Watching the white-clad man holding Little Jin'er, listening to the brief and simple conversation between him and Su Hua, every single person present could scarcely believe their ears.
He said.
He was going to sever this Great Dao.
He said.
He was going to destroy this world.
He said.
He was going to annihilate this Heaven and Earth.
What did he intend to do?
Could it be that he truly would rather be a shattered piece of jade than a whole tile? Was he really prepared to disregard everything and clash head-on with the Three Thousand Great Daos, taking Little Jin'er with him?
Did he possess the qualifications?
Did he possess the strength?
They did not know.
No one knew.
Precisely because they did not know, when White Brows realized Gu Qingfeng's intent, he was no longer the merciful Holy Monk of before. The man appeared utterly panicked.
He was not alone.
Wu Yuan, representing the Immortal Dao and the world, was no exception. He could no longer maintain his lofty demeanor; his eyes, too, betrayed a flicker of alarm!
And Po Yun, representing the Heavenly Dao, could no longer remain so composed and detached. His expression shifted repeatedly.
The same was true for Wuxiang and the others from the Western Heaven, representing the Buddha Dao.
For the purpose of their descent this time was primarily to use Little Jin'er's life to threaten Gu Qingfeng into surrendering the All Beings Pay Homage to the Floating Pagoda.
It wasn't that they did not wish to engage Gu Qingfeng in battle, nor that they dared not. Rather, unless pushed to the absolute brink, unless it was the final moment, none of them—not the Heavenly Dao, the Immortal Dao, nor the Buddha Dao—wanted to initiate a war with Gu Qingfeng.
Because none of them had absolute confidence in obliterating Gu Qingfeng. Even if they succeeded, they would inevitably pay a heavy price. More terrifying still, if they failed to obliterate him, the consequences when Gu Qingfeng sought revenge would be unimaginably dreadful. In this Present-Ancient Era that had just begun, at a time when the essence of Heaven and Earth and the essence of the Great Daos were both re-deriving, none of them could bear such a terrifying outcome.
However.
What they had never anticipated was that Gu Qingfeng neither intended to hand over Little Jin'er nor to surrender the All Beings Pay Homage to the Floating Pagoda. Instead, he chose the path of 'shattered jade over whole tile,' determined to clash head-on with the Three Thousand Great Daos!
At this moment.
Wu Yuan, representing the Immortal Dao, panicked. Wuxiang, representing the Buddha Dao, also panicked. Even Po Yun, representing the Heavenly Dao, panicked. They immediately reported to their respective Great Daos, awaiting further instructions.
At this moment, White Brows stepped forward again, clasping his hands and saying, "Layman Gu, you must be rational, you must remain calm! Do not act impulsively!"
White Brows was also panicked, and more so than anyone else.
If there was one person present who least wished for Gu Qingfeng to go to war with the Three Thousand Great Daos, it was neither the Heavenly Dao, nor the Immortal Dao, nor the Buddha Dao—it was White Brows. For he understood clearly that once Gu Qingfeng clashed with the Three Thousand Great Daos, this world would inevitably be destroyed, the Great Daos would inevitably fall into chaos, Heaven and Earth would be affected, and all living beings would be plunged into dire suffering.
His compassionate heart was not false; it was genuine and pure.
Suspended in the void, Gu Qingfeng held Little Jin'er with one arm while his other palm glowed with a turbid light enveloping her. Without even looking up, he responded flatly, "Do I look very irrational, very agitated, very impulsive to you?"
That one sentence.
Left White Brows speechless.
Everyone could see that Gu Qingfeng at this moment showed not the slightest hint of irrationality.
Nor half a trace of agitation.
None.
Not only was there none, he appeared more rational and more composed than anyone else present.
Thud!
Holy Monk White Brows knelt in the void, kowtowing. "Layman Gu, I beg you to consider the myriad living beings of the world. Do not persist in your stubborn course..." No one would have imagined that White Brows, revered as a Holy Monk even in the Great Desolate Heaven Realm, would kneel and kowtow to Gu Qingfeng here.
He knelt. He kowtowed.
For the sake of all living beings.
Unfortunately.
Gu Qingfeng remained unmoved, not even a flicker. His voice remained as flat as before. "White Brows, why is it that even now you fail to understand? It is you who care about this world, this Great Dao, this Heaven and Earth, these myriad living beings. Not I. I do not care. I have never cared about their lives or deaths. The lives and deaths of these beings are like ants in my eyes—including you."
"And what of the little girl in your arms? Do you not care about her life or death either?"
Compared to Gu Qingfeng's calmness, White Brows seemed far from composed, more like he had lost his senses as he asked a question he had posed before but had not understood the answer to.
Gu Qingfeng shook his head slightly, still not looking up, and said only, "I told you, that is not a problem you should worry about. It is mine. I also said that what you care about is the myriad living beings of the world, while what I care about is only Little Jin'er."
This time, White Brows finally understood.
But he still did not wish to give up, nor did he believe Gu Qingfeng could save Little Jin'er. He continued to persuade, "Layman Gu, I implore you to hand over the little girl. Whether you admit it or not, within Heaven and Earth, only my Buddha can save Little Jin'er as she is now. If the Blood Moon once breaks its seal, it will be too late. Even my Buddha may not be able to save her!"
"That is merely what you believe."
Gu Qingfeng said dismissively, devoid of any emotional color. "Though you are a Buddha, cultivating a compassionate heart, your nature is too pedantic and inflexible. You have cultivated your compassionate heart to death... Therefore, there is a truth you do not understand now and will never understand. There is a state you cannot reach now and will never reach. That is: Buddha is also Demon, Demon is also Buddha. Life is also Death, Death is also Life..."
Buddha is also Demon, Demon is also Buddha?
Life is also Death, Death is also Life?
He did not understand.
White Brows truly did not understand.
And as Gu Qingfeng finished speaking, he saw him raise his hand slightly. The turbid light in his palm vanished in an instant, and the radiance enveloping Little Jin'er dissipated into mist at that same moment.
No one knew what Gu Qingfeng was actually doing.
Just as everyone was puzzled, something unbelievable happened: the unconscious Little Jin'er actually awoke.
"Big Brother?"
Little Jin'er looked at Gu Qingfeng as if she couldn't believe it, saying with delight, "Big Brother, is it really you?"
"Of course. Who else could it be?"
"Big Brother... Wuwu, Jin'er missed Big Brother so much!"
Little Jin'er began to cry, her weeping heartbreaking. Gu Qingfeng held her close in his embrace and smiled. "If you missed me, why did you destroy the Heart-Spirit Bracelet I gave you?"
"Wuwuwu... Jin'er didn't want to drag Big Brother down, really didn't... Wuwu..." Then, she suddenly seemed to realize something, glancing at the violently trembling Blood Moon in the void above with worry. "Big Brother, run! Quick! Don't worry about Jin'er!"
Little Jin'er tried to break free from Gu Qingfeng's embrace, but he held her tightly, making it impossible for her to escape.
"If I don't worry about you, who else in Heaven and Earth will? Who else can? Who else even has the right to?"
"Wuwu! Big Brother, they said... they said this is your Death Tribulation, that you will die here... Wuwu... Jin'er really doesn't want to drag Big Brother down."
Who the 'they' in Little Jin'er's words were, Gu Qingfeng did not know, nor did he wish to know. He simply held her, holding her tightly, and said, "Silly girl, do you remember what Big Brother told you?"
Little Jin'er cried out, "Jin'er remembers! Big Brother said that as long as Big Brother doesn't want to die, no one in Heaven and Earth can kill Big Brother!"
"Heh heh."
Gu Qingfeng laughed. He laughed very happily and very gratifyingly. "Then do you believe Big Brother?"
"Jin'er will always believe Big Brother."
"If you believe me, then close your eyes."
Little Jin'er stopped struggling and obediently closed her eyes.
"Jin'er, you are very tired. Sleep peacefully for now. Leave everything else to me. Big Brother promises you that when you wake up, I will be right by your side."
Having said that.
Gu Qingfeng raised a hand. With a *bang*, he struck Little Jin'er's back with his palm. In a flash, Little Jin'er transformed into a cloud of blood mist. Gu Qingfeng then waved his hand again, firmly grasping this cloud of blood mist in his palm. With a fierce slap, he drove this blood mist belonging to Little Jin'er directly into his own chest.