"How much does Fellow Daoist Gu know about the Desolate Ancient Era?"
The Old Monk suddenly asked this seemingly random question. Though Gu Qingfeng was curious, he answered truthfully, "Not much."
Then he shook his head and added, "No! Not 'not much'—I basically know nothing. Most of what I've heard about the Desolate Ancient Era is just hearsay."
"Has Fellow Daoist Gu ever heard that during the Desolate Ancient Era, someone ascended to become the True Lord of Original Sin and even opened the Wu Dao Age?"
"I have heard that mentioned before, but whether it's true or not, I have no idea."
Gu Qingfeng asked, "So you're saying this isn't just a rumor; it might be true?"
"As for whether anyone in the Desolate Ancient Era ever ascended to become the True Lord of Original Sin, this old monk does not know. The only thing I know is that the Wu Dao Age was indeed opened during that time."
"Since the Wu Dao Age was opened, surely someone must have ascended to become the True Lord of Original Sin, right? Otherwise, how could the Wu Dao Age have been opened?"
"That is a mystery, one whose answer remains unknown to this day."
"Alright."
Gu Qingfeng knew the Old Monk wouldn't bring this up without reason. He wasn't in a hurry to ask further and patiently waited.
Sure enough.
The Old Monk continued, "When the Wu Dao Age was opened back then, some beings entered it, and... it is said they obtained the True Blood of Original Sin."
This was explosive news, at least for Gu Qingfeng. He quickly asked, "What exactly is the True Blood of Original Sin? How is it different from the Blood of Original Sin?"
"The difference between the Blood of Original Sin and the True Blood of Original Sin is like the difference between the Body of Original Sin and the True Body of Original Sin. You could also understand it this way: the Blood of Original Sin is acquired, while the True Blood of Original Sin is innate. If the True Blood of Original Sin is the mother, then the Blood of Original Sin is the child. Throughout history, all Blood of Original Sin in heaven and earth has been born from the True Blood of Original Sin."
"You mean... if one obtains the True Blood of Original Sin, they can possess the True Body of Original Sin, correct?"
"Not exactly, but it's close."
The Old Monk's tone was flat, as if discussing something ordinary and mundane. "A long, long time ago, those who fused with the Blood of Original Sin were called Disciples of Original Sin, while those who fused with the True Blood of Original Sin were called Children of Original Sin."
Gu Qingfeng frowned in contemplation and did not reply.
He was hearing these terms—Disciples of Original Sin and Children of Original Sin—for the first time.
After a moment's thought, he asked, "Old Monk, you just said that when the Wu Dao Age was opened back then, some beings entered it and obtained the True Blood of Original Sin. How many were there, and who were they?"
"How many beings entered the Wu Dao Age and fused with the True Blood of Original Sin back then, this old monk does not know. Nor do I know who they all were. However..." The Old Monk paused briefly before continuing, "The Taotie you devoured not long ago is one of them."
Good heavens!
Gu Qingfeng's heart couldn't help but tremble slightly. The fact that the Blood-Devouring Cauldron had transformed into the Desolate Ancient ferocious beast, the heaven-and-earth-devouring Taotie, was already giving him a headache. Now he learned this damn beast had also devoured the True Blood of Original Sin? In other words, the Taotie was one of the so-called Children of Original Sin? And might potentially become the True Lord of Original Sin in the future?
Thinking of this, Gu Qingfeng's headache intensified. But before he could catch his breath, the Old Monk's next sentence nearly made him choke.
"Moreover, the Avici Without Interval Evil Asura and the From Azure Heaven to Yellow Springs within Fellow Daoist Gu's body also entered the Wu Dao Age back then and fused with the True Blood of Original Sin."
Hearing this, Gu Qingfeng froze in place. He even wondered if he had misheard. "Old Monk, are you teasing me or trying to scare me? Let me tell you, my nerves are pretty sensitive right now. It's best not to joke about things like this."
"This old monk never jokes, especially not with you, Fellow Daoist Gu."
"So... you're saying the Avici Without Interval Evil Asura and the From Azure Heaven to Yellow Springs, like that damn Taotie, have both fused with the True Blood of Original Sin? They're all damn Children of Original Sin?"
The Old Monk said nothing, only chanting a single "Amitabha Buddha."
This chant seemed filled with helplessness and sorrow.
But this helplessness didn't appear to be for Gu Qingfeng, nor was the sorrow for him.
It seemed more like helplessness and sorrow for the Great Dao's myriad beings, for fate and karma.
Within the Realm of Extinction.
Gu Qingfeng's Divine Sense appeared somewhat distorted.
This was because his inner self was affected by intense emotional fluctuations.
Indeed.
He had fused with the Avici Without Interval Evil Asura in an ancient temple during the Ancient Era.
And the From Azure Heaven to Yellow Springs had inexplicably been born within him at the beginning of the Present Era.
He might not know exactly what these two existences were, but deep down, he knew that both the Avici Without Interval Evil Asura and the From Azure Heaven to Yellow Springs were terrifying presences.
He knew.
He had always known, and could clearly feel it.
He could even more or less guess that these two existences were related to Original Sin, and that their appearance within his body was definitely no accident.
He just hadn't expected their relationship with Original Sin to be so 'intimate'—that they were Children of Original Sin who had fused with the True Blood of Original Sin.
Add the heaven-and-earth-devouring Blood Taotie to the mix, and in other words, Gu Qingfeng now had three Children of Original Sin living inside him.
Wasn't this just a bit too damn exciting?
Of course, this wasn't the main reason for his emotional turmoil. What truly baffled him was: since these three existences were already damn Children of Original Sin who had fused with the True Blood of Original Sin, why were they connected to him? And why the hell were they stubbornly living inside his body, refusing to leave?
It wasn't that he couldn't drive them out, but that he couldn't. Because the Avici Without Interval Evil Asura had already become his soul, the From Azure Heaven to Yellow Springs had already become his incarnation, and as for that heaven-and-earth-devouring Blood Taotie, after devouring it, it had more or less fused with him as well.
This meant these three existences had all become part of Gu Qingfeng, like his mouth, ears, nose, or arms. How could he possibly drive them out?
The question was: why?
If one Child of Original Sin fusing with him was a coincidence, then two, three... could they all be coincidences?
Suddenly.
Gu Qingfeng remembered something the Old Monk had said earlier and asked, "Old Monk, you said earlier that my encounter with the Taotie was both destined by fate and caused by karma. What kind of karma exists between me and them? Could it be the so-called Original Sin? They've all fused with the True Blood of Original Sin, while I haven't. At most, I've only fused with the Blood of Original Sin."
"Fellow Daoist Gu, this old monk asks you a question: how do you know what you fused with wasn't the True Blood of Original Sin?"