Who is the Venerable of No Dao!
The first legend in history, the first myth in history.
The first taboo in history, the first Original Sin in history.
The first person to sever his own Karma, the first person to master his own destiny.
It is said that he once annihilated the Great Dao, slaughtered the Gods, and personally buried the heavens and earth.
What kind of Karma would such a being possess?
Who knows?
No one knows.
Gu Qingfeng didn't know either, but even thinking with his toes, he knew the Venerable of No Dao's Karma must be terrifying beyond terrifying, dreadful beyond dreadful.
Having fused with the Venerable of No Dao's spiritual will, Gu Qingfeng could remain unafraid. But if, because of fusing with that spiritual will, the Venerable of No Dao's Karma also came seeking him, then he would have no choice but to fear.
Gu Qingfeng pondered carefully; this matter was truly hard to say.
Karmic retribution, the cycle of heavenly principles—this is an eternal, unchanging truth.
Gu Qingfeng had already deeply experienced this.
He clearly understood that he had merely fused with a single drop of the Venerable of No Dao's Blood of Original Sin, and already a pile of troublesome Karma had come seeking him. If he were to further fuse with the Venerable of No Dao's spiritual will, then the so-called Karma that might come would likely be far more than just 'troublesome'.
As he was lost in thought.
Gu Qingfeng suddenly noticed something was amiss. The Primordial Chaos within the Original Sin Nightmare was surging wave after wave like tides upon the sea.
What was going on?
Puzzled, Gu Qingfeng considered going over to see what was happening.
Within this boundless Primordial Chaos of the Original Sin Nightmare, Gu Qingfeng manifested as a Spiritual Incarnation. And unfortunately, his spirit had always been weak, his Spiritual Incarnation frail and feeble, appearing blurry like a reflection in water. Though not on the verge of dispersing, it swayed unsteadily. As the boundless Primordial Chaos surged in waves, his Spiritual Incarnation swayed like a fish in water.
Gu Qingfeng swam through the Primordial Chaos for a while. The waves of chaos grew larger. After another moment, he finally understood why the Primordial Chaos in the Original Sin Nightmare was surging like waves—there were actually two people fighting here. To be precise, two Spiritual Incarnations. Or, more precisely, two powerful spiritual auras were clashing.
One spiritual force was like a Flood and Fierce Beast, its might so vast it seemed capable of devouring everything.
The other spiritual force was like a frozen, snowy wasteland, its might so great it seemed capable of freezing everything.
The two spiritual auras confronted each other, neither yielding, and they appeared evenly matched. No matter how ferocious the Flood and Fierce Beast, it could not devour the frozen wasteland. No matter how frigid the frozen wasteland, it could not freeze the Flood and Fierce Beast.
But this was only how it appeared.
Gu Qingfeng had fought all his life—from ordinary cultivators to various Great Dao Patriarchs, and even ancient existences were not beyond his experience. Coupled with the fact that he himself was a master of spirit, he could tell at a glance: the spiritual aura resembling a Flood and Fierce Beast was indeed powerful and ferocious, but perhaps due to insufficient cultivation time, its spiritual foundation wasn't deep enough. Moreover, it blindly pursued the sheer might of spiritual aura, resulting in an insubstantial, somewhat hollow presence.
In contrast, the spiritual aura resembling the frozen wasteland was the opposite of the Flood and Fierce Beast. Though it didn't appear overwhelmingly powerful, it was exceptionally deep and, most importantly, incredibly refined. Every snowflake within that frozen wasteland was like a world within a flower—in other words, each snowflake contained a terrifying spiritual might.
This was a master.
An absolute master!
Moreover, a master who hid their depths. At the very least, Gu Qingfeng could see that if this frozen wasteland aura wished, it could absolutely crush and scatter the Flood and Fierce Beast-like spiritual aura in the blink of an eye.
But it wasn't doing so, merely pretending to be evenly matched with the Flood and Fierce Beast.
"Little fellow!
It seems another new friend has arrived. Shall we two cease for now?"
A sinister voice came from within the frozen wasteland.
"Fine!
This king will spare you for now!"
The voice of the Flood and Fierce Beast came, rumbling like thunder, vast and majestic.
Suddenly.
Both withdrew their power simultaneously.
The Flood and Fierce Beast and the frozen wasteland both vanished.
The Primordial Chaos within the Original Sin Nightmare gradually calmed.
Then, a tall, imposing, golden-glowing giant appeared within the chaos. This giant was awe-inspiring, looking like an invincible Golden Armor War God. A vast, sacred golden light enveloped the boundless chaos, exuding nobility and dominance.
And not far away.
A white-haired old woman in white robes, leaning on a dragon-headed cane, also appeared.
If the tall giant was awe-inspiring like a War God.
Then this white-haired old woman's sinister appearance was like a mysterious Old Witch, and one that seemed to hail from the underworld at that.
Her aged face was as pale and bloodless as withered tree bark, terrifyingly so. Her eyes were pitch-black, like two dark holes with white flames burning within. Her hands held no flesh and blood, merely skeletal claws. Her skin-crawling smile seemed to stretch without true mirth.
Gu Qingfeng could tell: the Golden Armor War God was the Spiritual Incarnation of the earlier Flood and Fierce Beast, and this cane-leaning, white-haired Old Witch was the Spiritual Incarnation of the frozen wasteland.
Gu Qingfeng did not recognize these two, nor could he discern their identities. But one thing was certain: these two were likely Persons of Original Sin. Otherwise, they would not appear within this Original Sin Nightmare.
"Tsk tsk!
To think we'd meet another fellow traveler."
The Old Witch's voice came, truly like the wailing of Ghosts from the depths of the underworld—as unpleasant as could be.
However, this was merely a Spiritual Incarnation. A Spiritual Incarnation could take myriad forms. Never mind transforming into a sinister Old Witch or a Golden Armor War God; as long as one could visualize it, one could even transform into the Lord of Heaven.
In comparison, Gu Qingfeng's Spiritual Incarnation was somewhat shabby. It was neither as majestic as the Golden Armor War God nor as sinister as the Old Witch—just a blurry human silhouette, and one that swayed with the 'wind' at that.
"Who are you!"
The Golden Armor War God, exuding arrogance and dominance, stood with hands behind his back amidst the chaos. His eyes were like two great suns, shooting forth two beams of golden light that enveloped Gu Qingfeng's Spiritual Incarnation.
"I am merely a spectator..." Gu Qingfeng replied with a faint smile. "A passerby."
"A spectator passerby?"
The Old Witch chuckled sinisterly. "Interesting, but...
You look unfamiliar to this old one. I haven't seen you before. Is this your first time here?"
"That's right, the first time."
"Is that so?"
The Old Witch seemed somewhat skeptical, staring at Gu Qingfeng's Spiritual Incarnation. "The feeling you give this old one doesn't seem like it's your first time here."
"That's merely your feeling."
"Heh, is that so?"
The Old Witch said no more, merely staring at Gu Qingfeng as if pondering something.