"Come, come, let's drink! Today we won't stop until we're drunk. If we don't drink until the heavens and earth turn dark, it would be a disservice to the great fate between us brothers!"
He raised his cup again, drank again, downing three cups in a row.
Ren Tianxing asked, "Brother Gu, you seem to be taking pleasure in my misfortune."
"Oh? You could tell? That's right, I might as well tell you, I am indeed taking pleasure in your misfortune."
"Why?"
"Why even ask? The more Bodies of Original Sin and Illusory Selves there are, the more people there are to carry the black pot of the Present Era Calamity. I've long given up hope of shaking off this Illusory Original Sin in this lifetime. Now that I have a good brother like you to carry this black pot of the Present Era Calamity with me, of course I'm happy. When the time comes, whether it's the Great Dao of Heaven and Earth or the karma of Fate, we can at least look out for each other, right?"
"If Brother Gu is happy about this matter, then I can make you even happier."
"Oh? Do tell."
"I am also an Anomaly of the Present Era."
"What? You're also a Present Era Anomaly? Hahahaha!"
Gu Qingfeng couldn't help but burst into loud laughter.
To be honest.
From the first moment Gu Qingfeng laid eyes on Ren Tianxing, he could tell that he was like himself—both a Body of Original Sin and an Illusory Self.
As for being an Anomaly.
He truly hadn't seen that.
He couldn't really discern Anomalies either.
Now, learning that Ren Tianxing was also a Present Era Anomaly, Gu Qingfeng felt both surprised and happy deep down, and indeed a little bit of schadenfreude.
Just as he had said earlier, the black pot of the Present Era Calamity was already firmly planted on his head. He couldn't shake it off, nor did he expect to shake it off anymore. Now, suddenly, a Ren Tianxing had appeared, who was like him—a Body of Original Sin, an Illusory Self, and also a Present Era Anomaly.
In other words, however deep Gu Qingfeng was trapped in the vortex of the Present Era Calamity, Ren Tianxing was trapped just as deep. However much the Great Dao of Heaven and Earth could not tolerate him, it could not tolerate Ren Tianxing just as much.
Being able to carry this black pot together with the confidant of his life, Gu Qingfeng felt his life was not in vain.
To put it bluntly, even if they were to turn to ashes in the future, they would turn to ashes together. At least they would have company on the road.
Although Gu Qingfeng had long grown accustomed to loneliness on his journey and could endure it, that didn't mean he enjoyed it.
He couldn't enjoy this thing.
On the path of the Daoless Age, the Illusory Original Sin, and the Present Era Calamity, having a confidant for company would at least make it less lonely.
"Brother Gu."
Looking at the cheerfully laughing Gu Qingfeng, the stern Ren Tianxing shook his head slightly, as if rather helpless, and said, "Don't celebrate too soon. I haven't finished speaking."
"What now?" Gu Qingfeng asked. "Don't tell me you're just teasing me? You're not a Present Era Anomaly?"
Ren Tianxing shook his head. "I am indeed a Present Era Anomaly, and I am indeed a Body of Original Sin and an Illusory Self. However..." Changing the subject, Ren Tianxing tilted his head back and drained his cup in one gulp, then continued, "My Original Sin is not as deep as yours, Brother Gu. My Illusion is not as true as yours, Brother Gu. My Anomaly is far less significant than yours, Brother Gu. If the Present Era Calamity is a vortex, I am at most trapped in eighteen layers, while you, Brother Gu, are probably already trapped in fifty-four layers, or even deeper..."
Ren Tianxing's words were like a bucket of cold water poured over Gu Qingfeng.
Indeed.
He could also see that Ren Tianxing, whether as a Body of Original Sin or an Illusory Self, was not as deeply trapped as he was. As for being an Anomaly, he had heard more than once that he was not only a Present Era Anomaly but also a Daoless Anomaly...
An Anomaly among Anomalies.
And even if Ren Tianxing hadn't said it, Gu Qingfeng himself could feel that he was already deeply, deeply trapped in the vortex of Illusory Original Sin from the Daoless Age. Precisely because of this, he had given up hope of shaking off the Original Sin and the Illusion.
"Brother Ren."
Gu Qingfeng poured himself a cup of wine, drank it in one gulp, and laughed. "Some things are better left understood in your own heart. Why say them out loud? It takes all the fun out of it, making it impossible for me to even deceive myself for a moment."
"What are your plans from now on, Brother Gu?"
"What plans?" Gu Qingfeng asked. "What kind of plans are you talking about?"
"Don't tell me you're planning to resign yourself to Fate?"
"What do you mean, 'planning to resign myself to Fate'? Old Ren, the problem now isn't whether I want to resign myself to Fate, but that I have no choice but to resign myself to Fate even if I don't want to. What else can I do? Care to give me some pointers?"
Ren Tianxing did not answer this question, perhaps because he didn't want to, or perhaps because he didn't know how to answer. After a moment, he finally spoke. "Original Sin... is it truly impossible to shake off?"
Hearing Ren Tianxing ask this, Gu Qingfeng suddenly laughed, laughing so hard he doubled over.
Ren Tianxing frowned. "What are you laughing at? What's so funny about this?"
"What am I laughing at? You ask what I'm laughing at? I'm laughing that a tough, iron-willed man like you, Old Ren, has actually fucking caved in before Fate. I remember clearly that you once said you would never bow to Fate in this lifetime."
"I did indeed say such words. I still say them now, and I will continue to say them in the future. I will never bow to Fate."
"Alright, alright, so you've caved in. It's just between us, no need to be embarrassed. I won't laugh at you."
"I have not bowed to Fate!"
"Maybe you haven't bowed to Fate yet, but you're close. From the moment you asked me if Original Sin could be shaken off, I knew you were already beginning to waver, to feel lost..." Gu Qingfeng said with a smile. "If I'm not mistaken, you've been struggling quite a bit these years trying to shake off the Original Sin, haven't you? Struggling so much that you've even started to doubt life itself?"
This time, Ren Tianxing still did not respond.
Because the truth was exactly as Gu Qingfeng had said. He had been doing one thing all along: trying to shake off the Original Sin, sever the karma, and thus change his Fate.
For this, over the years, he had done everything—what should be done and what shouldn't. To shake off the Original Sin, he had exhausted every possible method. Unfortunately, in the end, not only had he failed to shake off the Original Sin, but he had also sunk deeper and deeper, and the karma he tried to sever had become more and more tangled.
Gu Qingfeng was right.
Ren Tianxing had indeed not bowed to Fate, but his heart had already begun to feel lost, to waver...
He even felt he was on the verge of losing himself.
As the saying goes, it's lonely at the top.
Gu Qingfeng was once the Nine Nethers Emperor who shook the Great Wasteland, while Ren Tianxing was the Weiyang Demon Emperor who represented the Demonic Dao.
Both could be considered overlords who roamed heaven and earth.
Gu Qingfeng was lonely.
Ren Tianxing was equally lonely.
Gu Qingfeng had few friends in this lifetime, and Ren Tianxing also had few friends.
Gu Qingfeng admired and respected Ren Tianxing, and Ren Tianxing likewise admired and respected Gu Qingfeng.
Gu Qingfeng regarded Ren Tianxing as a rare confidant in his life, and Ren Tianxing likewise regarded Gu Qingfeng as a rare confidant in his life.
Only upon meeting a confidant like Gu Qingfeng.
Would the cold and ruthless Weiyang Demon Emperor Ren Tianxing sit on the ground like this to drink and pour out the thoughts in his heart.
Because apart from Gu Qingfeng, in all the vastness of heaven and earth, Ren Tianxing could no longer find a second confidant with whom he could share his heart.