"Mother of the Natural Order?"
Hearing this name, Huode nearly choked on his breath, feeling his scalp go numb as the world seemed to spin around him.
Mother of the Natural Order.
That was the overlord who wielded the laws of nature!
That was a legend among legends!
Perhaps it was too shocking, too terrifying, or perhaps the name Mother of the Natural Order was simply too lofty for Huode—so high he dared not even think about it—that he stood there dumbfounded for a long time, unable to regain his senses.
Indeed.
He was merely a small Golden Core True Person who had never even been to the Celestial Realm, who didn't know what laws were, let alone an overlord who wielded them, and moreover, the laws of nature. To him, such a being was practically akin to a deity.
Just the thought was enough to scare a man to death.
In contrast, Gu Qingfeng appeared rather nonchalant, still reclining in his rocking chair, leisurely sipping his wine.
Yes.
Huode knew that Gu Qingfeng had always been unruly, lawless, and fearless, unafraid of heaven or earth.
He had always known.
But this was just too arrogant!
To be targeted by the Mother of the Natural Order and still have the leisure to drink wine as if nothing was wrong?
Just how thick-skinned was he!
Actually.
This could only be blamed on Huode's ignorance.
He only knew that Gu Qingfeng had been judged by the Heavenly Dao, but he didn't know what that judgment meant, nor did he know what misdeeds Gu Qingfeng had committed to warrant such judgment.
If he knew that after Gu Qingfeng ascended to the Celestial Realm and became the Nine Nethers Emperor, he had practically lived under the watchful eye of Old Heaven—in other words, living while bearing Old Heaven's judgment—then compared to Old Heaven, the Mother of the Natural Order was just so-so.
In Gu Qingfeng's words, he was used to it.
Being watched by Old Heaven was being watched; being watched by the Mother of the Natural Order was also being watched.
Whoever wanted to watch could watch.
The moment Gu Qingfeng ascended to the sinful imperial throne of the Nine Nethers Emperor, he knew he had stepped onto a path of no return—a life of sin, generations of sin. He had never thought of escaping, so he didn't care.
Moreover, being watched by the Mother of the Natural Order was much more comfortable than being watched by Old Heaven.
When Old Heaven watched, that old bastard would only deliver judgment.
As for the Mother of the Natural Order...
What surprised Gu Qingfeng was that she not only refrained from delivering judgment but instead bestowed upon him a vast, endless number of Colorful Mysteries.
These were good things.
But Gu Qingfeng didn't covet them.
Although he didn't know what the Mother of the Natural Order truly intended, one thing was clear: that woman wanted to win him over. Otherwise, she wouldn't have gone to such lengths to throw endless Colorful Mysteries at him. Of course, it couldn't be ruled out that the Mother of the Natural Order had other schemes, but Gu Qingfeng was too lazy to bother anymore.
If heaven wants rain, if a mother wants to marry—so be it.
Let them do as they please.
This master first defied the Immortal Dao, then defied the Monster Dao, then defied the Heavenly Dao. At worst, he'd defy your Natural Order too.
Even if he had to defy all three thousand Great Daos.
Gu Qingfeng didn't care.
He was already covered in sin; a few more counts wouldn't matter. Since he couldn't shake it off, he might as well sin to the very end.
Beside him, Huode was drinking with his head down, not so much sipping as pouring the wine down his throat. Gulp after gulp, one jar after another. Several times he opened his mouth, only to swallow his words. After downing another jar, he waved his hand weakly and let out a deep sigh.
"Forget it, forget it...
I won't ask anymore...
I'll never ask again."
Huode had once sworn that he would never inquire about Gu Qingfeng's affairs again.
Because every time he asked, he would be severely shaken.
Not only did he not understand, but the key was the stimulation—his heart couldn't take it.
Just think, we're all human, all with two shoulders carrying one head. Yet he's played with the Immortal Dao, played with the Monster Dao, played with the Heavenly Dao, even fought with Old Heaven a few times, while I'm still dawdling around at the Golden Core stage.
Whenever he thought of this, Huode's chest felt tight.
If it were just that, it wouldn't have reduced Huode to this state.
Every time he asked, not only was his heart stimulated, but his soul also felt creeped out.
When cultivating in this world, this kid either killed this one or exterminated that one—killed Immortals, destroyed Immortal Dynasties, and after destroying Immortal Dynasties, bore Judgment; after bearing Judgment, fell into demonhood; after falling into demonhood, dyed the Eight Wastelands with blood...
In this world, he played with the Immortal Dao, played with the Monster Dao.
Now? He's no longer playing with the Immortal Dao or Monster Dao.
He's started playing with Old Heaven, and now he's playing with the Mother of the Natural Order.
Those are gods, damn it!
He's already playing with deities, damn it! How could that not be creepy?
No more questions.
Absolutely no more questions from now on.
Ask again and I'll tear my mouth.
Huode couldn't remember how many times he had made such a vicious oath. Every time, he never learned his lesson, making him want to slap himself a few times across the face.
And now?
He had just made the oath, yet soon couldn't help himself again.
Because there were some things that, if he didn't ask clearly, would itch at his heart like a cat scratching.
"Kid Gu, for a freak like you to play with something as legendary as karma isn't something incomprehensible. After all, you've already fought with Old Heaven a few times. Your realm is probably beyond what this old man can imagine. But..." Changing the subject, Huode leaned forward, eyes wide, throat tight as he asked, "I just can't figure it out—if you want to play with karma, then play. But why do you think you have karma with the Founding Patriarch of the Bingxuan Sect?
You two aren't even remotely connected!"
"Because of the Yanyang Heart."
"The Yanyang Heart belongs to our Yunxia Sect! What the hell does it have to do with you?"
"Karma is something I can't explain to you."
Suddenly.
Gu Qingfeng slapped his forehead, sat bolt upright, his previously leisurely expression turning serious as he cursed, "Damn it!
I was so busy chatting nonsense with you that I forgot the important matter!"
"What important matter?"
"If I remember correctly, when I was expelled from your Yunxia Sect, I was exactly twenty-two years old, which was the ninth year of the Great Thousand Era of the Immortal Dynasty in the Ancient Times, right?"
"The year you were expelled..." Huode counted on his fingers, calculating the date, then nodded. "That's right, it was that year. Why?"
"I fused with the Yanyang Heart in the eighth year, and was expelled by your Yunxia Sect in the ninth year. I remember you said that after I was expelled, Hongxiu also fused with the Yanyang Heart once. When did she fuse with it?"
"Not long after you were expelled, also in the ninth year."
Hearing this.
Gu Qingfeng's heart skipped a beat. Earlier, when Wei Qing said their Sea of Consciousness mutated in the ninth year of the Great Thousand Era of the Immortal Dynasty, Gu Qingfeng guessed that might have been the year Yun Nishang awakened. Now, confirming that Hongxiu fused with the Yanyang Heart in the ninth year of the Great Thousand Era of the Immortal Dynasty... could Hongxiu be Yun Nishang?
Suppressing the shock and excitement in his heart, Gu Qingfeng asked further, "Do you remember which month it was?"
"Which month?"
Huode scratched his head, thinking carefully, muttering, "It seemed to be the autumn harvest season that year, right?
That should be correct, yes! Right, it should have been around the tenth month of autumn. I remember clearly—it even snowed heavily that October!"
The ninth year of the Great Thousand Era of the Immortal Dynasty, October...
Wei Qing said his Sea of Consciousness mutated in October.
Hongxiu fused with the Yanyang Heart in October of the ninth year of the Great Thousand Era of the Immortal Dynasty.
And it snowed...
Snowfall in October...
Closing his eyes, Gu Qingfeng was almost certain that Hongxiu was Yun Nishang.
All along, he hadn't dared to confirm whether he truly had so-called karma with Yun Nishang. Until now.
He could confirm it.
Absolutely.
Definitely!
And it wasn't just ordinary karma.