Ren Tianxing nodded.
Clearly, he agreed.
This left Gu Qingfeng feeling quite helpless, as he genuinely couldn't perceive just how deeply he was mired in Original Sin.
"I say, you two have said enough, haven't you? Let's put aside for now just how deep I am in Original Sin. Even if I'm the deepest, it's hardly some glorious, pride-worthy achievement. Not only do you two not pity me, but from the sound of it, you seem to be taking a bit of schadenfreude in this?
Can we still drink together in the future?"
Hearing this,
Mo Wentian laughed heartily, and even the cold, ruthless Ren Tianxing revealed a faint smile on his face.
Indeed,
Mo Wentian and Ren Tianxing did harbor a hint of schadenfreude.
However, this schadenfreude was more of a joke between friends.
Moreover, Gu Qingfeng clearly possessed a transcendent state of mind, yet insisted on calling himself a good-for-nothing with no great ambitions, resigned to fate.
This irked both Ren Tianxing and Mo Wentian.
If Gu Qingfeng was merely being modest on purpose, that would be one thing, but this fellow wasn't being modest—he genuinely considered himself a good-for-nothing.
It was as if Gu Qingfeng possessed a treasure, one that Ren Tianxing and Mo Wentian coveted immensely, dreaming of it yet unable to obtain it, while Gu Qingfeng said he had just been strolling along the road and casually picked up a stone.
Isn't that infuriating?
Even more infuriating was that the treasure in the eyes of Ren Tianxing and Mo Wentian was truly just a worthless stone in Gu Qingfeng's eyes.
This made the two of them both angry and helpless, feeling even more that fate was unjust and the heavens lacked fairness.
Mo Wentian was somewhat better off; at least, he had no interest in Original Sin.
Although Ren Tianxing also had no interest in Original Sin, in order to free himself from it, he had no choice but to deepen his own Original Sin.
Therefore, over all these years, he had been exhausting every possible means to deepen his Original Sin—innate Original Sin, acquired Original Sin, whatever Original Sin Embodiments or Original Sin Retribution Bodies—he had refined and devoured quite a few. To deepen his Original Sin, he had done almost everything that could be done and shouldn't be done, enduring unimaginable suffering in the process.
One must know that refining and devouring Original Sin was no simple matter.
Even refining a single treasure carried the risk of backlash; a single misstep could lead to turning to dust and smoke, becoming a sacrifice to the treasure.
Let alone Original Sin.
When refining something like this, once backlash occurred, the consequences weren't as simple as turning to dust and smoke—it was far worse. It was very likely that the one being refined wasn't someone else, but oneself.
Even if refinement succeeded, it didn't mean everything was settled.
Another's Original Sin was ultimately another's. Even after refining and integrating it into oneself, there would always be some degree of rejection. And as one refined more and more of others' Original Sin, more and more rejection would arise. Prolonged like this, the consequences were unimaginable.
Ren Tianxing was exactly like this.
When he first began refining others' Original Sin, although rejection occurred, the impact wasn't significant. But as he refined more and more of others' Original Sin, the Original Sin Blood within his body had become increasingly turbid and highly unstable, occasionally erupting into violent turmoil. Once such turmoil erupted, Ren Tianxing not only endured immense suffering but also experienced blurred consciousness, even losing his sense of self.
In other words, every time the Original Sin Blood within him erupted into turmoil, Ren Tianxing risked losing himself. With each eruption, he couldn't be sure whether his consciousness would awaken again.
In contrast, look at Gu Qingfeng.
Over the years, forget about actively refining others' Original Sin—he hadn't even done so passively. One could say he had never refined anyone's Original Sin. As Gu Qingfeng himself put it, he had just been drinking wine and watching the commotion, inexplicably and muddle-headedly sinking deeper and deeper into Original Sin, to a depth no one could fathom.
How could Ren Tianxing not envy this?
After all, he had undergone countless hardships and life-and-death trials to cultivate his Original Sin Dharmakaya, while Gu Qingfeng had done nothing yet his own Original Sin was beyond imagination.
However,
on second thought,
it was merely envy.
Envy did not mean desire.
If Ren Tianxing were truly asked to swap places with Gu Qingfeng, he would absolutely refuse.
He would rather deepen his own Original Sin step by step through immense hardship, even enduring the greatest suffering, than sink deeper and deeper inexplicably and muddle-headedly.
Ren Tianxing was Ren Tianxing, the solitary and aloof Weiyang Demon Emperor.
He was not Gu Qingfeng.
Gu Qingfeng could see things clearly; he might not be able to.
Gu Qingfeng could accept sinking deeper inexplicably; Ren Tianxing would never accept it no matter what.
As the saying goes, character determines fate. Ren Tianxing's character did not allow his fate to be held in another's hands. Precisely because of this, he spared no cost to free himself from Original Sin.
Gu Qingfeng was different. He had seen through things, grown indifferent, and attained profound insight, so he chose to resign himself to fate.
The Gu Qingfeng of the past might also have been solitary, aloof, and free-spirited.
The Gu Qingfeng of now no longer possessed any arrogance, only loneliness.
In the past, his free-spiritedness meant he could pick things up and put them down. Now, his free-spiritedness meant he was too lazy to put things down, so he was also too lazy to pick them up.
Regarding the suffering and danger Ren Tianxing endured from refining others' Original Sin, neither Gu Qingfeng nor Mo Wentian offered any words of persuasion.
Because they both understood Ren Tianxing. If Ren Tianxing could be persuaded by advice, he wouldn't be the Weiyang Demon Emperor, Ren Tianxing.
Another point was that they both knew this path was the only one Ren Tianxing could walk; there were simply no other choices.
No matter how bitter or difficult, Ren Tianxing had to bear it alone.
"Not long ago, when I encountered Patriarch Xuanming, he told me that during the Desolate Ancient Era, the source of Original Sin once gave birth to a wisp of consciousness. Later, it was this wisp of consciousness that slaughtered the Three Thousand Great Daos and ushered in the Era Without the Dao."
Gu Qingfeng asked, "Have you two heard of this?"
Both Ren Tianxing and Mo Wentian nodded, indicating they had.
"Is it true?"
Ren Tianxing signaled he didn't know. Mo Wentian replied, "I can't be certain either, but it should be true."
"What happened to that wisp of Consciousness of Original Sin later?"
"Some say it vanished along with the disappearance of the Era Without the Dao. Others say that wisp of Consciousness of Original Sin..." Mo Wentian glanced at the vast, boundless Desolate Ancient Black Hole and said, "...that it transformed into this Desolate Ancient Black Hole."
"This Desolate Ancient Black Hole was transformed from that wisp of Consciousness of Original Sin?
Is that true or false?"
"It cannot be confirmed, but..." Mo Wentian hesitated for a moment before speaking, "Earlier, when the roars echoed from the Desolate Ancient Black Hole, they were each time accompanied by bursts of shouts."
"'Original Sin is not sin!
Fate does not die, Original Sin does not cease; Fate does not end, Original Sin does not perish. The true meaning of the Great Dao, the mysteries of heaven and earth, all lie within Original Sin, all are illusory.'"
Ren Tianxing recited the shouts that accompanied the roars, then asked, "Brother Mo, do you suspect the shouts might originate from that wisp of Consciousness of Original Sin?"
"Yes. If the Desolate Ancient Black Hole truly transformed from that wisp of Consciousness of Original Sin, the shouts should indeed come from it."