"Only if the one surnamed Gu hands over the Myriad Living Stupas Myriad Phenomena Worship—this unique destiny—will our Immortal Dao permit the Lawless Calamity Star to be suppressed and sealed in the Western Heaven!"
As these words fell, Su Hua, standing nearby, felt her heart jolt violently.
She had always believed that as long as Gu Qingfeng was willing to hand Xiao Jinr over to the Western Heaven, the Immortal Dao would have no reason to oppose it.
Only now did she realize that all of this was merely her own assumption.
The Immortal Dao was far more sinister, far more despicable, and far more hypocritical than she had imagined.
They were actually using Xiao Jinr's life to threaten Gu Qingfeng into surrendering the Myriad Living Stupas Myriad Phenomena Worship.
How could the Immortal Dao act like this?
How could they possibly do this?
At this moment, Su Hua not only felt ashamed to be a member of the Immortal Dao, but also felt indignant on Gu Qingfeng's behalf. More than anything, she felt an overwhelming disappointment towards the Immortal Dao.
Compared to her, Da Xing the Mad Monk appeared much calmer.
He had long guessed that the Immortal Dao would never easily agree to hand Xiao Jinr over to the Western Heaven. He had also long anticipated that the Immortal Dao would seize this opportunity to threaten Gu Qingfeng. Not only that, he had long foreseen that the Immortal Dao would covet that unique destiny upon Gu Qingfeng's person.
The Human Dao was the foundation of the Great Dao.
He who obtains the Human Dao can command the Three Thousand Great Daos and become the leader of the Great Daos.
This was universally acknowledged and widely known.
And the destiny Gu Qingfeng had achieved—the Myriad Living Stupas Myriad Phenomena Worship—was hailed as the one and only in Heaven and Earth, the greatest in history, peerless and unmatched.
If Shangguan Yu, the supreme prodigy who had inherited the True Mandate, possessed the qualification to contend for the title of Human King...
Then Gu Qingfeng's Myriad Living Stupas Myriad Phenomena Worship meant one foot had already stepped through the gate to dominating the Human Dao. It was no exaggeration to say that if Gu Qingfeng wished, he could not only contend for the title of Present-Ancient Human King, but even becoming a Great Dao Overlord would not be surprising.
The Immortal Dao had long cast covetous eyes upon the Human Dao and had laid plans for a long time. Unfortunately, destiny played tricks. The Heavens had unfortunately allowed a man like Gu Qingfeng to achieve this unique Human Dao destiny.
The Immortal Dao would absolutely never allow someone like Gu Qingfeng to dominate the Human Dao. Not only because of the immense enmity between Gu Qingfeng and the Immortal Dao, but also because Gu Qingfeng was the Original Sin bearer of the Lawless Era.
Why had the Immortal Dao tested Gu Qingfeng time and again before?
It was precisely to snatch the destiny of the Myriad Living Stupas Myriad Phenomena Worship from Gu Qingfeng.
However,
despite multiple attempts, they had never succeeded.
And now, having finally obtained such a perfect opportunity, the Immortal Dao naturally would not let it slip by.
Thinking of this, Da Xing the Mad Monk more or less understood why the Monster Dao and the Monster Dao, who had initially agreed to eradicate the Calamity Star, announced their withdrawal after Gu Qingfeng appeared. They had probably seen through and understood the Immortal Dao's intentions, unwilling to do the Immortal Dao's dirty work, and thus decided to withdraw midway.
At the same time,
Da Xing the Mad Monk also understood why the always profound and unfathomable Heavenly Dao had come uninvited. They too had their eyes on this rare opportunity, on that destiny upon Gu Qingfeng's person comparable to the Heart of the Human Dao—the Myriad Living Stupas Myriad Phenomena Worship.
But, would Gu Qingfeng hand over the Myriad Living Stupas Myriad Phenomena Worship?
He did not know.
Da Xing the Mad Monk was well aware that the reason the Great Daos had not dared to make a fatal move against Gu Qingfeng until now might truly be because they lacked absolute confidence, but more likely it was because they coveted the Myriad Living Stupas Myriad Phenomena Worship.
This was a talisman, a talisman more effective than any decree or destiny. As long as he possessed this talisman, any of the Three Thousand Great Daos who wished to move against Gu Qingfeng would have to weigh the consequences.
Da Xing the Mad Monk imagined for a moment: if he were Gu Qingfeng, he would absolutely never hand over this talisman.
Once handed over, he would have no talisman left. The Immortal Dao would have no more reservations, and the Heavenly Dao would definitely no longer show restraint. By then, the initiative would lie in the hands of the Great Daos. Gu Qingfeng would be completely passive; in other words, he would have no bargaining chips left.
If he did not hand it over, he might still have the qualification to fight. If he handed it over, he wouldn't even have the qualification to fight.
But in that case, Xiao Jinr would probably...
Her life was at stake.
It was truly a difficult choice.
Unless Gu Qingfeng abandoned Xiao Jinr, there was simply no path of survival.
Da Xing the Mad Monk might not know exactly what relationship Gu Qingfeng had with her, but he could see that Gu Qingfeng truly cared deeply about Xiao Jinr's life and death. Otherwise, in Da Xing the Mad Monk's opinion, given Gu Qingfeng's temperament, he would never have remained so silent, nor would he have shown such forbearance.
What would he do?
Would he abandon Xiao Jinr to fight for himself?
Or would he abandon himself to fight for Xiao Jinr?
Alas.
Thinking of this, Da Xing the Mad Monk sighed inwardly. This was both a dead end and a checkmate move. No matter which way he went, he would lose.
And the Immortal Dao and Heavenly Dao, having precisely targeted this opportunity, were sparing no effort to place Gu Qingfeng in a fatal position.
Da Xing the Mad Monk did not know how Gu Qingfeng would choose. Su Hua similarly did not know.
She was now growing more and more regretful that she should not have impulsively called Gu Qingfeng over back then. Otherwise, she would not have implicated Gu Qingfeng in such a life-or-death predicament with an uncertain outcome!
The more she thought about it, the more regretful she became; the more regretful she became, the more she blamed herself; the more she blamed herself, the more guilty she felt.
Su Hua was breaking down. She did not wish, nor would she allow, Gu Qingfeng to be harmed because of her momentary impulse.
Finally,
she made a bold decision. She decided to use her own identity as the Present-Ancient Era's True Mandate Inheritor, the Tribulation Bearer, and use her own life to demand justice for Xiao Jinr and for Gu Qingfeng!
However,
when she decided to do this, she suddenly realized that she could no longer move. She couldn't even feel her own physical body, as if it were no longer there.
This was a divine ability, an ancient divine ability called Body-Freezing Soul-Splitting.
And the only one who knew this ancient divine ability was her Eldest Senior Sister.
Sure enough,
as Su Hua discovered she had been subjected to Body-Freezing Soul-Splitting, her Eldest Senior Sister's voice echoed in her mind.
"If you had known today, why did you act so impulsively back then?"
"Eldest Senior Sister, I was wrong! Please release me!"
"Release you? And then what? You can do nothing. Don't naively think you can threaten the Great Daos. Your so-called life, your so-called True Mandate Tribulation Bearer status, in their eyes, is almost worthless compared to that Myriad Living Stupas Myriad Phenomena Worship upon Gu Qingfeng. Moreover, they will not permit it, nor will they give you the chance to do so. Even if I hadn't sealed you just now, they would have acted."
"What is karma? This is karma. The karmic fate between you, Gu Qingfeng, and Xiao Jinr was destined long ago in the unseen workings of destiny. Since there was a cause in a past life, there must be an effect in this life. You cannot avoid it, nor can you escape it."
Su Hua had no mind to listen to her Eldest Senior Sister's lecture now. Her head was filled only with thoughts of how to save Gu Qingfeng and Xiao Jinr. She cried out, "If...
If Xiao Jinr and Gu Qingfeng come to any harm today, I...
I will absolutely not cling to life in this world! Eldest Senior Sister, I beg you, save them!"
"I cannot save him. No one can save him. Only he himself can save himself."
"How can he possibly save himself?"
"He is a variable, the greatest variable between Heaven and Earth. His karma may have long been destined, but no one can control his fate."
Her Eldest Senior Sister's voice continued to echo in Su Hua's mind: "You think you understand him, but in truth, you do not understand him at all. If you truly understood him, you would not be as worried as you are now."
"Why?"
"Why?
No reason. His existence is simply beyond what we can imagine. Therefore, never, ever use absolutes to measure anything about him. There has never been anything absolute about him. Such a simple Dao principle, it's not that the Great Daos don't understand it. Unfortunately, they always arrogantly cling to a sense of false hope."
"They think this way they can threaten him. Yet, that is merely what they think."
"Faced with Xiao Jinr's situation, he might have been helpless before, but that does not mean he is helpless now."
"As long as he wishes to comprehend, there is nothing in this Heaven and Earth he cannot comprehend."
"As long as he wishes to leave, there is nothing in this Heaven and Earth that can keep him."
"As long as he wishes to live, there is nothing in this Heaven and Earth that can kill him."
"He has said, 'If I wish to have, the Azure Heaven cannot deny me.' He has also said, 'If I wish to have not, the Great Earth cannot grant it.' Heaven and Earth, to us, will always be Heaven and Earth. Yet, when he spoke those words, I knew that in his eyes, this Heaven and Earth were no longer Heaven and Earth."