There was no sky above, no earth below—only endless chaotic spatial currents, tumbling and roaring like raging, ceaseless waves.
A man stood within these endless chaotic currents.
He wore robes white as snow, his hair black as ink, standing quietly and undisturbed. No matter how wildly the currents raged, they could not shake him in the slightest. His sleeves did not flutter, his hair did not dance. His body was like a solitary peak, his person like a sword.
It was none other than Gu Qingfeng.
After shattering Ancestor Xuanming's illusion, he had not left. His pair of deep, dark eyes gazed into the endless spatial chaos.
Ancestor Xuanming had vanished. Where he had gone, Gu Qingfeng did not know. He didn't even know when Ancestor Xuanming had appeared; otherwise, he wouldn't have so silently fallen into the illusion Ancestor Xuanming had laid.
As for who Ancestor Xuanming truly was, he also did not know. The name was completely unfamiliar to him; he had never heard it before.
The only thing he knew was that this Ancestor Xuanming was also an Original Sin person. It was highly likely that, like the entities within his body—the Avici Endless Evil Asura, the Reaching the Azure Above and Yellow Springs Below, and others—he had also fused with Original Sin blood.
Perhaps it was even more than that. If that were truly the case, then what kind of existence would Ancestor Xuanming be? Suddenly, a possibility occurred to Gu Qingfeng.
Original Sin Dharmakaya!
In his understanding, whether innate or acquired, Original Sin was divided into several major stages.
The first stage was the Original Sin Incarnation. The second stage was the Original Sin Retribution Body. The third stage was the Original Sin Response Body. The fourth stage was the Original Sin Dharmakaya.
The so-called Original Sin Incarnation, as the name implied, meant becoming an incarnation of Original Sin, like a mad demon. Although self-awareness remained, it could no longer be controlled; at the very least, humanity would be gone.
The second stage was the Original Sin Retribution Body. Whatever evil one committed while an Original Sin Incarnation would determine the form of the Original Sin Retribution Body. If the Original Sin Incarnation was the cause, then the Original Sin Retribution Body was the effect. This was the principle of evil begetting evil retribution.
The third stage was the Original Sin Response Body. Once Original Sin entered this stage, self-awareness would almost completely vanish, like a chaotic mass. One would sink deeper and deeper, and the sin would grow heavier and heavier.
The fourth stage was the Original Sin Dharmakaya. Upon entering this stage, a completely new self-awareness would gestate. However, this self-awareness would already belong to Original Sin itself. If Original Sin was the Great Dao, then the Original Sin Dharmakaya would be like a seed within that Great Dao—a seed that would take root and sprout.
To this day, Gu Qingfeng had never seen the so-called Original Sin Dharmakaya. Although, due to the incident of igniting the Original Sin Karmic Fire at Mount Wu Dao back then, many speculated that he was the Original Sin Dharmakaya, Gu Qingfeng knew very clearly that he was not. He didn't even think he was an Original Sin Response Body or Retribution Body; he might not even be an Original Sin Incarnation.
After all, throughout all these years, his self-awareness had never changed; he had always remained lucid. He had suspected whether his consciousness might have changed silently without him knowing, but upon later reflection, he felt that was unlikely.
Because he felt he still possessed humanity. He still understood good and evil, understood cause and effect. If he had silently become an Original Sin Dharmakaya yet still retained humanity, then the so-called Original Sin probably wouldn't be Original Sin anymore.
Of course.
This was merely his speculation. Whether Ancestor Xuanming was or was not an Original Sin Dharmakaya remained unknown.
In his thoughts, if Ancestor Xuanming were merely an Original Sin Retribution Body or Response Body, his consciousness should be chaotic and vague. Only an Original Sin Dharmakaya would gestate a new Original Sin consciousness. Moreover, only by becoming an Original Sin Dharmakaya, truly merging with Original Sin, becoming indistinguishable from it, could one perhaps be called an Original Sin Son. And only by becoming an Original Sin Son would one have the qualification to become the True Lord of Original Sin.
The more he thought about it, the more plausible this possibility seemed.
Earlier, when trapped in the illusion laid by Ancestor Xuanming and facing him, Gu Qingfeng had felt as if he were facing true Original Sin. He had even suspected for a moment that Ancestor Xuanming was the legendary Venerable Wu Dao. Moreover, when Ancestor Xuanming claimed to be the consciousness gestated by Original Sin, Gu Qingfeng had almost believed him.
Thinking of this, Gu Qingfeng couldn't help but sink into deep contemplation.
He was thinking about the words Ancestor Xuanming had spoken.
Ancestor Xuanming said that during the Desolate Ancient Era, Original Sin had gestated a wisp of consciousness. It was precisely this wisp of consciousness that caused the Great Daos to fall one after another, with countless Great Dao progenitors dying or being wounded, and even opened the Wu Dao Era.
Was this matter true or false?
It sounded rather true.
If it were true, then it was utterly insane.
To think that the Wu Dao Era had been opened during the Desolate Ancient times meant that the Three Thousand Great Daos had truly perished back then. Otherwise, the Wu Dao Era could not have been opened.
Suddenly.
Gu Qingfeng thought of a place he had once visited.
Back then, he had dream-entered the Land of Vanity and inexplicably arrived at a cemetery.
It was a Great Dao cemetery.
Within that cemetery were buried the graves of the Three Thousand Great Daos.
Yes!
The graves of the Three Thousand Great Daos were all there—the graves of the Immortal Dao, the Monster Dao, the Monster Dao, the Ghost Dao, and all other Daos, including the Heavenly Dao.
To this day, he still vividly remembered the shock and bewilderment he felt upon first entering this Great Dao cemetery.
In the past, he hadn't understood. He didn't understand why, when the Three Thousand Great Daos still existed, there would be graves of the Daos buried here.
Now he understood. Those graves of the Daos were not false; they were all real, buried after the Three Thousand Great Daos perished during the Desolate Ancient Era.
But...
If the Three Thousand Great Daos had truly perished during the Desolate Ancient times, if the Wu Dao Era had truly been opened, then why had the Wu Dao Era later vanished? Why had the perished Three Thousand Great Daos been resurrected?
Although many among the Three Thousand Great Daos have disappeared to this day, the Immortal Dao, Monster Dao, Monster Dao, Ghost Dao, including the Heavenly Dao, indeed still exist.
What exactly happened during the Desolate Ancient Era?
Did Original Sin truly gestate a wisp of consciousness?
If it truly did, then where was this wisp of consciousness now?
Gu Qingfeng had far, far too many doubts in his heart.
Unfortunately.
No one could answer him.
He shook his head.
Letting out a helpless sigh, he thought of Da Xing the Mad Monk. He pondered that Da Xing must know the secret tales of the Desolate Ancient Era, but that old bald donkey loved to hide and conceal, refusing to speak. Then, he thought of the entities within his body—the Avici Endless Evil Asura, the Reaching the Azure Above and Yellow Springs Below, and the Heaven-Devouring, Earth-Swallowing Blood Taotie, including that mysterious object of ill omen.
These existences had all fused with Original Sin blood, and they had all obtained that Original Sin blood during the Wu Dao Era opened in the Desolate Ancient times. Presumably, they should also know what happened during the Desolate Ancient Era.
Even more unfortunately, these existences were all dead.
Not even their consciousness remained. If they still had consciousness, Gu Qingfeng reckoned they wouldn't have become fortunes upon his body.
The only thing likely remaining was probably their wills.