That sigh from the Old Monk seemed to exhale all the doubts in his heart, all the helplessness, and all the hesitation and confusion as well.
Gu Qingfeng could tell it was a lament that came from the very depths of his being.
Perhaps it was truly as the Old Monk said—he was lost. Lost not only within himself but also lost within Karma.
Why had the people of the Daoless Age all become lost, one by one?
What exactly had they experienced?
Gu Qingfeng did not know.
Nor did he ask.
Because he knew that asking would likely be in vain.
After a long while.
The Old Monk asked, "Layman Gu, do you still intend to continue seeking Karma?"
"Why not? Moreover, if all things between heaven and earth are within Karma, do you think whether I seek it or not even matters? If I do not seek it, does that mean Karma will not occur, will not appear?"
"Ai..." The Old Monk let out another sigh.
"And what is this sigh for?"
"Sighing at the helplessness of life."
Gu Qingfeng gave a wry laugh. "Even a venerable monk like you sighs at life's helplessness. Then should the rest of us even bother to keep living?"
"Layman Gu, do not belittle yourself."
"Heh. Old Monk, I've always wanted to know, why did you try to stop me from seeking Karma back then?"
"This Old Monk did not stop Layman Gu. I merely did not wish for Layman Gu to seek Karma."
"Fine. Even if it was just not wishing it, why? Were you afraid I would become lost too?"
"Perhaps."
"Why? Don't tell me it's because of friendship. I don't think there's much friendship between us."
"This Old Monk's wish for Layman Gu not to seek Karma was indeed not due to friendship. It was because I did not wish for Layman Gu to fuse with the Blood of Original Sin. To be precise, I did not wish for Layman Gu to become a true person of Original Sin."
"You really do know everything."
"Although This Old Monk is lost, some things can still be deduced. Although Layman Gu's previous existence was due to the Blood of Original Sin, it was only that and nothing more. At most, you could only be considered half a person of the Blood of Original Sin. But now that Layman Gu has fused with the Blood of Original Sin, you have become a true person of Original Sin. Before, Layman Gu might still have been able to avoid the Karmic Black Hole and remain aloof. But now..." As he spoke, the Old Monk sighed once more.
"Since you know about the Blood of Original Sin, you should know I had no other choice at the time."
"That is precisely why This Old Monk sighs at the helplessness of life."
"However, there's one thing I don't understand. Even if I become a true person of Original Sin, why can I not avoid the Karmic Black Hole? Why can I not remain aloof?"
"The root of the Karmic Black Hole is Original Sin. As a person of Original Sin, how could you possibly avoid it? The Karmic Black Hole is also the source of all calamities. As this person of Original Sin, how could you possibly remain aloof?"
Gu Qingfeng half-understood and laughed. "So you're saying I'm already stuck in it? Can't pull myself out, right?"
"Layman Gu can still laugh about it."
"What else should I do? Cry?"
Gu Qingfeng could indeed laugh. Not only could he laugh, but he could also see things clearly. Because he knew very well that in his five hundred years of cultivation, he had committed too many sins and stirred up too much trouble. He never expected, nor did he hope, for any good end for himself. So, being caught in the Karmic Black Hole didn't surprise him, nor did he find it particularly frightening.
"By the way, Old Monk, is the Blood of Original Sin truly the blood spirit of that Daoless Venerable?"
"Perhaps. This Old Monk is not too clear either."
"Then what exactly are you worried about? Even if I am truly caught in the Karmic Black Hole, it has nothing to do with you, does it?"
"Layman Gu, believe This Old Monk, if it were possible, This Old Monk would want to know the answer to that question even more than you do. This Old Monk also wants to know what I am worried about. Deep in my heart, there is always an inexplicable fear. But This Old Monk truly does not know what exactly I am afraid of..."
"I say, Old Monk, you seem very off today for some reason!"
For some reason, the Old Monk's mood today seemed very abnormal. The Old Monk of before was like a transcendent, enlightened venerable monk. But today's Old Monk was like a cynical old curmudgeon, his words carrying clear resentment towards Gu Qingfeng's fusion with the Blood of Original Sin.
"Is it really because I fused with the Blood of Original Sin?"
The Old Monk did not respond immediately. He fell silent again for a long time, then let out another sigh, aged and filled with helplessness.
"Perhaps it is."
"Then what exactly are you afraid of? Afraid I'll bring disaster to this world? You're not even in this world. What are you afraid of?"
Gu Qingfeng spoke as he thought. "You are a person of the Daoless Age, and I am a person who has fused with the Blood of Original Sin. The Blood of Original Sin might be the blood spirit of that Daoless Venerable. What, are you afraid I'll become a second Daoless Venerable?"
Silence.
More silence.
This time, the Old Monk remained silent for a very long time.
When he spoke again, it was with another sigh.
This sigh carried even more helplessness, more hesitation, and more confusion than before.
"I do not know if all this is arranged by Fate, brought about by Karma, or caused by chaos..." The Old Monk uttered such a lament.
And this lament was also the answer to a question Gu Qingfeng most wanted to know.
"This Old Monk is tired. Very, very tired..."
"Alright. Since you're tired, venerable one, rest for now."
Just as Gu Qingfeng was about to leave, he suddenly remembered something important and asked, "Wait, Old Monk. There's a phrase I'd like to ask your venerable self about."
With that.
He recounted the phrase that the mad old man in the Daoless Era ruins had chanted—the phrase that had inexplicably plunged him into a dream realm.
A very long while later, the Old Monk's voice came. "Having wisdom, having confusion, distinguishing self from other; a hundred kinds of yang, a hundred kinds of yin, transforming into the harmony of heaven and earth; seeing not good, seeing not evil, only Karma remains; a thousand kinds of sage, a thousand kinds of demon, left for others to say..." The Old Monk chanted this phrase, his tone complex.
Finally, he said, "This phrase... is very familiar. It feels like I've heard it before."
"Just feels familiar?"
The Old Monk continued chanting that phrase. After another long time, he responded, "Just feels familiar. May This Old Monk ask where Layman Gu heard this phrase?"
"Heard it mentioned casually by a friend."
"Just a friend?"
Gu Qingfeng affirmed, "Just a friend."
"Oh."
And then?
There was no 'and then'...
The Old Monk said nothing more. Gu Qingfeng hadn't really expected to get any answer from the Old Monk. He just wanted to tell the Old Monk this phrase, that was all. As for why, he didn't know either. Having said it, he did not linger and left directly.
After Gu Qingfeng left.
Another voice sounded within the ethereal space of the Bone Jade of Annihilation.
"Old Monk, why did you give me away?"
"Even if This Old Monk did not say it, Layman Gu would have found out sooner or later. Perhaps Layman Gu already had an inkling, but just did not say it outright."