Could it be that back then on Wudao Mountain, after I ignited the Original Sin Karmic Fire, I truly lost myself?
And was lost for a full ten thousand years?
If that really was the case, then how did I lose myself?
What did I do while I was lost?
And how did I finally find myself again?
Gu Qingfeng pondered and pondered, thought and thought, but unfortunately, he couldn't recall anything.
He didn't know how he had lost himself, nor how he had regained himself. What he had done while lost was even more of a mystery.
It was like amnesia.
Moreover, after he awoke back then, he hadn't felt any discomfort whatsoever—none of that confusion between past lives and the present, and so on.
Or perhaps I really was lost, but I just don't know it.
Opposite him.
Seeing him lost in thought, Mo Wentian and Ren Tianxing asked, "Gu Brother, what are you thinking?"
Gu Qingfeng didn't hide anything and voiced his doubts. Ren Tianxing had no experience in this area; he had never lost himself, so he couldn't answer the question. And although Mo Wentian had experience with losing himself, this wasn't something that could be understood just because you had experience. If he could have understood it, Mo Wentian wouldn't still be unable to distinguish between his past and present lives.
Besides, at this very moment, Mo Wentian didn't even know if he was still himself. How could he possibly answer Gu Qingfeng's questions?
"Gu Brother, I'm truly sorry. If it were any other question, I might be able to offer some insight, but regarding this matter of being lost, I'm utterly powerless..." Mo Wentian shook his head with a sigh.
Gu Qingfeng laughed heartily and said nonchalantly, "Brother Mo, you're too polite. It's just a suspicion of mine. Perhaps I'm overthinking things."
"When Wudao Mountain manifested in the mortal world back then, I didn't go myself, but such a major event surely had many participants. There are no walls that don't leak. Alright, Gu Brother, rest assured about this matter. I'll investigate and get to the bottom of it for you as soon as possible."
Hearing this, Gu Qingfeng quickly said, "Brother Mo, I appreciate your kindness, but since this matter is in the past, let's just leave it be."
Mo Wentian feigned anger. "Does Gu Brother not consider me a friend?"
"That's not what I meant."
Gu Qingfeng explained, "It's just that I heard you mention being lost, which made me suspicious. Besides...
Even if I really did lose myself back then, haven't I found my way back now? As for whether the current me is still the same as the old me... to be honest,
I don't know. Perhaps yes, perhaps no. Anyway, I don't feel any different. In short, whether it is or isn't, who cares? I'm indifferent. I'll live my life as I always have."
"This..." Mo Wentian's heart trembled slightly, then he shook his head with a bitter smile. "The loftiness of Gu Brother's Mental State truly makes me envious."
Gu Qingfeng was utterly exasperated. "Alright, alright, here we go again..." Mo Wentian genuinely admired Gu Qingfeng's go-with-the-flow mentality.
If possible, he too would like to be as indifferent, as unconcerned, and as adaptable as Gu Qingfeng.
The problem was, some things weren't something you could just see through, let go of, or comprehend just because you wanted to.
Take this matter of Karma, for example. No matter how he looked at it, he couldn't see through it, couldn't let it go, and couldn't comprehend it.
Seeking Karma had become his obsession. As long as he lived for one more day, he would never give up.
In contrast, Gu Qingfeng.
He felt he hadn't seen through or comprehended so-called Karma and Fate. It was just that he was born this way—adaptable and lazy by nature.
Call it going with the flow, or call it resigning to Fate.
Gu Qingfeng couldn't be bothered to argue.
If personality truly determined Fate, then Gu Qingfeng's adaptable nature could only resign him to Fate.
The three of them drank and chatted, mostly about these headache-inducing matters of Original Sin and Karma. After all, all three of them were bearers of Original Sin and variables of the current era—fellow sufferers under the same sky. Besides discussing Original Sin and Karma, they could only talk about Original Sin and Karma.
"Brother Gu."
The cold and silent Ren Tianxing suddenly spoke up and asked, "To what extent have you sunk into Original Sin now?"
Strangely enough.
Ren Tianxing's question truly stumped him.
Nowadays, all beings in heaven and earth said he had sunk very, very deep into Original Sin. But exactly how deep had he sunk? Not only did Ren Tianxing and Mo Wentian not know, even Gu Qingfeng himself didn't know. And what frustrated him even more was that he didn't feel he had sunk particularly deep into Original Sin at all.
It was said that Original Sin was divided into several major stages.
The first was the Original Sin Incarnation, the second was the Original Sin Sambhogakaya, the third was the Original Sin Nirmanakaya, and the fourth was the Original Sin Dharmakaya.
The problem was.
Throughout his life and journey so far, Gu Qingfeng had neither become an Original Sin Incarnation nor an Original Sin Sambhogakaya. As for the Original Sin Nirmanakaya and the Original Sin Dharmakaya, he certainly hadn't become those either.
At least.
He had not a single impression of this stuff.
They all said that back on Wudao Mountain, when he ignited the Original Sin Karmic Fire, he had also awakened Original Sin.
But Gu Qingfeng had no recollection of it.
Perhaps when he ignited the Original Sin Karmic Fire back then, he truly lost himself and became an Original Sin Incarnation. Then, during the ten thousand years he was lost, he also became an Original Sin Sambhogakaya, an Original Sin Nirmanakaya, and perhaps even an Original Sin Dharmakaya.
Thinking about it carefully, this possibility couldn't be ruled out.
After all, becoming an Original Sin Incarnation was like going mad, especially after becoming an Original Sin Sambhogakaya, or even an Original Sin Nirmanakaya—you became more like a puppet of Original Sin. Once Original Sin gestated a new consciousness, that became the Original Sin Dharmakaya. After becoming an Original Sin Dharmakaya, although the Ego was still the Ego, the True Self was long lost, just like a person losing their core personality.
It couldn't exactly be said that the True Self was lost, because after becoming an Original Sin Dharmakaya, the Ego was gestated by Original Sin. Therefore, at that point, your True Self had already become Original Sin.
Could it be that I am now also an Original Sin Dharmakaya?
Gu Qingfeng shook his head. He didn't think so.
At least, it didn't feel that way.
Because he still had his humanity.
Moreover, the Original Sin within him was faint and elusive, so he had never felt how deeply he had sunk into Original Sin.
Not only did he not feel he had sunk deep, but he also felt as if he were drifting further and further away from Original Sin.
Both Mo Wentian and Ren Tianxing also felt he was not an Original Sin Dharmakaya. As for why not, neither could explain it clearly. Like Gu Qingfeng, it was just a feeling.
The difference was.
Gu Qingfeng felt he was drifting further and further away from Original Sin.
Mo Wentian and Ren Tianxing, however, felt he had already sunk incredibly deep, so deep that they, as two Original Sin Dharmakayas, couldn't even fathom it.