"Some matters of Karma seem to be related to the Wu Dao Age, so I want to find Wudao Mountain—the Mount Illusion you mentioned—to see if I can figure out just what's going on."
Upon hearing the word 'Karma,' the Mysterious Old Man inexplicably let out a sigh. "Karma again... Karma..."
"What's wrong?" Gu Qingfeng's question seemed to stump the old man. He paused for a moment, muttering, "Yes... what's wrong? What's wrong with Karma?"
The Mysterious Old Man's expression grew increasingly bewildered and unfocused, his eyes becoming more vacant and lost.
"What's wrong with Karma? Has Karma become disordered? No! Karma isn't disordered... No! Karma is disordered... It's been cursed... No! It hasn't been cursed..."
"What's wrong with Karma?" The Mysterious Old Man muttered to himself, beginning to ramble incoherently again. The more he spoke, the more dazed his expression became, and the more frenzied his behavior grew.
"Original Sin! That's it! It's Original Sin! Karma is the root of Original Sin! Karma is the source!"
"No! Karma is fake! There's no such thing as Karma! It's fake! A trick of the Gods! It's fake! It's all fake!"
Whoosh!
The Mysterious Old Man suddenly stood up. His expression was no longer vacant, nor were his eyes empty. Instead, they became agitated, feverish, and utterly deranged!
"Fake! It's all fake!"
"Illusion! It's all illusion!"
With a leap, the Mysterious Old Man shot straight upward.
Boom! Crash!
The space of these ruins descended into chaos once more.
"The eternal calamity births Heaven and Earth, three cycles of reincarnation manifest through the ages; past and present lives meet through Karma, whose fate is whose depends on Heaven! Hahahaha! Fake! It's all fake... A joke! The greatest joke of Heaven and Earth!"
Gu Qingfeng hurriedly gave chase, but the Mysterious Old Man was nowhere to be seen. He searched for a long time, never discovering where the old man had gone. All he could faintly hear was the sound of the Mysterious Old Man's voice fading into the distance.
"Self-born wisdom, self-born confusion, discern the object from the self!"
"A hundred kinds of yang, a hundred kinds of yin, transform into the harmony of Heaven and Earth!"
"No sight of good, no sight of evil, only cause and effect remain!"
"A thousand saints, a thousand demons, let others say what they will!"
Gu Qingfeng murmured these lines. They felt familiar, as if he understood something, yet also as if he didn't comprehend them at all. It was like seeing flowers through a mist, or like a moon reflected in water—elusive and intangible. He found himself inexplicably sinking into the words, unable to break free for a time.
In his daze, Gu Qingfeng seemed to inexplicably arrive at a mysterious place.
That place was as chaotic as the Primordial Chaos itself.
"Self-born wisdom, self-born confusion, discern the object from the self..." The same line echoed again...
But Gu Qingfeng was certain the one reciting it wasn't the Mysterious Old Man. As for who it was, he didn't know. It vaguely sounded like a woman's voice.
"Do not believe in Karma... Do not believe..."
"It's fake... Karma is fake."
"Do not believe them."
"Do not forget. Never forget... You severed all Karma, so you have no past life, no present life, no future life... You belong only to yourself. You are the only you."
"Mount Illusion..."
"I await you at Mount Illusion..."
"Waiting for you always..."
"I know, and I firmly believe that one day you will return."
"I await you."
The voice was ethereal, coming in fragments—sometimes as if echoing in his mind, other times as if drifting from some ancient place.
Gu Qingfeng tried to ask questions, but no one responded.
He didn't know how much time passed.
Truly, Gu Qingfeng had no idea. In his stupor, he faintly heard someone calling his name, and only then did he gradually regain his senses. Opening his eyes, what greeted him was a woman—a woman in white robes, hazy as if shrouded in mist. Her features were stunning, breathtakingly beautiful. It was Su Hua.
"Why are you here?"
Gu Qingfeng's consciousness was somewhat muddled. He had no idea what had just happened. It felt as if he had inexplicably entered a strange place, like a dream. He looked around and was shocked to find himself lying on a bed. Looking closer, this seemed to be a bedroom.
Wait.
Wasn't he inside the ruins from the Wu Dao Age?
Why was he here?
"What is this place?"
"My Cave Dwelling."
"Your Cave Dwelling?" Gu Qingfeng was inwardly alarmed, his mind in disarray. "Wasn't I inside the Wu Dao ruins? Why am I in your Cave Dwelling?"
"You have the nerve to ask! Do you know how worried I was about you? I warned you to leave, but you stubbornly refused to listen."
Su Hua stared at Gu Qingfeng with a puzzled expression. After leaving the ruins earlier, she had carefully probed the area with her divine sense. Once the chaos within the ruins subsided, she rushed in immediately. She searched for a long, long time before finally finding Gu Qingfeng. But what puzzled her was that Gu Qingfeng was like a dead man—standing there motionless, utterly lifeless.
Truly like a corpse.
Devoid of any vitality.
Su Hua tried every method she could think of, but nothing worked. In the end, she had no choice but to first bring Gu Qingfeng's 'corpse' back to her own Cave Dwelling.
"What happened inside the ruins? How did you end up there with your consciousness completely gone? Did you meet that Senior from the Wu Dao Age?"
Gu Qingfeng didn't respond. Instead, he frowned, lost in thought.
Even now, he couldn't understand why the Mysterious Old Man's words had made him feel as if he'd had a strange dream.
Whose voice was that in the dream?
Who had severed all Karma?
Who had no past or present life?
Who was waiting for him at Mount Illusion?
What in the world was going on?
He didn't know.
Gu Qingfeng racked his brains but couldn't figure out what was happening.
"Hey, why aren't you speaking? Are you alright?"
Su Hua furrowed her brows, staring at Gu Qingfeng. Ever since she carried him back from the ruins, she had been anxious and fearful every day, because she truly didn't know whether Gu Qingfeng was dead or what was going on.
"I'm fine. My consciousness is just a bit muddled."
"Can you tell me what you encountered inside the ruins? Did you meet that Senior from the Wu Dao Age?"
"I did."
"You really met him?"
"Not only met him, but he also drank a fair amount of my wine."
"What? Drank wine?" Su Hua looked skeptical. "That Senior from the Wu Dao Age is mad and deranged, and he kills anyone he meets. How could he possibly drink wine with you?"
"His consciousness comes and goes. When I first met him, he was relatively clear-headed. But as we were drinking, he went mad."
"Then what about you? Why did your consciousness disappear?"
"You're asking me? Who should I ask? It's strange, though. That old man's words were so damn eerie."
"Words? What words were eerie?"
Gu Qingfeng looked at Su Hua and asked, "There's a line I want to ask you about. I don't know if you've heard it: 'Self-born wisdom, self-born confusion, discern the object from the self; a hundred kinds of yang, a hundred kinds of yin, transform into the harmony of Heaven and Earth; no sight of good, no sight of evil, only cause and effect remain; a thousand saints, a thousand demons, let others say what they will.'"
"You..." Hearing Gu Qingfeng recite these lines, Su Hua reacted as if she had seen a ghost, exclaiming in shock, "How do you... How do you know these words?"