What is the Great Compassion?
Genggu Wuming could not articulate it.
But she knew that if, upon the descent of Wu Dao Mountain, Gu Qingfeng were to selflessly and willingly sacrifice himself for the sake of the Three Thousand Great Daos, for Heaven and Earth and all living things, and for the vast multitude of sentient beings, then even if it did not constitute the Great Compassion, it would certainly be something very close to it.
She also knew that once one comprehended the Great Extinction, the Great Illusion, the Great Freedom, and the Great Compassion, one could transcend the Great Dao, leap beyond Heaven, Earth, and all living beings, and achieve Sagehood.
That is why she said that if Gu Qingfeng did not die, it would be terrifying, but if Gu Qingfeng were to die, it would be even more terrifying.
In other words, if Gu Qingfeng did not die, he would annihilate the Great Dao, destroy Heaven and Earth, herald the advent of the Wu Dao Age, and open the Karmic Black Hole.
But if Gu Qingfeng were to die, he might achieve Sagehood, surpassing Heaven, Earth, and all things, and this entire situation would not only fail to end but might even become far worse.
This was the true reason Genggu Wuming found herself lost in bewilderment and hesitation.
What tormented her even more was that she could not be one hundred percent certain whether the Wu Dao Age would truly arrive, or whether the Karmic Black Hole would truly open, if Gu Qingfeng annihilated the Great Dao and destroyed Heaven and Earth.
But she dared not gamble.
Because she could not afford to lose, the Great Dao could not afford to lose, and Heaven and Earth could even less afford to lose.
Similarly, she could not be one hundred percent certain whether Gu Qingfeng, should he die, would comprehend the Great Compassion and achieve Sagehood, surpassing Heaven, Earth, and all things.
She likewise dared not gamble on that.
Because she equally could not afford to lose, and Heaven's Dao, the Great Dao, could even less afford to lose.
What was to be done?
Genggu Wuming did not know what to do either.
Now, only two paths lay before her, yet both seemed to be dead ends, both seemed to lead to destruction. No matter which she chose, the consequences would be disastrous.
Though she was hailed as the Messenger of Fate and hailed as the Incarnation of Karma, faced with a variable like Gu Qingfeng, she truly did not know what to do. Because no matter what she did, and regardless of whether Gu Qingfeng lived or died, it seemed this situation would not end. The only distinction was that if Gu Qingfeng lived, it would be terrifying, and if Gu Qingfeng died, it would be even more terrifying.
She shook her head, gazing at the Primordial Chaos that swirled faster and faster like a vortex, her eyes growing even more bewildered and hesitant, murmuring, "Could he be the Venerable Wu Dao recorded in the Book of Fate?"
Legend had it that the so-called Wu Dao Age was opened by the Venerable Wu Dao. Back then, he was said to have annihilated the Great Dao, destroyed Heaven and Earth, severed Karma, glimpsed the secrets of Heaven and Earth's origin, and became both a god and a sage.
But legends were, after all, legends.
Whether they were true or false, no one knew.
In truth.
Genggu Wuming knew this was merely a legend, and moreover, a false one.
The Wu Dao Age was not opened by the Venerable Wu Dao. Back then, he had not annihilated the Great Dao, destroyed Heaven and Earth, severed Karma, or become a god and a sage, because from beginning to end, there had never been a Venerable Wu Dao in the Wu Dao Age. It was even uncertain whether the Wu Dao Age had ever existed.
The reason a legend about the Venerable Wu Dao of the Wu Dao Age had spread was due to the Book of Fate.
The Book of Fate, like the Book of Heaven, Book of Earth, and Book of Humanity, was a primordial Book of Origin naturally formed at the dawn of Chaos.
It was said that a very, very long time ago, the Book of Fate appeared by chance, and someone saw such an entry recorded within it: "When Original Sin finds its True Master, this Great Dao shall ultimately dissipate, these sentient beings shall ultimately transcend, this Heaven and Earth shall ultimately reincarnate. The descent of the Venerable Wu Dao signifies the beginning of the Wu Dao Age..."
As was widely known, the Book of Fate recorded the past, present, and future.
Therefore, some mistakenly believed this entry recorded the past. Previously, Genggu Wuming had also thought it recorded the past. Only after countless eons of deduction did she gradually come to understand that this entry did not record the past at all, but the present, and the future.
In other words, perhaps now, or perhaps on some day in the future, after Original Sin found its True Master, this True Master would become the Venerable Wu Dao, annihilate the Three Thousand Great Daos, destroy Heaven, Earth, and all living beings, and inaugurate a Wu Dao Age.
However.
When would Original Sin find its True Master?
The Book of Fate did not record this.
Genggu Wuming had lived for a very, very long time, so long she herself had forgotten. She knew Original Sin had always been searching for its True Master, but it had not yet been found. At the very least, the Incarnations of Original Sin from previous generations were not the True Master, including Chi You and Xingtian, who had both once been Incarnations of Original Sin!
Original Sin would select an Incarnation in every era, such as Chi You in the Primeval Era, Xingtian in the Ancient Era, and Hou Qing in the Archaic Era.
In the Current Era, the Incarnation chosen by Original Sin was the Nine Nethers Emperor, Gu Qingfeng.
Genggu Wuming had fought against the Incarnations of Original Sin from every generation, whether Chi You from the Primeval Era, Xingtian from the Ancient Era, or Hou Qing from the Archaic Era. Not only had she fought them, but she had personally consigned each of these Incarnations of Original Sin to the Abyss of Return.
Although the Incarnations of Original Sin like Chi You, Xingtian, and Hou Qing were each more terrifying, dreadful, and evil than the last—terrifying to the extreme, dreadful to the extreme, evil to the extreme—their evil was an innate, deep-rooted evil of essence, utterly devoid of humanity.
The Current Era's Incarnation of Original Sin, the Nine Nethers Emperor Gu Qingfeng, was also extremely terrifying, dreadful, and evil. He too had slaughtered in all directions, dyed the heavens with blood, and brought calamity upon the living. But his terror was not absolute, his dread was not absolute, his evil was not absolute. Moreover, Gu Qingfeng's essence was not evil. Most importantly, he had always possessed humanity.
This was the fundamental difference between Gu Qingfeng and those Incarnations of Original Sin like Chi You.
But it was precisely this fundamental difference that plunged Genggu Wuming into profound bewilderment and hesitation.
The previous Incarnations of Original Sin, Chi You, Xingtian, Hou Qing, and others, were either demons or fiends, all having no connection to Buddhism. Yet Gu Qingfeng had an extremely deep connection to Buddhism, not only a connection, but one that was indescribable and unfathomable.
Especially after Gu Qingfeng successively comprehended the Great Extinction, the Great Freedom, and the Great Illusion, Genggu Wuming grew even more deeply concerned. One must understand that the Great Extinction, the Great Freedom, and the Great Illusion were all supreme states within Buddhism. That was not the important part; what was important was that Karma, and even Original Sin itself, also had an indescribable, unfathomable relationship with Buddhism.
For Gu Qingfeng, an Incarnation of Original Sin in the Current Era, to successively comprehend supreme Buddhist states like the Great Extinction, the Great Freedom, and the Great Illusion...
Could this be a coincidence?
No.
It absolutely could not be a coincidence.
Was this Karma?
Genggu Wuming did not know.
She hoped it was a coincidence, not Karma.
She also hoped that upon the descent of Wu Dao Mountain, Gu Qingfeng would fight selfishly to the death, not selflessly seek death.
Otherwise, once Gu Qingfeng comprehended the Great Compassion, he would truly leap beyond Heaven and Earth and achieve Sagehood.
If there was currently a thirty percent chance that Gu Qingfeng might be the True Master whom Original Sin had been seeking all along...
Then, if he were to achieve Sagehood this time, that chance might rise to fifty percent, or even higher. It was entirely possible that he was the True Master whom Original Sin had been seeking all along.