And that was just in the Ancient Era.
After the Present-Ancient Era began, this kid not only kidnapped the wrathful incarnation of the Great Sun Tathagata, but also, damn it, wiped out the wrathful incarnations of the Five Great Wisdom Kings.
When Wudao Mountain descended, he fought the Heavenly Father above and trampled the Earthly Mother below—truly as crazy as could be.
Ever since this kid began cultivating, he had always gone against the current. He'd sip his little wine, flirt with girls, and, damn it, pull off earth-shattering feats. Even when he was dead, the sheer reputation he had forged was enough to scare the wits out of many.
Although Huode didn't want to admit it, he couldn't deny that Gu Qingfeng's life had been incredibly thrilling, making him immensely envious. If one could live like him, even half as spectacularly, it would be a life worth living.
To this day, he still clearly remembered the bold words Gu Qingfeng had uttered when he first entered the Yunxia Sect.
This kid had said that in this life, he would drink the strongest liquor, play with the most beautiful women, and do the craziest things. Even if he couldn't become a great hero revered by all under heaven and earth, he would be a supreme overlord feared by all.
That's what he said back then.
And that's exactly what he did after growing up.
It really made you have to admire him.
To be honest.
If Huode hadn't watched Gu Qingfeng grow up since childhood and they weren't acquainted, if he had met the You Di who once swept through the Great Desolate and shook the heavens and earth, he would definitely have prostrated himself in worship to express his admiration and respect.
"But, having said that, Gu kid, what exactly are you now?"
Huode asked in confusion, "Judging by your appearance, you probably haven't shaken off the Original Sin, right? Could it be you're still an incarnation of Original Sin? But that doesn't seem right either—you don't look like an incarnation of Original Sin."
"Well now, Huode, you've really improved a lot. Not only do you know about the Wu Dao Age, but it seems you old fellow know quite a bit about Original Sin too."
"I'm telling you, Gu kid, stop looking down on this old man, alright? I'm not bragging, but I not only know about the Body of Original Sin, I also know about the Illusory Self."
"Oh?"
This time, Gu Qingfeng really looked at Huode with new eyes. "Looks like you haven't been wasting your time these ten thousand years. Not only do you know about the Body of Original Sin, you even know about the Illusory Self."
"Of course!"
Huode smugly took a swig of wine.
"Even I, this Body of Original Sin, only learned about the Illusory Self not long ago. You, old fellow, only have some Karma with the Wu Dao Age and aren't even a Body of Original Sin. How did you come to know about the Illusory Self?"
"Heh heh."
Huode just chuckled, putting on an inscrutable expression as he stroked the beard on his chin. "Beg me. Beg this old man and I'll tell you."
In the past, Huode had always appeared rather ignorant in front of Gu Qingfeng, unable to understand the things Gu Qingfeng talked about, which had always wounded and frustrated him. Now that he finally had a chance to show off in front of Gu Qingfeng, Huode naturally wanted to milk this mystery for all it was worth.
"Fine, consider it me begging you. Out with it."
Gu Qingfeng didn't spoil Huode's fun and duly satisfied his vanity.
"Heh heh, this old man also knows that the Illusory Self was what Venerable Wu Dao transformed into before disappearing in the Wu Dao Age. However, the Illusory Self and the Body of Original Sin are two different things. To be precise, Venerable Wu Dao and Original Sin are two different things. Venerable Wu Dao is Original Sin, but Original Sin is not Venerable Wu Dao."
Huode struck the pose of a senior expert, gazing deeply at Gu Qingfeng. "Well? Is what this old man said correct? Or perhaps I should ask you, kid, do you even know about this?"
"Impressive! Truly impressive!"
Gu Qingfeng praised. "They say after three days apart, one should view a man with new eyes. Huode, oh Huode, you old fellow are really something now."
"Of course!"
Huode stuck out his little finger, stroking the few strands of beard on his chin, his expression utterly smug.
"Alright, enough showing off. How did you, old fellow, come to know all this? Time to spill the beans."
"Actually, it's nothing much. As I said earlier, ever since you helped me rebuild my physical body, I occasionally dream of returning to my Previous Life. What I know about the Body of Original Sin and the Illusory Self, I learned from those dreams of my Previous Life."
"There's such a bizarre thing?"
"Absolutely! And there are even more bizarre things. Do you want to hear?"
"Go on, how bizarre?"
"'The Primeval Cataclysm births Heaven and Earth, the Endless Cycle manifests in the Present-Ancient, Previous Life and This Life meet through Karma, whose fate is whose depends on Heaven.' You know this saying, right, kid?"
"I know it. What about it?"
Huode put away his smug expression, his old face turning serious as he said in a hushed voice, "This old man has always suspected that my Previous Life isn't dead. Not only is it not dead, it's still alive. What I call dreams of my Previous Life might not be dreams at all, but reality. Maybe my consciousness and the soul of my Previous Life have some kind of psychic connection or something. Sometimes my consciousness inexplicably jumps over to my Previous Life's body."
"There's such a thing?"
"Why would this old man lie to you!"
"Well, it's not impossible."
Gu Qingfeng thought for a moment and said, "Normally, only after one's Previous Life self dies does one's current life self come into being. That's the so-called Karmic cycle of reincarnation. However... the Wu Dao Age is a cursed era, an era of chaotic Karma, an era that shouldn't exist. All Karma from the Wu Dao Age is chaotic, erroneous, and cursed. In other words, anyone with Karma connected to the Wu Dao Age also has chaotic, erroneous, even cursed Karma. In such a situation, it's only natural that a current life could appear even if the Previous Life hasn't died."
"What do you mean? If my Previous Life is really still alive, does that mean I have to fight him? Only one of us can live?"
Gu Qingfeng shrugged. "Didn't you just say it? 'Previous Life and This Life meet through Karma, whose fate is whose depends on Heaven.'"
"Ah! Then isn't this old man done for? My Previous Life is a being who survived from the Wu Dao Age. Even ten of me wouldn't be his match."
"Nothing to be done about that. You can only pray for good fortune."
"Gu kid! You can't just stand by and watch me die! I muddled through the first half of my life, and now I've finally gained a bit of skill, just starting to taste success. I was planning to make a grand splash in the second half. I'm not saying I have to do earth-shattering deeds like you, kid, but at least I want to make something of myself. Now, before I've even really started, I don't want to die just like that!"
"Make something of yourself?" Gu Qingfeng laughed. "Is it that serious? What, aren't you human now? Are you a dog?"
"How is it not serious? You, kid, talk big without feeling the pinch. All the beauties in Heaven and Earth, those you should and shouldn't have played with, damn it, you've played with them all. All the matters in Heaven and Earth, those you should and shouldn't have done, damn it, you've done them all. Your life has no regrets, but mine is just beginning, hasn't even taken two steps yet."