"Heaven and Earth are not benevolent, treating all beings as straw dogs...
Hahahaha!"
"Heaven and Earth?
All beings?
Hahaha, fake...
All of it is fake...
Everything is fake."
"No!
It's not fake, it's real...
All of it is real...
Everything is real!"
"No!
It's fake, it must be fake... He said so, it's fake..." The mysterious old man's expression grew increasingly dazed, increasingly bewildered, and increasingly lost. He wandered in the chaos, babbling incessantly: "What is real?
What is fake?
Real and fake...
Fake and real...
Who can distinguish them?"
"No one can."
"Humans cannot, demons cannot, Immortals cannot, Buddhas cannot, Sages cannot...
Even the myriad Gods cannot..." "Hahahaha!
Cannot be distinguished, no one can distinguish them..."
For no apparent reason, the mysterious old man seemed to have detected Gu Qingfeng's presence. He halted his steps, his lifeless eyes appearing particularly hollow. Perhaps discerning something, his numb face grew complex in expression as he murmured: "The blood of Original Sin...
Why do you have the blood of Original Sin on you?
Could you be Original Sin?"
"No!
You are not Original Sin."
"You only have the blood of Original Sin on you, nothing more..." "Hahaha!
The blood of Original Sin, another person of Original Sin, another one...
Just how many people of Original Sin have appeared in this modern era?"
Gu Qingfeng did not move, staring intently at the mysterious old man, listening carefully to his mad ramblings.
What was fake, what was real.
He was utterly confused.
However, the old man's mention of 'people of Original Sin' was something he somewhat understood. What puzzled him was, judging by the old man's words, could it be that he was not the only one in this world who had fused with the blood of Original Sin? Were there many others?
Thinking this, Gu Qingfeng pondered for a moment before asking: "Old senior, how many people of Original Sin have you seen?"
"How many?
I can't remember...
Too many...
Truly too many...
From the Primeval Era, the Ancient Era, the Archaic Era...
I've seen...
I've seen far, far too many people of Original Sin...
Too many...
But...
But they're all dead..."
Gu Qingfeng's heart skipped a beat. He continued asking: "How did they die?"
"Some...
were killed by this old man...
Some were killed by them...
Some were...
killed by Heaven and Earth...
And some...
were killed by the Gods, the Sage Buddhas...
Hahahaha!"
Good heavens.
Although Gu Qingfeng had always been bold, hearing that almost all people of Original Sin like himself had been killed, and by either Heaven and Earth or the Gods and Sage Buddhas, was truly horrifying.
"Old senior, why did you kill the people of Original Sin?
Why did they kill the people of Original Sin?"
"Why?"
The mysterious old man shook his head, dazed: "Don't know...
This old man doesn't know...
Forgot..."
"So that means..." Gu Qingfeng asked softly: "You, old senior, are also planning to kill me this time?"
"Kill you?"
The mysterious old man shook his head again: "No, this old man will not kill you..."
"And why is that?"
"Because there's no need for this old man to kill you. You will die anyway...
Hahaha!"
Gu Qingfeng thought it over carefully. It really was true. He was well aware that ever since fusing with the blood of Original Sin, Heaven and Earth could no longer tolerate him. The so-called divine Judgment was probably just an appetizer. Once the Great Dao Origin, and even the Heaven and Earth Origin, finished restructuring, the real feast would begin.
"Young man, while this old man is still somewhat lucid, may I ask you a few questions?"
"Of course."
Gu Qingfeng said: "This junior also has a few questions I'd like to ask you, old senior. Please go ahead."
"Young man, do you know what is true and what is false?"
True and false?
Gu Qingfeng shook his head, replying: "I do not know."
"Do you know what is life and what is death?"
Life and Death?
Gu Qingfeng shook his head again, still replying: "I do not know that either."
"Young man, quite the one who knows nothing of all three questions."
Gu Qingfeng said: "What is true, what is false, what is life, what is death, I truly do not know. I only know that whether it's truth and falsehood or life and death, there's no need to see them so clearly. A human lives a lifetime like grass through an autumn; living freely and unrestrained, living as I wish to live is enough. Why bother with life, death, truth, or falsehood? What does it matter if it's true? What does it matter if it's false? There are four words I wonder if you've heard, old senior: 'In life, ignorance is bliss.'"
"Well said! 'Live freely and unrestrained,' well said! 'Live as I wish to live,' well said! 'In life, ignorance is bliss,' well said!
Hahahaha!"
The mysterious old man let out a hearty, unrestrained laugh. His laughter shook the ruins into chaos and left Gu Qingfeng utterly disoriented.
"To think this old man has lived for so many years, yet I'm not as clear-headed as a junior like you! Hahahaha!"
"Clear-headed?
Not necessarily?"
Gu Qingfeng shook his head self-deprecatingly: "I also thought I had figured life out at first. But the longer I live, the less I understand, the more confused I become."
"Not understanding is best, being more confused is even better...
Knowing some things doesn't necessarily mean truly understanding them, and knowing some things is worse than not knowing them at all."
"That may be so, but humans all have a thirst for knowledge. Some things, if you don't figure them out, you can't truly be carefree even if you want to."
"Young man, you seem quite conflicted."
The mysterious old man looked at Gu Qingfeng and said: "You cultivate a heart of freedom, yet your actions are not those of freedom."
"And are you not the same, old senior?
You are a madman, yet your actions are not those of madness."
"Yes."
The mysterious old man sighed: "Has this old man gone mad?
Or do I just think I'm mad?
Or am I truly mad?
This old man does not know, and has forgotten..."
"Even you, old senior, are like this, how can I be an exception? I also don't know if the heart of freedom I cultivate is for the sake of freedom, or if cultivating the heart is for the sake of freedom..."
"Young man, you said earlier you had something to ask this old man."
"That's right."
Gu Qingfeng asked: "Are you truly a person from the Era Without Dao?"
"Perhaps. Don't know, forgot..."
You can forget something like that?
Gu Qingfeng thought for a moment and continued asking: "What exactly happened back in the Era Without Dao? Did it disappear or..."
"Don't know, forgot that too..."
"Alright then, where is Wudao Mountain?"
"Don't know, forgot that too..."
Gu Qingfeng was speechless: "Old senior, are you messing with me?"
"This old man has truly forgotten...
Forgotten everything...
This old man doesn't even know where I came from, nor where I'm going. My consciousness is sometimes clear, sometimes blurred...
Forgotten, all forgotten...
Everything is forgotten..."
These words sounded very familiar. Gu Qingfeng remembered that Jun Xuanji often said this phrase.
Thinking of Jun Xuanji.
Gu Qingfeng recalled something Jun Xuanji had said: she said the people of the Era Without Dao were all lost...
Could it be true?
Unclear.
"Old senior, have you heard the name Jun Xuanji?"
"Don't know, forgot..."
The mysterious old man still knew nothing, had forgotten everything...
What the hell is there even left to ask?