"He has already fused with the Blood of Original Sin, and he's sinking deeper and deeper on this path. Why didn't you stop him!"
Within the space of the Bone Jade of Annihilation, that voice came, seemingly interrogating the Old Monk.
"This old monk lacks the ability to stop him."
"You didn't even try! How do you know you lack the ability?"
To this, the Old Monk did not respond.
After a moment, the voice questioned again: "You clearly knew that once he fused with the Blood of Original Sin, he would not only become a true Original Sin person but also become a pawn in this vast Heaven and Earth Chessboard. Why didn't you stop him!"
"In this game of Heaven and Earth Chess, we don't even have the qualification to be pawns."
"Precisely because of that, you should have stopped him all the more! This Heaven and Earth Chessboard is chaotic enough as it is. If he enters, it will only make the situation worse."
"What is destined to happen will ultimately happen... What is fated from the beginning will be fated..."
"What a joke! Since when did a holy monk like you start believing in fate?"
The Old Monk did not answer this question either.
"Old Monk, tell me, is all of this his destined fate, the result of karma, or simply chaos?"
"I do not know. This old monk truly does not know..."
"You don't know? I don't believe it. I may not know who arranged this Heaven and Earth Chessboard, but one thing I am certain of is that the Immortal Dao, the Demonic Dao, and even the Heavenly Dao must all be participants in this game. If not, Tribulation-Bearers like Jun Xuanji, Tang Hengshu, and Feng Zhuyue would never have become inexplicably entangled with him in karma. Tell me, is your Buddhist Dao also laying out schemes like them?"
"Female Benefactor, if all of this truly is a game of Heaven and Earth Chess, do you think the Three Thousand Daos have the qualification to play?"
"What do you mean? Are you saying the Three Thousand Daos are also pawns in this Heaven and Earth Chessboard?"
"The Three Thousand Daos have always been pawns in the Heaven and Earth Chessboard, since ancient times, from the very moment they were conceived by the Great Dao."
"If the Three Thousand Daos are also pawns in the game, then who exactly is playing this game of Heaven and Earth Chess? Is it Fate? Or Karma? Or the gods? Or something else?"
"I do not know..."
The Female Benefactor kept pressing, but the Old Monk knew nothing of her questions.
"Between Heaven and Earth, how many Original Sin persons like him are there?"
"I do not know!"
The Female Benefactor asked again, and the Old Monk still responded that he did not know. However, this time, after his response, he sighed and added, "Female Benefactor, both you and I have lost ourselves... What this old monk knows, you also know. What this old monk does not know, you also know. So, please do not test this old monk any further. I truly do not know."
After a long while, the Female Benefactor finally spoke: "But I am afraid!"
"Who is not afraid?"
"And what is even more terrifying is that I don't know why I am afraid!"
"And who does know?"
"If this Heaven and Earth Chessboard was arranged by Fate, I would not be afraid. If it was arranged by Karma, I would not be afraid either. Even if it was arranged by Heaven and Earth itself, or by the gods, I would not be afraid. What I fear is that the one who arranged this Heaven and Earth Chessboard is... that person."
"A... Mi... Tuo... Fo!"
The Old Monk let out a deep sigh and recited an extremely complex Buddhist mantra.
"Is that person truly dead?"
The Female Benefactor asked again, her tone no longer as forceful and sharp as before, but filled with doubt and caution.
"Does it matter whether that person is dead or not?"
"Doesn't it matter?"
"It no longer matters... Regardless of whether that person is dead or not, he is Original Sin. Even if that person died... a second Original Sin would appear, a third... and even more..."
"Perhaps... I should also be like Jun Xuanji, losing my true self amidst losing myself... Although I ultimately cannot escape, at least I wouldn't have to live in fear every day."
The Female Benefactor fell silent for a moment, then said, "Old Monk, since you spoke up earlier, why didn't you tell him all of this?"
"Many things, Layman Gu does not speak of, but that does not mean he does not know. Even if Layman Gu does not know, he must surely have some sense of it."
"If he truly has some sense of it, then isn't he afraid at all?"
"Afraid? Perhaps. But this old monk knows even better that Layman Gu is by nature free and unrestrained. Even if he is truly afraid, he would not take it to heart. That is probably why the Bone Jade of Annihilation chose him."
"Not just the Bone Jade of Annihilation, but probably also the reason you chose him. If not, among all the Original Sin persons between Heaven and Earth, why did you choose to stay by his side?"
This time, the Old Monk did not respond either, as if tacitly agreeing.
"However, don't forget, it's true that this fellow is free and unrestrained by nature, but his temperament is too intense, prone to violent extremes. If he ever decides to go all out, he won't care about reason or sentiment."
"Just as you said earlier, this Heaven and Earth Chessboard is chaotic enough as it is. Since that's the case, let it descend into utter chaos then... That's... all that can be done. What else can we do? Sigh..." Another sigh.
"You seem to have some regrets?"
The Female Benefactor seemed to detect a hint of meaning from the Old Monk's sigh. "No, this cannot be called regret. Because you are merely a guest residing within the Bone Jade of Annihilation, with no real choice in the matter. I think what you feel is more helplessness."
"You value him for his free and unrestrained nature, and you are helpless because of his free and unrestrained nature. A free and unrestrained person acts entirely according to his whims. In other words, if he is in a good mood, then the sky is clear. If he is in a bad mood, then dark clouds will blot out the sky. No one knows what will appear after the dark clouds pass..."
Perhaps because the Female Benefactor had hit upon the Old Monk's thoughts, he sighed once more. He could no longer remember how many times he had sighed, but no amount of sighing could exhaust the helplessness he felt towards Gu Qingfeng in his heart.
"And you still talk about letting the already chaotic Heaven and Earth Chessboard become even more chaotic... Are you comforting me, or comforting yourself? If you are comforting me, then I sincerely thank you. However, I am not that foolish. If you are comforting yourself, then... I..."
"Female Benefactor, you should not have entered back then."
After the Old Monk said this, the Female Benefactor instantly roared in anger: "Is there any use telling me this now? Back then, I thought you had found the true master between Heaven and Earth, which is why I abandoned everything and recklessly merged into this damned Bone Jade of Annihilation. But what is the reality? After merging, I discovered that you, this old bald donkey, actually found an Original Sin person!"
"At first, I was still relieved, thinking at least he wasn't an absolute Original Sin person. But now? He has even fused with the Blood of Original Sin! That makes him a thoroughbred Original Sin person!"
"If his temperament were a bit better, it might be one thing. But what is the reality? What kind of temperament does he have? He is a damn typical whimsical person! Do you know what 'whimsical' means, you old bald donkey? It means he only cares about what he cares about. If he doesn't care, even if the damn heavens and earth collapse, he can't be bothered to spare a glance."
"And he was already whimsical to begin with, yet you actually taught him the Great Freedom Heart? What? You thought he wasn't free or carefree enough, is that it?"