This was Gu Qingfeng.
If it were anyone else, no matter how high their cultivation, even if they were an immortal or a demon, they absolutely could not withstand such terrifying devastation.
However.
Gu Qingfeng's physical body had undergone countless temperings by Primordial Fire, been baptized by the endless judgment of the Three Thousand Great Daos, and experienced numerous nirvana rebirths. It might not be called ageless, deathless, and indestructible, but it was definitely a supreme, unrivaled tyrannical physique. Every inch of his skin, every acupoint, every meridian, even every strand of hair was profoundly mysterious and wondrously ever-changing, comparable to a small world in itself.
As the evil heart's rampage grew more violent.
The Great Nature Seed, the Lonely Star Tear, the Nine Underworlds Fire, and even the Endless Taiji Golden Core all grew increasingly frenzied.
At this moment.
Gu Qingfeng felt like a balloon growing larger and larger, ready to explode at any moment.
Although it was painful, it was still within his tolerance.
He had cultivated for five hundred years and endured all kinds of pain. This level of torment was nothing much to him.
He also wasn't worried about his physical body exploding.
What truly worried him was his Heart-Mind.
His originally boundless, vast, and serene Heart-Mind was now tangled like hemp. Violent, cruel, evil, ferocious, and many other negative emotions were wildly eroding it, like countless ants devouring his internal organs. It was extremely uncomfortable and unbearably painful.
His Heart-Mind was in such a state.
His spirit was even more twisted and distorted.
His consciousness also gradually began to blur.
No!
If this continued, even if he endured it, he would go mad and become a demon.
Thinking of this.
Gu Qingfeng dared not delay. He immediately sat cross-legged on the ground, pressed his palms together, and began chanting a scripture...
"Great Purity, Great Prajna, Immeasurable Free Mind, Nirvana gives birth to No-Self, My Buddha subdues the True Demon...
'A' means none, 'Bi' means interval, Abi Spirit, Interval Soul, Body of Sin, Free Mind..." This was the Prajna Great Purity Mantra, which could not only purify all distracting thoughts in the heart but also be used to protect the Heart-Mind from erosion.
Yet it was utterly useless.
No matter how he chanted this Prajna Great Purity Mantra, he could not purify the distracting thoughts in his heart, nor could he protect his chaotic Heart-Mind. Not only that, his spirit grew even more twisted, and his consciousness blurred further.
The only fortunate thing was that his will had not yet wavered.
This was the final barrier.
Once his will wavered.
His Heart-Mind would instantly be invaded by inner demons.
Gu Qingfeng tightly guarded his will, just guarding it. No matter how chaotic his Heart-Mind, how twisted his spirit, how blurred his consciousness, he stubbornly and desperately defended his will.
Will.
This was probably what Gu Qingfeng was most proud of.
How many times on the brink of life and death, how many times of loneliness and helplessness, how many times of losing his true self, how many times of going mad and demonic—it was all by relying on his unyielding will that he had persevered.
He had never doubted his will.
This time was no exception.
He just defended it desperately.
Until his Heart-Mind grew numb, his spirit and consciousness became a tangled mess, his will still persisted.
He didn't know how much time had passed. In his blurry state, he seemed to hear a voice, very faint, but indeed a voice.
"They...
have discovered..." "They...
all...
know...
they all know..." "They...
have been looking for you..." "Be careful...
the Shakya Clan...
be careful of them..." "And the Kasyapa Observers...
they...
are looking for you..." "Be careful...
Karma...
don't believe in Karma...
it might...
be their trap..." "Be careful of your past life...
don't believe him..." "Be careful of yourself...
don't believe yourself..." "You...
you have as many Karmas...
as you have...
past lives..." "You have as many...
past lives...
as you have selves..." "Don't believe...
don't believe any of them...
don't believe...
anyone..." "They...
have been looking for you..." "And...
that...
woman...
might...
also be me..." "Find me...
my back...
has you..." "Find me..." "You must find me..." "Must..." "My back...
has you...
has you..."
The already faint voice seemed to grow weaker and smaller, until it completely vanished. Strangely, when the voice disappeared, the evil heart also inexplicably gradually ceased its rampage. At the same time, the Great Nature Seed, the Nine Underworlds Fire, and the Lonely Star Tear also gradually returned to normal.
The small world of the Purple Mansion, which had been in utter chaos, cleared up like the sky after rain. The evil breath belonging to the mysterious heart vanished, the life breath belonging to the Great Nature Seed vanished, the incinerating breath belonging to the Nine Underworlds Fire vanished, and the deathly stillness breath belonging to the Lonely Star Tear also vanished.
The countless Taiji Golden Cores throughout his body also stopped expanding. After ceasing their circulation, they slowly came to rest within the various acupoints.
Everything, everything, returned to how it was before.
Including Gu Qingfeng's tangled, chaotic Heart-Mind, his twisted spirit, and his blurred consciousness, all gradually became clear again.
At dawn.
Gu Qingfeng, who had been sitting cross-legged on the ground, suddenly opened his eyes. His pair of serene eyes were now filled with shock, horror, and countless doubts and curiosities.
Although his consciousness had been blurred at the time, he dared to affirm that the voice he heard was definitely not an illusion.
No!
That wasn't a voice.
But a wisp of spirit!
That's right!
It was a wisp of bizarre spirit.
That wisp of bizarre spirit came from the Lonely Star Tear. Gu Qingfeng immediately entered his Dantian Purple Mansion again to investigate the Lonely Star Tear.
The Lonely Star Tear had changed.
Previously, the Lonely Star Tear was lifeless and dull, extremely like a starstone that had lost its luster. Now, the Lonely Star Tear was no longer lifeless, nor was it dull. On the contrary, it now shimmered with a layer of profound gray radiance, like a not very conspicuous star in the night sky. Although it still felt full of deathly stillness, it gave off an even stronger sense of loneliness.
What made Gu Qingfeng feel helpless was.
He couldn't see through this Lonely Star Tear before.
He still couldn't see through it now.
He couldn't discern any mysteries, nor could he investigate any profundities.
The only difference was, before, this Lonely Star Tear gave him a sense of déjà vu. Now, that feeling was even stronger.
Yet he knew nothing at all.
This feeling was very vexing, like light suddenly appearing in a dark world, but you don't know where the light is. No matter how bright the light, you still don't know.
Look again.
Investigate again.
Unfortunately, it was useless.
Couldn't see, couldn't probe, couldn't find out.
Even using Contemplation Vision.
Couldn't perceive anything through Contemplation Vision either.
Continued investigating, continued using Contemplation Vision.
Didn't know how many times he investigated, didn't know how many times he used Contemplation Vision.
The result was the same.
Nothing at all.
Finally, Gu Qingfeng gave up.
He sat back in the chair, took out a jar of peach blossom wine, tilted his head back and gulped it down fiercely. He took out another jar, poured it into a wine pot, and filled a cup.
Closing his eyes, he recalled that faint voice from earlier in his mind.