"Seeing through all the truths and falsehoods of the mortal world, comprehending all the mysteries of the heavens and earth and the Great Dao..." Gu Qingfeng shook his head with a helpless laugh. "Girl, I have to say, you're overestimating me. Do I look like someone with that kind of ability?
If I really had that kind of skill, why would I waste time here? I'd have long since..."
"In the legends, you truly did attain the Four Great Heart Realms."
"They're just legends. As you probably know, these things always have a bit of exaggeration in them."
"Heh!"
The young girl laughed. "Although I wasn't there at the time, This Consort knows the legends are not false, nor are they exaggerated. You truly did attain the Four Great Heart Realms and nearly became a Sage."
"That's right, that did happen. But as you said yourself, I *nearly* became a Sage. I ultimately failed. Since I didn't achieve Sainthood, how could I possibly see through all the truths and falsehoods of the mortal world, or comprehend all the mysteries of the heavens and earth and the Great Dao?"
"Hmph!"
The young girl sneered, staring at Gu Qingfeng but saying nothing more.
"Girl, just who are you? How do you know so much about me?"
No matter how Gu Qingfeng looked, examined, or thought, he couldn't recall just who this young girl before him was.
"Then open your eyes and see for yourself who This Consort is!"
As her words fell, the young girl's originally pure eyes gradually turned crimson. Her once innocent and harmless face also transformed into one of bewitching allure. Even her hair turned silvery-white. A powerful aura erupted from her, demonic waves soaring to the heavens.
She stood suspended in the air, a head of white hair dancing wildly in the fierce wind. Her features were exquisitely beautiful, a beauty that was flamboyant to the extreme, an allure that was wildly arrogant, as if daring to rival the sun and moon in brilliance and splendor.
In this moment, the girl was no longer a girl.
She had transformed into a demoness with white hair and blood-red eyes, her imposing aura soaring to the skies.
A spiritual incarnation could change unpredictably, so a girl turning into a demoness wasn't particularly strange. What puzzled Gu Qingfeng, however, was that for some reason, looking at this demoness with white hair and blood-red eyes felt very familiar, as if he had seen her somewhere before.
"Girl, do we know each other? Why do you look so familiar to me?"
"Heh!"
The demoness laughed. "Back then, This Consort was sealed by the Buddhas in a Minor Secret Realm. Not only did you ruin This Consort's plans, you also stole This Consort's Harmonious Bliss Flower. Later, This Consort saw you again in this illusory realm. And This Consort said I would definitely find you!"
Sealed by the Buddhas in a Minor Secret Realm? And something about a Harmonious Bliss Flower? And she'd seen me in an illusory realm?
Suddenly, a person surfaced in Gu Qingfeng's mind. Looking at the demoness opposite him, he felt both surprised and suspicious. "You are... that demoness Man Tu Fan?"
"It is This Consort!"
"So it's you!"
Gu Qingfeng truly hadn't expected the young girl to be Man Tu Fan, who had been sealed by the Buddhas in that Minor Secret Realm all those years ago.
Although his memory always became very poor after each Silent Extinction Rebirth, and this time he had slept for a full ten thousand years after his rebirth, leaving many memories blurred, he remembered the name Man Tu Fan quite clearly.
It wasn't because of the overwhelming demonic aura she possessed, nor because of her bewitching beauty. It was because back in the Minor Secret Realm, when Man Tu Fan broke free from her Seal, that feeling of déjà vu and the stirring in his heart had been extremely intense, leaving an exceptionally deep impression on Gu Qingfeng.
"In the blink of an eye, it's been over ten thousand years since we last met."
To be honest, Gu Qingfeng and Man Tu Fan couldn't be considered friends. Not only were they not friends, they weren't even acquaintances. Counting this time, they had only met three times in total. Perhaps it was because that feeling of déjà vu and heart-stirring from back then had left too deep an impression, but upon seeing Man Tu Fan this time, Gu Qingfeng felt a sense of long-lost familiarity in his heart.
Back when Gu Qingfeng first met Man Tu Fan, he knew nothing about the four words 'Original Sin of Wu Dao'. It was only later, when he saw Man Tu Fan again in this illusory realm, that he learned she was also someone connected to Wu Dao. He just hadn't expected that Man Tu Fan was also a bearer of Original Sin, and that the Original Sin she carried might even share the same lineage as his own.
"That's right. Ten thousand years. This Consort has been searching for you for a full ten thousand years!"
"Searching for me?"
Gu Qingfeng could sense the intense hostility radiating from Man Tu Fan opposite him. Yet, no matter how he racked his brains, he couldn't think of when he had ever offended this demoness. He asked, "Girl, why are you looking for me?"
"Back in the Minor Secret Realm, you stole This Consort's Harmonious Bliss Flower. Have you forgotten?"
"I say, big sister, it's just a Harmonious Bliss Flower. I thought it was something major. Is it really worth searching for me for over ten thousand years?"
"That was no ordinary Harmonious Bliss Flower!"
"How so?"
"You don't need to know. Where is the Harmonious Bliss Flower? Return it to me quickly, and This Consort can pretend this never happened!"
"Well..." Gu Qingfeng rubbed his chin, somewhat unsure how to phrase it. "I'm afraid I can't return it to you."
"You lost it?"
Man Tu Fan took a step forward, closing the distance to stand right before Gu Qingfeng. The aura emanating from her grew even stronger, her hostility toward him intensifying.
"It's not that I lost it, but rather... how should I put it? Back then, I had nothing better to do, so I casually refined that thing."
"What! What did you say!"
Hearing this, Man Tu Fan was utterly shocked, as if she couldn't believe her ears. She pressed, "You... refined This Consort's Harmonious Bliss Flower?"
Seeing Gu Qingfeng nod, Man Tu Fan froze on the spot. She simply stared at Gu Qingfeng, looking as if she had suffered some tremendous shock. She seemed completely stunned, muttering to herself in a daze, "Refined... you actually... refined that Harmonious Bliss Flower... How could you refine it? How could you possibly refine it... Heh..."
Man Tu Fan seemed to be laughing, yet also seemed on the verge of tears. Her expression grew vacant. "Heh... why? Why did it have to be this way? Is it fate? Is everything predestined?"
Man Tu Fan lifted her head, as if interrogating the heavens, as if questioning fate itself. "Why! Just why! Why must it always be like this for me! Why!"
Watching Man Tu Fan's utterly despondent state, Gu Qingfeng felt a pang of apology. "Big sister, I was wrong to steal your Harmonious Bliss Flower back then. I apologize. How about this: when I get the chance another day, I'll go find another one for you. These things aren't exactly common, but they're certainly not rare either. I'll compensate you with one. If one isn't enough, I'll give you ten. How's that?"
If Gu Qingfeng hadn't said this, it might have been better. But upon hearing his words, Man Tu Fan's emotions grew even more agitated. She turned to look at Gu Qingfeng, her blood-red eyes glaring fiercely, as if she wished she could tear him limb from limb. Gritting her teeth, she spoke word by word, "Compensate me? With what will you compensate me? Do you think that was just an ordinary Harmonious Bliss Flower? That was This Consort's Karmic Flower! A Karmic Flower This Consort spent countless cycles of reincarnation, countless lifetimes of rebirth, to condense and manifest!"