What is love?
Kinship is love.
Friendship is also love.
Romantic love is love above all.
Even if Fusheng Dijun wished otherwise, he had to admit that what Peacock Great Emperor said was true.
He was indeed entangled by love.
Both the love of friendship and the love of romance, and even more so, the love of family.
He was not unaware that it was precisely this word 'love' that prevented him from comprehending the true essence of the Great Dao of Primordial Chaos.
He also knew that because of this word 'love', he had been forced to abandon many things, and many things he wished to do, he could not.
He knew.
He had always known, better than anyone.
He could be heartless, or he could forget love.
To disregard all emotion.
To forget the very word 'love'.
Yes.
He could.
Not only could he, but in his previous life, he had done exactly that—cold-blooded and heartless, attaining the Supreme State of Forgetfulness.
He thought that as long as he disregarded all emotion, attained the Supreme Forgetfulness, he could transcend the word 'love'.
It was only upon awakening his past life that he realized, heartlessness is heartlessness, forgetfulness is forgetfulness. Heartlessness does not mean transcendence, forgetfulness even less so.
The more heartless one is, the more one cares; the more one forgets love, the more one is attached. The word 'love' sinks its roots ever deeper.
To transcend the word 'love', one must see through it.
However.
The Fusheng Dijun of his past life failed to see through the word 'love', and the him of this life still cannot see through this word.
He cannot see through it, nor can he achieve it. Instead, he sinks deeper and deeper into this word 'love'.
If possible, Fusheng Dijun also wished to stand up and oppose Fate, even to obliterate Fate.
Although he was the ordained one who received the True Mandate to face the tribulation, he still wished to obliterate Fate. Or rather, precisely because he was the ordained one who received the True Mandate to face the tribulation, he wished even more to obliterate Fate.
The reason was simple.
His Fate in his previous life was controlled by others, and his Fate in this life is still controlled by others.
He did not want the Fate of his next life to still be controlled by others.
Unfortunately.
He could not do this.
Fusheng Dijun knew very well that if he truly did this, he would lose all the people he cared about.
The people he cared about were not only his mentor and disciple in this life, but also the woman he cared for most in his previous life!
Earlier.
Peacock Great Emperor had asked him a question, asking if he could afford to lose.
Fusheng Dijun answered that he did not know.
Peacock Great Emperor said that since his answer was 'did not know', it meant he could not afford to lose.
But Fusheng Dijun did not see it that way. It was not that he could not afford to lose; he did not know how to win.
Hearing Peacock Great Emperor mention You Di just now, Fusheng Dijun looked into the distance, the direction Gu Qingfeng had departed, and said, "I admit I cannot transcend the word 'love'. How do you know You Di cannot transcend it?"
"Even you, the ordained variable who received the True Mandate, have been implanted by Fate with the karmic tribulation of love, let alone You Di, the destined variable of Original Sin. You are important to Fate, but he is even more important. You determine the success or failure of Fate, but he determines it even more. Fate wants to hold you in its palm, and even more so wants to hold him in its palm."
"Have you learned about You Di's past?"
"I have."
"Even outsiders know that You Di's karma was grafted and his Fate arranged. I think You Di himself should be even clearer."
"Clear is clear, knowing is knowing, but the word 'love' is not something you can see through just because you are clear and know. I think you should have a deep understanding of this."
Changing the subject, Peacock Great Emperor added, "Moreover...
The love You Di faces is by no means as simple as it appears on the surface. I believe Fate has planted in him not merely a karmic love tribulation, but perhaps a love that even the Supreme Forgetfulness cannot forget, a love that even transcendence cannot transcend."
"Is Fate truly so terrifying?"
"Believe me."
Turning around, Peacock Great Emperor once again withdrew the smile from the corner of his mouth, staring intently at Fusheng Dijun, enunciating each word slowly, "The terror of Fate is beyond anyone's imagination."
Fusheng Dijun fell silent again.
And Peacock Great Emperor wore a look of deep loss, appearing like a fallen royal, tilting his head back, his eyes slightly closed.
Just then.
Boom— A tremendous roar echoed as the chaotic current vortices covering the sky suddenly began to spin violently, causing the entire Desolate Ancient Ruins to tremble and shake.
"It's finally coming."
Peacock Great Emperor opened his eyes and said helplessly, "And it's finally beginning..." Fusheng Dijun looked up at the violently spinning chaotic current vortices in the sky above. After a moment, he cupped his hands in salute and said, "Farewell!"
"Farewell!"
Fusheng Dijun was about to leave but turned his head to glance at the desert. Without saying a word, he vanished in a flash.
After he left, Peacock Great Emperor also turned to look at the desert, seeming somewhat hesitant. Then he shook his head and likewise vanished in a flash.
Boom— As the chaotic current vortices spun more and more fiercely, the Desolate Ancient Ruins shook more and more violently. The desert churned and roared like a tsunami. The light pillars that had abruptly appeared earlier had long since vanished. Looking out, the entire Desolate Ancient Ruins seemed on the verge of collapse and disintegration.
Just after Fusheng Dijun and Peacock Great Emperor vanished one after the other, two figures appeared in the desert.
One was clad in black robes, wearing a black hat, with even a black veil covering the face.
The other was wrapped tightly from head to toe in white cloth.
They were none other than the Witch Lady and Bai Chou.
The spot where the two appeared was precisely the place Fusheng Dijun and Peacock Great Emperor had been gazing at earlier.
The Witch Lady watched the violently spinning chaotic current vortices, and Bai Chou watched as well, saying, "You suddenly revealed yourself earlier, deliberately letting them know you were here."
The Witch Lady nodded in affirmation.
"Was it to warn Peacock Great Emperor, or to remind Fusheng Dijun?"
"Both as a warning and as a reminder."
"Heh."
Bai Chou asked again, "When Da Xing the Mad Monk was with You Di, you seemed to have done the same, also to warn Da Xing the Mad Monk and remind You Di?"
The Witch Lady affirmed again.
"Warning Da Xing the Mad Monk and Peacock Great Emperor not to speak recklessly, reminding Fusheng Dijun and You Di not to be influenced by them?"
This time, although the Witch Lady did not respond, Bai Chou seemed to already know the answer, saying, "Da Xing the Mad Monk and Peacock Great Emperor are truly in sync. One keeps an eye on the destined variable of Original Sin, the other on the ordained variable who received the True Mandate. It seems this time Buddhism...
No, it should be said the Zen Sect, has really gone all out this time."
Slowly letting out a breath, Bai Chou said with considerable helplessness, "They are playing with fire, and each plays a bigger game than the last. Peacock Great Emperor is still okay, at least he knows his limits. Fusheng Dijun is also a rational man and won't be influenced by Peacock Great Emperor. However...
Da Xing the Mad Monk is playing with fire a bit too much, and You Di is a man who follows his heart and nature."
"Da Xing the Mad Monk has been staying by You Di's side, mixing truth and falsehood, speaking nonsense, causing every existence in the heavens and the earth to be on tenterhooks. Although You Di hasn't done anything terrifying yet, given time...
I'm really afraid he might..." "The current situation is already chaotic enough, but Da Xing the Mad Monk has made the situation even more chaotic...
I really don't know what he's trying to do."