Seeing that Huode didn't seem to be joking, Gu Qingfeng asked cautiously, "Huode, tell me seriously, are you absolutely sure you don't want me to intervene?"
As the Primordial Ancient Power within Huode's body grew increasingly powerful, his consciousness grew more and more blurred, and he spoke intermittently, "Kid Gu… this old man… this old man is certain… it's not… the first time… this old man… won't die… this… this is, after all, the karmic connection between… this old man's present life… and my previous life… you… kid, just… just don't meddle… this old man… has my own way…"
"This old man… this old man… really can't hold on… anymore, you kid… let go quickly! If you don't let go… this old man… is gonna suffocate…"
Indeed.
Gu Qingfeng also realized that suppressing the Primordial Ancient Power within Huode like this meant Huode's physical body simply couldn't withstand it. After careful consideration, he finally released Huode.
"Alright then, I'll let go now, but… don't worry, I'll keep watching over you."
"Ahhh—"
The moment Gu Qingfeng released Huode, a chaotic, black-and-white interweaving radiance erupted from all around Huode's body. The Primordial Ancient Power within him also exploded forth completely. Huode shot upwards, standing suspended in mid-air, limbs outstretched, head tilted back, eyes tightly shut, letting out a roar like a wild beast.
Boom!
The vast and surging Primordial Ancient Power erupted, shaking the void of the Great Wilderness. With a crackling sound, the formation arrays on High Immortal Qingqing's Xuantian Vessel in the distance shattered and dispersed. Gu Qingfeng, quick as lightning, raised his hand and struck out with a palm through the void. High Immortal Qingqing's Xuantian Vessel was swept away into the distance by his palm strike as if caught in a violent storm.
At this moment.
The sky was filled with chaotic radiance.
Within the chaos, it seemed as if Yin and Yang were shifting, black and white intertwining, light and darkness clashing.
Gu Qingfeng stood in mid-air, his solitary, proud figure like a lone peak standing between Heaven and Earth.
His ink-black hair danced wildly in the fierce wind, his snow-white robes fluttering unrestrained.
His plain, unremarkable face wore a grave expression, his tranquil eyes fixed intently on the chaos filling the sky.
For some reason.
He felt that this chaotic light filling the sky was very familiar, and the Primordial Ancient Power within the chaos also seemed like something he had encountered before.
This chaos should be the chaos of the Wu Dao Age, and this Primordial Ancient Power should also be a power from the Wu Dao Age.
An unknown amount of time passed.
As the chaotic radiance filling the sky gradually dissipated, the vast Primordial Ancient Power also slowly faded away.
Huode remained with his limbs outstretched, head tilted back, eyes closed.
At this moment.
Gu Qingfeng knew that Huode was no longer the Huode he knew.
Yes.
Gu Qingfeng could sense it, and the feeling was extremely clear.
Although the person was still that person, the consciousness might not be that consciousness.
Gu Qingfeng did not call out, nor did he go over to disturb him, because as he watched, he suddenly felt that Huode at this moment gave off a very familiar feeling, as if he had seen him somewhere before.
This feeling of familiarity was not because of Huode the person, but rather the aura Huode exuded at this moment felt familiar to him.
Even more bizarrely, as he looked at Huode now, Gu Qingfeng inexplicably and suddenly recalled a certain mad old man belonging to the Wu Dao Age.
Gu Qingfeng still clearly remembered encountering a mad old man within the ruins of the Wu Dao Age.
And not just once.
To this day, he still remembered that when that mad old man appeared, the sky was filled with chaos just like this, and moreover…
The mad old man's power seemed to be exactly this kind of vast, Primordial Ancient Power.
Could it be…
The mad old man he encountered in the ruins of the Wu Dao Age was Huode's previous life?
This…
Was it true?
Unclear!
Gu Qingfeng did not continue thinking about it, only silently waited.
Another unknown amount of time passed.
Finally.
Huode opened his eyes.
They were a pair of gray eyes, within which Yin and Yang shifted and transformed, appearing incredibly chaotic. Yet, more than that, they held boundless confusion, and endless hesitation.
"From the Cataclysm of Eons, Heaven and Earth were born!"
"Through Endless Reincarnations, Transmigration manifests!"
"Past Life and Present Life, Karma is seen!"
"Whose Fate Belongs to Whom, Depends on Heaven!"
The voice came, hoarse and heavy, like rolling thunder, like the Great Earth cracking apart, even more like Primordial Chaos boiling, "From wisdom comes, from confusion comes, distinguishing object and self!"
"A hundred forms of Yang, a hundred forms of Yin, transform into the harmony of Heaven and Earth!"
"No sight of good, no sight of evil, only cause and effect remain!"
"A thousand kinds of sage, ten thousand kinds of demon, let others say what they will!"
This voice was too powerful, and too sinister, as if it could penetrate all things. As it sounded, even Gu Qingfeng felt an uncomfortable sensation, and even his mind trembled slightly.
The reason his mind trembled was not because the voice was too terrifying.
But because, after hearing this voice, Gu Qingfeng's heart was basically certain that Huode's previous life was that mad old man from the Wu Dao Age.
Back then.
Back when he encountered the mad old man in the ruins of the Wu Dao Age, that mad old man had been crazily muttering these two phrases.
As for the phrase 'From the Cataclysm of Eons, Heaven and Earth were born! Through Endless Reincarnations, Transmigration manifests! Past Life and Present Life, Karma is seen! Whose Fate Belongs to Whom, Depends on Heaven!' Gu Qingfeng couldn't remember how many times he had heard it.
To be honest.
He had never really believed that a previous life and present life could meet in the Present-Ancient Era.
All these years, he had never seen anyone whose previous life and present life met in the Present-Ancient Era.
But.
Today, he had seen it, and finally believed this legend.
Only.
He never could have imagined that the person whose previous life and present life met in the Present-Ancient Era would be Huode, and even more unimaginable was that Huode's previous life was actually that mad old man he encountered in the ruins of the Wu Dao Age.
Damn it…
Isn't this just too sinister!
So sinister that Gu Qingfeng could hardly believe it was real.
Suppressing the shock in his heart, Gu Qingfeng continued to look over, discovering that Huode at this moment had become mysteriously abnormal, ethereal and blurred, illusory and real, as if within Heaven and Earth, yet also seeming outside Heaven and Earth, giving a very unreal, very peculiar feeling.
Huode's expression was dazed, his eyes vacant, mumbling, "False, all false, everything is false…
Illusion, all phenomena are illusions…"
"Heaven and Earth are not benevolent, treating all things as straw dogs…
Hahahaha!"
"Heaven and Earth?
All things?
Hahaha, false…
all false…
everything is false."
"No!
Not false, true…
all true…
everything is true!"
"No!
False, must be false, he said, it's false…"
Huode's expression grew increasingly dazed, increasingly bewildered, and increasingly hesitant. He simply gazed at the firmament, babbling incessantly, "What is true?
What is false?
True and false…
false and true…
who can tell them apart?"
"No one can tell."
"Humans cannot tell, demons cannot tell, immortals cannot tell, Buddhas cannot tell, sages cannot tell…
even the gods cannot tell…"
Huode seemed to be crying, yet also seemed to be laughing, continuing to mumble, "Hahahaha!
Cannot tell, no one can tell…
false…
true…
all false, all true…
Hehehe!
Hahahaha!"