"Sometimes, a person has to force themselves."
"I've said before, I can wake a sleeping person, but I cannot wake someone pretending to sleep. One can force oneself, but one cannot force one's own heart."
Genggu Wuming stared at Gu Qingfeng and said, "Especially you, who cultivates a true heart that follows its own desires. How could you ever force your own heart?"
"That sounds rather reasonable."
Gu Qingfeng shook his head, too lazy to dwell on the issue any longer. "Forget it. Whatever happens, happens."
He paused, then asked again, "But, Sister, there's one more thing I don't quite understand."
"What is it?"
"Will clearing up the misunderstanding between us avoid creating Karma?"
"No."
"It won't."
Genggu Wuming replied, "If Karma is destined to arise between us, it cannot be avoided."
"Now I'm confused. Didn't you just say clearing up our misunderstanding is to avoid creating Karma? How come you're now saying if Karma is destined, it cannot be avoided? Isn't that contradictory?"
"It's not contradictory. Clearing up our misunderstanding is merely an attempt to avoid creating Karma as much as possible, that's all."
Genggu Wuming added, "Moreover, if Karma is indeed destined between us, I would not wish for that Karma to arise from a misunderstanding."
"What difference does that make?"
"Perhaps it makes no difference to you, but to me, it makes a great difference."
"What difference?"
Genggu Wuming shook her head, not knowing whether she was unwilling to answer or simply did not know herself.
Gu Qingfeng did not press further. Instead, he engaged in idle, casual chatter with Genggu Wuming and Cang Yan, speaking without much enthusiasm or purpose.
Gu Qingfeng had no desire to discuss Karma or Fate. However, facing Genggu Wuming—the Incarnation of Causality and Messenger of Fate—he found himself at a loss for any other topic. No matter what they talked about, the conversation always circled back to Karma, Fate, Original Sin Anomalies, and even the Daoless Age. This truly confirmed Cang Yan's earlier words: since Gu Qingfeng was an Original Sin Anomaly, Karma, Fate, and the Daoless Age would forever be the three insurmountable mountains he could not avoid.
Perhaps that was for the best.
Seizing this opportunity, Gu Qingfeng decided to ask all the questions that had been buried in his heart over the years.
"Sister, you said that when you first saw me, your original intention was to banish me to the Gui Xu. Why didn't you act on it later?"
Genggu Wuming answered, "The reasons are complex. They cannot be explained in just a sentence or two."
"Complex is fine. If a sentence or two won't do, then say three or four. We have plenty of time to squander anyway."
Gu Qingfeng chuckled. "I'll be honest with you both, the only thing I've found valuable about cultivation up to now is the ability to squander time without a care in the world."
Cang Yan asked, "Did you cultivate just to squander time?"
"Of course not. What's the fun in just squandering time? I cultivated to be free and happy."
"Fine!"
Cang Yan sighed inwardly, feeling both helpless and speechless. "As long as you're happy..." She had never interacted much with Gu Qingfeng before; at most, they had met a few times and crossed hands a few times. Her understanding of him mostly came from hearsay.
She knew Gu Qingfeng was a vulgar man and had always wanted to be one.
Yes.
She knew.
Because Su Hua had said so, and Genggu Wuming had said so too.
But after coming to Yunxia Sect this time and chatting with Gu Qingfeng for so long, his vulgarity still exceeded Cang Yan's imagination. He was vulgar to the extreme, unbearably vulgar, downright crude. His words and actions were all like that. She truly couldn't stand this utterly vulgar Gu Qingfeng.
It wasn't so much that she couldn't stand him, but rather she found it hard to believe. How could the Nine Nethers Emperor, who threw the Myriad Heavens into chaos during the Ancient Era, and the Original Sin Anomaly who stirred up endless undercurrents throughout history in the Present-Ancient Era, be so disgustingly vulgar, like a rogue scoundrel?
She also truly couldn't understand what her junior sister Su Hua saw in this fellow. Why was she so infatuated, her soul seemingly lost all day?
"If you wish to know, I'll tell you."
Genggu Wuming explained, "There were roughly four reasons why I didn't banish you to the Gui Xu back then. First, I knew the Gui Xu would collapse with the end of the Ancient Era. So, banishing you there would have been pointless; you would still emerge after the Present-Ancient Era began."
"Second, if I had banished you to the Gui Xu, Karma would inevitably form, and you would certainly hate me to the bone. Then, the matter between us would be far more than just a misunderstanding."
"Third, banishing Original Sin Anomalies to the Gui Xu was a mistake from the very beginning. Yet I had no choice but to persist in that mistake, banishing one Original Sin Anomaly after another to the Gui Xu."
Hearing this, Gu Qingfeng asked, "Over all these years, how many Original Sin Anomalies have you banished to the Gui Xu?"
"Several dozen."
Gu Qingfeng clicked his tongue inwardly, surprised. "That many Original Sin Anomalies?"
"There are far more Original Sin Anomalies than you imagine. The several dozen I mentioned are only the ones I banished. Besides that, the Heavenly Dao has also banished quite a few Original Sin Anomalies to the Gui Xu. How many exactly is unknown."
"Heh."
At this point, Cang Yan chimed in again. "Don't think the Gui Xu has only imprisoned this many Original Sin Anomalies. The number banished there during the Desolate Ancient Era is probably even greater..."
"There's such a thing?"
Gu Qingfeng didn't know much about the Desolate Ancient Era.
He only knew that after the Daoless Age ended, the Desolate Ancient Era began.
And shortly after this Desolate Ancient Era began, it ended, followed by the Primordial Era. Most historical records in the Great Wilderness start from the Primordial Era. As for the Desolate Ancient Era, the only thing Gu Qingfeng knew was that it was an extremely chaotic era.
"What exactly happened during the Desolate Ancient Era?"
Genggu Wuming remained silent. It was Cang Yan who spoke. "Something terrible."
"How terrible?"
"I didn't experience the Desolate Ancient Era myself. How would I know how terrible?"
Gu Qingfeng looked at Genggu Wuming again, but she also shook her head. "What exactly happened during the Desolate Ancient Era, I don't know the specifics either. I only know that many Original Sin Bearers and many Original Sin Anomalies appeared during that era. Later, something terrible happened—most of these Original Sin Bearers turned to ashes. Some hid in Hell, some hid in the Abyss, and some were also banished to the Gui Xu..."
"Good heavens!"
Gu Qingfeng was shocked, murmuring, "This is the first time I've heard of this. But... Sister Nameless, do you really not know about the events of the Desolate Ancient Era either?"
"I've said before, my memory begins from the Primordial Era... So, I don't know about the events of the Desolate Ancient Era."
Cang Yan said with a smile, "I know someone who definitely knows."
"Who?"
"Jun Xuanji."
"What use is Jun Xuanji knowing? She's lost."
"Can Yang Wuyou also knows."
"Can Yang Wuyou is also lost!"
Gu Qingfeng shot an annoyed glance at Cang Yan. "Sister, are you deliberately teasing me?"
"I'm not teasing you. Then let me tell you about someone who isn't lost and did experience the Desolate Ancient Era."
"Who?"
"Yun Nishang."