"As the old saying goes, it's better to be lucky than to be early."
Gu Qingfeng lounged leisurely in his chair, sipping his wine as he looked at Bai Susu and the others. "Since you've all managed to catch up, it means it's your fortune. Alright, then let's do it together. Everyone get ready—once this chance is gone, there won't be another. Open your eyes wide, release your minds, hold your breath. I'll count to three, and then we begin."
"One!"
"Two!"
"Three!"
After counting to three, Gu Qingfeng suddenly raised his hand and made a sweeping gesture through the air. In an instant, the Yin and Yang of the space churned into chaos, the Five Elements began to revolve, and the Great Nature itself underwent a transformation. Bai Susu and the others had no idea what was happening. In their daze, they felt as if they had fallen into a state of primordial chaos—no!
Not fallen into, but merged with.
This feeling was profoundly marvelous, indescribable and inexplicable. They had never experienced anything like it. It felt like being reborn, like an infant in its mother's womb, suckling, exploring, comprehending, and growing within the chaos of this Great Nature.
Watching them all enter a state of deep immersion, like statues lost in oblivion, sitting in meditation to comprehend.
Gu Qingfeng stood up and stretched. "That's all I can do to help you. How much you comprehend depends on your own fortune."
He tilted his head back and drank.
Then he added, "Consider it repaying a favor. Let's part ways here. If fate allows, we may meet again."
Gu Qingfeng drank three cups in a row as a farewell.
Afterwards, he met with the ancestor of the Xiaoluo Secret Realm, gave some instructions, left behind the hundred trillion immortal stones he had previously won from the Tower of Stolen Gold, and departed.
To be honest.
He really felt a little reluctant to leave.
It wasn't that he had developed any special feelings for Qianling, Qianniao, or the others. Feelings? Of course there were some. After all, they had lived together for decades; even living with a cat or a dog for decades would breed some affection.
However, this affection was merely the kind born from daily routine, nothing more.
What Gu Qingfeng truly couldn't bear to leave was the life he had lived in the Xiaoluo Secret Realm these past decades.
Although it was dull and plain as water, it was also unconstrained and free. Drinking wine every day, basking in the sun, and occasionally going out to find some amusement when bored.
And this was precisely the life Gu Qingfeng yearned for most.
If possible, he truly would have liked to live here for a lifetime.
If, ten thousand years ago, he had ignited the Karma Fire of Original Sin and burned away the so-called Original Sin completely, Gu Qingfeng might have indeed stayed here forever.
Unfortunately.
Things didn't go as planned.
The tree may long for stillness, but the wind never ceases.
That Karma Fire from back then not only failed to burn away the Original Sin completely but instead caused him to fuse with it entirely.
Although Gu Qingfeng didn't know exactly what relationship he now had with the Original Sin.
Nor did he want to know.
But the crux of the matter wasn't there. The key point was that he had not rid himself of the Original Sin—that was the fact.
Whatever relationship he currently had with the Original Sin no longer mattered.
Because he clearly understood that as long as he hadn't shaken off the Original Sin, its karma and destiny would follow one after another. This thing couldn't be avoided, couldn't be escaped, couldn't be severed, and couldn't be burned away.
It wasn't that Gu Qingfeng hadn't tried. Ever since fusing with the Blood of Original Sin ten thousand years ago, he had either hidden or fled. And the result? In the end, he neither hid successfully nor escaped. Thinking he could burn it away with a fire, yet in the end, he still couldn't break free.
What to do if you can't break free?
Gu Qingfeng didn't know what to do either.
And he didn't plan on doing anything.
Let things take their course.
He had resigned himself to fate.
Let nature take its course.
Whether it was the karma of Original Sin or the destiny of Original Sin, once they arrived, Gu Qingfeng would neither resist nor reject them, nor would he take responsibility. Of course, he wouldn't welcome them, accept them, or take the initiative either.
If one had to ask what Gu Qingfeng's attitude towards the Original Sin was, then he had no attitude.
If forced to describe an attitude, then his attitude towards the Original Sin could be summed up in two words: whatever!
...
The Great Desolate is eternal; it remains the Great Desolate.
It endures the passage of time, withstands the replacement of Daos, and bears the cycles of Heaven and Earth.
No matter how the eras change, the Great Desolate is forever the Great Desolate.
Since its birth from chaos, the opening of Heaven and Earth, starting from the Primordial Era, through the Archaic, Ancient, and Antiquity eras, all the way to the Modern era—these great epochs—and through the various minor eras of the myriad Daos, the Daoless Age, and the Great Dao Age, the Great Desolate has never ended because any era ended.
The Great Desolate is vast, boundless, limitless, and without end.
Within the Great Desolate, there are no sun or moon, only countless, innumerable Myriad Heavens and Worlds, shimmering faintly in the dark expanse like stars in the night sky.
The Great Desolate is a mysterious Great Desolate, an unknown Great Desolate.
It is also a Great Desolate filled with danger.
Among the dangers known to all are the terrifying and dreadful Wasteland Beasts.
These Wasteland Beasts are born in the Great Desolate and grow in the Great Desolate. Having endured untold ages and absorbed the essence of Heaven and Earth for who knows how long, each one is more ancient, more dreadful, and more terrifying than the last. So-called Great Luo Golden Immortals are like ants before these beasts. Forget about Five-Luminances Unity Great Nature Golden Immortals; even Nine-Luminances Unity Great Luo Golden Immortals are no match for those fearsome Wasteland Beasts.
Fortunately.
These Wasteland Beasts are not commonly seen, especially in bustling Heavenly Domains; encountering one under normal circumstances is rare.
But in those sparsely populated Heavenly Domains, that's a different story. Even encountering a single Wasteland Beast would be a catastrophic disaster for the immortals living in that Heavenly Domain.
However.
The most dangerous things in the Great Desolate are not the Wasteland Beasts.
But the legendary Great Desolate Storms that devour everything, and the Chaotic Currents of time and space that everyone fears.
The Great Desolate contains Myriad Heavens and Worlds. These include major worlds, minor worlds, various Profound Heaven Secret Realms, blessed lands, and more. Besides these, the Great Desolate occasionally gives birth to new worlds, large and small. Of course, many worlds also disintegrate and vanish for various reasons.
When Myriad Heavens and Worlds disintegrate, they form terrifying forces. If a chain reaction occurs, with several worlds collapsing in succession, it can very likely give rise to a Great Desolate Storm. Once this thing forms, it's like a snowball, growing larger and larger, and the power it contains becomes increasingly terrifying, far beyond what any mortal strength can withstand. At that point, forget about Profound Heaven Secret Realms or blessed lands; entire Heavenly Domains, with all their large and small worlds, might be swept into it.
And if Chaotic Currents of time and space form on top of that, then it's not just dreadful or terrifying anymore.
Once caught in a temporal Chaotic Current, it might only take an instant. By the time you realize what's happening, you've already aged. Some don't even get a chance to react before they perish.
That's just temporal Chaotic Currents.
If it's a spatial Chaotic Current, you might be swept into an abandoned, desolate space forgotten for who knows how many years, where calling upon Heaven brings no response, and calling upon Earth brings no answer. Apart from waiting for death, you can only wait for death.