It was him again.
Wan Huaiyu, the green-robed man, exchanged a glance with Qin Hao, the white-templed youth. Neither could understand how this person, who clearly only possessed Purple Mansion cultivation and carried neither pure nor turbid breath, could appear here. After all, they themselves had gone through immense hardship just to find this cave-dwelling temple.
"Who are you?"
The Gloomy Elder stared at Gu Qingfeng, his expression filled with profound confusion.
"A passerby." Gu Qingfeng replied casually. Then, he began to slowly circle the Ancient Bell, eating his Monster Fruit while carefully examining the Buddhist Swastika Seal formed by various profound scriptures coalescing on its surface.
"A passerby?"
Just as the Gloomy Elder was struck with suspicion, Gu Qingfeng suddenly slammed a palm against the Ancient Bell. The bell immediately emitted a solemn, majestic toll. The sound was vast and mighty, shaking their Heart-Minds and causing the entire cave-dwelling temple to tremble violently!
Buddha is the natural nemesis of all sin in heaven and earth.
Reincarnation itself is a kind of sin. When the ancient bell tolled, carrying the powerful ancient sound of Buddha, their souls and Heart-Minds were inevitably affected.
"Junior! Halt at once! How dare you recklessly tamper with a Buddhist ancient bell!"
The Gloomy Elder immediately roared in anger.
Gu Qingfeng paid him no heed, acting as if he hadn't heard. He slapped the bell again.
*Dong—* This toll was even more powerful than the last. The expressions of Wan Huaiyu and the other three changed drastically.
"Junior, are you seeking death?!"
Enraged, the Gloomy Elder flashed forward in an instant, striking out with a palm to stop him. His palm technique was truly remarkable, infinitely profound, carrying a force that seemed to swallow mountains and rivers. Just as this palm was about to strike the crown of Gu Qingfeng's head, without any visible movement from him, *pa!* — to everyone's astonishment, he had seized the Gloomy Elder's wrist.
And he hadn't used any Spiritual Power.
It was purely the strength of his true body.
"What a formidable true body!"
The Gloomy Elder was shocked, but only shocked. After all, he was a reincarnated being who had once achieved immortality. Having weathered great storms, his heart was alarmed but not fearful. The moment Gu Qingfeng seized his wrist, radiant light erupted from the Gloomy Elder's body, transforming him once more into a skull-like apparition resembling ghostly fire.
"For a reincarnated being, you've stooped to playing with those heretical cultivation methods."
Gu Qingfeng threw a casual punch. Again, no radiance erupted, no Spiritual Power surged forth—just the force of his true body.
Yet, even so, that single punch instantly dispersed the Gloomy Elder's ghost-fire skull into nothingness.
"You!"
The Gloomy Elder's figure reappeared, letting out a muffled grunt, his face somewhat pale. Glaring with wide eyes, torrential Spiritual Power erupted from him.
"Judging by your conduct, you probably achieved your previous life through opportunism as well."
Gu Qingfeng gave a light, mocking laugh. He grabbed the Gloomy Elder by the throat and slammed him against the Ancient Bell. Turbid light erupted from his fingertips. *Crackle!* In an instant, it was as if a thousand bolts of lightning coalesced, striking the Gloomy Elder's body. The strikes extinguished his radiance, scattered his Spiritual Power, left his hair disheveled and his appearance wretched, blood trickling from the corner of his mouth.
The Gloomy Elder was terrified. Disregarding the shock in his heart, he attempted to circulate the Nascent Soul within him once more. At that moment, Gu Qingfeng, who was still gripping his throat, suddenly exerted force. The Gloomy Elder coughed up a mouthful of blood with a *wah* sound.
"Move again, and I'll take your life!"
The Gloomy Elder froze in terror. In that moment, he truly dared not move. Not just because the other's strength was bizarrely overwhelming, but because he heard genuine killing intent in Gu Qingfeng's voice. Especially when his gaze met Gu Qingfeng's deep, dark eyes, it felt like plummeting into an abyss, filling him with extreme dread.
"The Reincarnation Storm back then spared your miserable life. Don't be ungrateful for that second chance. Get lost!"
With that, Gu Qingfeng flung his hand out. The Gloomy Elder was hurled away, crashing into a wall before falling to the ground. He stood up, his face deathly pale, his expression one of utter fear.
He was not the only one affected.
Wan Huaiyu within the hall, the white-templed youth Qin Hao, and even the veiled woman who had remained silent while holding the black cat all wore expressions of shock and disbelief. Their eyes were filled with incredulity and endless confusion.
They had lived two lives, achieving immortality in their previous one. Their experience and knowledge were extraordinary by any measure. Yet, faced with this mysterious and bizarre man in white before them, none of the three could comprehend what kind of existence he truly was.
They couldn't see through him, couldn't understand him, couldn't even imagine.
Then, something even more unbelievable happened. As Gu Qingfeng raised his hands, his ten fingers danced wildly. Spiritual Arts coalesced and manifested—ten, a hundred, a thousand, ten thousand...
Good heavens!
Witnessing this scene, Wan Huaiyu, Qin Hao, and the mysterious woman couldn't help but reveal looks of utter astonishment, as if beholding ghosts or gods, their eyes filled with terror.
The existence of Spiritual Arts is the language of the great Dao. Whether martial arts, spells, or formations, all are formed from the coalescence of Spiritual Arts. Spiritual Arts are also the best reflection of a person's attainment. Watching Gu Qingfeng coalesce millions of Spiritual Arts in an instant not only made Wan Huaiyu and the others tremble in their Heart-Minds but also broadened their horizons, leaving them in awe.
Because they knew that coalescing Spiritual Arts wasn't as simple as moving one's fingers. It required the circulation of meridians, the application of Spiritual Power, shifts in spirit, and more. All of this required powerful Heart-Mind to support—it was also will, and also divine sense. Divine sense was the core; only divine sense could perfectly control meridians, Spiritual Power, spirit...
Wan Huaiyu and the others were reincarnated beings. Their Heart-Minds were naturally far more robust than ordinary people's, and so was their divine sense. However, none of them could coalesce millions of Spiritual Arts in an instant, not even the simplest ones.
Not only could this person do it, but the Spiritual Arts he coalesced were each more profound and abstruse than the last.
Profound to a degree they had never heard of.
Abstruse to a point they couldn't even begin to comprehend.
Gu Qingfeng simply stood before the Ancient Bell, casting Spiritual Art after Spiritual Art. As more and more Arts were infused, the scriptural Swastika Seal on the bell trembled more violently, as if being burned by flames, emitting crisp, crackling sounds.
The sound was piercing, making one's scalp tingle.
At least, that was how Wan Huaiyu and the others felt at this moment.
No one knew how many Spiritual Arts he cast. Gradually, the scriptural Swastika Seal on the Ancient Bell began to blur. Seizing the moment, Gu Qingfeng instantly stopped, slapping a palm against the bell. The scriptural Swastika Seal disintegrated with a *hua* sound, then immediately began to reform. However, in that split second when the seal collapsed, Gu Qingfeng's figure had already vanished.
This...
Wan Huaiyu and the other three stood dumbfounded for a long while. The scene they had just witnessed had shaken them far too profoundly, leaving them unable to regain their composure for a long time.
"Just who is he? How can he be so... earth-shatteringly astonishing?"
The words came from the mysterious woman. Unfortunately, no one could answer that question.
Wan Huaiyu didn't know. Qin Hao didn't know. The Gloomy Elder knew even less.