"Brother Gu, do you know that utilizing reincarnation can also alter karma, even change fate?"
Mo Wentian's voice came through. Gu Qingfeng nodded.
In his mind, using reincarnation to seize the initiative was inherently a way to alter karma and fate.
Otherwise, those Great Dao experts wouldn't risk utter annihilation to undergo reincarnation one after another.
For instance, seizing the advantage of Heavenly Mandate after reincarnation seemed to count as altering karma and fate.
But that was only how it appeared.
Karma and fate weren't things one could simply change at will.
Reincarnation itself was a kind of antecedent cause. Even if one seized the initiative, they would inevitably pay the corresponding consequences later.
Karma was endless; for every antecedent cause, there would be a consequence.
As for whether one could truly change fate...
Probably no one could say for sure.
"No."
Mo Wentian spoke again. "Brother Gu, you haven't grasped my meaning."
Hmm?
Gu Qingfeng was puzzled. "What do you mean?"
"What I mean by using reincarnation to alter karma is to create a new strand of karma!"
Mo Wentian stared at Gu Qingfeng, his face, chiseled like a statue, wearing an extremely grave expression, his tone particularly solemn. "One could also say it's creating a new strand of karma for oneself."
"New karma?"
Gu Qingfeng's brow furrowed slightly as he murmured, "Creating a new strand of karma for oneself?"
To be honest.
Having lived this long, this was the first time he'd heard such a notion.
What did it mean to create new karma for oneself?
Could karma even be created for oneself?
Even if it were possible, karma didn't have so-called 'new' or 'old,' did it?
Karma was cyclical; where there was a cause, there was an effect; where there was an effect, there was a cause.
Where did 'new karma' come from?
"It's an ancient taboo known as 'Planting a Cause'!"
Upon hearing the words 'Planting a Cause,' Gu Qingfeng felt as if struck by lightning, instantly understanding Mo Wentian's meaning.
He himself had never planted a cause, but he had had causes planted on him by others.
For example, the three-life karma between him and Yun Nishang.
First life: Hongxiu. Second life: Ouyang Ye. Third life: Yun Nishang.
The Hongxiu he met in his youth was likely a cause Yun Nishang had planted on him.
And the three-life karma between him and Canyang Wuyou.
First life: Feng Zhuyue. Second life: Mantufan. Third life: Canyang Wuyou.
The Feng Zhuyue he first encountered was probably a cause Canyang Wuyou had planted on him.
"Some Great Dao experts hide the causes they plant very, very deeply...
They use a wisp of their True Self consciousness to gestate what is called an Incarnation, then have that Incarnation undergo reincarnation...
Thereby gestating a new Id consciousness, then have that Id consciousness undergo reincarnation to gestate an Ego consciousness...
Repeating this cycle of reincarnation over and over..." "This way, only their true form knows about this hidden strand of karma. But the Ego consciousness they gestated, after countless cycles of reincarnation, has no idea it is merely a wisp of another's Ego Incarnation."
"Some Great Dao experts, coveting the position of True Lord of Original Sin, used a wisp of their True Self consciousness as early as the Desolation Ancient Era to gestate an Id Incarnation, then had it reincarnate, gestating an Ego Incarnation, making them become individuals with innate Original Sin."
"Letting them seek Original Sin on their own—this way, they can effectively conceal the identity of their true form."
"In the future, if they need to, they can effortlessly merge the gestated Ego Incarnation back into themselves. And you would be utterly unable to resist, because you are merely a wisp of their Ego Incarnation, just a strand of karma they planted, nothing more."
Listening to Mo Wentian's words, Gu Qingfeng was completely stunned.
He was like this.
Ren Tianxing was no exception.
Clearly, this was the first time either of them had heard such a shocking, hair-raising, and terrifying revelation.
Yes.
Hair-raising, terrifying, and even more horrifying upon deeper thought.
"This is also the reason why I have always sought to understand karma."
Gu Qingfeng quickly pressed, "You suspect you are someone else's Ego Incarnation?"
Ren Tianxing also stared at Mo Wentian with an incredulous look.
Mo Wentian lowered his head, drank a cup of wine, glanced at Gu Qingfeng, then at Ren Tianxing, and nodded.
His nod wasn't a big deal in itself, but it genuinely startled Gu Qingfeng and Ren Tianxing. The two exchanged a glance, both sinking into deep contemplation.
They were both pondering one question.
If Mo Wentian was someone else's Ego Incarnation, then they themselves likely were too.
Such a possibility was undeniably terrifying.
Imagine if a person, living one lifetime, perhaps two, even three, ultimately turned out to be merely a wisp of someone else's Ego Incarnation. How utterly tragic would that be?
That wouldn't be living for oneself, but for another. One wouldn't be living as oneself, but merely as a strand of another's memory, nothing more.
This was truly...
Earlier, when Mo Wentian mentioned karma, he had seemed somewhat melancholy, hesitant, and confused. Gu Qingfeng hadn't quite understood why.
Now he finally knew why Mo Wentian was melancholy, why he was hesitant, why he was confused.
If it were him, he would be hesitant and confused too.
He also finally understood why, throughout the ages, so many experts, fully aware that seeking karma was a path of no return, were still so obsessed.
They weren't seeking karma; they were seeking the True Self, the real 'them'!
Perhaps sensing the worry in Gu Qingfeng and Ren Tianxing's hearts, Mo Wentian smiled and said, "Brothers, there's no need to think too much. This is merely my speculation. Whether it's true or false, I cannot be certain. It's just...
I have some doubts, that's all."
"If..." Ren Tianxing asked, "if you really are someone else's Ego Incarnation, what then?"
Gu Qingfeng also wanted to know the answer to this question.
He felt that if Mo Wentian really was someone else's Ego Incarnation, then what was the point of seeking karma?
Even if one sought out the Id, or even the True Self, what then?
In the end, once merged back into the true form, wouldn't that mean the Ego was lost?
If that were truly the case, then why seek karma at all?
Why seek the Id?
"If I really am someone else's Ego Incarnation..." Mo Wentian closed his eyes, took a deep breath, shook his head slightly, and after a moment, opened his eyes again. "I also don't know what should be done..." Changing the subject, a faint smile appeared on his sculpted face. "However, someone once told me it's possible to sever karma."
Ren Tianxing said, "Sever the karma with the true form?"
"Yes."
"Karma..." Gu Qingfeng also asked, "can it be severed?"
Mo Wentian smiled and shook his head. He couldn't answer that question. After filling the wine cups for Gu Qingfeng and Ren Tianxing, he added, "I once asked Genggu Wuming this very question. Do you know how she answered me?"
"She said one sentence to me."
"What sentence?"
"'The Desolation Ancient Calamity births Heaven and Earth, Endless Reincarnation manifests Past and Present, Past and Future Lives reveal Karma, Whose Fate is Whose depends on Heaven!'"