Gu Qingfeng laughed. "So it seems this old master, the bird that sticks its neck out, also has the effect of a sea-calming needle."
"That is indeed the fact."
"That's great. I thought my good days were about to end. But now it seems I can still enjoy a leisurely and carefree time for a while longer. Good, good, very good."
Gu Qingfeng and Ren Tianxing drank and chatted like this for a long time, discussing many things. Over a hundred jars of Hell Impermanence Wine were consumed, dozens of them, though most were drunk by Gu Qingfeng; Ren Tianxing only drank small cups.
After finishing another cup, Ren Tianxing stood up and said, "Meeting Brother Gu here today has brought Ren great joy. If possible, Ren would truly like to drink heartily with Brother Gu like this. However, Ren still has some matters to attend to and truly cannot stay to the end. I hope Brother Gu will forgive me."
"We've barely started! Leaving so soon?"
Hearing that Ren Tianxing was leaving, Gu Qingfeng felt somewhat reluctant in his heart. After all, in this vast sea of people and the boundless Great Wasteland, encountering a rare soulmate in life was not easy. It had also been a very, very long time since he had drunk so freely and happily with someone.
Although Huode was by his side, he had always regarded Huode as family. Chatting idly with Huode, they could only talk about trivial domestic matters. He couldn't discuss too many other things with Huode—not because he didn't want to, but because Huode might not understand many matters even if told, and he didn't want Huode to be dragged into the terrifying vortex of Original Sin.
Ren Tianxing was different.
Both he and Ren Tianxing were bearers of Original Sin, both were Illusory Selves, and both were Anomalies of the Present Era. Most importantly, the two admired each other, shared many common traits, and had many topics to discuss.
Gu Qingfeng was still in high spirits, but Ren Tianxing was about to leave, which really felt like an incomplete pleasure.
However.
He also understood that if Ren Tianxing decided to leave, he would definitely leave. So, he did not insist on keeping him.
"Brother Gu, although they won't move against you now, it doesn't mean they won't in the future. Ren knows Brother Gu fears nothing and believes in Brother Gu's strength, but Ren still hopes Brother Gu will be careful in the future."
Standing up, he patted the dust off his clothes, stood at the edge of the mountain peak's cliff, looked at the pitch-black night sky, and said, "Don't worry. I'll say it again: if this old master doesn't want to die, whether it's the Great Dao of Heaven and Earth or Karma and Fate, none can do a damn thing to me!"
"Hahaha!"
"Arrogant enough!"
"Domineering enough!"
"Brother Gu, Ren offers you another toast."
The two drank.
Gu Qingfeng said, "You don't need to worry about me. But you, I'm afraid you'll have to be careful in the future. They might not move against this bird that sticks its neck out for now, but you might not be as lucky as I am."
Ren Tianxing smiled faintly. "Has Brother Gu noticed something?"
"Have some bearers of Original Sin already sought you out?"
Ren Tianxing nodded.
"Are the injuries on your body left by them?"
Ren Tianxing nodded again. "As expected, nothing can escape Brother Gu's notice."
Indeed.
It couldn't be hidden.
From the first glance at Ren Tianxing, Gu Qingfeng had discerned the injuries on his body, and they were not light. However, he knew Ren Tianxing was a man of proud and solitary nature, so he hadn't brought it up.
"Your current cultivation and strength seem somewhat bizarre even to me. Who could injure you like this?"
"Was it the Ancestral Patriarchs of Gui Xu?"
"There were Ancestral Patriarchs from Gui Xu, and others as well."
"If Ancestral Patriarchs from Gui Xu injured you like this, that's possible. But... who are these 'others' you mentioned?"
"Bearers of Original Sin like us, Illusory Selves. A young man from the Present Era."
"Oh?"
"A young man from the Present Era?"
"That bizarre?"
"Who is he? Tell me, and this old master will go meet him."
"Brother Gu's kindness, Ren appreciates."
Ren Tianxing shook his head slightly. "If Brother Gu still considers Ren a brother, please do not intervene in this matter. Ren will handle it myself. If even such a minor matter requires troubling Brother Gu, even if Brother Gu thinks highly of me, I, Ren Tianxing, would look down on myself."
Gu Qingfeng nodded and said, "Old Ren, you and I hit it off immediately, regarding each other as soulmates. I don't want to say any more superfluous polite words. If someday you need help, call my name, Gu, anywhere in the Myriad Realms of the Heavens. No matter where I am, I will come to your aid at the first moment!"
"Hahaha!"
"Good!"
"To receive such words from Brother Gu, Ren's life has not been in vain!"
Ren Tianxing also stood at the edge of the mountain peak's cliff. Dressed in black robes, his hands clasped behind his back, he gazed up at the firmament and said solemnly, "Brother Gu, I offer you the same words. If someday you need help, call Ren's name anywhere in the Great Wasteland Heaven and Earth. Even if my flesh disintegrates, my soul shatters, and my consciousness is lost, I will spare no cost to come to your aid!"
"Good brother!"
"Hahahaha!"
Ren Tianxing laughed heartily, and Gu Qingfeng laughed along with him.
With tacit understanding, each picked up a jar of wine, raised their heads, and drank heartily, finishing a jar of Hell Impermanence Wine.
"The green mountains remain, the blue waters flow on. Brother Gu, take care. Ren bids farewell!"
With that.
As Ren Tianxing leaped into the air, demonic waves surged to the heavens instantly. In the night sky, a Gloom Moon condensed and manifested. Ren Tianxing traversed the void, and in the blink of an eye, his figure vanished into that Gloom Moon.
A long time passed before the Gloom Moon gradually faded away.
"This Ren Tianxing is truly as solitary, cold, arrogant, and domineering as the legends say, with demonic aura soaring to the heavens. He is a remarkable figure!"
Huode gazed at the vanishing night moon in the sky and said, "The Greedy Wolf howls beneath the Purple Ghost Moon, demonic might overawes the firmament, the Emperor Ren Tianxing... The name Weiyang Demon Emperor is well-deserved indeed."
Gu Qingfeng did not speak, only looked at the night sky, slightly furrowing his brows, seeming somewhat lonely and desolate.
"But, kid Gu, you said Ren Tianxing was injured, and not lightly at that. Who on earth could injure him like that?"
"And it's a newly emerged young man from the Present Era?"
"Are the young people of the Present Era all so powerful now?"
"Young people of the Present Era?"
Gu Qingfeng smiled disdainfully. "No matter how capable the young people of the Present Era are, it's impossible for them to inflict serious injuries on Old Ren."
"But Ren Tianxing just said himself..."
"Let me put it this way: back in the day, every time we met, we would spar. We were always evenly matched. Even if I could defeat him, I would pay a heavy price myself. And that was back then. Just now, I observed Old Ren's condition. His current attainments, cultivation, and strength are unfathomably deep, bizarre to the point where even I can't quite comprehend them. If he weren't injured, with my current abilities, I wouldn't dare say I could defeat Old Ren with absolute certainty."
"Then why did Ren Tianxing just say he was injured by a young man from the Present Era?"
"If my guess is correct, Old Ren, in his efforts to rid himself of Original Sin over the years, has probably been tossing and turning just like me, leaving him utterly exhausted and weakened. Then, being targeted by the Ancestral Patriarchs of Gui Xu, his days likely became even harder. I reckon he was taken advantage of by that young man from the Present Era."