Gazing upon this boundless darkness.
Gazing upon this endless silence.
Gazing upon this supreme killing domain.
Gazing upon this invincible man.
And gazing upon this helpless Great Dao.
The White-Browed Holy Monk could not help but sigh with a heavy heart.
This sigh lamented Gu Qingfeng's indestructible, unyielding absolute physique. It lamented his boundless, infinite Way of Slaughter. It lamented even more his fearless, law-defying spirit and will, along with that mysterious, bizarre, and terrifying strength that traversed heaven and earth.
The White-Browed Holy Monk knew that if Gu Qingfeng, when he was still the Scarlet Flame Monarch, was mysterious and bizarre yet his depths could be gauged, then when Gu Qingfeng ascended to become the Nine Nethers Emperor, he remained mysterious and bizarre, but his depths had already become difficult to fathom. And now, when he was neither the Scarlet Flame Monarch nor the Nine Nethers Emperor, his existence was even more mysterious, even more bizarre, his depths utterly immeasurable.
Facing a person who was mysterious, bizarre, profound, unfathomable, and of unknown strength, who could guarantee they could erase him?
No one could.
The Immortal Dao could not, the Buddha Dao could not, the Heavenly Dao could not, not even the Three Thousand Great Daos could, and perhaps even heaven and earth themselves could not.
The White-Browed Holy Monk could not help but wonder: this time, when the Immortal Dao, Buddha Dao, Heavenly Dao, and even including himself, used a little girl's life to threaten Gu Qingfeng into handing over All Beings Pay Homage to the Floating Pagoda, was it right, or was it wrong?
For the sake of all living beings under heaven, the White-Browed Holy Monk was willing to sacrifice everything. He had always firmly believed that what he was doing was right.
But now, he began to doubt his own faith.
Gu Qingfeng was a person of the Primordial Sin of No Dao, and also a variable of the Present Era. His existence was filled with unknowns.
Precisely because it was filled with unknowns, the White-Browed Holy Monk believed that the fate of the Human Dao could not be placed in the hands of an unknown person.
He thought that by threatening Xiao Jinr's life, he could force Gu Qingfeng to hand over All Beings Pay Homage to the Floating Pagoda.
Even if he couldn't threaten him, the Great Daos would join forces to erase him.
Even if they couldn't erase him, they could still seize All Beings Pay Homage to the Floating Pagoda.
Even if they couldn't seize it, they could still suppress Xiao Jinr and use her to restrain Gu Qingfeng.
However.
At this very moment, the White-Browed Holy Monk finally realized that all of this was merely what he had thought.
Erase him?
How to erase him?
The combined Judgments of the Immortal Dao, Buddha Dao, Heavenly Dao, and the World—four Judgments working together—not only failed to erase him, they didn't even shake him in the slightest.
So how could they erase him?
Seize All Beings Pay Homage to the Floating Pagoda?
If he refused to hand it over, what could the Great Daos use to seize it?
Even the Xiao Jinr used to threaten Gu Qingfeng was lost, so what could they use to restrain him now?
"Alas!"
Thinking of this, the White-Browed Holy Monk could not help but sigh again.
By now, all he could do was sigh here.
Other than that, he could do nothing.
It wasn't that he didn't want to act, but that he truly couldn't. Because the moment the Great Daos descended their Judgments, Da Xing the Mad Monk had trapped him with the Vajra Qiankun Ring. This Vajra Qiankun Ring was a supreme Buddhist treasure forged by the Patriarch of the Chan Sect. The White-Browed Holy Monk had exhausted all his abilities but could not break free.
Beside him, Da Xing the Mad Monk seemed to have discerned White Brows' troubled thoughts. "Now you know regret?"
Gazing at the self-blaming, remorseful White Brows, Da Xing the Mad Monk shook his head and also sighed. "Even if you regret, it's too late now, Senior Brother. I told you long ago not to get involved in this matter, but you wouldn't listen. I also told you long ago that the Gu kid's nature isn't bad. His greatest dream in this life is simply to live freely and unrestrained. He never wanted to be an enemy of the Great Dao, let alone bring calamity to this world. But you all...
You insisted on calling him an 'unknown,' fearing he was a threat."
"That kid's attainments are as terrifying as they come, and each one is a taboo among taboos. If he wanted to be a threat, he would have threatened you all long ago. Would he have tolerated it again and again like this?"
"Now look what's happened. The Great Dao's Judgment has thoroughly forced him onto a path of no return. If the Gu kid had even the slightest bit of choice before, then after the Great Dao descended its Judgment, that last shred of choice has also vanished into thin air."
"Similarly, if the Gu kid was once merely a mysterious, bizarre, unknown variable, then starting today, he is no longer mysterious, no longer bizarre, no longer unknown, but a thorough and complete threat."
"It wasn't his choice. He was forced into it. Forced by you all, forced by you into becoming a threat!"
Perhaps realizing he had committed a grave error, the White-Browed Holy Monk said urgently, "Junior Brother, please open the Vajra Qiankun Ring and let me out. I wish to step forward and persuade the Great Dao to stop."
"Stop?"
Da Xing the Mad Monk shot him an unceremonious glare. "Senior Brother, you just stay put right here."
"I have realized my mistake. I want to do everything in my power to make amends."
"You can't make amends."
Da Xing the Mad Monk glanced at the Great Dao beyond the firmament and said, "I reckon at this point, the Great Dao is probably quite regretful too—regretting that they shouldn't have forced the Gu kid onto this path of no return. If my guess is correct, the Great Dao should all be hesitating, hesitating whether to gamble or not. If they gamble, none of them have any confidence they can erase the Gu kid. If they can't kill him, then they'll just have to wait for his revenge. But if they don't gamble, they can't just stand by and watch the Gu kid grow stronger and stronger. If they can't erase him now, they'll be even less able to erase him in the future."
"The Great Dao is now caught in a dilemma. They can't advance, and they can't retreat. And whether they advance or retreat, they will inevitably face the Gu kid's revenge."
"That's precisely why I should step forward to persuade them."
Facing the White-Browed Holy Monk's plea, Da Xing the Mad Monk shook his head in refusal. "The matter has reached this point. It's like an arrow already loosed from the bow. The Great Dao has no way back either. Even if you try to persuade them, they won't listen."
He paused, then continued, "Moreover, Senior Brother, there's one issue you've never quite grasped. The key now isn't whether the Great Dao wants to stop, but whether the Gu kid wants to stop. I can tell you with full responsibility: this time, even if the Great Dao is willing to admit defeat and back down, they'll still have to ask if the Gu kid is willing to give them the chance to back down."
"The Great Dao didn't want to go to war with the Gu kid. They didn't want to from the very beginning. No!
It's not that they didn't want to, but that they didn't dare. Especially at a time like this. They've been engaged in covert and overt struggles all along, none wanting to bear the consequences of provoking the Gu kid's wrath."
"Senior Brother, do you know how I can tell the Great Dao doesn't dare go to war with the Gu kid? Let me tell you: I saw it when the Gu kid personally killed the little girl. The Great Dao didn't dare to fight the Gu kid. At that moment, they had even given up. They knew that having lost the little girl, they could no longer do anything to the Gu kid."
"But in the end, the Great Dao still acted. It wasn't that they wanted to act, but that they were forced to act by the Gu kid. Yes, that's right—forced by the Gu kid. The Gu kid first severed the Present Era's Heavenly Mandate, then severed the Present Era's True Mandate. What was his purpose? His purpose was precisely to force the Great Dao into war! That's why I say, even if the Great Dao is willing to back down now, Gu Qingfeng won't give them the chance to back down!"
Hearing Da Xing the Mad Monk speak thus, the White-Browed Holy Monk was filled with inner confusion. He asked, "Junior Brother, you say... you say it was Gu Qingfeng who forced the Great Dao into war? Why? Didn't you say Gu Qingfeng didn't want to be an enemy of the Great Dao? Why is he forcing them into war now?"
"Why?"
Da Xing the Mad Monk turned to face the White-Browed Holy Monk, speaking very seriously and solemnly. "Senior Brother, from the very beginning I told you not to provoke the Gu kid, but you all insisted on provoking him. I also told you that the Gu kid is an orphan, fatherless and motherless, suffering hardship since childhood. The path he has walked, who knows what kind of suffering he has endured? Therefore, he values loyalty and righteousness more than anyone else."
"Although I'm not clear exactly what his relationship with that little girl is, I can see that he cares for her immensely. Given that, you all actually used the little girl's life to threaten him? For the Gu kid, that's his reverse scale, understand?"
"You dared to use the little girl's life to threaten him, so today the Gu kid is using his actions to show you what 'price' means!"
"From my understanding of the Gu kid, this matter is not over. It cannot be over. He will definitely make you all thoroughly understand the true meaning of the word 'price.'"
"What kind of madness he will unleash next, I'm afraid no one knows. Don't try to persuade him. Don't even think about trying to stop him. Because the Gu kid now, no one can persuade him, and no one can stop him. When you descended to the mortal world and used the little girl's life to threaten him, all of this was already destined. When his supreme killing domain enveloped the world, his heart had already made its choice."