"Who I am is none of your concern."
Gu Qingfeng narrowed his eyes slightly, gazing at the Lotus Cushion as he said, "You just need to know this place is dangerous. Look at you all, so young, your cultivation hasn't been easy. There's no need to end your lives here. I'm in a good mood today, so I'll repeat this one more time: if you don't want to die, leave now."
This place was indeed dangerous.
Gu Qingfeng could sense it.
Although he didn't know exactly what the Lotus Cushion and that golden stone were, judging from the vast and pure Buddha Aura, they were likely orthodox Buddhist artifacts. Moreover, they were intrinsically connected to this ancient pagoda—more precisely, they were linked to the other seven pagodas as well.
The eight pagodas formed a kind of Bagua Weiyang Seal.
And this seal was currently being unsealed.
Furthermore, the seal was loosening.
This wasn't happening naturally; an extremely powerful force was forcibly breaking the seal.
That force was extraordinary. At the very least, Gu Qingfeng was certain it did not belong to this world.
It felt like a demonic power.
As for what kind of demon, he couldn't tell yet.
Inside the Grand Hall atop the pagoda.
It seemed no one heeded Gu Qingfeng's warning. Although White Crane, Zhuo Feng, Ye Rou, and the others were deeply wary of Gu Qingfeng's strength, they did not leave. Because at that moment, the Lotus Cushion had stopped condensing and manifesting. The vast, intense Buddha Aura from before had vanished without a trace, and the golden stone they had mistaken for a Sarira no longer emitted any radiance.
This was a good opportunity.
Zhuo Feng and Ye Rou exchanged a glance, neither daring to make a move. Gu Qingfeng's casual wave that had repelled White Crane still filled them with dread. Although Zhuo Feng believed his own strength was slightly greater than White Crane's, it was only slightly. Facing this mysterious and bizarre white-robed man, how could he dare to act?
Not just him.
Even the Color Spirit genius with a true great perfection of the Four Realms and Nine Rotations of Flowing Colors, plus her bloodline power, dared not act rashly.
At that moment.
Gu Qingfeng suddenly walked towards the Lotus Cushion. As he approached, his brow furrowed slightly. When he reached out to pick up the golden stone, it was as if he had touched an electric current—he instantly withdrew his hand.
"Heh!"
Gu Qingfeng chuckled softly to himself. *Buddhist artifacts are truly Buddhist artifacts, worthy of being the bane of evil demons. I have indeed fallen into demonhood a few times, but I've long since tempered myself countless times with Nine Nethers Fire and cultivate the Buddhist Great Freedom. Yet I can still be affected by Buddha Aura.*
Gu Qingfeng pondered for a moment, then reached out again. The moment he touched it, he was repelled once more.
"Oh?"
With a soft sound of surprise, Gu Qingfeng's frown deepened.
He might not be able to tell what the golden stone was, but he was absolutely certain it was not the Sarira of a Buddhist master. He had seen Sariras before; genuine Sariras were far more refined and complex than this thing.
As for what the golden stone was, Gu Qingfeng wasn't sure either.
He reached out a third time. Similarly, the moment he touched it, he was repelled again.
This time, Gu Qingfeng caught a trace of Divine Sense.
And it was a Divine Sense imbued with powerful Buddha Aura.
Since it was Divine Sense, there must be a person behind it. Divine Sense imbued with powerful Buddha Aura meant it was undoubtedly a Buddhist practitioner.
Suddenly.
The scriptures on the walls of the Grand Hall began to flash wildly. At the same time, the Lotus Cushion bloomed once more, actually forming a golden vortex resembling a black hole!
*Whoosh!*
The golden stone shot into the air, attempting to vanish into the golden vortex.
"Trying to run!"
Gu Qingfeng, quick of eye and hand, raised his hand and spread his fingers, grabbing the golden stone and forcibly yanking it back.
Instantly, a golden hand seal condensed from within the vortex. The hand seal transformed endlessly, resembling a Great Tathagata Hand Seal, containing immense Buddhist Dharma power.
Gu Qingfeng pushed out with a palm strike, but failed to budge this Buddhist hand seal. Not only that, he was instead forced back three steps.
Inside the Grand Hall, neither White Crane, Zhuo Feng, and the others, nor Chen Yue understood what was happening.
But they all immediately unleashed the imposing might of their Nine Rotations of Flowing Colors Great Natural Order, ready to strike at the first opportunity. At the same time, they were prepared to flee at the first sign of danger.
The Buddhist hand seal continued to push Gu Qingfeng back.
A fourth step.
A fifth step.
A sixth step.
Gu Qingfeng didn't seem hurried, nor did his face show any worry. Instead, it held a trace of helplessness as he said softly, "I can see you're already at the end of your rope. I didn't want to bother with you, but you're pushing your luck, aren't you?"
This Buddhist Divine Sense was powerful, and the Buddhist Dharma it employed was particularly profound.
Unfortunately, it was all surface appearance.
When Gu Qingfeng first caught the Buddhist Divine Sense, he had already sensed that its apparent power was an illusion. Behind that power was weakness—the kind of exhaustion that comes from being at the end of one's rope, on the verge of depletion.
The Divine Sense was like that.
The Buddha Aura was no exception.
Even this Buddhist hand seal was the same.
"I have no other intentions. I just wanted to take a look."
Gu Qingfeng spoke softly as he continued to retreat. "Besides, even if I don't intervene, the seal will break on its own. What you should really worry about is what's beneath that seal, not me."
It seemed the Buddhist hand seal paid him no heed.
It continued to push him back.
A seventh step.
An eighth step.
"Since you remain obstinate, don't blame me for being impolite!"
When the Buddhist hand seal pushed him to the ninth step, Gu Qingfeng suddenly halted. Turbulent radiance instantly flickered around his body. The radiance resembled flames, and as it flickered, it enveloped the entire Grand Hall, burning wantonly. The scriptures on the surrounding walls immediately grew blurry.
This wasn't radiance.
It was Spiritual Power!
Boundless Spiritual Power, endlessly flowing Spiritual Power, Spiritual Power erupting like a volcano, Spiritual Power surging like a tidal wave—savage and ferocious, vast and surging. Within this Spiritual Power were also countless bolts of lightning, endless in number, crackling and popping, emitting sounds that shook the soul.
When the turbulent radiance flickered, when the savage Spiritual Power erupted, when the myriad lightning bolts crackled—White Crane and the other six had no idea what was happening. They only felt their hearts sink. The Great Natural Order Color Spirits they had unleashed were instantly crushed and scattered.
*Ugh!*
Blood flowed from the seven orifices of the six as they collapsed to the ground. Ignoring the fear in their hearts, they unleashed their Great Natural Order Color Spirits again. Unfortunately, it was useless. The moment they were unleashed, they were instantly crushed—both the Great Natural Order Color Spirits and their Golden Core Spiritual Power.
The six lay paralyzed on the ground, covered in blood, frantically unleashing their Great Natural Order Color Spirits and Golden Core Spiritual Power, trying to protect their true bodies!
But it was impossible!
No matter how profound the Great Natural Order Color Spirits they unleashed, no matter how powerful their Golden Core Spiritual Power, the moment it was unleashed, it was instantly crushed and scattered.
Not far away.
Chen Yue's situation wasn't good either—to be precise, it was very bad. Although she was still standing, that was all she was doing.