"Old Monk?"
Gu Qingfeng tentatively called out.
There was no response.
He tried again, but still received no answer. Just as he was about to call out a third time, the Old Monk's voice finally came through.
"A…
Mi…
Tuo…
Fo…"
Hearing this chant of Amitabha Buddha, Gu Qingfeng suddenly burst into laughter.
There was no particular reason—he just felt like laughing, and it came from the depths of his heart. Perhaps the Old Monk's appearance brought him too much pleasant surprise and joy.
Truth be told, in the past, whenever he heard the Old Monk's Amitabha chant, Gu Qingfeng had found it grating to the ears. Even later, when he grew accustomed to it, he still felt the four characters 'Amitabha Buddha' were unpleasant to hear, and each time he heard them, his whole body would feel uncomfortable. But now, hearing the Old Monk's recitation of Amitabha Buddha again, not only did it not feel grating or uncomfortable, it even carried a sense of familiarity.
"Layman Gu, it has been a while. I trust you have been well?"
"Me? Same as always, just barely getting by, living one day at a time."
Gu Qingfeng asked with a smile, "And you? How have you been lately? Are you well?"
"This old monk is the same as Layman Gu—unchanged."
After a pause, the Old Monk's voice came again, "The difference is, This Old Monk lives each day forgetting the last."
"Live each day forgetting the last?"
Gu Qingfeng was hearing such a saying for the first time. "Why does that sound like living in vain?"
"Life and death are no different. There is no time or space, nothing to do. If not living in vain, then what is it?"
"That logic sounds flawless on the surface. If someone else said it, I wouldn't find it wrong, but coming from your mouth, it just doesn't sit right."
Don't be fooled by the fact that Gu Qingfeng had known the Old Monk for a very, very long time. Regarding the Old Monk, he only knew he belonged to the Era Without Dao; everything else remained a mystery. If the Old Monk claimed he was idling away, living each day forgetting the last, Gu Qingfeng would never believe it.
"May I ask, Layman Gu, what exactly does not sit right?"
"Can't quite put my finger on it, but it just feels wrong."
"Layman Gu is overthinking."
"Perhaps."
Gu Qingfeng said, "It's been a long time since we last met in the Land of Delusion."
"Has it been long?"
Gu Qingfeng countered, "Do you mean it hasn't?"
"For Layman Gu, perhaps it has been long. For This Old Monk… there is no difference."
"Is that so?"
Gu Qingfeng remarked, "Old Monk, the more I listen, the more something feels off. You seem different from before. Your tone sounds so… despondent. Have you encountered some unpleasantness? Tell me about it, let me have a good laugh."
"Not despondent, nor unpleasant. This Old Monk has merely gained some insight."
"Gained some insight? Doesn't sound like it. Your tone feels like shattered hopes, a dead heart. Tell me, what hope has been shattered?"
"Layman Gu is overthinking…" The Old Monk repeated his earlier words, whether because he didn't want to say or because Gu Qingfeng was truly overthinking.
"Old Monk, after not seeing each other for so long, do you feel I'm different from before?"
"Amitabha Buddha."
The Old Monk chanted a Buddhist phrase, then said, "Congratulations to Layman Gu for gaining deeper comprehension of the Great Dao. Layman Gu has successively comprehended the Heavenly Phenomenon Pagoda, the Earthly Phenomenon Hellfire, and then the Chaotic World Order, thereby deriving the Chaos of Infinite Phenomena—the supreme pinnacle of the Great Dao, unprecedented and likely never to be surpassed. Surveying ancient and modern times, I fear no one can surpass Layman Gu…"
"Ha!"
Gu Qingfeng laughed heartily. "Well said, well said. I love hearing that."
Then, shifting the topic, he asked, "But, Old Monk, do you think the Chaos of Infinite Phenomena I comprehended counts as a Great Dao Creation?"
"Layman Gu should not ask This Old Monk that."
"Then who should I ask?"
"Layman Gu should ask yourself."
"If I knew, I wouldn't be asking you."
"If even Layman Gu does not know, then This Old Monk knows even less…"
"Is there no precedent for this thing?"
"None."
"Any legends about it?"
"Perhaps there are, perhaps not. At least, This Old Monk has not heard of any."
"I see."
Gu Qingfeng fell into contemplation and did not continue asking.
"This Old Monk also congratulates Layman Gu on the revival of your Original Sin…"
"Oh?"
Gu Qingfeng asked, "You know about that too?"
"The Extinct Bone Jade has long fused with Layman Gu. This Old Monk, residing within this Extinct Space, can observe some of Layman Gu's changes."
Gu Qingfeng was not surprised by this. He simply said, "So that means my Original Sin has truly begun to revive… Good. For me, this is absolutely good news. At least this trip wasn't for nothing."
"What has revived for Layman Gu is not merely the Original Sin."
"What else?"
"Layman Gu's Physical Body may also have begun to revive…"
Hearing this, Gu Qingfeng was quite astonished. He could only sense that the Original Sin had begun to revive. Although the feeling was faint, ethereal, and flickering, he could indeed perceive it. As for his Physical Body, he hadn't noticed any changes.
He examined himself carefully again but still found no changes. "I can somewhat sense the revival of the Original Sin. But you say my Physical Body is reviving—I can't feel it at all. If even I can't feel it, how did you detect it?"
"As Layman Gu said, if you cannot detect it, This Old Monk naturally cannot detect it either."
"Since you can't detect it, how do you know my Physical Body is also reviving?"
"This Old Monk said, the Extinct Bone Jade has long fused with Layman Gu and is intimately connected to Layman Gu's Physical Body. If Layman Gu's Physical Body had not revived, you would not be able to sense the Extinct Space. Now that Layman Gu can sense the Extinct Space and enter it, there is only one possibility: Layman Gu's Physical Body has already begun to revive… Perhaps Layman Gu's Physical Body is too special, so… you cannot sense it for now. This Old Monk believes it won't be long before Layman Gu will be able to perceive it."
Hearing the Old Monk's words, Gu Qingfeng couldn't help but fall into deep thought.
If what the Old Monk said was true, and his Physical Body had truly begun to revive, then when did it start?
Gu Qingfeng pondered and could only think of one possibility: during the mutual devouring with the Blood-Sucking Cauldron transformed into a Primordial Beast of Chaos. At that time, he felt his blood boiling and his body brimming with power—an unprecedented sensation, exhilarating like sweet rain after a long drought, or relief after enduring hardship.
In other words, his Physical Body might have begun reviving at that moment?
But why?
Why precisely at that moment?
Could it be due to the stimulation of the Original Sin's blood?
Or did the revival of the Original Sin incidentally awaken his Physical Body as well?