Chapter 688
Demon Corpse
After leaving the Burial Immortal Ruins, Gu Qingfeng did not linger.
He had absorbed the ancient bronze bell into his body and nurtured it, refining it day and night with his own Netherworld Dao.
Although the original owner of this bell has long since passed away, the Daoist essence remaining within it does not conflict with the Dao that Gu Qingfeng cultivates. He only needs to erase the last trace of the original owner's mark to make it his own.
Each of the nine grades of Creation Treasures requires a long period of time to truly achieve unity of mind and spirit.
But that's only because we're not strong enough.
If one has sufficient strength, refining it is not only a matter of a moment, but also not very difficult.
The starry sky was vast, and the three of them headed south.
According to Li Chenzhou, the Demon Abyss is located deep in the southern part of the starry sky and is an extremely secretive forbidden zone.
Unlike forbidden zones like the Burial God Forbidden Zone and the Burial Immortal Ruins, which were formed due to the fall of powerful figures, the origin of the Demon Abyss is even more mysterious. It is said that it was a half-immortal being who called himself the Demon Lord. When his lifespan was about to end, he sacrificed himself to seal himself and the entire demonic civilization he ruled, hiding them in the depths of the starry sky to avoid the detection of the Heavenly Dao.
"Self-sealing..."
Gu Qingfeng's eyes flickered slightly upon hearing this.
With his knowledge, he naturally understood the meaning of this so-called self-sealing.
This starry sky is suppressed by immortal rules, preventing the Celestial Venerable from achieving immortality.
Those ancient celestial beings who have lived for over 500 billion years will be locked down by the Heavenly Dao and subjected to divine punishment once their lifespan is exhausted, and they will surely die.
Only by hiding in the forbidden zone of life and using the remaining Daoist charm of the fallen supreme beings to conceal the secrets of heaven can one survive for a while.
However, those who are half-immortals are too powerful and their Dao aura is too rich. The power of ordinary forbidden zones is simply not enough to completely conceal their aura.
It's like hiding a real dragon in shallow waters; even with reeds to conceal it, its soaring dragon aura will still reveal its presence.
Thus, self-sealing came about.
Using his supreme magical power, he forcibly suppressed his cultivation, minimizing the fluctuations of the Great Dao, like a hibernating venomous snake lurking in the darkness, minimizing the possibility of being discovered by the Heavenly Dao.
……
Three months later.
The starry sky deep in Antarctica.
When the three finally arrived at the star field where the Demon Abyss was located, Feng Xuan and Li Chenzhou both showed solemn expressions.
This star field is too quiet.
It was eerily quiet.
Looking around, the surrounding stars were still moving normally, and everything was no different from the outside world.
But strangely enough, there is no sign of life here.
There were no cultivators, no mortals, and not even the most basic insects, plants, or trees.
Above those stars, there are clearly environments suitable for the birth of life, but they are desolate and lifeless, like meticulously crafted but uninhabited abandoned houses.
"Is the Abyss of Demons here?"
Feng Xuan couldn't help but ask in a low voice.
Li Chenzhou frowned, sensed for a moment, and shook his head: "I can't sense the specific location either."
The Abyss is a closed little world, isolated from the outside starry sky.
Unless you're specifically looking for it, you might not even notice its presence if you just walk right past it.
Gu Qingfeng remained silent.
He stood with his hands behind his back, his divine sense spreading out like an abyss, instantly enveloping the entire star field.
Take a breath.
Two breaths.
Three breaths.
Suddenly, his eyes flickered.
"found it."
Before he finished speaking, he flicked his sleeve, and the void suddenly distorted!
Feng Xuan and Li Chenzhou felt a blur before their eyes, and in the next instant, the three of them found themselves in a completely unfamiliar world.
This is a gray, gloomy world.
The sky has no stars, no sun or moon, only eternal grayness.
The land was barren, devoid of any vegetation. As far as the eye could see, there was only endless scorched earth and scattered ruins.
The air was filled with the scent of decay and death, the desolation left behind after the fall of civilization, the final sighs of countless lives lost.
In the distance, a majestic black palace can be vaguely seen, standing at the edge of the earth.
The palace was built entirely of some unknown black stone, towering into the clouds. Even from countless miles away, one could still feel the oppressive aura emanating from it.
"Is this the Abyss of Demons?"
Feng Xuan murmured, his eyes filled with shock.
He had imagined what the Abyss of Demons would look like—perhaps a sea of blood, perhaps a mountain of corpses, perhaps endless darkness and despair.
But the gray and desolate world before him was more bizarre than any scene he had imagined.
It's so quiet here.
The silence was unsettling.
Just then—
"Roar!!!"
A superhuman roar suddenly resounded throughout the heavens and earth!
The voice was hoarse and shrill, filled with endless madness and resentment, as if it were the roar of a demon from the deepest part of hell!
Feng Xuan and Li Chenzhou's expressions changed drastically, their Daoist auras instantly surged, and they were on full alert!
next moment.
A dark shadow shot into the sky from the black palace in the distance!
The shadowy figure was enormous, standing tens of thousands of feet tall, and covered in eerie black fur. Beneath the fur, one could vaguely see rotting flesh and exposed bones.
It has four arms, each as thick as a mountain range, with sharp claws on its palms that gleam with a cold, eerie light.
The most terrifying thing was its head—a nearly rotten head, with half of its face stripped of flesh, revealing a pale white cheekbone, while the other half was covered with twisted black fascia, and a single eye, as red as blood, stared intently at the three intruders.
Those were crazed eyes.
It was a venomous look in his eyes.
It is a strange creature that has been transformed from the obsession of countless years since it fell!
"Demon...Demon Lord!"
Li Chenzhou cried out in shock!
Although that being was completely unrecognizable, and although the aura emanating from it was a mixture of decay and madness, the remaining Daoist charm and the overwhelming pressure that transcended all things were enough to prove its identity!
This being is none other than the self-sealed, half-step immortal—the Demon Lord!
But it is already dead.
He died a complete and utter death.
What exists now is nothing more than a corpse controlled by resentment, a bizarre creature formed from unwillingness and madness!
"Roar!!!"
The demonic corpse roared again, its four arms moving in unison, enveloped in a towering black mist, as it charged madly toward the three of them!
That power was enough to cause any Eight Tribulation Celestial Venerable to collapse on the spot!
Even a Nine Tribulations Supreme would have no choice but to retreat in the face of the full force of this half-step immortal corpse's attack!
Feng Xuan and Li Chenzhou were deathly pale, almost collapsing to the ground.
They wanted to escape.
But my body won't obey me.
Under that overwhelming pressure, they couldn't even move a finger!
Just then—
Gu Qingfeng made a move.
He simply raised his hand.
Then, gently press down.
"Bang--!!!"
The ten-thousand-foot-tall demonic corpse was as if it had been struck by an invisible giant hand. Its frantically lunging body suddenly stopped, and then it flew backward at an even faster speed!
It smashed through mountain after mountain, carved a huge ravine thousands of feet deep and stretching for thousands of miles in the earth, and finally crashed hard into the black palace, collapsing half of it!
"Roar!!!"
The demonic corpse roared and struggled to get up.
Its single eye was filled with even greater madness and more intense resentment.
But Gu Qingfeng did not give it another chance.
He took a step, and his figure instantly traversed thousands of miles of void, appearing above the demonic corpse.
Then, lift your foot.
Step on it.
"Boom—!!!" This kick landed directly on the demon corpse's chest!
The ten-thousand-foot-tall demonic corpse was stomped into the ground, its bones cracking and popping, countless black hairs bursting open, and rotting flesh and blood splattering everywhere!
It struggled frantically, flailing its four arms, trying to grab Gu Qingfeng.
But that foot remained as steady as Mount Tai.
No matter how much it struggled, it could not budge an inch.
Gu Qingfeng looked down at the once-powerful, half-immortal figure beneath his feet.
It is dead.
He died a complete and utter death.
What exists now is nothing more than a shell controlled by resentment, a pitiful and lamentable eerie creature.
"Even a mighty demon lord, who is only half-immortal, cannot escape the ravages of time."
Gu Qingfeng said calmly.
His gaze swept over the demonic corpse, over its half-rotten face, its empty single eye, its frantic yet irrational struggle, and finally settled on its twisted black fur.
These long hairs are the manifestation of resentment.
It is a cursed object formed from resentment and anger accumulated over countless years after its fall.
"It is clear that even if you Celestial Venerables stir up dark turmoil and sacrifice billions of lives to prolong your lifespan, you will not truly achieve immortality."
Gu Qingfeng withdrew his gaze and looked at the two stunned figures behind him.
Feng Xuan and Li Chenzhou stood there, stunned, staring at the scene before them, speechless for a long time.
Demon Lord.
Half a step towards immortality.
An unparalleled powerhouse who sealed himself away in pursuit of immortality.
Now, however, he has become a rotting corpse controlled by resentment, trampled under their feet, struggling like a trapped beast.
The scene was so shocking and impactful that it caused their Dao hearts, which had been built up over thousands and billions of years, to tremble violently at that moment.
They thought of themselves.
I thought of those ancient celestial beings in the forbidden zone of the burial of gods, who were just like them.
I thought of the scenes after each period of darkness and turmoil, where the life essence of billions of living beings was plundered to prolong their lives.
Will the despair and resentment of those slaughtered creatures before their death, like that of the Demon Lord, turn into curses and resentment that will one day turn against them?
Will their lifespans, which they thought could last indefinitely, also come to an end one day, just like the Demon Lord's?
Li Chenzhou's expression changed repeatedly.
Suddenly, he strode forward, bowed deeply to Gu Qingfeng, and his voice was filled with unprecedented sincerity and solemnity.
"senior!"
"This junior dares to humbly request that the senior bestow upon us the method of immortality!"
Upon hearing this, Feng Xuan was taken aback at first, then suddenly realized what was happening and hurriedly stepped forward, bowing down as well.
"I humbly request that you bestow upon me the secret to immortality!"
The two bowed at a ninety-degree angle, their posture so humble that they seemed to be in the dust.
They have lived for countless years, seen countless powerful figures, and sought countless opportunities.
But never before has it been so sincere and urgent.
The fall of the Demon Lord served as a mirror, reflecting their future fate.
Can one truly achieve immortality by unleashing darkness and chaos and sacrificing millions of lives?
The Demon Lord used his own end to tell them: No.
Even if one is half-immortal, even if one seals oneself away, even if one hides in this secluded little world, one will ultimately not escape the ravages of time.
What about those Eight Tribulation Celestial Venerables?
How long can it last?
The next five hundred billion years?
Or a trillion years?
and then?
Then, like the Demon Lord, one transforms into a rotting corpse controlled by resentment, howling madly in the darkness until eternity.
Li Chenzhou was unwilling to accept this.
Feng Xuan was also unwilling to give up.
What they seek in their lifelong cultivation is nothing more than longevity and immortality, to live as long as heaven and earth.
If death is inevitable in the end, then what is the point of cultivating for hundreds of billions of years?
Gu Qingfeng looked at the two Eight Tribulation Celestial Venerables bowing before him with a calm expression, neither happy nor sad.
He did not respond immediately.
a long time.
He then slowly opened his mouth.
"The Celestial Venerable should be immortal."
"However, because the starry sky here is suppressed by immortal rules, the path to immortality has been severed, so you Heavenly Venerables are bound by lifespan restrictions."
Feng Xuan and Li Chenzhou were startled and looked up abruptly!
They vaguely grasped something, but were not sure.
Seeing the doubt and longing in their eyes, Gu Qingfeng continued.
"It's very simple to achieve immortality."
"If one simply leaves this starry sky and goes to the outside world, then the Celestial Venerable can achieve immortality."
Leave this starry sky!
Head out into the outside world!
Feng Xuan and Li Chenzhou exchanged a glance, both seeing the shock in each other's eyes.
"What you mean, senior, is..."
Li Chenzhou spoke with difficulty, his voice somewhat hoarse, "This starry sky isn't the whole thing; there truly is an outside world!!"
In fact.
Li Chenzhou had long suspected this.
After all, Gu Qingfeng's strength is terrifyingly powerful. In this era of Dharma decline, there shouldn't be any strong individuals of this caliber.
Now that the other party has made their point clear, it confirms what he was thinking.
Gu Qingfeng nodded slightly.
"This starry sky is a secret realm."
"Beyond the secret realm lies an endless immortal realm, vast and boundless, hundreds of millions of times larger than this place."
"There, the Celestial Venerable has no limit to lifespan. As long as he does not perish in calamity or battle, he can live as long as heaven and earth and be the same age as the sun and moon."
Feng Xuan and Li Chenzhou were completely stunned.
Endless Immortal Realm...
The Celestial Venerable has no limit to his lifespan...
They could understand each word individually, but when put together, it was like a foreign language.
a long time.
Li Chenzhou suddenly came to his senses, and a look of wild joy appeared on his face.
But soon, that elation was replaced by trepidation.
He looked at Gu Qingfeng cautiously: "Senior...may we...leave?"
Since the outside world truly exists, and since the celestial beings there can achieve immortality, can they possibly leave?
Gu Qingfeng glanced at him and said calmly, "You were born here, and it won't be so easy for you to leave the starry sky."
If one truly wishes to leave, the only way is to sever all ties with this cosmos; perhaps then, there will be a chance to depart.
"But as for how to sever ties... to be honest, I don't know yet."
However, if I were given some time, perhaps I could find a glimmer of hope for you.
He didn't make his statement completely.
Severing the connection with this starry sky and the ties with the rules of the secret realm is by no means an easy task.
This starry sky was created by an ancient and immortal being, and its rules and order, like chains, firmly bind every living being born here.
Breaking free from these chains is not an easy task.
But the same applies.
Gu Qingfeng didn't completely cut off the subject.
After all, as he said, such things may seem difficult, but they are not entirely impossible.
Given time to comprehend the rules of this starry sky, he might be able to find a glimmer of hope.
Upon hearing this, Feng Xuan and Li Chenzhou's eyes showed disappointment, but even more so, excitement and hope. (End of Chapter)