When Situ Zhengnan stepped forward, many within the arena couldn't help but cheer excitedly.
Obviously.
Everyone also hoped that someone would step up at this moment to teach this mysterious and bizarre fellow a lesson.
Now that the events of the Black-Raven Secret Realm had been confirmed—the five Phoenix Hairpins, both major and minor, being poisoned with Hehuan and confessing their love to Gu Qingfeng, begging for Dual Cultivation—it left most people feeling very displeased. Earlier, Immortal Su Hua had even given this guy a massage, which only fueled everyone's envy and resentment.
They bore no personal grudge or deep-seated hatred against Gu Qingfeng; they simply couldn't stand his actions, finding them utterly disagreeable.
That wasn't the important part.
The important part was that Gu Qingfeng's existence was far too mysterious and bizarre. The combined assault of the Ten Little Hidden Dragons and the Thirty-Six Hua Pavilion Young Masters hadn't shaken him in the slightest. It wasn't just embarrassing; it was a significant blow to their honor. Both the Ten Little Hidden Dragons and the Thirty-Six Hua Pavilion Young Masters represented the major powers of the Four Great Regions, and they would naturally spare no effort to salvage their honor.
Therefore, when Situ Zhengnan stepped forward, many felt their blood boil, shouting encouragement.
Situ Zhengnan waved his hand, signaling the crowd to stop cheering. Gently fanning himself, he stepped forward, a faint smile playing on his lips as he looked at Gu Qingfeng and said, "Sir, you are neither a reincarnated soul nor a body-snatcher reborn. You bear no special fortune upon you, and with your mere Purple Mansion cultivation, you haven't even utilized it. Relying solely on an ordinary true body to achieve such might truly broadens my horizons and earns my deep admiration."
"And then?"
Clad in white robes, Gu Qingfeng stood with his hands behind his back. His expression was no longer leisurely but had turned indifferent, his tone no longer casual but profound.
"And then?
Heh, there is no 'and then'."
Situ Zhengnan laughed. "I quite admire you, sir. I'm even more curious to know just how strong your true body really is."
"How strong is my true body? I don't know. However..." Gu Qingfeng stared at him, glanced at the four body-snatchers behind Situ Zhengnan, and said with a flat tone, "However, one thing is certain: dealing with the few of you would be more than enough."
"Oh?
Hahahaha!"
Hearing this, Situ Zhengnan laughed heartily. The four body-snatchers beside him also fixed their gazes on Gu Qingfeng, their eyes filled with deep suspicion.
"What arrogant nonsense!"
Suddenly, Wei Jiaojiao stepped forward, pointing at Gu Qingfeng and sneering, "Young Master Situ is the direct disciple of the Nine-Hua Alliance Lord, one of the Twelve Royal Lords. His cultivation and strength are world-shaking, his innate fortune peerless under heaven. His Great Natural Order Color Spirit has long since broken through the ninth layer, stepping into the Transcendent Realm. The sheer majesty of his Great Natural Order alone can make Nascent Soul old monsters bleed from all seven orifices. How dare you act so arrogantly before Young Master Situ? It's laughable!"
Wei Jiaojiao's words immediately caused a wave of shocked murmurs within the arena.
Everyone knew what the Transcendent Realm of the Great Natural Order Color Spirit signified.
Legend had it that the Profound Mystery realms of the Great Natural Order were not limited to nine, but were countless. The ninth layer was not the end, but the beginning. Beyond the ninth lay the Transcendent Realm: the tenth, eleventh, eighteenth, and even higher layers.
It was said that once a Great Natural Order Color Spirit reached the Transcendent Realm, the majesty it contained was extremely terrifying. A Transcendent Color Spirit would evolve into a Great Natural Order Storm, within which lightning flashed, thunder roared, and violent winds and rain raged with endless transformations. It was said that even Nascent Soul old monsters couldn't withstand such Transcendent majesty, and that was just at the tenth layer of Transcendence. The higher the Color Spirit realm, the more terrifying the evolved Great Natural Order Storm, and the more frenzied its internal changes. Legends from the Divine Land spoke of an eighteenth-layer Transcendent Great Natural Order Color Spirit whose majesty, once unleashed, would leave the surrounding area barren of even a blade of grass.
Of course, legends were just legends. No one had ever seen it, at least not in the Four Great Regions in the hundred years since the Great Calamity. Although rumors had always circulated in the Four Great Regions that the Twelve Royal Lords possessed such abilities, no one had ever seen them take action, and the truth remained unknown.
At this moment, hearing Wei Jiaojiao declare it with such pride, everyone was speculating whether it was true.
"A Transcendent Great Natural Order Color Spirit?"
A trace of a smile curved Gu Qingfeng's lips. "I'd very much like to witness it."
"To witness Young Master Situ's Transcendent Great Natural Order Color Spirit, you are not yet qualified."
Ling Feng, hailed as the foremost among the Tai Xuan Young Lords, suddenly stepped forward, appearing before Gu Qingfeng and declaring arrogantly, "Get past me first, then we'll talk!"
Ling Feng was a genius.
Back when he condensed his Golden Core, he achieved a minor revolution every nine days, a major revolution every eighteen days, and a breakthrough every twenty-seven days. In just over a year, he perfected his Golden Core through eighty-one revolutions, shattering the records previously held by Huo Jin and Tu Gao to become the number one Golden Core cultivator in the Four Great Regions.
Furthermore, he possessed an Innate Treasure Body, an Innate Legacy, a later-acquired Great Natural Order Color Spirit, a later-acquired Tai Xuan Seed, two types of Innate Fortune, and two types of later-acquired Fortune, all harmonized seamlessly.
However, what puzzled everyone was that while Ling Feng's strength might surpass that of the Ten Little Hidden Dragons, it was only slightly so. Earlier, the combined force of the Ten Little Hidden Dragons and the Thirty-Six Hua Pavilion Young Masters hadn't shaken Gu Qingfeng in the slightest. What could he alone do to Gu Qingfeng now?
Could it be that after years of secluded cultivation in the Tai Xuan Secret Realm, Ling Feng's cultivation and strength had made a leap forward?
No one knew. No one was clear.
At this moment, Ling Feng took a great stride forward, appearing before Gu Qingfeng, and sneered, "Your true body may be strong, but I wonder if it can withstand my Five-Nine Unified Great Natural Order Color Spirit."
As his words fell, radiant light erupted wildly around Ling Feng's body as rolling spiritual power burst forth—revealing a cultivation of Nascent Soul Thirty-Six Transformations.
Simultaneously, the power of his Innate Treasure Body, the power of his Innate Legacy, and the power of his Tai Xuan Seed all surged forth. Then, with a *whoosh*!
A vast and majestic force erupted like a volcano, instantly forming a nine-meter-wide vortex of violent wind. Within the vortex raged a storm of wind and rain, lightning and thunder.
This was the unified Profound Mystery of the Great Natural Order Color Spirit.
Moreover, it was the Great Natural Order Profound Mystery of a Five-Nine Unified Great Natural Order.
As everyone knew, only by completely fusing one's Great Natural Order Color Spirit into one could its true Profound Mystery be unleashed. But saying this was easy; doing it was as difficult as ascending to heaven. Especially the higher the Profound Mystery realm of the Great Natural Order Color Spirit, the more difficult the fusion. Figures like the Ten Little Hidden Dragons each possessed Five-Realm, Nine-Layer Color Spirits, but over all these years, none had succeeded in fusing their Five-Realm, Nine-Layer Color Spirits, thus utterly unable to unleash the true Profound Mystery of a Five-Realm, Nine-Layer Color Spirit.
The gap between an unfused Five-Realm, Nine-Layer and a fused Five-Realm, Nine-Layer was unimaginable to ordinary people.
An unfused Five-Realm, Nine-Layer could only unleash the nine-layer Profound Mystery of each individual realm. If fused, it would be the Great Natural Order Profound Mystery of forty-five layers unified into one. The difference was as vast as that between forty-five vicious wolves and a single fierce tiger.
Forty-five vicious wolves might be powerful, but the fierce tiger was more majestic, hailed as the king of beasts. A single roar from it was enough to intimidate forty-five wolves.