Suddenly.
The Plum Blossom Old Daoist rose and knelt before Gu Qingfeng.
Gu Qingfeng was taken aback, asking in confusion, "Old Senior, what is the meaning of this?"
"This old man begs the Imperial Venerable to persuade the Empress. This time, she must fuse with her true soul."
"Old Senior, please rise first and speak."
"I beg the Imperial Venerable to persuade the Empress!"
Gu Qingfeng sighed helplessly. "You overestimate me. I cannot persuade Jun Xuanji, and she would not listen to me. Moreover, she has always wanted to kill me, to end all of this. How could I possibly persuade her?"
"Regardless, please try, Imperial Venerable."
"Trying is no trouble, but the key issue is, I have no idea where Jun Xuanji is. I haven't seen her for a very long time."
"The Empress is within the Ancestral Realm."
Gu Qingfeng was puzzled. "If Jun Xuanji is inside the Ancestral Realm, then why are you asking me to persuade her?"
"Although the Empress is in the Ancestral Realm, she is currently slumbering. She does not wish to fuse with her true soul."
"That makes even less sense. If she doesn't want to fuse with her true soul, why return to the Ancestral Realm? Just to sleep?"
"Imperial Venerable, you are unaware. After you ignited the Original Sin Karmic Flames on Wu Dao Mountain back then, the Empress decided to turn to ashes within those flames. In the end, it was the true soul within the Ancestral Realm that forcibly summoned her back. For the past ten thousand years of the Present Era, the Empress has been slumbering within the Ancestral Realm."
Hearing this, Gu Qingfeng began to understand. "So, you're saying Jun Xuanji currently doesn't realize she is inside the Ancestral Realm?"
"Ever since the Empress buried her true soul within the Ancestral Realm, that true soul has summoned a trace of the Empress's divine sense every thousand years. We finally waited for the Empress's reincarnation. Unfortunately, the Empress seems unwilling to return and fuse with her true soul, consistently refusing to come back. If not for the Empress's decision to turn to ashes in the Original Sin Karmic Flames back then, the true soul might never have been able to retrieve that trace of her divine sense."
"So that's how it is."
Gu Qingfeng asked, "When will Jun Xuanji awaken?"
"The Empress's divine sense, nurtured by the true soul, has been slumbering for ten thousand years. With the opening of the Ancestral Realm this time, she will awaken."
"Alright. If I can see Jun Xuanji, I will certainly try to persuade her. As for whether she listens, I cannot guarantee."
"This old man kowtows in gratitude for the Imperial Venerable's grace!"
"It's a small matter, not worth mentioning. Please rise."
After the Plum Blossom Old Daoist stood up, he took out a jade token and handed it to Gu Qingfeng. The token was palm-sized, crystal clear, with flowing light shimmering on its surface like the patterns of the Great Dao. Within it, a special power was contained.
Gu Qingfeng didn't examine it closely, asking, "What is this thing you're giving me?"
"This is the Ancestral Realm Token."
"What! The Ancestral Realm Token?" Gu Qingfeng was astonished. "Why are you giving this to me for no reason?"
"I hope the Imperial Venerable will deliver the Ancestral Realm Token to the Empress."
"Why don't you give it to her yourself?"
The Plum Blossom Old Daoist shook his head, tilted his head back, and drained the wine in his cup. "Throughout the ages, many existences within this heaven and earth have wanted to erase the Empress. When the Empress awakens this time, she will inevitably be extremely weak. This old man fears some may seize this opportunity to attempt to kill her."
"Who? The Three Thousand Great Daos? Or those blessed lands and cave heavens?"
"Those who wish to erase the Empress are far more terrifying than the Three Thousand Great Daos and the blessed lands and cave heavens..."
More terrifying than the Three Thousand Great Daos and the blessed lands and cave heavens? Gu Qingfeng questioned, "The Gui Xu faction?"
"Not just Gui Xu."
"Forgive my ignorance, but aside from Gui Xu, who else could be more terrifying than the Three Thousand Great Daos and the blessed lands and cave heavens?"
"In the Present Era, as all things revive, too many, too many ancient existences have revived alongside the Present Era's revival... such as those ancient forbidden lands, ancient holy lands, ancient clans, and so on."
"I've heard a bit about the revival of ancient holy lands and forbidden lands. As for ancient clans... what do you mean?"
Gu Qingfeng's heart stirred. "Could it be those Posuo Clan members? And the Jiaye Clan members? The Mohe Clan members?"
The Plum Blossom Old Daoist nodded with a grave expression.
"Old Senior, how much do you know about these ancient clans?"
"Not much. I only know these ancient clans are extremely terrifying. They are the true masters behind the Three Thousand Great Daos."
"These ancient existences are all reviving in the Present Era."
Gu Qingfeng laughed with a sigh. "It seems something major is truly about to happen in the Present Era."
"This old man has something to say, but I'm unsure if I should speak it."
"Old Senior, you are too polite. Please speak freely."
"Whether it's the ancient forbidden lands, the ancient holy lands, or the ancient clans, these ancient existences are reviving in the Present Era for one purpose only."
"For Original Sin?"
"No."
The Plum Blossom Old Daoist said, "For the Wu Dao Age."
He paused, then continued, "The Wu Dao Age hides too many, too many secrets... Original Sin is merely a key to unlocking the Wu Dao Age."
"Original Sin is a key to unlocking the secrets of the Wu Dao Age?"
This was the first time Gu Qingfeng had heard such a saying, and he found it somewhat strange.
"These words were not spoken by this old man, but by the Empress."
"If Jun Xuanji said it, then it's likely ninety percent true. Moreover, isn't it recorded in the Book of Destiny that when Original Sin finds its true master, the Great Dao will fall, the Present Era will end, heaven and earth will be reborn, and the Wu Dao Age will begin... Actually, thinking carefully, so-called Original Sin is indeed a key to unlocking the Wu Dao Age."
The Plum Blossom Old Daoist nodded. "Among those ancient existences, some wish to unlock the secrets of the Wu Dao Age, while others wish to forever conceal the secrets of the Wu Dao Age."
"Why?"
The Plum Blossom Old Daoist shook his head, indicating he did not know.
"Who wants to unlock the secrets of the Wu Dao Age, and who wants to conceal them?"
"Throughout the myriad realms, all who pursue the Great Dao undoubtedly wish to unlock the secrets of the Wu Dao Age, for legend says the Wu Dao Age holds the true essence of the Great Dao and the mystery of attaining godhood. There are many such people—within the Three Thousand Great Daos, within the blessed lands and cave heavens, within Gui Xu, including the various holy lands and forbidden lands..." He paused. "As for those existences who wish to conceal the secrets of the Wu Dao Age... I'm afraid most are those ancient clans from the Wu Dao Age itself."
"Why would those ancient clans want to conceal the secrets of the Wu Dao Age?"
"I do not know."
The Plum Blossom Old Daoist poured another cup of wine for Gu Qingfeng. "The reason they wish to erase the Empress is precisely because she knows the secrets of the Wu Dao Age. They wish to erase the Empress for this reason, and they wish to erase you, Imperial Venerable, for the same reason."
"I don't know the secrets of the Wu Dao Age."
"The Imperial Venerable may not know the secrets of the Wu Dao Age now, but you are a person of Original Sin, possessing the False Self, and you are deeply, deeply mired within Original Sin. You may even become the true master of Original Sin. In other words, Imperial Venerable, you may become that key to unlocking the Wu Dao Age in the future. Therefore, those ancient clans will not let you go."