"So you're planning to seal that thing first, then turn back to kill me. Looks like the ancient cataclysm's impact on the Great Dao really is significant, to the point where even you lot have learned caution."
After obliterating Yu Zhentian, Gu Qingfeng did not advance, nor did he make a move. He simply continued sitting on that stone, drinking wine while staring at the well mouth, as if hesitating about something.
"Our caution is not because we fear you," Xuanyuan Wan said coldly, her gaze fixed on Gu Qingfeng. "It is merely to prevent the situation from worsening, nothing more. You should be able to sense the resolve of the various Great Daos. Today, you cannot escape calamity."
Gu Qingfeng asked, "So?"
"So, we hope you will not struggle pointlessly."
"Is that so..." Gu Qingfeng gave a faint smile, narrowed his eyes, stared at the well mouth, and fell silent.
Across from him, Xuanyuan Wan and the people of the various Great Daos seemed deeply worried he might charge over. Each of them focused intently, watching him closely. The moment they detected any movement from Gu Qingfeng, they would act immediately. Not just them—even the layers of killing intent enveloping Gu Qingfeng grew increasingly intense, as if both guarding against and warning him.
"No need to be so tense. That thing is very unstable right now. You don't know how terrifying it is, and neither do I. You don't dare act now, and neither do I. In this situation, you don't dare make a reckless move, and I'm no exception. Others interested in this thing probably don't dare either."
"Oh my!"
From the opposite side, the seductive Fox Demon Lady of the Demonic Dao laughed. "Master, since when have you become so humble? This isn't like your usual style. Is there anything in this world you wouldn't dare to do?"
"Demon Sister, you're overthinking it. I've always been a humble, honest, and straightforward man."
"Hehehe...
Humble?
Honest?
Straightforward?
Hehehe...
Dear Master, thank you for telling me the funniest joke in the world."
Gu Qingfeng chuckled and said, "Looks like the Light of Heavenly Mandate will take a while to dissipate. Since we're just idling anyway, how about we have a chat?"
A chat?
Gu Qingfeng's words made Su Hua and the others present feel somewhat uncomfortable.
They inwardly sighed that Gu Qingfeng truly lived up to being Lord Chixiao.
You just obliterated Yu Zhentian in front of so many Great Dao representatives and crushed the Immortal Dao Edict to dust.
You thoroughly humiliated the Three Thousand Great Daos.
And now you're saying, as if nothing happened, that you're just idling?
And want to chat?
We've seen people bully others, but never like this!
Xuanyuan Wan said, "We have nothing to discuss with you."
Gu Qingfeng looked at her, his gaze sweeping up and down with an invasive intensity that made Xuanyuan Wan extremely uncomfortable. It felt as if she were standing naked before him, all her secrets laid bare.
This left Xuanyuan Wan both embarrassed and suspicious. Such a thing had never happened to her before.
"Have you looked enough?" Xuanyuan Wan asked with a hint of anger, a trace of panic hidden deep within.
"The love of beauty is common to all. Faced with a rare treasure of the world, one can't help but look a few more times."
Gu Qingfeng said with a playful smile, "You're from the Sacred Ground?"
"What if I am?"
"Compound surname Xuanyuan?"
"How do you know?" Xuanyuan Wan was puzzled. She had never met him before and rarely ventured outside. Moreover, not everyone from the Sacred Ground bore the surname Xuanyuan. How did this person know?
Gu Qingfeng did not answer her. Instead, he continued asking, "What is Xuanyuan Ling to you?"
Hearing the name Xuanyuan Ling, Xuanyuan Wan was startled. She asked suspiciously, "You know my aunt?"
"Oh? So she's your aunt. No wonder. I thought you looked familiar."
"How do you know my aunt?" Xuanyuan Wan's heart was filled with confusion. In her memory, her aunt had disappeared for over a thousand years. Even she didn't know where her aunt was. How did this person know her?
"I met your aunt a few times."
"Where?"
"Forgot."
"You..." Xuanyuan Wan pondered for a moment, then stared at Gu Qingfeng and said, "Even if you know my aunt, I will not show you any mercy today."
"Heh."
Gu Qingfeng chuckled, not taking Xuanyuan Wan's words to heart. Instead, he glanced at the sky as if sensing something. Then, his gaze fell upon Pudu. "Old Monk, did your Western Pure Land specifically rouse the Buddha Lord from his slumber just to deal with me?"
"Amitabha."
Pudu pressed his palms together, bowed his head, and said, "Since Layman Gu has already sensed it, we hope you will turn back from the shore of error and return the Wrath Incarnation of our Buddha, the Great Sun Tathagata."
Beside them, Su Hua had been standing quietly. Many things were only half-understood by her, and matters of the Three Thousand Great Daos were beyond her intervention. But when Pudu demanded that Gu Qingfeng return the Great Sun Tathagata's Wrath Incarnation, Su Hua felt the world spin. Qian Shan, who was with her, was no different.
Both had heard from Little Jin'er that Gu Qingfeng had kidnapped the Great Sun Tathagata's Wrath Incarnation.
However, both thought Gu Qingfeng was just boasting and teasing Little Jin'er.
Only now, witnessing Pudu from the Western Pure Land demanding the Wrath Incarnation from Gu Qingfeng, did they realize Gu Qingfeng had not been boasting. He hadn't been teasing Little Jin'er either. He had truly kidnapped the Great Sun Tathagata's Wrath Incarnation!
Heavens!
It was all true!
This guy...
Su Hua's mind was in chaos, and Qian Shan was even more so. She clearly remembered that day when Gu Qingfeng had summoned a Buddha statue. Could that dilapidated statue have been the Wrath Incarnation of the Great Sun Tathagata?
Qian Shan was also stunned.
"As for returning the Great Sun Tathagata's Wrath Incarnation to you, that's not impossible. But... does your Western Pure Land have anything to offer in return?"
Gu Qingfeng's voice came through. Pudu seemed not to have expected such a response. He was momentarily stunned, then hesitated.
"Since my return, I've been keeping to myself, never provoking anyone. Yet your Western Pure Land hid inside the Tai Xuan Stele, preparing to suppress me. So, I had no choice but to kidnap the Wrath Incarnation first."
"Of course, if you say I'm threatening your Western Pure Land, I don't mind. Because I am indeed threatening you."
"Sinful wretch!" Chaoyuan roared. "You are threatening not just the Western Buddha Dao! By achieving an endless multitude of Taiji Golden Cores, you threaten the very Three Thousand Great Daos!"
If hearing about Gu Qingfeng kidnapping the Great Sun Tathagata's Wrath Incarnation had thrown Su Hua and Qian Shan into disarray, then hearing that he had also achieved an endless multitude of Taiji Golden Cores made them utterly unable to believe their ears. They stood there completely dumbfounded.
When Gu Qingfeng achieved the Taiji Golden Core that day, both of them had been present. They had witnessed with their own eyes Gu Qingfeng personally destroy the Taiji Golden Core.
At the time, they thought Gu Qingfeng was afraid he couldn't survive the Taiji Dao Tribulation.
But later, at Fengyun Villa, they discovered Gu Qingfeng using the power of the Taiji Golden Core again. They suspected he had achieved two cores. Yet, even if he had achieved two, when Gu Qingfeng was reduced to ashes under the Tai Xuan Stele that day, the remaining Taiji Golden Core should have dissipated as well.
It wasn't until they encountered Gu Qingfeng again in the Great Northwest that Su Hua personally tested him and found he could still wield the power of the Taiji Golden Core.
She suspected Gu Qingfeng might have achieved three Taiji Golden Cores.
But it was only a suspicion.
After all, that was the Taiji Golden Core—the legendary progenitor of all cores, the mightiest and most mystical core that carried true destiny and signified the pinnacle of humanity.
In the ancient era, not a single person had achieved the Taiji Golden Core.
In the current era, if one person could achieve a Taiji Golden Core, it would be a heaven-defying fortune. Achieving two would make one a king among men. Achieving three was almost impossible.
However, what Su Hua never could have imagined was...
Gu Qingfeng had not achieved one Taiji Golden Core, nor two, nor even three. He had achieved an endless multitude of Taiji Golden Cores.
Perhaps this matter was too terrifying, to the point where Su Hua's heart simply could not bear it. Her body swayed, on the verge of collapse, struggling to stand firm.