"I merely fused with a single drop of Blood of Original Sin from the Wu Dao era. There's nothing particularly extraordinary about that."
Gu Qingfeng's voice reached her, and Tang Hengxi was instantly startled. She turned around, her voice filled with shock as she cried out, "What?! You… you fused with the Blood of Original Sin?"
"That's right. What of it?"
"You…" Though Tang Hengxi's figure was ethereal and flickering in and out of visibility, one could vaguely see the look of astonishment on her breathtakingly beautiful face, along with a trace of panic in her eyes. "Do you know what the Blood of Original Sin is?"
"The rumor is that it's a drop of blood essence from Venerable Wu Dao of the Wu Dao era?"
"That's not a rumor. It's fact."
"So it's fact. What does it matter?"
"That is a drop of blood essence from Venerable Wu Dao! And Venerable Wu Dao is the Original Sin person. Precisely because of this, his drop of blood essence is called the Blood of Original Sin. What's even more terrifying is that he is also the creator of the Karmic Black Hole. What do you think will happen if you fuse with a drop of his Blood of Original Sin?"
"Moreover, do you know why you exist?"
"It seems I also exist because of the Blood of Original Sin."
Nine years ago in the Great Northwest, Gu Qingfeng had heard Jun Xuanji mention it. It seemed a woman named Canyang Wuyou from Canyang Valley had used the Blood of Original Sin to breed many people related to Original Sin, with the aim of completely severing the Original Sin karma of the Wu Dao era. Consequently, most people related to Original Sin were killed. For various reasons, only he and a woman from Canyang Valley survived.
"Since you know your existence is due to the Blood of Original Sin, why did you still fuse with it? You exist because of the Blood of Original Sin, making you half an Original Sin person already. If you truly fuse with the Blood of Original Sin, you will become a true Original Sin person!"
Tang Hengxi's voice was filled with boundless panic and endless worry.
"Do you think I wanted to? The situation forced my hand back then. I had no choice but to fuse with the Blood of Original Sin."
"Heh… destined. Everything is destined."
Tang Hengxi laughed bitterly. "Everything is destined, all destined…"
Was everything truly destined? Gu Qingfeng did not know. Nor did he wish to give himself a headache over such troublesome matters.
However, there was one thing he was very keen to know. He asked, "Destined or accidental, even if it was arranged by the heavens, it can only be this way. Anyway, it's already been fused. Discussing anything else is meaningless. But even if I've become an Original Sin person, so what? And I've always wanted to know, what exactly is an Original Sin person? Why are all of you so afraid of being connected to me?"
Tang Hengxi did not respond immediately. After a period of silence, she finally spoke. "Do you know Jun Xuanji has already lost herself?"
"I know."
"Do you know why she chose to lose herself?"
"Because of me?"
"That's right. Precisely because of you."
"Just because I'm an Original Sin person?"
"Yes."
"Why?"
"Because the karma of Original Sin is…" Tang Hengxi closed her eyes and uttered two words solemnly: "The Sea of Bitterness."
Gu Qingfeng had also heard of the Sea of Bitterness. Legend had it that it was the most terrifying place between heaven and earth, bar none. Even the gods grew pale at the mention of it. It was said that once one fell into the Sea of Bitterness, they would be trapped in an endless cycle of suffering for all eternity.
What kind of concept was being trapped in an endless cycle of suffering? Gu Qingfeng truly could not imagine it.
However, since even the gods grew pale at the mention of it, just thinking with one's toes would tell you that the terror of that place was absolutely far greater than one could imagine.
"So you're also afraid of falling into the Sea of Bitterness? That's why you don't even dare show your true self?"
Tang Hengxi did not answer this question, which was tantamount to acquiescence.
"No one isn't afraid of falling into the Sea of Bitterness. No one…"
"Perhaps."
Gu Qingfeng sighed, feeling an indescribable sense of helplessness in his heart.
This helplessness wasn't because of the Sea of Bitterness, though. To be honest, he didn't feel particularly afraid of falling into the Sea of Bitterness or not. Perhaps it was because he didn't understand it well enough, or perhaps it was related to his personality. He had always believed in living for the moment, enjoying each day to the fullest and being happy. As for future matters, he couldn't be bothered to worry about them. Sea of Bitterness or not, not to mention that nothing in this world was absolute, even if he really did fall into the Sea of Bitterness in the future, that was a matter for the future.
In a person's lifetime, from the day they are born, it is destined that they will die one day.
Does knowing you are destined to die mean you don't live this life? Just wait for death?
That was obviously impossible.
It was just that some people couldn't wrap their heads around such a simple truth.
"Hengxi, let's not talk about Original Sin or the Sea of Bitterness. Can I ask you a question as well?"
"Ask."
"You said earlier that you 'awakened.' What does this awakening mean? Is it the memories of your past life awakening after reincarnation?"
"You could say that."
"You could say that? You reincarnated into Yanluo back then? Why did you reincarnate for no good reason? As far as I know, if a person undergoes reincarnation, it's either because they messed up and caused some trouble, using reincarnation to evade judgment; or it's for cultivation, using reincarnation to seek fortune; or they divined their own calamity and used reincarnation to avoid it."
Gu Qingfeng continued in a neutral tone, "Although I don't know who you were in your past life, based on my understanding of Tang Hengxi, I imagine your past self wasn't the type to cause trouble. As for cultivation, you don't seem to have much interest in that either. Eliminating the first two possibilities, you reincarnated during the Ancient Era, and it wasn't because of the Ancient Calamity either. That leaves the third possibility. You must have divined your own calamity and used reincarnation to avoid it, right?"
"I did reincarnate back then to avoid a calamity. And to avoid this calamity, I reincarnated very thoroughly. I severed all karma from my past life and cut off all emotional ties from my past life, all so that after reincarnation, I could evade the so-called death calamity. It's just…" Tang Hengxi shook her head slightly and laughed bitterly. "It's just that what was supposed to come still came. What was supposed to happen still happened. And this calamity is far more terrifying than I imagined, so terrifying that I had no choice but to seal myself away. I never imagined that after reincarnating, I would encounter someone like you, an Original Sin person connected to the Wu Dao era."
"Blame me."
Gu Qingfeng mocked himself. "Blame me for coming to Yanluo back then. Blame me for getting to know you. Blame me even more for…"
"It has nothing to do with you. There's no need for you to blame yourself like this. Perhaps all of this was already destined."
"Why do I dislike hearing the word 'destined' so much?"
Gu Qingfeng really disliked the word 'destined.' He had harbored a special aversion to these two words since childhood—an innate, inexplicable aversion. "And how do you know this is definitely destined? Don't mistake coincidence for karma, and don't mistake karma for fate."