That night.
Gu Qingfeng rode his old horse, Old Ma, meandering leisurely along a mountain path, occasionally taking out the Remote Ancient Era Great Nature Origin Stone Ouyang Ye had given him to examine.
He had originally just wanted to tease the little girl and hadn't intended to trade for anything. What he hadn't expected was that this Raw Stone was truly extraordinary—or more precisely, the mysterious power within the stone was anything but ordinary.
It was a seal, and an extremely powerful one at that, filled with profound mysteries. It was called the Heaven-Stealing Hidden-Dragon Seal, a divine ability seal, an ancient evil seal, and, moreover, a seal explicitly forbidden by decree.
In the present world, those who knew of the Heaven-Stealing Hidden-Dragon Seal were absolutely few, and even those who could recognize it as a seal were not many.
From what he recalled, this thing was used to seal evil spirits, thereby attempting to deceive Heaven and Earth and evade various tribulations.
Gu Qingfeng was also quite curious about what exactly was sealed within this Heaven-Stealing Hidden-Dragon Seal, pondering finding an opportunity to open it and take a look.
After all, it was the Heaven-Stealing Hidden-Dragon Seal. Even he couldn't open it in a short while. Moreover, he knew nothing about what was inside. If it truly sealed some terrifying evil spirit, it would just be another troublesome affair.
Of course.
His purpose for coming out this time wasn't to open the Heaven-Stealing Hidden-Dragon Seal inside this Raw Stone, but for another reason.
It was because of a baffling Divine Sense.
Ever since his recent apotheosis and rebirth, he had discovered a mysterious Divine Sense occasionally probing him.
At first, he hadn't paid much attention, because that Divine Sense was faint and elusive, appearing and disappearing in a flash.
In the following days, it remained the same.
Gu Qingfeng had tried to capture it, had tried to pursue it. Alas, each attempt ended in failure. That Divine Sense was simply too ephemeral, making it impossible for him to capture or pursue.
His mind was vast and boundless, his Divine Sense capable of reaching Heaven and Earth, omnipotent. If he wished, a single thought could ascend to the Ninth Heaven, a single thought could instantly descend to the Nine Nethers—it was no difficult feat. Closing his eyes, he could perceive every rustle of grass and stir of wind in this world with perfect clarity.
Yet.
That mysterious Divine Sense, he could not capture.
Even when the other party's Divine Sense vanished, he couldn't even sense its presence.
This kind of situation was something Gu Qingfeng had never encountered before.
He didn't know who the other party was.
Nor what their purpose was.
During the days he traveled to the Star-Moon Great Domain, that Divine Sense had never appeared again. But just now, it had reappeared. And this time, it was no longer faint and elusive, no longer ephemeral, no longer drifting.
What made Gu Qingfeng utterly astonished was that even so, he still couldn't sense the other party's Divine Sense. Even knowing this Divine Sense was clearly probing him, he still couldn't sense its existence.
Could it be that the other party, with a single thought, could ignore spatial barriers, existing outside the laws of this world?
No!
Even if the other party wasn't in this world, Gu Qingfeng could sense them.
With his abilities, any existence, as long as it was within Heaven and Earth, he could sense.
Then, this Divine Sense alone...
Hmm?
Gu Qingfeng suddenly thought of a possibility, pondering whether the other party had already leaped out of Heaven and Earth?
That couldn't be possible!
Leaping out of Heaven and Earth, breaking free from the shackles of its laws—this was something many experts dreamed of. But since ancient times, who could truly leap out?
At the very least, Gu Qingfeng didn't know, nor had he heard of anyone who had leaped out of Heaven and Earth.
However, on the other hand, if the other party hadn't leaped out of Heaven and Earth, why couldn't he sense their Divine Sense?
He didn't know.
Gu Qingfeng truly couldn't figure it out.
He just rode Old Ma, meandering leisurely. That mysterious Divine Sense was locked tightly onto him, and the originally faint Divine Sense seemed to be growing more and more distinct, more and more concentrated.
Suddenly!
Gu Qingfeng's mind sank. The laziness on his face vanished instantly, replaced by solemnity, by aloof pride, by domineering supremacy, by a gaze that looked down upon all.
Because he sensed killing intent.
To be precise, it wasn't sensing.
Facing that mysterious Divine Sense, he couldn't sense anything.
The reason he detected the killing intent was a perception honed through five hundred years of battles and slaughter, a special perception of killing intent.
Gu Qingfeng stored the Raw Stone away, then jumped down from the horse, patting Old Ma's rump. Old Ma leisurely began grazing. Without any visible movement, his figure instantly vanished, reappearing in the void beyond the Nine Heavens.
Within the clouds.
Thunder rumbled, lightning crackled.
The thunder was like thunder that shook the soul; the lightning was lightning potent enough to reduce any fleshly body to ashes.
Boom!
Crack!
Thunder and lightning exploded, accompanied by a rolling heavenly might, as if declaring to all living beings that this was a forbidden zone, a forbidden zone of Heaven, a place no human or spirit should trespass.
In the darkness.
Gu Qingfeng stood atop the clouds, allowing the heavenly thunder to roar, allowing the lightning to crackle, allowing the fierce winds to tear. He remained unmoving, like a solitary peak holding up the sky, like an arrogant sword that scorned Heaven and Earth, like a bloodthirsty demon god dominating Heaven and Earth, like an undefeated war god looking down upon all.
In an instant!
A deafening thunderclap exploded, causing Heaven to tremble, Earth to shake.
It was a bolt of lightning, both black and white, particularly turbid. A single bolt of lightning streaked down, as if containing infinite power.
Boom!
Crack!
Two bolts!
Three bolts!
Four, ten, a hundred, a thousand...
Ten thousand...
For a time, the sky was filled with startling thunder, filled with explosive roars!
The sky was filled with turbid power, destroying everything!
It was truly destruction, Heaven-destroying, Earth-shattering destruction!
At this moment, Heaven was collapsing, Earth was cracking apart, like doomsday, like a cataclysm.
Gu Qingfeng still stood within the clouds, unmoving. Because he knew that the doomsday cataclysm at this moment was not a real doomsday cataclysm; Heaven had not truly collapsed, Earth had not truly cracked apart. All of this was a kind of spiritual pressure.
It was a Great Spirit Might.
It was just that Gu Qingfeng had never encountered such a terrifying Great Spirit Might before. He could clearly feel that within this Great Spirit Might, there were only two words: destruction. Heaven-destroying, Earth-shattering, destroying all things.
Great Spirit Might was not an attack method.
But it was more terrifying than any attack method.
A terrifying Great Spirit Might could, imperceptibly, crush a person's mind, could, imperceptibly, erase a person's soul.
At this moment.
Gu Qingfeng's mind was suffering destruction, a destruction precisely originating from this terrifyingly extreme Great Spirit Might.
He quietly felt it, felt this Great Spirit Might.
Destruction.
Endless destruction, infinite destruction, as if even the most powerful existence could not withstand the destruction within this Great Spirit Might.
Terrible!
Terrifying!
Surpassing even the boundless heavenly might of Old Heaven itself.