"Actually, it's nothing too serious. Since the Primordial Nine Palaces have already appeared, this old monk just wanted to ask you, what's your take on the current situation?"
"I don't have one, and I'm not interested."
"Blood River, you can't just say that."
Da Xing the Mad Monk said, "You should understand that whether it's you or me, we're all pieces on this chessboard. You can't just stand aside by saying you're not interested. If that were truly possible, then what would be the point of fate? Why would anyone go through such pains to defy heaven and change their destiny? It's just that we have no choice; we're compelled by circumstances."
Demon Emperor Blood River said indifferently, "Just say what you want to ask directly. No need to beat around the bush."
"Why are you always like this?"
Da Xing the Mad Monk shot Demon Emperor Blood River an extremely displeased look.
He felt that Demon Emperor Blood River was a very dull and boring person. When chatting with this guy about any topic, you had to get straight to the point. Anything else unrelated was just wasted words.
Da Xing the Mad Monk wasn't someone who liked to ramble on either. However, he felt that some matters could be addressed directly, while others could not—especially when facing someone as cold, ruthless, arrogant, and domineering as Demon Emperor Blood River. If you asked him something directly and he replied 'I don't know,' then what...
There would be no 'then.' With one sentence, he'd shut you down, and you couldn't even get angry at him.
"Let me put it this way. This old monk just wants to ask you what your stance actually is right now. Do you want to protect the Heaven-Earth Great Dao, or do you want to slaughter the Three Thousand Great Daos, let heaven and earth be reborn, and usher in the Daoless Age?"
Da Xing the Mad Monk had always been very curious about Demon Emperor Blood River's stance. Other Great Dao overlords—whether it was Great Sun Tathagata, Miao Rulai, Lord Black Mountain, Patriarch Green Lamp, and so on—had long since made their positions clear. At least, on the surface. Whether they had backup plans in secret was another matter.
Only Demon Emperor Blood River's stance remained unclear. If you said he wanted to slaughter the Three Thousand Great Daos and usher in the Daoless Age, well, he hadn't been tainted by Original Sin. Not his true body, nor his external incarnations.
Da Xing the Mad Monk was quite certain about this. Although he didn't know exactly how many external incarnations Demon Emperor Blood River had, one thing he was clear about: given Demon Emperor Blood River's temperament, if he truly wanted to slaughter the Three Thousand Great Daos and covet the position of True Lord of Original Sin, he would definitely seize it openly and honorably.
He would absolutely not be like other Great Dao overlords, saying one thing while doing another in secret—claiming to protect the Heaven-Earth Great Dao while secretly competing for the True Lord of Original Sin, or preparing both ways, protecting the Heaven-Earth Great Dao on one hand and contending for the True Lord of Original Sin on the other.
Demon Emperor Blood River disdained such actions.
If he wanted to protect the Heaven-Earth Great Dao, he would do so openly and honorably. If he wanted to seize the True Lord of Original Sin, he would also do so openly and honorably.
He would absolutely not act sneakily, preparing secretly on both fronts.
The key point was that, to this day, Demon Emperor Blood River had neither stated he wanted to seize the True Lord of Original Sin nor declared he wanted to protect the Heaven-Earth Great Dao.
That was why Da Xing the Mad Monk was so incredibly curious.
"I have no stance."
When Demon Emperor Blood River's words came, Da Xing the Mad Monk felt nothing but utter helplessness.
This was exactly what he feared about getting straight to the point with Demon Emperor Blood River. With one sentence, he was left speechless, not knowing how to continue.
"I say, Brother Blood River, can't we be open and honest here? What do you mean, 'no stance'? So, you're saying you neither intend to protect the Heaven-Earth Great Dao nor plan to seize the True Lord of Original Sin, is that it?"
Demon Emperor Blood River nodded in response. "Exactly."
"Exactly my ass!"
Da Xing the Mad Monk was somewhat annoyed. "If you're not protecting the Heaven-Earth Great Dao and not seizing the True Lord of Original Sin, then why did you enter this Primordial Nine Palaces? To watch the show?"
A trace of teasing amusement flashed in the eyes of the usually cold and ruthless Demon Emperor Blood River, eyes like deep abysses. "Is that not allowed?"
"Don't give me that nonsense."
If Gu Qingfeng had entered the Primordial Nine Palaces to watch the show, Da Xing the Mad Monk might have somewhat believed it. But if Demon Emperor Blood River had entered to watch the show, he wouldn't believe it even if beaten to death.
Gu Qingfeng was someone who enjoyed spectating, but Demon Emperor Blood River was not.
Gu Qingfeng had been worn down and exhausted by karma and fate, so he only sought to go with the flow, leaving things to heaven's will.
Da Xing the Mad Monk knew that Demon Emperor Blood River would never bow to fate, nor would he ever submit to it.
"Blood River, tell me honestly, what is your actual stance? Don't worry, this old monk swears to you, I absolutely won't tell anyone else. You know my character, don't you?"
"I truly have no stance."
Demon Emperor Blood River said, "If I, Blood River, truly wanted to seize the True Lord of Original Sin, I would definitely tell you. Not only would I tell you, I would announce it to all beings under heaven and earth."
"So you mean you're prepared to protect the Heaven-Earth Great Dao?"
Demon Emperor Blood River retorted, "Has the Heaven-Earth Great Dao ever protected me? Why should I protect them? Whether it's the Great Dao or heaven and earth, is there anything about them worth my protection?"
"That's a bit too much to say."
Da Xing the Mad Monk curled his lip. "You, kid, are after all a hegemon of the demonic path, a Demon Emperor who bears the Mandate of Heaven. Protecting the Great Dao is your duty, your responsibility. The Mandate of Heaven cannot be defied."
"I never believe in fate, especially the Mandate of Heaven."
"Alright, alright, alright! Even if you defy the Mandate of Heaven and don't protect the Great Dao, what about the people within the Great Dao? Like those demonic followers of yours, or the elders of the Tai Xu Cave? You don't care about the life or death of heaven, earth, and the Great Dao, but surely you care about theirs, right?"
"Although they are all people of the Great Dao, they don't have an inevitable connection to the Great Dao itself. The destruction of the Great Dao doesn't mean their destruction. The rebirth of heaven and earth doesn't necessarily mean their rebirth."
Hearing this, Da Xing the Mad Monk began to grasp some meaning. Demon Emperor Blood River's meaning was clear: he had no interest in protecting either the Great Dao or heaven and earth. Whether they perished or not, he couldn't be bothered to care. He would only protect those he cared about. As for everything else, it had nothing to do with him.
These words sounded somewhat familiar. Da Xing the Mad Monk remembered he had once asked Gu Qingfeng the same question, and Gu Qingfeng's answer was more or less the same: the life and death of heaven, earth, and the Great Dao had nothing to do with them; they only protected those they wanted to protect.
"If... this old monk says if... if the Heaven-Earth Great Dao threatened the people you care about, or if the existence of the True Lord of Original Sin threatened the people you care about, what would you do then?"
"You know how I would answer."
Indeed.
Da Xing the Mad Monk knew.
In his mind, if the Heaven-Earth Great Dao threatened the people Demon Emperor Blood River cared about, Demon Emperor Blood River would definitely annihilate the Heaven-Earth Great Dao. If the existence of the True Lord of Original Sin threatened the people he cared about, he would also definitely annihilate the True Lord of Original Sin.
Da Xing the Mad Monk had asked Gu Qingfeng this same question back then, and Gu Qingfeng had answered identically.
He was increasingly feeling that Gu Qingfeng and Demon Emperor Blood River really did have many similarities.
Back in the day.
Demon Emperor Blood River, for the woman he loved, fell into demonhood with a single thought, staining the Great Wilderness with rivers of blood.
Gu Qingfeng, back in his day, had also gone mad for a woman, similarly staining the Great Wilderness with rivers of blood.
Thinking about it carefully.
Damn it.
It seemed even the women Demon Emperor Blood River and Gu Qingfeng liked were similar.
Demon Emperor Blood River's admiration for Cang Yan was something known to all under heaven and earth.
Although Gu Qingfeng had many women, the only one who had truly moved his heart was Jun Xuanji.
Cang Yan was a madwoman, and Jun Xuanji was so mad she had even lost herself.
Shaking his head.
Da Xing the Mad Monk didn't dwell too much on this issue, merely sighing. "Alright, alright. If you say you have no stance, then you have no stance. But you surely didn't enter the Primordial Nine Palaces for no reason, right? Don't tell me you came in to watch the show because you were bored out of your mind. Not even a ghost would believe that."
"I have my own reasons for entering the Primordial Nine Palaces."
"Heh heh! What reasons?"
"That's my private matter. No need to tell you."
"Fine, fine, fine. Don't tell, then. Since it's your private matter, this old monk can't be bothered to pry."
Actually.
Even if Demon Emperor Blood River didn't say, Da Xing the Mad Monk could guess a thing or two.
It wasn't hard to guess.
Any being who entered the Primordial Nine Palaces either did so to protect the Heaven-Earth Great Dao or to seize the True Lord of Original Sin. Apart from that, there was another possibility: to seek karma and find one's true self.
In the Primordial Era, many great powers had used an ancient, forbidden method to plant a seed of karma within themselves.
First, they would use their true body to gestate an external incarnation. Then, they would plant a seed of true self-awareness within this external incarnation. Next, they would have this external incarnation, possessing true self-awareness, undergo reincarnation, thereby gestating a sense of original self-awareness. Then reincarnate again, gestating self-awareness...
Undergoing countless cycles of reincarnation until the external incarnation formed an independent destiny.
This ancient method was called 'Planting the Cause.'
Also known as 'Planting the Self.'
How many great powers in the Primordial Era used this ancient, forbidden method to plant a seed of karma was unknown.
Who in the Current Era was a seed of karma planted by someone else in the past was equally unknown.
No one could guarantee that their current self was their true self.
Da Xing the Mad Monk couldn't guarantee it, Gu Qingfeng couldn't guarantee it, Demon Emperor Blood River similarly couldn't guarantee it. Even Geng Wu Ming, hailed as the incarnation of karma and the envoy of fate, who was said to know the past and future, control fate and karma, deduce the cosmos, and comprehend the mysteries of heaven and earth, couldn't guarantee that her current self was her true self.
Forget about the true self.
One couldn't even guarantee if they were their original self.
Precisely because it couldn't be guaranteed, some Great Dao experts in the Current Era chose to seek karma and search for their true selves.
As far as Da Xing the Mad Monk knew, Carefree Great Emperor Mo Wentian had been seeking karma and searching for his true self, and in order to find his true self, he had even become tainted by Original Sin.
He reckoned that the reason Demon Emperor Blood River entered the Primordial Nine Palaces was most likely also to seek karma and find his true self.
Someone as proud and aloof as Demon Emperor Blood River would absolutely not allow himself to be merely a seed of karma planted by another, nor would he allow his karma to be arranged by someone else in such a manner.