Gu Qingfeng had lived this life valuing friendship and loyalty, believing he had a clear conscience toward everyone. Only toward his master did he feel utterly ashamed.
"Kid Gu, don't overthink it. After all, you were still young back then, your thoughts and awareness weren't fully mature."
Perhaps noticing Gu Qingfeng's state of mind, Luo Xuan Ancestor consoled him. "Moreover, given the situation you were in back then, taking that path was forced upon you. I've always believed that if everyone in the world back then had been as tolerant toward you as Old Master Zhenjue, you wouldn't have ended up on that path of no return."
Seeing the complex expression on Gu Qingfeng's face, Luo Xuan Ancestor continued his persuasion. "And, to say something you might not want to hear, the three times you showed mercy to the Shangqing Sect back then were also out of respect for the Old Master. Later, when you severed the Immortal River, brought down the spirit rain to grace the world, and willingly accepted the Immortal Dao Judgment, hadn't you already recognized the mistakes you made?"
"So, the grace you showed the Old Master back then was already more than enough. There's no need to feel overly guilty."
Gu Qingfeng didn't speak, just kept drinking. After several cups in a row, he finally asked, "How... how is he now?"
"How else could he be? Same as always. The Shangqing Sect once invited him to join the Inner Court, but he refused. The Old Master has been living in seclusion in the back mountains of the Shangqing Sect, eating simple meals, abstaining from meat, and reciting Buddhist scriptures every day..."
"Has... has the Old Master ever had thoughts of... taking his own life again?"
"Thoughts of suicide? How would he dare?"
Speaking of this, Luo Xuan Ancestor still felt a pang of emotion when he recalled it. Back when Gu Qingfeng went on a killing spree in this world, Old Master Zhenjue had prepared to commit suicide to atone to the world on Gu Qingfeng's behalf. In the end, Gu Qingfeng forcefully stopped him. And to prevent his master from having such thoughts again, he told the world that if Old Master Zhenjue died to atone that day, he would slaughter everyone in this world.
"But, kid, you were ruthless back then. With one sentence, you completely eliminated any thought of suicide from the Old Master, and you truly frightened the world. Especially those old fellows from the Shangqing Sect—you have no idea, after they brought the Old Master back to the sect, they begged and pleaded with him to see things differently."
"I was really too impulsive back then."
Luo Xuan Ancestor nodded and sighed. "Impulsive? Kid, you were completely blood-drunk back then. Your one sentence may have stopped the Old Master from taking his own life, but it has caused him pain to this day."
"Why did the Old Master want to die to atone back then? Wasn't it because he felt he hadn't taught you properly? His disciple was out slaughtering people, so as a master, he naturally felt ashamed before the world and wanted to die to atone. And you, you stopped him and even issued that ultimatum: if the Old Master died to atone, you would slaughter the entire world."
Luo Xuan Ancestor shook his head, sighing incessantly. "If the Old Master had died back then, it would have been over. But you made it so he couldn't even die if he wanted to. He could only live for the sake of the world's populace. Your master cultivates a heart of compassion. He already felt ashamed before the world because of you. Making him live one more day means one more day of suffering for him. If you ask me, it would have been better to let him die to atone back then."
Luo Xuan Ancestor's words struck the deepest pain in Gu Qingfeng's heart.
This was also what he felt most sorry for toward his master.
Every time he thought of this, Gu Qingfeng wished he could slap himself several times. Back then, he acted too impulsively, never considering others' feelings, never thinking from their perspective.
"Of course, we're just talking among ourselves here. I've thought about this matter carefully later on. If it were me, I wouldn't know what to do either. How could I just watch the Old Master die to atone for me? Anyway, I wouldn't do that. Thinking it over, although your method back then was a bit extreme, it has to be said, it was indeed a solution when there was no solution."
"Now... does my master still hold onto what I did back then..."
"Kid Gu, how come you still don't understand?"
Luo Xuan Ancestor said solemnly, "Let me put it this way: your master has never blamed you. Never. I dare guarantee it with my character. Compared to the world's populace, he feels the most sorry for you."
"My master has nothing to be sorry to me about."
"Yes, I think so too. But that's what the Old Master told me. Anyway, when I went to visit him in previous years, he always said he felt ashamed toward you. I could never figure out what exactly the Old Master felt ashamed about toward you. But one thing I'm sure of: the Old Master has always blamed himself, blamed himself for not teaching you properly back then. Perhaps because of this, he feels ashamed toward you."
As he spoke, Luo Xuan Ancestor seemed to remember something else. "There might be one more thing. That is, back when you willingly accepted the Immortal Dao Judgment, the Old Master probably also felt that his kneeling back then led you to give up and accept the Immortal Dao Judgment."
"If it's really because of that... then I... am even more sorry to him."
"What? Don't tell me your willing acceptance of the Immortal Dao Judgment back then wasn't because of the Old Master's kneeling?"
"Even if the Old Master hadn't knelt back then, I would have accepted the Immortal Dao Judgment."
"Why?"
Gu Qingfeng shook his head and didn't respond.
The facts were exactly as he said. Even if his master hadn't knelt back then, he would still have accepted the Immortal Dao Judgment. Because back then, he had already realized that continuing to fight against the Nine Heavens Immortal Dao would only implicate more people. So, from the beginning, he had planned to feign death and slip away unnoticed.
At the time, he had planned to charge straight up to the Nine Heavens, kill until the heavens and earth darkened, and then feign death to slip away.
But the Old Master's kneeling made him completely abandon that idea. He didn't want to kill anyone else and directly accepted the Immortal Dao Judgment.
"Kid, don't tell me you had it all planned out back then? From the beginning, you had an escape route in mind, planning to kill to your heart's content first, then shoulder all the blame alone, swear a heavenly oath, set up that ambiguous blood curse to make the Nine Heavens wary, then accept the Immortal Dao Judgment, feign death to leave, pull off that grand deception, disappearing without a trace, ending it all cleanly."
Luo Xuan Ancestor, having grown wise with age, deduced many things that had puzzled him back then from Gu Qingfeng's earlier words and his own subsequent thoughts. "That's right. You definitely would have done that. This way, you could thoroughly settle your grievances with the Nine Heavens, completely calm this world, and damn well make the Nine Heavens stop pursuing others' crimes. Most importantly, it would also clear Zhenjue's name, making the whole world owe the Old Master a huge favor. As for you, in life you were an evil Immortal Dao criminal, but in death you damn well became the eternal hero who ended the Ancient Era."
"Damn it! I say your scheme isn't just deep—it's on another level!"