"I said you looked familiar."
Plum Blossom Old Daoist merely smiled faintly and asked, "I hear You Di enjoys fine wine. This old man happens to have a jar of excellent brew stored away. Would you be interested in sharing a few cups?"
"Alright."
"Please."
Plum Blossom Old Daoist gestured with his hand in invitation. Gu Qingfeng stepped forward and sat on the stone stool. As the old daoist raised his hand, he produced a gourd. The gourd was a pale golden yellow, covered in complex and profound Great Dao patterns—clearly an extraordinary object.
Then, Plum Blossom Old Daoist took out two cups. Though called cups, they more closely resembled two thumb-sized gourds, looking quite exquisite. He poured wine into both, handed one over, and made another inviting gesture.
Gu Qingfeng nodded, not standing on ceremony. He raised his hand, picked up the wine cup, and drank it all in one go.
The wine was indeed fine.
However...
Not long ago, Ren Tianxing had gifted him quite a bit of Hell Impermanence Wine. Hell Impermanence Wine was hailed as the pinnacle of wines, even bearing the reputation of 'intoxicating the Nine Nethers.' For Gu Qingfeng, who had grown accustomed to Hell Impermanence Wine, no other fine brew, no matter how good, could catch his eye anymore.
"I hear you've been guarding Jun Xuanji here all along?"
"That is correct."
"For how long?"
"How long... this old man no longer knows. I only know that since the Primeval Ancient Era... this old man has been guarding here."
"Since the Primeval Ancient Era... That's truly no ordinary length of time."
Before the Ancient Era was the Remote Antiquity, and before Remote Antiquity was the Primeval Ancient Era. Exactly how many years had passed since the Primeval Ancient Era, Gu Qingfeng truly did not know. The only thing he knew was that if a person had lived from the Primeval Ancient Era to the present era, their cultivation realm would be utterly unimaginable.
A cultivation that could withstand the passage of time, a realm that could endure the trials of the ages—these were simply incomparable to those so-called dazzling and colorful fortunes. Such individuals' comprehension of the Great Dao was absolutely profound and unfathomable.
The Great Dao these people pursued was not some Immortal or Buddha, nor some Demon or Monster.
So-called Immortals, Buddhas, Demons, and Monsters might be renowned Great Daos in the eyes of mundane mortals.
But in the eyes of those old seniors who had lived through several eras, so-called Immortals, Buddhas, Demons, and Monsters were merely a drop in the vast ocean of the Great Dao. Even including the Natural Order, and even the Heaven's Dao that had been the overlord since ancient times, were but a single star in the boundless river of stars that was the Great Dao.
Even the Daos Gu Qingfeng had transcended, such as the Dao of the Absolute, the Dao of Stillness, the Dao of Slaughter, the Dao of Life, the Dao of Death, and so on, were all the same.
If one were to ask how many Great Daos there were.
The answer: Three thousand.
How many is three thousand?
The answer: Endless.
What exactly is the Great Dao?
This question likely no one could clearly explain. If Gu Qingfeng were to speak, then everything between heaven and earth, all that exists, is the Great Dao.
"Cultivation knows no years, time knows no eternity, life and death know no reincarnation, the Great Dao knows no end..." Plum Blossom Old Daoist shook his head slightly, sighing softly.
This sigh...
Sighed for the numbness toward the passage of years, the helplessness toward the cultivator's life. It also sighed for the confusion and uncertainty toward the Great Dao.
Gu Qingfeng laughed, "Although cultivation knows no years, it carries the joys of life. Although time knows no eternity, it carries beautiful memories. Although life and death know no reincarnation, they carry the sorrows and joys of parting and reunion. Although the Great Dao knows no end, it carries the dream of the other shore. Rather than idling away the years pursuing an elusive Great Dao, it's better to wantonly indulge and enjoy a carefree and happy life in this lifetime."
"Ha!"
Plum Blossom Old Daoist shook his head and smiled, as if unable to agree. He asked, "Dare I ask You Di, in this life of yours, have you been carefree? Have you been happy?"
"Me?"
Gu Qingfeng shrugged casually, "My life has been neither carefree nor happy."
"Why?"
"Perhaps it was youthful arrogance, perhaps circumstances beyond my control, perhaps it was Karma at work, perhaps it was Fate's arrangement... who knows..."
"Since that is the case, why not settle down and pursue the Great Dao? All things between heaven and earth are within the Great Dao. Karma is, Fate is, everything is. If You Di could seek out the Great Dao, everything would naturally become clear."
"I'm a rather lazy person. Too lazy to seek the Great Dao, and not particularly interested in that thing either."
"So, You Di would rather live as you please like this, unwilling to settle down and pursue the true meaning of the Great Dao."
"You could say that."
"Heh heh heh."
Why Plum Blossom Old Daoist laughed, Gu Qingfeng didn't know, nor was he interested in knowing. Most importantly, he hadn't come here to discuss scriptures and debate the Dao with the old daoist. He asked, "Senior, may I ask you a few questions?"
"What does You Di wish to ask?"
"What is the relationship between this Ancestral Realm and Jun Xuanji?"
After saying this, Gu Qingfeng added, "Of course, if Senior does not wish to speak of it, I will not press."
"No. Even if You Di did not take the initiative to inquire about this matter, this old man was prepared to inform you about the Ancestral Realm."
Gu Qingfeng asked why, but Plum Blossom Old Daoist did not answer that question. He merely said softly and plainly, "The Empress's Lifebound Soul is buried within the Ancestral Realm."
"Lifebound Soul?"
Gu Qingfeng's expression turned grave. "When did this happen?"
"In the early Primeval Ancient Era, after the Empress opened up the Lingluo Heavenly Domain, she buried her own Lifebound Soul within the Ancestral Realm."
"Why did she do this?"
"To sever Karma, to defy Heaven and change Fate, and perhaps even more so to rid herself of Original Sin."
"Then the Jun Xuanji I met in the Ancient World during the Ancient Era was..."
"...the Empress's reincarnated person."
Burying the Lifebound Soul and undergoing reincarnation—such methods Gu Qingfeng had also heard of. In legends, burying one's Lifebound Soul to undergo reincarnation could sever all Karma from past lives, thus defying Heaven to change Fate and opening new Karmic ties.
Such a method was a legendary forbidden technique. Gu Qingfeng had only heard of it. How one reincarnated after burying their own Lifebound Soul, he did not know. However, he was even more curious to know whether Jun Xuanji had successfully severed her Karma after reincarnating. Upon asking, Plum Blossom Old Daoist sighed sorrowfully.
"If the Empress, after reincarnating, had not met You Di, she might have been able to sever the Karma from her past life."
"What does this have to do with me?" Gu Qingfeng asked. "Could it be that my past life and Jun Xuanji's past life share some Karma?"
"Whether You Di and the Empress share Karma from past lives, this old man does not know. This old man only knows that both You Di and the Empress are people of Original Sin. That is likely the so-called Karma."
"Then why did Jun Xuanji later become lost?"
"After the Empress became acquainted with You Di, signs of her past life's memories awakening began to appear."
"Didn't you say Jun Xuanji buried her Lifebound Soul within the Ancestral Realm? If even the Lifebound Soul is buried, how can past life memories still awaken?"
"That is precisely why the Empress has now become mad and deranged, her spirit confused."
"So that's how it is. If Jun Xuanji retrieves her Lifebound Soul, then her consciousness will return to normal, correct?"
"Yes."
"Why hasn't she done so?"
Plum Blossom Old Daoist stared at Gu Qingfeng. After a long while, he shook his head again, unsure whether he didn't want to say or didn't know.