The question Huo Dong asked was one that none of the three women—Shui Yunruo, Lan Feier, or Huo Wu Chen Yue—could answer.
They too had always been curious. Gu Qingfeng possessed neither innate fortune nor acquired fortune; he had only an ordinary True Body. By all logic, he shouldn't be so formidably powerful.
"Well? Can the three of you not answer?" Huo Dong appeared very confident.
"Gu Qingfeng previously failed his Foundation Establishment. When he attempted to re-establish his foundation, his Physical Body underwent a mutation..."
"Foundation Establishment failure? Physical Body mutation? Miss Lan, I admit that Foundation Establishment failure can lead to Physical Body mutation. A mutated body, due to changes in meridians and such, can become stronger, but it's merely stronger. In our Four Directions Great Domain, while not many have experienced Physical Body mutation from Foundation Establishment failure, there are still quite a few. Their bodies are at best a bit stronger than ordinary people's, the strongest merely being exceptional compared to normal humans."
Huo Dong took a step forward. "But Gu Qingfeng's True Body is far more than just exceptional. That day, our combined efforts couldn't budge him an inch, let alone the fact that he crippled both Ling Feng and Situ Zhengnan with just a few moves. Ling Feng possessed the Great Nature's Five-Nine Unity, and Situ Zhengnan even had a Six Realms, Ten Layers Transcendent Great Nature Colored Spirit! If Gu Qingfeng isn't an Evil Demon, how could he be so powerful?"
Huo Dong's words stirred discussion among the surrounding crowd.
Everyone had witnessed the events at the Taixuan Platform with their own eyes. At the time, they found it utterly unbelievable. Now, hearing Huo Dong's words, many expressed agreement.
A person with no fortune whatsoever, yet possessing an incredibly powerful True Body—such a person's True Body must be strange. If he isn't a Possession Rebirth individual, then he must be an Evil Demon.
As was widely known, the True Bodies of Possession Rebirth individuals were powerful because they treated their bodies as cauldrons and spiritual treasures to refine. This very reason was why Possession Rebirth was classified as demonic in ancient times.
Gu Qingfeng not only lacked any fortune but also any other spiritual aura. It was certain he was not a Possession Rebirth individual. Without a doubt, he must be an Evil Demon.
Anyone who cultivated using evil methods was an Evil Demon.
What were evil methods? The answer was simple: anything that violated the Dao of Humanity.
The most common examples were cultivating evil techniques, absorbing evil Spiritual Energy, refining evil spiritual treasures, Possession Rebirth, and so on—all were evil methods that violated the Dao of Humanity.
In this world, many people, whether to seek shortcuts or to increase their own strength and cultivation, ultimately succumbed to temptation and embarked on the demonic path. Because it was a shortcut, a path to success without paying the price of sweat. It could rapidly boost one's power in a short time and allow for easy breakthroughs in realms—extremely alluring. Of course, taking shortcuts came with a price.
Apart from being shunned by the world for violating the Dao of Humanity, whether cultivating evil techniques or absorbing evil Spiritual Energy would lead to mental derangement—so-called Qi Deviation. Once one experienced Qi Deviation, they would slaughter innocents indiscriminately. Over time, they might even become a true Evil Demon. Even without mental derangement, when the time came for their Heavenly Tribulation, it would be ten, a hundred, even a thousand times more difficult than for ordinary people.
Despite this, over countless millennia, many still took their chances and stepped onto the path of evil cultivation.
"Gu Qingfeng must have cultivated an evil technique, treating his True Body as a cauldron to refine. That's the only possibility for his True Body to be so powerful. As for what evil technique refines the True Body, I believe I don't need to say it; the three young ladies should already know in your hearts!"
Yes! They knew.
How could the knowledgeable Lan Feier and the others not know?
So-called evil techniques invariably revolved around the word 'plunder.' And what was plundered were others' essence, qi, and spirit, refined further with blood...
Many texts recorded that plundering others' essence, qi, and spirit, then refining the True Body with blood, could warm and nourish meridians, skin, membranes, and bones, granting the True Body immense strength.
Though Lan Feier and the others didn't want to admit it, they had to acknowledge this was fact. And Gu Qingfeng's situation indeed easily made one associate him with the term 'Evil Demon.'
"What you say is correct, but there's one point you haven't mentioned," Lan Feier spoke up. "Anyone who cultivates evil techniques, their spiritual aura is no longer pure; it becomes exceptionally turbid. Yet Gu Qingfeng's spiritual aura is very pure, without any turbidity. To label him an evil cultivator based on mere speculation seems far too forced!"
As soon as Lan Feier's voice fell, another person stepped forward to speak.
It wasn't Huo Dong, but Ma Zhengtian, the young master of the Thundercloud Branch.
"Based on mere speculation, indeed, we cannot prove that this Gu fellow is an Evil Demon. But what if we have real evidence? I believe many people here have fought against this Gu fellow and experienced his Spiritual Power firsthand. He's only at the Purple Mansion cultivation level, yet his Spiritual Power is abnormally powerful and extremely violent. That day at the Taixuan Platform, four Possession Rebirth individuals were utterly annihilated by the mere force of his shout!"
"Those were four Possession Rebirth individuals that even Nascent Soul old monsters deeply feared! Yet they were utterly annihilated by the mere force of a shout from a mere Purple Mansion cultivator! If he isn't an Evil Demon, how else do you explain it?"
"I..." Lan Feier truly didn't know how to explain it, nor how to defend Gu Qingfeng.
"There's only one explanation: that Gu Qingfeng has absorbed evil Spiritual Energy, and extremely evil Spiritual Energy at that. Only then could his Spiritual Power, at the mere Purple Mansion level, be so powerful and violent!"
Seizing the opportunity, Wang He also stepped forward. "Everyone should remember, at the Taixuan Platform, Gu Qingfeng's Spiritual Power was in utter chaos, to the point even he couldn't suppress it. I believe everyone knows that only those who have absorbed evil Spiritual Energy have chaotic Spiritual Power."
"And Gu Qingfeng instantly broke through nine levels of the Purple Mansion realm! Hmph! If he weren't an Evil Demon, if he hadn't taken shortcuts, how could he possibly break through nine levels instantly? Perhaps the wine he drinks is evil wine refined from the essence, qi, spirit, and blood of others!"
"If Gu Qingfeng weren't an Evil Demon, why would he hide away to form his Golden Core in secret? He must have been afraid we'd discover he's an Evil Demon."
"That's right! After forming his core, he personally ignited his Golden Core. It must be because he absorbed too much evil Spiritual Energy, making the formed core unstable. To save his life, he had no choice but to ignite it."
The Ten Little Hidden Dragons and the Thirty-Six Huage Young Masters spoke one after another, proving Gu Qingfeng was an Evil Demon.
Opposite them, Lan Feier and the other two women stood there, unable to utter a single word.
What could they say?
Whether it was Gu Qingfeng's bizarrely powerful True Body, his vast and violent Spiritual Power, his instant breakthrough of nine Purple Mansion levels, or his successful core formation followed by personal destruction of it—every single aspect was too bizarre. Not to mention the Little Hidden Dragons and those Huage Young Masters; even they themselves felt that only 'Evil Demon' could explain all the strangeness surrounding Gu Qingfeng.
"That day at the Taixuan Platform, I thought this Gu Qingfeng was a rare genius in the world. Now it seems he's nothing but a shortcut-taking, opportunistic Evil Demon. I, Huo Dong, am not someone who can't accept defeat. But to say I lost to an Evil Demon? Sorry, I'm not convinced."
"Opportunistic Evil Demons aren't any real skill. If I, Ma Zhengtian, wanted to take shortcuts, I could have achieved Daozun years ago."