"What nonsense are you spouting? When I was in the Heavenly Realm, I didn't know her at all, and I'd never even met that little lady!"
"If you never met her, then why is she searching for you all over the world? Moreover, this old man has heard that Immortal Hua even retraced every path you walked, visited every place you went. Not only that, I heard she helped your Crimson-Letter Manor out quite a bit."
"Her looking for me boils down to two words: Karma."
"Karma? Karma again?"
Hearing the word 'karma,' Old Monster Tang shook his head vigorously. The thing that gave him the biggest headache in his life was those two words. He didn't really understand this stuff and had no desire to understand it. He asked, "Then what's this about Immortal Hua thinking you were dead back in the Great Northwest? Explain that, why don't you."
"That matter is complicated to explain."
"Complicated is fine! We're just sitting around with nothing better to do anyway."
Old Monster Tang seemed extremely curious about Gu Qingfeng's affairs. He got up and personally poured Gu Qingfeng a cup of wine, grinning as he asked, "So what exactly happened?"
"To put it simply, an inauspicious object appeared in the Great Northwest. That thing might bring disaster to the Heaven and Earth, so the Three Thousand Great Daos have always wanted to seal it away and had long arranged for their agents to keep a close watch on the matter."
"What, you went to snatch that inauspicious object too?"
"To be honest, I had no interest in that thing and didn't want to seize it. But..." Remembering the events of nine years ago, Gu Qingfeng's heart was still filled with helplessness. "That thing was, to some extent, connected to me, and it was a matter of life and death. Originally, I wanted to gamble."
"You said that thing was related to your life and death, and you still wanted the Three Thousand Great Daos to seal it away?"
"That's why I said I wanted to gamble."
"Gamble on what?"
"Gamble on whether my life and death were truly connected to that thing or not."
"Damn! Are you stupid, kid? How can you gamble so casually on something that concerns life and death?"
"Old Monster!" Gu Qingfeng sighed deeply. "I was truly tired. I really didn't want to mess around anymore."
"What happened later? Did the Three Thousand Great Daos seal it away or not?"
"Seal my ass! At the time, I negotiated with the Three Thousand Great Daos, and they all agreed. I would let them take the thing, as long as they didn't cause trouble for me. But who knew, after they took it, they went back on their word and turned around wanting to finish me off."
"The Three Thousand Great Daos are too shameless!" Old Monster Tang exclaimed indignantly. "Then what? What did you do, kid?"
"What could I do? Since the Three Thousand Great Daos were determined not to let me go no matter what, I went all out. After snatching the thing back, I fought with them again."
"Good heavens!" Old Monster Tang drank a cup of wine to steady his nerves. He had never had any contact with the Three Thousand Great Daos; his status wasn't high enough to reach them. Naturally, he couldn't imagine how insane it would be to fight them. But one thing he knew: fighting the Three Thousand Great Daos must be thrilling.
"Immortal Hua thought you died... Could it be... you lost the fight against the Three Thousand Great Daos?"
"Lost my ass! With those little brats, even if I stood there and let them hit me, they'd exhaust themselves without moving a single hair on my head."
"Keep bragging, kid! Blow that bull sky-high! Since I wasn't there at the time, you can say whatever you want. But if that were really the case, why would Immortal Hua think you were dead? She must have seen you die with her own eyes to say that."
"That's because I accidentally stirred up a couple of Heaven and Earth taboos and summoned the Sacred Judgment."
"What?!"
Hearing this, Old Monster Tang was instantly shocked, his entire person freezing in place like a statue. After a moment, he regained his senses and, forcing down the feeling of his scalp tingling, spoke word by word, "Sacred Judgment? You mean... that Sacred Judgment of Divine Breath, Primordial Gate, Xuanhuang Bell, Heaven and Earth's Wrath?"
Seeing Gu Qingfeng nod, Old Monster Tang felt the world spinning around him and stammered in astonishment, "But that's... that's... the most terrifying Judgment in the Heaven and Earth! Even the Three Thousand Great Daos would probably piss their pants in fear at the sight of it, right?"
"Exactly. So, I got Judged."
"Is... is that... really true? Or fake?"
Old Monster Tang was utterly dumbfounded, completely stupefied, his voice even turning hoarse.
When he learned Gu Qingfeng was an enemy of the Three Thousand Great Daos, it was already hard for him to accept. Now, hearing that Gu Qingfeng had also provoked the most terrifying Sacred Judgment in the Heaven and Earth was like hearing a mythical tale to Old Monster Tang. It wasn't just difficult to accept; it was utterly unimaginable.
"You... kid... After being Judged by the Sacred Judgment, you... you're still goddamn alive? That's the most terrifying Judgment! Even the heavens themselves would fear that kind of thing."
"Didn't I tell you? As long as I don't want to die, no one can kill me. Though the Sacred Judgment is terrifying, for me it's just a minor affair, nothing more than taking a nap." Gu Qingfeng said with a smile. "After waking up, wasn't I rescued by my little niece?"
Old Monster Tang was both shocked and dumbfounded.
He felt this way, and Tang Manqing beside him even more so.
The only difference was that Old Monster Tang was half-believing, half-doubting what Gu Qingfeng said, while for Tang Manqing, she completely disbelieved it.
"Great-Grandfather, now you should believe he's a fake, right? What inauspicious object, what Three Thousand Great Daos, it's all utter nonsense. Forget that he's just a fake; even if he were the real Monarch, he couldn't possibly touch the Three Thousand Great Daos." Tang Manqing stared at Gu Qingfeng and said, "And what Sacred Judgment? That's the most terrifying Judgment between Heaven and Earth. No one can survive being Judged by the Sacred Judgment, not even the heavens themselves. You dare spout such grandiose lies? How utterly ignorant!"
Gu Qingfeng smiled, neither confirming nor denying.
"Great-Grandfather, you're not actually believing this nonsense he's spouting, are you?"
Tang Manqing's voice came, but Old Monster Tang just remained frozen in place, staring at Gu Qingfeng without saying a word.
Truth be told, he didn't know whether to believe it or not.
Although he had mocked Gu Qingfeng moments ago for bragging sky-high, Old Monster Tang knew Gu Qingfeng never boasted. Moreover, he felt this kid had no reason to deceive him.
But if the kid wasn't bragging, then this matter was just too exaggerated, too far-fetched, right?
Not only did this kid fight the Three Thousand Great Daos, but he also goddamn survived under the Sacred Judgment?
This was truly something Old Monster Tang found hard to believe.
If anyone else had said this, Old Monster Tang naturally wouldn't dwell on it, treating it as a joke to be enjoyed. But just these words came from Gu Qingfeng's mouth. He knew very well that Gu Qingfeng himself was an inconceivable existence. Many things impossible for others held no such impossibility for this kid.
However.
The Sacred Judgment was, after all, the ultimate in Heaven and Earth.
Did this kid truly survive the Sacred Judgment?
And was it really as he said, that as long as he didn't want to die, no one could erase him?
This was just too...
Too goddamn insane!