Da Xing the Mad Monk opened a jar of fine wine and offered it, but Gu Qingfeng refused. He stepped forward instead, looking at Xiao Jinr cradled in Gu Qingfeng's arms, and asked, "How is the little girl's condition?"
Gu Qingfeng shook his head, saying it wasn't optimistic.
He had been carefully probing Xiao Jinr's condition, and just as he said, it wasn't optimistic—to be precise, it was very bad.
Xiao Jinr's bloodline was boiling like water brought to a boil, and her soul was raging like a mad demon.
Gu Qingfeng had just tried to suppress it, but it was futile. He could neither suppress Xiao Jinr's boiling bloodline nor her maddened soul. Not only could he not suppress them, but he had also stimulated her bloodline and soul to become even more intense. Since it involved both bloodline and soul—both of which were extremely sensitive and fragile—Gu Qingfeng dared not use too heavy a hand.
The only thing Gu Qingfeng felt fortunate about was that Xiao Jinr's self-awareness, though weak, had not vanished. Gu Qingfeng had immediately acted to protect the last vestige of her consciousness, preventing it from being devoured and fused by her soul.
That was all he could do for now. As for how to make Xiao Jinr's bloodline stop mutating and her soul stop raging like a demon, Gu Qingfeng did not know.
"The little girl's situation is indeed quite tricky!"
Da Xing the Mad Monk furrowed his brow and said, "Her soul has likely become maddened due to the influence of her bloodline, and the bloodline mutation is probably due to the influence of the Blood Moon."
Gazing at the Blood Moon in the sky, Da Xing the Mad Monk continued, "If we destroy the Blood Moon, the little girl's bloodline should stop mutating. Once the bloodline stops mutating, her soul should return to normal. However... this Blood Moon seems intimately connected to the little girl's life force. If we destroy the Blood Moon, I'm afraid the little girl won't survive either."
"That being the case, we can only seal the Blood Moon for now. But that doesn't solve the core problem, and sealing this thing isn't as simple as saying it—it's truly quite difficult."
He then looked at Gu Qingfeng and asked, "What do you plan to do?"
Gu Qingfeng shook his head; he didn't know what to do either.
After a moment of silence, he asked, "Did they send you to persuade me to hand over Xiao Jinr?"
"That is indeed their intention. But don't worry, I won't try to persuade you. I know you won't listen anyway, and persuasion would be useless. Although I don't know what relationship you have with this little girl, it seems she must be very important to you. Otherwise, you wouldn't be guarding her so stubbornly."
"However, Brother Gu, there's an even more troublesome matter you must face now. This little girl is a Calamity Star descended into the world, and moreover, a Calamity Star of the Daoless Age. No one knows what terrible events her appearance will bring. Precisely because it's unpredictable, they don't want her to live. When faced with unknown existences, they've always acted this way—something I believe you understand all too well."
"On this matter, the Immortal Dao does not want to and will not compromise. Not just the Immortal Dao, but the Demonic Dao, the Monster Dao, and even our Buddhist Path are the same."
Pausing briefly, Da Xing the Mad Monk looked up at the vault of heaven and continued, "Even the Heavenly Dao likely shares this sentiment."
"But then again, they don't want to fight you right now. Your fate is too hard, and the few fortunes in your possession are each more mysterious, more bizarre, and more unknown than the last. No one knows your true depth. Leaving aside whether they have the ability to kill you, even if they did manage to kill you, they would pay a heavy price—perhaps heavier and worse than they imagine."
"Of course, it's just that they don't want to. If you stubbornly refuse to hand over the little girl, they'll have no choice but to grit their teeth and spare no cost to eradicate you. For this, they've already begun preparations..."
"And once they move, I believe they won't hold back. They'll bring out everything they've been saving up. At the very least, that's the plan on the Western Heaven's side. The Four Great Vajra Guardians and the wrathful incarnations of the Five Wisdom Kings have already taken their positions. The Great Desolate Demon-Subduing Pagoda, the Transcendence Reincarnation Array, and the Great Buddha Bodhi Seal—none will be missing when the time comes..."
"As for the Immortal Dao side, needless to say, while they might not be able to summon the incarnations of the Three Purities and Six Sovereigns for now, they can still summon the incarnations of the Six Great Sun Deities, the Big Dipper Seven Stars, and the Nine Heavens Nine Emperors."
"And then there are the Demonic and Monster Dao's Six Lords of the Yin Moon, the Ten Kings of the Underworld, the Great Lord of Fengdu... they might all be summoned down too."
As Da Xing the Mad Monk listed these titles, Su Hua beside him was already too terrified to speak.
The Buddhist Path's Four Great Vajra Guardians and Five Wisdom Kings; the Immortal Dao's Six Great Sun Deities, Big Dipper Seven Stars, and Nine Heavens Nine Emperors; the Demonic and Monster Dao's Six Lords of the Yin Moon and Ten Kings of the Underworld...
These were all ancestors among the ancestors of the Great Daos, each a terrifying existence of boundless magical power. Even just their incarnations were enough to destroy a world.
If the Great Daos summoned their incarnations down... it would be simply...
Su Hua truly could not imagine what would happen to Gu Qingfeng if the Great Daos summoned the incarnations of these ancestors.
"And if the Heavenly Dao also moves when the time comes, forget the celestial soldiers and generals; several Heavenly Kings would likely be unavoidable."
Da Xing the Mad Monk spoke in a very calm tone, "Brother Gu, I'm not saying this to scare you. I know you fear nothing in heaven or earth, and you can't be scared anyway. The reason I'm saying this is just to tell you the truth, so you know what you're up against."
"Right now, the Great Daos' intention is to discuss with you, for both sides to take a step back and try to find a solution acceptable to everyone to resolve this matter. What's your take?"
Looking at the silent Gu Qingfeng, Da Xing the Mad Monk added, "Brother Gu, there's something you might not like to hear, but even if you don't like it, I still want to say it. The current situation is very unfavorable for you—to be precise, very unfavorable for the little girl. If a real fight breaks out, you're a lone wolf and might not care, but it's hard to say for the little girl..."
"Even if you could protect the little girl from the Great Daos, how long could you protect her?"
"Moreover, the little girl's current condition simply can't wait much longer. The more time drags on, the more dangerous she becomes. And the more dangerous she becomes, the more frantic the Great Daos will be."
"I think, if possible, you should also take a step back. Discuss with them, find a method everyone can accept. Keeping the little girl safe is the most urgent matter right now. Everything else can be dealt with later. What do you think?"
At this moment, Su Hua also advised, "Gu Qingfeng, I also think what Senior Da Xing says makes sense. Why not talk with them? Let's ensure Xiao Jinr's safety first, okay?"
Su Hua neither wanted Xiao Jinr to be harmed nor did she wish for Gu Qingfeng to go to war with the Great Daos for Xiao Jinr's sake. She had always felt it would be best if this matter could be resolved peacefully.