Go and form a cultivation partnership with that person from Yunxia Sect?
Hearing Zhu Xia say this, both Wei Qing and Liu Piaopiao were filled with confusion. Liu Piaopiao asked, "Who is this person from Yunxia Sect you're talking about?"
Zhu Xia remained silent.
Wei Qing seemed to realize something and followed up, "Are you talking about Gu Qingfeng?"
Zhu Xia stood up, looked at Wei Qing, then at Liu Piaopiao, and nodded in acknowledgment.
Wei Qing and Liu Piaopiao exchanged a glance, both seeing surprise in each other's eyes, and quickly pressed further, "Why must we form a cultivation partnership with Gu Qingfeng?"
"The Empress has said that the successor of Bingxuan Sect must form a cultivation partnership with the successor of Yunxia Sect. This is the Empress's decree."
"As far as I know, Gu Qingfeng is not currently the successor of Yunxia Sect, is he?"
"That Gu..." For some reason, mentioning the name Gu Qingfeng seemed to make Zhu Xia extremely wary. She responded, "He is now the Heir Apparent Disciple of Yunxia Sect, so naturally he is the sect's successor."
"But he hasn't fused with the Yanyang Heart."
Faced with Wei Qing and Liu Piaopiao's questioning, Zhu Xia did not respond immediately. Only after a long while did she slowly say, "He will...
He definitely will...
He definitely will..." Watching Zhu Xia murmuring to herself like this, Wei Qing grew increasingly uneasy. He stepped forward and pressed again, "Zhu Xia, do you know something? Why won't you tell us!"
Zhu Xia remained silent.
Wei Qing continued, "You've been hiding things from the very beginning. Why are you still hiding things now?
Five hundred years ago, all of our consciousness seas fell into chaos, except for yours. Why is that?"
"You just said that having Leng Yanqiu and Gu Qingfeng form a cultivation partnership is the only way to free the Empress. What exactly does that mean?"
"Has the Empress awakened now or not? How much do you actually know? Why can't you tell us?"
Wei Qing poured out all the doubts in his heart in one go. Zhu Xia only shook her head and sighed, refusing to speak.
Time passed bit by bit.
The atmosphere in the stone chamber grew increasingly heavy.
Zhu Xia stood there, closed her eyes, sighed, and said, "The Empress said that this matter must follow its natural course, obey the laws of karma. Everything is predestined by fate."
Wei Qing wanted to ask more, but before he could speak, Zhu Xia interrupted him, "I said, everything is predestined by fate. Don't ask anymore. What you are meant to know, you will know. What you are not meant to know, if I tell you, will only disrupt the laws of karma. Go back. Don't ask anymore..." Zhu Xia's response left Wei Qing and the others both utterly perplexed and helpless. After much thought, the three could only leave for the time being.
After Wei Qing had been gone for a long time, Zhu Xia sighed again. There were three other people still standing in the stone chamber, also among the seven envoys left behind by Yun Nishang. One of the elders asked, "If we told Wei Qing and the others the truth, would it really disrupt the laws of karma?"
"Perhaps. I don't know either."
Zhu Xia sat back down on the chair, looking as if she were deeply troubled. "It's just that the chaos in their consciousness seas must be connected to karma. I dare not recklessly inform them."
"Now that Yanqiu has fused with the Bingxuan Heart, when should we take her to Yunxia Sect?"
"The sooner the better."
"Don't we need to wait for that person from Yunxia Sect to fuse with the Yanyang Heart?"
"No need...
If we wait for him to fuse with the Yanyang Heart, it will be too late..."
"But...
Will that person agree?
If he were just an ordinary person, it would be easier to discuss, but the key is he is..."
"The Empress said, just let everything follow its natural course. Everything is predestined by fate."
...
Yunxia Sect, Lingyin Garden.
Gu Qingfeng lay reclined on the rocking chair, eyes closed, legs crossed, leisurely taking sips of wine.
His handsome face bore an indescribable expression of depression and confusion.
He had long known his karma was not simple.
Over the past five hundred years, he had encountered several bizarre events and mysterious individuals, all related to karma.
If not for this, after awakening this time, he wouldn't have been so idle as to want to investigate his own karma.
He knew.
He had always felt this way.
But only when he truly began to investigate did he realize his karma might be far more complicated than he had imagined.
A woman, to escape her karma with him.
Had schemed for three thousand years, mending karma, severing karma, grafting karma. Even after reincarnating through her bloodline, she did not wish to awaken, and even completely sealed her soul.
It was a truly complete seal.
Ouyang Ye was now lying inside. Gu Qingfeng had examined her carefully. The little girl's soul was sealed tight. To be precise, it could hardly be called a seal anymore; it had completely merged into the little girl's bloodline.
What kind of method was this?
This damn thing meant Yun Nishang had buried her own soul, buried it within Ouyang Ye's bloodline.
Gu Qingfeng thought and thought, but couldn't understand. What kind of terrifying karma was worth Yun Nishang doing this?
Why did she bury her own soul?
Never planning to awaken again?
Was it worth it?
Was it necessary?
Gu Qingfeng thought until he felt like crying but had no tears. When he asked the Old Monk, he only advised him to turn back from the shore. The Old Monk's implication was clear: a great figure like Yun Nishang, facing your karma, would rather bury her own soul to escape it. Why are you still investigating?
Gu Qingfeng thought about it carefully and found it reasonable. But the key point was, he had no idea what his karma actually was.
He sighed, poured a cup of wine, and downed it in one gulp.
At that moment.
The door to the room in the courtyard suddenly opened, and a woman walked out.
The woman wore a green dress, her crimson hair cascading freely. Her exquisite face was filled with endless confusion and bewilderment, her beautiful eyes flashing with panic. When she saw Gu Qingfeng reclining in the courtyard, she was first stunned, then exclaimed in shock, "You...
You...
You are Gu Qingfeng?
I...
How did I get here?"
The woman was none other than Ouyang Ye.
Gu Qingfeng stood up, squinted his eyes, and unabashedly looked her up and down, smiling, "How did you get here...
That's an excellent question!"
"Why is my hair..." Ouyang Ye touched her red locks, her mind in complete disarray. She tried to recall, remembering clearly that some time ago, due to her unstable bloodline, she had been recuperating at her aunt's mountain villa. Then...
Once, her bloodline acted up, and then...
And then there was no 'then.' Her memory stopped there.
"What happened?"
Ouyang Ye stared with wide eyes, looking panicked and terrified. She tried to remember, but the more she tried, the more chaotic her memories became, and her head ached terribly. Looking at Gu Qingfeng, for some reason, an extremely peculiar sense of déjà vu welled up in her heart.