That night.
The moon was dark and the wind high.
Black-Rock Territory, Glazed Great Region.
This territory was sparsely populated, filled with desolate mountains and wild forests.
Fortunately, Gu Qingfeng's four steeds were fairly excellent spirit beasts, pulling the grand carriage as if on level ground even through these wild mountains and forests.
Caw! Caw! Caw!
The cries of crows occasionally came from the wild forest, sending shivers down one's spine.
Hee-hee-hee—Fei Kui pulled on the reins and stopped at the foot of a wild mountain, pointing to a barren peak ahead. "Young Lord, that's Black-Raven Mountain up ahead. The Black-Raven Secret Realm is at its summit."
Gu Qingfeng narrowed his eyes and looked over, noticing quite a few people on Black-Raven Mountain. He chuckled. "Quite a crowd for the middle of the night."
"Usually, there aren't many people. Weak cultivators like me don't dare enter at all. I've heard even Transcendent True Persons traveling in groups often suffer casualties... but...
It seems those geniuses with Great Natural Order Color Spirits can easily resist the Poison Breath inside the secret realm."
The Great Natural Order consists of Yin and Yang, and the transformations of the Five Elements.
All spiritual breaths are formed from this, Poison Breath being no exception.
Color Spirits belong to the mysteries of the Great Natural Order. After cultivating a Color Spirit, one not only becomes more sensitive to the various spiritual breaths of the Great Natural Order but can also better withstand the power of the Great Natural Order compared to ordinary cultivators.
"By the way, Young Lord, I heard that a few days ago, the top Color Spirit geniuses of the Glazed Great Region were going in and out of the Black-Raven Secret Realm. Something might have happened inside."
"Alright, I know. You can head back now."
...
Black-Raven Mountain was gathered with many teams, each consisting of dozens of people, totaling over a hundred teams.
These teams had only one purpose for gathering here: to stand guard.
Because the Black-Raven Secret Realm was too dangerous, their cultivation levels couldn't withstand it for long. What they needed to do was guard and wait here. If their people inside encountered danger, they would charge in at the first moment.
Black-Raven Mountain was surrounded on all sides. In the central valley area was a patch of lush green radiance, burning like flames, looking more like an emerald pool.
This was the entrance to the Black-Raven Secret Realm.
Standing beside the entrance were two people, two women.
One was a petite young girl wearing a silk dress.
The other was a woman clad in a black robe. She looked ordinary, with average features—the kind of face hard to remember at a glance, without any highlights. However, her deep eyes held a certain chill.
"Elder Sister, why do you always disguise yourself to look like this? It's really plain. Can't you change to something more alluring?
I still want to see that guy drool later. I heard he's quite lustful."
The black-robed woman smiled faintly but did not respond.
"But, Elder Sister, even if you want to test that little upstart, is it necessary to bring him here?"
The black-robed woman gazed quietly at the entrance to the Black-Raven Secret Realm and said softly, "To test a person, if you only test their cultivation strength, you won't find out anything. In a specific environment, observe their actions, examine their words, probe their changes, understand their heart... only then can you gain something..."
"Oh, alright then... but...
Elder Sister, you must be very careful once you go in."
The young girl said worriedly, "I heard the geniuses with nine-level Color Spirits from the Glazed Great Region are all inside. Like Zhuo Feng from the Fire Cloud Branch, Lan Fei'er from the Wind Cloud Branch, the eldest young master Renshen from Liuren Mountain... oh, right, many from our Nine-Hua Alliance have also entered...
Elder Sister, you absolutely must be careful."
"Don't worry, I know my limits."
"Elder Sister, look, that guy is here."
The young girl looked over. A man in white robes, munching on Red-Leaf Monster Fruits, was drifting leisurely toward them.
Yes, drifting over.
Like a leaf, neither fast nor slow, carried by the wind, his eyes narrowed as he examined the entrance to the Black-Raven Secret Realm.
"I really don't know why Elder Sister wants to test this guy. Look at him—no presence, no spirit, looking like he hasn't woken up yet. What's there to test about someone like this? He's just a little upstart, and the kind with no ambition at that."
Beside her, the black-robed woman stared intently at the drifting Gu Qingfeng, her beautiful eyes filled with deep confusion. She knew this was a Wind-Riding Technique, something almost every cultivator knew, a required spell.
But for some reason.
She always felt Gu Qingfeng's Wind-Riding Technique was somewhat strange.
As for where it was strange, she looked and looked but couldn't figure it out. It just felt odd.
This feeling was annoying.
At the very least, the black-robed woman disliked this feeling. Deep down, she had an impulse to strip this guy bare from inside out to see what was really going on.
"Hey, Young Lord Chiyan, why are you only coming now?"
The young girl looked at him disdainfully, rolling her eyes. "Could it be you're scared?"
"Can't help it. Born timid."
Gu Qingfeng glanced at the young girl, then at the black-robed woman, and chuckled. "Big sister here is quite pretty."
"Hah! This is called pretty?
Have you never seen a real beauty?
If this is called pretty, then my Elder Sister..." The young girl was speaking when she suddenly realized something and didn't continue her rant, saying instead with displeasure, "You're clearly a little upstart who's never seen the world."
Noticing Gu Qingfeng was eating Red-Leaf Monster Fruits, the young girl was first startled, then widened her eyes. "If I remember correctly, Red-Leaf Monster Fruits are poisonous, right?
I heard eating too many affects the mind, can cause madness. How come this guy is eating them like candy non-stop?
Aren't you afraid of going crazy?"
Gu Qingfeng shrugged, smiling indifferently. "Madness is better than true demonic possession..."
"What nonsense!"
The young girl wanted to say more, but the black-robed woman beside her interrupted, saying softly, "Xiaolian, you wait outside."
"Oh, alright then. But Elder Sister, you must be very careful."
The young girl called Xiaolian didn't hesitate, but as she left, she couldn't help but send a secret voice transmission: "Elder Sister, this guy seems like he hasn't seen much of the world, a complete country bumpkin, silly and kind of cute. Don't let him die in there."
Silly?
And cute?
The black-robed woman felt utterly speechless. This guy was permeated with an indescribable, mysterious, and bizarre aura.
Where was he silly?
And cute?
That was clearly an unknown kind of terrifying, okay?
The more she looked, the more she felt this guy wasn't as simple as he appeared on the surface. Just as she was lost in thought, Gu Qingfeng's voice suddenly came.
"What's the matter, big sister? Have you taken a fancy to me, or do you have some thoughts about me? Staring at me so intently."
Gu Qingfeng, while looking at the entrance to the Black-Raven Secret Realm, casually tossed out a sentence.
The black-robed woman's heart jolted, but her expression didn't change, responding coolly, "You're overthinking. I just heard an ancient ruin recently appeared in the Black-Raven Secret Realm. Going alone is too dangerous, so I wanted to find a companion."
"Is that so?"
Gu Qingfeng raised his head, narrowing his eyes as he brazenly scanned the black-robed woman up and down, making her very uncomfortable. Especially when his gaze met hers, it made her feel as if she had no secrets left, from the inside out, from her heart to her soul.
How could this be?
The black-robed woman grew wary, instinctively taking a few steps back, saying flatly, "Have you looked enough?"
"Nice figure."
"You!"
"Hahahaha!"
Gu Qingfeng laughed heartily and directly jumped into the Black-Raven Secret Realm.