Pudu was sincere.
His words were sincere, his heart was sincere, his person was sincere, and his attitude was even more so.
However, Gu Qingfeng still paid him no heed.
Su Hua, standing beside him, found it somewhat incomprehensible. In her mind, given the current circumstances, handing Xiao Jinr over to the Western Heaven Buddha Dao might be the best solution. That way, Gu Qingfeng wouldn't need to clash with the Three Thousand Great Daos for Jin'er's sake, and the Three Thousand Great Daos wouldn't have cause to trouble Gu Qingfeng over Jin'er. At the same time, Jin'er could be saved. It would be a good thing for this world, for the Three Thousand Great Daos, and for the entire heavens and earth.
But.
She didn't know why Gu Qingfeng hadn't agreed.
What was he thinking?
What did he intend to do?
She didn't know.
Su Hua couldn't discern it, nor could she guess.
Yet.
Su Hua didn't speak up to persuade him either. Although she didn't know what exactly was in Gu Qingfeng's heart, one thing was certain: Gu Qingfeng would absolutely never harm Xiao Jinr. Therefore, whatever decision Gu Qingfeng made, Su Hua would support it.
The only thing worrying her was that letting this stalemate continue would likely only make matters worse and worse.
Especially as her heart gradually calmed down, she regretted her earlier actions more and more, and grew increasingly worried for Gu Qingfeng's safety.
Earlier, she had been solely focused on saving Xiao Jinr, so she had called Gu Qingfeng over without any regard for the consequences. Only now did Su Hua gradually realize how impulsive she had been, acting without considering the fallout at all. Calling Gu Qingfeng over might save Xiao Jinr, but saving Jin'er would simultaneously plunge Gu Qingfeng into danger.
Su Hua silently cursed herself for being so thoughtless, but it was too late for self-reproach or regret now. Gu Qingfeng was already here, and he was already locked in a stalemate with the Three Thousand Great Daos. What should be done?
Speaking of which, Su Hua had lived two lifetimes; in her previous life, she was the Mystic Maiden of the Nine Heavens. Yet, she had truly never experienced a situation as complex as today's, one that not only concerned the Daoless Age but also related to the safety of the Great Dao of the heavens and earth. For a moment, she didn't know what to do.
Suddenly.
Remembering her Eldest Senior Sister, Su Hua's heart stirred, and she attempted to use a secret voice transmission to call for her Eldest Senior Sister's aid.
However, the one who responded wasn't her Eldest Senior Sister, but her Fifth Senior Sister, Nalan Qianqiu.
"The Eldest Senior Sister has already left."
"Left?"
Su Hua was both surprised and dejected. "I was planning to beg Eldest Senior Sister for help. How could she just leave?"
"Eldest Senior Sister asked me to tell you: the path is one you chose yourself; no one else can help."
"But..." Hearing that her Eldest Senior Sister had already departed, Su Hua felt utterly helpless.
"Little Junior Sister, do you have any idea how big of a mess you've stirred up this time?"
"Originally, this matter was very simple; it wouldn't have become so complicated. The worst outcome would have been Xiao Jinr being erased—that was just the worst-case scenario. You must understand, the Western Heaven Buddha Dao has already stepped in; Jin'er might not actually die."
"All of this was originally Xiao Jinr's own karma. Whether she lives or dies can only depend on her own fortune. And you? You insisted on intervening. Eldest Senior Sister acted to stop you precisely because she didn't want you interfering in this matter. And you? You simply wouldn't listen to persuasion. Fine, say you wanted to intervene, but why did you have to call out that fellow surnamed Gu?"
"The enmity between the Three Thousand Great Daos and that fellow surnamed Gu was already deep enough. They've long been seeing each other as thorns in their sides. Considering the bigger picture, the Three Thousand Great Daos temporarily don't want to have a violent clash with that fellow surnamed Gu. And that fellow surnamed Gu is probably also, because of his own Daoless karma, temporarily unwilling to bother with the Three Thousand Great Daos."
"Now it's perfect. You called that fellow surnamed Gu over. Even if the Three Thousand Great Daos don't want to have a violent clash with him, they now have no choice but to prepare for one."
Su Hua, who was already filled with regret, felt even more self-reproachful upon hearing Nalan Qianqiu's words. She wished she could slap herself hard several times. She asked, "Senior Sister, what should we do now..."
"What should we do?"
"How should I know what to do? Right now, you'd better pray that fellow surnamed Gu hands Jin'er over to the Western Heaven. However..."
"I think that's probably not very likely. Although I don't know what exactly that fellow surnamed Gu is planning, based on my understanding of him, if he wanted to hand Jin'er over to the Western Heaven, he would have done so long ago. He wouldn't have waited until now."
"And don't count on the Great Daos compromising either. I can tell you very responsibly, the Three Thousand Great Daos will absolutely not compromise this time, no matter what. They will definitely not let that fellow surnamed Gu take Jin'er away. I can even say this: even if that fellow surnamed Gu were willing to hand Jin'er over to the Western Heaven, whether the Three Thousand Great Daos would allow the Western Heaven to take her away is still an unknown. These are Eldest Senior Sister's words, so don't have any doubts."
"Although I don't know exactly what kind of existence Xiao Jinr is, from what Eldest Senior Sister implied, the Three Thousand Great Daos cannot let her go. Eldest Senior Sister also said that the Three Thousand Great Daos might temporarily not want to clash with that fellow surnamed Gu, but if that fellow surnamed Gu doesn't hand Jin'er over, the Three Thousand Great Daos will have no choice but to move their plans forward and spare no cost to erase that fellow surnamed Gu."
"To this end, the Immortal Dao has already begun preparations. And this time, it's not just the Immortal Dao preparing; the Monster Dao and the Monster Dao will join in as well, and even more Great Daos will likely participate. To erase that fellow surnamed Gu, they might very well summon the ancestral patriarchs of their respective Great Daos this time."
"And don't count on the Western Heaven Buddha Dao either. I can also tell you, if that fellow surnamed Gu doesn't hand Jin'er over this time, the Western Heaven Buddha Dao won't let him off either. The Immortal Dao, Monster Dao, and Monster Dao have already begun preparations; the Buddha Dao is the same. Don't forget, last time that fellow surnamed Gu kidnapped the wrathful incarnation of the Great Sun Tathagata, causing the Western Heaven Buddha Dao to lose face on a scale unprecedented in all of history. Those old bald donkeys of the Western Heaven have been stewing in anger ever since."
As Nalan Qianqiu's secret voice transmission continued, Su Hua was completely stunned.
She had never imagined that her moment of impulsiveness could lead to such severe consequences.
She looked at Gu Qingfeng, who was holding Xiao Jinr in his arms at that moment, filled with remorse, self-reproach, and boundless worry. Just as she was about to open her mouth to persuade Gu Qingfeng to hand Jin'er over to the Western Heaven, Nalan Qianqiu's secret voice transmission came again.
"Junior Sister, you'd better not try to persuade him either. I've said, if he wanted to hand Jin'er over, he would have done so long ago; naturally, he wouldn't have waited until now. Moreover, do you really think those bald donkeys of the Western Heaven are any good?"
"The Western Heaven is no longer the pure land of compassion for all under heaven it once was. Ever since the Buddha himself fell into slumber and the Great Compassionate, Great Merciful Guanyin Bodhisattva vanished during her tribulation, the eight Buddhist sects have been locked in constant covert and overt struggles, turning the Western Heaven Pure Land into a murky mess. Among the eight Buddhist sects today, aside from the Zen Sect and the Esoteric Sect, none are any good. The Western Heaven Buddha Dao of today has already degenerated into a bunch of old bald donkeys who merely pay lip service to compassion and act only for their own interests."
Nalan Qianqiu sighed. "I think that's the reason why that fellow surnamed Gu is unwilling to hand Jin'er over to the Western Heaven. It's not that he doesn't believe in Pudu, nor is it that he doesn't believe in Buddha; he simply doesn't trust those bald donkeys of the Western Heaven. If you persuade him to hand Jin'er over to the Western Heaven, Gu Qingfeng might avoid a calamity, but Xiao Jinr would probably be..."