"To break free from Original Sin, one must become Original Sin... only by becoming Original Sin can one break free from it..." Gu Qingfeng murmured these words, finding them strangely familiar. Upon careful thought, he couldn't help but let out a bitter laugh.
Although he had never heard anyone else say this phrase, he had seriously considered it himself.
Not only considered it—in the past, to break free from Original Sin, he had even intended to do exactly that.
It was true.
Back then, to rid himself of Original Sin, he had tried many methods, but they all ultimately failed. Even igniting the Original Sin Karmic Fire on Wudao Mountain could not free him; instead, he sank deeper.
After that, he had prepared to smash the broken jar—since he couldn't escape, he might as well become Original Sin, burn his boats, and either succeed or perish.
However.
As his Mental State changed, his desire to break free from Original Sin grew fainter. Perhaps he had truly resigned himself to Fate, and later he simply grew too lazy to struggle anymore.
As for whether becoming Original Sin could truly free one from it...
To be honest.
Gu Qingfeng didn't know.
He had only thought about it, nothing more.
Based on his understanding of Ren Tianxing, this fellow was probably like him—having tried countless methods to escape Original Sin, only to fail each time. In the end, left with no choice, he could only smash the broken jar and walk an extreme path of either success or death.
"To break free from Original Sin, one must become Original Sin."
Gu Qingfeng asked, "Old Ren, are you really planning to clash with Original Sin to the death like this?"
Ren Tianxing said expressionlessly, "This is the only path I can walk."
"So you intend to Ascend to the Pinnacle and become the True Lord of Original Sin?"
"If only by Ascending to the Pinnacle and becoming the True Lord of Original Sin can one break free from Original Sin..."
Ren Tianxing tilted his head back and drained a cup of wine, declaring proudly, "I will spare no cost to ascend to that pinnacle!"
"You said 'if.' If you truly ascend and become the True Lord of Original Sin but still cannot break free, what will you do then?"
Ren Tianxing fell silent.
Because the question Gu Qingfeng asked was one he simply could not answer.
It wasn't that he hadn't considered this problem.
But.
Now, only this one path lay before him. Apart from this road, he had no other choice. So, regardless of whether becoming the True Lord of Original Sin would allow him to break free, he had to gamble.
Gu Qingfeng patted Ren Tianxing's shoulder and smiled, "Old Ren, don't overthink it. I was just speaking offhand. No one can say for sure about such matters. Perhaps ascending to become the True Lord of Original Sin really can free you. After all, we are merely those with Original Sin. No matter how deep we sink, we are still just that—we don't truly understand Original Sin. Without understanding, how can we break free?"
"As the saying goes, know yourself and know your enemy, and you will never be defeated. Only by thoroughly understanding Original Sin can you cast it off. In all heaven and earth, perhaps only by becoming the True Lord of Original Sin can one truly and thoroughly comprehend it."
"Your choice is right. If I were you, I'd do the same. I won't hide it from you—I once thought this way too, and even intended to act on it. It's just that..." Gu Qingfeng shook his head, gave a helpless laugh, sighed, and mocked himself, "I've resigned myself to Fate now, and I'm too lazy to struggle anymore."
"Brother Gu, excessive modesty is just showing off."
Mo Wentian joked, "Are you flaunting your Mental State to the two of us?"
"When have I ever been excessively modest?"
Gu Qingfeng said gloomily, "Besides, what is there to show off about resigning oneself to Fate?"
"And Brother Mo, don't go on about how profound my Mental State is. I know my own nature. If my Mental State were as lofty as you claim, why can't I feel it at all?"
"Brother Gu, have you not heard the ancient saying: 'Those closely involved cannot see clearly, while observers can'?"
"Enough!"
Gu Qingfeng waved his hand. It wasn't that he was being modest; he truly didn't believe his Mental State was as profound as Mo Wentian described. He genuinely couldn't understand how his own go-with-the-flow attitude could be seen in Mo Wentian's eyes as some damn All Four Elements Are Empty Great Dao Mental State.
In his view, his go-with-the-flow attitude, phrased nicely, was going with the natural course; phrased harshly, it was just damn resigning oneself to Fate.
It had nothing to do with any All Four Elements Are Empty Great Dao Mental State.
What was All Four Elements Are Empty? Gu Qingfeng didn't know.
What was a Great Dao Mental State? He didn't know that either.
The only thing he knew was that he felt increasingly lifeless and uninterested the longer he lived.
This was also the root cause of his envy and jealousy toward Ren Tianxing. Regardless of whether ascending to become the True Lord of Original Sin could truly free him, at least Ren Tianxing knew what he should do.
Looking at himself, having lived to this point, the longer he lived, the more lost and confused he became. He didn't even know what he was living for.
Thinking of this, Gu Qingfeng's heart jolted. He thought to himself: Could it be that I truly have no desires or pursuits, that I've achieved All Four Elements Are Empty?
No way?
Gu Qingfeng's first reaction was neither joy nor excitement, but a sense of something terrifying!
Because he didn't think achieving All Four Elements Are Empty was a good thing at all; rather, it was quite tragic and horrifying. Just think—if a person lived without any desires or pursuits, what was the point of living?
What meaning was there in life?
What difference was there from a damn zombie without a soul, without thoughts, without consciousness?
He shook his head.
Gu Qingfeng didn't continue this line of thought.
He glanced at Mo Wentian and asked, "Brother Mo, Old Ren sank deeper because he devoured many of those with Original Sin. What about you? You shouldn't be the same, right?"
Ren Tianxing was a demon, a cold, ruthless demon who knew neither good nor evil, had no morals, and killed without blinking. For him to devour other Original Sin beings and deepen his own sin was quite normal.
But Mo Wentian was a great, righteous hero of towering presence. He shouldn't be capable of doing something like devouring other Original Sin beings to deepen his own sin, right?
Moreover.
Ren Tianxing did this because he had no choice, to break free from Original Sin.
But Mo Wentian didn't seem particularly keen on escaping Original Sin.
Gu Qingfeng reckoned Mo Wentian wouldn't do such a thing.
Sure enough.
Mo Wentian said, "I am different from Brother Ren. Although I somewhat reject my identity as one with Original Sin, that's all. If I can break free from Original Sin, of course that would be best. If I cannot, I won't force it too much. Let everything follow its natural course."
"If that's the case, then how did you sink deeper?"
When this topic came up earlier, Ren Tianxing fell silent and drank several cups of wine in succession.
Now, as the topic returned and it was Mo Wentian's turn, even his handsome, sculpted face revealed a very complicated expression.
There was boundless helplessness, boundless confusion, and boundless bewilderment. He sighed deeply, furrowed his brows tightly, downed three cups of wine in a row, and after a moment, slowly uttered four words: "It's a long story."