After leaving the illusion, Gu Qingfeng returned to the Illusory Land.
The Illusory Land was still shrouded in heavy mist, twisting and changing as if in a spiritual world, chaotic and formless.
Since this illusory mist had not yet dissipated, the Illusory Land at this moment was not truly the Illusory Land, but rather the Original Sin Nightmare.
Gu Qingfeng wandered aimlessly.
His mind dwelled on the matter of Man Tu Fan's Karmic Flower.
The more he thought about it, the more uncomfortable he felt inside.
The more he thought, the more guilty he became, and the more guilty he felt, the more he blamed himself.
Amidst this guilt and self-blame, he was also deeply puzzled. In the past, he might have occasionally felt guilty about a person or an event, but that was only in the past, and only occasionally.
Ever since attaining the Buddhist state of Great Freedom, no joy, anger, sorrow, happiness, grief, or pain could affect his heart of Great Freedom. Especially after comprehending Great Compassion and seeing through the worldly distinctions of good and evil, he had transcended the mundane world and would no longer feel guilt.
So why, after igniting the Original Sin Karmic Fire, sleeping for ten thousand years, and awakening once more, did it seem like everything had changed?
His vision was poor, his comprehension dull, his mind not as sharp—that was one thing. But now, his heart was actually being affected by emotions.
It felt like he was regressing, living backwards.
Why on earth had he become like this?
Hadn't I, your lord, attained the Four Great Mental States and already transcended everything?
Transcended the Great Dao, transcended all living beings, transcended life and death, transcended the secular world.
Even though I didn't achieve Sagehood back then.
My heart had truly transcended.
Could it be that this so-called transcendence meant living backwards?
Then what the hell was the point of transcending?
Why had I, perfectly fine, become like this?
Was it because I, your lord, was influenced by Original Sin, or was it that after transcending, I, your lord, became confused?
I don't know.
And I truly can't figure it out.
Gu Qingfeng pondered that given his current state, he was probably ill-equipped to unravel such profound questions.
He shook his head and didn't continue thinking about it.
Gazing at the mist-shrouded Illusory Land, watching the twisting, changing Original Sin Nightmare.
Gu Qingfeng couldn't help but heave a long sigh.
This sigh.
Sighed for the countless helplessness in his heart.
Sighed also for the countless confusion in his heart.
And sighed too for the countless uncertainty in his heart.
This sigh.
Sighed even more for the endless loneliness in his heart.
He was lonely.
Always had been.
Even though he didn't want to be, he had to admit it was a fact.
Even though along this journey, he had long grown accustomed to loneliness.
But it was only a habit.
Habit didn't mean he liked loneliness, much less that he enjoyed it.
Especially now, wandering aimlessly alone in this mist-filled Original Sin Nightmare, that feeling of loneliness and solitude grew ever more intense.
When a person is lonely and solitary, their thoughts tend to run wild.
Gu Qingfeng was no exception.
One question had accompanied him his entire life, one he had never truly understood.
That was: what is the purpose of living?
To achieve dreams?
Do I, your lord, have dreams?
Thinking carefully.
Not really any dreams.
If I had to name one dream.
It would be to bask in the sun every day, drink some wine, listen to some tunes, flirt with a girl in my leisure time, and when bored, go out to find some amusement—to live the life I wanted.
If that could be considered a dream.
Then this dream didn't seem too difficult to achieve.
However.
It only seemed that way.
For others, perhaps this wasn't even a dream at all.
But for Gu Qingfeng, it was absolutely a distant, unreachable dream.
He knew very well.
As long as he hadn't shaken off Original Sin for a single day, this dream would forever remain unattainable.
But how the hell was he supposed to shake off Original Sin?
Who knew?
No one knew.
Although Gu Qingfeng was a lazy person, he wasn't one to give up and wallow in despair. If he knew how to shake off Original Sin, he would do it without hesitation, no matter the cost.
But the key was, he didn't know how to shake off Original Sin.
Should he blindly struggle like the others?
Gu Qingfeng thought it better to forget it. Jun Xuanji, Can Yang Wuyou, Tang Hengheng, Ye Tianlan, plus Man Tu Fan—in their attempts to shake off Original Sin, some lost themselves, some went mad, some buried their souls, some buried their karma. And the result?
And those masters in Guixu, weren't they all existences that once shook heaven and earth and dominated the Great Wilderness? And the result?
Weren't they all, damn it, cast into Guixu?
Gu Qingfeng never thought he stood taller than others, never thought he could piss farther, and certainly never thought he was more capable than others.
Therefore.
He couldn't be bothered to blindly struggle either.
Facing Original Sin, he had long since made peace with it.
Let nature take its course. Whatever happens, happens.
He continued wandering in the Original Sin Nightmare, his lonely figure like a lost, wandering ghost.
As the Original Sin Nightmare shifted, Gu Qingfeng seemed to see a mountain ahead.
This mountain appeared ethereal and illusory within the misty fog, its reality and illusion indistinguishable.
Puzzled, Gu Qingfeng flew forward.
He flew for who knows how long, but the mountain remained just as ethereal and distant.
Gu Qingfeng flew for another stretch of time, yet the mountain was still ethereal.
Finally, Gu Qingfeng gave up.
The Original Sin Nightmare was just too bizarre. Last time, he had inexplicably entered a cemetery of the myriad heavens' Great Dao.
Now, he had inexplicably entered some unknown place again. This damned place had nothing, only a mountain, and an ethereal one at that.
Gu Qingfeng gazed at this ethereal mountain and, for some reason, suddenly found it familiar, as if he had seen it before.
And the more he looked, the more familiar it seemed.
The more he looked, the stronger that sense of déjà vu became.
He closed his eyes and stopped looking, instead focusing on sensing it carefully.
It was indeed an ethereal mountain, and upon it seemed to be an equally ethereal ancient temple.
An ethereal ancient temple on an ethereal mountain?
Wait!
Could this be…
The spatial world inside the Bone Jade of Annihilation?
That ethereal mountain, could it be Mount Annihilation?
Ever since Gu Qingfeng ignited the Original Sin Karmic Fire on Mount Wudao ten thousand years ago, the Bone Jade of Annihilation around his neck had also vanished into smoke. Although he had long since merged with the Bone Jade of Annihilation, and it had always remained after his previous Silent Extinction Rebirths.
This time, after his Silent Extinction Rebirth, the Bone Jade of Annihilation had disappeared.
So why was he now entering the spatial world of the Bone Jade of Annihilation within the Original Sin Nightmare?
Was this truly the Annihilation World?
Was that mountain truly Mount Annihilation?
Suppressing the excitement in his heart, Gu Qingfeng called out, "Old Monk, is that you?"
No one answered him.
Gu Qingfeng asked again, "Old Monk, are you there?"
Still, no one responded.
Gu Qingfeng spoke once more, "Old Monk, it's me, Gu Qingfeng!"
The result was the same—no response.
Had he mistaken it?
Was this not the Annihilation World?
Was that mountain not Mount Annihilation?
Gu Qingfeng focused his senses again. He was certain this was the Annihilation World, and that mountain was absolutely Mount Annihilation.
But.
Why was there no response?
Was the Old Monk no longer here?
Just as Gu Qingfeng was pondering this, a Buddhist chant, as if capable of crushing all decay, came rolling toward him.