense and Demonic Thoughts had never been asleep, merely waiting for an opportunity. Now, Gu Qingfeng's attempt to release the Divine Sense and Demonic Thoughts of the Ancient Clan had not gone as planned. Perhaps this was the opportunity the three overlords had been waiting for.
At this moment.
Gu Qingfeng stood within the void.
His three thousand ink-black locks of hair danced wildly amidst the demonic roars and monstrous bellows of Hell.
His snow-white robes fluttered and snapped amidst the ghostly wails and Buddhist lamentations of Purgatory.
His solitary, proud figure, like a sword peak, stood tall within the devouring vortex of the Abyss.
When the manifestation of Hell appeared, Gu Qingfeng resembled the incarnation of the Avici Uninterrupted Evil Asura.
When the manifestation of Purgatory appeared, Gu Qingfeng resembled the incarnation of the entity spanning from Azure Heaven to Yellow Springs.
When the manifestation of the Abyss appeared, Gu Qingfeng resembled the incarnation of the Heaven-Devouring Blood Taotie.
After the incarnations of the three overlords awakened, it seemed they were not content to be released by Gu Qingfeng; they all desired to return to his body.
It was just unknown whether the three overlords merely wished to return to Gu Qingfeng's body, or if they sought to seize this opportunity to devour his consciousness and usurp his physical form.
Unknown.
No one knew.
And Gu Qingfeng seemed to pay no heed to the three overlords. He continued to release himself, to release everything.
Perhaps Gu Qingfeng's determination to release himself was too strong. Previously, when he tried to release the Divine Sense and Demonic Thoughts of the Ancient Clan, he had repeatedly failed—they would return to his body as soon as they were released. But this time, through Gu Qingfeng's persistence, the Divine Sense and Demonic Thoughts of the Ancient Clan were gradually being released by him, bit by bit.
The Mysterious Breath no longer immediately returned to his body upon release as it had before. Instead, it grew increasingly intense. Moreover, the grayish-white smoke representing the Divine Sense and Demonic Thoughts of the Ancient Clan gradually began to seep out from the pores all over Gu Qingfeng's body.
Perhaps because the Divine Sense and Demonic Thoughts of the Ancient Clan were too powerful, Gu Qingfeng found the process of releasing them exceptionally difficult. His body trembled uncontrollably.
"Your existence is too special. So special that it influences this Original Sin Cataclysm. You are destined to bear far too many existences upon your person. Some existences you can release, while others...
you may not necessarily be able to release. They will not let you release them so easily!"
The speaker was none other than Lady Wuyue, Tang Hengshu, who stood closest to Gu Qingfeng.
She had been gazing intently at Gu Qingfeng, constantly sensing the changes within him.
She understood clearly.
The Divine Sense and Demonic Thoughts of the three overlords—the Avici Uninterrupted Evil Asura—had never been asleep; they had always been awake. They had not manifested earlier because they were indeed waiting for an opportunity. This opportunity was Gu Qingfeng's attempt to release the Divine Sense and Demonic Thoughts of the Ancient Clan.
As for why the three overlords were waiting for this opportunity—whether to prevent Gu Qingfeng from releasing himself or to seize the chance to devour his physical form—even Lady Wuyue did not know.
All she knew was that at this very moment, Gu Qingfeng's consciousness was locked in a fierce struggle with the Divine Sense and Demonic Thoughts of the Ancient Clan.
Gu Qingfeng was determined to release himself, but the Divine Sense and Demonic Thoughts of the Ancient Clan refused to be released!
Simultaneously, the Divine Sense and Demonic Thoughts of the three overlords were taking advantage of this opportunity to gradually fight their way back into Gu Qingfeng's body.
"If you are truly resolved in your heart, then..." Lady Wuyue stared at Gu Qingfeng, as if she wanted to say something, but in the end, she did not voice it.
At that moment.
The wisps of grayish-white smoke that had seeped from the various apertures all over Gu Qingfeng's body actually began to flow back through those same apertures, returning to his body.
Whoosh!
Seizing the opportunity, the Divine Sense and Demonic Thoughts of the three overlords also attempted to return to Gu Qingfeng's body.
"I shall lend you a hand!"
With these words.
Lady Wuyue leaped into the air, transforming into a radiant rainbow that enveloped Gu Qingfeng.
"I do not know what schemes the three overlords are plotting, nor do I wish to know. The only thing I know is that he is determined to release himself. If the three overlords insist on preventing him, then they must first pass through me!"
As her voice fell, the rainbow enveloping Gu Qingfeng instantly transformed into endless, dazzling starlight. Each twinkling star underwent myriad transformations. With each transformation, it was as if a profound and wondrous flower were blooming—profound beyond profound, wondrous beyond wondrous, like infinite profundity, like infinite multiplicity.