When the Heavenly Might dissipated and the night sky returned to tranquility, the leaders of the major sects and great families rose to their feet and departed one by one, like soulless walking corpses.
Their purpose in coming this time had originally been to denounce Gu Qingfeng, to reclaim the face they had lost at his hands in the Ancient Era. Yet, no matter what, they had never imagined that even with tens of millions of immortals joining forces to besiege him, they had failed to shake Gu Qingfeng in the slightest.
What made them feel even more terrified was that the three Children of the Constellations, hailed as the Present Era's Heavenly Destiny, had been so shaken by a single word from Gu Qingfeng that they couldn't even stand up. Especially the Star Heart of Long Fei—it had been ruthlessly destroyed by Gu Qingfeng right before the eyes of the public.
Such brazen trampling of Heavenly Might had never occurred since ancient times.
And yet, Old Heaven had only thundered without raining down judgment, only descended with Heavenly Might but delivered no trial.
Why?
No one knew why.
But there was one thing they all understood clearly: Gu Qingfeng's existence was no longer something they could comprehend, much less something they could provoke. They no longer dared to denounce Gu Qingfeng in this manner. This time, they had been utterly terrified, frightened to the bone and to the very soul.
Su Hua did not leave.
She remained standing there in a daze. Even long after Gu Qingfeng had departed, she still hadn't recovered, still immersed in the unbelievable scene from moments ago, unable to extricate herself.
She simply couldn't understand. Gu Qingfeng had trampled upon Heavenly Might so brazenly, practically riding on Old Heaven's neck to defecate and urinate, and yet Old Heaven had just swallowed its anger and let him go?
Was this still Old Heaven?
Others might not know.
But Su Hua, whose previous life was the Nine Heavens Mystic Maiden, knew very well. Relying on its status as the Head of the Great Dao, dominating all things in Heaven and Earth, the Heavenly Dao had always acted tyrannically in the Great Desolate Celestial Realm. The so-called Great Dao laws and the order of Heaven and Earth were all formulated by the Heavenly Dao. Since ancient times, no matter how noble one's status or how powerful one's strength, before the Heavenly Dao, all were like ants.
If one dared to show disrespect to the Heavenly Dao, Heavenly Retribution would descend immediately.
If one dared to defy the heavens and resist, Heavenly Punishment would follow.
Why, when Gu Qingfeng trampled upon Heavenly Might, did the Heavenly Dao instead back down and choose to turn a blind eye?
Just why?
Su Hua wasn't hoping that the Heavenly Dao must deliver judgment. On the contrary, she was happier and more delighted than anyone that the Heavenly Dao had not delivered judgment. She just couldn't understand, couldn't accept this scene. It was like everyone had always followed the rules. Whoever didn't abide by the rules would be punished. It had always been this way, never changed. But now, there was this one person who didn't follow the rules, and Old Heaven actually didn't punish him.
This made everyone feel very indignant, also feeling that the Heavenly Dao was unjust.
"Is this Old Heaven's attitude?"
Su Hua truly couldn't accept it, murmuring.
Nalan Qianqiu responded, "That's right. This is Old Heaven's attitude."
"Why?"
"Why? That's a good question."
Su Hua asked, "Old Heaven chose to turn a blind eye to Gu Qingfeng's heaven-defying actions. It's truly unjust. If the Heavenly Dao is unjust, will the Three Thousand Great Daos submit?"
"Submit? The Three Thousand Great Daos, especially the Immortal Dao, are probably so angry their noses are crooked right now."
Nalan Qianqiu shook her head. "But what can they do even if they don't submit? There's nowhere to reason. Reason with whom? Under Heaven and Earth, Old Heaven is the greatest. Since His Eminence has chosen to turn a blind eye to this fellow, what can the other Great Daos do?"
"The Present Era has only just begun. The origin of Heaven and Earth is re-deriving, and so are the Three Thousand Great Daos. The Heavenly Dao is no exception. The Immortal Dao and the Demonic Dao have long been eyeing the position of Head of the Great Dao covetously. They have even been uniting with other Great Daos, preparing to seize the position of Head of the Great Dao while the origin of Heaven and Earth is re-deriving. The Heavenly Dao's own situation is already very precarious. Yet even so, Old Heaven still turned a blind eye to Gu Qingfeng's heaven-defying actions. Being so unjust, isn't the Heavenly Dao afraid the Three Thousand Great Daos will take this opportunity to denounce it?"
"Afraid? How could it not be afraid? The Immortal Dao has been scheming in the Three Thousand Great Worlds for so many years, precisely to replace the Heavenly Dao and ascend to the position of Head of the Great Dao, isn't it? Today, the Heavenly Dao has been unjust. In the future, the Immortal Dao will inevitably use this opportunity to condemn the Heavenly Dao."
Nalan Qianqiu said gravely, "But it's only condemnation. Although the origin of Heaven and Earth is re-deriving, and the Heavenly Dao is as weak as the other Great Daos, the Heavenly Dao is, after all, the Head of the Great Dao that dominates all things in Heaven and Earth. As the saying goes, a starved camel is still bigger than a horse. The Immortal Dao absolutely wouldn't dare to clash head-on with the Heavenly Dao."
"Compared to the Immortal Dao's condemnation, I think Old Heaven is more afraid of provoking that mysterious, unknown threat—that Gu fellow. Being unjust is nothing more than inviting condemnation from the Immortal Dao. At most, it's just the Heavenly Dao's dignity and authority being affected. But once that Gu fellow is provoked, what kind of consequences would follow? I'm afraid even Old Heaven can't be sure."
"That Gu fellow said something very true just now: the Three Thousand Great Daos cannot afford to lose, and the Heavenly Dao even more so cannot afford to lose. But that Gu fellow, he has nothing, a lone wolf, barefoot and unafraid of those wearing shoes. He has nothing he cannot afford to lose."
Having said this, Nalan Qianqiu looked up at the night sky and suddenly smiled, continuing, "Junior Sister, do you know? It's only now that I'm starting to see a bit of what game they're playing. To be precise, the Immortal Dao's game."
"Game? What game?"
"The Immortal Dao's goal this time was probably neither to test Gu Qingfeng nor to test Old Heaven."
"Then what was it?"
"If I'm not mistaken, their true goal was to borrow Old Heaven's hand to eliminate that Gu fellow, or to borrow that Gu fellow to disrupt Old Heaven's plans. That way, the Immortal Dao could sit back and reap the rewards. Whether Old Heaven eliminated that Gu fellow, or that Gu fellow disrupted Old Heaven's plans—both outcomes would bring immense benefits to the Immortal Dao. Eliminating that Gu fellow would remove a threat for the Immortal Dao. Disrupting Old Heaven's plans would bring the Immortal Dao one step closer to the Head of the Great Dao."
"However, the Immortal Dao probably never calculated in a thousand schemes that the result would be like this. That Gu fellow didn't compromise; instead, it was Old Heaven who compromised."
Nalan Qianqiu sighed with emotion. "Old Heaven must have seen through the Immortal Dao's conspiracy, which is why he chose to compromise. His Eminence knows even better: the enemy of my enemy is my friend. The Immortal Dao has long been eyeing the position of Head of the Great Dao covetously. How could Old Heaven not know? The Immortal Dao wanted to push a threat like that Gu fellow before Old Heaven. And Old Heaven? Pretending not to see, he left that Gu fellow as a threat for the Immortal Dao."
"As long as there is a potential threat like that Gu fellow, the Immortal Dao will have no choice but to divert energy to deal with him. Under such circumstances, wanting to contend for the position of Head of the Great Dao would probably be beyond their strength."
"I must say, the Immortal Dao played this move very cleverly. And Old Heaven played an even cleverer move. But if we're talking about the cleverest, it's still that Gu fellow! He, damn it, played both the Immortal Dao and Old Heaven!"