"If Young Friend Qingfeng truly is a reincarnated individual of a Divine Thought, I'm afraid your hope of meeting the owner of that Divine Thought is slim."
"Why?"
"No matter what kind of existence it is, while alive, one would not casually allow their Divine Thoughts to undergo reincarnation. In other words, most people who undergo reincarnation through various Divine Thoughts are already dead, just like this old man."
"Why is that?"
"Allowing a single wisp of Divine Thought to reincarnate means adding another layer of karma, and no one knows to what extent this layer of karma will extend. Given this, who would willingly trouble themselves? Moreover, once a Divine Thought reincarnates and develops its own self-awareness, if it seeks to trace the karma and find its original owner, the two are bound to be as incompatible as fire and water. Throughout history, there have been existences who were killed, devoured, or possessed by their own reincarnated Divine Thoughts."
Old Senior Feng Zhu pointed at the white bones inside the giant cauldron and said, "Like these bones, some were killed by my own reincarnated Divine Thought individual, but the more ancient bones were all annihilated by the original owners of the Divine Thoughts."
"They took a single wisp of Divine Thought to reincarnate, attempting to graft karma and form a connection with the Omen Object. If the connection fails, these reincarnated individuals lose all value. To prevent the karma from extending further and fearing their growth, the original owners of the Divine Thoughts would completely annihilate their own reincarnated selves."
Gu Qingfeng nodded. "So that's how it is."
"Therefore, Young Friend Qingfeng need not worry. Even if you truly are a reincarnated Divine Thought individual, the master of your Divine Thought has long since turned to dust. Otherwise, you would not have survived until now. No one would allow their own reincarnated self to be as mysterious and unknown as you are, Young Friend Qingfeng, and certainly no one would allow their reincarnated self to become the greatest anomaly between heaven and earth."
"And precisely because you are the greatest anomaly, everything about you is extremely chaotic, especially your karma, which is chaotic to the extreme. Hence, even though you possess many inexplicable karmic ties, it does not necessarily mean you are a reincarnated Divine Thought individual."
After listening to Old Senior Feng Zhu's words, Gu Qingfeng pondered that he might have indeed overthought the matter earlier.
He did not dwell on this question any further. Instead, he raised his cup with Old Senior Feng Zhu to drink, bidding farewell.
He had asked all that he should ask, and even some he shouldn't have.
Although Old Senior Feng Zhu remained tight-lipped about that Omen Object, chatting with the old senior for so long had broadened Gu Qingfeng's horizons considerably. One could say he benefited greatly.
Thus, it was enough.
After saying his farewells, Gu Qingfeng's consciousness departed from the mental space and returned to his physical body in reality.
The Ancient Ruins remained the Ancient Ruins.
Above the sky, the massive chaotic vortex slowly rotated.
A mountain range resembling a dragon's skeleton lay sprawled across the endless desert.
Everything remained unchanged.
Gu Qingfeng stood up, glanced at the giant cauldron mountain range, and shouted loudly, "Old Senior, I take my leave now!"
With that, he leaped up, directly charging into the chaotic vortex in the sky above.
Previously, the chaotic vortex had been sealed by a barrier.
This time, the chaotic vortex had no seal.
Previously, exiting the vortex would lead back to the Artifact-Eye of the giant cauldron. However, this time, when he emerged from the vortex, he finally returned to the vast, boundless, and endless Primordial Black Hole.
The Ancient Ruins did not change because of Gu Qingfeng's departure.
The only difference was that Old Senior Feng Zhu emerged from the giant cauldron, standing on the dragon-bone-like mountain range, simply watching Gu Qingfeng leave.
"This man is inherently aloof and proud, unrestrained and unconventional, following his heart's desires without any scruples. His temperament is ever-changing, transforming into a God and a Saint, a Demon and a Buddha."
Old Senior Feng Zhu murmured to himself, his words filled with numerous sighs, many regrets, and even more endless helplessness. "A Buddha's heart and a Demon's visage born together, benevolent spirits and evil souls follow in death, a depraved nature and divine enlightenment connecting heaven and earth, Original Sin's holy awareness in a chaotic body, countless tribulations entangle a lifetime, beginning with the initial heart and ending with the self, karma and fate an unknown mystery..."
"Why is it him?"
"Is it the will of heaven in the unseen, or the arrangement of fate? Is it the work of karma, or the result of chaos..."
"Is it him who chose the Omen Object, or the Omen Object that chose him?"
He did not know.
Old Senior Feng Zhu truly did not know.
He could only sigh.
Gazing at the slowly rotating chaotic vortex in the sky, he added, "He already possesses the Avici Asura of Endlessness, and the Descent to the Yellow Springs from the Azure Skies Above. Now, he also has that Omen Object..."
"This is truly too..." Old Senior Feng Zhu did not know how to describe Gu Qingfeng's existence. Others might not know what the Avici Asura of Endlessness and the Descent to the Yellow Springs from the Azure Skies Above signify, but as a great power from the Ancient Desolation Era, he understood clearly that these two existences are, if anything, even more formidable than that Omen Object.
The dreadful Calamity of the Ancient Desolation Era was related to that Omen Object.
It was also related to the Avici Asura of Endlessness and the Descent to the Yellow Springs from the Azure Skies Above, or at least inextricably linked to these two existences.
That Omen Object influences the fate of the Great Dao of Heaven and Earth and all sentient beings, even the opening of the Daoless Age.
In a sense, the Avici Asura of Endlessness and the Descent to the Yellow Springs from the Azure Skies Above also influence the fate of the Great Dao of Heaven and Earth and all sentient beings, and the opening of the Daoless Age.
Moreover, the Avici Asura of Endlessness, the Descent to the Yellow Springs from the Azure Skies Above, and the Omen Object all mutually influence each other.
Old Senior Feng Zhu had never imagined that these three terrifying existences would appear simultaneously on a single person.
Even as a great power of the Ancient Desolation Era, he could not imagine what terrifying events would occur with these three dreadful existences residing within the same individual.
"Alas!"
Another sigh.
It sighed away the worry and helplessness in his heart, and also sighed away the hesitation and confusion within.
"I wonder if this gamble of mine is right or wrong..." If possible, Old Senior Feng Zhu did not wish to make this gamble.
He was not fond of gambling and never gambled.
The moment Gu Qingfeng appeared, the moment that Omen Object silently merged into Gu Qingfeng's body, it was as if he had been forcibly pushed onto the gambling table. This bet, he had to gamble whether he wanted to or not; there was simply no room for choice.
He could not prevent the Omen Object from choosing Gu Qingfeng.
The only thing he could prevent was trapping Gu Qingfeng here.
Was the hope great?
In Old Senior Feng Zhu's view, the hope was not great. Just as he had said earlier, he could trap Gu Qingfeng here for a time, but not for a lifetime. He was also well aware that, given Gu Qingfeng's comprehension and abilities, he would eventually unravel the mysteries of the Spatial-Temporal Illusion.
Initially, Old Senior Feng Zhu thought to trap Gu Qingfeng here for as long as possible, confine him first, and then consider other methods. But in the end, he gave up and did not do so, because on Gu Qingfeng's person, he saw the mark of the Human Dao, the mark of the Buddha Dharma, and also the mark of the Dao Principle.