Regarding the Great Natural Order, there is another saying.
Some say the Great Natural Order was born from the Chaos, while others claim it is a symbol of the Chaos and also a symbol of this Heaven and Earth.
As for the present Gu Qingfeng,
He was neither in the Immortal Dao nor the Demonic Dao. Though he had some connection to the Buddhist Dao, it was only a slight one. As for the paths of demon, ghost, monster, or spirit, he wasn't even close.
Even though he appeared to be a Human,
And a Human so pure he couldn't be purer,
That was merely an appearance.
Being the Original Sin Dharmakaya, and the illusory self of Gu Qingfeng, whether he was still within the Human Dao was something even he couldn't clearly discern.
Though he had transcended the Great Dao, transcended life and death, transcended the mundane world, and transcended illusion, he had not transcended Heaven and Earth.
Not transcending Heaven and Earth meant he was still within Heaven and Earth, and being within Heaven and Earth meant he was also within the Great Natural Order.
Therefore,
If one wished to investigate Gu Qingfeng, one could only start from the Great Natural Order, which symbolized Heaven and Earth.
The problem now was that the mastermind behind the scenes was not simply using the Great Natural Order to investigate Gu Qingfeng, but was using it to monitor him.
In other words,
The mastermind, even if unable to dominate the Great Natural Order, was undoubtedly one of its masters.
Since detecting this, Gu Qingfeng had not actively investigated who was using such an inconceivable method to monitor him. He didn't want to investigate, had no interest, and couldn't be bothered.
Because he knew the masters of the Great Natural Order were not just one or two; there were many, and each was nearly always a Progenitor of their respective Great Dao.
Given that, investigating who exactly it was held little meaning.
As for why these Great Dao Progenitors were monitoring him, Gu Qingfeng could guess the reason with his little toe. These Progenitors merely wanted to ascertain how far he had walked on the path of Original Sin, how deep he had sunk into the vortex of the Karmic Black Hole, how much further he intended to go, and how much deeper he planned to sink—what his attitude was, what his thoughts were.
To be honest,
Gu Qingfeng wasn't too bothered by these Great Dao Progenitors monitoring him.
Not only was he unbothered, he actually understood it quite well.
He was very clear about his current situation and knew his existence was dangerous. If he were a Great Dao Progenitor, he might do more than just monitor.
So,
As long as these Great Dao Progenitors didn't disturb him, he couldn't be bothered to pay them any mind either.
Earlier, on a sudden whim, he had prepared to reveal his identity to scare the Great Dao Progenitors secretly monitoring him, and to see their reactions, just for a bit of fun.
That had been his original plan, but he hadn't expected Old Man Huode to barge in and ruin it.
Gu Qingfeng knew Huode was thinking of him, not wanting him to bring trouble upon himself, so he couldn't be bothered to argue.
Indeed, the facts were as such.
Huode also knew Gu Qingfeng's current situation was special—so special that once his identity was exposed, it would immediately cause the winds and clouds of the Great Desolate Heaven and Earth to shift dramatically. It was a case of pulling one hair and moving the whole body.
He had searched for nearly ten thousand years to finally find Gu Qingfeng, and he didn't want him to fall into eternal damnation due to a moment of impulse.
"Kid Gu, Master Gu, Ancestor Gu, just consider this old man begging you. For the sake of my old age and never having enjoyed a peaceful life, have pity on this old man and let me enjoy a few years of peace, alright?
When you play like this, this old man's heart can't take it."
Seeing that Old Lady Jin Hua, Lixin Xianzi, and everyone present had emerged from the shadow of You Di and no longer suspected Gu Qingfeng was You Di, Huode's suspended heart finally settled.
Earlier, when Gu Qingfeng said he had 'mixed in the Nine Netherworld,' Huode had been truly frightened. Later, hearing that Gu Qingfeng had claimed the Dao title Chixiao while drinking with others had scared Huode witless, especially when Lixin Xianzi inquired—Huode's heart had leapt to his throat.
"I say, Huode, you old scoundrel, the older you get, the smaller your guts become. What are you so blindly worrying about? What's there to worry about!"
"Nonsense! Don't you know what kind of existence you are?
What if the news of your death and resurrection spreads? What then?
You, with your great abilities, fear neither heaven nor earth. You've played with everything you should and shouldn't have. This old man is still a lone wolf, having spent most of his life muddling through in the damn mortal world. Now that I've finally made a bit of a name for myself, before I've even tasted the sweetness, I don't want you messing it all up."
"Oh? I thought you old scoundrel were worried about my safety. I was quite touched, but it turns out you're just looking out for yourself!"
"Enough, don't spout that nonsense to me. I don't buy it. And..." Huode transmitted a secret message to Gu Qingfeng, serious and earnest: "Kid Gu, just consider this old man truly begging you. Can you not seek this kind of fun in the future? Really!
This old man is getting on in years, I really can't take it anymore...
Not afraid of you laughing, my legs went weak earlier. Look at this sweat all over my head—it was all scared out by you!"
"Is it really that serious?"
Gu Qingfeng patted Huode's shoulder and poured him another cup of wine as consolation, saying, "Old scoundrel, haven't you considered that even if I personally said I died and came back to life, who would believe it?
Even you, old scoundrel, damn well doubt whether I'm You Di, let alone others."
"That's true!"
Huode tilted his head back and gulped a mouthful of wine. "Thinking back now, I was too impulsive earlier. Even if I hadn't shouted nonsense, probably no one would believe you're the damn You Di. The difference between you and the legendary You Di is too great—it's like earth and heaven. Luckily, the Holy Lady herself told me you are You Di, otherwise, I'd really doubt whether the legendary You Di is actually you!"
Hearing this,
Gu Qingfeng couldn't help but let out a bitter laugh, shaking his head with a sigh.
This sigh was one of helplessness, speechlessness, and also self-mockery.
He had never imagined that one day, when he told others he was himself, no one would believe him.
Because of this, he had to prove he was himself. What was even more absurd was that even after proving it, people still didn't believe him.
Such a frustrating thing, Gu Qingfeng had encountered.
And not just once.
Back when the Ancient Era ended and he returned to the mortal world, he encountered this situation far too many times. It was one thing if others didn't believe him, but even his sworn brothers from the Chixiao Legion, who had followed him through life and death to conquer the world, didn't believe him. Even Su Hua, who had walked every path Monarch Chixiao had walked, visited every place Monarch Chixiao had visited, and claimed to understand Monarch Chixiao better than he understood himself—when Gu Qingfeng told her he was the Monarch Chixiao she was searching for, Su Hua didn't believe him.
Including Huode, who had watched Gu Qingfeng grow up and whom Gu Qingfeng regarded as family, was no exception.
Thinking about it, back in the mortal world when Gu Qingfeng tried to prove he was Monarch Chixiao, even his closest people didn't believe him. If he wanted to prove he was You Di in this vast, boundless Great Desolate, it was likely even fewer would believe him.