At this very moment.
Outside the Black-Raven Secret Realm, a large crowd had gathered.
They had all been exploring for treasures within the secret realm earlier, but had been forced to leave when the realm began to undergo strange changes.
As for what exactly had happened inside the secret realm, no one knew.
Just moments ago, someone had tried to go back in to take a look, only to be instantly torn to shreds by a powerful force.
In a patch of mountain forest near Black-Raven Mountain.
Shui Yunruo and Lan Feier stood looking somewhat disheveled, their expressions complex as they gazed toward the Black-Raven Secret Realm. They seemed both shocked and suspicious, and also as if they were searching for someone.
They too had left the moment the strange changes began in the secret realm, and they also had no idea what had happened inside.
What puzzled them even more was that after leaving, they had waited by the entrance, but had never seen Gu Qingfeng emerge.
"Could that guy have died inside?" Lan Feier speculated, murmuring to herself, "Or maybe he left long ago."
Shui Yunruo shook her head slightly; she didn't know either.
Although some time had passed since the incident, Shui Yunruo's thoughts were still somewhat scattered. She couldn't help but recall what had happened inside.
She was like this, and Lan Feier wasn't much better off. The moment she thought about what had happened inside, she felt both shame and anger, saying indignantly, "It would be best if he died in there. Otherwise... I don't know how I'll face people in the future."
The more she thought about it, the more annoyed Lan Feier became. She squatted down, grabbing her hair, and said with regret, "Ah! This is giving me such a headache! I was in seclusion for nearly a year, and as soon as I finally come out, I run into this kind of thing. Why on earth did I have to come to this Black-Raven Secret Realm? If I hadn't come, none of this would have happened. If I had listened to that guy's advice back then, it wouldn't have happened either... Ah! I regret this so much..."
Shui Yunruo was no less annoyed and regretful.
Although her temperament was calm and detached, she was, after all, a woman.
For a woman to have her body seen completely by a man was embarrassing enough.
The key point was that, influenced by the Union Bliss aura, she had acted like a ****-crazed woman in front of him, even actively throwing herself at him. And damn it, she had been rejected...
After being rejected, she had been teased...
Heavens!
Shui Yunruo really couldn't bear to think about it any further. She too wished that this incident had never happened.
The two women were stewing in their annoyance over here.
Meanwhile, in another part of the Black-Raven Mountain forest.
Xiao Danrou and Qingzhu were also deeply conflicted.
"He probably left a step ahead of us," Xiao Danrou said, looking toward the Black-Raven Secret Realm before asking, "What do you plan to do?"
"Do about what?"
"Are you just going to let it go like this?"
"What else can I do?" Qingzhu sighed. "That man surnamed Gu is mysterious and bizarre. What can we possibly do about it?"
"Yeah... what can we do..." To be honest, what troubled them wasn't being seen by Gu Qingfeng, nor was it the throwing themselves at him.
What truly troubled them was the fear that this matter might spread.
It wasn't that they were afraid of ruining their own reputations, nor was it about so-called chastity.
Rather, their identities were extraordinary—one was the Valley Master of Little Immortal Valley, the other was the Hall Master of Cloudheart Hall. Both bore the heavy responsibility of their respective legacies. If this matter were to spread, it wouldn't matter if their own chastity was ruined, but the reputations of Little Immortal Valley and Cloudheart Hall would definitely be implicated. If, because of this incident, the legacies of Little Immortal Valley and Cloudheart Hall were cut off in their hands, neither Xiao Danrou nor Qingzhu could bear that responsibility.
At the same time.
Near the Black-Raven Mountain forest, Chen Yue was also pondering this problem.
She didn't care about her own reputation either, nor did she care about so-called chastity. But behind her, the reputation of the Phoenix Family was something she couldn't afford not to care about.
"Damn it! What do I do..." Chen Yue felt like crying but had no tears. She squatted on the ground, holding her head, feeling a terrible headache and even more regret.
She hated herself for inviting Gu Qingfeng to the Black-Raven Secret Realm for no good reason.
If she had listened to his advice back at the ancient pagoda and hadn't returned, this wouldn't have happened.
If she had listened to his advice in the secret chamber and left earlier, it also wouldn't have happened...
"Ah! I'm going crazy! Why am I so stupid!"
Chen Yue was on the verge of a breakdown. After a long while, she finally stood up weakly and left.
Inside the Black-Raven Secret Realm.
It was deathly silent.
Green mist permeated the air, and desolate ruins were everywhere.
There was nothing left.
Everything seemed to have turned to ashes.
Monk Bu’er slowly crawled up from the ruins, shaking his groggy head and looking around.
Apart from him, there was no one else in the secret realm—to be precise, no living beings at all.
As for where the demoness Man Tu Fan had gone, Monk Bu’er didn't know.
Where that terrifying Master Gu had gone, Monk Bu’er didn't know either, and he didn't want to know.
He wanted to stand up and leave, but found his legs were too weak to support him. He slumped back to the ground, trying to steady his mind and dispel the fear in his heart, but it was no use. He chanted scriptures, but that didn't work either; he simply couldn't concentrate.
His mind hadn't collapsed, nor had his soul scattered.
He just couldn't focus.
He was scared.
When he closed his eyes, his mind was filled with those densely packed Judgment scars.
Monk Bu’er realized he had never seen a person's Great Spirit contain so many Judgment scars. Not only had he never seen it, he had never even heard of such a thing.
Monk Bu’er used to think only that he couldn't afford to provoke that Master Gu.
Only now did he realize that it wasn't just a matter of not being able to provoke him—it wasn't even certain if his damn Heavenly Dao could afford to provoke him either.
There were Immortal Dao Judgments, Monster Dao Judgments, Buddha Dao Judgments, Heavenly Dao Judgments...
All kinds of Judgments, too many to count.
The existence of such a person could no longer be described as terrifying; it was simply...
"Buddha Lord, oh Buddha Lord, is this the damn karmic ties of the forbidden seal you wanted me to investigate? When investigating Yun Nishang, I ran into this lord. Now, when investigating Man Tu Fan, I run into this lord again. Just what the hell are you having me investigate—what chaotic, what forbidden karmic ties—that I always end up meeting this terrifying lord!"
"When investigating Yun Nishang, I was damn lucky to dodge a bullet. That guy wiped out an Immortal Edict with a single move! The Heavenly Edict, the Demon Edict, even the Original Sin Edict saw it with their own eyes and didn't dare let out a single fart!"
"This time, you sent me to take over the Lesser Prajna Sutra. Thank goodness I was clever enough! Seeing that lord was interested, I quickly gave him the sutra. Otherwise... even if I had ten thousand lives, it wouldn't be enough for him to finish me off."
"That lord is covered in sin, carrying who knows how many damn Judgments on his back. Even Immortals and Demons would be scared shitless if they saw him..." "As for that Lesser Prajna Sutra, I'm not planning to take it back. Whoever has the ability can go get it. I'm just going to get the hell out of here as far as I can. I don't want to investigate any damn forbidden karmic ties anymore."
Monk Bu’er wanted to leave, but he still couldn't stand up. That fear seemed to have seeped into his bones, imprinted in his very mind—unable to be driven away, unable to be expelled...