"Don't force yourself anymore...
To go mad demon...
Alright?"
In the sky, Jun Xuanji's faint voice came again, still filled with hesitation and confusion, still intermittent. It felt as if her consciousness was also fragmented, her speech disjointed, each word spoken as if her awareness wavered between clarity and blur.
Yet her words left many unable to comprehend.
Nalan Qianqiu and Mo Ruyi couldn't understand.
Lady Blackwater and the Old Beggar were also puzzled.
Even Bai Chou, who shared the same Original Sin blood flowing within him as Gu Qingfeng, was bewildered.
What did she mean by 'don't force yourself to go mad demon'?
Was Gu Qingfeng constantly forcing himself toward madness?
Could there truly be someone in this world who would force themselves into demonic madness?
Ordinary people avoided it at all costs—how could anyone deliberately push themselves toward it?
Such a thing made no sense.
Why?
They didn't understand.
No one did.
"Don't...
force them anymore...
Those who could show themselves...
have all been...
killed by you...
Those who haven't shown themselves...
you...
forcing them...
they...
still won't appear."
If Jun Xuanji's previous words were perplexing, this statement was even more incomprehensible.
Lady Blackwater, the Old Beggar, and the others knew that it had always been the Great Wasteland Ancestral Patriarchs and the Grotto-Heavens and Blessed Lands forcing the Nine Heavens Immortal Dao and the Heavenly Dao to act to eradicate Gu Qingfeng. Having failed to force their hand, they had settled for testing him instead.
But now, listening to Jun Xuanji's tone, it seemed as if Gu Qingfeng was not only forcing those Great Wasteland magnates and Grotto-Heaven patriarchs to act, but he was also forcing the Nine Heavens Immortal Dao and the Heavenly Dao, including the hidden Holy Lands, Forbidden Lands, and even the Guixu, to make a move.
What logic was this?
Those patriarchs forced the Immortal Dao and Heavenly Dao to act to eliminate him.
But why would he force the Immortal Dao and Heavenly Dao to act?
Had he grown tired of living?
Did he want to commit suicide?
Was that possible?
If he truly wished to die, he could simply let those patriarchs kill him—why bother fighting back?
But if it wasn't suicide, then why was he forcing all these existences to act?
"You also...
shouldn't wait for her anymore...
She knows what's in your heart..." Jun Xuanji's voice came intermittently again. "As long as...
you are here...
she...
will not appear..."
Outside the Lingluo Heavenly Domain, on Blackwater Mountain, the Old Beggar asked in a low voice, "Who is the 'she' Jun Xuanji refers to?"
Lady Blackwater replied, "If my guess is correct...
it should be Eternal Nameless."
"This old man thinks so too, but the problem is..." The Old Beggar scratched his head. "Eternal Nameless must know what's happening here, and it was she who suppressed the Nine Heavens Immortal Dao. Since that's the case, why hasn't she appeared to stop this?
It defies reason. And Jun Xuanji said that as long as this kid is here, Eternal Nameless won't appear. What sense does that make?"
Lady Blackwater shook her head. She didn't know either.
Just then, a youthful voice rang out in the air.
"Big Brother."
Everyone looked over to see a young girl rushing forward.
The girl wore a red dress inside and a white gossamer robe outside, her long hair flowing naturally, giving off a very lively and agile feeling, both well-behaved and adorable. Nalan Qianqiu, standing in the corner, recognized her at once—it was none other than Xiao Jinr.
Seeing Xiao Jinr appear, Nalan Qianqiu initially wanted to rush over and call out to stop her. After all, Gu Qingfeng's emotions were extremely unstable at this moment, and he seemed to have descended into mad demonhood. She feared Gu Qingfeng's mind was confused, his consciousness blurred, and he might not recognize Xiao Jinr. However, this thought flashed through her mind and vanished. She suddenly remembered something her junior sister Su Hua had once said: if there was anyone in all the heavens and myriad worlds who could persuade Gu Qingfeng, it would be Xiao Jinr, and only Xiao Jinr could persuade him.
"Big Brother..." Xiao Jinr rushed over and threw herself into Gu Qingfeng's arms. "Please don't force yourself anymore, alright..."
Strangely enough.
When Xiao Jinr appeared, the blood sea filling the sky gradually began to dissipate. The chaotic rainbow lights, the myriad manifestations of Immortals and Demons, the burning dark flames, the boiling silent waters, the roaring song of slaughter, the wildly dancing winds of death—all of it seemed to fade away with Xiao Jinr's appearance, like the sun emerging in a world of ice and snow, causing the blizzard to gradually melt away...
Including the blood-like flames shimmering around Gu Qingfeng's body, and even the faint, flickering crimson in Gu Qingfeng's eyes—all melted away with Xiao Jinr's arrival...
"Jin'er knows what Big Brother wants to do, and knows these are things Big Brother has no choice but to do. Jin'er shouldn't have taken it upon herself to come out and try to persuade Big Brother, but...
but seeing Big Brother so unhappy, Jin'er really...
feels terrible..." Xiao Jinr clung to Gu Qingfeng's chest, sobbing uncontrollably, crying with genuine anguish. Gu Qingfeng raised his hand and used the corner of his sleeve to wipe the tears from the corner of Xiao Jinr's eyes, smiling faintly. "Jin'er, don't cry. Big Brother isn't unhappy. I was just...
pretending to be very angry to scare them a bit."
"Big Brother, let's...
go back, alright?
Jin'er doesn't like it here...
doesn't like them."
"Since Jin'er doesn't like it, then we'll go back."
Gu Qingfeng lifted Xiao Jinr into his arms. With a single step, the void seemed to flow like ocean waves beneath his feet. Immediately after, his earth-shaking, peerlessly domineering voice echoed forth.
"The green mountains remain unchanged, the blue waters flow eternally. I, Gu, repeat my words: I care not whether you are Great Wasteland magnates, Grotto-Heavens and Blessed Lands, or the Three Thousand Great Daos. If you wish to fight, I will fight. I refuse none who come, and will accompany you to the end, ceasing only with death."
Gu Qingfeng left with Xiao Jinr in his arms, but his voice, like a demonic curse, continuously reverberated through the heavens and firmament, shaking the myriad heavens and worlds, and shaking all living beings.
On Blackwater Mountain outside the domain.
The Old Beggar asked, "Who is that little girl?
She seems quite peculiar. What's her relationship with this kid?"
"Who the little girl is, I do not know. I only know that at the dawn of the Present-Ancient Era, the Nether Emperor once fought the Immortal Dao and Buddhist Dao alone for this little girl's sake, not only slaying the Nine Heavens Purification Dragon but also annihilating the Five Great Vidyārājas of the Western Heaven Buddhist Dao."
"There was such a thing?" The Old Beggar exclaimed in surprise. "Why did the Immortal Dao and Buddhist Dao want to kill this little girl?"
"Because rumors say this little girl triggered the descent of the Blood Moon, and moreover...
it was the Blood Moon of the Era Without Dao."
Hearing this, the Old Beggar's heart gave a violent jolt. He said in shock, "You mean, at the beginning of the Present-Ancient Era, the Era Without Dao Blood Moon was brought forth by this little girl?"
"Old Beggar."
Lady Blackwater sighed. "You really should take some time to properly understand what has happened in the Present-Ancient Era. Otherwise, your ignorance is truly very, very annoying!"
"This old man just came out of seclusion, you know."