"Opening the reincarnation channel, sealing the seven souls, then using bloodline inheritance..." After a pause, the old monk's voice slowly continued: "It may truly be as Layman Gu has guessed—she likely did it for karma."
"How so?"
Gu Qingfeng was puzzled. "If she was probing karma, isn't the price too high? Unless she wanted to sever karma, or mend karma? Or perhaps alter karma? But isn't karma something said to be unseverable, unmendable, and unalterable?"
The old monk did not respond this time.
His silence, however, made Gu Qingfeng chuckle involuntarily. He asked, "Old Monk, tell me honestly—can karma truly be severed? Mended? Changed?"
"This old monk does not know..."
"Is it that you don't know, or that you don't want to say?"
"I do not know."
"Heh..." Gu Qingfeng smiled faintly and asked no more. After a moment, he said, "I, too, have always believed that karma cannot be severed, mended, or changed. As for whether that woman managed to do any of those things, I don't know. But one thing is certain: she must have stirred karma."
"Why does Layman Gu say that?"
Gu Qingfeng recalled the fat monk he had encountered in the cave dwelling, munching on delicacies, and smiled. "You may not know this yet, but not long ago, I met someone who received a Buddha's Edict."
The old monk said, "Now that the origin is re-evolving and all phenomena are renewing, even the Buddha is no exception. It is not unusual for a Buddha's Edict to descend. It may be for teaching, for salvation, or to resolve calamity..."
"Indeed, it's not unusual. It might even be for delivering from calamity. But why did he appear specifically in that woman's cave dwelling? And..." As he spoke, Gu Qingfeng thought of Wei Qing. "And I am now almost certain that the reason that woman dared to play with something as variable as bloodline inheritance is, first, she had confidence, and second, she must have prepared for everything. Perhaps everything that happened afterward was within her calculations—maybe even including me?"
"Perhaps it was merely a coincidence."
"I remember you once said: never mistake coincidence for fate, and never mistake coincidence for karma."
Before the old monk could finish, Gu Qingfeng interrupted him. "Do you know why I am so determined to probe my own karma?"
"This old monk recalls Layman Gu saying you did not want to miss such an excellent opportunity."
The old monk sighed. "Based on my understanding of Layman Gu, that may truly be your reason, but it is not the whole reason. If this old monk guesses correctly, Layman Gu probes karma for the sake of your previous life."
"Ha!"
Gu Qingfeng felt speechless and laughed. "No wonder people always curse you monks as bald donkeys. You clearly know in your hearts, yet you always pretend to be ignorant while understanding perfectly."
"Layman Gu, you..." Perhaps because Gu Qingfeng's words were somewhat unpleasant, the old monk wanted to say something but ultimately did not. He sighed again. "It seems Layman Gu still holds many misunderstandings toward us followers of the Buddha..."
"Misunderstandings? Heh!" Gu Qingfeng laughed, a strange laugh. "In this lifetime, I haven't been deceived many times—I can count them on one hand. But among those few times, about a third were related to you monks."
After a pause, he continued, "You always say that heaven and earth cannot tolerate you followers of the Buddha. In my opinion, if people don't welcome you, it's your own fault. Instead of reciting scriptures properly all day, you specialize in charlatanry. How can people welcome you? Under the guise of so-called universal salvation, you go around deceiving people. You deceived me, fine. But I heard you even tried to deceive Chi You, Xing Tian, and those brothers? I even heard you once deceived Heaven itself?"
"Layman Gu, please do not listen to rumors. Our Buddha..." Seeing the old monk still wanted to speak, Gu Qingfeng had no patience to listen further. He waved his hand. "Enough. I'm tired of that spiel of yours. It's nothing but your compassion, Pudu All Sentient Beings, If you don't enter Hell, who will enter Hell... It's nothing but your compassion, your universal salvation, 'if we do not enter hell, who will?'"
The old monk sighed once more.
A long time later, he finally spoke. "It seems Layman Gu still harbors resentment toward your previous life."
"Nonsense, how could there be no resentment? Nonsense, how could I not?" Gu Qingfeng closed his eyes, as if recalling everything he had experienced over these five hundred years, and said softly, "Originally, I had no interest in matters of my previous life—not a shred. Since it's a previous life, it's the past. Since it's the past, just let it be past..."
"I don't know who my previous life was, nor what kind of person I was in that life. I have no interest in it. However... I don't know if matters from that previous life were left unresolved or what, but during these five hundred years of my current life, I've encountered several very strange people."
Recalling the bits and pieces of the past five hundred years, Gu Qingfeng said, "The one who left the deepest impression was a woman. Who she is, I don't know. What kind of person she is, I don't know either. I've never seen her, don't even know what she looks like. I only know that every time my life was in danger, she would appear."
"The first time I fell into demonhood was for a brother. I stained the wilderness with blood, slaughtered too many lives, provoked a backlash of killing intent, and was forced into demonhood."
"The second time I fell into demonhood was for a woman. I split the sky. Immortals wanted to kill me; Heaven wanted to destroy me. I had no choice but to fall into demonhood."
"The third time I fell into demonhood, however, was simply because I glanced at her. Just one glance—I didn't even see clearly, just brushed her with my eyes—and then I inexplicably fell into demonhood..."
"This is just one of the strange occurrences. There were many others besides. If not for entanglements from a previous life, I really can't think of any other reason."
"So, Layman Gu wants to take this opportunity, using the matter of karma, to investigate your previous life?"
"You could say that."
"Ai!" The old monk sighed again. "Layman Gu, this old monk knows I cannot dissuade you. However, has Layman Gu ever considered one question?"
"What question?"
"Some karma may not be the karma you want. Some previous lives may not be the previous lives you want. Not knowing may not necessarily be bad, and knowing may not necessarily be good."
Gu Qingfeng nodded in agreement. Indeed, some things, if you don't know them, you just don't know. Not knowing might bring more peace. Once you know, not only will you not find peace, but you may suffer even more.
But isn't life just about these trivial matters? It's nothing but joy, anger, sorrow, and pleasure. It's nothing but joy, anger, sorrow, and pleasure.
What of joy? What of anger? What of sorrow? What of pleasure?
At that moment, the old monk's sighing voice came: "Ai... The Great Freedom Unmoving Heart, ai..."
"Why the sigh?"
"This old monk has always doubted: when Layman Gu cultivates the Great Freedom Unmoving Heart, are you truly seeking Great Freedom? Or are you simply following your heart's desires?"
Gu Qingfeng smiled without answering, then replied, "Alright, rest now. We'll chat another day when I'm in the mood."
After his consciousness withdrew from the Extinct Bone Jade, Gu Qingfeng did not continue pondering. Instead, he drained the wine in his cup and then fell into a deep sleep.
When cultivators reach a certain level of cultivation, they rarely sleep. Most choose to meditate. Quiet cultivation and nourishing the spirit are far more effective than sleep—it allows for cultivation, contemplation, and recovery. After meditation, both body and spirit feel refreshed and clear.
However, Gu Qingfeng rarely meditated. In his five hundred years of cultivation, the time he spent meditating was negligible. When he cultivated in this world before, he was either killing or being hunted. Later, after ascending to the Heavenly Realm, it was the same—either killing or being hunted, while also hiding from Heaven.
Even during idle times, he would not meditate or cultivate quietly. He would either sleep or bask in the sun.
Sleeping made him feel he was still human. Basking in the sun made him feel at ease.
It was that simple.
When he awoke, it seemed to be noon. Gu Qingfeng soaked in a hot bath, then basked in the sun in the courtyard, taking the opportunity to ask about what had happened in the past couple of days.
Fei Kui had been guarding the entrance the entire time, never leaving. After pouring Gu Qingfeng a cup of wine, he began speaking cautiously.
"Young Master, it's very chaotic outside now, rumors are flying everywhere. They say you... killed Lingdu Sect's Mu Yulong and Gu Xin, crippled Bingxuan Sect's Qin Wanli... Some even say that Nine Hua Alliance's Lord Murong Fei was also..." At this point, Fei Kui stole a glance at Gu Qingfeng. Seeing no unusual expression on his face, he dared to continue. "These past two days, people from Lingdu Sect, Bingxuan Sect, and the Nine Hua Alliance have all been looking for you..."
Gu Qingfeng was not surprised, nor did he care about these trivial matters. He asked casually, "Is everything alright over at Yunxia Sect?"
"The Old Master has already closed the mountain gates and sealed off Yunxia Sect. They're temporarily safe. They went looking, but seeing Yunxia Sect sealed, they had no choice. Now they're searching everywhere in the surrounding areas for you."
"Is that so..." Gu Qingfeng held his wine cup, took a small sip, and looked around. "They haven't found this place?"
"Not yet, but..." After a pause, Fei Kui replied, "Even if they did find this place, they wouldn't dare cause trouble."
"Oh?" Gu Qingfeng raised an eyebrow. "How so? What's the story?"
"Young Master, this is Crimson-Letter Manor."
"Crimson-Letter Manor?" Gu Qingfeng shook his head; the name held no impression for him. He asked again, "Does the manor lord have a lot of face?"
"Not only does the manor lord have great face, but the manor's backing is even greater. This is a manor of the Crimson-Letter Sect. Never mind Bingxuan Sect or Lingdu Sect—even the Nine Hua Alliance wouldn't dare act recklessly here."
"Crimson-Letter Sect?" Gu Qingfeng was somewhat puzzled. "What's the story there?"
Fei Kui seemed surprised that Gu Qingfeng didn't even know about the Crimson-Letter Sect. He asked cautiously, "Young Master, you don't know?"
Seeing Fei Kui's expression, Gu Qingfeng narrowed his eyes and smiled. "Judging by your surprised look, what? Is this Crimson-Letter Sect very famous?"
"Young Master, Crimson-Letter is the title of a Monarch."
Crimson-Letter? A Monarch? Could it be...
Gu Qingfeng didn't recall ever creating any Crimson-Letter Sect, so he wanted to confirm. "Which Monarch are you talking about?"
Fei Kui didn't know whether Gu Qingfeng truly didn't know or was pretending not to know. He didn't dare ask further, only saying helplessly,
"Young Master, the one I'm talking about is the Crimson Firmament Monarch who shook the heavens and earth, awe-inspiring both immortals and demons in the ancient era. In our world, only he deserves the title of Monarch."