"I let the myriad living beings of the heavens and worlds know I was waiting for You Di's return, not because I wanted to threaten the Nine Heavens. I cannot threaten the Nine Heavens, nor do I have any interest or need to threaten them. I simply wanted You Di to know I was waiting for him, that's all."
Su Hua stood up, speaking softly, "The Nine Heavens refrained from acting rashly after You Di's revival and return. Perhaps my influence played a small part, but it was negligible. More than anything, the Nine Heavens used me as an excuse."
"The Nine Heavens are not fools, and not all of their patriarchs are utterly stubborn and inflexible. They may not have understood before, but in this present-ancient era after ten thousand years, they should have realized that You Di's existence is not something they can simply eradicate at will. Not only can they not eradicate him, but doing so would only push You Di further down the path of Original Sin, sinking him deeper into the black hole of karma."
"It's not that they don't know. They know...
They've always known. They even knew from the very beginning. They just refuse to believe it, refuse to accept it, refuse to acknowledge it."
Moreover, in this present-ancient era, with the revival of all things, many ancient great powers who should have emerged have emerged, and even those who shouldn't have emerged have emerged. Even the Guixu has collapsed...
For ten thousand years in the present-ancient era, the surface appears calm, but underneath, turbulent undercurrents have long been stirring."
"Even if it's only a surface calm, no one dares to easily break it."
"Because no one can predict, no one can imagine, what terrifying waves the undercurrents accumulated through the Primordial, Ancient, and Archaic eras might unleash across the heavens and worlds if the surface calm were shattered."
"The only thing the Nine Heavens can do now is wait. The Nine Heavens are like this, and so are the Three Thousand Great Daos, including those without a Dao, even the Original Sin bearers... they can only wait..." Su Hua's voice trailed off, and Nalan Qianqiu asked in confusion, "Wait for what?"
"I don't know. No one knows. Precisely because we don't know what we're waiting for, we must wait, and wait even more...
Until everyone knows what they are waiting for."
"This..." Nalan Qianqiu pondered these words carefully, but no matter how she pondered, she couldn't grasp the meaning of what Su Hua had said.
...
The Great Desolate was vast.
Boundless and endless.
Cave heavens, blessed lands, mysterious celestial realms—the myriad heavens and worlds, large and small, encompassing everything, shimmered like stars in the night sky within the Great Desolate, making this originally mysterious and unknown realm less dark and less terrifying.
One after another, Xuantian vessels sailed slowly across the vast, boundless Great Desolate, not only forming a magnificent spectacle but also making the endless void seem less lifeless.
For several days,
Gu Qingfeng spent his days drinking wine with Huode, listening to tunes, and chatting idly about everything under the sun.
When he was tired, he slept; when he woke, he drank.
His days were as carefree and joyful as could be.
The only thing Gu Qingfeng found somewhat regrettable was that Yunyan Fairy had quietly left without a word, not even saying goodbye.
She disappeared right after Gu Qingfeng dragged Huode into a mysterious space and returned.
He had originally planned to engage this Demon Monarch in another few hundred rounds of battle.
Now that plan had fallen through.
For Gu Qingfeng, drinking and laughing with old friends, embracing a beauty for a night of passion—these were the most wonderful things in the world.
Alas, the beauty had run away...
How could Gu Qingfeng not feel regret?
Of course,
It was only regret.
After all, his intentions toward Yunyan Fairy were merely for a fleeting encounter, a one-night affair. If she ran, she ran. It wasn't as if the Spring-Filled Tower on the Xuantian vessel lacked brothel girls to keep him company. Although their looks couldn't compare to Yunyan Fairy's, and he had little interest in coupling with these brothel girls, they could still somewhat serve as drinking companions to pass the time and alleviate his emptiness and loneliness.
At first, Gu Qingfeng called for two brothel girls—one for himself and one for Huode.
But Huode flatly refused to let a brothel girl accompany him.
He ranted about how he wasn't fond of such pursuits and had no interest in such things.
Strangely enough,
This old fellow wasn't pretending to be some pure, innocent lad.
At least, in all the time Gu Qingfeng had known Huode, he had truly never seen him indulge in female company.
It really was odd. This guy would dig pits, set traps, cheat, swindle, steal—he'd do anything. For a jar of good wine, he'd even dare to dig up someone's ancestral grave. Yet, when it came to female charms, he had never shown any interest.
To be precise, it wasn't that he had no interest, but rather that Huode was too devoted and too loyal.
In Gu Qingfeng's memory, he recalled that Huode once had a past romance and even had a destined Dao companion. Later, he heard that this Dao companion had run off with someone?
Or had died?
Gu Qingfeng couldn't remember the specifics, but ever since then, Huode had been heartbroken and had never again approached any woman.
Fine.
Since that was the case, Gu Qingfeng happily embraced two women, spending his days reclining on a chair, with one brothel girl massaging his back and another kneading his legs, enjoying himself to the utmost.
Seeing this,
Huode despised Gu Qingfeng from the bottom of his heart, his gaze dripping with contempt.
Beyond contempt, Huode's heart was filled with even more confusion.
He was baffled.
To say that Gu Qingfeng hadn't played around with women in this lifetime would be untrue.
Others might not know, but Huode was crystal clear. Ever since this kid started cultivating in the Yunxia Sect, he had never been idle, flirting everywhere, leaving traces of affection everywhere. And damn it, the women he hooked up with were all legendary, peerless beauties—whether it was the Borderlands Queen, the women of Yanluo, or even the leader of the world's female sects. Hell, even the Empress had a fling with this kid.
Huode originally thought that was impressive enough.
But after arriving in the Great Desolate, Huode realized he had underestimated Gu Qingfeng's prowess in romance. This kid hadn't been idle in the Great Desolate either. He'd hear rumors about him having an affair with the Empress of this cave heaven or that blessed land—what Immortal Empress, what Netherworld Empress?
And what about the Yin Yue Crone...
Although Huode deeply despised Gu Qingfeng's behavior, he had to admit in his heart that this kid's capabilities were truly extraordinary.
From this perspective, he genuinely admired Gu Qingfeng.
Because he knew that while others' cultivation paths were just cultivation paths, Gu Qingfeng's cultivation path was a bloody, upward-slashing road of slaughter. Starting from the Great Northwest, this kid was either killing people or being hunted, either fighting this one or that one. It was one thing for him to oppose the Immortal Court in the mortal realm, but in the Great Desolate, he damn near burned down the Nine Heavens with a single fire, and even took on the Three Thousand Great Daos single-handedly. Later, it was said he became intolerable to heaven and earth, becoming the Great Desolate's most wanted fugitive, hunted down by the joint efforts of the Three Thousand Great Daos.
To put it bluntly, he had braved wind and rain, rolled through seas of blood countless times, and wandered on the brink of life and death through cycles of reincarnation.
Even in such circumstances, this kid still managed to hook up with so many women.
You couldn't help but admire him!