After examining Gu Qingfeng's physical body, Da Xing the Mad Monk couldn't help but suck in a sharp breath of cold air. Only after a long moment did he finally speak. "Kid, are you even human anymore?"
Gu Qingfeng responded indifferently, "What do you think?"
Da Xing the Mad Monk knew Gu Qingfeng was still human because he could only sense human vitality from him.
He just couldn't comprehend how a human's physical body could have decayed to such an extent. It felt as if it had been slumbering for a hundred thousand years—no! A million years, ten million years, even a hundred million years.
Forget a human—even a damned immortal, demon, or Buddha sleeping that long with their body decaying like this would have long turned to dust.
Yet this guy was still alive.
Not just alive, but seemingly living quite well.
After much thought, Da Xing the Mad Monk still couldn't figure it out. He sighed and said, "You're getting more and more bizarre, kid."
Regarding Gu Qingfeng, Da Xing the Mad Monk could only sigh.
He considered himself quite knowledgeable, but Gu Qingfeng's existence made him feel utterly ignorant.
Back when he first met Gu Qingfeng, he couldn't see through the youth's mysterious fortunes. Now, he understood even less.
"I noticed your physical body has started to recover. Why aren't you going into seclusion to cultivate? Why are you still running around?"
During his earlier examination, Da Xing the Mad Monk had detected signs of recovery in Gu Qingfeng's decayed and chaotic physical body. Drops of fresh blood were nourishing the parched blood vessels. Though these drops were as insignificant as raindrops falling on a dried-up riverbed, he believed if Gu Qingfeng entered seclusion to cultivate, his physical body would fully recover before long.
"What's the hurry? Take it slow."
"Take it slow? Gu kid, let me tell you—if word spreads about your Silent Extinction Rebirth, the Three Thousand Great Daos probably won't let you off, especially since you're still an Original Sin body. They definitely won't give up."
Da Xing the Mad Monk advised, "The Three Thousand Great Daos now are different from when the Present Era first began. Back then, their origins were still reforming, their ancestral patriarchs were still slumbering, and those Great Dao manifestations couldn't do anything to you. But now it's been ten thousand years into the Present Era. Those Great Dao ancestral patriarchs' true bodies have awakened one after another, and the Great Dao origins have finished reforming. Especially the Immortal Dao—they're ridiculously powerful now. Even the Three Purities and Four Sovereigns have damned well recovered."
"Although I'm still an Original Sin body after rebirth, I'm probably not the only Original Sin person in the Present Era. They shouldn't have time to bother with me right now."
"That's true too. The damned Gui Xu has collapsed. Chiyou, Xingtian—these guys are genuine Original Sin incarnations. Besides these big shots, there are also some newly emerged Original Sin persons. The Three Thousand Great Daos really don't have time to deal with you for the moment."
After saying this, Da Xing the Mad Monk reconsidered and added, "Wait... it's hard to say for sure. You damned nearly achieved Sagehood with an Original Sin body back then, ignited the Original Sin Karmic Fire, and what's even more bizarre—after igniting the Original Sin Karmic Fire, you damned underwent Silent Extinction Rebirth. Just based on that, I reckon the Three Thousand Great Daos would definitely list you as their number one threat. So I advise you not to let your guard down. You'd better cultivate quickly, just in case."
Gu Qingfeng scoffed. "And then what? Fight them again? If they're not tired of it, I'm damned tired. All I've done these years is fight them."
"What else can you do? Who told you to get involved in this mess? You can't shake it off. What can you do? Just accept it."
Da Xing the Mad Monk sighed again, raised his head, and drained his cup of wine. "This is your fate, kid. Your karma. You're destined not to escape it, not to avoid it."
Gu Qingfeng corrected him. "Not my karma or fate. It's Original Sin's karma, Original Sin's fate."
"Is there a difference? You can't shake off Original Sin anyway. Whether it's Original Sin's or yours, it's all the same."
Gu Qingfeng chuckled wryly. He had to admit Da Xing the Mad Monk's words left him unable to refute.
Seeing Da Xing the Mad Monk about to say more, Gu Qingfeng had lost interest in listening. He didn't want to discuss this headache-inducing topic of Original Sin anymore and interrupted, "Let's talk about you. What have you been doing all these ten thousand years?"
"Nothing much. Spent most of my time staying here."
"Staying here?" Gu Qingfeng looked around. "What are you doing in this godforsaken place where birds don't even shit?"
"For peace and quiet."
"How so?"
"It's all because of that damned mess with the Western Heaven Buddha Dao."
Mentioning the Western Heaven Buddha Dao made Da Xing the Mad Monk melancholy. "You know the eight sects of the Western Heaven Buddha Dao have always been scheming against each other openly and covertly."
Gu Qingfeng nodded. He knew a bit about the eight sects of the Western Heaven Buddha Dao.
The so-called eight sects of the Western Heaven Buddha Dao referred to: the Dharma Sect, Tiantai Sect, Huayan Sect, Pure Land Sect, True Word Sect, Vinaya Sect, along with the Chan Sect and Esoteric Sect. Since the various Buddhas fell into slumber during the Ancient Era, only the Chan Sect and Esoteric Sect had maintained their original Buddha Dao Original Heart. As for the other Buddhist sects, they all wanted to become the master of the Western Heaven—especially the Pure Land Sect. By the end of the Ancient Era, they not only dominated the Western Heaven but even wanted to replace the Heavenly Dao and scheme for the position of leader of the Great Daos.
"During the Ancient Era, though the Pure Land Sect and others were always scheming openly and covertly, they weren't too excessive. Since the Present Era began, the Pure Land Sect's ambitions have been completely exposed. Now the Western Heaven has been turned into a complete mess by those bastards from the Pure Land Sect. Forget the original Buddha Dao Original Heart—I suspect they've even forgotten they're Buddhists. Now they're learning from the Immortal Dao, starting to dominate the myriad realms of the heavens, creating Buddhist teachings everywhere under the name of saving all living beings."
"Isn't that good? Weren't you always complaining about the decline of the Buddha Dao? Now that they're establishing Buddhist teachings throughout the myriad realms, why aren't you happy, old man?"
"If they were truly saving all living beings and promoting Buddhist teachings by establishing them throughout the myriad realms, of course I'd be happy. But damn it, you know what? Those bastards' goal isn't promoting Buddhist teachings or saving all living beings. It's more about monopolizing cultivation resources."
Gu Qingfeng said, "Monopolizing some cultivation resources is completely understandable. Cultivation relies on resources too. Without resources, how are people supposed to cultivate? Should they all become ascetic monks drinking the northwest wind? Don't forget this is a world where strength reigns supreme. Without strength, forget saving all living beings or eliminating demons and defending the Dao—you can't even damned help the weak and oppressed. You wouldn't have any weight even when speaking."
"That's true enough, but those Western Heaven bastards aren't monopolizing the myriad realms' resources for pure cultivation!"
"Then what for? What else could it be?"
"To damned become the leader of the Great Daos and dominate the Great Desolate Heaven and Earth, of course!"