There was an ethereal mountain in an ethereal space.
On the ethereal mountain stood an ethereal temple.
Inside the ethereal temple was an old monk Gu Qingfeng had never seen before.
The space within the Bone Jade of Annihilation remained as it always had—illusory and intangible, so void it seemed not to exist, so ethereal it felt like an unreal dream.
Every time Gu Qingfeng entered the Bone Jade of Annihilation, he experienced a peculiar sensation, a feeling of déjà vu.
In the past, he might not have known why he felt this way.
But now,
he could more or less guess that the Bone Jade of Annihilation might also be connected to the Wu Dao Age.
Even that old monk he had never met might be a person from the Wu Dao Age.
Perhaps even this place was some lost ruin from the Wu Dao Age.
Maybe.
Gu Qingfeng wasn't too sure either.
"Amitabha."
The old monk's voice came, just as mysterious and eerie as before. Each word seemed to carry the weight of countless years, making one's consciousness feel drowsy, blurred, and somewhat dull.
"Patron Gu, we meet again."
"Indeed, we meet again."
Gu Qingfeng laughed. "How have you been lately? Is your old body still holding up?
Do you need me to find you a girl to keep you company while you chant sutras?
Or recite Buddha's name?"
The old monk never paid any attention to Gu Qingfeng's teasing, and this time was no exception.
"Old monk, how long have we known each other?"
"This old monk lives in seclusion here and has no concept of time."
"You don't know, but I, on the other hand, have some impression. It should be about two or three hundred years, right?
And I clearly remember, back then, I found the Bone Jade of Annihilation in a Buddhist ruin. I never thought much about it before, but now that I recall, what happened in that Buddhist ruin back then was somewhat uncanny. I don't know why, but when I entered that Buddhist ruin, I felt something calling out to me. Finding the Bone Jade of Annihilation felt like finding a long-lost relative, very familiar. Isn't that strange?"
"Patron Gu, the reason you feel a sense of familiarity with the Bone Jade of Annihilation is not because it was calling you, nor is it because this old monk was calling you. It is because you and the Bone Jade of Annihilation originally belong to the same place."
"Belong to the same place?"
"The Wu Dao Age."
When the old monk uttered the words 'Wu Dao Age,' Gu Qingfeng was quite surprised. His surprise wasn't because he learned that he and the Bone Jade of Annihilation came from the same place, nor was it because they both came from the Wu Dao Age. To be honest, although the old monk had never mentioned the connection between him and the Bone Jade of Annihilation, Gu Qingfeng could more or less guess it. What truly surprised him was that the old monk would actually take the initiative to say it.
"Oh ho, did the sun rise from the west today?
Or has Your Venerable finally decided to show some mercy?"
"Some matters, even if this old monk does not speak of them, Patron Gu will gradually come to understand."
"What do you mean by that?"
"Where there is cause, there is effect; where there is effect, there is cause. All things between heaven and earth exist within Karma."
"Karma, Karma again. It seems these two words can explain absolutely everything."
"All matters between heaven and earth originate from Karma."
"If that's the case, then why were you unwilling to speak before?"
"Before, Patron Gu had not begun to seek Karma."
"So, now that I've started seeking Karma, and seem to be sinking deeper and deeper on this path, you know some things can't be hidden anyway, so you might as well tell me directly?"
"What Patron Gu should know, he will certainly know."
"Can I interpret that to mean, if I shouldn't know something, I definitely won't know it?"
To this, the old monk did not respond.
"Since you're finally showing a bit of mercy today, may I ask you a few small questions?"
"Patron Gu, please speak."
"Does this place also count as a ruin from the Wu Dao Age?"
"It is, and it is not."
"How so?"
"The Bone Jade of Annihilation belongs to the Wu Dao Age, but the space within it is not a ruin from the Wu Dao Age. Rather, it is a space derived from the Bone Jade itself."
"Are you a person from the Wu Dao Age?"
"I am, and I am not."
"How so again?"
"This old monk indeed belonged to the Wu Dao Age in the past. As for now...
This old monk cannot say clearly."
"Why can't you say clearly?"
To this question, the old monk still did not respond.
"Apart from you, are there others like you here?"
"Yes."
"How many?"
"I do not know."
"Heh heh."
Gu Qingfeng chuckled. "No wonder I feel like someone is watching me every time I come in. So there really are other people here."
He paused, then continued, "Since this place isn't a ruin from the Wu Dao Age, but a space derived from the Bone Jade of Annihilation, then did you enter here before the Wu Dao Age vanished, or after it vanished?"
"I do not know. This old monk has forgotten..."
Don't know?
Forgotten?
These words sounded very familiar. Gu Qingfeng asked, "What's going on? Could it be that you are also lost?"
"All who belong to the Wu Dao Age are lost. This old monk is no exception."
"You don't look lost."
"It is only in appearance. This old monk has long since lost myself. That is also why earlier, this old monk dared not claim to be or not to be a person of the Wu Dao Age, because I myself do not know if the 'me' now is still the 'me' from the Wu Dao Age."
"Is that so..." Gu Qingfeng fell into contemplation for a moment, inexplicably recalling a saying.
Cultivation is the cultivation of the heart; seeking truth is seeking the self.
How many original selves, how many ego selves, and how many true selves.
He didn't remember who he heard this from, or perhaps he saw it in some ancient text. Thinking of this saying, Gu Qingfeng couldn't help but wonder inwardly: Could it be that those from the Wu Dao Age who are lost are all lost in the pursuit of the self?
"Old monk, tell me, back when I found the Bone Jade of Annihilation, was that a chance coincidence, or was it fate and Karma?"
"Patron Gu, do you remember a phrase this old monk often said to you before?
Do not treat Karma as coincidence. Matters of heaven and earth are never coincidental; all matters exist within Karma."
"But you also once told me, do not treat coincidence as Karma, nor treat chance as fate. How do you explain that?"
"Coincidence or chance, in the end, cannot escape Karma."
"As you say, back when I found the Bone Jade of Annihilation, it was neither it choosing me, nor me choosing it, but rather the workings of Karma and fate?"
"Perhaps."
"Then you live in seclusion within this Bone Jade of Annihilation, and I found the Bone Jade of Annihilation. What Karma exists between us?"
"I do not know."
"Truly do not know?"
"Truly do not know."
Gu Qingfeng remained silent for a long while, then laughed. "Old monk, old monk, it seems you also harbor some doubts about the phrase 'all things between heaven and earth exist within Karma.' You also seem full of confusion and uncertainty regarding Karma."
Another stretch of silence passed. Only after a long time did the old monk finally respond, but it was with a sigh: "Patron Gu, this old monk is lost...
Truly lost...
Not only lost in the pursuit of my original self, but also lost in the pursuit of Karma..."