Chapter 882
The Whereabouts of the Daoist Guixu
"A fluke?" Old Canglong's lips twitched, his voice trembling. "You call this a fluke?"
It took a deep breath and tried to calm itself down.
But the shock in those dragon eyes was impossible to conceal.
It finally understood why Lu Qing, who had only recently broken through, could exert such immense pressure on them even with just a divine thought clone.
To break through to the Dao Integration Realm by simultaneously fusing nine Great Daos with divine sense is something that has never happened before in all of history!
How powerful must such a being be?
The old dragon couldn't imagine it.
All it knew was that although Lu Qing was only at the initial stage of the Dao Integration Realm, his true strength probably far surpassed that of these veteran Dao Integration Realm cultivators.
He might even be comparable to those legendary beings.
For example, when their owner, Guixu Daoren, was young.
No, even the master back then was far from being as strong as Lu Qing.
The old azure dragon had been by his master's side since he was still in the Nascent Soul stage.
However, he deeply understood that even when his master was in the Dao Integration Realm, he was far from possessing the terrifying aura that Lu Qing had now.
After all, although the master was exceptionally talented back then, he only integrated one Great Dao.
His other great principles were gradually comprehended over a long period of time.
This process, too, took countless years.
Lu Qing, on the other hand, possessed nine Great Daos immediately after his breakthrough.
The difference between them is like heaven and earth.
Thinking of this, the old dragon's gaze towards Lu Qing was no longer just one of shock.
The same applies to Black Bull and Phoenix.
They looked at Lu Qing as if he were a monster.
A monster beyond their comprehension.
After the initial shock, the old dragons became excited again.
Lu Qing's achievements were completely beyond their expectations; they had never imagined them.
But this would give Lu Qing a better chance of helping them break the restrictions, and perhaps even taking them to find their master, Guixu Daoren, someday in the future.
Before Guixu Daoren left, he left a message saying that someone would come and take them out in the future.
They waited for countless years, and finally, Lu Qing arrived.
Lu Qing's growth rate far exceeded their expectations.
Perhaps the day they've been waiting for will come soon.
Old Azure Dragon and Crying Phoenix exchanged a glance, a hint of anticipation flashing in their eyes.
After they calmed down a bit, Lu Qing explained his purpose.
"Senior Azure Dragon, I have returned this time because I have something I would like to ask you."
Old Azure Dragon quickly said, "Ah Qing, feel free to ask me anything. As long as we know the answer, we will definitely tell you."
Black Bull and Mingfeng nodded repeatedly.
Lu Qing looked at them and slowly asked, "I want to know, how much do you know about the Dark Abyss?"
Upon hearing this, the old Azure Dragon and the others' expressions changed slightly.
The old dragon's smile froze on his face, and a hint of fear flashed in his dragon eyes.
Mingfeng's gaze turned serious, and the feathers on its body stood up slightly.
Even the usually carefree black bull suppressed its smile, its face turning serious.
"The Dark Abyss?" the old Azure Dragon said in a deep voice, "Ah Qing, why are you suddenly asking about this?"
Lu Qing did not hide anything and briefly recounted his experiences in the Dark Abyss.
From meeting Qiu Ruofeng, to entering the Demon Abyss, to encountering those demonic fire monsters, to finally entering that black tomb and seeing the corpse of the Xuanhua Grandmaster.
He didn't go into too many details, just gave a general account of what happened.
Even so, the old Azure Dragons were terrified.
"You mean, you entered the depths of the Dark Abyss and saw a corpse far exceeding the Dao Transformation Realm?" The old Azure Dragon's voice changed.
Lu Qing nodded: "That person was named Xuan Hua. He must have been an extremely powerful being in life. His body was sitting on a white jade throne, half of which was being corrupted by darkness and was constantly emitting demonic energy, giving birth to those monsters."
The old dragon fell silent.
It lowered its head, as if it were pondering something.
After a long while, it raised its head, looked at Lu Qing, and sighed.
“Ah Qing, actually we don’t know much about the Dark Abyss either.” The old Azure Dragon spoke slowly, his voice deep. “Back when the Ruins of Return were still open, the Dark Abyss was much more terrifying than it is now.”
It paused, as if recalling those distant memories.
"At that time, within tens of millions of miles of the Dark Abyss, almost no cultivators dared to approach."
The dark power permeating that place was so dense that it almost solidified into a tangible form.
Even a Dao-transforming immortal could perish if they ventured deep into it.
As for the Dao Integration Realm? They wouldn't even dare to approach them. The demonic energy emanating from the outer perimeter alone would be enough to erode their divine sense and pollute their Dao foundation.
The old dragon shook his head, a hint of apprehension flashing in his eyes.
"In all my years, I have seen countless ignorant and arrogant cultivators attempt to challenge the Demon Abyss."
Some wanted to find an opportunity, some wanted to hone their skills, and some were simply curious.
But the vast majority of them never returned.
A few who managed to escape were corrupted beyond recognition by the demonic energy, driven mad and insane, and died soon after.
Hearing this, the black bull couldn't help but interject, "Right, right, I remember a guy, what was his name again... oh, the Cursed Old Man! That guy was a madman!"
The old dragon nodded and continued, "That's right, the Cursed Old Man, that guy was an anomaly from ancient times."
Despite being only at the Dao Integration Realm, he acted recklessly, relying on the strange and difficult nature of his curse path.
He offended countless people, including many Daoist immortals.
But relying on the unpredictable nature of his curses, he always managed to evade capture.
Mingfeng also spoke up, "I've also heard of this person. It's said that his curses are extremely strange, able to influence a person's luck invisibly, causing them to suffer bad luck without them even realizing it."
Those who hunted him often encountered various inexplicable accidents, some even dying without warning.
Old Canglong continued, "But later, he finally ran into a brick wall."
He recklessly offended an extremely powerful Dao Transformation Immortal, whose strength far surpassed that of ordinary Dao Transformation Realm cultivators, and the curse had little effect on him.
He was relentlessly pursued by the immortal, finding no escape to heaven or earth, until finally, with nowhere left to run, he could only flee into the dark abyss.
"And then?" Lu Qing asked.
The old dragon shook his head: "And then there was nothing more."
After he entered the Abyss of Demons, he disappeared completely and never appeared again.
Some say he died inside, others say he was corrupted by demonic energy and turned into a monster.
Some people say he found some kind of opportunity there, but no one can say for sure.
Anyway, no one has seen him since then.
Lu Qing seemed to be deep in thought.
He recalled the demonic fire monsters he had encountered in the Dark Abyss, beings formed from demonic energy.
If the cursed old man really died inside, would he also turn into that kind of monster?
However, those demonic fire monsters were formed from the dark power within Xuan Hua's body, which didn't seem quite right. The old Azure Dragon continued, "Besides that, I haven't heard of any Dao Integration Realm cultivator daring to enter the Demon Abyss."
That place is a forbidden zone for those of us at the Dao Integration Realm.
Even now, with the dark power of the Abyss weakened considerably, I will not easily go in.
Who knows what other terrifying things might be inside?
Mingfeng nodded and said, "Old Canglong is right. Although we have never been inside, just from the rumors we have heard, we know that it is extremely dangerous inside."
Ah Qing, it's already quite remarkable that you were able to go in and come out safely.
Lu Qing shook his head: "I only used my divine sense clone to explore the way; my main body did not go in."
The old dragon said, "That's still impressive. Just from the description of those demonic fire monsters you mentioned, I knew they would be difficult to deal with. And you were still able to lead those people all the way in. That strength, wow..."
It didn't continue speaking, but the amazement in its eyes was already quite evident.
Lu Qing didn't dwell on the question, but instead asked, "What about Senior Guixu Daoist? Did he ever enter the Demon Abyss back then?"
The old dragon was silent for a moment, then nodded.
"Master did indeed enter the Dark Abyss back then."
It paused, then continued, "However, what the master entered was only his avatar, not his true form, and he came out not long after he went in. As far as I remember, it was only a few days."
"An incarnation?" Lu Qing raised an eyebrow slightly.
“Yes.” The old dragon nodded. “Master is always cautious and never takes risks easily. He sent his avatar into the Demon Abyss to scout ahead, and even if something unexpected happens, the losses will be limited.”
It sighed and continued, "But after the master returned from the Abyss that time, he didn't mention a word about what happened inside."
No matter how we asked, he wouldn't say.
He only instructed his disciples that they must never approach the Demon Abyss again, as it was extremely dangerous.
The black bull muttered, "Back then we were wondering if our master was being too cautious. With his strength, even if he went in in his true form, he should be fine. Why was he so nervous?"
Mingfeng glared at it: "The master's decision has its reasons, so you should say less."
The black bull shrank its neck and dared not utter another sound.
The old dragon continued, "However, although my master did not say it explicitly, I have followed him for many years, and I heard him mention something by chance on one occasion."
Lu Qing perked up and asked, "What is it?"
The old dragon's gaze became distant, as if traversing endless time.
“That was a long, long time ago. That night, the master was drinking alone on the top of the fairy palace. We happened to be looking for him and heard him talking to himself from afar.”
It paused, as if recalling the scene at that time.
"My master said that the Dark Abyss might become the origin of a catastrophe in the future, but unfortunately, he was powerless to solve this calamity."
The old dragon looked at Lu Qing, its eyes filled with complex emotions.
"I was utterly shocked when I heard that."
You should know that the master was one of the most powerful Dao Transformation Realm immortals in the starry sky at that time.
He roamed the starry sky for hundreds of thousands of years, rarely encountering an adversary.
In the entire starry sky, only a handful of people can stand on the same level as him.
If even he finds this a difficult problem, how serious must it be?
Mingfeng chimed in, "Yes, we've followed our master for so many years and we've never seen him speak in that tone before. That... helplessness, that powerlessness, is something we still remember vividly."
The black bull, unusually, didn't interrupt and just listened quietly.
The old dragon continued, "Now that you tell me that there is a corpse in the depths of the Demon Abyss that surpasses the Dao Transformation Realm, I finally understand why my master sighed like that back then."
It looked at Lu Qing with deep worry in its eyes.
"Existence beyond the Dao Transformation Realm is a height that we cannot even imagine."
Even if only a corpse remains, such a being still possesses unimaginable power.
That power is being eroded by darkness, constantly surging with demonic energy, giving birth to monsters..."
It didn't continue, but the meaning was already clear.
Lu Qing fell silent.
He recalled the strange sensations he had felt in the Dark Abyss.
The mystical corpse seemed to be suppressing something.
This gave him a feeling that what Guixu Daoist feared back then might not have been the Xuanhua corpse, but something even more terrifying.
After a moment of silence, Lu Qing asked, "Senior Canglong, do you know why the corpse of that Xuanhua expert appeared there?"
Old Canglong shook his head: "We don't know any of that. We don't even know where he died, let alone anything else."
It paused, then said, "However, one thing is certain: that dark power is definitely not an ordinary thing. It can corrupt beings beyond the Dao Transformation Realm. The source of that power is probably more terrifying than we can imagine."
Lu Qing nodded.
He had thought of that too.
He recalled the great battle he had witnessed in the illusion of shattered jade, the black figure, the three blood-red figures, and Xuanhua being besieged.
The power of that black figure was exactly the same as the dark power in the Dark Abyss.
Could it be that the black figure is the source of this dark power?
Or is there something even more terrifying behind that black figure?
Lu Qing couldn't come up with an answer.
He hesitated for a moment, then finally asked the main purpose of his visit.
"Senior Canglong, why did Senior Guixu Daoist disappear back then?"
Upon hearing this, the old Azure Dragon, the black bull, and the Crying Phoenix all fell silent.
They exchanged a glance, their eyes flashing with complex emotions.
The old dragon remained silent for a long time, so long that Lu Qing thought it wouldn't answer.
But in the end, it sighed and slowly spoke.
“Aqing, this matter… is a long story.”
It paused, as if organizing its thoughts, and then continued, "Before our master left, he told us that he was going to a very far place, a place where he might never return."
Lu Qing frowned slightly: "Didn't he say where it was?"
Old Azure Dragon shook his head: "No. He only said that there was something he had to do there. As for what that was, he didn't tell us."
Lu Qing was silent for a moment, then asked, "Do you know if the place that Senior Guixu Daoist went to is related to the Dark Abyss?"
The old dragon shook its head: "We don't know either. Our master didn't say, and we dare not ask."
It paused for a moment, then said, "However, before our master left, he repeatedly instructed us to guard the Guixu Secret Realm and wait for the arrival of a destined person. He said that the destined person might be able to solve some mysteries and even find him."
Lu Qing's heart stirred.
Guixu Daoren's words were clearly implying something.
Could it be that he had foreseen that someone would come here in the future and seek out those secrets?
He looked at the old Azure Dragon and asked, "Senior, did the Daoist Guixu leave any clues about the place he went to, or about the Dark Abyss?"
The old dragon pondered for a moment, then said, "Master did leave behind some things, but... you'll have to see them for yourself."
It stood up and said to Lu Qing, "Come with me."
Without hesitation, Lu Qing followed it deeper into the celestial palace.
Black Bull and Phoenix followed behind. (End of Chapter)