"Whether the Blood of Original Sin has affected my spirit and will is no longer important to me now."
"Amitabha. Has Layman Gu accepted the karma?"
"What else?"
"If Layman Gu has accepted the karma, then it is equivalent to bowing to fate. This Old Monk has always believed that Layman Gu would never bow to fate."
"Ideals are always beautiful, while reality is always cruel. If I don't bow to fate, I will die. But I haven't lived enough yet, so I don't want to die. The only way is to bow to fate, to follow this predetermined karma, this pre-arranged destiny, to sever this Great Dao, destroy this heaven, and annihilate this earth."
"Layman Gu, if you truly do this, do you know what the consequences will be?"
"I don't know, and I don't want to know."
Gu Qingfeng's reply was cold and ruthless, devoid of any emotion.
"The great calamity of the ages arises between heaven and earth, three cycles of reincarnation reveal eternity, past and present lives meet through karma, whose life belongs to whom depends on heaven..." The Old Monk murmured these words, then said, "At that time, the Karmic Black Hole will open completely, the Karmic Curse will descend once more, and all things between heaven and earth will undergo reincarnation again...
The current era will end, and a new era will begin. And this new era will be the Wu Dao Age, plunged into the Karmic Black Hole, cursed... where humans are not human, immortals are not immortals, Buddhas are not Buddhas, demons are not demons, heaven is not heaven, and earth is not earth..."
"I've said it before, I don't care, and I don't want to care."
"Does Layman Gu truly not care?"
Gu Qingfeng hesitated for a moment, then still shook his head in response. "I don't care."
"Layman Gu, may This Old Monk ask you one final question?"
"Ask."
"Will Layman Gu personally kill those you care about?"
Gu Qingfeng did not answer this question.
And the Old Monk continued, "When the Wudao Mountain descends, many of Layman Gu's old friends will likely appear. Among these old friends, some may have once shown you kindness, some may have once held affection for you, some may have once shown you loyalty."
"Among them, some may not want Layman Gu to destroy this Great Dao, this heaven and earth."
"Among them, some may not want the Karmic Black Hole to open, not want the Karmic Curse to descend...
Even more so, they may not want the Wu Dao Age to revive..."
"Perhaps there are also many who have long wished to end all of this..."
"Can you personally kill them all?
Can you guarantee that you will be able to do it?"
Faced with the Old Monk's inquiry, Gu Qingfeng fell into silence once more. Closing his eyes, the figure of Huode appeared in his mind, along with the figure of Peach Blossom Old Daoist, the figure of Old Freak Tang, the figure of Elder Luo Xuan, the figure of Senior Wine Immortal, the figure of Great Mad Monk, even the figure of his respected master, Elder Zhenjue, and the figures of countless Crimson-Letter brothers who once roamed the world with him.
Gu Qingfeng truly did not know if he would still care about the life and death of these people if he stubbornly persisted on his path, or if he would coldly and ruthlessly cut them down.
Even more so, the figures of Yun Nichang, Feng Zhuyue, Tang Hengheng, Ye Tianlan, Jun Xuanji...
Gu Qingfeng still clearly remembered that they had all said the same thing: they wanted to end all of this, to end this cursed karma...
If facing Huode, Luo Xuan, his master, and others, Gu Qingfeng did not know what to do, then facing Yun Nichang, Feng Zhuyue, and these women, Gu Qingfeng knew even less.
"All along, I've been pondering one question: why did Yun Nichang, Feng Zhuyue, Tang Hengheng, and these others become entangled in karma with me? I know they laid plans long ago for the sake of karma, but I never imagined the kind of plan they laid—a plan that plays on emotions."
Gu Qingfeng laughed, a laugh full of complex, wry amusement. "I must say, playing such an emotional game really hits my soft spot."
"Layman Gu, do not misunderstand. If all of this is truly a game, it is a game laid by karma, and even more so a game laid by fate. They are merely emotional chess pieces within the game."
"And what about you?"
Gu Qingfeng gazed at the ethereal temple atop the misty mountain, and at the Old Monk within that ethereal temple whom he had never seen, and asked, "Are you also a chess piece laid by karma and fate?"
The Old Monk fell silent.
He remained silent for a very, very long time.
After an unknown length of time, the Old Monk softly chanted "Amitabha" and said, "Layman Gu already understands in his heart, why ask This Old Monk again?"
"Whether I understand in my heart is my business. Whether you say it or not is your business. I've asked you this question many times, and you've never answered directly."
"Although This Old Monk does not wish to, I must admit that I too am a chess piece in the game laid by karma and fate."
"Thinking about it carefully now, when This Old Monk, by chance and coincidence, mistakenly entered this Bone Jade of Annihilation, I had already fallen into the game laid by fate. Whether all of this is driven by karma or arranged by fate, This Old Monk does not know. Presumably, they do not know either. All of this may be a game laid by fate, or it may truly all originate from karma. None of that is important anymore. What is important is that karma and fate are already thus."
At this point, the Old Monk's voice sounded as if it were filled with hesitation. "The Wu Dao Age is cursed. All people of the Wu Dao Age are like this, and This Old Monk is no exception. We...
all wish to end all of this..."
"Killing me can end all of this?"
"Perhaps."
"Perhaps?"
"Perhaps."
"You cannot be certain?"
"No one can be certain. But all signs point to Layman Gu. Layman Gu was born from a drop of the Blood of Original Sin, and that drop of the Blood of Original Sin is not merely a mutated drop of the Blood of Original Sin. It is also a drop of the Blood of Original Sin that can awaken the Wudao Mountain, awaken the Karmic Black Hole, awaken the Karmic Curse, awaken the Wu Dao Age, and even awaken Venerable Wu Dao."
"If that's the case, why have you never taken action? Inside this Bone Jade of Annihilation, if you wanted to kill me, it would be as easy as turning over your hand."
"This Old Monk has said, it cannot be determined yet. Only when the Wudao Mountain descends will it be known whether that drop of the Blood of Original Sin within Layman Gu's body is the key to awakening the Wu Dao Age."
Gu Qingfeng asked, "So, if the Wudao Mountain descends and the Blood of Original Sin in my body is the key to awakening the Wu Dao Age, you will take action against me, correct?"
The Old Monk fell silent again. After another long while, he finally responded, "This Old Monk does not know, truly does not know. Perhaps I will, perhaps I will not...
I am hesitant, and also bewildered."
"This Old Monk is like this, and they are all the same, including Layman Gu as well. I ask you, has Layman Gu's heart truly already made a decision?"
This time, it was Gu Qingfeng's turn to fall silent.
He did not answer this question. Instead, he asked, "Why didn't you nip this possibility in the bud from the very beginning?
If the Blood of Original Sin in my body truly is the key to awakening the Wu Dao Age, by the time you want to kill me then, I'm afraid it won't be so easy."
"Because This Old Monk believes in Layman Gu."
"Believes in me for what?
Believes that I won't sever this Great Dao, destroy this heaven and earth?"
"Precisely."
"Hahahahaha!
Old Monk, oh Old Monk! Even I don't dare believe in myself. Who gave you the courage to believe in me!"