Within the clouds.
Gu Qingfeng lay floating in the air with his limbs outstretched, a violent vortex of Spiritual Power spinning wildly around his body.
The vortex was at times incredibly pure, at others endlessly turbid. From the initial vast, sea-like Spiritual Power, it gradually rotated into a swirling mass of black and white—a Taiji vortex.
Below.
Su Hua watched Gu Qingfeng at this moment. If she had harbored any doubts before, then now, witnessing the Taiji vortex spinning madly around Gu Qingfeng with her own eyes, Su Hua no longer doubted. She could be certain: the Golden Core Gu Qingfeng was gestating was none other than the Taiji Golden Core, hailed as the progenitor of all Golden Cores, the supreme king among cores.
Heavens above!
It was actually true!
At this moment, Su Hua felt as if she couldn't breathe. Even her transcendent heart, detached from worldly concerns, couldn't help but tremble violently.
Suddenly!
Boom! Rumble—Crack!
The clouds above grew dark and overcast, lightning flashed, thunder roared, and a violent storm raged.
"Miss, has the Natural Order undergone a mutation?" Qian Shan asked in surprise and doubt from beside her.
"No!" Su Hua shook her head, saying in a dazed voice, "This is not a mutation of the Natural Order, but a mutation of the heavens themselves. This is a Heaven Omen, an Anomaly."
Between heaven and earth, if the birth of a certain existence triggers a Heaven Omen or Anomaly, then it could be confirmed that this thing would inevitably influence the destiny of the Great Dao.
And the Taiji Golden Core, hailed as the progenitor of Golden Cores, a symbol of supreme kingship, might in the future bear the True Mandate, making one a candidate for the Human King. As such, it would naturally affect the destiny of the Great Dao.
Boom! Rumble—Crack!
Immediately after, the five elements of the Natural Order—metal, wood, water, fire, earth—fell into chaos. Wind, thunder, fire, and lightning intertwined chaotically. Meteors fell for it, the sun and moon reversed for it.
Dark clouds gathered, mingled with violet-gold lightning, burning wildly like raging flames, yet also freezing the sky. Terrifying meteors fell like a torrential downpour. Looking out, it was as if the apocalypse had arrived.
This was not the first time Su Hua had witnessed a Heaven Omen or Anomaly with her own eyes, but she had never seen one caused by a Taiji Golden Core. Her heart couldn't help but feel some excitement, some tension, and also some worry and fear.
Because she knew that the appearance of a Heaven Omen or Anomaly would inevitably be accompanied by tribulations from the Great Dao.
After all, the Taiji Golden Core influenced the destiny of the Great Dao, and not just one Great Dao. It could be confirmed that it affected the Heavenly Dao, the Immortal Dao, the Human Dao, the Spiritual Dao, and the Dao of the Natural Order. When the time came, all five Great Daos would descend tribulations to test it. If it passed the trials, it would be tantamount to receiving the acknowledgment of the Great Dao, allowing it to rightfully bear the True Mandate in the future. Conversely, if it failed to overcome the tribulations—even if it failed just one Great Dao's tribulation—the Taiji Golden Core would dissipate, and everything would come to naught.
Although Su Hua had never seen a Taiji Golden Core undergo tribulation, she had witnessed other great fortunes undergoing tribulation in the Celestial Realm. Those favored by heaven naturally could pass, yet far more ended in failure, leaving them with empty joy in the end. Some even lost their lives for it.
The greater the fortune, the more severe the accompanying danger.
And for a fortune like the Taiji Golden Core that influenced the destiny of five Great Daos, what kind of tribulations the five Great Daos would descend was truly unimaginable.
Suddenly.
A strange, eerie mist appeared within the Heaven Omen and Anomaly at some unknown time. This mist seemed both illusory and real, evolving and transforming, containing immense power and layer upon layer of killing intent.
Su Hua could tell that this mist was none other than a Divine Sense—a Divine Sense possessing formidable power and concealing terrifying killing intent.
That this Divine Sense could remain unmoving under such a powerful Heaven Omen and Anomaly was enough to indicate that its owner was a great power.
Immediately after, another Divine Sense appeared.
A second, a third, a fourth...
After the Heaven Omen and Anomaly occurred, within a short while, seven or eight powerful Divine Senses had appeared. Each of these Divine Senses showed no fear of the heavenly might, containing formidable power and terrifying killing intent. And these were only the ones that appeared; there were also many Divine Senses hidden in the shadows.
Even without thinking, Su Hua could guess that these Divine Senses likely came from great powers of this world who had detected the Heaven Omen and Anomaly and rushed over. Not only that, she even knew that when the Heaven Omen and Anomaly occurred, those great powers hidden within heaven and earth would likely also become aware.
These great powers each possessed heaven-defying methods. If they broke through the world's barriers, killing from afar with great supernatural powers would be a simple matter.
The purposes of these great powers in coming here might vary—some out of curiosity, some wishing to recruit, and of course, some might harbor killing intent.
One must know that the existence of a Taiji Golden Core meant the potential to bear the True Mandate in the future and ascend to the position of Human King.
For many great powers, this was a rare and excellent opportunity. As the saying goes, 'hoard a rarity for profit.' Recruit first, invest later. Once the True Mandate was borne and the position of Human King ascended to in the future, the prestige would be immense.
However.
All of this had one prerequisite: that Gu Qingfeng survive the tribulations and receive the acknowledgment of the Great Dao.
As time passed bit by bit, the Heaven Omen and Anomaly within the clouds grew increasingly powerful, and the Divine Senses from great powers arriving from all directions grew more numerous.
At this moment.
Gu Qingfeng still had his eyes closed, limbs outstretched, head tilted back, floating in mid-air. The Taiji vortex around him flickered faintly, having already returned to his Purple Mansion. Only the radiant light of Taiji could be seen blooming around his body. Finally, when the Taiji vortex around him completely returned to his Purple Mansion, Gu Qingfeng, who had been floating in the air all this time, suddenly moved.
He first stretched fiercely, his bones cracking and popping, then twisted his neck. He looked like someone who had just woken up from a long sleep. After moving his limbs, he slowly opened his eyes. Glancing at the Heaven Omen and Anomaly in the sky, he took out a wine gourd, poured himself a cup, and tossed it back in one gulp.
Seeing this scene, Su Hua in the distance was momentarily stunned. When she recovered, she fell into disarray again.
This fellow had gestated a Taiji Golden Core!
There were twenty or thirty great powers nearby, watching like tigers eyeing their prey, ready to obliterate him at any moment.
He was still enveloped by the Heaven Omen and Anomaly, with tribulations from various Great Daos poised to descend at any time.
And this fellow actually acted as if nothing was wrong, even having the mood to drink wine?
Su Hua had lived two lives. In her previous life, she was a Nine-Heaven Fairy. She had seen those with great courage before, and she had seen those who were carefree and unrestrained. But as for someone like Gu Qingfeng, whose courage was so great it defied all laws, whose carefree nature reached the point of following his every whim—this was the first time she had encountered such a person.
Was he truly fearless?
Or was he truly ignorant?
Fearless?
Facing tribulations from the Great Dao, what cultivator would dare not fear?
Moreover, for someone influencing the destiny of the Great Dao like the Taiji Golden Core, anyone else, even if they were a Nine-Heaven True Lord in their previous life, would be terrified, right?
That was the Taiji Golden Core!
Once achieved, one could bear the True Mandate in the future, ascend to become the Human King, and rule over the Human Dao.
Who wouldn't want that?
Who wouldn't be afraid? Who wouldn't worry?
And him?
Look as she might, from any angle, she couldn't see any trace of fear on him. Forget fear, forget worry—he didn't even seem to have a single trace of nervous expression.