Huode was greatly astonished. "This... This works too? Just by changing your name, it can alter your fate?"
"Although I don't believe in fate and don't understand this stuff too well, I do know a little something about the words 'fate' and 'destiny'. How to put it... 'Profound beyond the profound, marvelous beyond the marvelous'—these eight characters are the best interpretation of fate. Put nicely, that's it. Put harshly, it's illusory and intangible. To put it bluntly, it's just two words: weird."
Gu Qingfeng sighed. "A person's fate is very complex. Character, state of mind, and so on all influence fate to a greater or lesser degree. Names are no exception. Try giving yourself the name Fuxi. Within three days, you'll die a sudden death. Know why? You can't bear the weight of such a great name, the name of a Human Ancestor. Just like Old Ren's name, Ren Tianxing. To put it plainly, it means 'Heaven and Earth let him roam freely'. That name is undeniably grand. If Heaven and Earth let you roam freely, where does that leave the Laws of Heaven and Earth? Where does that leave the Old Man Heaven? Where does that leave Heaven and Earth itself? Isn't that openly defying the majesty of Heaven? So, Old Ren surviving until now is already no easy feat."
"But you were originally called Gu Tianlang. That name doesn't sound too grand either, does it? It doesn't threaten the Laws of Heaven and Earth, right? Why did Genggu Wuming change your name then?"
"To this day, I still clearly remember what Genggu Wuming said to me back then. She initially said she didn't like my name. I asked why. She said my name represented calamity a long, long time ago, that it was a very inauspicious name. So, she changed it to Qingfeng for me, saying she hoped I would be like a gentle, subtle breeze, nurturing all things..."
"So that's how it is." Huode nodded, finally understanding a bit more. "It seems Genggu Wuming must have known long ago that your existence in the future would threaten Heaven and Earth, and might even trigger a calamity in the Present Era. So, she changed the name Tianlang, which represents calamity and inauspiciousness, to Qingfeng, hoping you would be like a gentle breeze arriving, leaving the water's surface undisturbed. This was probably Genggu Wuming's blessing upon you, and also a rather meaningful expectation."
"I say, Huode, have you taken a fancy to that woman Genggu Wuming? Or what? Need me to help set you up?"
Hearing Gu Qingfeng say this, Huode was immediately startled. "What nonsense are you spouting, kid! You can't just say things like that!"
"Why can't I say it? I just did, so what?"
"Kid Gu, don't say I'm not on your side. Let's speak with our conscience. Genggu Wuming changing your name might not have been with ill intent. But when you get down to it, wasn't she thinking of the Great Dao of Heaven and Earth and all living beings? Besides, don't you yourself not want to trigger a Present Era calamity either? Isn't this a win-win situation? Think about it carefully, isn't that the logic?"
"Whether I want to trigger a Present Era calamity or not is my own business. What the hell does it have to do with that woman Genggu Wuming? A win-win situation? A damn blessing? You old coot really know how to talk nonsense with a straight face."
"What? Isn't it?"
"Is it hell! This isn't a damn blessing, it's a curse! Do you know what 'two sleeves filled with nothing but clear breeze' means? It means dirt poor, having nothing at all! Genggu Wuming changing my name was cursing me to have nothing in this life, to be like a clear breeze blowing in, not even stirring up a damn ripple. I reckon, in the future, even if I wanted to trigger a Present Era calamity, this Original Sin vortex might truly end up cursed into nothing but a gentle breeze."
Gu Qingfeng's words left Huode unable to retort. He thought it over carefully and felt Gu Qingfeng's point wasn't without merit.
Gu Qingfeng spread his arms. "Open your eyes wide and take a good look at me, old man!"
"What do you want me to look at?"
"Look at me now! No cultivation to speak of, no fortune to speak of. Am I not penniless? Have I not truly become a gentle breeze? And a damn dirt-poor one at that."
"This..." Huode was speechless, dumbfounded, truly at a loss for words.
After a long while, he scratched his head. "Could it be that Genggu Wuming really placed a fate curse on you when she changed your name?"
"Obviously! What did you think?"
"In that case, why don't you just change your name again?"
"You make it sound easy. It's not that simple. If changing my name again could solve it, I would have done it long ago. Would I have waited until now?"
"There's no other way?"
"Don't know, and can't be bothered to think about it. Let it be. Let's go."
With that, Gu Qingfeng seemed unwilling to dwell on the topic any longer. He leaped up, shooting straight into the sky. By the time Huode reacted, Gu Qingfeng had already vanished without a trace.
"Hey, kid! Wait for me!" Huode didn't dare delay and hurriedly gave chase.
In truth, Huode didn't know that most of what Gu Qingfeng had just said was pure nonsense.
Gu Qingfeng wasn't even a hundred percent sure if the woman he lost the bet to, the one who made him change his name, was actually Genggu Wuming.
He only suspected it might be her.
As for why Genggu Wuming would set a trap to make him change his name, Gu Qingfeng didn't know. Perhaps it really was, as Huode said, a blessing of fate from Genggu Wuming, a vessel for hope. Or perhaps, as Gu Qingfeng himself said, it might be a curse of fate.
Whether it was a blessing or a curse, Gu Qingfeng didn't care. He wasn't concerned, nor did he bother thinking about it.
Because he also wanted to become a gentle breeze.
If it was a blessing of fate, he blessed himself to become a gentle breeze, arriving gently, leaving the water's surface undisturbed.
If it was a curse of fate, he also cursed himself to become a gentle breeze, arriving gently, leaving no ripple stirred.
...
Heaven and Earth remained the boundless Heaven and Earth.
The Great Desolate remained the vast and endless Great Desolate.
They would never change because of any person or any event.
Since ancient times, it had always been so.
Cave-Heavens and Blissful Lands, Mysterious Heavens and Secret Realms, the Great Thousand Worlds, and all the Myriad Heavens and Worlds still flickered faintly like stars in the night sky within the pitch-black Great Desolate.
When Gu Qingfeng and Huode rushed out from that desolate world and returned to the Great Desolate, they found it bustling with activity, a constant stream of people and traffic.
Groups of immortals flew past on their swords, one carriage after another roared by, and looking out, good heavens, one Xuantian vessel after another was also sailing slowly through the void.
"What place is this? Why is it so lively?" Gu Qingfeng asked casually. Traveling all the way from the Twin Poles Heavenly Domain, they had passed through many heavenly domains. Although many immortals occasionally passed through the void of some major heavenly domains, they were just passing through. After all, the Great Desolate had no sky above and no earth below, and was accompanied by various dangers. No one would linger in such a place.
A heavenly domain as bustling as this one was a first for Gu Qingfeng.
Huode took out a star chart and examined it. "This is the Lingluo Heavenly Domain."
"We've already reached the territory of the Lingluo Heavenly Domain?"