Gu Qingfeng was now basically certain that the Desolate Ancient Nine Palaces were all related to Original Sin, but exactly how they were related remained unknown.
The only thing he knew was that entering any of the Desolate Ancient Nine Palaces gave him a feeling of being summoned, as if something deep within the Nine Palaces was drawing him in.
He didn't dwell on it too much, pondering that he might as well venture deeper to see what was going on.
Although he had long since lost interest in Original Sin—neither wanting to vie for the position of Original Sin True Master nor bothering to rid himself of Original Sin—now that he had encountered it today, he wouldn't deceive himself by pretending he hadn't seen it.
His current attitude toward any existence was to let things take their natural course, to resign himself to fate.
He wouldn't accept it, but he wouldn't refuse it either.
Original Sin was no exception.
Anyway, he had nothing better to do. He might as well treat it as a bit of fun, a spectacle to watch.
He did not return to Zhen Palace, but remained in Li Palace. For a layabout like him, whether it was Zhen Palace or Li Palace, Qian Palace or Kan Palace, made no difference.
Since he had come to Li Palace, he couldn't be bothered to change.
Li Palace appeared no different from Zhen Palace. Inside, it was a vast, mysterious, and profoundly arcane void, with countless ruins floating like mountain ranges, shifting and transforming along with the changes of Li Palace itself.
All the ruins slowly rotated layer by layer, as if they were forgotten spaces swept into the Desolate Ancient Black Hole. Gu Qingfeng explored ruin after ruin while gradually descending deeper.
As he descended layer by layer, the sensation in his heart grew clearer and stronger.
This feeling seemed familiar, inevitably reminding him of the time he had fused with that drop of Blood of Original Sin.
He still remembered back in the secular world, when the Blood of Original Sin first appeared, Gu Qingfeng had felt as if that drop of Blood of Original Sin was summoning him.
To be precise, it wasn't so much a summoning as a resonance between things of the same origin, the same lineage. Even with his eyes closed, even from thousands of miles away, he could sense it.
It was like the call of a blood relative.
Thinking of this, Gu Qingfeng grew even more curious. What exactly was hidden within the Desolate Ancient Nine Palaces that could evoke such a strong, clear feeling?
Just as he was pondering this, he suddenly sensed something amiss. He turned his head to look, and what did he see?
He saw a beam of light flying straight toward him.
The light was a deep crimson, like a bloody glow.
It was like a sharp sword, moving with extreme speed, and it carried a dense, palpable killing intent!
Gu Qingfeng's perceptive eyes were as sharp as fiery golden pupils. With a single sweep of his gaze, he realized this wasn't simply a beam of light, but a person—an old man with disheveled hair. The old man wore tattered robes, his eyes blood-red and brimming with killing intent. His entire body emitted a bloody mist that burned fiercely like flames.
He didn't know who this disheveled old man was, but he could tell the old man was a bearer of Original Sin. The bloody mist and flames emanating from him were none other than the power of Original Sin.
The old man grinned, his expression eerie, his hands curled into claws as he lunged forward like a starving, vengeful ghost.
Gu Qingfeng halted in the void. Watching the old man charge at him, he raised his arm with lightning speed, firmly grasping the old man's wrist with one hand.
With one hand caught by Gu Qingfeng, the old man struggled twice but failed to break free. Enraged, the old man roared and thrust his other hand toward Gu Qingfeng's crown.
This claw strike from the old man was no simple matter. As it came, his palm descended like a collapsing firmament, his five fingers like celestial hooks. It contained boundless mysteries, its supernatural power shifting and transforming, imbued with immense force and the terrifying power of Original Sin.
"Or...
igi...
nal...
Sin...
Blood!
Tsk tsk!
This Ancestor wants your Blood of Original Sin!"
The old man's voice came through, fragmented, sinister, and dreadful.
Gu Qingfeng used his left arm to similarly catch the old man's attacking hand. With both hands trapped, the old man began to struggle violently. Power surged from within him, the bloody mist around his body burning wildly, like a beast that had lost its reason.
Gu Qingfeng held the old man's wrists firmly, his eyes fixed on him. He realized the old man's condition was like that of a frenzied demon—he had lost his reason, his sanity, and his self-awareness.
Could it be...
An Original Sin Sambhogakaya?
Yes!
It should be.
This old man before him was most likely an Original Sin Sambhogakaya.
Based on his understanding of Original Sin, while an Original Sin Avatar might be frenzied like a demon, its self-awareness remained. That is to say, even in madness, the self was still present.
But once one became an Original Sin Sambhogakaya, the self-awareness would gradually fade...
When the self-awareness completely vanished, one would become a puppet of Original Sin, like a mindless, consciousness-less zombie, acting purely on instinct.
Clearly,
This was the old man's situation.
He had lost his self-awareness, becoming a puppet of Original Sin. Perhaps detecting that Gu Qingfeng was a bearer of Original Sin, he wanted to devour his Blood of Original Sin to deepen his own Original Sin. Moreover, Gu Qingfeng had just probed with his divine sense and discovered that the Blood of Original Sin within the old man was particularly turbid. In other words, the old man had probably devoured quite a few bearers of Original Sin.
Not only that.
The old man's Soul had been almost entirely consumed by his Original Sin Sambhogakaya, like the flame of a candle in a cold wind, ready to be extinguished at any moment.
If the old man's Soul were completely consumed by his Original Sin Sambhogakaya, he would not die.
Not only would he not die, he would instead become an Original Sin Nirmānakaya.
Yes.
An Original Sin Nirmānakaya.
The existence of the Soul is the origin of life.
As long as the Soul exists, the True Self exists.
As long as the True Self remains, it is not impossible to regain the Ego.
But once the Soul of a bearer of Original Sin is consumed, the True Self is completely lost.
Once the True Self is completely lost, one can never regain the Ego.
At that point, you will truly fall and become a puppet of Original Sin, because after becoming an Original Sin Nirmānakaya, you are already a part of Original Sin.
"Ah—!" The old man exerted all his strength but still failed to break free from Gu Qingfeng's grip. Furious, he opened his mouth like a vengeful ghost, letting out a roar. "Blood!
Original Sin!
Blood of Original Sin!
!—!" Amidst his roars, the power within the old man erupted completely. As his body spun, he actually severed his own arms to break free, then shot straight up into the sky.
Mid-air, bloody light blossomed, erupting into countless crimson beams. Each beam was like a sharp sword, densely packed as they stabbed toward Gu Qingfeng.
Gu Qingfeng shook his head slightly. With a casual wave of his hand, all the bloody sword-beams vanished into nothingness, as if they had never existed. Along with them disappeared Gu Qingfeng himself.
When he reappeared, he was standing right in front of the old man. Without a moment's hesitation, he lifted his foot and kicked out directly, planting his foot squarely on the old man's chest. With a *thump*, the old man didn't even have time to grunt before he was shattered and obliterated on the spot by this kick.
Dead.
Completely dead.
Vanished without a trace.
Gu Qingfeng stood in the void, just standing there, his expression somewhat complicated. He couldn't quite put into words what he was feeling.