Gazing in the direction where Genggu Wuming had vanished into the void, Demon Emperor Blood River's expression turned somewhat grave.
Because of Cang Yan, he had met Genggu Wuming a few times.
However.
They had only met a few times, nothing more.
The two had never spoken, not even once.
Firstly.
Demon Emperor Blood River was by nature cold and aloof, disinclined to speak.
Secondly.
Demon Emperor Blood River harbored a deep aversion to so-called Karma and Fate, and since Genggu Wuming was hailed as the incarnation of Karma and the messenger of Fate, he naturally felt a similar aversion toward her.
Perhaps aware of Demon Emperor Blood River's distaste for Karma and Fate, Genggu Wuning had never proactively sought to speak with him.
Moreover, in Demon Emperor Blood River's recollection, he had never seen Genggu Wuming take action—neither in private nor in public. This was the first time, and it was far more terrifying than he had imagined.
Especially that ancient tome in Genggu Wuming's hand. Though Demon Emperor Blood River did not know what that tome was, he could clearly sense that it seemed to contain a mysterious and bizarre power. It was precisely this mysterious power that had frozen Da Xing the Mad Monk in the void before he could even make a move.
"That book...
contains a truly dreadful power."
Perhaps sensing Demon Emperor Blood River's inner confusion, Cang Yan softly spoke up.
"What kind of book is it?"
"A Great Dao forbidden tome from a very, very long time ago."
Legend had it.
That long ago, the Three Thousand Great Daos each gave birth to their own Dao-books. The Immortal Dao had its Immortal Dao Book, the Monster Dao its Monster Dao Book, the Buddha Dao its Buddha Dao Book, as well as the Book of Light, the Book of Darkness, the Book of Karma, and even the Book of Fate.
These Great Dao Books were born from the essence of their respective Daos. Within them were recorded the true meaning and mysteries of each Dao, as well as the laws and order of the Dao, and they even contained the power of the Dao itself.
Unfortunately.
During the Primordial Era, the Three Thousand Great Daos were once slaughtered, and the so-called Great Dao Books all vanished one after another. Though after the Primordial Era, the Ancient Era began and the essences of the Great Daos revived one by one, the Great Dao Books did not reawaken. Not even the Immortal Dao Book of the Immortal Dao, which had usurped the Heavenly Dao to proclaim itself the leader of all Daos, had revived.
But those were just the Great Dao Books.
As for the Great Dao forbidden tome Cang Yan mentioned, Demon Emperor Blood River had never heard of it. Based on his years of experience, he speculated, "A forbidden Great Dao Book?"
Cang Yan nodded.
Regarding forbidden Great Daos, Demon Emperor Blood River had some understanding, after all, the Dark Dao he comprehended belonged to a type of forbidden Great Dao.
Besides the Dark Dao, there were also the Dao of Death, the Dao of Slaughter, the Dao of the Absolute, the Dao of Silence, the Dao of Destruction, and so on, all belonging to forbidden Great Daos.
As to which forbidden Great Dao the Great Dao forbidden tome in Genggu Wuming's hand belonged to, Cang Yan did not say, and Demon Emperor Blood River did not ask.
"Will she... dispose of Da Xing?"
Demon Emperor Blood River's voice came. Cang Yan shrugged, then shook her head, smiling, "Who knows? But..." She changed her tone, a playful smile on her lips. "That fellow Da Xing loves to stir up trouble, causing chaos everywhere and making a mess of everything. Nameless has tolerated him for a very, very long time. This time, his External Incarnation has fallen into Nameless's hands, hehe...
He's in for a rough time."
"Da Xing loves to stir up trouble?"
"Is that strange?"
"He only brought You Di in. That hardly counts as loving to stir up trouble."
"Just bringing You Di in is enough to cause chaos."
"I believe even if You Di hadn't entered, this Calamity would still be chaotic. Since ancient times, whenever a Calamity occurs, chaos follows. Without chaos, a Calamity would not happen."
"You're not wrong. Whenever a Calamity occurs, there is chaos; no chaos, no Calamity. But some chaos is meant to happen, destined to occur. However, if You Di enters, the chaos that should happen might not, while chaos that shouldn't happen does, like yin and yang being inverted. What should happen, what shouldn't, what should appear, what shouldn't—all happens, all appears..." Demon Emperor Blood River said, "I remember you saying that You Di's existence is intricately linked to this Calamity, that he is destined to participate in it. If so, what does it matter if Da Xing brought him in?"
"It's different."
Cang Yan said softly, "You Di entering on his own is one thing; being brought in by Da Xing the Mad Monk is another. The cause is different, so the effect naturally differs."
"Even so, was it necessary for you to spread the news of Da Xing bringing You Di in far and wide?"
"Hehe."
Cang Yan propped her head with one hand, tilting it slightly, her drunken eyes gazing at Demon Emperor Blood River, a charming smile playing on her lips. "My dear husband, are you seeking justice from me on behalf of that fellow Da Xing?"
"That's not what I mean. I just think you shouldn't have toyed with him."
"Toyed with him?
Hehehehe..." Cang Yan looked at Demon Emperor Blood River as if somewhat speechless. "My dear husband, do you really think I was toying with Da Xing?"
"Wasn't it?"
"It seems that fellow Da Xing's acting skills have truly improved. He even managed to convince my dear husband that it was real."
"Da Xing didn't seem to be acting."
Blood River was, after all, a Demon Emperor, a hegemon who had weathered great storms. Whether regarding the Great Dao of Heaven and Earth or the realms of mind and nature, his comprehension was profound.
What kind of existence Da Xing the Mad Monk truly was, he might not know. However, he could tell that Da Xing's outburst moments ago came from the heart—Da Xing was genuinely aggrieved, genuinely frustrated, as if suppressing immense anger and resentment within.
"Hehe."
Cang Yan stared intently at Demon Emperor Blood River, asking seriously, "My dear husband, do you know what kind of existence Da Xing the Mad Monk is?"
Demon Emperor Blood River shook his head. He did not know.
"You don't know, I don't know, and even Genggu Wuming doesn't know."
At this point, Cang Yan paused before continuing, "I can even tell you that Da Xing the Mad Monk himself probably doesn't know what kind of existence he is."
Demon Emperor Blood River understood Cang Yan's words.
For him, this wasn't difficult to comprehend.
Especially since Demon Emperor Blood River had been seeking Karma and pursuing his True Self. In other words, he too did not know exactly what kind of existence he was.
"My dear husband, do you know?
Da Xing the Mad Monk has always suspected that Nameless arranged the Karma, making him bring You Di into the Primordial Black Hole. Actually...
Nameless never arranged any Karma, never. On the contrary, both I and Nameless have long suspected that he arranged this Karma himself, only he doesn't know it."
"The Primordial Calamity births Heaven and Earth, endless cycles of reincarnation appear, past lives and present lives meet through Karma, whose fate is whose depends on Heaven."
Hearing this, Demon Emperor Blood River said solemnly, "Are you saying the current Da Xing is no longer the Da Xing of before? That his past life's True Self has found him?"
"Perhaps. Or perhaps Da Xing has already sensed his past life's True Self, or perhaps not...
Perhaps he has already merged with his True Self. Too many perhapses. Who knows what the truth is?
No one knows. It might even be that Da Xing never had a past life's True Self, that the current Da Xing is his True Self..." Cang Yan slightly furrowed her brows as if pondering something. "If you observe carefully, you'll find that everything that fellow Da Xing does is never as simple as it seems on the surface. What appears ordinary and reasonable actually subtly influences Karma behind the scenes. These Karmic influences may seem small, but over the years he has influenced everywhere, spreading across the myriad realms of the universe, from the highest Nine Heavens to the deepest Nine Nethers, from sacred lands to forbidden lands, from desolate ruins to the great abyss... there's no place he hasn't meddled in."
"These accumulated Karmic influences have always been like undercurrents, growing stronger and stronger, destined to erupt one day—likely during this very Calamity."
Demon Emperor Blood River asked, "Has Da Xing been setting up a scheme all along?"
"Indeed."
"Now you should understand why I said that fellow Da Xing loves to stir up trouble, causing chaos everywhere?"
Demon Emperor Blood River did not speak, appearing to have little reaction, because he knew that the Great Dao of Heaven and Earth, the myriad realms of the universe, were all part of a grand scheme. All living beings were merely chess pieces within it. The difference was that some pieces were in the scheme, some in schemes within schemes, and others in schemes within schemes within schemes.
Looking across the myriad realms, who wasn't setting up schemes?
Whether those guarding the Great Dao of Heaven and Earth or those plotting to become the True Lord of Original Sin—Great Sun Tathagata, Lord Black Mountain, Miao Rulai, and so on—all had been secretly scheming.
And he believed that Cang Yan, and even Genggu Wuming, had also been scheming all along. Even he himself, in his quest for Karma and search for his True Self, had been setting up schemes.
"Chaos is good. The more chaotic, the better..." Demon Emperor Blood River suddenly uttered this seemingly disjointed statement.
Cang Yan shook her head with a bitter smile, offering no response.
Others might not understand Demon Emperor Blood River, but Cang Yan understood him better than anyone. In a sense, she might understand him even better than he understood himself.
Demon Emperor Blood River had always detested so-called Karma and Fate. The reason was simple: he believed that the Great Dao of Heaven and Earth and all living beings were all dominated by so-called Karma and Fate.
The reason Demon Emperor Blood River said "the more chaotic, the better" was also because he believed that the greater the chaos, the more disordered Karma would become. And the more disordered Karma, the less Fate could dominate the Great Dao of Heaven and Earth and all living beings.
Regarding this.
Cang Yan could only offer a bitter smile.
Though she had told Demon Emperor Blood River more than once that Karma was not the Karma he imagined, and Fate was not the Fate he imagined. Neither Karma nor Fate had ever dominated the Great Dao of Heaven and Earth and all living beings. On the contrary, Karma and Fate had always been dominated by the Great Dao of Heaven and Earth and all living beings themselves.
What cause you sow, what effect you reap. Good causes yield good effects, evil intentions yield evil effects.
What kind of Karma determines what kind of Fate.
She had said it, she had explained it.
But Demon Emperor Blood River did not believe it. His aversion to Karma and Fate was bone-deep, innate. No matter how Cang Yan explained, she could never convince Blood River.