"If I remember correctly, the Nine-Tailed Empress of the Monster Dao also had a fling with you, didn't she? And there were a few Empresses from the Thirty-Six Cave Heavens and Seventy-Two Blessed Lands you hooked up with, right? And also..." Da Xing the Mad Monk was getting more and more outrageous. Gu Qingfeng couldn't take it anymore and snapped, "Get lost! Are you done yet? By your logic, I've had a fling with every Empress of the Three Thousand Great Daos? Why don't you just say I had a fling with Empress Nüwa too?"
"Hey! Don't say that. If Empress Nüwa were to awaken and return, I'm afraid even she wouldn't escape your clutches. You're not exactly a saint, you know. Wherever you go, you hook up with some woman. Whether it's Immortals, Demons, Buddhas, monsters, ghosts, or spirits, you take them all in without discrimination."
"Get lost!"
"A real man owns up to his actions! Why won't you admit it?"
"I haven't done it, so what is there to admit?"
"Some of those romantic tales about you might be exaggerated, but as the saying goes, there's no smoke without fire. Even if you didn't actually have a fling with them, you definitely hooked up with them. At the very least, you flirted with them. Dare you say you never flirted with them?"
"Flirting a bit for fun, and you say I had a fling with them? Is there any justice left in this world?"
"You can't blame me for that. Who told you to be so famous and so... romantic? You're good in many ways, but you just have this damn bad habit of hooking up with others. And it's not just anyone—you hook up with Empresses from this Great Dao or that Great Dao. People calling you the biggest heartless scoundrel and faithless man between Heaven and Earth isn't wronging you at all."
Gu Qingfeng shrugged, neither confirming nor denying. He was well aware that he did indeed have this flaw. Whether he had business or not, he liked to hook up with girls and flirt with young women.
But it was just hooking up and flirting. He had never truly fallen in love.
He had never denied being a promiscuous person either.
It couldn't be helped.
It was innate.
He couldn't change it in this lifetime.
In the past, he might have felt a little guilty about it. But after comprehending the Four Great Mental States, sleeping for ten thousand years, and undergoing Silent Extinction Rebirth, up to this day, he no longer felt any guilt. Not just guilt—even joy, anger, sorrow, and happiness had grown very faint within him.
Although Gu Qingfeng had not yet achieved true emptiness of the Four Greats, he was gradually transforming toward that state.
"By the way, Young Gu, there's something I wonder if you've heard about."
"What is it?"
"Do you know why Su Hua is called the Saintess Empress?"
"Isn't it because Su Hua has been traveling through the myriad worlds, healing the sick and teaching the masses all these years?"
"That might be part of the reason, but it's not the whole story."
"Then what is it? Could it be that Su Hua achieved Sagehood?"
"Almost."
Gu Qingfeng frowned. "Almost?"
"That's right, almost. You almost achieved Sagehood back then, and that girl Su Hua also almost achieved Sagehood. Speaking of which, the two of you really have a lot in common. One is the Primordial Original Sin, the other is the Primordial Tribulation-Bearer, and you both almost became Sages. You said you didn't achieve Sagehood back then because there were some things you couldn't let go of. I reckon the reason that girl Su Hua didn't achieve Sagehood is probably the same as yours—there were some things she couldn't let go of."
"Is that so..." Gu Qingfeng lowered his head and poured himself another drink.
"Su Hua nowadays is truly remarkable. All Three Thousand Great Daos give her some face. Whether it's Immortals, Demons, Buddhas, monsters, ghosts, or spirits, when they see her, they respectfully address her as Saintess Empress. Over the past ten thousand years of the Present Era, as the ancestors of the Three Thousand Great Daos have awakened one after another, each Great Dao has become increasingly restless. The Monster Dao and Ghost Dao have split from the Immortal Dao. Our Buddhist Dao and the Immortal Dao have been locked in open and covert struggles. If it weren't for that girl Su Hua mediating in between, the various Great Daos would have probably started fighting long ago."
"The Great Daos really placed their bet correctly this time," Gu Qingfeng sighed. "Looking at the situation, Su Hua might very well prevent the great calamity of the Present Era from happening."
Tilting his head back to drain a cup of wine, Da Xing the Mad Monk looked at Gu Qingfeng and laughed. "That's why I said, if you dare show your face, the Three Thousand Great Daos will definitely regard you as their number one threat."
"Why? Because of Su Hua?"
"Of course! Nowadays, who between Heaven and Earth doesn't know that Su Hua is infatuated with you? And you're an Original Sin person. If Su Hua had to choose between you and the myriad Great Daos, I reckon she would definitely choose you. Then the Great Daos would be dumbfounded. You have to understand, the current Su Hua carries the safety of the Great Dao of All Living Beings and the hopes of this Heaven and Earth on her shoulders."
"If that's the case, then why are you, old man, still telling me to go find Su Hua?"
"What does it matter to me whether the Great Daos perish or all living beings die? Besides, what's our relationship? If I had to choose between you and this Heaven-Earth Great Dao, I'd unconditionally stand on your side too."
"Hahahaha!" Gu Qingfeng laughed heartily and shook his head, pointing at Da Xing the Mad Monk. "I say, Da Xing, Da Xing, you old man's schemes are getting deeper and deeper. And your bullshitting is becoming more and more convincing."
"What kind of talk is that? I'm not playing any schemes with you, and I'm definitely not bullshitting."
"Oh? The reason you want me to find Su Hua probably isn't just that, is it?"
"What do you mean? I don't quite understand."
"Playing dumb with me, are you? I know exactly what you're up to the moment you stick your ass out. Still trying to pull this trick on me?"
"Young Gu, what are you misunderstanding? Explain it clearly."
"Heh, still stubborn. Fine, let me ask you: if Su Hua and I really got together, if she fell for me and I fell for her, the consequences wouldn't just be Su Hua choosing between me and the Heaven-Earth Great Dao. At the same time, I would also have to choose between Su Hua and the Heaven-Earth Great Dao."
Gu Qingfeng said with a smile, "You just said that if Su Hua had to choose between me and the Heaven-Earth Great Dao, she would definitely choose me. Let's not discuss the truth of that for now. Even if Su Hua really chose me, how would I choose between Su Hua and the Heaven-Earth Great Dao? Tell me, would I choose Su Hua or the Heaven-Earth Great Dao?"
"With your character, you'd definitely choose Su Hua! That goes without saying."
"Da Xing, do you think sleeping for ten thousand years has muddled my brain? Do you really think I don't know that the current Su Hua is already inseparable from the Heaven-Earth Great Dao? If I choose Su Hua, it's equivalent to choosing the Heaven-Earth Great Dao. So, facing Su Hua and the Heaven-Earth Great Dao, I actually have no choice. If I want Su Hua to live, I must let the Heaven-Earth Great Dao live. And if I want both Su Hua and the Heaven-Earth Great Dao to live, then there's only one consequence: I must die."