As the sun set beyond the western mountains, dusk descended.
Evening clouds drifted upon the firmament, twilight now arriving.
Above the clouds, within the void, amidst the Yunxiao...
Winds fierce enough to rend all things roared madly through the Yunxiao.
Above the Yunxiao lay Heaven's Might—the vast, boundless Heaven's Might, the Heaven's Might revered by all living beings.
Suddenly, a wisp of flame appeared out of thin air, inexplicably igniting. It was a violet-azure flame, solitary, cold, and filled with the stillness of death.
The violet-azure flame burned steadily. No matter how fiercely the winds raged, they could not shake it in the slightest. No matter how unfathomable Heaven's Might was, the violet-azure flame remained unaffected.
Thus, the violet-azure fire burned.
As the sunset vanished, as twilight fell, as night first appeared, as darkness swept in...
The violet-azure flame grew increasingly vigorous, burning the fierce winds until they crackled, burning the void until it flickered in and out of sight, burning the Yunxiao until it trembled faintly.
Faintly, within the violet-azure fire, a figure seemed to appear, both illusory and real.
As the violet-azure flame grew stronger, the figure grew clearer.
It was a man. A young man.
Clad in simple, ancient white robes, with three thousand strands of black hair dancing wildly.
A cold, stern face. A solitary, proud silhouette.
He sat cross-legged, eyes slightly closed, palms pressed together, his expression tranquil and serene—as if reborn from flames. The more vigorously the ghostly fire burned, the more vigorous the vitality on his body became.
No one knew how long the violet-azure fire had burned. Only that the figure grew clearer and clearer, and the vitality upon him grew stronger and stronger.
With a sudden *boom*, the violet-azure fire abruptly transformed into a sea of flames, only to vanish without a trace in the next instant, leaving only the young man behind.
He remained sitting cross-legged. When he opened his eyes, they were a pair of profound eyes—profound as an abyss, unfathomable, filled with hesitation and confusion, as if everything was strange and unknown to him.
Gazing out, he slowly closed his eyes, then opened them again. The hesitation and confusion had diminished somewhat, replaced by a touch more gloom and stillness.
Close, open. The hesitation diminished further, the confusion likewise. The gloom increased, the stillness likewise.
No one knew how many times this cycle repeated. Only that each time he closed and opened his eyes, the hesitation and confusion diminished a little more, while the gloom and stillness increased a little more. Until the hesitation and confusion vanished completely, leaving only gloom and stillness within those profound eyes.
He did not move, still sitting cross-legged. He appeared very lonely, and very cold.
The deathly stillness upon him dissipated bit by bit. Vitality recovered bit by bit.
Gradually, the loneliness vanished. The coldness vanished. In their place emerged a sense of languor, a sense of casualness, a sense of free-spiritedness, a sense of great freedom.
"Damn it all!"
He stood up, standing tall amidst the Yunxiao, stretching his body fiercely. Every inch of his bones emitted crisp cracking sounds, every inch of his skin trembled violently, every acupoint in his body spun wildly!
*Whoosh!*
The endless Taiji Golden Cores hidden within his acupoints roared like unleashed tigers, erupting with rolling Taiji spiritual power that shook heaven and earth!
"Finally, I'm damn well back."
He threw his head back and roared at the sky, shaking the fierce winds of the Yunxiao until they crackled incessantly, shaking the void until it fractured continuously!
"Hahahaha!
This old man has damn well lived again!
Hahahaha!"
Back!
Alive again!
Indeed.
Gu Qingfeng had returned, and had lived again.
This was not his first death and rebirth, nor his first time finding himself after being lost. However, each time he died and returned to life, he would feel a sense of exhilarating freedom—a very strange, very special feeling. It wasn't surprise, nor excitement, nor agitation. As for what it was, Gu Qingfeng couldn't quite say. In any case, it felt damn good!
"Not easy!
It's really damn not easy..." Though it felt good, this feeling came at the cost of endless loneliness.
Because each time he died, he never knew if he could live again. Each time he was lost, he likewise never knew if he could find himself again. This time was no exception.
That wasn't important.
What was important was that Great Nirvana Silence was not sleep. It wasn't something where you could just sleep and wake up, having found yourself again.
It was a kind of loneliness. An indescribable, eternal loneliness.
The feeling was like a person falling into endless darkness. No time, no space, only darkness. Apart from darkness, there was nothing. Only yourself. You didn't even know of your own existence. No consciousness, no thought. Just drifting in that endless darkness. You didn't know where to go, didn't know what to do, didn't know anything.
It was truly a feeling of loneliness pushed to the extreme.
Even though Gu Qingfeng had experienced it several times, he still felt a deep-seated dread toward that sensation.
Fortunately, he had finally lived. Finally succeeded in finding himself again.
Gu Qingfeng pondered that in the future, it would be best to play around with things like Great Nirvana Silence fewer times. And as for evil existences like the Avici Uninterrupted Evil Asura, it would be best to summon them fewer times.
He didn't want to go through such torment again. Who knew if, after a certain nirvana, he could still be reborn?
Nor did he know if, after summoning the Avici Uninterrupted Evil Asura, he could still find himself again.
Moreover, each time after Nirvana Silence, he would gain new insights into the mysteries of 'Silence' and 'Extinction'. And these new insights gave him a deeper understanding of the Great Dao of Heaven and Earth. The deeper his understanding, the more wary he became of the Great Dao of Heaven and Earth.
While wary, he also grew increasingly puzzled by the Great Dao of Heaven and Earth, increasingly unable to see through it.
He once thought Heaven and Earth were just Heaven and Earth, and the Great Dao was just the Great Dao. Now, in his eyes, Heaven and Earth were still Heaven and Earth, yet they were not Heaven and Earth. The Great Dao was still the Great Dao, yet it was not the Great Dao. Gods were gods yet not gods. Demons were demons yet not demons. Immortals were immortals yet not immortals. Buddhas were buddhas yet not buddhas...
The Avici Uninterrupted Evil Asura also gave him this feeling.
He once thought the Avici Uninterrupted Evil Asura was merely that evil existence ruling over Purgatory. But as he learned more about the Avici Uninterrupted Evil Asura, he increasingly felt it was not that simple.
Just like his observation of the Great Dao of Heaven and Earth: Avici was Avici yet not Avici. Without Interval was Without Interval yet not Without Interval. Asura was Asura yet not Asura!
"Last night the west wind withered the green-clad trees; Alone I climb the high tower, to gaze my fill at the far road stretching to the horizon."
Gu Qingfeng gazed at the night sky, at the countless stars in the heavens, and at that wheel of bright moon, murmuring: "My girdle grows loose, yet I regret it not; For her am I thus wasting away in sorrow and pain."
He closed his eyes, sighed, and said: "A thousand times I search for her in the crowd; Suddenly turning my head, I find her there where the lantern lights are dim."
After a long silence, he shook his head, opened his eyes, and smiled, speaking to himself: "Seeing the mountain as a mountain, seeing the water as water; seeing the mountain not as a mountain, seeing the water not as water; seeing the mountain still as a mountain, seeing the water still as water..." Closing his eyes again, Gu Qingfeng took a deep breath, pondered for a moment, and said: "Never forget your original intent, and you will attain your ultimate goal. My will follows my heart, and I am free."