The Desolate Ancient Fierce Beast vanished.
Gu Qingfeng also vanished.
Even the Desolate Ancient ruins shrouded in bloody mist vanished along with them.
Where were they?
No one knew.
The only known fact was that at that moment, the Desolate Ancient Fierce Beast transformed into a crimson-black hole while Gu Qingfeng transformed into a chaos-black hole, and the two began to devour each other. And then…
There was no ‘then’.
Whether, in the end, the Desolate Ancient Fierce Beast devoured Gu Qingfeng, or Gu Qingfeng devoured the Desolate Ancient Fierce Beast, remained equally unknown. Even the fate of the Desolate Ancient ruins themselves—whether they were devoured or shaken into dissipating smoke—was a mystery.
The Monster-Demon Woman had no interest in how the ruins vanished. She only wanted to know who had devoured whom. This was crucial, not only for her own decisions but also for the decisions of countless other beings, even concerning the future fate of all living things under Heaven and Earth.
Therefore.
The moment the Desolate Ancient ruins disappeared, she and Mandala Fan began searching everywhere, hoping to find traces of either Gu Qingfeng or the Desolate Ancient Fierce Beast.
Alas, they searched for a long time without success. They combed through many Desolate Ancient ruins, yet found nothing. The Monster-Demon Woman reasoned that regardless of who ultimately devoured whom, once the ruins disintegrated, they must have fallen into the Desolate Ancient Black Hole.
However.
The Desolate Ancient Black Hole was boundless and endless. Searching within it was undoubtedly like looking for a needle in a haystack.
Even so, the Monster-Demon Woman and Mandala Fan searched within the Desolate Ancient Black Hole for a very, very long time. As expected, they found nothing—not even the slightest clue. It felt as if both had vanished into thin air.
This left the Monster-Demon Woman somewhat disheartened.
She didn't know how long she searched.
Finally, she gave up. Now, she arrived at another Desolate Ancient ruin, standing in a vast, endless desert, gazing up at the massive chaotic vortex swirling in the sky, her brows knitted as if deep in thought, or perhaps more accurately, in worry.
“Tell me…
In the end, who devoured whom?”
Mandala Fan asked.
She herself had no particular interest in Gu Qingfeng’s life or death.
But Gu Qingfeng had previously refined the Karma Flower she had painstakingly nurtured, which, in a sense, meant their karmas had become intertwined. This forced her to care about Gu Qingfeng’s fate, as his life or death would inevitably affect her.
The Monster-Demon Woman shook her head, closed her eyes, looking utterly weary and drained. “Believe me,” she murmured, “I want to know the answer to that question even more than you do.”
“If he…
If he was devoured by the Blood-Sucking Cauldron, what then?”
“The consequences would be terrifying.”
“Why?”
“Do you remember what I told you about the Blood-Sucking Cauldron’s origin?”
“You said…
The Blood-Sucking Cauldron seems to be a transformation of Taotie, and it once wreaked havoc across the Desolate Ancient Era… devouring countless amounts of Original Sin.”
“There is one thing…” the Monster-Demon Woman pondered for a moment before asking, “I wonder if you recall?”
“What thing?”
“During the Desolate Ancient Era, a True Lord of Original Sin was born, and he once opened the Era Without Dao…” Although Mandala Fan’s soul originated from the Desolate Ancient Era, she had undergone countless cycles of reincarnation. Most memories of that era were long forgotten. However, she had heard rumors about the birth of a True Lord of Original Sin during that time. It was said the great calamity of the Desolate Ancient Era occurred precisely because the Era Without Dao was opened.
As for the reason, she didn't know. “Is that event true?”
“Perhaps it is, perhaps it isn’t.”
“What do you mean?”
Mandala Fan had forgotten everything about the Desolate Ancient Era, but she knew the Monster-Demon Woman had not.
“The truth is likely something no one can clearly articulate. Everyone says a True Lord of Original Sin was born in the Desolate Ancient Era. Everyone says the Era Without Dao was opened. But who has seen it with their own eyes?
No one has…
And who exactly attained the status of True Lord of Original Sin? Who opened the Era Without Dao? Again, no one knows.”
“You don’t know either?”
“I don’t know. No one knows.”
“If no one has seen it, how did this news spread?”
“I don’t know.”
“Alright.”
Mandala Fan asked another question. “What does this have to do with the Blood-Sucking Cauldron?”
“Legend has it that after the Era Without Dao was opened, several entities entered it and obtained True Blood of Original Sin. To my knowledge, Taotie was one of them.”
“You mean…
Taotie is the True Lord of Original Sin?”
“No!
I’m only saying that several entities entered the Era Without Dao back then and obtained True Blood of Original Sin. Taotie was one of them.”
“What does True Blood of Original Sin represent?
Doesn’t it mean the True Lord?”
“I don’t know…
I truly don’t know. Perhaps yes, perhaps no.”
The Monster-Demon Woman lifted her head, eyes closed, her expression grave. “You know?
When he and Taotie were devouring each other, I felt the True Blood of Original Sin awakening…
I just don’t know whether the awakening True Blood belonged to Taotie or to him…
If it belonged to Taotie, it would mean Taotie’s return. If the awakening True Blood belonged to him…”“Is the blood within his body also True Blood of Original Sin?”
“That is also a question I wish to know.”
“Why do you suspect the blood within him is also True Blood of Original Sin?”
“It’s not suspicion. It’s fact.”
Mandala Fan grew more confused. “What fact?”
“Among the several entities who entered the Era Without Dao back then, it wasn’t just Taotie. The Asura and the Yellow Springs within his body were also among them! Taotie obtained True Blood of Original Sin, and the Asura and the Yellow Springs also obtained True Blood of Original Sin.”
“What!”
Hearing this, Mandala Fan’s face paled in shock.
“At first, I thought Taotie’s true purpose in devouring him was to consume the Asura and Yellow Springs within him. Later, I realized I was wrong. Taotie was targeting him from the very start. That’s why I suspect the blood within him is also likely True Blood of Original Sin, perhaps even something beyond True Blood of Original Sin…
Otherwise, it’s impossible for both the Asura and the Yellow Springs to be hidden within his body. There must be something about him that attracts the Asura, the Yellow Springs, and even Taotie…
It must be so.”
“If Taotie devours him this time, Taotie will inevitably revive and return. Then, this Desolate Ancient Black Hole, and even the Present Ancient Era, will once again be plunged into a storm of bloodshed…” As she spoke, the Monster-Demon Woman seemed to suddenly realize something. Her eyes snapped open. “No!
That’s wrong!
Taotie cannot devour him. Even if he couldn’t withstand Taotie, the Asura and Yellow Springs within his body would never allow him to be devoured by Taotie!”
“So…” The Monster-Demon Woman took a deep breath. “If one of them had to be devoured, it would definitely be Taotie!”
“Yes, it must be. While he and Taotie were devouring each other, I kept waiting for the Asura and Yellow Springs within him to appear. I waited and waited. The Asura never appeared. The Yellow Springs never appeared. The reason they didn’t appear is probably because they had already guessed that Taotie would inevitably be devoured by that fellow Gu!”
Having said this.
The Monster-Demon Woman began to laugh softly. The laughter was abrupt and seemingly inexplicable!
“The Avici Hellish Evil Asura, the Yellow Springs reaching from the highest heavens to the deepest earth, the Heaven-Devouring, Earth-Swallowing Bloody Taotie…” The Monster-Demon Woman recited these names, her smile complex—tinged with helplessness and uncertainty, resembling both a bitter smile and a mocking one.