"First you say this monk is the fated True Lord of Original Sin, then you say he's not. I say, Da Xing, can't you think clearly before you speak? Don't just talk nonsense for no reason! Luckily, this monk didn't listen to you, otherwise...
If this monk had really believed himself to be the True Lord of Original Sin, wouldn't that have been a colossal disaster?"
"This old monk is merely harboring some doubts!" Da Xing the Mad Monk explained. "Think about it carefully, kid. If you were truly the fated True Lord of Original Sin, then without a doubt, you would also be fated to enter the Primordial Black Hole."
He paused, then continued, "If... this old monk truly fell into someone's trap, was ensnared in a Karma Game, and thus brought you in... that would mean you might not be the fated True Lord of Original Sin."
"Just as you said yourself, if you were fated to enter the Primordial Black Hole, there would be absolutely no need for someone to set a trap for this old monk to bring you in. Think about it—doesn't that make sense?"
It had to be said, Da Xing the Mad Monk's words held a certain logic. At the very least, Gu Qingfeng couldn't find any grounds to refute them.
Moreover, there was another point: Gu Qingfeng had never considered himself the True Lord of Original Sin, nor did he believe he was the fated one.
The question was, if he wasn't the fated True Lord of Original Sin, then who would go to such lengths to set a Karma trap for Da Xing the Mad Monk, forcing him to bring Gu Qingfeng into this Primordial Black Hole? And what was their purpose?
"As for the purpose..." Da Xing the Mad Monk took off his tattered hat, rubbing his bald head. "This old monk suspects it might be to have you come stir up trouble."
"Me? Stir up trouble?" Gu Qingfeng raised an eyebrow slightly. "Stir up what trouble?"
"The trouble within this Primordial Black Hole, of course. After all, your existence is the greatest Variable between Heaven and Earth. Once you get involved, the events recorded in the Book of Fate may not necessarily come to pass..." As everyone knew, the Book of Fate recorded that when Original Sin finds its True Lord, the Great Dao falls, Heaven and Earth are reborn, and the Era of No Dao begins...
If the events recorded in the Book of Fate did not occur, it would undoubtedly benefit the Great Dao and Heaven and Earth. Only the Great Dao of Heaven and Earth would not wish for Original Sin to find its True Lord.
Reasoning this way, Gu Qingfeng wondered—could someone be trying to use his hand to alter Fate, thereby saving the Great Dao of Heaven and Earth?
He shook his head.
Gu Qingfeng found this idea rather far-fetched.
Setting aside whether it was true or false, even if it were true, Gu Qingfeng was unlikely to change Fate just to save the Great Dao of Heaven and Earth.
Because he had no interest in this Great Dao of Heaven and Earth and couldn't care less about its survival.
He had always only cared about what he cared about; he couldn't be bothered with anything else.
"Kid Gu, don't draw conclusions so hastily. Nothing in this world is absolute. You might not care about the life or death of the Great Dao of Heaven and Earth, but sometimes not caring doesn't mean you won't act. If someone truly wants to use you to change Fate and save the Great Dao of Heaven and Earth, since they managed to get you in here, they must have a way to make you change Fate and save it. It's very likely they've already laid out a Karma Game; you just don't know it yet."
Da Xing the Mad Monk spoke earnestly, "Once you fall into a Karma Game, it often happens silently and beyond your control. What you perceive as coincidence, chance, predestined fate, arrangements of Fate, or the workings of Karma... might very well be a Karma Game someone set for you."
Gu Qingfeng fell silent, lost in thought.
In truth, even without Da Xing the Mad Monk saying it, Gu Qingfeng sometimes harbored such suspicions.
Ever since he learned that Ouyang Ye was Hongxiu, and Hongxiu was Yun Nishang; ever since he learned that Feng Zhuyue was Mantufan, and Mantufan was Canyang Wuyou... after experiencing these two special cycles of Three-Life Karma, plus the Great Master who taught him Buddhist Dharma, the Old Master who taught him principles, and the Master who taught him about human nature...
Gu Qingfeng now saw everything as potentially part of a Karma Game. He felt that his entire journey seemed to have been within someone else's Karma Game all along...
After a while, Da Xing the Mad Monk spoke again, "However... having said all that, these are just this old monk's speculations. Perhaps no one set a trap for this old monk. Bringing you in might truly have been arranged by Fate or driven by Karma... or even just a mere coincidence."
In truth, Da Xing the Mad Monk himself wasn't sure whether someone had set a trap for him.
The more he thought about it, the more it seemed like a trap, yet also not.
Even his original purpose for bringing Gu Qingfeng in—whether it was for the so-called Zen Sect ruins or some other goal—Da Xing the Mad Monk was somewhat confused.
Yes.
Confused.
It wasn't that he couldn't remember, but he had forgotten his original intention at the time.
The only thing he could be sure of was that Da Xing the Mad Monk bringing Gu Qingfeng into the Primordial Black Hole was an established fact. Since it was a fact, it would form Karma. And Gu Qingfeng's existence was so special—special enough to influence the situation within the Primordial Black Hole, and even the Fate of the Great Dao of Heaven and Earth.
Just as Cang Yan had said, no one knew or understood what the final Fate of the Great Dao of Heaven and Earth would be.
If the Great Dao of Heaven and Earth truly fell and Heaven and Earth were reborn as recorded in the Book of Fate, then Da Xing the Mad Monk would become the chief culprit. The account of the Great Dao's fall would eventually be settled on his head.
If the Great Dao did not fall and Heaven and Earth were not reborn, the consequences would be even more severe—that would be defying Fate.
Da Xing the Mad Monk, as the chief culprit, would certainly be unable to escape the sanctions of Fate.
In other words,
No matter who the final winner in the muddy waters of the Primordial Black Hole was—whether Fate or the Great Dao of Heaven and Earth—Da Xing the Mad Monk would inevitably shoulder the blame.
From the current situation, it was Original Sin that determined the Fate of the Great Dao of Heaven and Earth.
And Gu Qingfeng's existence was enough to influence the True Lord of Original Sin.
Most importantly, it was Da Xing the Mad Monk who brought Gu Qingfeng into the Primordial Black Hole.
He was the cause.
If Fate won, his cause would make him the chief culprit behind the fall of the Great Dao.
If Fate lost, his cause would make him the chief culprit who defied Fate.
If Fate won, the Great Dao of Heaven and Earth would not spare him. If Fate lost, Fate would not spare him.
This debt, no matter what, he could not escape.
This was also the fundamental reason for Da Xing the Mad Monk's immense regret.
If he had accidentally brought Gu Qingfeng in, he would accept it.
But if he had been trapped in a Karma Game set by someone else, Da Xing the Mad Monk felt he would have been wronged to death.
Da Xing the Mad Monk had been pondering one question: what was his original purpose in luring Gu Qingfeng in?
Was it truly for the Zen Sect ruins, or was that just an excuse?
He couldn't remember.
The more Da Xing the Mad Monk thought about it, the more confused he became.
This was also why he suspected he had fallen into a Karma Game set by someone else.
Otherwise, why would he have forgotten his original intention for bringing Gu Qingfeng into the Primordial Black Hole for no good reason?
When such a situation occurred, it was almost certainly because he had fallen into someone else's Karma Game.
But if it wasn't a Karma Game set by someone else, and he had still forgotten his original intention...
Then the consequences would be too terrifying—so terrifying that Da Xing the Mad Monk dared not dwell on them.
Because that would mean Da Xing the Mad Monk might have already lost himself...
He just didn't know it yet.